The McCoys didn’t want to visit a cave this morning, but we did have a wander through the Japanese garden. It would look at its best in springtime, but that didn’t stop the boys enjoying themselves. Jesse wanted to take pictures, so he used my camera as his battery was flat. Max wanted to make a video, so he took the iPhone and filmed himself walking and running along all the paths, doing commentary all the way.

A path featured again at lunchtime: the “Mini Mount Panorama” adjacent to the riverside park in Bathurst. The boys ran around it until they could run no more; a path really gets their imagination going.

Max lost his second tooth either at lunchtime or shortly afterward; in the car he said, “mum, I can’t feel my wobbly tooth any more!”, and sure enough, it was gone. Nobody knows where ... except hopefully the tooth fairy!

It started raining as we crossed the Blue Mountains, and so tonight we decided to stay in a rather luxurious caravan park at Windsor, in an enormous cabin with undercover parking, gas heating, bath, washing mahine, comfy lounge and full kitchen with free food in the pantry. It even has kids toys, free wifi and a great DVD library. Tempted to stay two nights!

Fifty-three days ago we left home in the rain, and today we arrived back to more rain. Seems like we chose a good winter to escape from. We’ve had plenty of fun and adventure, with some relaxation thrown in. It has truly been a blessing to explore our wonderful country in the company of family, friends, and indeed its Creator.