Seahorse World, Platapus House and Beaconsfield

 

Today we decided to head north up to Beauty Point and then hit up three attractions, Seahorse World, Platypus House and Beaconsfield Mine.  Beauty Point was stunning and on the way back I saw a wombat on the side of the road, he was huge - no photo I wasn't quick enough. 

 

Nature photographer in the making

 

So now to our first stop - Seahorse World.  It isn't too hard to find but you could miss it.  Its a huge building on a wharf, doesn't look much from the outside but the action is all inside.  Someone was a bit dubious about what his wife was getting them into and lets face it how interesting could seahorses be???  Well he was wrong and quite surprised at how interesting a place this was. 

 

They do guided tours several times a day.  You learn all about the breading of the seahorses (they get sold to aquariums all around the world, not for herbal medicines or food).  We were able to see some babies that had missed being collected that morning, so tiny and cute.  The kids were enthralled with the experience.  They got to feed them - they eat sea monkeys, yep those things that were on the back of the Archie comics!  That look nothing like a monkey more like a nit.  There are several different ones they breed and one of the amazing things is they can change colour. 

There are other tanks with different fish (Nemo makes an appearance) as well as this guy a rather large lobster called Dinner.  There is also a giant crab.  Toward the end you get the opportunity to hold a seahorse.  They are surprisingly strong and wrap their little tails around your finger.  There is a gift shop selling all things seahorse.   

 

So on the other side of the wharf is Platypus House.  The two attractions work together and have it so their tours don't clash.  We all ducked over to the next tour which began with a movie on the platypus.  Then it was off to have a look at these little cuties.  There were a couple on display and we got to see them being fed.  Yum yum yabbies. 

 

Then it was on to the echidnas, this was amazing.  They wander around the enclosure walking around your feet.  They were super cute.  Wonder who owns the sparkle shoes?



 

On the way out we allowed the kids to get their one and only souvenir, you guessed it they all got a bloody plushie!  So now we have a Tassie devil, an echidna and a platypus called Dawn.  The echidna is called Mr Prickles.

 

 

 

 

You can check out their websites  Seahorse World   Platypus House

 

So on to lunch, we had seen a big old historical looking pub and thought it would be nice for a pub lunch an a cold day.  It was a little drizzly and we hoped to find somewhere warm and snuggly.  Well it wasn't that way at all.  The pub had a Thai restaurant and really bad service.  The food was pre packaged and was horrible and the building was cold, including the loos.  Coldest toilet we ever sat on, Biz yelped!   

 

Somewhat filled and we were on our way to our last stop of the three, Beaconsfield Mine (here).  This was the mine where Brant Webb and Todd Russell were rescued from.

 

There is a huge number of displays including historical ones, the old apple sorter was pretty cool, mining and of course the mine rescue.  This is a multi sensory exhibit and at times it is quite chilling, they have done an amazing job.  Outside are more old buildings, hard to believe it was all kept while a working mine and you can go up the

 

The kids can get a sheet to find hidden animals, which keeps them pretty busy.  At the end of it they were given a wrist band for their efforts.  On entry you write your name on a tag and tag in and out.  The kids loved it and you can either recycle them at the end or keep them - guess what we did.

 

 

We had purchased a Tamar Triple Pass, which got us entry into all three attractions, it can be purchased at all three locations and I think for a family it was about $130.

 

So one last stop on the way home ....at a super cute little winery called Moores Hill.  We were greeted by a beautiful dog, called Otto (I think) who Bella made friends with and I think was planning on taking home.  They have tasting plates which would have been a better choice for lunch and you can sit in front of their wood burner.  We tasted their sparkling, Riesling, chardy, pinot noir and cab merlot.  John thought the reds were a little light but I loved them, especially the pinot, it was a beautiful soft wine and the colour was stunning.  The big surprise was the Riesling, very different not sweet as youd expect.  The lady was lovely and we will be ordering for Xmas.  We picked up a bottle of their sparkling for that night.  Now back to the resort for some steaks and that wine. 

Ottawa Visit Part 1....Parc Omega

We had a long weekend and as you do, decided to head somewhere for it.  Ottawa is about two hours away and the perfect spot to visit.  Ottawa is the capital and sits in a beautiful part of the country...who am I kidding its all beautiful! 

There are lakes everywhere and I mean everywhere.  People have little weekender cabins, retirement homes, fishing shacks, boats, canoes, float planes, lake living is a whole nother way of life, which I think I would like. 

Friends had told us that on the way was a place called Parc Omega and we would all love it, they also warned us to take lots of carrots.  Actually two families told us that!

So we packed the car up (this time a Ford SUV, no Dodge Caravan :-( ) cleaned the fridge out of fruit and veg, grabbed a huge bag of carrots and headed off.

 

Just after the entry (cost about $70 for our family of five), which was staffed by a really friendly lady who told us all about the park and asked us what we were doing and where we were from, is the main rest area.   

We had been driving for awhile and decided to grab a quick lunch here.  The food was pretty good for a tourist attraction.  The grown ups had burgers and the kids had hot dogs and fries

There is also a pretty cute gift shop here and rest rooms.

Around the entry doors they have been putting up the antlers that are shed each winter. 

Looks really amazing. 

A bit of bear love.

 

You can sit inside or outside on the deck that overlooks the lake. There are several really intricate bird houses, built like mini log cabins and  some small animal pen with foxes, raccoons etc. 

Then you drive through the main gates/grid and this is what you get!

Eww deer drool!  Good thing it was a hire car!!!!

At this stage I will pint out the kid who was freaking out was the first one shoving carrots down large wapitis gobs.  They are the giant deer.



Little cutie pies

I could have bundled one of these up and taken it home.

You will have trouble keeping them in their seats!

#superexciterment!

I am still killing myself laughing at this.  You should have heard them screaming!

Now what do you do if you get stopped by one of these things?

Big Beautiful Bison!

There are also wolves, black bears, ibex, lots of types of deer... a moose that was raised from hand (and I hear they have some new orphan moosies).  Would we go again, you bet!  We had so much fun. 

Off we go...

We are off to Mont Tremblant for the long weekend.  It's Canada Day and time to get out of town.

Everyone is happy, except for Rhys!  Until we decided it was time for the Adventures of Brown Bear........more to follow on that!

Sunrise

Sometimes its worth getting up early to greet the day......is this not beautiful???

Cross that one off the Bucket List

Okay sometimes I may not have the best ideas but I do hit the mark sometimes.  This was one of them!

Admittedly driving over 600km in a day with three small children to somewhere you've never been, on the other side of the road, in a left hand drive car, with a GPS that doesn't work, doesn't sound all that great but......

When we drove down Falls Ave in Niagara and caught sight of the falls, you could of heard a pin drop and then it was ahhhhh, wow, look at that Mum and all the stress from driving was gone.  Given only moments before I was ready to leave at least two of the three kids on the side of the road

The view from the room was amazing, the website didn't lie.  Check in and all that was a breeze (more about that later), up to the room and ta-da....

Yep - that's the view from our room, not a bad shot even if it is through the window!

I didn't really know what to expect, tourist central, sure, a nice view, got that, but it was the whole (to quote The Castle) vibe!  I loved it.  The kids were amazed and could appreciate the view, right after they checked out the hotel room and put dibs on the beds, each.  (Looks like Daddy Bean and I were going to sleep on the floor).

 

A big drive does that to you...

We stayed at the Fallsview Marriott.  It can be a bit confusing as there are two Marriotts right next to each other but they are very clear when you book and also on the confirmation.  We were lucky to score an upgrade as someone has gold status - not I, I am pleb (and proud to tack onto he who does have status coat tails).  It also gave us free Internet (great for Skype) and free breakfast. 

Happy to be out of the car????

It was well after 6pm when we finally arrived and there was heaps of daylight left, good for burning a little energy off. 

Ooohhh!

So hows that for an intro to our trip?  I'll write the rest over the next few days...we have lots of photos to share.