A Rugby Game, a dance class, and chocolate

Gold Coast Titans vs Parramatta Eels

Rugby Match

Skilled Park is located in Robina which was a 20 minute drive north west of here. Tommy and Jenny dropped us off on the way to their Benihana dinner in Surfers. The stadium was really nice. It was much smaller than our NFL stadiums and much cleaner. There was only 1 floor and the concessions consisted of 2 vendors: one that said Bar for drinks and one that said Food for food. Sauces cost 20 cents extra, only salt was free. We figured out the local bus system on the way home which an experience in itself!

The yellow shirts were the Eels from Sydney and the light blue shirts are the Gold Coast Titans which was our Team!!

We had pretty good seats, we were upper section on the side. The end zone had cheaper seats but we wanted to get some perspective since this sport is new to us.
They had the signs in the seats for free. A "try" we soon learned was a score!!! The final score was the Titans 32 and the Eels 12. It was a great game.
We were lucky that the guy who sat next to Mikey claimed to have played Rugby with some of the Eels growing up and had to quit due to injury. He enlightened us on this sport which really made the game exciting to be a part of. The team that is driving gets 6 possessions. They have to pass it backward in their hands and can kick it forward, also they must kick it on their last possession. If the ball is caught in the end zone like in the NFL it is 4 points and then they kick a field goal for 2 extra points. They can kick it through the goal post on their last possession for 1 point which would be like the NFL field goal. The tackling is awesome and hard hitting. Our NFL players could take a few tips on these tackling efforts. The game hardly stops, much like soccer. There are two 40 minute halfs and one 10 minute intermission. By the end of the game we were the Titans biggest fans and will definitely go to more games since we will be missing our Football season:( Also it was our 6 month anniversary and what better than to be at an Australian Rugby match.

Paradise Performers Academy

This studio was where I took my first dance class in Australia. The studio was located in Mermaid Beach near Surfers Paradise, a 25 minute drive. I signed up the for the Adult Jazz Class from 10:30-11:30 Thursday morning. The studio was in a warehouse making the studio nice and spacious with high ceilings. It was a one roomed studio with a nice outdoor waiting area. I was among 6 other adults who were a good bit older than I. We started out with an aerobic standing warm up including plies, isolations, lunges, and flat backs. We then moved to the floor with some sit ups, push ups, and stretching. It was your standard classic jazz warm up. We then went across the floor with a pirouette combination. It was interesting to prepare into the turn with 3 kick ball changes and a pirouette instead of the pas de bourree. We then did leaps and a side pas de bourree short combination in a square. A fun energetic combination brought the class to an end. It felt good to move and experience the dance community in another country. All the other students were really friendly accepting me right into the mix of things. I have to say that though it was not too difficult of a class, it never fails that I am SORE after not dancing for a few weeks. I am looking forward to more dance experiences in Melbourne and Sydney!

Chocolate Treats

Tim Tam's are a chocolate cookie with a soft filling almost like an oreo. We have been experimenting with as many different chocolate selections as we have the chips. The Tim Tam is pretty popular among the household. Others we have tried include the Bueno, which is 2 sticks with 4 pockets of chocolate filled with a hazelnut cream and wafer. The Vault is your standard snickers, though the caramel is not quite as soft as in the snickers. There is also the Devo, which is a direct descendent of the twix. The local bakery knows Mikey and Tommy by name for their purchase of the meat pies and sweet treats!

Love

Kristen

In the woods with animals......

Greetings from da' woods of Currumbin. Wonderful wildlife in the wilderness walking with wild wombats and wallabees. Tantalizing and truly terrific times. Enjoy!!

surf report

day fifteen: no surf today. dbah was about knee to waist+ and clean. we went to the rock pools and the wildlife park instead. beautiful weather again today.

day sixteen: surf started very small again today with dbah about waist high and clean. the air was very cool with the strong south wind. we decided not to surf but to go for a run. after we ran back to dbah, of course, the waves had picked up to chest high and offshore. we ran home and drove back. after all that, the waves were ok, waist to chest high and clean. bow-a ran into his mate occy again and they exchanged megaman faces accordingly.

day seventeen: swell picked up out of the south. snapper was chest to head high on the sets and perfect. some of the best surf we have seen so far. we went and surfed duranbah where there were a lot of waves and a lot of dudes. it was waist to head high with some punchy left and right hand barrels. water was again crystal clear and there was not a cloud in the sky. the girls filmed us for a while, thanks ladies!

day eighteen: surfed dbah this morning. swell is still out of the south with light offshore winds. it dropped some overnight but there were still waist to head high perfect right hand tubes. we both got some really fun ones and the crowd was pretty minimal. it is pretty flat for here, but another great session by our standards.

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mikey,tommy, and a couple other dudes surfing dbah, jenny and kristen filming, kristen commenting

Currumbin Rock Pools, Wild Life Sanctuary, and Chips

Currumbin Rock Pools

We have been waiting for the perfect day to take our tour through the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. We woke up early Monday morning to 65 degree weather and sunshine and knew that the day held promise. We took a drive into Currumbin Valley to swim in the rock pools and take a hike before our 3pm half price admission with australia's wildlife.

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

Lace Monitor

The Lace monitor was one of the many iguana like creatures we saw in Currumbin. It was in the Venemous snake arena and you could say we spent the least amount of time here.

Sulfer Cockatoo

Gandolf was this cockatoo's name. He arrived at the sanctuary injured and upon healing him they found a tumor on its wing. The wing had to be amputated and he now greets all the guests at the entrance. They live for 100 years!

Short-Beaked Echidna

The Short- Beaked Echidna was the most peculiar animal of the day. It seemed to enjoy roaming around its bed aimlessly only stopping momentarily to climb on a log and then get right back off. Mikey and I spent our last 20 minutes trying to capture a picture that was not blurry of this hyper porcupine look a like.

Wombat

The wombat was Mikey's favorite animal of the day. When I asked him why he said because it looked looked like a furry pig and was eating and pooping at the same time. The wombat is curious like the american Racoon.

Tasmanian Devil

The Tasmanian Devil is located only on the island of Tasmania.

Crocodile

The australian crocodile peered up at us from its swamp home at Currumbin and while this one is rather small we got to see one that was 3 meters long. The croc made the american alligator seem friendly!

Kangaroos

Upon entering the park at 3 we ran with excitement over to the Kangaroo farm for the 3:15pm feeding. There were kangaroos everywhere; male, female, sleeping, eating, carrying babies in the pouch, and hopping. I was overwhelmed!

Koalas

The kaolas were by far the cutest animals lounging in the trees. They are quite sleepy and lazy but interesting to watch as they nibble on the trees and even jump from one tree to another to acquire more food.

Tree Kangaroos

The tree kangaroos were polar opposite than the other kangaroos. They were smaller, less movement, live up in trees, and had thicker smoother coats of hair. Interesting that they are related!

We saw many other of australia's one of a kind wildlife including wedged tailed eagles, australian dingos, lorikeets, many species of birds, and the rock wallaby.

Chips

As fuel to keep up energy for our adventures, chips seem to fill our woolworth's grocery cart. They come in a variety of flavors including salt and vinegar, sour cream and onion, sour cream and chive, thai chilli, barbecue, honey mustard and onion, light and tangy, barbecue ribs, and chicken. We have tried them all! Don't worry we do get other things with some nutrients but when you are on the traveling budget these chips are a great snack!

Love,

kristen

Surf from Snappers, Dbah, and a Miami Beachbreak

Decent waves and a Mick Fanning shot.

surf report

day thirteen: got up at 6am and drove north for some offshore winds. the florida curse followed us and of course the waves were 1/3 of the size of yesterday and the wind was sideshore. it was kind of a let down when we pulled up at mermaid beach to waist high, sideshore closeouts. the old saying- "should have been here yesterday," rang loud and clear. however we let the sun come up and the tide come in and the waves actually got really fun. the wind fell off and the tide pushed in giving us waist to chest high beachbreak barrels. we both got some really fun ones, with me floating way down the beach and Tommy holding down the pack of dudes out front. i filmed Tommy's last two waves and are gonna post them soon.

day fourteen: back to normal today with the wind clocking around from the south and the waves at dbah being waist to chest high and offshore. the crystal clear water dropped a few degrees and we caught some uncrowded peaks while the girls laid on the beach. it was not our best session to date, but it was a perfect beach day. we grilled out at kirra beach in the afternoon and enjoyed the warm sun.