Otway Fly

One of our favorite stops along the Great Ocean Road was the Otway Fly (http://www.otwayfly.com/). The Otway Fly is in the rain forest area along the coast of Victoria. It is a 600 metre walkway that is an average of 25 metres above the ground that gives you a birds-eye view of the trees, plants and little things that grow and feed on trees and plants. There is also a tower that is 45 metres high with a spiral staircase around the outside to reach the top. Fabulous!!

This will give you an idea of how high the walkways are. The height of the walkways reduces the amount of damage to the rainforest flora and fauna.

Taken from the top of the 45 metre tower. After walking up all those stairs it's hard to stop shaking long enough to take a picture!

The girls and I at the top of the tower. Can you tell that Alex was complaining that her legs were sore?

Looking up to the top of the tower. You can see the staircase that wraps around it. You actually get a little dizzy walking down the stairs if you're not careful!

The girls and I heading to walk out the springboard
cantilever. It shakes when you walk on it which is a little freaky but apparently the kids don't notice that type of thing.

Looking up towards the springboard.

Near one of the walkways is really tall tree trunk that people have been throwing money in attempt to have it land on top. There is a ton of money on the ground around the base but I want to know how they get this money off the 25 metre high stump???

The total walk, including ground level, is almost 2 kilometres. One of the worst things is the big hill you have too climb to get back to the starting point and then on to the parking lot. The Otway Fly is a little off the beaten path of the Great Ocean Road but well worth the extra time it takes to drive there. We enjoyed every moment that we spent there even if we had to bribe the kids with ice cream to walk up the hill at the end!

Alex Turns 7

Alex turned 7 on the 22nd of April. We have two April birthdays in our house but I like to do separate things for each girl as they each have their own style. Alex's choice of theme this year was "Fairies". I don't go all crazy with a theme but do my best with the cake, napkins and plates. The weather was different for us this year as it was raining the day of Alex's party. Late April is late autumn here. Normally it is quite sunny on her birthday and we are able to send all the kids outside to play. This year we had 12 kids inside, which was truly a test of decibles and noise tolerance.

Half smile in the first photo and half in the second. They are a great bunch of girls (and boy) and the party was a lot of fun. They ate a ton of food!!!

My latest edible masterpiece! I found this fabulous book that gives step by step directions for some great kids cakes. I thought I did OK for someone who had just come home from a night shift and was decorating at 8 am.

Alex loved her cake.

Time for opening presents and of course everyone wants a front row seat.

All in all it was a fun day and Alex had a blast. Rhiannon is already planning a "disco" party for her birthday in November - yikes.

Cruise control

Do I really have to type anything?? It is amazing that these signs, and many more, including:

"Micronaps kill, powernap now!" are everywhere! They appear about every 5 kms along the highway. Apparently there is a serious issue with drivers trying to catch a few Zzzs while driving. It would have nothing to do with the fact that almost every highway is flat with the same scenery for hours on end!!!!