25-3-2010 (Thursday)
Due to the time difference with Sydney everybody was awake at 6. We took it easy and hit the streets at 8:30. We took a walk to the huge mall of Harbour city. The shops were still closed, so we had some more coffee at Starbucks.
The whole morning we stayed in the shopping mall and we bought sneakers for all of us.
We bought some Sushi for lunch and went back to the hotel. Sharon and the kids slept for a couple of hours while Ruben took a swim. The spa pools has a magnificent view on the harbor. So you sit in the spa pool and enjoy the ships going by.
At the end of the day we went to Jaap Derk and Meike’s place. The kids were really excited to meet other Dutch kids.
Steven and Nanette and the two oldest kids (Dexter and Stefanie) came as well did Lodewijk. It was a real nice evening, Jaap en Meike arranged a swell BBQ (reminding us of the campervan days) and the kids enjoyed playing with the other kids. It was fun to see Jaap’s son Dirk playing with Zeb, it was like Jaap and Ruben more than 30 years ago.
We went back to the hotel at around 9:30 after a real nice evening.
Back in the hotel we all fall asleep in a few minutes.
26-3-2010 (Friday)
We slept till 8. After a Starbucks breakfast in the room we headed for the pool. We had a little swim but most of the time enjoyed the Spa pools.
At around 10 we took a cab to Stanley Market, at the other side of Hong Kong Island. We bought presents and some stuff for the kids. We had lunch on the shore at Stanley.
Around 3 we took a cab to Ocean Park, a theme park in Hong Kong. We met Meike and the kids there. Zeb’s new friend Dirk.
We ran around the park, with highlight 2 Panda’s.
Zeb went home with Dirk and will sleep over there. We took Sharai with us.
The plan was to have dinner with Jaap and Meike, but we were to tired. So we ordered a salad and went to sleep.
27-3-2010 (Saturday)
Sharon packed all the luggage for our trip back.
Nanette arranged for us to join them egg hunting at the home of the Dutch consul. We met Zeb there who off course came along with his new best pall Dirk.
The kids loved the morning, first egg hunting and later on a clown. We enjoyed catching up with our friends.
After this event we went for lunch with Jaap and Meike and the kids at the football club. The kids could run around the field.
At around 4 we were back at the hotel for the kids to have a few hours of sleep and Sharon to have a final shopping session.
We had dinner at the lavish buffet in the Harbourside restaurant in the hotel and were picked up at 8:45.
This is really the last day of our 3 months journey. Wow time flies when you are having fun.
This last post is posted from Hong Kong airport.
zaterdag 27 maart 2010
woensdag 24 maart 2010
Last days Australia and Arriving in HK
21-3-2010 (Sunday)
Yes, we got the upgrade!
We started with breakfast at our favorite place Gusto, Sharon loves the Bircher Muesli there. Afterwards we went to the playground and later tot the beach.
A really relaxed morning.
At around 3 we took the bus to Circular Quay to go to The Rocks, one of Sydney’s oldest neighborhoods just between the Quay and the bridge. Our bus trip took us through a real nice neighborhood, usually we take the express bus but this time we were on a different one.
The Rocks was nice, there is a huge open market and also a lot of small shops. We bought a nice painting and we bought UGG’s. Yes again, but this time as presents.
We had drinks on the harbor with a view of the harbor and the opera house. For dinner we went to the big M.
A great day in Sydney!
22,23-3-2010 (Monday and Tuesday)
You won’t believe it, we saw the guy that gave us the upgrade in January and he upgraded us today to the Honeymoon suite again. So third move in 2 dayes, but OK for us.
Last two days in Australia, we enjoyed the relax atmosphere of Bondi Beach. Late breakfast, Monday at Gusto and Tuesday to finish it of at Aqua bar where they serve the best French toast with banana.
Both mornings we started at the playground before moving to the beach. The sea is cool and refreshing with nice waves to dive in.
Monday we had dinner in the Hurricane grill, they serve beef and lamb ribs hmmmmmm.
Tuesday afternoon we went to Bondi shopping to do some last minute shopping for presents. Zeb bought a big Kangaroo for his teacher, Benna.
Before dinner on Tuesday, Ruben met Bruce Fink who got us the cricket tickets. We had dinner a a Thai place around the corner of the hotel.
Time really flies, we are going to HK tomorrow and it seems so short time ago when we arrived here.
24-3-2010 (Wednesday)
Checkout of the hotel and on our way to Hong Kong. The whole morning was a race against time, we managed to get some tax refund and finally boarded the plan at 11:30.
The flight was bumpy, almost the whole way. The kids were very nice again on the plane, they got tons of compliments. Sharai slept for a few hours and Zeb loved the entertainment system.
After a 8 hour flight we arrive at HK airport around 6, also at the airport it took a while before we were in the car. On the airport Ruben met a old student friend, James Loudon.
We had a driver waiting that brought us to the Intercontinental, a splendid hotel in Kowloon overlooking HK harbor. The room is magnificent as is the service, we think this is the best hotel we ever stayed in.
The kids ate something gat the airport. We ordered in some Chinese in room dining. Tres chique!!
Tomorrow we will meet Jaap, Zwaan and there families.
What a way to finish of our trip.
Yes, we got the upgrade!
We started with breakfast at our favorite place Gusto, Sharon loves the Bircher Muesli there. Afterwards we went to the playground and later tot the beach.
A really relaxed morning.
At around 3 we took the bus to Circular Quay to go to The Rocks, one of Sydney’s oldest neighborhoods just between the Quay and the bridge. Our bus trip took us through a real nice neighborhood, usually we take the express bus but this time we were on a different one.
The Rocks was nice, there is a huge open market and also a lot of small shops. We bought a nice painting and we bought UGG’s. Yes again, but this time as presents.
We had drinks on the harbor with a view of the harbor and the opera house. For dinner we went to the big M.
A great day in Sydney!
22,23-3-2010 (Monday and Tuesday)
You won’t believe it, we saw the guy that gave us the upgrade in January and he upgraded us today to the Honeymoon suite again. So third move in 2 dayes, but OK for us.
Last two days in Australia, we enjoyed the relax atmosphere of Bondi Beach. Late breakfast, Monday at Gusto and Tuesday to finish it of at Aqua bar where they serve the best French toast with banana.
Both mornings we started at the playground before moving to the beach. The sea is cool and refreshing with nice waves to dive in.
Monday we had dinner in the Hurricane grill, they serve beef and lamb ribs hmmmmmm.
Tuesday afternoon we went to Bondi shopping to do some last minute shopping for presents. Zeb bought a big Kangaroo for his teacher, Benna.
Before dinner on Tuesday, Ruben met Bruce Fink who got us the cricket tickets. We had dinner a a Thai place around the corner of the hotel.
Time really flies, we are going to HK tomorrow and it seems so short time ago when we arrived here.
24-3-2010 (Wednesday)
Checkout of the hotel and on our way to Hong Kong. The whole morning was a race against time, we managed to get some tax refund and finally boarded the plan at 11:30.
The flight was bumpy, almost the whole way. The kids were very nice again on the plane, they got tons of compliments. Sharai slept for a few hours and Zeb loved the entertainment system.
After a 8 hour flight we arrive at HK airport around 6, also at the airport it took a while before we were in the car. On the airport Ruben met a old student friend, James Loudon.
We had a driver waiting that brought us to the Intercontinental, a splendid hotel in Kowloon overlooking HK harbor. The room is magnificent as is the service, we think this is the best hotel we ever stayed in.
The kids ate something gat the airport. We ordered in some Chinese in room dining. Tres chique!!
Tomorrow we will meet Jaap, Zwaan and there families.
What a way to finish of our trip.
zondag 21 maart 2010
Back in Cairns and back in Bondi Beach
19, 20-3-2010 (Friday, Saturday)
We checked out of the Sheraton and headed for Cairns. We stopped at a cricket shop but did not buy anything.
Ruben dropped Sharon and the kids of at the huge playground on the Cairns Esplanade. Ruben checked in the luggage in the Shagri-La we stayed in also last week.
Ruben went to the playground were the kids played for another hour.
We walked through Cairns after lunch.
For dinner we went to a place called the Flamegrill, they served Brazilian BBQ. This means they keep on coming by and carving meet of a huge stick. The food and the experience were very nice.
Saturday morning we woke up early to catch our 9.25 flight to Sydney. We had a quick frenchtoast breakfast on the airport. We landed at 1.20 in Sydney and took a cab to Bondi Beach. We are staying in the Swissgrand again, the same hotel we started our trip. Our taxi driver was called Max and was an immigrant from Turkey (38 years ago).
It was nice to be back in Bondi Beach, a real sunny and lively place. We went for coffee in our favorite coffee place Gusto. Afterwards we went to the beach. Walking back from the beach we stopped at the playground where we also met a Dutch family two small kids.
For dinner we went to Bondi Pizza, very close to the hotel. Back in the hotel the kids bed was not made up @#$%^&. We hope this mix up will help us to get an upgrade tomorrow.
We checked out of the Sheraton and headed for Cairns. We stopped at a cricket shop but did not buy anything.
Ruben dropped Sharon and the kids of at the huge playground on the Cairns Esplanade. Ruben checked in the luggage in the Shagri-La we stayed in also last week.
Ruben went to the playground were the kids played for another hour.
We walked through Cairns after lunch.
For dinner we went to a place called the Flamegrill, they served Brazilian BBQ. This means they keep on coming by and carving meet of a huge stick. The food and the experience were very nice.
Saturday morning we woke up early to catch our 9.25 flight to Sydney. We had a quick frenchtoast breakfast on the airport. We landed at 1.20 in Sydney and took a cab to Bondi Beach. We are staying in the Swissgrand again, the same hotel we started our trip. Our taxi driver was called Max and was an immigrant from Turkey (38 years ago).
It was nice to be back in Bondi Beach, a real sunny and lively place. We went for coffee in our favorite coffee place Gusto. Afterwards we went to the beach. Walking back from the beach we stopped at the playground where we also met a Dutch family two small kids.
For dinner we went to Bondi Pizza, very close to the hotel. Back in the hotel the kids bed was not made up @#$%^&. We hope this mix up will help us to get an upgrade tomorrow.
donderdag 18 maart 2010
Sunny days in Port Douglas
16,17 and 18-3-2010 (Tues, Wednes, Thursday)
We are relaxing and enjoying, the resort has 3 acres of pools, can you imagine. Tuesday we stayed all day at the pool and had dinner in the Iron bar,
Wednesday we went to Cairns for some shopping, back in the hotel off course a swim. We had dinner in a place called Zinc it’s on Macrossan street and it was really the best dinner so far in Australia. Top attraction is the huge fish tank (with Nemo) they have in the toilet area.
Thursday we had breakfast in town and then we drove towards Daintree rainforest, we went to Mossman Gorge. It has a Aboriginal community which also organizes tours. We when arrive the visitors center was close because of a burial in the community, to bad for them and for us. So no Aboriginal tour for us. The afternoon we used for basically our last tropical day of our 3 months tour. Tomorrow Cairns, Saturday flight to Sydney were we will enjoy the city for a few days before we fly of to Hong Kong.
We bought a floating noodle for the kids (http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/sports-and-leisure/water/3723289-floating-noodle.php?id=3723289). That we call ‘de piemel’ , so the kids scream all over the pool can I hold ‘de piemel’.
We are relaxing and enjoying, the resort has 3 acres of pools, can you imagine. Tuesday we stayed all day at the pool and had dinner in the Iron bar,
Wednesday we went to Cairns for some shopping, back in the hotel off course a swim. We had dinner in a place called Zinc it’s on Macrossan street and it was really the best dinner so far in Australia. Top attraction is the huge fish tank (with Nemo) they have in the toilet area.
Thursday we had breakfast in town and then we drove towards Daintree rainforest, we went to Mossman Gorge. It has a Aboriginal community which also organizes tours. We when arrive the visitors center was close because of a burial in the community, to bad for them and for us. So no Aboriginal tour for us. The afternoon we used for basically our last tropical day of our 3 months tour. Tomorrow Cairns, Saturday flight to Sydney were we will enjoy the city for a few days before we fly of to Hong Kong.
We bought a floating noodle for the kids (http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/sports-and-leisure/water/3723289-floating-noodle.php?id=3723289). That we call ‘de piemel’ , so the kids scream all over the pool can I hold ‘de piemel’.
maandag 15 maart 2010
The Great Barrier Reef
15-3-2010 (Monday)
Everybody was awake before 8, Ruben got coffee from the restaurant and we had ‘tiger chips’ in the room. We left just before 9 to go to the marina to catch the boat to the outer reef.
We got several warnings the sea would be rough, the boat was a huge catamaran with maybe around 200 people on board. Indeed the 1,5 hour boat trip was rough, Ruben did not feel that good but did not need the handed out paper bags.
Around 11.30 we arrived at the reef platform (http://www.quicksilver-cruises.com/). The platform is like a huge pontoon with several activities to do from like snorkeling, diving, ride on a semi-submarine and helicopter flights.
Because it’s marine stinger ( box jellyfish) season Sharon, Ruben and Zeb put on a stinger suit, a kind of jump suite. We put on our snorkeling outfit and went swimming (Sharai was already sleeping for 2 hours). Zeb really liked it, the big and colorful fish, he even touched some huge fish and hold a small jellyfish.
It was really cool swimming between the coral and the fishes.
There was a good lunch served and when Sharai woke up we took the semi-submarine. It was almost 3 and time to go back, the 1,5 hour back was more rough but we were all ok and the kids were lovely.
Back a shore we went to the hotel and had early dinner, after dinner a swim to finish of this perfect day.
The Great Barrier Reef must be one of the highpoints of visiting Australia, for us it was indeed.
Everybody was awake before 8, Ruben got coffee from the restaurant and we had ‘tiger chips’ in the room. We left just before 9 to go to the marina to catch the boat to the outer reef.
We got several warnings the sea would be rough, the boat was a huge catamaran with maybe around 200 people on board. Indeed the 1,5 hour boat trip was rough, Ruben did not feel that good but did not need the handed out paper bags.
Around 11.30 we arrived at the reef platform (http://www.quicksilver-cruises.com/). The platform is like a huge pontoon with several activities to do from like snorkeling, diving, ride on a semi-submarine and helicopter flights.
Because it’s marine stinger ( box jellyfish) season Sharon, Ruben and Zeb put on a stinger suit, a kind of jump suite. We put on our snorkeling outfit and went swimming (Sharai was already sleeping for 2 hours). Zeb really liked it, the big and colorful fish, he even touched some huge fish and hold a small jellyfish.
It was really cool swimming between the coral and the fishes.
There was a good lunch served and when Sharai woke up we took the semi-submarine. It was almost 3 and time to go back, the 1,5 hour back was more rough but we were all ok and the kids were lovely.
Back a shore we went to the hotel and had early dinner, after dinner a swim to finish of this perfect day.
The Great Barrier Reef must be one of the highpoints of visiting Australia, for us it was indeed.
zondag 14 maart 2010
Port Douglas
14-3-2010 (Sunday)
Checking out of the Shangri-La but not after a great breakfast again. Must been said, service in the hotel is great.
The drive to Port Douglas is about 45 minutes, the road leads past the shore on one hand and the rainforest on the other, really beautiful. We made one stop to make some pictures.
We arrived around 1 at the Sheraton Mirage (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=370), after checking in we enjoyed most afternoon at the saltwater lagoon.
The whole resort is covered with a huge saltwater lagoon, it’s like an artificial beach. It’s a good substitute for the sea, the sea is no option because this time of the year the box jellyfish are in the sea.
We booked a daytrip to the Great Barrier Reef for tomorrow, can be interesting due to heavy winds sea will not be that calm. But it’s not expected to become less windier over the next week, the winds are caused by a tropical cyclone now somewhere blowing in the region between Indonesia and here. Hope that it doesn’t come this way.
For dinner we went into town, really nice town so of the looks of it. We had dinner in The Courthouse hotel on Macrossan and Wharf street. A pub like restaurant, a lot o locals having a good Sunday night drink.
After dinner we walked up and down Macrossan street. The street was filled with little parrots, flying and making sounds like hell. This was the fourth of fifth time we saw so many birds, yesterday we saw really hundreds or maybe thousands of bats flying in Cairns.
Really looking forward to tomorrow on the reef.
Checking out of the Shangri-La but not after a great breakfast again. Must been said, service in the hotel is great.
The drive to Port Douglas is about 45 minutes, the road leads past the shore on one hand and the rainforest on the other, really beautiful. We made one stop to make some pictures.
We arrived around 1 at the Sheraton Mirage (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=370), after checking in we enjoyed most afternoon at the saltwater lagoon.
The whole resort is covered with a huge saltwater lagoon, it’s like an artificial beach. It’s a good substitute for the sea, the sea is no option because this time of the year the box jellyfish are in the sea.
We booked a daytrip to the Great Barrier Reef for tomorrow, can be interesting due to heavy winds sea will not be that calm. But it’s not expected to become less windier over the next week, the winds are caused by a tropical cyclone now somewhere blowing in the region between Indonesia and here. Hope that it doesn’t come this way.
For dinner we went into town, really nice town so of the looks of it. We had dinner in The Courthouse hotel on Macrossan and Wharf street. A pub like restaurant, a lot o locals having a good Sunday night drink.
After dinner we walked up and down Macrossan street. The street was filled with little parrots, flying and making sounds like hell. This was the fourth of fifth time we saw so many birds, yesterday we saw really hundreds or maybe thousands of bats flying in Cairns.
Really looking forward to tomorrow on the reef.
zaterdag 13 maart 2010
Rainforest
13-3-2010 (Saturday)
Today is our trip to the rainforest and the rainforest town of Kuranda. But first we had breakfast in the hotel again. A Japanese waiter cleaned Sharai’s nose and we felt a little awkward at first, but he really liked doing it.
Just before our pick up for the tour Zeb and Sharai had over 15 Japanese woman applauding, laughing and taking pictures with and of them.
Like in the gold coast here in Cairns most tourist are Asian. Zeb and Sharai are like a first class attraction to them. Everywhere we are going, people take pictures of them and play with them.
We were picked up by a van, on which we were the only people, that dropped us at the bottom of the skyrail (http://www.skyrail.com.au/). The cable car is 7,5 km long and takes you with two stops over the rainforest and the river to Kuranda. On the first stop we took a nice little walk through the rainforest, the next stop was next to the river and it’s beautiful waterfalls: Barron Waterfalls.
On this station we saw the falls from three different lookout points. Leaving this station in our cable car we saw a giant spider hanging (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_silk_orb-weaver ), especially for Sharon.
The last stop is Kuranda. We walked around the town and had lunch with a view on the rainforest. It has a lot of aboriginal stuff, but seems all really touristic to us.
Our trip back was with the scenic railway (http://www.ksr.com.au). The railway was build some 120 years ago. It took us back in 1,5 hours to Cairns central were our “private” driver was waiting. The trip with the train was really beautiful. We had two stops, one overlooking the falls again and one in a place called Freshwater.
Zeb played with two 25 year old Japanese girls who took turn to have their picture made with him.
Back in Cairns the driver dropped us of at a Chinese restaurant that was recommended by the Footprint guide. The place is called Chinese Café and was really good, with nice Peking Duck.
We walked back to the hotel and stopped at a Aboriginal Art gallery and at the ice cream parlor.
Back at the hotel Zeb and Joey skyped. The 2 boys really miss each other so much. We wonder how they will react once they see one another again.
Sharon packed the stuff, cause tomorrow we will be heading for Port Douglas.
Today is our trip to the rainforest and the rainforest town of Kuranda. But first we had breakfast in the hotel again. A Japanese waiter cleaned Sharai’s nose and we felt a little awkward at first, but he really liked doing it.
Just before our pick up for the tour Zeb and Sharai had over 15 Japanese woman applauding, laughing and taking pictures with and of them.
Like in the gold coast here in Cairns most tourist are Asian. Zeb and Sharai are like a first class attraction to them. Everywhere we are going, people take pictures of them and play with them.
We were picked up by a van, on which we were the only people, that dropped us at the bottom of the skyrail (http://www.skyrail.com.au/). The cable car is 7,5 km long and takes you with two stops over the rainforest and the river to Kuranda. On the first stop we took a nice little walk through the rainforest, the next stop was next to the river and it’s beautiful waterfalls: Barron Waterfalls.
On this station we saw the falls from three different lookout points. Leaving this station in our cable car we saw a giant spider hanging (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_silk_orb-weaver ), especially for Sharon.
The last stop is Kuranda. We walked around the town and had lunch with a view on the rainforest. It has a lot of aboriginal stuff, but seems all really touristic to us.
Our trip back was with the scenic railway (http://www.ksr.com.au). The railway was build some 120 years ago. It took us back in 1,5 hours to Cairns central were our “private” driver was waiting. The trip with the train was really beautiful. We had two stops, one overlooking the falls again and one in a place called Freshwater.
Zeb played with two 25 year old Japanese girls who took turn to have their picture made with him.
Back in Cairns the driver dropped us of at a Chinese restaurant that was recommended by the Footprint guide. The place is called Chinese Café and was really good, with nice Peking Duck.
We walked back to the hotel and stopped at a Aboriginal Art gallery and at the ice cream parlor.
Back at the hotel Zeb and Joey skyped. The 2 boys really miss each other so much. We wonder how they will react once they see one another again.
Sharon packed the stuff, cause tomorrow we will be heading for Port Douglas.
vrijdag 12 maart 2010
The real UGG story
12-3-2010 (Friday)
We indeed extended our stay, for 2 extra nights. The hotel is good and well situated.
We had breakfast in the hotel, becoming member of Shangri-La’s loyalty program gives you breakfast for half price. So we had great breakfast overlooking the marina.
Ruben and the kids spend most of the morning at the pool whilst Sharon picked up some necessary groceries and sorted out the activities for the next week like rainforest, reef and aboriginal visits.
After lunch Ruben took Zeb to the best playground ever at the end of the esplanade. It’s huge and has also nice water activities. Sharon walked Sharai around town and went shopping. She unveiled the real UGG story. The UGG’s we know are not ‘real’ Australian but is an American brand made in China. UGG was not allowed by Australian producers to use as brand name before because UGG is just a short name for UGLY, and that’s what they are indeed. So since recent years producers in Australia are also allowed to call the ‘real’ ones UGG. But they are not allowed to sell outside Australia under that brand name.
We had dinner in an Italian place at the marina. Only bad news of the day is that Sharai has a cold.
We indeed extended our stay, for 2 extra nights. The hotel is good and well situated.
We had breakfast in the hotel, becoming member of Shangri-La’s loyalty program gives you breakfast for half price. So we had great breakfast overlooking the marina.
Ruben and the kids spend most of the morning at the pool whilst Sharon picked up some necessary groceries and sorted out the activities for the next week like rainforest, reef and aboriginal visits.
After lunch Ruben took Zeb to the best playground ever at the end of the esplanade. It’s huge and has also nice water activities. Sharon walked Sharai around town and went shopping. She unveiled the real UGG story. The UGG’s we know are not ‘real’ Australian but is an American brand made in China. UGG was not allowed by Australian producers to use as brand name before because UGG is just a short name for UGLY, and that’s what they are indeed. So since recent years producers in Australia are also allowed to call the ‘real’ ones UGG. But they are not allowed to sell outside Australia under that brand name.
We had dinner in an Italian place at the marina. Only bad news of the day is that Sharai has a cold.
donderdag 11 maart 2010
The town we did not stay
11-3-2010 (Thursday)
Before we went to the Townsville Reef Aquarium, Ruben and the kids went for a morning swim. Sharon packed our stuff because we had to leave the apartment at 11. We packed the car and left it in the garage of the apartment. We walked to the aquarium.
The aquarium was rather poor, the kids loved Nemo but further more it is was the worst of our animal encounters. We left Townsville around lunchtime with destination Mission Beach a 2-3 hour drive. Arrived in Mission Beach it was not what we excepted, so we headed for the best resort in the area The Elandra (http://www.elandraresorts.com/). Are real beauty on the shore but covered in the rainforest, this part of Queensland has rainforest on the one hand and the Barrier Reef on the other.
Sharon went to check out the room, a cabin in the rainforest. When she and the lady of the hotel entered the veranda a huge spider suddenly jumped right in front of Sharon’s feet, do we need to say more!!! We left and decided to drive to Cairns an other 1-2 hour drive.
The kids slept between Townville and Mission Beach, good for them and very, very good for us, between Mission Beach and Cairns they enjoyed a movie.
In one of the travel guides we collected some of the big hotels in Cairns and called them to inform about the price. After receiving 4 quotes we called Guya and Arnold to check the hotels on the internet. The best two were the Sofitel and the Shangri la. We choose the Shangri-La (http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/cairns/shangrila) based on the price and free internet.
Good choice, great room and great location.
We had dinner in the marina at the Waterbar & Grill, again a good choice, good food only the kids were tired resulting in Zeb falling of a wooden kind of table.
It was a long day, but we are all happy with ending up in Cairns. The city looks rather nice, much better then we excepted due to the comments of most Australians we met. Maybe we will stay another day before we move up to Port Douglas.
Before we went to the Townsville Reef Aquarium, Ruben and the kids went for a morning swim. Sharon packed our stuff because we had to leave the apartment at 11. We packed the car and left it in the garage of the apartment. We walked to the aquarium.
The aquarium was rather poor, the kids loved Nemo but further more it is was the worst of our animal encounters. We left Townsville around lunchtime with destination Mission Beach a 2-3 hour drive. Arrived in Mission Beach it was not what we excepted, so we headed for the best resort in the area The Elandra (http://www.elandraresorts.com/). Are real beauty on the shore but covered in the rainforest, this part of Queensland has rainforest on the one hand and the Barrier Reef on the other.
Sharon went to check out the room, a cabin in the rainforest. When she and the lady of the hotel entered the veranda a huge spider suddenly jumped right in front of Sharon’s feet, do we need to say more!!! We left and decided to drive to Cairns an other 1-2 hour drive.
The kids slept between Townville and Mission Beach, good for them and very, very good for us, between Mission Beach and Cairns they enjoyed a movie.
In one of the travel guides we collected some of the big hotels in Cairns and called them to inform about the price. After receiving 4 quotes we called Guya and Arnold to check the hotels on the internet. The best two were the Sofitel and the Shangri la. We choose the Shangri-La (http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/cairns/shangrila) based on the price and free internet.
Good choice, great room and great location.
We had dinner in the marina at the Waterbar & Grill, again a good choice, good food only the kids were tired resulting in Zeb falling of a wooden kind of table.
It was a long day, but we are all happy with ending up in Cairns. The city looks rather nice, much better then we excepted due to the comments of most Australians we met. Maybe we will stay another day before we move up to Port Douglas.
woensdag 10 maart 2010
Airlie Beach and Townsville
9-3-2010 (Tuesday)
Too bad we had to leave Hamilton Island today, we had fantastic three days. We returned the keys of the apartment and the golf buggy around 10 and took the boat back at 11.
Back on the mainland we took a little drive to Shute Harbour and then checked in in our cabin in the same caravan park we stayed last Friday. But now we have a real luxurious cabin, two bedrooms, two flatscreens, full equipped kitchen and a huge balcony.
We walked to a close by mall, we had late lunch and rented two movies for the night. We took some food in for dinner.
Sharon and the kids went to the playground and Ruben watched a part of the cricket, Australia playing New Zealand in NZ. Australia won today and are 2-1 ahead in this series. Good to see NZ is giving Aus finally some resistance this summer.
We went to the pool together and then had dinner. Sharon and the kids watched the movie Up and Ruben went to the camp kitchen to get a better internet reception.
10-3-2010 (Wednesday)
Ruben and Zeb took an early morning swim while the girls were still sleeping. At around 10 we left Airlie beach to drive to Townsville, a 3 hour drive.
In Townsville we drove up to the Marina were we found a great serviced apartment, really beachfront.
After checking in we walked along the main streets of Townsville. This town is dead even during broad daylight.
We had a real late lunch in Palmer Street, the main dining street. When we walked back we had Zeb’s hair cut. The hairdresser told us that Townsville is a mining and marine city, so a lot of the inhabitant are at sea or in the mine at any time.
We had a late afternoon swim in the saltwater poor. Ruben went out to get take out, the streets are little more alive after dark.
Too bad we had to leave Hamilton Island today, we had fantastic three days. We returned the keys of the apartment and the golf buggy around 10 and took the boat back at 11.
Back on the mainland we took a little drive to Shute Harbour and then checked in in our cabin in the same caravan park we stayed last Friday. But now we have a real luxurious cabin, two bedrooms, two flatscreens, full equipped kitchen and a huge balcony.
We walked to a close by mall, we had late lunch and rented two movies for the night. We took some food in for dinner.
Sharon and the kids went to the playground and Ruben watched a part of the cricket, Australia playing New Zealand in NZ. Australia won today and are 2-1 ahead in this series. Good to see NZ is giving Aus finally some resistance this summer.
We went to the pool together and then had dinner. Sharon and the kids watched the movie Up and Ruben went to the camp kitchen to get a better internet reception.
10-3-2010 (Wednesday)
Ruben and Zeb took an early morning swim while the girls were still sleeping. At around 10 we left Airlie beach to drive to Townsville, a 3 hour drive.
In Townsville we drove up to the Marina were we found a great serviced apartment, really beachfront.
After checking in we walked along the main streets of Townsville. This town is dead even during broad daylight.
We had a real late lunch in Palmer Street, the main dining street. When we walked back we had Zeb’s hair cut. The hairdresser told us that Townsville is a mining and marine city, so a lot of the inhabitant are at sea or in the mine at any time.
We had a late afternoon swim in the saltwater poor. Ruben went out to get take out, the streets are little more alive after dark.
maandag 8 maart 2010
Whitsundays - paradise
5-3 2010 (Friday)
After a terrible night sleeping; we heard trains (and trains are huge and long in Australia), many cars (blanking their horns) all night long and it was humid. Sharai had some difficulty falling asleep all night long. And Sharon saw many spiders (as she says: elephants) flying around .
Ruben had to admit it wasn’t such a great success. The place was depressing and very low key. Just imagine…. The playground is situated next to the highway and when Sharon and the kids were playing there, Sharon took notice that at the playground, there was a little house which said dangerous 11.000 Volt. After spending a day in the car, we promised the kids a playground…. So after 10 minutes it was about time to distract them and lead them to the (aggenebbische) pool.
Ruben woke up at 7 am and packed the car with our luggage. Sharon has her system: 2 bags of cloths, one trolley contains DVD/toilet stuff (Shampoo/toothpaste etc) one Turkish bag with all our shoes, one with laundry, one nice bag with the computer and wires and off course our 2 dollar cool bag with food.
The bags are like our closets and the trolley is our important every need day stuff bag. When we go to the Hamilton Islands tomorrow, we will just take our “closets” , the trolley, the wire/computer bag, the cool bag and off course the prams for our kids.
The kids and Sharon woke at about 8:30, we took a shower and about 9 we were all in the car.
Got a coffee to go, banana bread and a muffin and went off for a long day in the car. Rockhampton to Airlie Beach is 489 km.
We drove trough Mackay, which is the sugarcane centre off Australia and went to Mac Donalds Coffee. It’s different than in the Netherlands, cause we were able to get “Tosti’s” good coffee and a regular lunch for Ruben en Sharon. All Mac Donalds have a great playground and this was also one of the reasons we wanted to have lunch and a break here. They played and it was very humid and hot. You really feel the tropical atmosphere coming driving up north.
The kids didn’t sleep at and all we could see was sugarcane, prairie (without cowboys) and sugarcane. Finally we went to a very nice Big 4 caravan park; Adventure Whitsunday resort near Airlie Beach. We have a cottage now, with 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, a living and a kitchen. It’s not the most luxuries place on earth, but very fine for us.
We drove trough Airlie and it’s a very nice place. Because it’s Stinger (Box Jelly Fish) season, you’re not able to swim in the sea. So, just like we already have seen in Brisbane, they made a water lagoon with an artificial beach, next to the beach. Very nice. Many young people.
We took a dip in the pool at the campsite, with 2 waterslides. Zeb is doing great and we hardly have to look after him and Sharai wants to take the slide by herself now. Kids love it. We took a shower and went to the city to have dinner.
We ended having dinner in the Whitsunday Sailing club and had the best view. It’s so good to eat outside, at the sea with the sunset. Even though the kids didn’t sleep, they were very sweet. Dinner was good and we got to listen to live music . Afterwards we went back. Kids fell asleep and everything was packed and ready to go for tomorrow. We look forward to take the boot to one of the most beautiful islands of the world….
Hamilton Island
06-03 2010 (Saturday)
Ruben is an early bird, as we call it. He woke up at 7 again and did some groceries and got our every morning skim milk cappuccino with extra trot. Sharon and Sharai woke up at 7:30, cause Hetty (Sharon’s mother) called her. By the time Ruben got back the whole family was up and running.
We were very excited to leave the mainland and hit for Hamilton Island…
We had a little play at the playground and the jumping pillow and up to go.
We lost our photo camera, @#$%%^&^&, luckily most photo’s are already on the computer.
In the harbor we had about 1 hour before the Fantasea boot come to pick us up.
We saw many cruise boats and their passengers. It reminds us on Appie and Beppie, who loved taking a cruise holiday.
The boat trip was amazing; especially on the roof. The view is beautiful, the sun is doing her job and we really enjoy. This part of Australia is called the Whitsundays, it’s a group of 74 island. This is what you imagine when you think of a tropical island.
Once on the island, we had to wait for the apartment to get ready. We got our car; a golf buggy. The boys in front and the girls in the back. This is really unbelievable, as if its surreal; such a beautiful island. We had lunch en the kids had free meals. Most restaurants offer free meals for kids on Hamilton.
Finally we got the apartment and guess what; so nice, so beautiful. Balconies all around, good view and very modern. We love it here.
We went to the pools. The pools are situated on the beach and we’re allowed to swim in all the pools, except for one (kids not allowed).
Sharon checked the beach out and saw another pool with some kids activities. We went there; Zeb got his face schminkeled as Superman and Sharai as the pink Superwoman.
We went back and Sharai did a little nappy.
For dinner we went to the Marina for pizza. The island is like one big resort, everybody is driving his golf buggy and enjoying the relax atmosphere.
7-3-2010 (Sunday)
Relaxed morning in our huge and luxurious apartment. Ruben made pancakes, which we ate at one wing of our balcony ;). We had some kiwi for desert. The fruit tastes great in Australia.
We took a trip along the island with our buggy and then went to the beach/pools. Today is a beautiful day again. At the pool we sat next to an Israeli couple that lives in Melbourne, he works for Amdocs.
From one of the look-out-points we had an amazing view of the Whitsunday Islands.
Interesting is also to read the commentaries in the newspapers about Israel, always much more positive then in Europe. They did not really like the misuse of Australian passports on the assassination of the Hamas guy in Dubai but are convinced about the fact that Israel must be able to defend itself and they see Israel mistreated compared to other countries if concerned condemning Israel of whatever.
We had toasted cheese sandwiches in our apartment and Sharai did her nappy. It was good to eat in this beautiful air-conditioned place, surrounded by parrots and amazing view. By the way she did go to the toilet a couple of times. She looks quite serious and tells us: “I gotto go”…. Very sweet.
In the afternoon we went to the pool that belongs to our apartment, really nice and quit. For drinks we went to a bar that was set-up at a look-out point to see the sunset and have a drink. We met a nice Scottish family. Somebody took Sharon’s new Ray Ban, but we discovered it in time to get it back. The girl said she took it by mistake hmmmmm.
For dinner we went to the steakhouse in the marina, for the kids again an fabulous free buffet and for us a 350g Scottish filet and a Caesar salad.
Again what a perfect day.
8-3-2010 (Monday)
Ruben and Zeb went to the marina to get coffee and we enjoyed our spacious apartment. We went to a swim in the lagoon pool on the beach. The kids can play and we read a book or magazine.
Ruben is reading The Wolf of Wall street by Jordan Belfort, he got the book from Marc and Ilde.
We made cheese sandwiches for lunch. Sharon went to make a tour around the island (shops).
In the afternoon we went to our own pool. For dinner we went to the steakhouse again.
The caravan park in Rockhampton called to tell that they found our camera, they will send it to our next stop in Airlie Beach. They had a lot of hassle tracing us, they did not have our number on record, so they called the police who called the car rental agency and so they finally got our number. We are so grateful to them.
Sharon and Ruben watched the Oscars.
After a terrible night sleeping; we heard trains (and trains are huge and long in Australia), many cars (blanking their horns) all night long and it was humid. Sharai had some difficulty falling asleep all night long. And Sharon saw many spiders (as she says: elephants) flying around .
Ruben had to admit it wasn’t such a great success. The place was depressing and very low key. Just imagine…. The playground is situated next to the highway and when Sharon and the kids were playing there, Sharon took notice that at the playground, there was a little house which said dangerous 11.000 Volt. After spending a day in the car, we promised the kids a playground…. So after 10 minutes it was about time to distract them and lead them to the (aggenebbische) pool.
Ruben woke up at 7 am and packed the car with our luggage. Sharon has her system: 2 bags of cloths, one trolley contains DVD/toilet stuff (Shampoo/toothpaste etc) one Turkish bag with all our shoes, one with laundry, one nice bag with the computer and wires and off course our 2 dollar cool bag with food.
The bags are like our closets and the trolley is our important every need day stuff bag. When we go to the Hamilton Islands tomorrow, we will just take our “closets” , the trolley, the wire/computer bag, the cool bag and off course the prams for our kids.
The kids and Sharon woke at about 8:30, we took a shower and about 9 we were all in the car.
Got a coffee to go, banana bread and a muffin and went off for a long day in the car. Rockhampton to Airlie Beach is 489 km.
We drove trough Mackay, which is the sugarcane centre off Australia and went to Mac Donalds Coffee. It’s different than in the Netherlands, cause we were able to get “Tosti’s” good coffee and a regular lunch for Ruben en Sharon. All Mac Donalds have a great playground and this was also one of the reasons we wanted to have lunch and a break here. They played and it was very humid and hot. You really feel the tropical atmosphere coming driving up north.
The kids didn’t sleep at and all we could see was sugarcane, prairie (without cowboys) and sugarcane. Finally we went to a very nice Big 4 caravan park; Adventure Whitsunday resort near Airlie Beach. We have a cottage now, with 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, a living and a kitchen. It’s not the most luxuries place on earth, but very fine for us.
We drove trough Airlie and it’s a very nice place. Because it’s Stinger (Box Jelly Fish) season, you’re not able to swim in the sea. So, just like we already have seen in Brisbane, they made a water lagoon with an artificial beach, next to the beach. Very nice. Many young people.
We took a dip in the pool at the campsite, with 2 waterslides. Zeb is doing great and we hardly have to look after him and Sharai wants to take the slide by herself now. Kids love it. We took a shower and went to the city to have dinner.
We ended having dinner in the Whitsunday Sailing club and had the best view. It’s so good to eat outside, at the sea with the sunset. Even though the kids didn’t sleep, they were very sweet. Dinner was good and we got to listen to live music . Afterwards we went back. Kids fell asleep and everything was packed and ready to go for tomorrow. We look forward to take the boot to one of the most beautiful islands of the world….
Hamilton Island
06-03 2010 (Saturday)
Ruben is an early bird, as we call it. He woke up at 7 again and did some groceries and got our every morning skim milk cappuccino with extra trot. Sharon and Sharai woke up at 7:30, cause Hetty (Sharon’s mother) called her. By the time Ruben got back the whole family was up and running.
We were very excited to leave the mainland and hit for Hamilton Island…
We had a little play at the playground and the jumping pillow and up to go.
We lost our photo camera, @#$%%^&^&, luckily most photo’s are already on the computer.
In the harbor we had about 1 hour before the Fantasea boot come to pick us up.
We saw many cruise boats and their passengers. It reminds us on Appie and Beppie, who loved taking a cruise holiday.
The boat trip was amazing; especially on the roof. The view is beautiful, the sun is doing her job and we really enjoy. This part of Australia is called the Whitsundays, it’s a group of 74 island. This is what you imagine when you think of a tropical island.
Once on the island, we had to wait for the apartment to get ready. We got our car; a golf buggy. The boys in front and the girls in the back. This is really unbelievable, as if its surreal; such a beautiful island. We had lunch en the kids had free meals. Most restaurants offer free meals for kids on Hamilton.
Finally we got the apartment and guess what; so nice, so beautiful. Balconies all around, good view and very modern. We love it here.
We went to the pools. The pools are situated on the beach and we’re allowed to swim in all the pools, except for one (kids not allowed).
Sharon checked the beach out and saw another pool with some kids activities. We went there; Zeb got his face schminkeled as Superman and Sharai as the pink Superwoman.
We went back and Sharai did a little nappy.
For dinner we went to the Marina for pizza. The island is like one big resort, everybody is driving his golf buggy and enjoying the relax atmosphere.
7-3-2010 (Sunday)
Relaxed morning in our huge and luxurious apartment. Ruben made pancakes, which we ate at one wing of our balcony ;). We had some kiwi for desert. The fruit tastes great in Australia.
We took a trip along the island with our buggy and then went to the beach/pools. Today is a beautiful day again. At the pool we sat next to an Israeli couple that lives in Melbourne, he works for Amdocs.
From one of the look-out-points we had an amazing view of the Whitsunday Islands.
Interesting is also to read the commentaries in the newspapers about Israel, always much more positive then in Europe. They did not really like the misuse of Australian passports on the assassination of the Hamas guy in Dubai but are convinced about the fact that Israel must be able to defend itself and they see Israel mistreated compared to other countries if concerned condemning Israel of whatever.
We had toasted cheese sandwiches in our apartment and Sharai did her nappy. It was good to eat in this beautiful air-conditioned place, surrounded by parrots and amazing view. By the way she did go to the toilet a couple of times. She looks quite serious and tells us: “I gotto go”…. Very sweet.
In the afternoon we went to the pool that belongs to our apartment, really nice and quit. For drinks we went to a bar that was set-up at a look-out point to see the sunset and have a drink. We met a nice Scottish family. Somebody took Sharon’s new Ray Ban, but we discovered it in time to get it back. The girl said she took it by mistake hmmmmm.
For dinner we went to the steakhouse in the marina, for the kids again an fabulous free buffet and for us a 350g Scottish filet and a Caesar salad.
Again what a perfect day.
8-3-2010 (Monday)
Ruben and Zeb went to the marina to get coffee and we enjoyed our spacious apartment. We went to a swim in the lagoon pool on the beach. The kids can play and we read a book or magazine.
Ruben is reading The Wolf of Wall street by Jordan Belfort, he got the book from Marc and Ilde.
We made cheese sandwiches for lunch. Sharon went to make a tour around the island (shops).
In the afternoon we went to our own pool. For dinner we went to the steakhouse again.
The caravan park in Rockhampton called to tell that they found our camera, they will send it to our next stop in Airlie Beach. They had a lot of hassle tracing us, they did not have our number on record, so they called the police who called the car rental agency and so they finally got our number. We are so grateful to them.
Sharon and Ruben watched the Oscars.
donderdag 4 maart 2010
Last day in Noosa and cowboys
3-3-2010 (Wednesday)
Sharon got an complimentary treatment at the Ikatan spa this morning. Most of the day we were around the apartment.
We had a swim a couple of times and had lunch at the Sheraton.
At the end of the afternoon Sabine, Pepijn and the kids came. We had drinks on Hasting street and good pizza at our place.
Sharon packed all the luggage, we are leaving Noosa tomorrow morning.
4-3-2010 (Thursday)
Before we could leave we had to wait for a photographer to take pictures from us for a small article in Quote magazine. The article is a follow up on an article they did 5 years ago on HotSMS.
At 10:30 we left Noosa for a more then 500 km drive, over here that means at least 7 hours driving. We want to get as far as Rockhampton, then we will only need to drive Friday a little more than 450 km.
We made it, at around 5 we got to Rockhampton, we checked out some accommodation in our travel books. But when we entered the town we drove by a caravan park with cabins. For € 101,- we got a two bedroom cabin. The campsite is not really top class, but it has a playground and swimming pool. This all meaning the kids love it, Sharon doesn't like it that much, to put it mildly.
We had a swim just before dinner.
Rockhampton is the beef capital of Australia, so cowboy town. We went for dinner in a very cool steak house called Great Western. The place has a rodeo stadium at its ground. The restaurant is packed with bull heads, rodeo pictures and tv’s showing rodeo and country music. We ordered two major eye filets (tournedos) we shared with the kids. After dinner we took a drive around town, at 8 totally dead.
Sharon got an complimentary treatment at the Ikatan spa this morning. Most of the day we were around the apartment.
We had a swim a couple of times and had lunch at the Sheraton.
At the end of the afternoon Sabine, Pepijn and the kids came. We had drinks on Hasting street and good pizza at our place.
Sharon packed all the luggage, we are leaving Noosa tomorrow morning.
4-3-2010 (Thursday)
Before we could leave we had to wait for a photographer to take pictures from us for a small article in Quote magazine. The article is a follow up on an article they did 5 years ago on HotSMS.
At 10:30 we left Noosa for a more then 500 km drive, over here that means at least 7 hours driving. We want to get as far as Rockhampton, then we will only need to drive Friday a little more than 450 km.
We made it, at around 5 we got to Rockhampton, we checked out some accommodation in our travel books. But when we entered the town we drove by a caravan park with cabins. For € 101,- we got a two bedroom cabin. The campsite is not really top class, but it has a playground and swimming pool. This all meaning the kids love it, Sharon doesn't like it that much, to put it mildly.
We had a swim just before dinner.
Rockhampton is the beef capital of Australia, so cowboy town. We went for dinner in a very cool steak house called Great Western. The place has a rodeo stadium at its ground. The restaurant is packed with bull heads, rodeo pictures and tv’s showing rodeo and country music. We ordered two major eye filets (tournedos) we shared with the kids. After dinner we took a drive around town, at 8 totally dead.
dinsdag 2 maart 2010
Rainy days
1-3-2010 (Monday)
Ruben’s birthday. Sharon got pastries and coffee, Ruben baked pancakes so we had a real birthday breakfast. Zeb made a real nice present, Sharon bought some nice presents.
After breakfast we went for a swim, after the swim it started raining. It kept raining for the rest of the day. We said before: if it rains it comes down like hell. Forecast for next couple of days doesn’t look much better.
At noon we went to this indoor playground, it also has a café. So the kids played and we had coffee and read some magazines.
Back ‘home’ Sharon and Zeb watched Tinkerbell, Sharai had a sleep (she’s doing great and prefers to sleep in bed then in her pram) and Ruben went to the gym.
Instead of dining out we ordered Mexican food. We ordered from a Mexican in our street to make sure the food would be in soon. But it took them about 2 hours after we’ve ordered. The rain became worse that night. It was storming.
2-3-2010 (Tuesday)
It doesn’t stop raining. It is all over the news, most rain in a decade on the coast, in some places most rain in a century. Will ease tomorrow.
So alternative program for today. Most important issue in the morning is that we can’t get coffee from the right place due to the heavy rain, so we got it from next door.
We went to the indoor playground in the morning.
For lunch we went to Noosa Springs Resort, we were invited by Paul Hymans who we’ve met last Saturday. Really beautiful golf resort with spa. Nice to spend time with Paul who gave us great hospitality.
Today Sabine and Pepijn Post came to Noosa. They are doing a same kind of trip like ours. They have a 1 and 3 year old. We had a swim with them in the (this time cold) rain and dinner in our apartment. Really nice to exchange stories of our mutual trips. Great evening. Will meet them tomorrow again, what we will do depends on the weather.
So even on a rainy day we enjoy a fully 100%.
Ruben’s birthday. Sharon got pastries and coffee, Ruben baked pancakes so we had a real birthday breakfast. Zeb made a real nice present, Sharon bought some nice presents.
After breakfast we went for a swim, after the swim it started raining. It kept raining for the rest of the day. We said before: if it rains it comes down like hell. Forecast for next couple of days doesn’t look much better.
At noon we went to this indoor playground, it also has a café. So the kids played and we had coffee and read some magazines.
Back ‘home’ Sharon and Zeb watched Tinkerbell, Sharai had a sleep (she’s doing great and prefers to sleep in bed then in her pram) and Ruben went to the gym.
Instead of dining out we ordered Mexican food. We ordered from a Mexican in our street to make sure the food would be in soon. But it took them about 2 hours after we’ve ordered. The rain became worse that night. It was storming.
2-3-2010 (Tuesday)
It doesn’t stop raining. It is all over the news, most rain in a decade on the coast, in some places most rain in a century. Will ease tomorrow.
So alternative program for today. Most important issue in the morning is that we can’t get coffee from the right place due to the heavy rain, so we got it from next door.
We went to the indoor playground in the morning.
For lunch we went to Noosa Springs Resort, we were invited by Paul Hymans who we’ve met last Saturday. Really beautiful golf resort with spa. Nice to spend time with Paul who gave us great hospitality.
Today Sabine and Pepijn Post came to Noosa. They are doing a same kind of trip like ours. They have a 1 and 3 year old. We had a swim with them in the (this time cold) rain and dinner in our apartment. Really nice to exchange stories of our mutual trips. Great evening. Will meet them tomorrow again, what we will do depends on the weather.
So even on a rainy day we enjoy a fully 100%.
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