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Published: October 25th 2007
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So the last time we made a blog, we had just arrived at Brisbane, which now seems so long ago. Brisbane is a really friendly and thriving city with lots of beautiful outdoor spaces right in the metropolis, to spend time to relax. We spent 4 days exploring the city, being tourists at the museums and art galleries and enjoying the hot days picnicking in the many parkland areas surrounding Brisbane river. After Brisbane, we went to go and stay with kate's mum's cousin Janet and her husband Gordon. They live in the hinterland, west of Surfer's Paradise, in a village called Canungra. The last time Kate met Janet and Gordon, she was only 5, so there was lots of catching up. We got looked after really well and Luke was eating them out of house and home (and anzac biscuits, which are the best biscuits on earth). Janet and Gordon became our great tour guides, taking us around to see lots of places. We visited beautiful and breathtaking mountain ranges and encountered amazing wildlife and great views. One of the mountain ranges which we visited was up a very long and winding, steep road, was O'Reilly's. Up at the top
we stopped for a picnic. As we were eating, we had visitors of the feathery kind. Kate was just about to eat her chocolate cake, when a bird came down and stole it right out of her hand. Luke saw this and immediatly shoved the rest of his cake in his mouth, nobody was having his cake. We also visited a place called Natural Bridge in the national park. Here the power of water from a waterfall over a cave, has eroded the rock to make an arch. The water was really noisy in the cave but this could have been the many bats and gloworms present. So Luke finally had his hair cut after about 14 weeks (scruff), but not by any hairdresser. This hairdresser was Mario, the guy who claims to cut the hair of the celebrities from 'Im a Celebrity, get me out of here!'. He said that my style was that of Jason Donovan (Too many broken hearts in the world!!!!!). Janet and Gordon also took us to visit the Darling Downs for a couple of days. We stayed in Stanthorpe, just over the great dividing range. Stanthorpe (on the granite belt) is reknowned for its
fruit growers and wineries. Needless to say, we had to pay these a visit to taste the local produce. We went to a couple of wineries and one place where they make liquers. This place didn't make just a couple but made over 150. When we met the owner, he tried hard to make us taste them all! After 4 weeks of being looked after, we decided we should move on. We had such a great time meeting their lovely family and friends and visting all the nice places but there is much more Australia to see yet.
Our next stop was Sydney. We flew down from the Gold Coast and got amazing views as we descended low over Sydney and its surroundings. We had lots of things planned to do whilst in Sydney. One of which was to go and collect Kate's ticket so that she could go and climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge (thanks a lot Claire and Debbi!!!). Luke decided it might be safer for all concerned if he came as well. The three and a ahalf hour session started with breath tests, suiting up and training. The suits were really funny, everything has to clipped
Brisbane town Hall
We climbed right to the top!!! on to it; including your sunglasses, hanky and caps and we also had to wear headphones so we could hear our guide. We were really brave (nothing to do with being clipped on to the bridge). We only got jelly legs when we had to walk up and down 8 sets of ladders. The views were amazing, especially as it was such a lovely, clear day. We could see out right to the Blue mountains. We did lots of other sightseeing in Sydney; including a tour of the Sydney Opera House, boat rides around the harbour, walks through many of the cities parklands and trips to Manly, Bondi and Coogee amongst other districts. We also took a day tour up to see the Blue Mountains. Over 70kms inland from Sydney, the Blue Mountains National Park is so called because of the blue haze which appears around the mountain area. The blue haze is the result of the oily mist given off by the eucalyptuses. We visited a village called Katoomba, where we viewed the Jamison valley and the magnificent Three Sisters rock formation from Echo Point Lookout. We also took a bush walk through the valley to see the Katoomba
Falls; again with breathtaking views. The trip also included more roo feeding at a native animal sanctuary, dropping in for a tasty snack at a local fruit growers and a look at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Park. As well as being busy tourists, we also took it easy on Sydney's beaches, where the waves here are a little more violent than those found off the coast from Bridlington (although the sea here feels just as cold). We tried our hand at body surfing and are nursing a few minor injuries but lots of laughs!!!!!
So we're off now to Melbourne for a week, with undoubtedly the highlight being the trip around the set of neighbours and meeting some of the cast. So get your requests in now for any autographs! Charlotte we already know about your Toadie obsession!
Hope everyone's well, take care Kate and Luke x
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