Judy & Brian Tour Oz

OK so we weakened and took a drive up to Brisbane, South Bank to be precise. You may recall this is where the Expo '88 was held, an event which transformed an industrial dump into a world class stage for this extravaganza. But that was then and this is now. We have been there since 1988 but this time it was noticeably different, having been made into an upmarket destination for everyone who lives in or is visiting Brisbane. Judy was taken by the market, (but had no cash, so it was safe!) and we walked along the river to the ferry terminal. We have doe this before but we took the river cat up river to the Qld Uni terminal and back, and then wandered back into the South Bank precinct to find a restaurant for lunch. After an excellent meal we went to the Maritime museum based around the original dry dock built in 1888. Its main attraction is the only remaining River class frigate, the HMAS Diamantina. The whole museum is really good and really made my day. After a longish day, we pai...

Finally some weather worthy of that Qld slogan about being beautiful one day and fabulous the next. The wind has dropped and the sun has come out to play. We had heard about Currumbin Rock Pools, which sounded interesting, but then Judy's hairdresser told her that if you go there, you need to go further up into the valley there are some more rock pools and waterfalls that are just fantastic.... We followed his advice and once we had doubled back onto the right road, we found ourselves at the top of the valley where there was a very pleasant walk up into the mountains, meandering alongside the swiftly flowing creek, tumbling over rocky falls from one pool to the next. Actually the water didn't look that inviting, it was a weird green colour and freezing. Obviously didn't stop some from jumping the safety fences and having a dip. The whole area is now a national park but in a previous life had been cleared of all the huge trees and then completely cleared to make way for ...

The wind has abated a tad so Brian went for a walk along the beach. I stayed in bed! The sun was out so we decided to check out the mountains, lookouts, waterfalls and walks in Springbrook. It is only 30kms from the turnoff at Mudgereeba but the road is very narrow and winding through the mountains. It just keeps going higher and higher with a sheer drop and hardly any guard rails. I was keeping my eyes fixed to that road and got a little sweaty the higher and steeper we got. There were even a few sections that were only one lane over little wooden bridges with a drop that went forever. We drove through Springbrook and another few kms to Purling Falls. It was a lovely picnic area where a few walks originated. Some were affected by landslips due to the amount of rain they have been having up here, so we chose to stroll the 100 metres to the falls from the car park along a moss covered path through the rainforest. We arrived at a lookout that ends in a massive drop with a waterfall plu...

Sadly, its the last day of the holidays for the kids. Kathryn & Ben & Andrew took-off fairly early, while Amy&Steve&Emily&Thomas had an early evening flight. The weather continued to be patchy sunlight with strong gusty winds making it a fairly unpleasant day for beaches or fishing, so a quiet hour or so in the park with Emily on the swings and a long coffee in the comfort of the mall. I've added some more snaps to the Greenmount Beach album => https://picasaweb.google.com/CapitalCityWriter/GreenmountBeachQld A snap? Why not have two. Help me, I'm .... ...falling! Later I took advantage of the weather to try and get some wild water shots at the beach, here's one, the others are at=> https://picasaweb.google.com/CapitalCityWriter/DuranbahBeachTweedHeadsNSW

The other day I heard that the house that i was born into and lived in until I was 23 has been bulldozed to make way for some new suburban Taj Mahal. I found the news disturbing because its part of my history, part of me and my family, and it's just not there any more. I have photos of course but it'sjust not the same as knowing it's there, knowing you can drive past and show your kids and grandkids. The house was built entirely by hand by my late father in the late 1940's and was arguably fairly avant guard for its time. This is 1950s at latest. This house had built in wardrobes, and inside toilet, the cupboards in the kitchen had doors that slid up into the roof space and there was a built in 'breakfast nook'. It was double brick and the roof trusses were old school '3x2's spaced 18in apart. It was a home for  two mum, dad and us 4 children. We had birthdays, at least my 21st, there and my sister had her wedding reception there. It hol...

A do nothing sort of day. Paul & Sue left at 7 this morning and we miss them already. had a late breakfast and an early lunch with Kathryn & Ben & Andrew. Even had a short snooze in the afternoon before a bit of a play on the beach with Emily & Thomas, well Emily mostly, Thomas was mostly asleep. Finished the day at the Rainbow Bay Surf Club for an early dinner and then off home for an early night. All the snaps from today => https://picasaweb.google.com/CapitalCityWriter/GreenmountBeachQld A snap of the day

Big day out at Sea World, through the gate at 930 and out at 5. Many changes here since Judy and I were here last: more rides, more displays, changes to the format of the shows. It's still a great day out and still a place of fascination for kids of all ages. Emily found here place at the kids' corner with may rides on the merry-go-round, the flying aeroplanes and dump trucks. Some of the big children found fun in the corkscrew, aka Sea Viper, the Vikings Revenge flume ride, the Jet Rescue. Others took the monorail for a scenic look at the whole park. The ,dolphin show was great, with three handlers in the water and 7 bottlenose dolphins going through their paces. Gone was the normal platform and hoops and balls, instead the handlers rode them like surfboards, rode them a pair of fine horses and were lifted up on their noses. The dolphins seemed to be able to jump higher than ever and all in perfect synchronisation. Back in the main pool we found more changes. Gone were t...