Tallebudgera Creek Camping

We chose to travel with friends for Easter 2014 and headed to Tallebugera Tourist Park on the Gold Coast.

This was our set up from one side.  The site we had was really spacious and we had a couple of big shady trees to cool our area which was really handy on the day we had 35 degrees.  The grass was green and healthy and there was plenty of room for the clothes line and the kids totem tennis etc.

What's to do?

Plenty!  A short couple of minute walk or ride under the bridge in one direction and you have the surf beach for swimming or the surf club for an afternoon drink or dinner.

The view from the deck at the surf club

In the opposite direction, the creek and all it has to offer.  

The water is the most gorgeous colour and so clear you can see the bottom.  We spotted so many fish and a stingray too.  Emma loved playing on the beach here and swimming in the calm water.  She also had a turn at stand up paddle boarding and Nathan loved kayaking along the creek.

We took a daily bike ride to the point where the creek and the ocean meet.  We would watch the sunset and enjoy the view to Surfers Paradise and Cooloongatta.  It was a very easy ride for everyone (very flat) and the kids often brought their scooters or you could walk.

Burleigh Mountain gave us the perfect place to walk each day and the scenery was beautiful.  

We rode to Burleigh Heads as well, a great ride especially along the waterfront.  We found some great places to stop for coffee or ice cream and we ventured over to Burleigh one night for dinner as well.  It is so close and offers an array of activities, dining options and shopping.  

On Saturday morning we drove to Burleigh and went to the local farmers market where we picked up some delicious organic meat and fruit and vegetables.  Oh and the organic sour dough bread was to die for!

The kids were catered for well.  It was during school holidays so I would expect this from a good tourist park.  They loved the activities on offer.  You did have to pay for some of the activities although this I don't mind if they are good quality.

The kids made canvas art, made candles, had face painting, went to discos, watched big screen movies, rode bikes and go carts and swam, swam, swam. 

We also enjoyed the wood fired pizzas that were on offer a couple of nights during our stay and the crepes from the crepe van.

There really was so much to do and see during our 10 days that we were not bored for a minute.  The kids came home asking how long until we visit again which is always a good sign! 

Travel Tip TIme - Preserving holiday memories

Do your kids love to collect shells when you go on a beach holiday?  Mine do and over the holidays they have found some really gorgeous ones to add to our collections.  The trouble is often the shells come home and end up broken or shoved anywhere or thrown away.  So we started collecting shells and making a memento of them.  

Photo source here.

We collect our shells (and sometimes sand or rocks) and while we are away I buy a nice jar or vase or holder of some kind.  When we get home we either label our jar like the one above or I write with a sharpie on the bottom where we were when we collected the shells and the date.  Then we have something nice to display that is unique and very memorable.  Many stories come to mind when you pick up a shell out of the jar or look at them through the glass.  We have five jars/vases like this around our home from various places and I love being surrounded by them and their memories.

Sometimes you have to think outside the box when it comes to holiday souvenirs if you want to avoid the cliche magnets and tea towels.

A Weekend at Dicky Beach

We have had a couple of camping trips lately with one of them being a weekend (2 nights) at Dicky Beach on the Sunshine Coast.

I have to say that I loved this caravan park for a break.  The park was lovely and not too big.  The amenities were spotless and the kids enjoyed the pool and the recreation room.

We booked a premium ocean view site which had a concrete slab and power and water and this was the view from the caravan.  You can't really beat it.

A few steps the the right of here and there was a small skate park where Nathan spent most of his free time.

And a few steps forward from the fence and this was what you saw, the inlet and then gorgeous surf beach.

On the surf beach there is a shipwreck, although there is not much left of it these days it is still good to see and very close to the swimming section of the beach.

The beach is patrolled which is excellent and Emma and I spent a lot of time here.

A few paces over the inlet to the right of our van was the surf club.  We went here for dinner on the Saturday night and we were impressed.  The dress code was not fancy which is perfect while camping and the meals were very reasonably priced and huge and delicious.  When you camp at the caravan park you get a sheet of discounts for the club which is great.

If you walk in the opposite direction you will come to a little row of shops including a butcher, convenience store, fish and chip shops and cafes.  We had a huge serving of fish and chips one night which was really good value for money and we also had breakfast at one of the cafe's which was a little bit more expensive but a lovely dining experience.

This park is going on our list of favourite caravan parks and we will be back to stay soon.  I don't think you can get a better spot.   It's a park where you can park the car and not have to get in it again until you leave with everything at your doorstop.

If you are considering a trip to the Sunshine Coast consider Dicky Beach, it's worth it.  You can find the link to the website here.

Singapore Zoo…photo share

This was our third visit to Singapore Zoo and it did not disappoint.  We headed to the zoo early so we could enjoy a buffet breakfast with the Orang utans which was awesome as always. I bought a 3 park pass for the Zoo, River Safari and Night Safari and then had my concierge at the hotel ring to book breakfast and I just paid on arrival because it was cheaper that way for us.  You can do a tour where you get breakfast and your zoo entry if that suits you better. 

I have blogged about the zoo before and you can read my posts here and here. so I thought today I would just do a photo share of our latest visit.

You can also find information about the zoo on their website, link here.

Emma and Nathan both enjoyed holding the snakes at breakfast.

And the high light of breakfast is when these gorgeous animals arrive and hang around for a while. 

The baby was just to die for, super super cute!

 The zoo has plenty of monkeys etc. 

A garden train?

The water park was a refreshing stop for the kids.

The Komodo dragon is Emma's favourite animal at the zoo, go figure.

You get to walk through this enclosure and get really up close and personal with the chameleons and other animals.

We were just walking along the path when I looked up to see this guy and his big branch hanging above me.

Rhino bottoms!

This meerkat could see something up there although we couldn't!

The kids both got to feed the giraffes, another high light (we paid a $5 fee for the food).

And a calming boat ride from one end of the zoo to the other was a welcome respite from walking (we paid a fee for this too).

Singapore has just an amazing zoo, a definite must do when in Singapore!