Last Day Photos

Just a few snaps for the grand finale!

Super U last minute shopping for goodies.

Making sure the kid's managed alright.

Getting ready to go through Customs and book in.

I'm cool!

Mr. Kaiyo's final thumb's up - We are on our way home!

This is the famous George! Thank you for everything.

Eveline and the girls - All's well that ends well!

Last photo before our final farewells.

Back Home

Our great trip has finally reached it's end, with all the kids getting home safely. I absolutely enjoyed myself, and this has been a great bunch of kids. They are like a family, brothers and sisters, who really look out for each other, and I have truly appreciated having this experience with them.
Many thanks go to the team at the Observatory, they were just splendid! Thanks to Mrs. Martingale whose 'Mother Hen' instincts make us feel secure whenever she is around. Thanks to Mrs. Vismer who tirelessly took photos and kept the blog updated which is a laborious task at times, we appreciated her presence with us.
To all the kids, I encourage you to continue to learn to love and respect your peers, and to BELIEVE all the way!! I love you all very much, yes you too Eglantine, and I'll see you on Tuesday at school.

Mr. Kaiyo.

Last Day!

It really flew by but the time has come to pack our bags, say fare wells and enjoy a last great meal before returning home to eager parents and friends. This morning saw everyone in a mad frenzy of packing and cramming all their things into suitcases that suddenly seemed too small. Beds were stripped and rooms made clean. After a quick breakfast Claudie gave one last chance for questions and showed the kids the amazing new telescope that is operated with a computer and can be used by other users via the internet from any where in the world. Truly amazing! Time for some games and last minute packing before heading for the Super U and a chance to buy some treats before heading for the airport. What a super cool time we all had! A HUGE thank you to Claudie, George & Eveline for their hard work and effort to make our time so fantastic!
Parents, please remember to fetch your child from the airport by 7pm tonight - See you soon.

Boys getting their things together.

Saying thank you and handing out gifts.

Last photo for a keep sake. Thank you Claudie!

Another bite of day 5

 ....I wonder if i can see my dad from here

 ...Never thought I would look for shade at the volcano!

 Not a real rainbow, that's the suns effect as it shines through a layer of the atmosphere with a lot of ice particles. Absolutely AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!! 

 This is how you catch tiny bugs.

 ....Are those people or bright colored ants?!?!?!?!

......I just love this place!!

Photos at of the Volcano visit - Day 5

Here are just a few to give you an idea of how it went:-

Getting a better view on our way up.

Close your eyes for the big surprise!

And here we have the Moon!! ;-)

Going for our adventurous lunch.

So where are all the birds?

Birds and lots of other things to see.

Yasmine?!

Mr. Kaiyo's turn.

A perfect day at the volcano!

Going back, clouds fluffy like snow.

Dessert!!

Supper at last.

FANTABULOUS!!!!

Wow! the grade 6 class of last year would be so jealous if they saw what this year's grade 6 saw and did at the volcano. The weather was superb, and we loved every moment. We set off early today, stopping just before St. Pierre for a picnic breakfast. I will not tell you, but the amount of Nutella that went on those baggettes was interesting!!!!Most kids mentioned that they don't even dare mention nutella at home. before long, we were off to the volcano, most of us snoozing on the bus as the fatigue is catching up with us. A National Park's guide was waiting for us, to give us all the information we could handle. He was friendly, and really spoiled the children. The kids each had a pair of binoculars, trying to spot the birds flying at an altitude of over 2200meters. The kids also learned the "umbrella technique" of catching insects, and he seemed to know them all. We were "wowed" by the plain of sand, which resembles the surface of the moon, before settling for a picnic lunch. After lunch, it was time to learn about vegetation at high altitude, before setting off to see the main volcano at piton de la Fournaise. It was interesting to see the lava trace from last year's eruption, and previous eruptions.
Soon after that, we were back on the road heading for a final stop of the day, Decathlon, for the first shopping experience. The drive down was spectacular, as we could see below us a sea of clouds, and the mountains forming the sea shore. Before long we were driving through that sea of clouds, and the kids just wanted to stop to grab some 'souvenir clouds' to take home.
Decathlon was quite an experience with most of them undecided on what to get, and some not having enough money to get all they wanted. Niels just had a joyride on the jayboard all through the shop, and not even buying it at the end of it all. We managed to all get out with something, and we were back on the bus back to the observatory. Showers, followed by a great dinner, and now we are waiting, with a group of about 40 people who are here for the public night. Not much stars yet, and so we are all here waiting and hoping that they will pop out soon. 

The Night Sky and some Photos!

Here are some photos from last night:

Getting ready to use the big telescope.

Shooting stars that looked like fireworks. Amazing!!

Grace having her turn.

Wow!

Having a look at the princess.

Um, has it moved?

Having a last look before heading for bed and warmth.

Fantastic Evening!

We finally had our first clear sky evening, and WOW, what an incredible evening. After yet another GREAT meal, (will leave the kids to tell you all about the meals, and if you not one of the parents, well, I guess you'll just keep guessing!) we were off to use one of the big telescopes. The first thing Claudie showed us was the Scorpion constellation, and right at the bottom of that was the planet Mars. So we viewed Mars using the telescope, and that was amazing. We then went on to view other objects, which with the naked eye are just a dot, but with the telescope are galaxies or groups of stars. We viewed things that are between 8 000 to 12 000 light years away, which means;
9,740,000,000,000,000 x 12,000 (you do the math, and the answer is how far these stars and galaxies are in kilometers. good luck!) Claudie then showed us all the different constellations using a special green laser, and the kids were quite intrigued by it.
At the moment, the Earth is passing through a field full of spacial dust ( Huge ice boulders in our language) and so we had a fantastic display of shooting stars the whole evening.
Tonight the observatory will be open to the public, and the kids will be join in as they always have a special presentation of the sky on public nights, so it's something to look forward to and we hope the skies will be friendly again.
We are now off to the Volcano, and hoping that the weather will be great.
So catch you later!

Lunch & Horse Riding - Day 4

Here some pic's to keep you unpdated:

Niels' special 'no onion' starter!