Tsunami Alert !! - March 2011

On 11 March 2011 there was a  huge 8.9-magnitude earthquake which devastated north-east Japan when it caused a tsunami. 

What is a tsunami?
A tsunami is a large ocean wave usually caused by an underwater earthquake or a volcanic explosion. Tsunamis are NOT tidal waves. Tidal waves are caused by the forces of the moon, sun, and planets upon the tides, as well as the wind as it moves over the water. With typical waves, water flows in circles, but with a tsunami, water flows straight. This is why tsunamis cause so much damage! 

It was thought that the tsunami might travel across the seas to Fiji, there was a tsunami alert in Fiji.  We had to leave our house at 8pm and travel a long way up a hill to a safe place in case the tsunami reached Fiji.  The company that our Daddy works for has a very big office building in a very safe place and this is where we all had to go.  It was very exciting!!! We brought some warm clothes, blankets and supplies with us in case we had to stay there for a long time...

This is us playing with a little girl, it was so late and past her bedtime but she was not sleep at all!

This is us pretending to be asleep!

Ahhhh. This is Leah asleep!  Lots of people were asleep on the office floors as it was very late and we were all very tired.  There were no beds because it is an office and people were sleep on blankets on the floor.

This is my Daddy working ...

Another picture of Leah asleep :-)

Casey could not go to sleep so she was watching dvds !!!! and playing in the computer until 5am in the morning!!!!

This is me at a desk in the office, all of the children were asleep except me!!!! I was playing games on the computer while all of the other adults waited for news of when we could go back to our houses...

Daddy

Mummy

We were able to go home at around 5am in the morning when we were told that the tsunami alert had ended and it was safe to go back home ... we were all very tired as we had no sleep ...... but we were very happy to be safe and we felt very sorry for all of the poor people in Japan.

Suva, Fiji - February 2011

Suva, Fiji

We live in Suva, Fiji. 

Suva is the capital and largest city of  Fiji.  It is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu.
Suva is Fiji's political and administrative capital and home to almost half of the country's population. It's also the largest and the most sophisticated city in the South Pacific and has become an important regional centre; students from the Pacific region and a growing expatriate community make up a significant portion of the city's population (from Wikipedia)

Government Buildings

Memorial Statue of Sir Ratua Sakuna Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, KCMG, KBE (22 April 1888 - 30 May 1958) was a Fijian chief, scholar, soldier, and statesman. He is regarded as the forerunner of the post-independence leadership of Fiji. He did more than anybody to lay the groundwork for self-government by fostering the development of modern institutions in Fiji, and although he died a dozen years before independence from the United Kingdom was achieved in 1970, his vision set the course that Fiji was to follow in the years to come.

Fiji Museum and Thurston Gardens 

Casey and Leah in front of a Bilibili, traditioan boat.  This one was for a chief - we know this because it has while shells on it.  Chiefs homes also have while shells on the outside.

This is a simple boat that would be used everyday.

This is an old red letter box which was in Suva when Fiji was a British colony.

Thurston Museum Gardens, Suva

This clock tower was in memory of GJ Marks who was the first Mayor of Suva.

Grand Pacific Hotel

The Grand Pacific Hotel has now become a vacant derelict building, it is now owned by the Fijian Government and news is that work is going to begin on it in JJuly this year to bring it back to what it used to look like.

This is the way the Grand Pacific Hotel used to look in 1925

 Albert Park

Albert Park is where cricket and rugby is played ..

Umaria Park

This is the best playground in Suva! it is right beside the sea ...

This is a Tsunami Warning sign - because the playground is right beside the sea - it would be a very dangerous place to be if there was a tsunami ... we had a tsunami warning in Fiji in March - we will post about that next!!

Cricket ground right beside the playground

We love playgrounds ...

Downtown Suva

Government House

This is the entrance to Governent House, which is the official residence of the President of Fiji. 

Here is a picture of us with the Guard, an army officer is standing behind.  The Guard does not smile or talk with you and he has a gun with a bayonet (knife!!) on the end!! He has to protect the Presidents house.

This is Government House

War Memorial

This is a war memorial to recognise all of those who lost their lives while serving their country in the wars.

 

We hope you enjoyed seeing a little bit of Suva!!!! Lots more to come soon!!!

Making brownies, Tennis and the Rain!!! - March 2011

Casey making chocolate brownies .. yummy !

So chocolately ....

When the brownies are cooked in the oven, we have to let them cool..... because of the hot weather in Fiji, we have to keep all of the food away from ants .... so we have to put the tray of brownies on a mug which is in a tray of water !!!! The ants will not go into the tray of water because they can't swim!!!!!

 Did you know ... that an Ant can survive weeks without food .... but not more than a day without water ??!!

Off to tennis!

Whose for a game ?

When it rains here, it is really heavy and the thunder is so so loud !!!!!!!We love swimming in the rain!!!!

Brisbane - February 2011

We went to Brisbane in Australia in February!  First thing we did was get hot chocolates in Starbucks!!!! We love hot chocolates!!!!!

We went on the Big Wheel in Brisbane City, this is us buying the tickets with Daddy..

This was the 'capsule' that we were in ... it was so cool .. we got to see lots of Brisbane from really high up ..

Can you see us ?!!!!

This is us on a bridge in Brisbane and can you see the big wheel that we were on in the photo?

Two Kangaroos!

Statues!!!!!! They look so real!!!!

Leah and Casey :-)

Picture of our Mum and us....

This is the river - still muddy because of the queensland floods

And this is our Dad ...

We just loved Brisbane !!!