Having been caught up with my overseas trip, the silly season over the Christmas period, and work being incredibly busy, I can now take a few moments out to wish you all a very Happy New Year for 2013. I wish you all that you wish for yourselves. The above is a snapshot of the wonderful firework display over the Brisbane River that greeted the new year.
Dear All. The trip is coming to an end, but not before I have had the chance to see some of this magnificent area. I'm in Oregon and as you can see, the late autumn colours are stunning, along with a magnificent view of Mt Hood. At 3,429 m high it is the highest point in Oregon. Time won't allow a closer visit, but that means I have to come back again!
Dear All. Well, I'm still having a great time here in the US. If anyone tells you that California is all fast living, big cities and a hectic pace of life, send them here. This is picture postcard stuff, isn't it? Moving north next, so i'll send you a card again.
Dear All, Well, the trip is going well and I am having a brief respite from San Francisco...all that city life makes me need to get into the mountains, so here I am in Yosemite National Park. The beauty of this place is beyond description, and I know that I need to come back here again some day to explore more of the park. This really is a case of "Wish you were here" because everyone should experience this at some point in their lives.
Dear All, Well, this isn't Brisbane, or Queensland, and it's definitely not Kansas! Having a great time here in San Francisco. I'm sure that you won't have any problem working out this famous landmark. Despite it being late November, the weather isn't too bad, but it's not going to stop me getting out and about whatever it does.
It's been a very busy week trying to get everything done before I take a short break to the USA. Still some more chores to do and the last of the packing. I'll send you all a 'postcard' when I have the chance. Have a great weekend.
The 11th Hour of The 11th Day of The 11th Month has become synonymous with Remembrance Day or Armistice Day, at the end of the First World War. As you may be aware it now incorporates remembrance of those killed in later wars. This above is part of the wall of names at the Australian National War Memorial in Canberra.
"We Will Remember Them"
The west front of St John's Cathedral reflected in the smoked glass of modern office buildings.
Although the jacaranda's are coming to an end here in Brisbane, I was fortunate enough to find this clump of trees still in full bloom. We are blessed with so many of these trees in the city, and if you are lucky enough to get to a high vantage point you can see the haze of purple across the city suburbs.
I've shown you these traffic signal boxes before; a community project where anyone can apply to paint them, making their own mark around the city. I'm a day late with this post, but it fits in very well with yesterday's BIG horse race, The Melbourne Cup - "The Race That Stops The Nation". Seriously, everything really does seem to grind to a halt for a few moments as all eyes are turned to watching the race. This year the race was very exciting with an unexpected winner.
Our last visit to Moreton Island, and time to head home to catch the ferry. This is a view along Eagers beach. Stunning, isn't it? It's always sad to leave but nice to know that this beautiful island is only a short ride away.
What could be nicer than spending time relaxing in this beautiful isolated bay? After the strenuous efforts of tobogganing down the sand dunes (see previous post), having a lunch stop and a paddle in Honeymoon Bay was perfect.
Hop in your 4-wheel drive, hang on tight and take one of the sand tracks to the interior of the island. I should add here that if you don't have much padding on your bum, expect some bruises and a good shaking up! It doesn't look too bad from this pic, but believe me, there are some massive ruts in the track, and being sand, it shifts, so you'll get thrown all over the place. But it's well worth it to get to the desert.
Moreton Island is the third largest sand island in the world, and not surprisingly the centre is very desert-like. Massive sand dunes have formed which are the perfect playground for visitors to race down a 90m mountain at 60kms an hour on a sand toboggan (read a small piece of plywood), your face centimetres away from the blistering hot sand! Sounding like fun? Hell on earth, but GREAT fun, believe me. Once you have removed sand from every conceivable orifice, and you want to take the thrill ride all over again, you have to climb back to the top of the dunes. This is a workout for your legs that you will feel for at least a week later. Who knew that climbing a sand dune was such hard work!
Come back tomorrow and we'll have a more relaxing time.
The main settlement of Moreton Island is Tangalooma, and just offshore are several wrecks. You would have seen them on yesterday's post. Despite looking ominous, they are in fact dive sites that have been created on purpose by scuttling a number of ships. not being a diver, I'm unlikely to experience life as seen by Nemo. (Snorkelling is my limit).
We are more than fortunate in having a wonderful natural resource right on our doorstep (or right on our shoreline)! Moreton Bay has a huge biodiversity, with dugongs and turtles calling it home, along with dolphins and numerous marine life. More than 40,000 migratory wading birds visit each September to April, and from June to September, whale watching is a booming business. This is Moreton Island about 75 mins ferry ride from Brisbane.
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