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 thes [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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I can't help but to laugh after seeing a Kookaburra bird swipes Ryan's sausage right off his hand without even him noticing it. As Ryan takes a second bite on his bread, he then realized that the meat is missing. He looked down on the ground thinking he might have dropped it...but no sausage in sight. To save him from further confusion, I told him what happened. Ryan was surprisingly outraged !. Pointing out where the culprit went, he saw the cheeky bird and chased it ! The Kookaburra simply flew away and perched high up on a tree with the [View Full Entry]

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While holidaying in Hervey Bay, we did side-trips to the nearby towns. I'll just let the pictures tell the story (too lazy to write, really ;> ). OK....Watch this space ! ............. who knows !?!?....I might write something interesting one day !.....cheers ! Jo [View Full Entry]

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Re-visiting Hervey Bay is more of a trip to memory lane for us. Ahhhhhh, Nostalgia is a bliss ! Standing in front of our very first humble abode once again flashed a flood of cherished memories making us feel all warm and fuzzy. I’m ecstatic that the apartment where Jamie and I first lived in when we both left home is still left standing amidst of progress and new development creeping up in the town of Hervey Bay. I imagined that it might have already been demolished to make way for skyscrapers and world class resorts to accommodate the influx of [View Full Entry]

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