Tag Archives: Australia

Mount Lofty – South Australia

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Mount Lofty South Australia

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine asked if the kids and I would like to go on a picnic to the Mount Lofty Botanical Garden. Since we’d never actually been before, but we knew that the whole area was very pretty in Autumn, it sounded like another fabulous South Australian destination to see before we head overseas. We made a date and decided to meet up at the entrance to the Garden, one cool Autumn Friday a couple of weeks ago. The great thing about homeschooling my kids, is that we get to enjoy visiting places when there are fewer people around and it is lovely and quiet! Between us we had four children aged 2 to 12 and an enormous picnic, but beyond that, no expectations or plans for the afternoon.

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Gumeracha Medieval Fair, Fun in the Adelaide Hills

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The children are huge fans of the BBC Horrible Histories series, it has really been a large influence in their Unschooling this year. So when the opportunity arose to visit a Medieval Fair in the beautiful Adelaide Hills village of Gumeracha, we just had to go along for some fun! This year was the eighth annual Medieval Fair to be held here in South Australia, but it was only the second time that we have attended. The children got a lot more out of the interactive displays this time because they have been so interested in this particular period of history through Horrible Histories, lots of Library books and preparations for our trip to Europe later in the year.
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Adelaide International Kite Festival

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AdelaideProgrammed activities this year will include the always popular lolly drops, increased to hourly for all the families to enjoy as well as Rokkaku Kite Battles to take place each afternoon. The Festival also has the pleasure of inviting a group of Afghan Kite Flyers based here in Adelaide to demonstrate and speak about the cultural importance of kite flying in the Afghani culture on Saturday 19th at 2pm. Hands-on activities for the public include kite-making workshops held on the foreshore in the carnival area, bring along your own kite to fly, or simply sit back, relax and enjoy a feast for the eyes with the colourful and always entertaining Adelaide International Kite Festival.

This Easter long weekend the 17th annual Adelaide International Kite Festival is being held at Semaphore, one of the beautiful Adelaide metropolitan beaches. The Festival is a free community event and this year it features kite flyers from around Australia and  South Australia as well as New Zealand. The flyers will bring with them many colourful kites ranging from hand-made, to stunt and power kites, large and small. Continue reading →

A Trip Back in Time – Old Tailem Town

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Our Global Adventure Old Tailem Town

Old Tailem Town

On a recent visit to Old Tailem Town, located on the South Eastern Freeway 5km north of Tailem Bend and approximately 90kms from Adelaide, we had the opportunity to take the children on a trip back in time. It’s one thing to look at history in pictures and books, but at Old Tailem Town history comes alive when you can walk about and touch it! There are over a hundred buildings, all furnished within their periods, placed along the ‘streets’ of the created historical town. Some of them we were able to go inside, and all housed authentic collections of memorabilia suited to the period and type of shop, home or business that they were portraying. The buildings have been moved to the site from all over South Australia. Many of them were transported in one piece from their original locations, while others were taken apart and rebuilt in Old Tailem Town. Continue reading →

A Parents Guide to some of the Coolest Playgrounds on the Planet

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Our kids love a good playground, throw in the adjective ‘adventure’ to describe a playground, and they’re onto it. We have an ‘Adventure Playground’ not far from our Adelaide home. In the school holidays it’s crawling with small folk, pepped up on adrenaline, but when those kids are at school, our ‘unschooled‘ kids just about have it all to themselves… Heaven for the kids, and mum! Adventure playgrounds are the really cool ones with huge slides, climbing frames that dubiously pass ‘safety inspections’, wooden forts with a fireman’s pole and flying foxes. Sadly due to modern ‘safety inspections’ and general mollycoddling of kids, these days, adventure playgrounds are a rare and sacred space for children. A recent visit to our local St. Kilda Adventure Playground, north of Adelaide, had us wondering, “Where are the coolest Playgrounds on the planet?”  Continue reading →

The Barossa Valley with Children

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With the cool winds of change whipping up around us this past weekend we could feel the end of Summer upon us. This may be our last Summer here in Adelaide for a long time, and whilst that is an exciting prospect, the cool change has reminded us to savour the days and re-experience the places we love the most in South Australia. Our family has always had an affinity for the famous Australian wine region, The Barossa Valley, and since it is right on our doorstep, we packed a picnic and spent last Sunday visiting our favourite spots.

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Please Don’t Hate Us. Not All Australians are Racist Assholes.

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Our Global Adventure

*photograph by adelaidenow.com.au*

Despite what the evening news, or your morning newspaper may say, not everyone living in this big, isolated country is racist. Those of us with a heart implore the rest of the world not tarnish all Australians with the same brush. I am both saddened and ashamed to see Australia appearing in international news for all the wrong reasons. The Australian Government’s current policy on Asylum Seekers and border control has recently come under criticism from the UN Human Rights Council, suggesting Australia is violating international law obligations toward people seeking Asylum in our country.  Continue reading →