Day 13 – Tuesday 26 December

A relaxed lazy morning recovering from xmas day, Charles & I went by taxi to pick up the car from the Viceroy Hotel.  In Abu Dhabi if you are caught driving with any alcohol in your system it is instantly 3 months jail.  On the way back with the car we refuelled & picked up some groceries.

After lunch we visited Yas Waterworld, a very large water based theme park.  Today the temperature is 25C & the water in the park is all heated, almost like bath water.  There are lots of people enjoying the various water features, but it is not crowded, it is winter & today is a work day.  There are lots of children because it is school holidays.  We start out in the large beach pool which now & again starts to have nice big waves & even more fun.  Then we move onto the moving rivers, floating along on a tube, through tunnels & waterfalls, we do a few circuits of these, getting totally soaked under all the fountains.  Next up we slide down the slippery belly of the cobra, a twisty & very fast waterslide in a tunnel before we burst out the mouth of the cobra into the large warm pool at the base.  Austin is screaming so loudly as we come down the waterslide that the rest of the family can hear him.  Once is enough for me & I chicken out doing any more but the boys have another run down the belly of the cobra.  Tereza, Austin & I walk back to the big lagoon pool whilst Charles & Jackson seek out the roller-coaster ride.  We spend a long time in the water & in the kid’s water park mucking around before the sun starts to get low in the sky & we head out, but we met a desert eagle & Austin had to have a photo with him & then back home.

Charles excels by whipping up another wonderful baked dinner for us all.  We are all tired.  Shower & early bed for all of us.