Blogs from Queensland, Australia, Oceania

Travelling from one place to another with children in tow can be a daunting task. Even the most well-behaved child can be quite a handful during a trip. This can usually be attributed to the change in environment, moving from a place that they know to an unfamiliar area can be disruptive to their routine. However, children do not have to make the idea of travelling sound too hard, you just have to plan ahead in order to take care of any contingency that may arise. When travelling, the safety of your toddler is of utmost importance and listed below are a few tips for ensuring that your child is perfectly safe while on a journey Be prepared While travelling, your child will most likely come in contact with dirty objects or surfaces that are full ... read more

Forecast!!!! Cloudy, winds from 10k to 100k and the possibility of some showers. Oh No! But, Yes, for the 11days I spent with Warwick driving from Cairns to Cooktown and back, this was the daily outlook. As with all forecasters they did get most of it right but quite a bit was wrong. We didn't really get any rain apart from a couple of showers that didn't affect our plans. We did see quite a bit of sunlight, but nowhere near enough to satisfy our wants. We did get wind, some gentle, some strong enough to dull the mood. While in Cooktown we had some gusts strong enough to necessitate adopting the 45degree walking style. Did we enjoy ourselves? Oh Yes!!. I loved the whole time. For me, seeing this part of Australia for the first ... read more

We stayed with a friend in Townsville who showed us a picture of a queue people edging along a tiny ridge approaching the peak of Everest. It can take up to two months to acclimatise enough to attempt a climb the summit. Climbers arrive at base camp, trek to the first level then back down again, up two levels then back to base camp. The body needs time to adjust to the altitude and new environment it finds itself in. We’re not climbing Everest but we are still going through a period of adjustment. The boys fight with each other every morning. It’s become like some sort of ritual. Wake up, bicker, eat breakfast, get on with the day. They niggle each other over trivial matters like a couple of old grumpy kangaroos. At first Jason ... read more

This is a report about Brisbane which I wrote when learning English at TAFE and I would like to share with you. I have learned different types of writing, such as report, narrative, exposition, biography, discussion essay, cause and effect essay, and persuasive essay (or argumentative essay). Learning academic writing was a great experience which I have really enjoyed. I hope to become an English teacher in the future, and one of my plans is to teach English at an orphanage in Vietnam. BRISBANE This report is written about Brisbane for the purpose of providing brief information about the city, as well as assisting first time visitors in discovering its attractions. General information about the city’s geographical location and population, in addition to guidance about major tourist sites, will also be mentioned in this report. Geographical ... read more

" People don't take trips....trips take people." John Steinbeck Whilst at Yeppoon, we had noticed a large port to the north and drifting away from Lake Awoonga, it made sense to go and check out Gladstone which was only a matter of 30km away. The entry into this mid-sized town was dominated by industrial type buildings which made sense as this is a major port for the stuff the Aussies dig out of their mines. Industrial/commercial hubs tend not to impress but Gladstone was in the mould of all the towns seen thus far; neat, well laid out and bedecked with stunning parklands and manicured public spaces. Not the usual grimy, smoke infused mess reminding any visitor that a bit of industry keeps the place ticking. Having not caught a barramundi for dinner, Google came to ... read more