Gwen Stefani

Mummy and Auntie Lauren went off to see Gwen Stefani in concert last night. She was fantastic! She stood and sang about a metre away from them and Mummy is insanely jealous that Auntie Lauren even touched her arm! Mummy is also wondering why her camera chose the exact moment Gwen was standing directly in front of her to get a flat battery!

The Karate Kid

Harrison is doing very well at Karate and enjoying it so much. Yetserday he earned his third stripe (green). Here he is in action...

Giving the punching bag a workout.

An impressive side kick.

Look - no feet! Harrison shows off his jump kick.

Harrison passes his grading, receives his green stripe and bows to the Sempai.

Lots of claps - well done Harrison!

Another Vegemite Kid...

Sam is loving his vegemite toast as much me! Its the one thing Mummy dare not EVER run out of!

Chuck's favourite spot...

Is right in Daddy's slipper and on the lounge next to Harrison! He spends lots of time on Harrison's lap and even has a harness to go for walks.

The Final Vanuatu Entry.

Day Eight - We all made the most of our last big buffet breakfast. Harrison had his last helping of pancakes, eggs benedict, hash browns, bacon and french toast! We took some pictures around the resort, did some last minute shopping and enjoyed the warm weather.

Mummy will remember the beach massage hut fondly.

Harry and Will check out the outrigger canoe for the last time.

Goodbye Totem!


Goodbye fountain and fish.



"Ahh Will...any idea what to do with this?"




Life jackets on for a trip out on the cat with Daddy.










Here we go.

Yep that's us and Uncle Roche far far away. Mummy and Auntie Kita hope we will be back before its time to head to the airport.

Harry went off for some last fun with the kids club. Will and Sam rested with Sarah while Mummy, Daddy, Auntie Kita and Uncle Roche packed the bags anf finished off the last of the compensatory champagne. Then it was off to the pool for a quick lunch and last cocktail before hopping onto the coach and heading to the airport.





We said goodbye to Sarah - she took terrific care of us and allowed Mummy and Daddy to enjoy lots of grown up dinners and nights out.

Just for fun Daddy had one final argument with the reception staff and then we were off. What a fantastic holiday!


Post Vanuatu Interviews...

3 best things about Vanuatu:

Mummy - weather, great company, beautiful food and scenery!

Daddy - fishing, scuba diving, eating.

Harry - the big deep pool, kids club, kayaking

Auntie Kita - Diving, kayaking and spend time with the Garlicks – especially at their wedding reunion!

Uncle Roche - Spent time away from work
Singing a duet with Brad
Fish/Scuba/Golf/Relax/Kayak/Eat/Drink

Funniest thing that happened in Vanuatu...

Mummy - Daddy and Uncle Roche mistakenly thinking they could sing!

Daddy - Singing Karaoke

Harry - When Will kept taking his pants off in the restaurant.

Auntie Kita - I have a couple that I dare not mention on the internet, the winner has to be Anthony and Brad’s drunken rendition of I’ve got you babe’ at karaoke

Uncle Roche - Golf buggy down hill slalom

Three things you will miss about vanuatu...

Mummy - the weather, the food/Sarah/relaxing/cocktails/spending time with Uncle Roche and Auntie Kita/ oh and did I mention the weather?????

Daddy - fishing, food and weather

Harry - it was warm, the deep pool, the breakfasts!

Auntie Kita - The warm sun, the beautiful gardens at Le Lagon and not having to be at work.

Uncle Roche - Weather, Food/Drink, The Vatu making me feel rich

Something interesting we learned in Vanuatu...

Mummy - We are all very lucky that our daily job does not involve sitting in the entrance to a public toilet all day, mopping the floor and ripping and folding pieces of toilet paper to hand out to people! Also - there is no such thing as a nut allergy amongst the local children.

Daddy - Not to pay the equivalent of $80 for a $15 taxi ride!

Harry - How to open a coconut.

Auntie Kita - That wives are bought using pigs as currency, and that you can’t marry unless you have enough pigs!

Uncle Roche - That all foods in Vanuatu are organic

The nicest foods were...

Mummy - pumpkin, sweet potato and chilli soup at Erakor Island, Teppenyaki prawns and Vintage Rose Moet Champagne!!!

Daddy - massive breakfasts, teppenyaki BBQ

Harry - pancakes, eggs benedict, chicken drumsticks

Auntie Kita - Cocktails... do they count as food!!??

Uncle Roche - Wild Ginger – Calamari entrée, Grape Fruit, The Free Ones!

Something that is good about being home...

Mummy - Bugging you all to answer these questions and having fun remembering everything while I post it on the blog.

Daddy - It's not costing me any more $$$$$$!

Harry - Playing with Chuck

Auntie Kita - Sleeping in your own bed

Uncle Roche - Seeing Misia and Maya, Our house being sold.

Mummy, Daddy, Harry, Will and Sam would like to thank Uncle Roche and Auntie Kita for accompanying them on their special trip to Vanuatu... both of you being there was what made it so special and we are very grateful. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have such wonderful friends and are very much looking forward to returning the favour in the Seychelles for your 10th wedding anniversary!

xxxxx

Vanuatu - Entry 6!

Day Seven - We get up early for our rebooked Kayak adventure and hooray -we actually go this time! Will and Sam hang out at the kids club with Sarah and Mummy, Daddy, Uncle Roche, Auntie Kita and Harry headed off on an interesting journey through the local area to a beautiful river. Again, we should have had an underwater camera and then we could have taken lots of beautiful pics...but Mummy was too scared she would drop the camera out of the Kayak. Trevor Hendy (aka Brad) set off on a double kayak with electric eel (aka Harry), Guy Leech (aka Uncle Roche) and Lisa Curry-Kenny (aka Auntie Kita) set off on singles. Laine Beechly (aka Mummy) was all set to set off in a single also however Pascale our guide insisted she go on a double with him so who was she to argue? The first part of the river was on the reef and the water was so clear that we stopped paddling and could see all the beautiful fish swimming amongst the coral. It was amazing. We also stopped at that spot for a swim on the way back. We paddled off through the rainforest, negotiated some small (ok very small) rapids and got to see a lot of beatiful scenery. We kayaked through traditional villages where a local boy threw us a bunch of bananas - yummy!

This was our transport - pretty cool huh?

At the end of our journey we got to hand feed some giant turtles (yes we had to drag Harry away when it was time to go) and it was great! As you can see they LOVE papaya.

Daddy and Harry got right in the water with them. We also fed the sharks... but for some reason Daddy and harry weren't so keen to get so close to them!

Harry liked the Papaya too!

Lisa and Laine

Once we returned and had lunch Harry joined the kids club again while we all relaxed around the pool (to all of those wondering...yes cocktails were involved).

Perhaps Mummy and Auntie Kita can blame these hairstyles on the cocktails????

The big people headed off to Erakor Island for dinner again seeing they enjoyed it so much the first time - check out Dad's Mars Bar Sundae!

We were told many times that there were no snakes in Vanuatu so imagine Auntie Kita's surprise when she stepped on this one on the way back from dinner!

Vanuatu - Entry 5!

Day Six - This morning Mummy spent some time with the litle boys and Daddy, Harry, Uncle Roche and Auntie Kita grabbed some golf carts and went to try out the golf course.

Harry figured out the easiest way to get a hole in one.

Uncle Roche in action.

Auntie Kita waits for Uncle Roche to try to equal her score.

Daddy checks to see how well the golf cart handles hills and corners.

Never mind the game...how about the view!

Back to the Pool for some lunch and swimming (and yes cocktails were on the menu for Mummy and Auntie Kita!)

Sammy loved the way Sarah made him all cosy for his rests with a pillow and everything!

Daddy took us kids to the kids club for dinner and then Harry hung around there for some crab races while Sam and Will went off to bed with Sarah. Mummy, Daddy, Auntie Kita and Uncle Roche went to a Teppenyaki BBQ which was fantastic! Yummy chicken, prawns and lobster cooked right in front of you. Some juggling of salt and pepper shakers was entertaining too. Daddy did well to catch his bowl of rice!

They had some interesting coversation with their chef Vensley about the differences between Vanuatu and Australia where wives are concerned! Uncle Roche and Daddy were very lucky not to have to pay the equivalent of AUD $10 000 for Mummy and Auntie Kita (who are in actual fact worth much more!).




He was so clever he could even write on the BBQ with salt! How Mummy can even try to cook a meal after that dinner is beyond her! Nothing can possibly compare.

Vanuatu - Entry 4!

Day Five - We all rose bright and early today to get to breakfast by 7 so we could be picked up in the lobby at 7.30 for our great Kayak Adventure. Sadly, the resort had neglected to confirm our booking so it was all for nought! Never mind that though - a few hangover induced words from Daddy to the Manager and we had free lunch and dinner vouchers all round not to mention champagne, flowers and our beds turned down every night thereafter! We booked in for some diving and snorkelling and headed off to play table tennis while waiting for the diving bus to arrive.

Harrison picked it up quickly and we soon discovered his strength was his powerful serve and his weakness his aim!

It was then time for some putting practice in lieu of the golf game planned for the following day.

This is how you look when the ball goes right in.

And this is how you look when it doesn't! Lucky it was time to head off to Hideaway island.

Here we are and its gorgeous. The island is right on the coral reef.

Harrison has his gear and is ready to go.

Uncle Roche, Auntie Kita and Daddy went off diving.

Mummy and Harry took a glass bottom boat ride which was great...the first white blob you can see here in the water is the underwater post box which you can actually post from! The second blob is the Post Office. You can snorkel to both. Sorry everyone but we were too busy to send any postcards!

We fed the fish from the boat with bread - they were huge! The snorkelling was fantastic (where was the underwater camera when we needed it???)

Harrison spent ages exploring the rock pools and chatting with the hermit crabs, sea cucumbers and sea stars.

Even the lure of the hot dog he had ordered for lunch did not entice him away. (He is still wondering why Vanuatu Hot Dogs are made with coleslaw and "real sausages")

After lunch we headed back to the resort to catch up with Sarah, Will and Sam. We then headed up for the weekly Guests v Locals Soccer Game. Tip - They are kind of (OK VERY) good.

A Family Dinner at the Seafood Buffet finished the evening off nicely (Harrison blew off the family to go night tracking with the kids club). Freshly selected (by Daddy) and BBQ'd (by the Chef) Salmon and Tuna went down very well indeed with Mummy! Back to the room - get the kids into bed and the grown ups can relax on the back patio with one of the bottles of compensatory champagne - "Le Lagon Brut". Certainly no competition for the Moet of a few days earlier but they managed to polish it off all the same.