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Published: September 1st 2009
Australia Zoo
my nose is bigger...no mine is...no mine is...no...As I begin to type these words it is hard for my own brain to fully comprehend that over 7 months have come and gone since I last wrote to you on this blog. I remember the day sitting in the warm January breezes of a local park typing up my last blog as if it were only a matter of hours ago. And here I am, 7 months on...sitting on the grasses of that same park...looking out onto that same stretch of Brisbane river, trying to convey in a short few paragraphs what has happened to me, who I have met, where I have been and what I have seen in those intervening months. And I now realise that I have set myself an impossible task. While my backpacking days may have died along with the last days of 2008, 2009 has given me no fewer experiences and I have amassed memories that I will bring with me to the grave.
February saw me settling in with Nelsen and Denzel, my Aussie flatmates (although they did aspire to be Irish with their own unique lilt of an Irish accent that greeted me each and everyday). Both being experienced travellers,
Sandboarding
on Moreton Island having lived as far afield as Canada and the UK, It wasn't long before we were one big happy family. The happiness it has to be said, only came when I finally succumbed to being referred to as 'Irish' by Nelsen (Shandell is her real name by the way) and nothing other than 'Potato'...sorry more like 'Puttttt-aaaaaaaahh-tooooooeeeeeeeeeee' by Denzel (Claire to the outside world). I settled in an area of Brisbane called 'New Farm'. A fantastic area no more than a stones throw from the city center while at the same time having a quite suburban feel with plenty of greens and parkland around. And to top it off it is surrounded on three sides by the very impressive Brisbane river making it all the more pleasent a place to be settled. Mind you I was probably living slightly above my station... as a comedian we saw one night put it..."its the only place in Brisbane that you need a suit to by a pint of milk"! Oh yes...a week here and the backpacker was well and truly squeezed out of me!
The one down side to it though was that it was more than a stones throw
An Outback Bar
...the Glengarry HILTON no less! from where I found work. At the time of my last blog you may remember that I had just started in APA Group, a gas transmission company, as a GIS mapping officer. Well wait till I tell you about that bunch! What a shower of.....lovely people. They were not a bad sort at all! In fact they were a good sort..a really good sort! While the company itself employs over 1200 people Australia wide, the office I worked in had about 40 people in it and the mapping section itself had 5 including myself. And from the most unlikely bunch of people to be put together, each with their own very unique indentities and personalities, we got on like a house on fire! While the job may not have been the most exciting in the whole world, and little chance came my way for that nobel prize nomination that I have aspired to for so long, I can not remember one day of my time there that I did not enjoy going to work. And against all odds, it seems that they were happy to have me there too. As I found out when it came to my leaving party
Brisbane
the photo taken up the road from our place! Nice...even if I do say so myself! (parties to be more accurate!). One guy said he had been there 18 years and if he left in the morning he could not imagine as many people turn out to say farewell. And to that I did not, nor still do not know how to reply. Only to say that I was very touched by their friendship. Either that or they all turned out to MAKE SURE I left! My Janurary days in Brisbane had been good but not great as I was suffering the lingering effects of homesickness and the lack of belonging that had struck me down in Sydney on the days leading up to Christmas. But with finding a home away from home with Nelsen and Denzel and a family away from family with my workmates in APA the passing of February also saw the passing of those darker days and I was once again coming around to being my good old self! God help Australia!
As I said, I have set myself an impossible task writing this blog. There is so much I want to share with you but it is just impossible in the constraints of a few paragraphs! Buy me a
Myself and Bob(Shandell)
..at the "Seafood festival" HeHeHe! pint when I get home and I will be more than happy to fill in the finer details! All I can do here is to try an give you a little insight!! As much as I would love to go into detail on each and every one, I will refrain from doing so and in the process avoid a mass wave of boredom amongst you all! Although, the fact that you are actually reading this at the moment suggests that boredom may already have been an issue for you! I'd say get off the internet and get back to work...but from what I hear back from home at the moment...that might be hitting a sore spot!! If it does...do as I do..travel and ignore the existence of the GFC (Global FInancial Crisis)!
So anyway...a snippet or two from my time in Queensland! Well after short 6 weeks of work it was time for a break so I booked the day off and myself and Lin decided to do St. Patricks Day in style. We started with breakfast at one of the local eateries.... and if anyone has any other details on the happenings of that particualr day could
Mt. Warning
..the final ascent they please email me at the following address: aidankenny@live.co.uk! They say Guinness is good for you..and I was putting it to the test! (Its not!)
Easter followed soon after and I took myself off to Moreton Island, an island off Brisbane and the third largest sand island on the planet. As the name suggests its made entirely of drifted sand. Of course over the centuries vegetation has grown on the sand and now it has many of the features of ordinary island. I headed off with a backpackers tour and we spent three days camping on the northern fringes of the island and spending our days exploring its far reaches. We got to see places like giant sand dunes that fell almost vertically down into the sea, desert areas where you could 'sandboard' down giant sand hills. And what fun that was! I was a natural! And strangely enough a bit of a speed freak trying to beat my time down the slope on each attempt! And there I was, always thinking that I wasn't the competitive type. Being a sand island, four wheel driving around the place was the only option and an adventure in itself! Over
Atop Mt. Warning!
Myself, Claire(Denzel), Lin & Rajni the few days we of course got to stop for plently of refreshing swims, both in the sea and at some of the 'inland lakes'. These lakes are naturally high in 'tea-tree' oils as a result of the surrounding vegetation. Needless to say the result on both the skin and hair were fantastic! (So the girls told me! ;-) ) I was also lucky enough to be in the sea as turtles and dolphins swam by. The dolphins stayed long enough for a look around and a little game of hide-n-seek with the few people that were there while the poor little turtle thought he had lost his life when he found himself surrounded by half the population of the island!
I was however unlucky enough to also swim with sharks! Mind you I didn't realise I was doing so at the time. That minor detail only arose a few days later when I got back to work! We had seen the television chopper overhead but in our wildest dreams had no idea that they were filming sharks a mere 25 metres out to sea. Luckily enough there was a hidden sand bar underwater that made it impossible
My Workmates at APA
...yes some days were tougher than others! for the sharks to come any closer than they were. That being said, I am still not convinced about going into the water in Queensland! It was when I got back to work the following Tuesday and they informed me that the island had made the weekend news that I realised what the cameras were flying overhead for!
On another occassion we got down to the world famous Byron Bay for the weekend. As nice as Brisbane is...you can't beat leaving it! (in the nicest possible sense!). A few of us set off bright eyed (thanks coffee) one early saturday morning and hit for northern New South Wales where we abandoned the car and trekked up Mount Warning. This place is the first spot in Australia to see the sunrise (which it saw about 5 hours before it saw us!). It is about the height of the Galtees and it was great to get out and about and do some proper trekking again, something I hadn't done since Asia and something that I was longing to get back doing! From there we set off for the most easterly point of Australia, Byron Bay where we spent a day
Our humble abode!
..well the breakfast bar at least! soaking up its famous relaxed atmosphere.
I've also got to spend some great weekends around Brisbane itself, going to many of its festivals and events, like its 'Seafood and Wine festival' where I had a kebab and drank beer! I went to a number of Rugby League games, more often than not with Denzel, including an Australia/ New Zealand game. Beer and a game..come to think of it...beer while at the cinema...no wonder Australians are so happy!
In my sobriety I have got up for 4.28 in the morning and witnessed the humility, passion and respect that Australians, both young and old, show for their war veterans. Anzac morning, April 25th was quite the unexpected experience and even now, I am still impressed at both the turn out and the show of emotion that was there that morning.
I have made a few more trips up the sunshine coast, my most recent resulting in walking into a bar with a wooden horse in tow...don't ask! Naturally the comments from the customers were priceless... worth every bit of my embarrassment!
If any of you have read my Lightning Ridge blog, you may have guessed that
Moreton Island
As the sand dunes collapse into the sea! I liked the place...a lot!! Fortunately I have been lucky enough to get out there for another trip recently where I did more mining and 'bush' exploring, almost getting myself lost one afternoon. Not a pleasent experience being in the bush, completely disorientated and only quarter of a litre of water! Especially when its close on 34 degrees (in the shade)!
My most recent trip has been to Steve Irwins 'Australia Zoo'. It had never been on the top of my agenda but living so close to it for so long, little over an hour north of Brisbane, I thought it would be a shame to leave without a day out there. And I was in for a pleasent suprise. It was really really enjoyable and I got to see some great animals, from their famous 'Crocs' to some of the worlds deadliest snakes and from 'red pandas' to many of Australias native animal life. Mind you it wasn't the first time I had seen many of those! Brad, Lin and Lisa had brought me for dinner a few weeks previous where I got to EAT most of them! (Hello all my vegetarian friends!) I always say that I
will try almost anything once and I did. A Possum starter was followed by a tasting plate of Crocodile, Wallaby, Kangaroo to name but a few before finishing off with a mains of Emu (actually two mains...I had a mains of Wallaby too...in for a penny, in for a pound I always say!). And I have to say that they were all very very edible! Emu being the clear winner for me, although Mr. Crocodile was suprisingly nice too. The possum pate was a little strange...mainly for the fact that I had being feeding the little things in the park only a few nights before.
But as I say, most of my time has been spent in and around Brisbane itself. Full time work at APA restricted my freedom to travel too far, though this is something that I actually didn't mind too much. It was good to have a base again for a while and now, as my time in Brisbane is drawing ever closer to an end, I find myself torn between the part of me that longs for some new adventure again, for more exploring of far and distant places, for hitting the road less
Queensland Beaches!
..complete with your own personal shark! travelled and the part of me, equally large, that finds itself wanting to stay in Bris-Vegas just that little while longer.
This city has been good to me. It has shown me many great times and given me many great friends, all of which has gone into making this leg of my (slightly prolonged it has to be said!) world trip, extremely extremely enjoyable and (not taking into account the odd drink here and there!) extremely memorable!
And for that reason this journey of mine has become all the richer an experience.
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Bruce Anger
non-member comment
aww shucks
aww shucks you say the nicest things, I think I am blushing, We will miss your cheery persona and witty brogue at work too