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Published: September 5th 2006
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Well it’s been a while but we’re back blogging!!! Our lack of blogging is mainly due to being back in the world of work - which has taken some adjustment. Simon’s been working for a civil engineering company called AbiGroup and I’m working for a government agency however we are still tourists at heart and have been making the most of our weekends to continue exploring Brisbane and the surrounding areas.
The Brisbane river runs through the heart of the city and is flanked by various districts including Southbank, Westend, Riverside, Kangaroo Point and New Farm which all have excellent walkways and viewpoints so in our first few weeks we spent some time just walking along the river and through the different areas which all have a distinct feel.
We took in an Aussie rules match at the Gabba a few weeks ago. It was great to experience the live atmosphere although we’re still none the wiser re the rules of which there are a lot apparently (didn’t look like there were many rules to me to be honest).
We also went to see a comedy duo at the Brisbane Powerhouse in New Farm (converted power station) that
we’d never heard of before (Lano & Woodley) but were very funny - shame it was their goodbye tour!!
We’ve also been very lucky(!) to be here for the famous Brisbane Ekka. The Ekka has it’s roots as an Agricultural show and despite not being able to find a local prepared to go - as all good tourists do - we head off to see what’s on offer. It’s junk food, fairground rides and an arena full of ‘showbags’ for sale which amount to Company’s promotional material (or as we like to call it - tat) for sale. However, it’s not all bad there’s an arena showcasing the best of Brisbane and surrounding areas local produce and we tuck into some food and wine tasting - the strawberries and strawberry ice-cream were a favourite.
Still conscious of the many cool wedding pressies we’ve yet to experience we booked ourselves into a nice hotel at Surfer’s Paradise on the Gold Coast a few weeks ago (I’m so glad we’re working and I don’t have to live in the back of a van again - for now anyway!!). Surfer’s is a vibrant, thronging place full of backpackers, surfers (obviously), tourists
and families hitting the beach. We soak up the atmosphere before heading out on a little boat for the real reason for the visit - a spot of whale watching. We head 6 miles out to sea in search of a needle in a haystack - it’s a pretty bumpy ride but no problem for us, well versed in making sure we get our seasick tablet a good half hour before we set off - same can’t be said for some other poor shipmates - they were warned!!! Our very talented crew find a pod of humpback whales and we spend the next couple of hours watching them perform - we were awestruck and hopefully the pictures tell the story!
That brings us to September which sees the start of Riverfestival in Brisbane which is kicked off with a fabulous firework display - unfortunately due to technical difficulties we have no photos (don’t mention the camera or rechargeable batteries to Simon!!!). It was spectacular half hour fireworks display which began and ended with a low level flyby from an F111 fighter jet with its afterburners blazing in the night sky - fandabbydozy If you’re interested you can see pictures
on the riverfestival website…We made a day of it starting with a wander round Westend which is filled with lots of lovely restaurants and little shops. We treated ourselves to lunch (and a bottle of bubbly!) at Satchmos and watched the world go by for a while. Then we made our way across the city to Riverside which was already getting really busy with people finding their spot for the riverfire display. We get ourselves a coffee, have a wander round (to stake out the best vantage point) and then get in position for the fireworks. After the fantastic fireworks we move inside to the Jade Buddha - a riverside bar and restaurant and enjoy a few drinks before making our way towards our bus stop. We pass the time until our bus is due in the Irish pub across the road where we sing along with the band to the Proclaimers and other favourites before jumping on the last bus home - a good night was had by all!
Simon is also delighted (to say the least) that September also sees the start of ‘proper’ football season and apparently Queensland Roar have made a storming start to the
season. We’ll be taking in a few of their games and we’re also planning to go and see the Socceroos take on Paraguay in October all at the Suncorp stadium.
Well think this keeps you all up to date at the moment, hope everyones well back home and spare a thought for us poor souls just into spring and already it’s scorchio……….happy days mate!!!
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jems
non-member comment
work doesn't sound to suck as much as it does here
hi there, glad ur back to blogging, it's nice to get updates and see pretty photos. more whales!!!! seriously you are killing me here. seems like work in oz still allows for weekends of fun which is all good. glad ur enjoying it all and can't wait til you get on the road again proper to learn more about eastern oz for when i get back down under!! stevie and kerry were asking how ur getting on at the weekend and say hi. gary sends much jealousy ur way - i think he is planning to run away and live in ur suitcase. love to you both - jemx