Hanging on Down Under

As Tamsin and Chris are occasionally partial to a glass of wine, or two, and as a thank you for letting us stay with them for the week, Steve and I decided to send them on a wine tour, whilst we looked after the kids for the day.

So as Tamsin and Chris left - wearing that giddy look that parents get when they have no responsibilty for the day - we made our way to the centre of Melbourne and a science exhibition.

Within seconds of our arrival Archie had sniffed out the SNES Mario game and Ella was trying to feign interest in my stories of 'old' computers. I'd just explained about how her mum and I used to have to wait for hours for the cassette tape in our Atari to load up Space Invaders, before I realised she had walked off to find Steve - and I had been talking to a confused Australian school boy.

We spent the morning exploring the interactive displays - making a Matrix style slow motion movie clip, playing on old computers and generally pressing buttons to our hearts content!

After lunch, Steve left to catch up with Todd. Archie, Ella and I decided to spend another hour or so in the museum. Ella particularly enjoyed playing hide and seek in the pitch black room  (a slightly unnerving experience when you're in charge of someone else's children!) and it took a bit of persuading to get Archie away from the computers!

Following that I made the slightly misguided decision to try and find a playground in the nearby park. After twenty minutes of walking I had two fairly grumpy children who at one point lay on the grass and refused to go any further. Like a good uncle, I bribed them with icecream and we made our way to a park we'd visited the day before.

We spent an hour and a bit creating adventure stories on climbing frames, slides and swings. Ella made me be the monster and chase her, but it was Archie who left with a big sense of pride and achievement. Having just turned seven he found it hard to even reach the monkey bars, however that didn't stop him trying. The previous day, with a little help from his dad, he'd tried time and time again and managed all but one bar before he was exhausted. This would be the day though; he'd done his press ups, he'd got a new haircut and he was ready.

The moment he achieved his goal was a little bittersweet for me - although it was great to see his joy at completing the monkey bars, he had also managed to kick me in a rather tender area on his way down. I blurted out a 'Brilliant!' as I crumpled on the ground in a heap.

As we walked back down the road, with Ella trying to convince me of the merits of her having another piggyback, we heard a big crash. Turning, I saw that a car had pulled out in front of a tram and the two had collided. Whilst it was stopped we took the chance to hop on and rest three pairs of weary little legs - only to find Tamsin and Chris on board.

That night, our last in Australia, we had a barbecue and admired the amazing view from the apartment. Steve's friend, Jack, joined us an entertained with some juggling skills, whilst Tamsin helped ammend his CV, the best anyone can after visiting four vineyards in an afternoon!

We were leaving early the next morning, so, sadly, it was time to say goodbye to Archie and Ella. We read a few stories together before falling asleep on their bed. I'm terrible at goodbyes at the best of times, but with those two it always feels so much harder. Part of the reason - and I know I'm biased - is that they're such good kids, despite those devilish smiles!

Almost as hard is saying goodbye to Tamsin an Chris. It is not an understatement to say that without their help in past few years, I wouldn't have been able to take this amazing trip. I only hope that they know how much I appreciate their support - moral and financial! Thank you guys.

Our time in Australia was only short. Steve had used it to catch up with old friends and visit wineries (not a bad week!) and I had had the chance to watch F1, eat great food and spend time with my amazing family - oh, and see a wombat... Don't forget the wombat!