Seaing is believing…
Part of our very quick break away from the property over the school holidays was a visit to Seaworld on the Gold Coast.
We had promised the kids that their two weeks off school WOULDN’T be ALL work, and the ocean themepark was their choice. Dash very generously allowed Violet to help choose between there and Underwater World (anyone see a trend there?).
And we decided – seeing as how everyone had worked exceptionally hard during the weaning and preg-testing – that we would add a little bonus in for each of them…
Both adventures required wetsuits…
And Violet proved she is SUCH a girl – what little lady doesn’t dream about getting close to a dolphin?
THIS one certainly does. How’s that for an excited face?
Gently stroking Zack the Dolphin… topside…
And underbelly…
I didn’t even know dolphins could swim like this for any length of time…
Ever seen a dolphin moonwalk? This was close to Violet’s favourite bit…
Can you tell? Zack is obviously a dolphin with a very Aussie sense of humour…
Splish-splash…
Shower or bath!
A gorgeous moment posing for the Seaworld camera…
And then, all too soon and face aching from smiling so much, it was time to…
Wave goodbye!
Of course, there was another child who was keen to see some water action… something he thought he might have to wait a few more years to do. And something which, when he found out he’d be doing it TODAY, he got a little nervous about. This is an ‘I’ll give you a thumbs up Mum but really I just want to concentrate on not shaking’ pose.
Can you guess what he might’ve been desperate to do?
If you have followed this blog at ALL, you will already know…
This bush boy was snorkelling properly for the first time in search of ONE thing…
Not coral, not colourful tropical fish…
Not massive great weird looking fish (I’m no marine biologist so forgive the ‘terminology’…
Or even very groovy stingrays…
Can anyone give me a ‘ta DUM, ta DUM, ta-DUM-ta-DUM-ta-DUM!
The boy ADORES sharks and has been dreaming of THIS VERY MOMENT for years…
I wonder if he remembered to breath? I certainly didn’t (watching from the underwater viewing area). I bet that little heart was beating 19-to-the-dozen!
I reckon it took every ounce of willpower not to reach out and touch that shark… a black-tipped reef shark, I am informed.
I reckon that face says it all.
‘I DID IT!’
And this look is… ‘I’m gonna dream about that for YEARS’.
Or to quote him verbatim: “Oh that was TOTALLY AWESOME!”
I think we might have been the most popular parents in the world that day.
😉
10 Comments
Oopsiemumma
Awesome photo’s BB. I’m impressed they were through the underwater viewing section. I would have had an absolute meltdown seeing Dash in with a shark, oh my!! And Violet looks insanely happy. Great memories.
bushboy
A truely joyous time…..made me smile
JENNY TALIA
Now I know what I’m doing with my girls if I ever get them to Queensland (as well as visiting a mate’s place 😉 )
I also know who I want to be the photog for the trip!!
Awesome doesn’t even begin to cover it
Their faces….priceless!
x
JENNY TALIA´s last blog post ..twin towns, lismore and lots ‘n lots of rellies
Kelly
WOW! I am so impressed! Dash is certainly braver than I am.
I have a friend who just got to do what Violet did (in Florida) and it looks like such fun!
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Nancy in Iowa
The luckiest kids in the world!! Tell Violet that Diane swam with wild dolphins in Hawaii a few years ago, so she has even more adventures to look forward to. I still can’t believe Dash swam with a shark – I would never have the courage to do that!! Wonderful lucky kids!
debby
Heck…you’ve got MY vote for best parents in the world, and I’m not even your kid! Well done! Well DONE! It was thrilling to see the pictures, and I’ve never seen such huge grins on such little faces in my life.
debby´s last blog post ..White Stone
Anne
Oh what fun you must have had and the kids will remember those experiences forever.
Anne´s last blog post ..Who Likes Oranges and Mandarins?
Leenie
“Massive great weird looking fish” works for me. HOW SUPER COOOOOL!!! I’m so with Dash down there under the sea. Also how great/terrifying to be able to watch his adventure and snap photos. Love all the grins. I know from personal experience it is possible to grin around a snorkel–and scream into a snorkel. That vacation has got to be rated an eleven out of ten.
Bill
It is so fun – to have fun!
debby
Dear Dash, we are in Miss Debby’s class, and we loved your pictures of you swimming with shark. We were so excited we watched it twice and showed it to our mom. We think that you are awesome. Violet, Zoey’s favorite thing is dolphins. We think that you are both very lucky. Thank you for letting us see such nice pictures of your adventures. We also loved the kangaroos and the emus and the goanna has a funny name.