I had a very long journey with Mrs Hirons going in a car, on a train, then on a coach and then finally an aeroplane. I had lots of sleeps on the plane and we watched lots of movies. Paddington Bear was my favourite and I had ice cream too. We could always see where we were flying on the screen and when we landed there was a camera under the plane to watch the wheels go down.

We went to Hong Kong first and it was very hot and rainy there. We then went to Australia.  It was very exciting to go to School to get Jack and Ella and see lots of children. We have been to lots of beaches . We went whale and dolphin watching but we didn’t see any . This was at Byron Bay which is the most easterly point of Australia. We went to a place called Paradise point for lunch and when we came out there were about 30 Ferrari cars . I couldn’t choose my favourite.

We then went up the Q1 which is the tallest building on the Goldcoast . The views were amazing ! It has the fastest lift in Australia and you can watch a film of it going up and down while you are in it which is really weird.

We went for a walk in the bush to try and find some of my relatives . We haven’t seen any yet as I think they are hiding at the moment. We will keep kangaroo spotting.

I have been to football matches and netball matches with the children and Jack scored a goal and Ella’s team won 15-3 and she won girl of the match.

We are now off to stay in Brisbane for a few days and then going to Rockhampton where there is a crocodile park . I hope they feed them before I get there !

They are also filming Pirates of the Carribean here at the moment so we are hoping to go and see the film set and see the Pirates.

I hope you have lots of fun on your school trip to the castle and send me lots of questions and messages.

lots of love from

Mrs Hirons and Roo !

Today we went back to the rainforest. It was a bit like home today and was rainy and cloudy but the raindrops are huge as well ! The trees are just so enormous.

First we went to see the Hinze dam and you can walk right over the middle of it and look down on the water overflowing.

We then went to see a natural bridge in the rain forest.There is a waterfall which comes down and has formed the bridge. You can go underneath it into a cave. You can then go above the waterfall and there are lookouts on both sides of the water . It was very loud. I hope you can see how tall the trees are from the video.  The trees are so different from ours.

It was wet and cool in the rain forest today.

Forest Schools will never be the same again !!

http://vimeo.com/63896210

We went to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. There is an animal hospital there where lots of sick animals are cared for. In the park you can see all kinds of animals and get really close up .

We saw pelicans,eels, crocodiles, kangaroos, koalas, dingos, tasmanian devils and so many lizards wandering about we lost count.

We saw the pelicans and eels being fed and a bird show. We were able to feed the kangaroos ourselves but luckily the crocodiles were fast asleep.

There was a magic show and the magician did the same bottle trick that you saw at the Berkley christmas party !

http://vimeo.com/63647689

http://vimeo.com/63645910

http://vimeo.com/63699113

http://vimeo.com/63700092

Today we went to Springbrook which is a community in the Gold Coast, within the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia.   Few places on earth contain so many plants and animals which remain relatively unchanged from their ancestors in the fossil record. There was so much to see we are going to have to back on another day.

We went up a very steep road and stopped at lots of lookouts to see the amazing views of the rain forests, waterfalls and the skyline of the Goldcoast.

The forest is very different to ours. The trees are massive and so tall. They have the most amazing roots. At one of the lookouts we were in the clouds and then they cleared away to show the view and then came back and we could see nothing.

http://vimeo.com/63650712

Today we went to look for kangaroos. We found lots !!!!!

http://vimeo.com/63455140

Today we went to Kuranda which is known as the Village in the Rainforest. It is situated 380m above sea-level on top of the McAlister Range, in the heart of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Rainforests.
You can travel there two ways. We went up on the train and came back down on the sky rail.There are lots of shops at the village . We had a picnic and did lots of shopping.

The Cairns-Kuranda Railway was constructed between 1882 and 1891. It is amazing that they built the rail track in the rainforest. Hundreds of men were employed to build the 15 hand-made tunnels and 37 bridges. The train journey was very slow and we had a couple of stops to look at the view and the waterfalls

The sky rail was scary as you came down in gondolas above the tree tops and you are very high up.We had to change cable cars as we came down and were able to go to some look outs to see the view.

http://vimeo.com/63496605

Today was just a perfect day. We went on a  bus to Cairns town and got on a catamaran which took us 36 miles out to sea to Marine Land.

We all had to get changed into special suits and get our flippers and snorkels. We then went down to the edge of the sea and swam above the coral.

It was amazing.

We saw all sorts of fish and sea life. We had lunch on the boat and then went in the under sea viewing area.

We also got on a glass bottomed boat to see some more fish and coral. We saw a 150 year old clam .

We then went snorkelling again. The sea was 29 degrees and so clear and pretty.

We went out for dinner when we got back. Someone was very tired.

Here are a few pictures but there are some more !!

http://vimeo.com/63383347

http://vimeo.com/63388172