Milly's School Swimming Carnival

November 2013

Tagai State College - Thursday Island Campus

Interhouse Swimming Carnival held at T.I. Sports Complex & Pool...

Milly with her ribbon

Pre-Preps and Preps lined up for their pool noodle race...

Milly in action

P&C's Healthy Food Stall...

Kids enjoying the healthy food sold by Tagai Primary P&C

The P&C girls working hard.

A race in motion...

Lining up for ribbons & points after a race.

Camping at Bamfield, P.O.W. Island -->

We managed to fit in one more camping trip before the end of the school year...
* We went to Bamfield on Prince of Wales Island with 2 other families for morning tea & a swim in the freshwater waterhole.  The other families headed home for lunch & we set up our campsite just off the beach on the edge of the scrub.  There used to be 2 shelters visitors could use for camping or picnics, but an enormous tree came down in a storm earlier in 2013 & managed to crush both shelters in one go!
* It was very hot, extremely humid & raining on & off - so setting up was tough going.  The girls frolicked in a pool that got caught mid-beach when the tide went out while Dwayne & I huffed & puffed to set up our big tent & a camp kitchen.  
* We enjoyed dinner under the stars on the sand, toasted marshmallows in a campfire & slept with mozzies in the tent.
* Dwayne had to check on the boat regularly : a storm passed by out on the horizon as the tide was coming in so the waves in the little bay became quite sizable - & waves up here are never big!  He had to turn on the bilge pump at one point as the boat took in a few wave-fulls, but was otherwise unharmed.
* We had one last swim in the waterhole in the morning after packing up the campsite.  There had been enough rain to make the waterfall just trickle into the swimming area...very refreshing!

Everyone in the freshwater waterhole with the trickling waterfall in the background.  Bamfield, POW.

Our tent.  The girls.

The campsite with the squashed shelter in the background.

The girls and I having dinner on the sand.  Bamfield, POW.

The beach swimming pool - water caught from the receding tide.

Dwayne washing up in the collapsed shelter.

Dwayne's fire.

Marshmallows by moonlight...

October happenings...
Hot!
Windy!

A friend over, a swing set, rashies, the sprinkler - what more does a kid need?! (Note the crispy brown lawn of dry season!)

Digging at Bach Beach, T.I.

Playing on the outdoor stage area at the Gab Cafe

Beautiful Long Beach on Prince of Wales (POW) for a picnic and swim...

The kids enjoying the crystal waters of Long Beach, POW.

Milly at Long Beach.

Milly and Friens ready for a day at Tagai Prep...

The native vegetation on Thursday Island - dry eucalyptus scrub, not the lush tropical palm-fringed forest we expected before we moved here!

Weekend on Coconut Island

We chartered a plane with Cape Air Transport for $1,680 return for the 4 of us to get to & from Poruma (Coconut Island) for the weekend of Friday 6th - Sunday 8th September.

Dwayne and pilot in cockpit

Jayne and girls with the plane and pilot at Horn Island airport

Flying over one of many small islets en route to Poruma

Main intersection of Poruma from the air

Coming in over Poruma...

                    

Poruma airstrip and our single engine, 4 seater plane

Milly and Evy enjoying our adventure!

We stayed with teacher friends we had met on our way to the Torres Straits at our teacher induction conference in Cairns - Gaye & Tim McKee & their 4 year old daughter Tia. They hosted us for the weekend in their lovely little teacher's cottage set in the grounds of Tagai State College - Coconut Island Primary Campus.

The McKee's house & veggie garden...

Tim, Tia & Gaye on the beach...

We went beach walking; collected shells, coral & dugong bones; swam in the ocean; relaxed on the McKee's deck; walked around town; popped into the little supermarket; toured classrooms & had afternoon naps!  Perfect!

 Thanks McKees - we had a great weekend visiting you on Poruma!

August 2013
Views and Activities this month around Thursday Island...

The "Gab Titui" Cultural Centre on T.I. re-opened in mid 2013.  This is the cafe with it's lovely grassy area - great for kids to run around.

The front entrance of Gab Titui (called 'the Gab' for short).

View of front beach, T.I., from Victoria Parade...

View from our deck South-East towards Horn Island & Cape York on a beautiful August day.

Some of the houses available for private rentals on Loban Rd facing the Tagai Primary school.  I think each duplex costs around $500/wk.

A boating trip to Friday Island on the weekend with the Hubbert family...

Friday Island weekend picnic, sand, swimming, exploring rock pools...

Milly's Cross Country inter-house carnival at Tagai Primary.

T.I.'s Front Beach on a gorgeous day, looking towards Prince of Wales Island (P.O.W.).

T.I.'s Front Beach on a photographic moment...

T.I.'s Front Beach looking towards Engineers Wharf, Horn Island in the background.

The pearl shell sculptures along the Victoria Parade promenade on Thursday Island's Front Beach.  A good place for strolling, bike riding, scooting & picnics with kids when the weather is calm.

Picnicing at Bach (pronounced 'back') beach with other families on the weekend.

Sand play at Bach Beach with Friday and Goods Islands in the distance.