Holiday in Melbourne

The streets of Melbourne city were full of fun things to play with and explore. Including a dog to feed and ride and some good trees to climb.

Melbourne Zoo

Melbourne Aquarium.

Cape Schanck. Possible one of our favourite walks. Ever. Adam and I have done it so many times and I hope to do it many, many more times. 

Arthur love, love, loved the trains and trams and horse drawn carriages. 

The view from our hotel room. Nice. Artie loved watching the trains from the balcony and every morning he woke at 6am with the first train whistle. We would think he was asleep and then hear a little voice saying beep. 

Happy. We love holidays! 

A few notes about the holiday: 

• Travelling in a city with a toddler is tiring! It is not the same as the lay-around-the-beach, long-lazy-walk type holidays we have done with Artie up until now. Not saying it was worse, it just moved at a faster pace. It probably didn't help that Artie was sleeping terribly for a few nights! 
• We probably won't bother with the Melbourne Aquarium again. It was so busy that it was hard to see anything and Melbourne Zoo has a great new area with fish and seals and penguins. Next time we will just buy a zoo pass, we could have gone back to the zoo a few times, there was so much to do and see. 
• Arthur is a great travel companion. It is so fun to see the world through your child's eyes. Everything is new and exciting. The steps of Federation Square are an endless source of amusement, as is all the street art. He is also a trooper on the flights. As long as we have snacks and books and a couple of toys and keep entertaining him, he is fine. We have yet to have a meltdown on a flight and he has been travelling on them since he was 5 months old (knock on wood). 
• I love my boys and I love holidays. Put the two together and I am one happy lady. 

junior treasure hunter

Adam and I have long been treasure hunters. We could spend hours sifting through shells and rocks looking for something special to take home. While at the beach we were able to introduce Artie to this joy. At low tide we took him out to the rock pools. He is definitely a fan. He filled his bucket up with so many rocks even the adults had trouble carrying it! 

Happy

 We just went on a mini holiday to the beach. We are back and feeling happy!

New Zealand- Picton

Okay, the last New Zealand post. I have to add photos from our stay in Picton because it was probably my overall favourite place. The house was awesome, beyond awesome even. The house belongs to a couple who rent it out for holidays. They had a garden based on permaculture, which spread down a cliffside to a private beach. There was fresh eggs every morning from our own chooks, an abundance of strawberries and fresh vegetables to pick. We would go out every morning for a play and a lunch at a winery and come home for a 2 hour plus nap. It was just heavenly. It was also the place where Arthur gave me my first unasked for kiss (three times!)

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New Zealand- Wharariki Beach

While staying at Ligar Bay we did a day trip to Wharariki Beach. It was a a 30 minute walk down to the beach through farmland and past sheep. It was here that Artie learnt to say "baa' for sheep. 

Down at the beach we saw seals who ran into the ocean as we got near. Can you see him in the photo below? Unfortunately, Artie slept through all the seal sightings. We even laid him on the beach and he stayed asleep. The seagulls were curious and circled closer to see whether he was edible or not.

Artie woke up just before we left. Just in time to get his revenge. Dada helped him chase seagulls all over the beach.

It was my favourite beach ever to visit!