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Water’s edge Apartments, Cairns, Queensland, Australia

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Australian word of the day: Breaky — Breakfast

It’s been a week since the last posting. So much action going on here. I’ll give you a brief rundown. On Thursday, we spent a few hours at Trinity Beach, one of the nicer beaches to the north of Cairns. The water was a bit cold and the waves made it hard for the kids to get in. So we spent most of the time on the sand. (more…)

Water’s edge Apartments, Cairns, Queensland, Australia

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Australian word of the day: Wallaby — a small kangaroo-like animal. Photographs especially well when being fed by young children.

We had a good night’s sleep and a relatively calm morning yesterday before heading off to explore Australia nature. We drove east to where the tropics meet the outback, a place known as the Atherton Tableland. On the roads were signs warning of kangaroos present. Every few miles you see some roadkill; I hope we won’t run over something driving around here. (more…)

Water’s edge Apartments, Cairns, Queensland, Australia

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Australian word of the day: Pram — a baby stroller. We discovered this word when we were told we couldn’t gate check our pram but rather had to check it in with all the luggage, meaning walking through Sydney airport with all three kids loose!

What a long hectic day of travel. We got up at 4am for a 7am flight from Sydney to Cairns. Our 5am van pickup failed to show up and when he asked me on the phone in a sleepy voice what time is my flight, I realized we needed a quick solution. (more…)

Hotel Stellar, Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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"G’Day Mates", as you can tell we are down under, where the folks speak Australian, a fun and lively version of English. We have spent 4 days in Sydney, the largest city in the country and the business and entertainment center as well. (more…)

To all our friends of the tribe of Moses, a happy new year, filled with peace and laughter.

Sheraton Fiji Resort, Denarau, Viti Levu Island, Fiji

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Our 3 week vacation in paradise is almost over. We spent the last 2 days at the Sheraton Resort with a short visit to downtown Nadi yesterday morning. The downtown is one street with many stores and shops, bustling, busy and hot. The main attraction for us lay at the start of the street, where we visited a Hindu temple.

Sri Siva Subrahmanya Swami Temple is a colorful and busy little temple serving the Indo-Fijians living in the area. (more…)

We just arrived. We are staying in the heart of downtown.

A happy reunion with Paola’s parents who came all the way from Israel to discover Australia with us.

More later.

-Hemi

Oarsman’s Bay Resort, Nacula Island, Fiji

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This is the last of 4 nights we have spent on Nacula (pronounced Nathula) at this laid back resort with the most amazing turquoise water just 10 steps away from our bure (hut). After spending a delightful day and a half at the Sheraton we woke up bright and early on Wednesday morning and got on the Yasawa Flyer, a large yellow catamaran that sped us over the waves of a not so sunny day to our island getaway. (more…)

Sheraton Fiji Resort, Denarau, Viti Levu Island, Fiji

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Today started off with 3^rd world Fiji popping its head up. We got up at 5am to prepare ourselves and the children for the bus pickup at 6:30. The hotel manager told me that Air-Fiji called and there is a 30 minute delay in our flight because yesterday’s flight was canceled due to the plane having a flat tire. From here to there, our pickup came only at 7am and when we reached the airstrip at 7:40 we were told that our flight had already left.

"What the ?$#?&!!!" I asked the ground crew. (more…)

Royal Levuka Hotel, Levuka, Ovalau Island, Fiji

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Don’t let the name of this hotel fool you. It is more a backpacker hostel then a royal residence. True, it is the oldest hotel in Fiji, over 100 years old, but it also seems that some of the rooms have not been upgraded in the last few decades. The kids are happy, we got a little apartment that is very spacious, and the girls are sleeping on a mattress next to Ron’s bed. The jumpfest from the bed to the mattress on the floor is a daily ritual before going to sleep. (more…)