Blogs from Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 19

Okay, so I've been wanting to say that for so long and now I have the chance (even if people stare at me all funny, haha). Well, after fully recovering from partying Sydney style, we said goodbye to the weekend and got excited for the week (not that it makes a difference for us when we're traveling, since every day is a weekend, :)~~~~~ ) Monday morning, we headed down to Manly again with the intention of taking the ferry to the Taronga Zoo, but opted for the quicker bus instead. The zoo was fantastic. It sits right on the other side of the harbor so the views of the Opera House and bridge are fantastic, especially where the giraffes hang out. We wandered first through Wild Australia, where we saw koalas, kangaroos, emus, wallabies, wombats ... read more

Sat 20. Given marching orders doing Southbank. Idol aspirants. Spoke to camera guys. One got sticker. Told his story of threats in his line of work. Later in town pleasant Saturday morning in May Brisbane with lots of places to go. Lunch at the Irish Club, lively sidewalk scene. Brown headed ducks in park. Spoke to Aboriginal stall holder re dots. Not keen on snake (Christian) liked track. Sunday 21. Bye bye Brissie. Just thought small coastal town easier. Stopped at Bribie Island - flat, sand. Views to mountainous Moreton Island. Birds of prey hunting. Arriving Caloundra caught the tail end of crafts fair. Went through like a hot knife through warm butter. Stallholders keen. Very pretty estuary and featureful head. While swimming caught sight of bird circling with prey in talons. It seemed a victory ... read more

finally arrived at the forbes mansion - due to our slight detour, kids were in bed so the forbes outdoor veranda entertainment commenced straight away and we had our first proper aussie barbie !!! it was great to see them again, catching up on memories of mad ski trips and maureen's toe examination !!!!! woke up early for the forbes family morning school run chaos - what gorgeous kids. Funny Brandon is just a mini-forbes and Kimberley and Annabel are mini-Mo's. And what a school they're at !!! no graffitti, fighting or police!!! Never been a proper school. Fantastic place with sporting facilities that would go some way to explaining why the aussies tend to be winning most things at the moment. In an attempt to reverse this phenomenal success Forbes & I took the the ... read more

This is a picture Ailsa and I took while sitting on King's Beach at Caloundra at dawn. We were on our annual pilgrimage to the coast to celebrate the birthdays of various members of our families and for some reason we were up at the crack of dawn and decided to photograph the event.... read more

Last few days in Oz so it’s time to hire the first car of our trip. Pick up our tiny Hyundai Getz, head off on the Gympie Road, then the Bruce Highway (Yep, it’s really called that), finally the Sunshine Motorway. 80 minutes after setting off we find ourselves at the Beachside apartments in Mooloolaba. They’re not quite beachside, but they’re definitely apartments, separate bedroom, lounge and bathroom. Good(ish) cooking facilities which I almost immediately put to use as I had been gagging for spaghetti ailio, olio e peperoncino, I had seen it on many menus while in Oz, but always with the unnecessary addition of bacon (always) and chicken (frequently). Just not traditional, and not in the title either. First time I’d cooked in weeks, and it was delicious. The apartment was really nice, balcony ... read more