Rhys – Page 7 – wee little lovelys

Elk Lake

July 28, 2014

On a hot Sunday morning we decided to pack up our swimming gear and head to Elk Lake which is about a 15 minute drive from our house. Jimmy spent a lot of time at this Lake and the conjoining Beaver Lake in his youth. I ran the trails of this lake when I went to University. The trails are really nice and if you run the whole lake it is 10km. Elk Lake is the training area for Canada’s Olympic Rowing team and is a popular fishing area as they stock the lake with fish annually.

We arrived fairly early so there were not many people. We played in the sand and then quickly made our way into the warm lake water. Claire and Rhys love swimming. Particularly Claire who is a fish and once in the water does not want to come out. After a few hours we packed up and headed home to host our friends for an early evening BBQ. A great Sunday!

Claire being a ‘baby turtle’ on her daddy turtles back 🙂

Goldstream Park

July 23, 2014

We like to adventure and spend a lot of time outdoors with the kids which is great because Victoria is home to some amazing parks. Goldstream is one of those parks. It is 477 hectares and home to small Garry oak meadows, arbutus, and Douglas fir trees – some more than 600 years old.

On a nice Sunday when we had no other plans we decided to get suited up and go hiking. We packed a lunch and drove to the park which is about 17km from town. It was a hot day so finding refuge in the old growth temperate rain forest was perfect! This park is a popular place for viewing the annual fall chum salmon spawning runs in Goldstream river. It is also popular because there are numerous trails for hiking including a rugged and steep one called Mt. Finlayson trail that goes to the top of Mt. Finlayson. We choose to hike to Niagara falls which was really more of a walk with some minor rock climbing which is a recent favorite past-time of Claire & Rhys’.

Niagara falls is 47.5m high and to reach it you have to walk through a dried up stream bed. In the winter months the stream bed is full of water and the waterfall has so much more water volume. It was still very pretty when we visited. We spent some time there climbing through a rock tunnel and skipping rocks into the water basin at the bottom of the falls. After we had our fill of the falls we walked along some paths towards the nature visitor centre. We found plenty of slugs and other critters along the way that we had to stop and watch things where we had a little picnic lunch amongst the grass reeds at the end of the Saanich Inlet.

It was a great day 🙂

Canada Day – July 1, 2014

July 18, 2014

Canada just turned 147 years old on July 1st. To celebrate we hosted a BBQ at our new home with some of the Miller clan.

The weather in Victoria has been very sunny and hot lately; record setting temperatures in fact. Thankfully we have adequate backyard shade as well as two inflatable pools, so we all kept cool enough to enjoy ourselves.

Our recently purchased Weber barbeque proved its worth and it was a fun gathering with good food, laughs and splashes 🙂

McCaulay Point

July 16, 2014

Moving back to Victoria has proven fruitful in the realm of play and exploration. Some of my best childhood games of “hide and go seek” and “war” had McCaulay Point as the stage; a great day trip location for a boy.

In truth, McCaulay Point provided coastal defense to Victoria and Esquimalt harbors between 1870 and 1950, with the time around 1910 being the most active as the militia was being built then. Nowadays the park remains open to the public (adventurous families, bird watchers, dog walkers, etc.). With only a few areas fenced off to protect indigenous plants, the rest is free to roam.

It is certainly a neat place to take the kids as the (safe) gun turret are fully accessible/ climb-able.

– Jimmy

This is the tunnel which was built in 1895. It provided controlled (protected) access to supply sheds within the fortification. Nowadays is good for a spooky echo and a mild scare as it is just long enough to feel weary of your exit lies.

Here are the kids back in rainy January atop of the old battery command post/observation point.

Australia 2013 – Perth!

January 25, 2014

At times it felt like our global story would never end regardless of chapters ending. Due to travel agent error our previously arranged flights home required re-booking. No longer stuck to a European route home, we opted for a slightly longer path; one via Australia.

Visiting my Uncle Mike and Aunt Christine in Oz has always been on my personal to-do list. I recall discussing a potential visit with my Mom (Mike’s Sister) as far back as high school -as a post grad course of action. Alas, fate finally set the course.

Our flight from Johannesburg went great and the kids once again proved their traveler-prowess. We departed during an electrical storm so the first 20 minutes of our flight was very bumpy which Deanna did not like at all. We arrived in the early evening into Perth after an eleven hour flight and some extra customs grind. We were greeted with warm temperatures similar to Jo’burg and hugs from Mike & Christine.

We spent our time in Perth on the beach, adventuring around parks, a Christmas festival downtown, the Aquarium etc. We went to a lot of places and got a good feel of the city thanks to Mike driving us around our whole stay. The kids really earned their gills as Mike & Christine are avid divers and their personal pool and passion certainly rubbed off. Incidentally, Rhys is also more comfortable around dogs now too. Seems their dog Mitchy left a great impression as Rhys still mentions/misses him to this day.

Even after a ten day visit, Mike and Christine remained gracious hosts. Normally we’d cut any family related visit to a week at maximum for everyone’s sanity, but we were at a loss for flight times due to Aussie schools being let out for the busy Christmas holidays. Rest assured we escaped with necks narrowly un-wrung and hugs still shared upon departure… all the while unsure when we’d be down-under again.

Visiting Reabold Hill and its view of downtown Perth:First playground visit of many, just a few steps from our door:

Visit to Kings Park:

Perry Lakes played host to a skateboard demo/ reunion with Jimmy’s cousin Michael-David and his family:

Mandatory ‘Roo & Koala photo-op at Caversham Wildlife Park:

Claire has no fear and loves snakes!

Our best family photo ever!… ? Complete with wombat:

Day trip to Fremantle aka Freo:

Playing in the surf was a favorite activity:

“Aqua” aquarium in Hillarys:

Quick visit to downtown Perth’s chaotic Christmas festival:

Saying goodbye is never easy…

Last Africa trip! Clarens, SA

November 22, 2013

Last weekend we adventured on our last trip in Africa. We decided to go to Clarens which is situated in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains in the Free State province of South Africa. The sandstone mountains were really pretty and reminded us of the drumheller region in Alberta.

This town is an artists haven with so many cute shops, restaurants etc. that surround a town square. It also has a golf course which draws tourists in. The weather was overcast and rainy but it was a fun little get-away that the kids enjoyed.

We are now getting ourselves organized and packed as we leave South Africa at the end of November to begin our journey back to Canada. We will be traveling through Australia to visit friends and family- fun!

Stay tuned for our parting thoughts on our time in South Africa as expats & for more travel/ life stories….

Whether it’s falling asleep with a lolli stuck in his hair or general hi-jinx, Rhys kept us entertained:

Claire & Rhys stoked on the 4×4’s sunroof (whilst parked):

Trip to Mauritius – Part 4 of 4 (departure)

October 20, 2013

Parting is such sweet sorrow… or something like that. Our last day on Mauritius came with mixed emotions for sure. On one hand, we felt somewhat done (cooked well done) due to sun exposure, but on the other hand our freshly discovered groove was great and we felt at peace. It’s quite a feat to forget the world’s hectic speed, if only for a little bit.

Aside from getting slightly lost while en-route to the airport; a missed roundabout turn (so many roundabouts on this island), our exit was less chaotic than our entry.

We feel very blessed to have been given this unique opportunity to travel somewhere so nice and facilitating. If you’re ever given the opportunity to travel to Mauritius we surely give it our stamp of approval.

– Jimmy

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This little buddy greeted us on a few mornings. Turns out it’s rare & endangered. A ‘Mauritius Fody’:

Claire really grew her gills this trip, she was a water baby spending so much time in the water:

….and the Oscar for most dramatic performance goes to:

Traffic was especially dense going through Port Louis enroute to the airport:

Having no time for any real skateboarding, I did a G-Turn at the airport just to be able to say I rolled on Mauritius:

Trip to Mauritius – Part 3 of 4 (day 2)

October 18, 2013

Our second full day on Mauritius was a bit more planned and scheduled, or so we thought. We booked a half-day tour of our area of the island knowing full well the kids’ stamina wouldn’t last a full day mission. After a quick breakfast we were off in a slender tour van with our new tour guide friend, Coco.

While Coco was nice enough, his pre-rehearsed dialogue didn’t prove flexible to spontaneous banter (and I’m a chatter). Veering off course to a tourist shop rather than to a legitimate “sight” made us cringe and I knew then our adventure would need to be altered. After awkward viewing of a model boat store with factory onsite (yes, still kinda’ neat) I politely mentioned our desire to change course. Cultural enlightenment would have to wait.

It seems my plea wasn’t completely necessary to voice as the kids got groggy/pale as we drove higher into the mountains. The winding roads, altitude and increasing humidity was getting to all of us. Coco couldn’t deny our wavering stoke so he agreed to drop us of at the Pamplemouse Gardens (which was set to be our tour-climax). We opted to head back to the resort after wandering the gardens, much to our relief. Our afternoon and evening slid nicely from hasty forced tourism to a relaxed pace on our own terms and speed.

– Jimmy

British colonialists said that if Mauritians ever achieved independence this mighty boulder will fall. As you can see it remains atop the mountain in spite of this claim:

Root structures like this provided a nesting locale for the Dodo bird. Extinct partially due to this easy accessibility for their prey: