Alton Towers - 31st July & 1st August

Another fun filled day today with a visit to the Alton Towers theme park!

It was a bit of a rainy English summer day but that was OK because we all got soaked anyway on the Congo River Rapids, The Flume, and the Battle Galleons...

There were plenty of amazing rides too - Nemesis, Oblivion, Thirteen, Submission, and the Ice Age 4D movie. We even got to battle zombies in the Duel in the Haunted House.

Cadbury World and Sea Life Birmingham - 30th July

A fun day out today in Birmingham! First we visited Cadbury World and toured the Cadbury factory. There were plenty of free samples to eat along the way and a huge shop full of chocolate.


Next it was off to the National Sea Life Centre with plenty of awesome aquarium displays and a cool 4D Turtle Vision movie.

Hotel McGurren - 27th & 28th July

Visited our friends Drew and Jane in Horsmonden near London for a couple of days (Tarsha worked with Drew in Guildford).

The boys enjoyed playing with their girls Phoebe and Lucy and also met George the tortoise. We also visited the Bedgebury Forest where there were lovely walking trails and playgrounds.

Battle Abbey - 27th July

We left the Isle of Wight today and travelled up to Horsmonden near London. Along the way we stopped in at Battle Abbey - the site of the great Battle of Hastings in which the English army was defeated by William the Conqueror of Normandy.

Legend has it that William defeated King Harold of England after poor Harold took an arrow to his eye!

Shanklin Beach - 26th July

Tomorrow we leave the Isle of Wight and return to the mainland UK. We have had a lovely time here and will be sure to visit again and see more of the sights.

Spent a bit more time at Shanklin beach today as well as a quick visit to the Brading Roman Villa.



Shanklin is where our B&B is so we have had plenty of visits to the beach over the last few days!

Osborne House and the Monkey Haven - 25th July

After the Queen's visit Tarsha and I went to Osborne House - the former residence of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Amazing estate which was passed on to the nation after her death in 1901.

It was cool to see the rooms as they were right up until the day she died.




Later in the day we visited the Owl and Monkey Haven and the boys did the Marmoset Encounter where they got to feed and touch the little monkeys! Jacob also nearly lost his glasses to one particularly cheeky little fellow!

The Queen in Cowes - 25th July

Went to see the Queen today in Cowes - the last stop on her Diamond Jubilee tour through the UK.

Thanks to Carly and PJ we got a great front row spot for the walkabout. No royal handshake for the kiwis but otherwise about as close as we could get!