6th December - police warning in KL - Surfers Paradise day

Sunday 6^th December 2015

There is lots to admire here in Queensland.

I still love Tasmania BEST in the world but…I am getting very fond of Brisbane, and even…of Surfers Paradise!!

A cautious selfie - and thank you Cam for the loan of the hat!

So glittering, so pretty!

Yesterday Pete’s cousin Del came for lunch, at Kerry’s lovely Gap house surrounded by birds.  Del is always very glamorous and nicely dressed, with much beautiful jewellery.  Pete was telling her about our time in Vietnam, specifically how kind people were in the big cities, coming out of nowhere to tell me to put my phone AWAY – a shiny gold iPhone 6 camera/phone is a very easy target for an opportunistic snatch and grab thief.  Del told us that when she was in Kuala Lumpur last year a young police officer came up to her.  He wanted her to accompany him to a nearby police station.  She wasn’t at all sure she wanted to do this, but followed him, reluctantly.  He took her straight to a superior officer, who spoke English well.  He said, “My colleague wants me to tell you not to wear your gold jewellery in the street.  You could easily be strangled for it.”   She put her treasures away in the hotel safe quick smart!

 Cousins!  (Del can wear this gold locket in Queensland)

Our social time in Queensland is just wonderful.  Our (expat Tasmanian) friends are so hospitable.  Last night we had a BBQ at Tim and Sally’s on the esplanade, overlooking the canal at the back and the lights of Surfers at the front.  We are going to WADDLE back to Hobart, full of delicious food…and wine… 

  

This morning I went for a walk, from Southport all the way to and through Surfers.

 I felt as if I had walked all the way to Coolangatta and back.  Possibly I only walked about ten kilometres.

But my feet ached!

The only way I was able to walk so far in any sort of comfort was because every 500 or so metres there was

Water!! 

and toilets

Clean and cheerful toilets!

I was very grateful.

The beach really is spectacular.  Lots of big waves rolling in, crowds of people lying on the sand (getting both burnt and sandblasted; it really was quite windy down there…) and frolicking in the dumpy waves.  I was very surprised not to see dozens of surfboards – in fact the whole way up and down the beach I only saw one actual surfer.  Everyone else was just bodysurfing, or getting energetically dumped by waves.

Ibis are a pesty bird but…I had to take a photo of this one, strutting on by.

After about four hours of walking I started to flag.  Pete was still working, and it didn’t occur to me to go and help him and his team digging out a tree stump.  He spent about four hours climbing up into the top of the tree on an extension ladder, sawing away at thick branches with a narrow saw.  I am very glad I didn’t see this…but I do feel a bit guilty that I didn’t help Sally drag the branches and load them into the truck… I actually thought that my role was to keep out of the way.

But where to go??  Well…I had the bright idea of going to Pacific Fair, one of the biggest shopping malls in Australia, and currently under reconstruction.  What was I thinking?  I actually know that I hate shopping malls… I trudged around, slowly losing the will to live until, more by good luck that good management, I came upon a spacious comfortable bar area, full of fatly upholstered chairs and no hint of food hall (I also hate food halls…)

I felt a bit of a wimp asking for a nice cup of tea in what was very obviously a BAR but the waiting staff were very kind and nearly tucked me up with a cosy blankie… 

I am very glad I had such a nice long walk around Surfers.  About time I got some endorphins up and stopped sitting on my bottom eating and drinking.  And I did love the beach and the skyscrapers!

  

5th December - Gold Coast - Brisbane - birds

Saturday 5^th December 2015

 We arrived in Queensland expecting it to be sweltering.  Everyone said it has been unbearably hot.  So far – not so much!   It is very pleasant, early 20s, but – I should have brought warmer clothes…

Kerry's house

This morning I am sitting at Kerry’s dining table overlooking the city.  His house sits in the treetops at the edge of a huge national park reserve and there are glorious birds just inches away.  This makes me very happy…

There are beautiful glass birds inside as well

We came here for the night, and navigated our way to The Gap with the aid of Siri on my iPhone maps.  Pete argued with Siri quite a lot on the way and I had to bite my tongue very hard to stop from being very defensive – I am very fond of Siri and this fabulous map facility, and…I love my iPhone!

Siri managed to impress Pete in the end when we were looking for a supermarket.  He was sure there wasn’t any such thing in the vicinity of the Gap but Siri said, in soothing tones that there was a Woolworths just around the corner and up the street and – she was correct (thank goodness…)

We have only had one night on the Gold Coast, in Cam and Liz’s lovely luxurious house on a canal in Runaway Bay but we will go back there tonight.  We are trying to fit in as much activity as possible, catching up with people as well as seeing glorious birds.

Butcher bird and kookaburra - stand-off!

On Thursday late afternoon we managed to visit Twyla and Geoff, who have just bought a house on a canal in Mermaid Waters.  Perfect for kayaking – they can just pull their boats a few metres into the water and off they go!

And next – dinner with Will at the Runaway Bay marina restaurant.  Thursday is roast night so Pete and Will were very happy with plates piled high.  Will entertained us greatly with his stories of the recent European lifesaving competitions.  Apparently lifesaving is BIG in Europe.  As big as swimming, and, it sounds, much more fun.  There were thousands of competitors in Holland and Germany last month, and the (new) Australian team had a disproportionate amount of fun as well as coming third after Germany and Italy. 

And now we are with in Kerry, high above the city, surrounded by trees and birds.

His house is full of interesting things – eg the glass birds above – and I have asked permission to take a photo of an old photo of Kerry presiding as a judge at his first murder trial in New Guinea (quite a few years ago…)  It is a great photo – the courthouse has no walls, and is embellished with totem poles.

People have a funny perception of sailing.  We often get asked if we have brought the boat up here – where is it parked?  Well…it would take us more than a day or two to bring it here from Tasmania, or from the Philippines.  When we said that no, 2XS wasn't parked around the corner, Twyla asked us how long it took us to get to Mindanao, where 2XS is now having a  rest and a refit, and we said, Three years.     

Life is interesting; life is good!

3rd December - on our way to the Gold Coast

Thursday 3^rd December 2015

Another bit of Zoe Art - five year olds see the world so clearly!

We are sitting in the food hall area at Sydney airport.  Busy!!   I have eaten Vietnamese spring rolls – the fresh ones, not deep fried.  Very delicious and not too filling.  Pete has eaten…two very filling fried pastry things (a sausage roll and a spinach and cheese roll, to be precise.)  He is looking very unhappy and complaining that he ate too much.  And I am trying not to look annoyingly holier than thou…

Yesterday I proved, once again, to be a most wonderful provider of early childhood experiences…Rose, Katy and I had ten minutes to fill in, so we went to The Good Guys, as you do… She – strangely - wasn’t interested in looking at fridges with her mother so she pulled me over to a wall filled with huge TV screens.  Bliss!  Sit down! she said, commandingly, tugging at my arm.  So…we sat on the floor and were very happy.