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Published: January 26th 2009
Perth It felt bizarre waking up in a actual bed in a flat on that Saturday morning after completing the Nullabor trip. Karen, Sharon and I had rented a self catering apartment for a week in Perth before the next part of our journey.
The apartment was pleasant, basic but comfortable, with a lovely swimming pool and a balcony to unwind and relax on in the evenings. We just chilled out for a week, catching up on sleep, slowing down, washing all our clothes after being the bush for ten days, sipping wine, chatting and reading!
We did have one day out where we met Markus for lunch in Fremantle. What a beautiful picturesque place, so quaint, full of quirky little art shops and boutiques and an abundance of coffee shops. We had a very relaxing lunch at a place called Little Creatures, which was a local brewery cum restaurant, a very curious place.
Having all this time to sit and relax, time seemed to stand still. I took this opportunity to think seriously about my next trip. I had made the decision not to go to Thailand, I was not in the right frame
of mind and I decided I needed to spend this time with Bobby and Toni, and to give myself some space, as they both worked full time it would give me all day to myself and spend the evenings and weekends with them. Once I'd made my choice I felt a surge of relief, as if a huge burden had been lifted.
The taxi picked us up from our apartment and took us to the airport, dropping Sharon off at the International terminal first. Karen and I boarded our plane to Brisbane. The cabin crew were less than friendly on our side, offering nothing to Karen, being a vegetarian, other than a dry bread roll!! After some persuasion we did manage a few vegetables and cheese and biscuits, which bearing in mind the cost of the airfare, was less than satisfactory but heh ho we decided to take full advantage of the free wine!! Several bottles later we were rather joyous to say the least, it must have been so irksome to the people surrounding us. We did make one friend, in the adjacent seat, he was very tolerant of our laughter and foolishness! He did at one stage
offer to radio ahead to warn Brisbane that the "party girls were about to land!". We managed to keep our dignity, apart from when Karen opened the overhead locker (I told her to be careful because I had a set of wheels land on my arm a few weeks earlier and it gave me a whopper of a bruise on my arm) - too late - a bottle of wine fell on her forhead giving her an instant "egg head", to which, as you can imagine, I found rather comical. We eventually disembarked, when we realised that we were not only the last remaining passengers, but the cleaning crew were waiting to get on!!
Brisbane We got to Karen's hotel, where I was staying with her for two nights, after quite a lively taxi ride there, I was continuing with my photography!! Karen called Bobby to say that she was in town and could they meet? I followed behind Karen and hid in the shadows of a shop door while Karen stood talking to Bobby and Toni. They walked off down the street and I snuck up behind them and jumped at them screaming 'surprise' -
Barking Owl
Long Pine Sanctuary, Fig Tree PocketToni screamed and Bobby just looked at me - his smile widening!! I knew at the moment that I had made the right choice - a lump rose in my throat, seeing the sheer look of bewilderment in their faces. Karen was equally as excited, which was so sweet.
I have been led to believe that Brisbane will, by 2020, be the second largest city in the world! It is a picture of amazing diversity, offering plenty to do for all, including Crocodile Hunter's Zoo, ancient rainforests, sandy white beaches, which are contrasted against the turquoise pacific ocean, national parks, spectacular scenery and a very relaxing lifestyle. Brisbane is Australia's only sub-tropical capital city, and has so much to offer. It continues to surprise and delight me at every turn, with its charming mixture of trendy cafes and historic sandstone buildings.
Karen and I took in the sights of this dynamic city with a relaxing cruise on the Brisbane river to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary at Fig Tree Pocket. It took just over the hour to get there, it was a beautiful clear day and we were given a history lesson on Brisbane and its surroundings, which was
fascinating. As we cruised along we learned that Brisbane is on a low-lying floodplain, which increases the risk of flooding. The city has suffered two major floods since colonisation, in 1893 and 1974. The 1974 Brisbane flood occurred partly as a result of "Cyclone Wanda". Heavy rain had fallen continuously for three weeks prior to Australia Day weekend, which was on 26th of January 1974. (I will be here for the 2009 Australia Day, which I am looking forward to - as long as it dosn't flood of course!!) The flood damaged many parts of the city, especially the suburbs of Oxley, Bulimba, Rocklea, Coorparoo, Toowong and New Farm. The City Botanic gardens were inundated, leading to a new colony of mangroves forming in the City Reach of the Brisbane River. The mangroves are now protected as they help keep the flooding down.
We spent a few hours at the Sanctuary, watching a bird show, walking amongst the Kangaroos and Wallabys, and then took the opporunity to cuddle a Koala, which was incredible.
After almost a week of walking, shopping, reading, cooking and chatting, Karen left to go to Byron Bay for the last part of her journey.
Once she boarded her bus I just walked and walked, I ended up in a street I didn't know, my head was in the clouds, but I did eventually get my bearings. I stopped for a coffee at Starbucks, and then continued working on this blog.
As you all know when I visit a country I always explore, and learn a little history of each place. Brisbane (pronounced brizben) is the state capital of Queensland. It is also the third most populous city in Australia, behind southern rivals Sydney and Melbourne. It is situated on the Brisbane River. The local indigenous people knew the area as Mian-jin, meaning 'place shaped as a spike', and is named after Sir Thomas Brisbane, the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825. People who live here are known as Brisbanites!
Brisbane has a humid subtropical climate, and apparently the hotest recorded temperature was 43.2C in 1940 and its lowest was -0.1C in July 2007!!! quite a contrast. It is very hot and humid here at the moment, but they say that the winters are dry and mild. Bobby has told me that they have the most magnificant thunderstorms, some more
severe ones which are accompanied by large damaging hail stones, torrential rain and destructive winds.
With only two weeks to go before I return home, I am now feeling apprehensive, a little scared maybe. I feel as though for the last 5 months everyone's lives have just carried on, with me not being a part of it, and now here I am returning to try and slot back into it all. I can't explain my feelings, half of me is just bursting with questions, the other half just wants to lie down and go to sleep and block everything out!
I had a message from Katie McDonald this morning, who I met in Kuala Lumper, she said that the butterfly that came to see me everyday while I was working at the Orangutan project, is back, and is looking for me!! For those of you who know about the butterfly, I need say no more.
Soon I will be returning to Leighton Buzzard, back to reality. I feel as though my heart is sinking at the thought of leaving all what I have achieved behind. I have felt lonliness on this trip, quite a few times, including
now, and I know it comes in differents ways and effects different people in different ways. I chose to come away and reflect on my life and try to come to terms with Brian's death, and try to accept it, which I feel I have now, finally, acomplished. I still love Brian, I still grieve for him and I know I always will, even though he is no longer with me, he is still a part of my life and I will never let that go. I feel his presence all around me, as a silent gentleness, a softness in the air, next to me as I lie in bed, perhaps in the butterfly that follows me around the globe - a treasured memory of love.
When we made our wedding vows "to love, honour, obey and cherish each other for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer and finally "til death do us part" - Well I think we can say that we both stuck to our vows! At that time, I believed we would be forever, after Brian died, I thought "forever.........I dont believe there is such a thing" -until now,
and I think it means that for as long as you both shall live - Brian died in my arms at home, he was with me forever in his world, and by me carrying around his memory and his love - it means forever in my world. I will never forget Brian, I will allow him to live in my memory, to be remembered, to be spoken of, he was a good husband and father, he was too good a man to be shut away forever. I will let him live in my mind and soul FOREVER.
Es, eras, eris semper amor meus in aeternum (You are, you were, you'll always be, my love eternally) It is Australian Day today, everyone is celebrating the great outdoor life, and living here in Australia. I went for a long walk along Brisbane river and took lots of photographs, sat, and then.........let the tears fall, and I knew then that the past would always cast a shadow over my life, but I suddenly felt new beginnings were about to happen, I felt a glimmer of hope. Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the
shadow of our burden behind us so I am going to return home next week and start a new life for myself, Brian will be with me and I know I will cope, because he is always with me. So it is with these last few words that I am going to close, this is my final blog, the end of my journey.
I have learned that destiny is what you are supposed to do in life. Fate is what kicks you in the ass and makes you do it!
Thank you all for taking the time to read them, for your kind comments and for all those people that I have met on my travels for making this journey such a special one - you know who you are, from Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Austrlia.
Thank you and goodbye.
One other very special mention is for my dearest friend Rosie, whose husband, Alan, died in a tragic accident 7 months ago. I am always thinking of you Rosie, and lets hope Alan is with Brian?
Vitam ama - Love life
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karen bradley
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What an amazing end to your journey and an amazing blog. Thank you for your honesty and openness that butterfly will stay with you a beautiful creature shadowing you a beautiful woman I have been lucky enough to meet on my travels, love you Jo, kxxx