It is only a short drive north from Bribane to the Sunshine Coast. There are numerous small towns along the coast that are vacation destinations for many Australians as well as tourists from all over the world. The weather is very warm, in the 90's, and the ocean is so warm you can stay in the water a long time.
Our home exchange is in the town of Maroochydore and the house is situated on a canal that goes all the way to the ocean about a mile away. We had been invited to come a day early to meet Kerri and Jan and to share a BBQ with them. They also wanted to show us around the area so that we would feel more comfortable when they left. Actually, they were going to their daughter's farm for several days to do some work there and then they were moving back to a camper park in town for the remainder of our stay in their house. They love to camp and the park is a pretty nice place. The weather was not always sunny as rain showers would pass by often, not sprinkles but real downpours. It was a nice change to have some weather even if it didn't cool the temperature very much. The country around here is green, wooded and has many tall hills surrounded by flatter planes. There are many very scenic drives with view points in the area. We took a drive to a park that is a small piece of virgin rainforest; the country was all like that before the settlers came who were amazed at the beauty of the plant life, moths, butterflies, birds, and even snakes that this type of land once nutured. The strangler fig trees are amazing as they spout from seeds dropped high up in another tree and grow roots that decend to the ground and then the host tree dies and disappears from the center of the fig tree so that there is a void in the middle of the network of huge roots.
There was an ironman competition on the beach last Saturday. It had three skills - a surf board paddle , a kayak segment and a swimming leg. The competition was held on a day when there was a large surf and there were many of the contestants who crashed in the surf. There are areas of the beach that are protected by lifeguards. There is a tradition here that local life saving clubs are established along the beaches and they train youngsters how to handle the ocean rips and emergencies that come up. The life saving towers are manned daily during the summer and are a great source of pride for the town. This is a volunteer service and the club will have frequent practices and even lifesaving competitions with other clubs during the year. The clubs put flags on the beach to keep swimmers in the safe areas that the lifeguards can patrol but there are many drownings because people swim outside those flagged areas.
Several of the first days here the ocean was very rough and there were alot of jelly fish washed up on the shore. These were called "stingers" and were like little plastic bags about the size of a 50 cent piece with a long thread attached. The thread would get in contact with your body and leave a painful welt which vinagar would take care of. We only heard this as we had no personal contact with the jelly fish.
We will be away from a computer for awhile so stay in good health and we will be on line again soon. Rose and Russ
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Still from the Sunshine Coast
As we left Sydney behind, we didn't really have a clear picture of how long a drive it was to Brisbane. It took a long 2 days driving to get there. When the kids are out of school in the month of January, the families pack up and go the beaches, National Parks and camping anywhere in the outback. We found that beach campgrounds were full; this was the first time we had a problem staying where we wanted to.
The map to Brisbane was good and the navigators skills were sharp so we drove directly into Brisbane just about rush hour on a Friday night without a single problem. The freeways there are truely a work of art. They sit over the edge of the river with graceful lines and are truly beautiful. The Brisbane River takes several bends as it flows through the city which is arranged around these bends. As in all of the larger cities, there is a great transportation system and with a day rider ticket costing 5.90 AUD one can travel all day on every form of transport available; we rode up and down and across the river often - it was particularly impressive at night. One side of the river is all park with a huge sandy lagoon called City Beach to swim in and great prominades with flower gardens and museums.
We have been very fortunate to have good friends, Greg and Karen in Melbourne, who had an apartment in downtown Brisbane which they allowed us to use during our 5 days in town. Centrally located, we could walk to anything we wanted to see or we could easily catch a ferry anywhere. It also came with underground parking which is truely valuable in a big city; parking is always a problem. The apartment was on the 15th floor so we had an impressive view of the city reaching to the river. In our wanderings around the city center we came upon a real Irish pub. There was a large crowd of people all singing as loud as possible and drinking beer or whiskey in between verses. The fellow playing the guitar sang for a very long time, one song after another; it was great. Russ enjoyed the Irish Stew, Rosie the fish and chips.
January 26th is Australia Day here, and it is celebrated much the same as we would celebrate July 4th with parties, BBQs, and fireworks at night. There's a tradition in Brisbane of the world famous cockroach races that are held most of the day in a large yard behind an old hotel. People collect or purchase cockroaches and enter them in a race from the center of a circle to the finish line. The entrance fee is $5 which goes to a charity. There's a circle mat where they drop the roaches which then run to the edges. They are all numbered so with the help of many referees they catch the first several who cross the outside boundaries and declare the winners and runners up. There was a very large crowd, it was hot, hot, hot so there were beer sales of course; everyone was in great humour and it was a great time. The fireworks later that evening were set off on a barge in the river where we could walk to a bridge and have a great view of the spectacle. Brisbane is a beautiful city with lots of attractions and really great weather. Now we are headed farther north where we have a home exchange set up for the coming 2 weeks. Cheers once again from Rose and Russ on the Sunshine Coast.
The map to Brisbane was good and the navigators skills were sharp so we drove directly into Brisbane just about rush hour on a Friday night without a single problem. The freeways there are truely a work of art. They sit over the edge of the river with graceful lines and are truly beautiful. The Brisbane River takes several bends as it flows through the city which is arranged around these bends. As in all of the larger cities, there is a great transportation system and with a day rider ticket costing 5.90 AUD one can travel all day on every form of transport available; we rode up and down and across the river often - it was particularly impressive at night. One side of the river is all park with a huge sandy lagoon called City Beach to swim in and great prominades with flower gardens and museums.
We have been very fortunate to have good friends, Greg and Karen in Melbourne, who had an apartment in downtown Brisbane which they allowed us to use during our 5 days in town. Centrally located, we could walk to anything we wanted to see or we could easily catch a ferry anywhere. It also came with underground parking which is truely valuable in a big city; parking is always a problem. The apartment was on the 15th floor so we had an impressive view of the city reaching to the river. In our wanderings around the city center we came upon a real Irish pub. There was a large crowd of people all singing as loud as possible and drinking beer or whiskey in between verses. The fellow playing the guitar sang for a very long time, one song after another; it was great. Russ enjoyed the Irish Stew, Rosie the fish and chips.
January 26th is Australia Day here, and it is celebrated much the same as we would celebrate July 4th with parties, BBQs, and fireworks at night. There's a tradition in Brisbane of the world famous cockroach races that are held most of the day in a large yard behind an old hotel. People collect or purchase cockroaches and enter them in a race from the center of a circle to the finish line. The entrance fee is $5 which goes to a charity. There's a circle mat where they drop the roaches which then run to the edges. They are all numbered so with the help of many referees they catch the first several who cross the outside boundaries and declare the winners and runners up. There was a very large crowd, it was hot, hot, hot so there were beer sales of course; everyone was in great humour and it was a great time. The fireworks later that evening were set off on a barge in the river where we could walk to a bridge and have a great view of the spectacle. Brisbane is a beautiful city with lots of attractions and really great weather. Now we are headed farther north where we have a home exchange set up for the coming 2 weeks. Cheers once again from Rose and Russ on the Sunshine Coast.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
G'day from the Sunshine Coast
For the last month we have been without regular access to a computer so that's our reason for not blogging more regularly. The computer is available now and it is raining so we will try to catch up with our travels.
On our return to Western Australia from Boxing Day in Melbourne and New Years in Sydney, we made Fremantle our home for almost 2 weeks; it's a wonderful place to experience all sorts of things that we don't see in Montana. The harbor there is busy 24/7 with all sorts of general cargo ships and the huge car carriers. There are restaurants and bars and wonderful pubs all close by. They have a prison built sometime in the 1800's that was used until 1991 for men and 1970's for females. The prison was really a brutal place. The Fremantle Maritime Museum covers the history of Western Australia, the shipwrecks, the America's cup races, the merchant trade, and the different boats that made history there. It was quite an important port for the US navy during WWII. When they had the America's Cup races there in the 1980's, it really revitalized the town - even though America won the races. Some new Fremantle friends, Ari and Wendy directed us to several great pubs. One is called Little Creatures, a brewery that has an eatery also. We enjoyed a kangaroo meat dinner there - it was really tender and tasty, great beer also. The other pub - Clancy's claim to fame is mango beer. It was a great place to eat and to bring the family. One of our greatest joys in finding the mango beer was that since we had heard about it from Patsy and Mike, they were able to join us the next night to test and confirm its authenticity; haven't been able to find that mango beer anywhere else, however, we are still looking!!!!
There is an island just off the coast where the are "little penguins". Also called fairy penguins, these little birds are only about a yard tall, really cute little things. On that island there are all sorts of other sea birds like albatross and terns. It is protected from the mainland by about 300 yards of ocean, very shallow so that you could walk across it, but enough to keep the cats and dogs away. It was a very nice day exploring the island and having a swim in the bay.
On the 17th of January we took a plane to Sydney and rented a car for the rest of our time in Australia. We have gotten lost the other times we have driven in Sydney and this time was no exception. We finally found our way south to the Woolongong area and a motel with an overlook that was amazing. It was perched on a cliff edge overlooking 4 or 5 towns and the ocean surf and coastline for about 30 km. The terminology for things is a little different here as the word college doesn't necessarily mean a school of higher learning; the term can apply to a highschool or a group of doctors also. We were going to Glengarry College which was in a beautiful valley completely surrounded by mountains. This is a school in the woods, grade 9, offering an outdoor enrichment program for a private highschool in Sydney. As school was out at this time we had a great time canoeing and fishing in the Kangaroo Valley with Helen and Dennis Nickel - longtime friends of Dan and Cary Heskett from Kalispell. We saw kangaroos, wallabees, echidnas and wombats, a beautiful star show that night, but no snakes, thank goodness; Australia is home to 8 or 10 of the most dangerous snakes in the world.
Our next trip took us around Sydney instead of through it. We have met numerous local people who also can't figure out how to drive through Sydney so we don't feel too badly. We are now headed to Brisbane in Queensland which is another story. Stay tuned. Russ and Rosie.
On our return to Western Australia from Boxing Day in Melbourne and New Years in Sydney, we made Fremantle our home for almost 2 weeks; it's a wonderful place to experience all sorts of things that we don't see in Montana. The harbor there is busy 24/7 with all sorts of general cargo ships and the huge car carriers. There are restaurants and bars and wonderful pubs all close by. They have a prison built sometime in the 1800's that was used until 1991 for men and 1970's for females. The prison was really a brutal place. The Fremantle Maritime Museum covers the history of Western Australia, the shipwrecks, the America's cup races, the merchant trade, and the different boats that made history there. It was quite an important port for the US navy during WWII. When they had the America's Cup races there in the 1980's, it really revitalized the town - even though America won the races. Some new Fremantle friends, Ari and Wendy directed us to several great pubs. One is called Little Creatures, a brewery that has an eatery also. We enjoyed a kangaroo meat dinner there - it was really tender and tasty, great beer also. The other pub - Clancy's claim to fame is mango beer. It was a great place to eat and to bring the family. One of our greatest joys in finding the mango beer was that since we had heard about it from Patsy and Mike, they were able to join us the next night to test and confirm its authenticity; haven't been able to find that mango beer anywhere else, however, we are still looking!!!!
There is an island just off the coast where the are "little penguins". Also called fairy penguins, these little birds are only about a yard tall, really cute little things. On that island there are all sorts of other sea birds like albatross and terns. It is protected from the mainland by about 300 yards of ocean, very shallow so that you could walk across it, but enough to keep the cats and dogs away. It was a very nice day exploring the island and having a swim in the bay.
On the 17th of January we took a plane to Sydney and rented a car for the rest of our time in Australia. We have gotten lost the other times we have driven in Sydney and this time was no exception. We finally found our way south to the Woolongong area and a motel with an overlook that was amazing. It was perched on a cliff edge overlooking 4 or 5 towns and the ocean surf and coastline for about 30 km. The terminology for things is a little different here as the word college doesn't necessarily mean a school of higher learning; the term can apply to a highschool or a group of doctors also. We were going to Glengarry College which was in a beautiful valley completely surrounded by mountains. This is a school in the woods, grade 9, offering an outdoor enrichment program for a private highschool in Sydney. As school was out at this time we had a great time canoeing and fishing in the Kangaroo Valley with Helen and Dennis Nickel - longtime friends of Dan and Cary Heskett from Kalispell. We saw kangaroos, wallabees, echidnas and wombats, a beautiful star show that night, but no snakes, thank goodness; Australia is home to 8 or 10 of the most dangerous snakes in the world.
Our next trip took us around Sydney instead of through it. We have met numerous local people who also can't figure out how to drive through Sydney so we don't feel too badly. We are now headed to Brisbane in Queensland which is another story. Stay tuned. Russ and Rosie.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Happy New Year from Sydney, New South Wales
Happy New Year from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. We were on a grassy knoll next to the Opera House with a great view of the bridge in all its glory on New Year's Eve. The reason we had such a great place to spread out our blanket is that we planted ourselves there by 11 AM that morning and were soon surrounded by more than a million of our closest friends. As the day progressed, it was obvious we had more space than needed for just the two of us and invited another couple to join us. John and Jane, from London, were of our generation and backpacking around AU for a month. This brief account is just to let you know we are still alive and will write more - filling in the details of this last week spent in Melbourne and Sydney - once we get back to Perth. Leaving Sydney in a few hours on Qantas - a wonderful airline when it comes to passenger service. Take care of you and yours, Russ and Rose
Thursday, December 24, 2009
We have consistently found that the greatest experience in visiting other countries is the wonderful people we meet and enjoy the areas with. Perth has been no exception to this as we have made friends with a number of great people who have very kindly taken the time to show us the highlights of the area and explain the differences in the social and political culture here. That makes for a truly wonderful experience.
We went to an amazing aquarium the other day. Australia have a huge variety of sea life that is found nowhere else in the world - mainly because they are so isolated. There are so many deadly dangerous snakes, jellyfish and fish here and the Aussies just laugh it off - no worries, mate. There is a type of seahorse that looks more like a floating piece of plastic bag and it is no where else in the world. It was really amazing.
We did rent a car and took a 3 day trip south into the wine and cave region of WA. This area is called Margaret River country. There were so many wineries along the roads we traveled that we could have actually tasted wines 8 hours straight for the whole 3 days. It's our experience that most of these wines are available at Costco at less cost than you can buy them here. So that was an educational trip and Rosie found some wines that she really liked. The next day we went on a cave tour that was amazing. All sorts of fantastic formations that took hundreds or even thousands of year to develop. There are some stands of very large trees there also, not as tall or as big around as a redwood but a close second. We stayed in a small chalet and in the field out the kitchen window we watched a large family group of kangaroos feeding as night fell. The young ones (joeys) run around mama just like a fawn does. This was actually the first time we had seen kangaroos in the wild. We also visited a lighthouse on a cape where the Indian Ocean and the Great Southern Ocean meet.
Today is Christmas Eve; we went for a beach walk first thing and then went swimming in the Indian Ocean. The Southern Ocean is really cold to swim in and the Indian Ocean here is maybe called refreshing, but it was a hot day and the swim was great. There are miles and miles of white sand beaches here. On Christmas Day we have been invited to have a picnic with friends along the Swan River which runs through the city of Perth. We are headed to Melbourne late on Christmas Day to meet with friends we met on our 2006 trip.
We would love comments or questions if you have any; just sign in and we will try to write back. We wish all of our friends a wonderful Christmas season; you are in our minds and prayers.
We went to an amazing aquarium the other day. Australia have a huge variety of sea life that is found nowhere else in the world - mainly because they are so isolated. There are so many deadly dangerous snakes, jellyfish and fish here and the Aussies just laugh it off - no worries, mate. There is a type of seahorse that looks more like a floating piece of plastic bag and it is no where else in the world. It was really amazing.
We did rent a car and took a 3 day trip south into the wine and cave region of WA. This area is called Margaret River country. There were so many wineries along the roads we traveled that we could have actually tasted wines 8 hours straight for the whole 3 days. It's our experience that most of these wines are available at Costco at less cost than you can buy them here. So that was an educational trip and Rosie found some wines that she really liked. The next day we went on a cave tour that was amazing. All sorts of fantastic formations that took hundreds or even thousands of year to develop. There are some stands of very large trees there also, not as tall or as big around as a redwood but a close second. We stayed in a small chalet and in the field out the kitchen window we watched a large family group of kangaroos feeding as night fell. The young ones (joeys) run around mama just like a fawn does. This was actually the first time we had seen kangaroos in the wild. We also visited a lighthouse on a cape where the Indian Ocean and the Great Southern Ocean meet.
Today is Christmas Eve; we went for a beach walk first thing and then went swimming in the Indian Ocean. The Southern Ocean is really cold to swim in and the Indian Ocean here is maybe called refreshing, but it was a hot day and the swim was great. There are miles and miles of white sand beaches here. On Christmas Day we have been invited to have a picnic with friends along the Swan River which runs through the city of Perth. We are headed to Melbourne late on Christmas Day to meet with friends we met on our 2006 trip.
We would love comments or questions if you have any; just sign in and we will try to write back. We wish all of our friends a wonderful Christmas season; you are in our minds and prayers.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
G'day from Perth, Dec. 10. Rottnest Island got its name from a small animal called a quokka which looks like a very small kangaroo but which the early Dutch sailors thought was a big rat. They are very friendly and gentle and come right up to you so that you can pet them. There are a lot of vacationers on the island as it has very beautiful beaches and coral formations. We tried a short hike and found that when there is no sea breeze there are lots of flies. These flies are more persistent than Montana flies and they don't always leave when you wave them off. The rules don't allow many cars on the island so to get around you take a bus, rent a bike or walk. There are some really nice resorts on the island and plenty of facilities for vacationers.
Saturday, Dec 12. The city of Perth had a free concert downtown tonight, in a place called the Esplanade, a very large grassy field in the middle of the city. The evening was clear and warm and there were about 10,000 people there. There is a huge ferris wheel right across the road that is lit up with white lights and the seagulls fly around above it all night. It looks like the sky is constantly moving with the white birds circling in the lights above the wheel. The train station is only across the street so a lot of people could get there without driving their cars into town.
On Monday we went to the Perth mint where they used to make coins for WA. Now mostly they mint commemorative issues. There are huge gold nuggets on display there - bigger than a Cherrios box. They also melt down gold and make a large ingot the size of a brick out of it. There are really beautiful opals on display which are mined locally and, of course, for sale!
Today we are planning a trip to the WA aquarium which is supposed to be very impressive. We have planned for Thursday a guided trip to the Swan River Valley. We will write more about those trips soon.
Saturday, Dec 12. The city of Perth had a free concert downtown tonight, in a place called the Esplanade, a very large grassy field in the middle of the city. The evening was clear and warm and there were about 10,000 people there. There is a huge ferris wheel right across the road that is lit up with white lights and the seagulls fly around above it all night. It looks like the sky is constantly moving with the white birds circling in the lights above the wheel. The train station is only across the street so a lot of people could get there without driving their cars into town.
On Monday we went to the Perth mint where they used to make coins for WA. Now mostly they mint commemorative issues. There are huge gold nuggets on display there - bigger than a Cherrios box. They also melt down gold and make a large ingot the size of a brick out of it. There are really beautiful opals on display which are mined locally and, of course, for sale!
Today we are planning a trip to the WA aquarium which is supposed to be very impressive. We have planned for Thursday a guided trip to the Swan River Valley. We will write more about those trips soon.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
G'day! Since Western Australia is 15 hours ahead of Montana, as we write this, you are just finishing dinner on Tuesday while we are between breakfast and lunch on Wednesday. It's cooler today - in the low 80s and the car won't start so we have walked to the library instead of along the beach. We're having three new friends over for dinner this evening - Tamale Pie is on the menu as the one requirement is that it goes with beer. I'm still getting use to the choices at the food market. We were going to get some ice cream for our dessert but can't now as it would melt before we can get it home to the freezer. Had to settle for some biscuits (cookies) and Cadbury chocolates. Perhaps we'll try the car again later. This shopping center - 30 minute walk or 5 minute drive - has it all! At least 100 shops, 2 markets, a cinema, petrol station, library and several food courts, meat/fish shops, bakeries and multiple kiosks set up for Christmas.
We may or may not be able to write again tomorrow as we are thinking of catching the ferry to Rottnest Island for the day - hire bikes and look around there. When we check back in before the weekend, hope to hear what's happening on your top half of the globe. Love, R n R
We may or may not be able to write again tomorrow as we are thinking of catching the ferry to Rottnest Island for the day - hire bikes and look around there. When we check back in before the weekend, hope to hear what's happening on your top half of the globe. Love, R n R
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