The Macdonald files

Well off we went for a lively couple of days in Kuala Lumpur, a vibrant city..walked around in awe of huge buildings..interesting mosques…and general chaos of a large city. We headed to the west coast to Terengganu for a few wet days!!Darcy wasn’t too well with a cold sinus trouble..so we stayed put a couple of days to rest and recoup..as we has a fairly ok room for a good price.We then went north east to catch a boat to the Perhentian Islands..the boat trip was very rocky..only half an hour…but got soaking wet..glad we all took travel sick pills!Well it was worth it when we got there..crystal clear water white sand backed by beautiful unspoiled jungle..no cars on the islands..just wildlife and a few tourists!the first day we saw monkeys in the trees..lovely.We spent much of our time in the sea snorkelling..and saw nemo fish in abundance..much to the delight of the kids.Also spotted were parrot fish..huge humped nose parrot fish (huge!) a blue spotted stingray..a turtle..a reef shark and leopard shark..it was such a colourful world..fantastic to see..wanted to stay..Forever!!We met some lovely people doing diving courses…and a marine biologist who told Seth where to find the sharks!we are now making a rather arduous trip to Singapore..including a night bus..and lots of hours waiting in between connections..soon off to Borneo for a week…so I will hopefully write again then..enjoy the photos of these lovely islands!love to you all Rachel.

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More from Australia. uluru(ayers rock) Alice springs and Australia Z00

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The following posts are slightly out of order

Some pics.

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Hi an update from oz

Well we enjoyed travelling down the great ocean road..beautiful…camping improved ..no more sickness in the tent.We made our way safely to Victor harbour in the south..and were greeted by Linda and Colin..who are extraordinary people!!so hospitable and welcoming we had a wonderful time and feel we had known them for years….they also introduced us to their church southern gateway and we had a brilliant time..a great bunch of folk doing a great job there.We left for the desert with our tent and a blanket..aircraft cutlery(stolen for survival purposes)rested and looking forward to our trip.It got very hot ..very quick..sleeping in a sauna on gravel in coober pedy was interesting..what a strange place..people live underground to escape the searing heat..and we choose to sleep under two layers of polyurethane!the pool really lifted our spirits in the morning.It took 3 days driving to reach uluru(ayers rock)and we were beginning to wonder if it was worth it..It was…we had a great time here in the desert..so different a landscape and culture..we loved the desert so much..gorgeous colour and light I just wanted to get my paints out!We walked around the base of the rock…in great time to see the sun setting all of its colours on this amazing monolith that rises out of nowhere.We also walked in the olgas..forgotten the aboriginal name…and Kings canyon..amazing.We did plenty of real bush camping..a little jumpy to me who isn’t a great lover of huge insects and snakes..we saw lots much to the children’s delight..Seth wont shut up about the creatures we found for at least another year!We headed on to the coast another 3 day drive..kids getting really fed up on the last day..6 hours in a hot car got the better of all of us..we ended up shouting and deciding we were going home to comfy beds..food(peanut butter and noodles..I will never stock in my cupboard again!!!)and sensible weather!!!!it was all over when solace was found in an ice cream and the kids were friends with Australia again.We travelled through mining towns and met lots of drunken men in swimming pools which seemed to attach to me for the whole evening..Hamish sits on the side grinning or reading his book!We went through Alice springs which was an interesting place..lots to see..loads of aboriginis live here it felt very different to anywhere else we had been.I.was drawn to the didgeridoo shop there…and the guy did workshops in the afternoon..the children and I went..I wanted to stay all week and learn it..the guy was an amazing player I could of listened to him forever..fantastic..I have one at home so when I return I will be harassing the neighbours with dulcet towns of Austrailias outback!Townsville in the tropics was good..had a great sea front with water parks for the kids spent a few cooling off hours there and got too much sunburn.Down the coast to Airlie beach a great camping ground lagoon on the beach..and we treated ourselves to a trip to the great barrier reef…fantastic to see this underwater world..Flora reckons she saw a reef shark…but no one else did..but she got out pretty quick afterwards..so who knows!Another few days down the queensland coast..(very flooded)and we eventually arrived near Brisbane..at Dee and Davids House..again an amazing couple so busy yet allowed us to recoup in thier home..we are so very thankful to God for all these amazing people who have been so hospitable..it has helped us so much.We took the kids to Steve Irwins Zoo yesterday..had a brilliant day..saw alsorts from cute koalas to Crocs..we held pythons alligators Kangaroos..a fantastic zoo everyone was so friendly and up beat..like the man himself…the kids had a wonderful day they wont forget..some lovely photos to follow this blog soon..just cant do it at the moment..so keep an eye out.We fly out to Singapore tomorrow night..and our trek around Malaysia and Borneo is to begin….then on to India in a few weeks.I think this is the scariest bit we are not familiar with Asia but are told its very cheap which is gonna help..we are going to leave our tent here(I`m personally distraught our camping trip is over…)Cant wait to come home now..keep us in your thoughts and prayers..lots of love Rachel Hamish and children,

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