The tree where Jamie, Liam and Ryan swing on a Tarzan rope has been cut down. The creek is murky due to heavy rainfall. There aren’t as much birds to wake you up with their cheerful songs at 4am in the morning. No sounds of crickets and croaking frogs, and no fireflies to light up the night. What we have is the sound of thunderstorm and pouring rain. The weather couldn’t make up its mind. It pretty much sun…rain…sun…rain… every half hour. We decided we can’t let the weather dampen our spirits, so we played celebrity heads, chillaxed and then ate [View Full Entry]

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I can spend my last remaining breath watching the sun’s dying blaze change colour every minute on Cable beach, frolic with the wild dolphins in Monkey Mia, swim amongst the fishes and turtles of Coral Bay in its crystal clear turquoise waters and get lost in an alien like environ of Numbumg National Park amongst the pinnacles. From the wildflower country of Pilbara, to the bays and city of Perth, one can have a sensory overload with such diverse natural wonders. The vibrant colours, stunning scenery, coloured dirt roads, beautiful sunset, white sandy beaches, turquoise water, breathtaking coastal cliffs, red river [View Full Entry]

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Inspired by Ewan McGregor’s “Long Way Round” road trip documentary, Jamie and Liam embarked on a journey around Australia in 28 days. They left Brisbane (east coast of Australia) on 25 November 2009 and drove all the way to Broome (west coast of Australia). Ryan and I flew to Broome a week later to join part of their road trip all the way down to Perth. Then Ryan and I caught the flight back home on the 18th of December with a day stopover in Sydney, while Jamie and Liam continued their journey around Australia en route home to Brisbane before [View Full Entry]

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Sitting by the campfire...chatting...chillaxing, when all of a sudden, a number of strange sparks appeared in the dark. My heart started to beat like a jungle drum. Can they be ... the enchanting magical creatures I haven't seen since I was a child ? A sense of nostalgia flooded my senses. I felt like a kid again. I found myself chasing these twinkling little creatures with Ryan. We caught a few...had a close look...savoured the joy they bring, then set them free. I never knew fireflies existed in Australia. It was such a complete surprise to have stumbled upon these magical [View Full Entry]

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Australia has been having the wackiest weather this year which could be attributed to climate change. We just had the hottest winter (34 *C) in Brisbane last August, whilst other parts of the country are experiencing flash floods and snow storms. As far as I remember, August has been the coldest month in winter here in Australia due to wind chill factor. Today, NSW and Southern Queensland was hit by a huge dust storm - a historic record with highest level of particles in the air 1,500 times than the normal, dumping 75,000 tons of dust per hour. Sydney residents woke [View Full Entry]

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I can't sleep ... and I can only blame it on the freezing weather and high caffeine intake. I have consumed too much tea and coffee throughout the day just to keep warm. As I lay awake, my eyes got fixated on the shadows of trees swaying back and forth around our tent. Gust of wind eerily bellows through the night making my skin break out in goose bumps. Thermometer drops a degree by the hour. I put on another layer of clothing and thicker socks…still…no reprieve from the wintry windy weather. As my body shuts down from prolonged restlessness, my [View Full Entry]

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I always admired the Glasshouse Mountains from the distance. One of my favourite photo was a shot of a family fishing on Bribie Island with the Glasshouse mountains in the backdrop, which is featured in my previous blog . We always drive past the mountains everytime we go to the beach at the Sunshine coast. It’s one of Queensland’s iconic natural wonders after Fraser Island, Whitsunday and The Great Barrier Reef. After all these years, we’ve never set foot on these mountains until recently. It was another long weekend, so we thought to take the opportunity to go camping again. It’s [View Full Entry]

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My little 5 yr old Ryan stopped for a moment and said “I just crossed the desert…and I’m thirsty !”, huffing and puffing begging for water as we climbed over the sand dune after a very pleasant swim at Lake Wabby. Lake Wabby is one of the fascinating lakes of Fraser Island. To get there, we hiked through the forest then climbed over the Hammerstone sand dune down to the lake. The emerald water of Lake Wabby is enchanting. We had the lake all to ourselves. Whilst engulfed in the serenity of our environs, we were surrounded by black catfish and [View Full Entry]

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Finally, I had the chance to capture the ambience of Brisbane by night. It is strange how it is easy to overlook the beauty of the city you live in. Your environs seem ordinary when you see it everyday. But somehow, standing at Kangaroo Park, a moment came when I suddenly had a great appreciation of the true beauty of the place we call home. It was an ordinary but another beautiful day. The sky is a stunning shade of blue with few scattered clouds. We went out for a BBQ at Kangaroo Park along the river overlooking downtown Brisbane city. [View Full Entry]

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So here we are, in our swimming gears, all lubed up with sunscreen and ready to jump in to the warm waters of Bribie Island when an ear-piercing siren blasted through the air. My heart skipped a beat and starts to panic. The siren can only mean one thing....DANGER!... or something bad happened. All the swimmers were told to rush to the shore. The life-saver boat patrolled the waters back and forth...back and forh. The "No Swimming" sign was put in place. The beach-goers stand-by, confused on what's happening. Then the life-savers announced...sharks ! ... fortunately enough no one got eaten [View Full Entry]

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