Last chance to Enter … Octonauts Prize Pack Giveaway

April 29, 2015April 29, 2015 | Kidding Around Australia

What a day it has been! I managed to lock myself out of the house this morning thereby making it impossible to get Alegría to kindergarten and Isaac to swimming lessons on time. I had to wait in the cold for 35 minutes for a spare set of house keys to be delivered (got to love family that get you out of a bind), I then get the kids piled in the car only to discover halfway there that Alegría has left her lunch on the front lawn and has decided to pull out her ponytail which I had strategically placed to hide the fact that I hadn’t brushed her hair … so after piling her hair back into a pony/bun that wasn’t fooling anyone, Alegría was safely delivered to kinder and Isaac and I made the last 10 minutes of his lesson for which he screamed the whole time. Little man loves the pool, dislikes lessons! Back home to grab the lunch off the lawn, deliver that and back for Isaac’s nap which he is now resisting…. seriously. one. of. those. days.

But, I digress.

If you haven’t entered our Octonauts competition you have until 5pm AEST to do so by clicking HERE and filling out the form.

Good Luck and I hope your day is going smoothly!

– Georgina

Kidding Around… The Memorial Cross, Mount Macedon

April 25, 2015April 25, 2015 | Kidding Around Australia

Mount Macedon is our go-to when we have interstate or international guests or want to have a fun day trip. At the top of Mount Macedon is the Memorial Cross which commemorates those who gave their lives in the 1914 – 1918 war.

After the Shrine of Remembrance, many consider the Mount Macedon Memorial Cross to be the most significant war memorial in Victoria and it is a popular destination on ANZAC day where thousands gather for the dawn service each year.

After a short 200m walk from the car park, on a sealed path which is pram and wheelchair friendly, you will reach the Memorial Cross and lookout. The view from the Cross is simply breathtaking and takes in the entire southern plain towards Port Philip Bay. There are other lookouts along the path for those who wish to extend their visit.

The Cross is 21 metres in height and 1001 metres above sea level and was originally unveiled in 1935. The current structure was constructed in 1995 as the old cross was damaged due to storm and fire.

Georgina Says

Mount Macedon is great during any season – when it snows in Winter it is a perfect place for free snow play or for enjoying the open gardens of houses you wish you owned in Autumn and Spring.

When visiting you should stop at the Top of the Range Tea Rooms and Gallery for a meal, beverage or Devonshire tea – it’s become an institution! Alternatively, bring your own supplies and stop at one of the six picnic grounds on the 4km stretch of road on Cameron Drive leading to Mount Macedon Memorial Cross Reserve.

Don’t forget to keep an eye out for Kenneth, the Park Ranger Peacock and the array of native birds and animals that call the Macedon Regional Park their home!

MORE INFORMATION

Location: The end of Cameron Drive, Mount Macedon, Victoria 3441

Cost: Free

Website: Parks Victoria look after the Macedon Regional Park http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/macedon-r.p. and the Top of the Range http://topoftherange.net/mountmacedon/ is a great website and will tell you all you need to know!

Please note all details quoted are correct at the time of publishing. All details are subject to change without notice and Kidding Around Australia takes no responsibility for information contained in this post. Please check the appropriate website to ensure that information is still correct and current.

ALL PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES ON THE KIDDING AROUND AUSTRALIA WEBSITE ARE THE EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OF THE KIDDING AROUND AUSTRALIA AUTHORS. ALL IMAGES ARE SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT AND CANNOT BE USED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM KIDDING AROUND AUSTRALIA.

Competition Time! … Octonauts Prize Pack

April 19, 2015May 1, 2015 | Kidding Around Australia

To celebrate the launch of NEW regional and suburban tour dates and shows for Octonauts Live! Operation Reef Shield – touring Australia from June 2015, we’re giving away this awesome Octonauts Prize Pack. To read what we thought of the show click here.

This awesome prize pack includes:

1 x Octonauts and the Orcas’ Book worth $9.99
1 x Octonauts to the Rescue’ Sticker Book worth $8.99
1 x Octonauts and the Adelie Penguins Book worth $11.99
1 x Octonauts: The Amazing Octopod’ Book worth $25.99
2 x Octonauts Magazine worth $11.90
1 x Octonauts Flappity Flippers! DVD worth $15.00

Total Prize Value $83.86

Enter now, and get your tickets to Octonauts Live! Operation Reef Shield at www.octonautslive.com.au

*If you can’t see the entry from please go to our website. Some mobile devices and email providers don’t support this media.

Terms and Conditions: Open to Australian residents only. By entering this competition, you are signing up for the Lifelike Touring Mailing List to receive information on great live shows in your area. You are also agreeing to sign up to the Kidding Around Australia mailing list, if you are not already signed up. You can unsubscribe at any time.

By entering this competition, you are also agreeing to all other terms and conditions.

This is a game of skill not a game of chance. Entries not filling in all the required fields and answering the question will be deemed invalid. The winner will be chosen by originality and creative merit, by a non involved party. The Judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

The winner will be drawn 29/04/15 5.00pm AEST and notified by email and announced on this website on 01/05/15. Winner will have 7 days to respond or we will redraw. We will try our best to contact the winner but cannot be responsible should the winner not receive the notification within the time frame.

The prize is one Octonauts Prize Pack, which includes the items listed above. Prizes are not transferable, changeable or redeemable for cash. Prizes will be sent out by Lifelike Touring and neither they or Kidding Around Australia will be held responsible in the event that they are stolen, lost or damaged in transit.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR EMAIL LIST

COMPUTER – To the right of your screen is a heading that says “Subscribe to email to follow us”. Enter your email address and click FOLLOW. You will then get an email from us in your inbox. You need to confirm your subscription (the link will be in the email) and as easy as that you’re done! We promise not to bombard you and take your privacy seriously!

MOBILE / TABLET – You will need to be on the HOMEPAGE, scroll down past the posts and you will see the “Subscribe to email to follow us”. Enter your email address and click FOLLOW. You will then get an email from us in your inbox. You need to confirm your subscription (the link will be in the email) and as easy as that you’re done! We promise not to bombard you and take your privacy seriously!

Kidding Around at … Le Noir – The Dark Side of Cirque

April 14, 2015April 15, 2015 | Kidding Around Australia

We were given tickets to Le Noir – The Dark Side of Cirque for Sunday night’s performance at the State Theatre, The Arts Centre in Melbourne.

I have been a huge fan of Cirque du Soleil for years, and was really looking forward to seeing Le Noir as many of the performers are from Cirque du Soleil. Tim, on the other hand, has never been to a show like this before. I knew, if Le Noir was anything like Cirque du Soleil then, his mind was about to be blown.

There is no doubt about it … these performers are athletes. Most of the acts in Le Noir are outstanding – all included an element of balance and some made us gasp with fear as the performers defied gravity and physics. Not only were acts impressive, we were also entertained by the audience participation sections. The clown emcee Salvador Salangsang did a great job.

Even though there were kids in attendance, it is not a show I would take mine too. Every act involved some level of undressing, erotic dancing and an intimate embrace at the end. Between acts you could be forgiven for thinking you had stumbled upon a risqué lingerie show, complete with burley body guards. The act’s themselves may be appropriate, but the costumes were, in reality, saucy and there is a fine line between where it would go over their heads and when you would be answering a LOT of questions as to what the performers are (or more to the point, are not) wearing and some of the dance “moves”.

So, if you leave the kids at home, know you are going to see performers in next to nothing, and want to be amazed at what the human body can do then you should enjoy Le Noir. We did. To compare it to Cirque du Soleil is not easy, nor fair. Le Noir is dark. It’s sexy. It doesn’t take much to imagine you are in an underground club in Paris, but first I need to go to the gym!

– Georgina

Le Noir is touring Australia – details can be found at http://www.cirquelenoir.com/

MORE INFORMATION

Venue: State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne

Dates: Thursday 9 April, 8pm; Friday 10 April, 6pm & 9:30pm; Saturday 11 April, 6pm & 9:30pm; Sunday 12 April, 6pm; Tuesday 14 April, 7pm; Wednesday 15 April, 1 pm and 8pm; Thursday 16 April, 8pm; Friday 17 April, 8pm; Saturday 18 April, 2 pm and 8pm.

Prices: Tickets from $59** (additional fees and charges may apply) Bookings: http://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au

AND THE WINNER IS …

April 13, 2015April 13, 2015 | Kidding Around Australia

Congratulations to Nancy who has won two tickets to Le Noir – The Dark Side of Cirque. You and a friend are going to have a wonderful night! Enjoy!

We have sent you an email, please reply so that we can get your tickets to you for tomorrow night!

Thank you to everyone who entered – it’s not too late to get tickets for this fantastic show (we saw it last night and the performers are fantastic! You will be laughing one minute and gasping with fear the next!).

TICKETS AND MORE INFORMATION – http://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au

WIN TICKETS TO LE NOIR IN MELBOURNE!

April 7, 2015April 9, 2015 | Kidding Around Australia

We are so excited to have a double pass (valued at $178) to Le Noir for Tuesday 14th April, 2015, 7pm performance!

‘LE NOIR – THE DARK SIDE OF CIRQUE’

‘Heart in your mouth breathtaking – a mesmerizing experience’ Broadway World

Enter the captivating world of LE NOIR -The Dark Side of Cirque, an extraordinary evening of intimate cirque style entertainment starring some of the most incredible acrobatic acts on earth.

Carefully engineered with the deliberate intention of making the audience part of the entertainment offering a 360-degree spectacular view of the stage. Twenty-four of the very best performers from all four corners of the globe, many of them formerly from Cirque du Soleil, are the centrepiece of this production.

LE NOIR will enthral crowds in this spellbinding theatrical journey. LE NOIR is fast-paced, extremely funny and above all entertaining. With incredible displays of balance, contortion, stamina, aerial artistry and death defying acts, such as the Colombian Wheel of Death, the skills exhibited by the cast of LE NOIR is a show that you don’t want to miss.

LE NOIR is contemporary circus at its most thrilling.

“A feast for the senses … sure to leave your heart racing and jaw on the floor” – Sunday Times Perth

‘…has you on the edge of your seat’ Sunday Telegraph

To enter, simply subscribe to our email list (information on how to do this will be at the bottom of this post) and fill out the form below.

Limit of one entry per person. Competition closes at 5pm on Sunday, April 12, 2015.

Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter to keep up-to-date with upcoming competitions!

MORE INFORMATION

Venue: State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne

Prices: Tickets from $59** (additional fees and charges may apply) Bookings: http://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR EMAIL LIST

Kidding Around Australia … A change is as good as a holiday!

April 5, 2015April 5, 2015 | Kidding Around Australia

We have been up and running for over 7 months now, and we are so happy with the online community that has embraced us and the brands that we have worked with. It really has exceeded all of our expectations!

Although we are really happy with how things are going, I feel the need to fess up! I (Georgina) write most of the content for Kidding Around Australia and, whilst Tim (and the kids) definitely have input into content, it is my word-smithery (yes, I made that word up!) skills that you read and it is me that the brands work with directly.

I have been thinking about the direction of the website a lot lately, and what I want to achieve when I write. Our number one goal when we started was to inspire our readers to get out and enjoy spending time with the children in their life. We also wanted to make it easier for you by giving a first-hand review and providing you with a realistic idea of what to expect (from all of our points of view) and some hints and tips to make your visit or holiday easier.

After reading our reviews, I know many of you have visited attractions that you didn’t know existed or that you hadn’t visited since your childhood. This makes me so happy! I will be revisiting my childhood this week when we visit the Fairy Park in Anakie – I’m very excited to see what it is like all these years later!

That being said, I feel our site is missing some soul. A glimpse into our real lives – not just the fun and awesome stuff that we are very privileged to do. The truth is, often Kidding Around Australia is stressful. Everyone has meltdowns and sometimes we wish we had just stayed home! So from now on I promise to keep it real.

Whilst we will be giving more of ourselves, this is still a public forum so we will continue to keep Alegría and Isaac’s faces hidden in our photos. This may change in the future, but they are still very young and we just want to protect them. On the upside, you can expect to see more photos of Tim and I – aren’t you the lucky ones!!

As a family, we love to give back and to support different causes. I have been sponsoring the same child for 21 years through ChildFund and Ojok is definitely part of our family. He is currently studying to be a Doctor in Uganda and we are so proud of him! A portion of our income from this website will go directly to Ojok to help him with his university fees. If you would like to help too please email us at info@kiddingaroundaustralia.com for more information.

In addition to this, we also want to support you – our online community. We will be working with a variety of brands to bring to you our monthly “Random Acts of Kid-ness”. If you know someone or a family who could do with a day or night out, a pamper session, some new toys (really the possibilities will be endless!) please let us know. We be uploading an online form to fill out if you want to nominate someone, but in the mean time email us at info@kiddingaroundaustralia.com and put Random Act of Kid-ness in the subject title. We are really excited to add this feature to our website!

We are looking forward to growing Kidding Around Australia and adding extra content (like some of pretty fantastic competitions) to our reviews and sponsored posts. I would love to hear what you would like to read and see on our site as well. So, pull up a virtual chair and let’s talk. I’m listening.

Wishing you a Happy Easter, 2015!

Image | April 5, 2015 | Kidding Around Australia

{Sponsored Post} Le Noir

April 2, 2015 | Kidding Around Australia

CP_ENT14_00034_Le_Noir_2014_Internal_Image_591x346px_HR_jpg_153778 — Photo Credit: Supplied

We can’t wait to enter the captivating and electrifying world of Le Noir when the show comes to Melbourne from April 9, 2015. Le Noir is a truly unique theatrical experience featuring 22 of the greatest cirque performers on the planet, all of whom are award winning athletes and many former stars of Cirque du Soleil.

With world class acrobats, musicians, specialty acts and comedians this spell-binding theatrical journey promises to be surreal, beautiful, seductive and at times hilariously risqué – just the way we like it!

The Sydney season of Le Noir finishes on Sunday, April 5 and will travel to Melbourne, then Adelaide from April 22 finishing in Canberra from May 6 2015.

MORE INFORMATION

http://cirquelenoir.com/ and they are on Facebook as well!