Blogs from Townsville, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 10

Sinds Sydney en Brisbane zijn we eigenlijk geen grote steden meer tegengekomen, en Townsville is een superleuke overgang van klein gat naar overdonderende wereldstad (wat voor Brisbane wel een eufemisme is). Zalig strand, leuke winkeltjes, én een bioscoop (eventjes ter vermelding, we zijn the social network en RED gaan zien, best goed!). Het viel ons hier zelfs zo goed mee, dat we hier zelfs zes dagen zijn blijven plakken. Hmm, wat hebben we hier gedaan…Veel op het strand gelegen! Één avondje waren we van plan om in ons busje in te drinken om daarna op stap te gaan. Een gemene regenbui verhinderde dit, waardoor Heidi en lichtjes aangeschoten (Dank je wel Jacky!) lagen te kaarten en uiteindelijk maar zijn gaan slapen. Zielig avondje uit dus… De dag erna zijn we vol moed aan de wandeling van ... read more

Over the last few months, I've accrued several small but noteworthy events. This post is my critique on the little things, and some of the not so little cultural things. Flowers What better place to start than with a beautiful flower? Well, these guys are in bloom everywhere. They dot the paths on the way to Uni, grow near my favorite jogging path, and are pretty much everywhere I like to be. My fellow North Carolinians, be grateful we only have the bradford pear to deal with. These blossoms smell like road kill left to bake on an 80 degree road. And unlike the bradford pear, which blooms above your head and usually doesn't waft too far, these attractive flowers blossom from the ground. And I literally have to hold my breath for a good 50 ... read more

Challenges of Delight Those of you who know me, know that I like challenges. That the phrase "You can't do that" is more of an invitation than a deterrent to me. When I was younger, it was easy to challenge myself, because it was usually fueled by anger at some idiotic boy telling me "You can't ______ cause you're a girl." But now that I'm older, and my peers no longer spout such nonsense, the challenges lie in the new and unknowns. And it's amazing how frightening and difficult it can be to challenge yourself. Because who knows what frightens you more than yourself - who's able to say just the right things to dissuade you? When I chat about my experiences, I'm amazed at the number of people who say "you're fearless!" or "I ... read more

Specializing in Palms This lovely botanic garden, located a convenient kilometer from my house, features the family Arecaceae (the palms) and hosts representatives from each of the six subfamilies. Many of these species are local, but the garden hosts several rare/endangered non-native palms as well. The sporadic paths makes winding your way through the garden an interesting pursuit. I enjoyed the oval, relatively unorganized, dirt, gravel, and concrete paths quite a lot. The garden was much larger than Queens Garden, and was divided into several sections based on climate. Aside from a fascinating collection of palms ranging in sizes from small shrubs to towering trees with leaves that could leave you concussed, their was a wide range of wildlife gracing the gardens. Of course, I had forgot my camera (a habit I will break), but ... read more

By popular demand, I've provided photos of where I live. :) ... read more