What Matters Most

The past week or so has given me cause for reflection about what matters most.  I realise that no matter what we have (material possessions) nothing is more important than our relationships with our family and other people.

Recently we decided to have a family weekend and so on Friday and Saturday we spent the time together as a family and just enjoyed each other's company. We had a great time.

On Friday we started out by going to Wings Wildlife Park.

We got there just in time to see the Tassie Devil's being fed and Darcey got to pat one.  She loves animals.  This baby devil was kinda cute and very tame.  It really didn't mind being patted.  Love the sunglasses and so does Darcey

I know what it says on this sign and even though they sound quite ferocious at times they really are quite docile.  These guys were anxiously waiting for their food.

There were lots of animals there including this little guy - A quoll.

Eric was happy to just go along for the ride........

and chips......

and ice cream......

and to top  it off he enjoyed a baby wipe........
(don't know why he likes sucking them, he just does)

while Darcey enjoy a pizza.
(she enjoyed chewing baby wipes when she was Eric's age so it must be in the genes)

It was nice to just sit around and chat and eat.......

After we had lunch Darcey was really excited to see the Koala.

 Very cute and cuddly and, not to mention, sleepy

It's such a tough life being a Koala.  Sitting in a tree, eating leaves and sleeping.

The kangaroos were very friendly and Darcey loved feeding them.

The baby joey was so cute.  Darcey had us all laughing when she saw the joey and said "I'll get it" and tried to grab the joey out of the mother's pouch.   Fortunately we are quicker than her because I don't think that mum was too impressed at someone trying to grab her baby.  She was just trying to be kind.  gotta love her.

Soooooo  Cute!!

Not only did Darcey enjoy feeding the kangaroo's but the big kids did too.....

Ryan was a big hit with the kangaroos - I think that they actually liked him and didn't want to let him go

These guys had their eyes on us.

And this goat was just desperate to get a feed.

Almost time to go home so Lisa and I decided to put our feet up.......

....in typical Lisa fashion she couldn't resist taking a few shots.

And for Eric it was all to much........

It was great to be able to spend a fun day together because Family really is what matters most.

An Outing on the Southern Ocean

Going to the Antarctic was not something that I had ever really thought about doing. I don't know why. I wasn't so excited before we went but I did know that when we got there I would love it and that is exactly what happened. Sadly we didn't make it to the Antarctic Continent as it was an extremely unusual year with the ice not melting and we just couldn't get through. However we were in the Antarctic and got to within 180miles of Commonwealth Bay.

7th December was the big day when it was finally decided that we would actually get off the ship into the Zodiacs and cruise around the ocean and in amongst the ice. We were in expedition mode (as they affectionately called it). After breakfast we rugged up which is a major exercise in itself. We wore several layers to keep ourselves warm against the cold. First we had on long thermal underwear with a T shirt over the top, next came our warm wind proof pants and jacket, after that went on our waterproof pants and down jacket and then our big outer Red Jacket given to us by Orion Cruises. Underneath our boots we had 2 pair of extremely warm socks, gloves with inner gloves to keep our fingers warm and a hat on our head to keep the heat in. Yes.....it was a lot of clothing to put on. We needed it.

Everyone was excitedly waiting at the stern of the ship for their turn to get onto the water.

Before we were able to get out on the ocean we had to wait while the crew first went out and checked the suitability of the conditions.

We watched patiently while other groups went out. The zodiacs hold about 10 passengers, a driver and one of the expedition leaders.

Getting onto the zodiacs was a very ordered process. You had to wait until told to move forward and then using the zodiac grip (clasping wrists) you were loaded onto the boat. Extreme caution was used as the boat was moving up and down so you had to wait and step on at just the right time.

Finally it was our turn and slowly we moved away from the ship. Nice to get a couple of shots of MV Orion from the water.

It was very cold and I was really appreciative of all the layers that we had on.

Our driver.......

Even though it was cold, the view made it all worthwhile.

All too soon it was over and we headed back to the warmth of MV Orion.