Australia 2009 - days 1 to 11 arriving in Sydney, NSW; Philip Island, Victoria & Tasmania

Day 1.
We depart Copenhagen for Bangkok - Sydney at 3 pm, 1/2-09. In this photo Sofie is resting in the basinet that was provided by Thai airlines. She actually only slept in this for 30 minutes. Considering that flight time was 20 hours this wasn't very much sleep. Luckily she did sleep whilst in mums arms!















Sofie checking out the view as we fly over central Australia. The desert is just amazing.




















Day 2.
We arrive at Sydney airport at 9 pm, 2/2-09 and because we had Sofie with us (and the airline had lost our pram) they actually drove us from the gate to customs in a electronic buggy.
Video of the ride in the electronic buggy.

Luckily the rental car office was still open so we picked up the car and then drove to our hotel which was only 2 km from the airport in Mascot. We can recommend the hotel (Formule 1) which is basic but ideal when arriving late.










We also rented a child seat from the car rental company. In this photo one can see Sofie relaxing in the child seat. In this photo she is still dressed in clothing but due to temperatures which soared into the high thirties we quickly changed her into nothing but a singlet and a diaper. She did however cope quite well with the temperature change and the new time zone she was in.






Days 3 to 5.
Our first stop was a quick visit to her auntie Yvonne and cousin Cyan who live about 1 hours drive from Sydney. In this photo dad is introducing Sofie to her cousin Cyan who turns three on 20/2. Amazing how quickly time flies as we all remember when he was Sofie's age as though it was yesterday.









Sofie and Cyan on the sofa. Cyan had expected that Sofie could play with him and was a little disappointed that she was too small to play in the sand and build etc.


















We bought a tent when we arrived in Sydney. In this photo one can see the size of it - it is a 9 man tent but really comfortable with three rooms. In this way Sofie gets her own room and sleeps really well.








A huntsman spider, these are harmless but still quite un-nerving when one meets them indoors.












Cyan saying goodbye to Sofie after breakfast on the day we depart to drive south.














Day 5.
Halfway between Sydney and Melbourne we stop in Albury and intend to camp. But due to temperatures which are in the forties we rent a cabin and spend our time in the pool which is almost bath water temperature!!. In this photo Sofie and mum do some of her swimming exercises.








Then Dad takes over.













Sofie relaxing in the shade after her swim.















Day 6.
We continue south to Philip Island which is located approximately 75 km south of Melbourne. Temperatures are still in the high thirties and luckily we pass through as the freeway we travel on is closed a day later due to bushfires that cost over 190 lives.

The island is famous because of the 'little penguin parade'. Every evening these small birds parade onto the beach to reach their nests. Photos were not permitted so instead we took this photo of mum and Sofie.


















Day 7.
We intend to spend the day on Philip Island but temperatures quickly rise to over 44 degrees! We manage to take a quick visit to a Koala reserve in this photo one can see a mature male koala.


















We also saw a giant lizard in the grass.














In this photo one can see a young Koala that had apparently just left its mum.




















We decided to spend the rest of the day in Melbourne's aquarium. This was air conditioned and we spend almost 4 hours here until it was time to board the ferry to Devonport, Tasmania. The aquarium has a large Antarctica and in this photo one can see a lovely King penguin preening itself.
















More penguins diving.














Sofie stays awake through the whole visit and in this photo she is checking out the fish and sharks in one of the big tanks.











At 6 pm its time to board the ferry. Sofie has taken position at the wheel and looks like a trucker with her bare arms.



















We booked a 2 berth cabin but luckily we got a 4 berth which was great with Sofie. We all slept soundly and had a really early night as the heat had taken it out of us.


















Day 8.
We arrive in Devonport at 7 am and in this photo Sofie sits with her dad after a really nice nights rest in cool temperatures. We drive directly to Hobart (3 hours) and set up camp at the campsite. We then drive to Mt Stuart to visit another of Sofie's aunties (Gabrielle) and two cousins (Hugh and Alice). In this photo Sofie is being introduced to them all.







Later that afternoon Hugh and Alice show Hans how to compose music on his Mac using the GarageBand program.













Day 9.
Our campsite in Barilla only minutes away from Gabrielle’s house. Temperatures in Tasmania are much nicer and we all sleep really soundly in our tent.











Sofie takes a definite liking to Sebastian the dog and he quickly becomes very protective.














Sofie relaxing on her activity mat ....
















..... and she can now sit up with the help of cushions.















Day 11.
Whilst Alice has her first day back at school the rest of us go walking on Mt Wellington (alt. 1270 m) to check out potential climbs. In this photo Hugh, Hans, Sofie and Gabi check out the views of Hobart from the walk.











Hans carries Sofie and in this photo they check out the climbing guide.




















We actually walk 'bush' all the way up to the beginning of one of the routes. In this photo Hans is seen carrying Sofie over the boulder field. She really enjoys the view and falls asleep on the way down.


















That evening we buy a new rope as our 70 m rope is not sufficient for rappelling down the long routes. In the climbing shop we get beta on an area that is appropriate when climbing with beginners as we intend to take Hugh and Alice climbing.

In this photo Hans explains some of the climbing equipment (a number 4 BD Camelot) for Hugh.












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