http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/josworld/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from josworld en-us Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:55:10 +0000 Sat, 02 Jan 2010 22:55:10 +0000 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/blog-441243.html 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 b http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/blog-439074.html 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 p http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/blog-418376.html 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. Itrsquos one of Queenslandrsquos iconic natural wonders after Fraser Island Whitsun http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Glasshouse-Mountains-NP/blog-399893.html My little 5 yr old Ryan stopped for a moment and said ldquoI just crossed the deserthellipand Irsquom thirsty rdquo 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 l http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Fraser-Island/blog-394506.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Brisbane/blog-384211.html 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 earpiercing 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 lifesaver boat patrolled the waters back and forth http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/blog-376132.html 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 . P http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Noosa/blog-375736.html While holidaying in Hervey Bay we did sidetrips to the nearby towns. I'll just let the pictures tell the story too lazy to write really gt .OK....Watch this space ............. who knows ....I might write something interesting one day .....cheers Jo http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Rainbow-Beach/blog-365382.html Revisiting 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.Irsquom 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Hervey-Bay/blog-363253.html To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower hold infinity on the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour William Blake. The beaty of nature never cease to amaze me. I am utmost calm when Irsquom surrounded by trees and water. Itrsquos always nice to a take break from city living now and then and smell the flowers. Since the start of Spring wersquove been doing a lot http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/blog-329335.html 1st of March Summer in Ozland is now officially over. The chilling wind of Autumn has arrived and the warm waters of Queensland are now freezing cold. My skin immediately broke out in goosebumps as I dipped my toes into the freezing water. I will normally run back to the shore and wrap myself up with a towel...but not this time. Irsquove got my new swimming togs on and adamant to catch whateve http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/blog-252197.html I was already huffing and puffing after 100 steps when there are 800 more steps to traverse in the Jenolan cave. Now that winter is over itrsquos time to get fit and hit the gym. Itrsquos embarrassing when my 3 year old toddler is fitter than I am. He is the youngest and also probably the fittest of at least half the people in our tour group. There are 10 magnificent cave tours. We went on t http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Blue-Mountains/blog-213301.html After 12 hours of driving from Queensland with few stopovers along the east coast of NSW for lunch and coffee break we finally crossed the famous ldquoSydney Harbour Bridgerdquohellip. something we would have missed if we caught the plane to Sydney.It has been 13 years since the last time we visited Sydney. A lot of things have changed since then. We traversed back to the places wersquove http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-209270.html I had my first taste of Singaporean Sling onboard a flight to Singapore. It only took a couple of sips of such strong cocktail to hit me. Honestly I am not a drinker so why the heck I ordered it instead of the usual fruit juice and diet coke ....it beats mehellip.Irsquove read it on the internet that itrsquos a musttry drinkhellipI guess Irsquom just trying to be more adventurous a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/blog-150495.html Just got back from a week Easter Break in the Outback and have new stories to tell. We didnrsquot get bogged this time on the way to Wyandra. We made it there safe and sound in just over 10hours drive from Brisbane. We stayed at the century old cottage across the Wyandra pub. We always enjoyed having breakfast lunch and dinner at the veranda and watch the sun go down late in the afternoon as th http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Wyandra/blog-149143.html Philippines in the island of Mindoro is where I was born. It wasnrsquot until recently I had the chance to explore and really appreciate the beauty of the place of my heritage. Although Australia is now my adopted homeland where I spent part of my teenage years and entire adult life Philippines will always have a special place in my heart. Philippines is a Jewel in the Rough. The Pearl of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/blog-144918.html Of all the places Irsquove seen Palawan won my heart. The pristine beaches impressive landscapes and diverse marine life never cease to amaze me. I was astonished how clean and unspoiled are the surroundings. The atmosphere is very laid back and somewhat serene. It is the ultimate ecotouristrsquos paradise. Palawan is home to a number of indigenous groups with a strong sense of community. T http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Palawan/Puerto-Princesa/blog-138123.html Lined with palm trees white powdery sandy beach with crystal clear bluegreen water is a must visit place in the Philippines. They say you really havenrsquot seen Philippines if you havenrsquot set foot on the beach of Boracay and seen the spectacular sunset. Hundreds of tourists and locals all flock to the beach as the night falls to witness the sunrsquos dying blaze. Boracay is a tourist http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Boracay/blog-137353.html My ultimate jungle and wild river ride experience would be the trip to Pagsanjan falls. Itrsquos the Philippines little amazon where the river flows through magnificent canyons sheltered by lush vegetation. The wild river ride tour started slow from the dock where we hired the canoes. The canoes are manhandled by two boatmen. I couldnrsquot understand at first why our canoes have to be stringe http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Laguna/Pagsanjan/blog-135832.html