The Mupersan's Australian Adventure

Scott gets a 4x4 & Dinner @ Geoff & Pearl's

2009-10-03T20:20:00.006+10:00

After taking on some new staff last week and shuffling vehicles around a bit, Scott has ended up with a great Honda CR-V. Complete with permanent 4x4, a tow bar and a sun roof. So the first thing he did when he brought it home on Friday afternoon was to give it a once over to get rid of some of the dust. Now we're planning our first camping trip where we'll be able to go off-road. Yippeee! MORE adventures!

Car washing is thirsty business!

Saturday was forecast to bring more dust. So we closed all the windows and doors and retired to the pool. It's a tough life! The afternoon saw us heading down to the Gold Coast again for dinner at Geoff & Pearl's place.

Geoff's cheesy grin for the camera!

Right! Out of Pearl's domain!

Geoff getting jiggy with Tina! Actually, he was just saying goodbye before putting on Pearl's Sarah Brightman DVD.

Jazzy helping dad clean the leaves out of the pool

Is this child not just too gorgeous!!!!???

Mini Marilyn

And Chris is growing up so fast. He was relegated to the couch with ice on his ankle after a slip 'n slide accident.

Dad, counter, dad's shorts, kitchen cloth, floor, pink dress and ALL OF JAZZY covered in chocolate ice cream.

Pearl dishing up her delisious dinner - roast lamb. Yummy!

Finally! Managed to get a shot of all of us together. Geoff, Pearl, Doug, Monica, Scott & I.

We had a great evening - thanks a million Pearl for a wonderful dinner! And Geoff for that absolutely amazing Laphroaig single malt.

We were up at sparrows again on Sunday morning to go for another cycle. This time down at Kingscliffe. Off we sped just after 6am to pick up Mac...... only to discover that I had a blown valve. Damn! No spare tube and definitely no shops open at that time of the morning. So we went in and had coffee with Mac and Kerry. It was great to catch up for a couple of hours. And then it was time to head for home. I'd had a serious moment at 4am when I sat bolt upright in bed muttering expletives..... I'd forgotten to plug the kreepy back into the wier. Besides the possible damage to the pool pump, the neighbours must've been cursing us for that really loud sucking noise going on for 6 hours straight! Luckily there wasn't any damage to the pump and our neighbours hadn't left any nasty notes for us.

So a very chilled out weekend. Unfortunately no cycling. And next weekend is the 60km fun ride.... crikey! I hope I make it! Watch this space...

Dust Storms, 30km Gold Coast Cycle & Sea World

2009-09-27T19:55:00.370+10:00

Dust, dust dust! Everywhere. Red dust blown in from the Red Centre of Australia creating a dust storm which had Sydney wondering if they'd woken up on Mars. It blew into Brisbane just in time for lunch. I, like so many other people, had left all my windows open so EVERYTHING was covered in dust by the time I got home. And the dry westerly wind which brought it in continued for days. In fact 4 days later, it brought in another dust storm for Saturday night. Scratchy eyes, dry scratchy throat, dry bleeding noses, blocked up sinuses..... I thought I'd never be able to smell and taste anything other than dust again! LOL!

The city before the dust storm....

During the storm.

Driving home along Moggill Road on Wednesday

The sun through the dust

Coming down the hill into Kenmore - visibility up to around 1km. During the worst of the storm (while I was in the office), it had been down to just a couple hundred metres.

Heading down into Bellbowrie - the hill barely visible in the distance is where Moggill can usually be seen...

And the dust's back on Saturday night!

Looking across the road from our front door *cough*splutter*

Using the flash you can see the dust particles highlighted

So hoping that the wind had blown the majority of the dust away from the Gold Coast, we were up before the sparrow had open it's eyes - let alone farted! :-) The sun rose on our way down to The Spit which was the start point for another 30-odd km cycle.

The sun about to rise over the Logan motorway

And the sun rises at 5.42am...

102km from home to the parking lot at the end of The Spit just past Sea World

Scott heading down Main Beach Parade

Heading down towards Surfers Paradise.

All the barriers and seating stands are being erected for the Super GP coming up towards the end of October.

Water refill!

Beautiful beaches already filling up with surfers at 7.20am

At the halfway point at Miami Beach (7.40am)

Coffee time!

Hey!

Clearly a favourite coffee spot for the cyclists

Click on this shot for a larger view

And Scott gets hold of the camera!

Still getting the hang of reaching for my water bottle while I'm riding. I've only dropped it once so far! LOL!

Heading back towards Surfers Paradise (8.35am)

The sails on the left are part of this really larny shopping mall, Marina Mirage next to the Palazzo Versace Hotel.

Almost at the finish line!

Made it! 32km by 9am

We took all our beach gear with us but by the time we finished our cycle, the wind had picked up again. So, seeing as we were just a few minutes from Sea World, we decided to go and run around there for the day.

Scott getting ready for some fun in the sun!

The is called Pirate Lagoon or something similar

Waiting for the monorail to get an overview of the park before deciding on a plan of action!

Scott looking very cool with his new Shark Bay cap!

Turns out that this monorail is the first one built in Australia - way back in 1986

Here it comes!

Some topiary outside the function centre. Ever since reading Stephen King's The Shining, the idea of topiary has always freaked me out.....

Take me to the fun!

Us - we managed to find a Japanese tourist who understood enough sign language to take this snap

People line up for hours and pay a small fortune to spend some time in the water with the dolphins. There are about 4 or 5 different pools where they have these sessions going continuously from 10am until closing at around 6pm. $225 per person over and above the $69.95 park entry fee - bloody hell!!! Just to compare - we paid $70 each for a 3,5 hour cruise where we swam with hundreds of wild dolphins in their natural habitat.....

With a FREE photo thrown into the deal! LOL!

But they really are stunning creatures!

Then it was time to hit the queues for some adrenaline pumping action! Sorry I don't have a pic of the Corkscrew..... It was over in seconds but was a BRILLIANT roller coaster ride! Check out the website for a look.

Then it was time for the Bermuda Triangle....

This was just the end of the ride. The rest of the ride took place within a huge volcano - brilliantly done with an alien or two, floods, earth tremors and more!

And then there was the beautiful Imagine dolphin show at 2.30pm!

It was a lovely show - far too short though! :-)

Shark Bay

Pretty fishies, sharks and rays

Me with the fishies

Scott with the fishies

Some more pretty fishies, rays and sharks

Then off to the ray petting pool

I thought they'd feel smooth and quite firm but they didn't. They were more like jelly.

Scott wearing his Shark Bay cap at Shark Bay!

Damn! Lost grip of the camera again!

Unfortunately these weren't the most animated polar bears..... we must've caught them having their afternoon nanna nap.

Grrrrrrrr! Scott being a far more impressive polar bear!

Gosh it was a long, exciting day! We'd been up since 4.30am, driven 100km, cycled 30km and run around a theme park for hours. Phew! And then still another 100km drive home. Needless to say we fell into bed exhausted after another great adventure. ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz.............

Wallabies Rugby, Riverfire, Wynnum-Manly Cycle

2009-09-21T16:11:00.028+10:00

September's been an exciting month so far! On the 5th we donned our Wallabies shirts & slung our Gold jackets over our shoulders in the hope that it'd get cold enough during the night to wear them. Alas, it was a balmy night & the jackets just remained accessories! The occasion? The Tri-nations game between the Wallabies and the Springboks!

For those of you who don't know, we support the Wallabies 100%! Our reason.... we support the country (team) that supports us. This is something we decided to do before we arrived.

Our awesome Wallabies jackets - the outside is like parachute material with a hood with a fleece lining.

And you turn it inside out and you've got this!

We hopped on a bus which took us through to Roma Street station in the city. For special events like sports matches & concerts, public transport is free when you show your ticket. What a great way to keep the cars away from glogging up the streets around the stadium! While we were waiting for the McGuickens (Kerry, Shawn, Megs & her friend Ashleigh) to arrive on the train from the Gold Coast, we decided to pop into the closest hotel - The Transcontinental - for a game of pool and an ice cold beer. Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but the hotels here are pubs. It's something to do with the liquor licence act & trading hours of pubs during the war (someone correct me if I'm wrong please).

After whipping Scott's backside on the pool table, we decided to take a bet on the game. The first time we've ever put a wager on any type of game - except of course for the odd coin drop in the slots. We each bet for Oz to beat SA and then I bet on Matt Giteau scoring the 1st try while Scott bet on Adam Ashley-Cooper scoring the 1st try. And we won BIG time! The odds were apparently for the Springboks to win so we walked away smiling - not only because our team beat the Springboks, but because we made a pretty packet out of the game. I wasn't so lucky with Matt, but Adam scored the first try which made Scott EXTREMELY happy! :-)

So here are a few photos from the evening. Enjoy!

We got there nice and early so we could grab a bite to eat at the Caxton Hotel. After our nibble, we headed for the beer garden which is set up in the parking lot next to the hotel on event days. Megs in her SA flat jumper, Kerry in her Springbok jumper, Aussie Ashleigh hiding in the background and Scott in gold!

Scott & Shawn

All-Gold!

Meg's fairy wings converted to Saffer supporter gear!

Kerry was THIRSTY so asked for a large beer.....

We managed to get hold of one of these Bundaberg Rum Wallabies coveralls for Shawn to cover up that green jumper... He was a great hit with everyone - there must be plenty people around Brisbane with a photo of Shawn on their PCs. I'm not sure about Scott's imitation of P!nk..... not quite working for you there hon'!

Hrm.....

Shawn found a buddy - they had a blast running around the beer garden for photo requests LOL!

Scott with 2 old school mates from Grey PE - Jebbo on the left who now lives on the Gold Coast and Julian who flew up from Sydney for the game.

Megs in green with Ashleigh

Jebbo, Jules, Scott & I

Sharing Kerry's large beer

Gold & Green in perfect harmony!

Adam & Scott. Adam's folks own the cycle shop we frequent in Indooroopilly. They're originally from Zim and moved here about 8 or 9 years ago. While chatting in the shop the other day, we discovered that their first house when they arrived in Oz was the one we're living in now. Small world!

Kerry with her beautiful African design face paint

Game on at Suncorp Stadium!

Me along with 40000-odd other rugby union fans

Woooohooooo!!!!!! We won! We won!!! Walking up Caxton Street after the game.

Scott with his golden accessory over his arm. Big smiles after the Wallabies won & our $$$ win!

The rest of the night is a bit of blurr.... ;) We headed over to some or other "cigar bar" to meet up with Scott's school mates. While we were standing in the queue out side, I noticed that there weren't any other women in line..... I started to suspect..... And once inside had those suspicions confirmed by the semi-naked woman pole dancing centre stage. At least I wasn't the only female there - not counting the "dancers". And the beer was cold & the conversation lively so it was all good. We caught the last bus out to Moggill shortly after midnight. The following day was spent trying to recover from a rare tropical disease... must've caught it in all those crowds of people..... :-)

A week later we were back on the bus for Riverfire - the opening event of the Brisbane Festival. While at Wang Dynasty on South Bank for lunch a few weeks back, we made a booking for Riverfire dinner with the McGuickens. Ryan, otherwise known as Mac, (Kerry's hubby) works as an electrician on a cruise ship. He arrived back during the week so it was awesome to get together with the whole clan. We headed down to Streets Beach at South Bank and spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing in the sun, people watching, catching up.

For Riverfire, they whole of the South Bank precinct gets fenced off. If there are too many people, they close the gates - I'm not sure what the cut off number was, but there certainly were heaps of people about. Although Riverfire doesn't just happen at South Bank, it's a great vantage point because of the walkways and grassy areas along the water's edge. People do tend to line most of the river in the city region for the fireworks display.

Scott with Shawn & Mac in the pool at Streets Beach.

Scott & Mac - I'm not sure what they were looking at... either someone in a bikini or at something electronic. These 2 just didn't stop yabbering about electronic stuff ALL day! :-)

Kerry relaxing poolside

Yip, that's me in a dress!

Kerry with some chick in a scary rainbow mohecan!

Yikes! Looks way better on Scott!

Styleish!

This is a video I made up of footage we took on the day. There were aerial displays by the Roulettes - the Royal Australian Airforce Aerobatic Team, an amazing fireworks display and last but certainly not least, the F1-11's "dump 'n burn".

Crowds across the Brisbane River at sunset

Shawn & Megs in Wang Dynasty. Megs glued to her mobile!

Plenty of people! We were SO glad we'd booked at the restaurant. Alot of these people had been camped out for hours.

Our view over the river from the restaurant

The pics I took of the fireworks weren't great - you really need a tripod for good ones. But the fireworks display was truly spectacular!

The food was delicious - and plentiful! We ended the evening with desert which was a work of art.

We left the restaurant at about 10.30pm and were pleasantly surprised to see police all over the place hearding everyone out of the fenced South Bank precinct. The most amazing thing was that everyone was going peacefully. The whole area was supposed to be a no-alcohol zone for the event. Obviously there were some people who brought booze in so there were quite a few drunk youngsters around. They were loud and boisterous, but everyone was obeying the police and heading towards the exits. The only problem with everyone leaving at the same time was that the public transport was pretty full. But they'd put on extra buses, everyone stood in the queue for their particular bus. It was just so orderly and even though some people had been drinking and were loud, we at no point felt unsafe or threatened. There are so many moments of every day that we realise just how fortunate we are to be living in this fabulous country. The only downside is not being able to share them with friends and family.

Adding in a few $$$ to my JB HiFi voucher, I went and bought a new digital camera. An Olympus Mju 9000 - 12 megapixels, 10x zoom, wide angle lens and it's a quarter of the size of our other camera. The old one has a slighter wider lens but it's only 6 megapixels and also has a 10x zoom, but has way less usable features than the new one.

I took this pic to show the difference. The new one is such a pleasure cos it can just fit into your pocket. BTW, this pic was taken with my mobile phone. :-) Way too many cameras in this house!

One of the things that this new camera does is panoramic shots. It's really clever. You can either stitch the pics together in camera or take separate shots and stitch them together with the Olympus software on the PC. The stitching isn't perfect - you may notice a bit of distortion or strange angles - I think it's going to take a little more practice to get it right. Its amazing how much more perspective you can get with the panoramic shot. Click on the panoramic shots to see a larger version.

Our lounge with the kitchen on the left, patio doors and then at the far end, the door to our "office".

Standing next to the bookshelf looking towards the front door. The dining room (which we never use!) is in that front room behind the kitchen. The main bedroom is behind the picture wall. The laundry leading thru to the garage at the end of the kitchen.

The pool area. On the left thru the gate is the patio. The lounge window is out of picture to my left and the office window is at my back.

The patio taken from the doorway leading out from the lounge. That's the kitchen window on the left and the pool is somewhere in that bright sunshine glare off to the right.

The weather has been absolutely stunning since the beginning of August. We've been swimming - yes, actually swimming since late August. But time needs to catch up! It's still only getting light at around 5.45am which is too late for us to be able to ride in the mornings before work. So we're trying to get in a decent length ride over weekends. We're trying to build up to a 60km ride that we've signed up to do next month in aid of the Heart Foundation. It's called the Brisbane to Gold Coast Cycle but we're doing the shorter version of only 60km.

We found a great book on our grocery shopping expedition on Saturday morning - Where to Ride: South East Queensland.

We chose Ride 12 - The Wynnum - Manly Loop. We ended up cycling a total of 20km.

So we got up early only Sunday morning and headed out towards Pandanus Beach on the Wynnum Esplinade.

Moreton Bay from the esplinade

Trying to get the camera set for panoramic...

Got it! A whole lot of this cycle path is through mangroves. Very pretty.

A section of the cycle which was on road - clearly marked for cyclists. And there were PLENTY of them about!

I had the camera on a lanyard around my neck so that's as much of me I could get in the shot.

Caught in the act!

Some of the houses along here - I reckon these are pretty pricey!

It was still early so not many people out 'n about yet. The local councils are big into promoting healthy lifestyles through outdoor exercise. This is one of the outdoor exercise areas they've built. There's also a covered picnic area and a free electric barbie on the right with a free hot water cyclinder so you can head down in the mornings & evenings for coffee/tea.

The Manly Boat Harbour - the 2nd largest of it's kind in the Southern hemisphere. The largest is in Freemantle, Western Austrlalia. There are just masts as far as the eye can see! You realise just how big it must be when you realise that alot of the boats in front of you are motor boats so don't have masts at all.

Nearly back where we started and they'd set up a market.

Scott pulling faces behind me for the camera - most of the pics I took blind over my shoulder. :-)

A cheesy smile this time! That covered area in the background are more picnic/barbie areas with the same free amenities.

Scott had the little Sony Cybershot in his pocket which he managed to coax into taking a few photos before it finally died a peaceful death.

Shame, that was my first digital camera & the first Cybershot which came out. It was a tiny thing which fitted in the palm of your hand - it was only a 1.3 megapixel. It was used by Sony as a promotional thingy for their new range of digital cameras. My sister-in-law was working in media in NZ at the time and managed to get her hands on a couple. They cost a small fortune at the time too. RIP little Cybershot - thanks for the memories.

This is the Wynnum Wading Pool. Outward bound there were a couple with their radio control boats. But on our way back there already quite a few people swimming.

This gives you a better idea of the pool - this is not my photo. I took the one above this from the opposite side of the pool. The pool was built in 1933 and is 200m long. They use pumps & valves to keep the level constant and unaffected by the tides.

Scott at the entrance to the pier with the wading pool pump house behind him.

Pandanus Beach on the right & the pier heading out to sea

The wading pool is just out of shot on the right

A well earned rest after 20km in the saddle

That's us! At the end of the pier.

Looking back towards where we'd ridden

Looking back down the pier. To the right in the foreground is a fish cleaning table. Cleaned daily and with running water. There are a couple along the pier too.

Looking back towards Wynnum & Manly from the edge of the pier.

Sunday night was definitely a barbie evening. The weather had been perfect all day, we'd been on an awesome cycle, lazed in the pool for the afternoon. What better way to end the day but to open a couple of cold ones, flash up the barbie & cook a flattie.

For those who don't know (yes YOU Michael!), this is a spatchcock chicken. Otherwise known as butterfly chicken or just a "flattie".

Ta da!!! Behold the wonder which is a spatchcock chicken! :-)

I hope you've enjoyed reading about our latest adventures. We love reading your comments, so please leave one. Just remember to sign your name!

Until next time....

Hanging @ Home, News & Mandy's Birthday

2009-08-31T15:41:00.004+10:00

Contrary to popular belief, Brisbane winters can get pretty bloody chilly! The days are lovely - sunny with temps around 22C. But the mornings and nights are icy! We had a few mornings of -2C but for the most part, the lows are between 7 and 14 degrees. So when the first warm weekend days arrived at the beginning of August, we were keen to get out in the sunshine & make the most of a nippy pool.

We'd par-boiled and had been marinading some pork belly ribs for a couple of days so it was time to cook 'em up. What better way than over a "proper" barbie!

Scott chopping some wood for the fire

The resident pyromaniac doing her thing

Scott with beer in hand on his new pool chair

Onto the bubbly... cheers! Ribs, fresh avo & a baked potato. Yummy!

Grrrrrrrrr!

This is Scott's pride & joy! He worked damn long & hard making up his new tool bag. He's THE most organised techie!

Kerry & her fandamily went to visit friends for a weekend and kindly offered us their house in Robina while they were away. Woooohooooo!!!! We spent the WHOLE weekend at Burleigh beach. It was heavenly to feel the sand between our toes and to swim in the sea again.

Spending time at the beach really cemented our decision to move back to Sydney. Brisbane is a great city. There is plenty going on culturally in and around the city. The weather is nice - okay, not sure about the middle of summer with it's scorching heat & high humidity... :( But winter's nice. The infrastructure is great for outdoor living, cycling & walking. BUT, it's absolutely nowhere near the ocean - I mean REAL ocean - not just Moreton Bay with it's ultra salty, murky, waveless sea water. Why not move to the Gold Coast and commute? Just out of the question. If we were able to commute by train and just work in an office all day, it' would be fine. However, both of us have to drive to work because we're out on site most of the day. And not necessarily in the city either. We work anywhere within a 2 hour driving radius of the city which could make the commute from the Gold Coast over 4 hours on a Friday afternoon. That's just too much. As well as the fact that the company won't pay for our petrol if we move that far away. We really will always be happy we came to Brisbane though - if anything, it's made us realise just how much of a connection we have with and in Sydney.

So we've started saving and are busy planning our move back home to Sydney! Watch this space....

My birthday started on Friday, 28th August when Scott came home with these absolutely STUNNING roses.

7.30am on my birthday! Not looking very glamorous! LOL! Scott spoilt me rotten though. iTunes vouchers, JB HiFi voucher (electronics + DVD store), new headphones for my iPod and a Leatherman Skeletool!

I really couldn't think of anything that I wanted to do for my birthday.... I've got to that point in my life where I'd rather ignore the fact that I'm another year older! LOL! At the end of the day, the only thing I really wanted to do was to head out on the bikes along the sea around Redcliffe on Moreton Bay. Remember the kite festival? Well we parked in almost exactly the same spot next to where they'd the festival.

Scott taking the bikes off the bike rack

All fresh & ready to head out

But wait! Before we get too far, it's time to feed the pelicans

Gulp!!!

Mom & dad with their youngster. Youngsters can be recognised by their white eye ring, brown feathers & furry "mohecan".

Over the old Hornibrook Highway which is for cyclists, pedestrians & fisherman only. The new Houghton Highway is on the left.

On the other side of the bridge at Brighton Park

Heading back towards Redcliffe

I managed to wrestle the camera away from Scott!

This was classic! Along the Hornibrook Esplanade there were a couple of guys unloading their ute, setting up for a barbie. Click on the pic to enlarge if you can't see it clearly - 2 leather couches!!! Now that's called hanging out at the beach in style!

Scott's Point

Loved these pelican bike parking racks

Parking my bike in the pelican's bum! LOL

The Gayundah wreck at Woody Point. I found the following info on a website about Queensland shipwrecks: Gayundah. Steel gunboat, 360 tons. Built at Newcastle-on-Tyne for the Queensland Navy in 1884. Lbd 120 x 26 x 9.5 ft. Hulk filled with concrete and scuttled to form a breakwater at Woody point, Moreton Bay, Queensland, 1958.

Heading along Margate Parade

A pamphlet we picked up at the visitors centre at the beginning of the ride - Redcliffe Bikeways. Click on the link to check out the online version - this one put out by the Moreton Bay Regional Council.

Just before we got to the Scarborough marina, we saw a sigh saying that the tandem skydive landing was happening shortly. So we took a bit of a break before turning back and watched them land along with other passers-by.

Time for lunch! We found a great restaurant along Marine Parade in Redcliffe. I had a bucket of prawns and an ice cold beer! Note the VERY rosy cheeks - this ride was the longest I'd been on - 30kms.
What a great way to spend my birthday!!!

These are my "Slippies" - my birthday present from my folks. They are the most divinely soft, fluffy, microwaveable foot warmers.

Slow Cooking & Lunching With New Friends

2009-07-31T15:25:00.003+10:00

Okay, so I've been copping alot of flack for not updating the blog.... Sorry about that - working full time again has kinda cramped my style! LOL! I've gone back through my photos and added some of the highlights from the past couple of months. Enjoy!

Before I started working again, I went on a mission with my slow cooker. It's a magical invention and perfect for hot dinners on cold winter nights. It all started when I wanted to make an oxtail stew the way my mom makes it. I tried it in a normal pot the first time and it wasn't bad, but it didn't taste like my mom's. So the next step was to go out and buy a slow cooker.... I've made some delicious meals so far. My favourite has to be the ham hock & lentil soup. It must be the heartiest soup I've ever tasted!

Shopping at the local butcher. Notice the biltong & droewors in the front row!

There are Saffer shops dotted around Brisbane (and the other major cities), but quite a few butchers will stock some Saffer things. This particular one in Kenmore stocks everything from Aramat, Cross & Blackwell Mayo, Ouma Rusks, All Gold Tomato Sauce to Stoney ginger beer & Iron Brew. The only things we still buy are Aramat and mayo. Other than that, we've discovered the local brands and are more than happy. There are, however, quite a few ex-Saffers who will spend a small fortune every month buying imported goods from SA instead of trying out the different brands here. I must say, I stocked up well on toiletries but then couldn't wait for them to finish so I could try out all the "new" stuff.

The butchers here really are quite something! They're really imaginative with their selection of cuts, marinades and garnishes. And this is all just the daily freshly prepared stuff - there's heaps of plain vacuum sealed or frozen meats in the fridges behind where I was standing when I took this shot. And then there are the chicken butchers too.... :-) I'll try and remember to take some pics when next I go shopping.

A lamb shank stew about to be cooked

Scott with the ham hock bone while I was busy preparing a pot of soup. Grrrrrrr!

Though this blog, you've already met my friend Kerry-Lee. Well through Kerry on Facebook, I also met a school friend of her's who had just moved to Sydney. I got chatting to Gus on Facebook. And got completely homesick looking at Sydney though the lens of his camera! Gus moved over with his partner, Ian, from London. Ian was hired by Woolworths for some serious top secret mission! So when Ian had to come to Brissie for business, Gus hopped on the plane so he could explore the coffee shops & catch up with Kerry. We were lucky enough to hook up with them for lunch at a great Chinese restaurant called Wang Dynasty right next to the river at South Bank. We had a wonderful afternoon with a great bunch of people!!!

Kerry & Gus

The "adults" - Ian, Gus, me, Scott & Kerry in front

And with Kerry's kids, Megs & Shawn

After lunch we all went our separate ways. We headed for the Plough Inn for a beer

And live music

Kerry ploughed into us for a few more beers & some scrumptious ribs! And a laugh or three! :-)

Paniyiri Greek Festival 2009

2009-07-05T17:32:00.002+10:00

Remember the Greek dancers we saw at South Bank yesterday? Advertising the Greek Festival? We'd actually planned to go to this in May but it was postponed after all the heavy rains. So with taste buds already slavering for yummy Greek food, we set out (again!) for South Bank. I really think we need to move to the city!

It was held on Musgrave Park just in front of the Greek Club and Greek Orthodox Church. Obviously this is an incredibly popular festival! There were 3 gates and queues at all of them. Roads were closed and manned by coppers and private security (aka huge big islander boys!). If you're from Cape Town, you'll know the Constantia Festival. This is very similar in that it's got loads of rides, food stalls galore and a centre stage where dancers, choirs & other artist perform.

Doesn't look too full. Maybe we're early birds & won't have to wait in too many queues for lunch....

The Slingshot shoots this little cage containing 2 people 70metres into the air where you bounce around & spin for a bit and then they lower you again. Fun! Fun! Fun! But at $30 per person, it was a little pricey so we didn't have a go (that's our excuse & we're sticking to it!).

Colourful rides

The Slingshot shoots into the clouds!

The Octopus

Fun, colour, laughter, excited screams (or was it terror?), bells and the smell of delicious cooking wafting over the whole fair....

Rides for everyone - loved the huge colourful bouncy castle/slide thingy for the little ones.

The cooking fires......

And this is what we found when we left the fairground part.... MASSES of people in queues for all that delicous food. Souvlaki, grilled octopus, moussaka, baklava, honey puffs.... Mmmmmmm.......

So we just joined the closest line and tucked in! Further along, against this hill was the stage. The backs of the queues just blended into the crowds watching the shows on the stage. It really was a MASS of people. We sat on the hill here eating our lunch. After taking in the atmosphere for a while we decided to walk around a bit more but it really was just too crowded. As we were making our way towards a gate, Scott spotted Emma, Moss & Tom. The people we met at the Caxton Street Seafood & Wine Festival. In all those crowds, in the whole of Brisbane! What are the chances???

These are honey puffs. If you've never had them, you're SERIOUSLY missing out!!! Find them, hunt them down. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

A short walk to South Bank and we discover MORE new stuff there. This place is absolutely amazing - there's always SOMETHING going on. This time it was the Young Designer's Market. The name really is self-explanatory - clothes, jewellry, art.

Some more walking and we discovered that today was International Tartan Day & was being celebrated with plenty of highland dancing, gaelic song & tartan, tartan and more tartan.

With a raffle

Bagpipes

Tartan & Scottish clobber

Even the littlies had a go - this little boy was just too cute!

It wouldn't have been complete with out the highland sword dance

Looking back as we were leaving

Oh look! Something else going on! The Queensland Fire & Rescue in training

Damn! That's a long ladder!

And that's all for now!

Kerry-Lea & Shawn's Visit

2009-07-04T16:16:00.004+10:00

I first met Kerry-Lea online in the SA2Oz and SAAustralia forums when we were going through the whole visa application process. Kerry and her kids (daughter Megan & son Shawn) arrived in Sydney on 1 December 2008. Kerry's hubby, Mac, was working on the cruise ship Volendam and they were going to join him for a cruise to NZ and then finish up back in Oz to settle on the Gold Coast. Well, as it turns out, this is a very small world..... Remember our fabulous NYE on the James Craig ship in Sydney Harbour.....?

Well, this photo was taken as we arrived for our cruise on NYE. In the foreground is the James Craig and in the background...... the Volendam - with Kerry & family onboard! Yip, they were also in Sydney harbour for NYE.

Anyway, after Kerry had moved to the Gold Coast & was online, we started communicating again on the forums - marvelling at what a small world it was. And then we moved to Brisbane - staying at Geoff & Pearl's in Robina for the first few weeks - yes, that's on the Gold Coast too. The day before we were due to move up to our new house in Moggill, I found out that Kerry was living about 150 metres away from Geoff & Pearl! And we STILL hadn't met face to face yet! LOL! And I just realised another time where we just missed each other - at the Sharks vs Reds Super 14 game at Suncorp Stadium!

So when we were organising our housewarming bbq, we invited them along. And a great friendship began!

Mac is away on another 3 month stint onboard another cruise ship at the moment and Megs is over in NZ visiting a friend for the school holidays. So Kerry brought Shawn through on Friday afternoon for some dinner & then a day in the city on Saturday.

Shawn made a fabulous fruit salad for dessert & one of the strawberrys ended up being a complete mutant!

Shawn with his mutant strawberry

Dinner was Mexican so we had to have frozen margaritas. Duh! This was Kerry's first into to a frozen moggie..... I think she's hooked!

Shawn got his own version (before the tequila was added of course) - I forgot his straw so he sipped from the glass & copped a mouthful of salt from the rim of the glass. Great expression!

Okay, so we were really bad with the camera during dinner. Way too much talking going on... Once the moggies (only cos I ran out of ice!) were finished, Scott & Kerry hit the Amarula while I went onto the white wine..... once the Amarula was finished too, they also joined me with white wine..... LOL! A FABULOUS evening chatting away about ALL sorts of things..... some interesting.... some bizarre.... some we just won't mention again..... :-)

On Saturday morning we headed off to the city after fruit salad for breakfast (we'd forgotten about it as dessert!). First stop was the Da Vinci Machines exhibition which was in my previous post. After this, we walked all over South Bank as the following pics will show....

Greek dancers on one of the grassy areas

More Greek dancing

Ta-da! They were advertising the Paniyiri Greek Festival which was happening up the road.

Hercules - also from the Greek Festival

Shawn being all camera-shy - he just refused point blank to have his picture taken with Hercules!

Lunch was fish & chips for Kerry, chicken nuggets for Shawn, fish burger for Scott (which was ULTRA delish!) and calamari for me. YUMMY!

Shawn went off to watch the buskers next to the "beach" and we stopped at a cafe for a cuppa..... This is the view from the cafe.

Now this is something that Kerry introduced me too and is THE most incredible alternative to coffee EVER! I really mean E.V.E.R.!!! Chai Latte..... It's black tea spiced with vanilla & cinnamon with steamed frothy milk. It is absolutely TOOOOO DIVINE!!!

It started out as just the instant Lipton Chai Latte from Woolies...... But the cafe had it on their menu so we had some.....

I was too busy smelling, sipping & just generally ADORING my latte that I completely forgot about taking a photo of it. But this should give you an idea. HEAVENLY!!!

A close up of the tight-rope unicyclist

The Twine - a FABULOUS drumming band busking at South Bank Market

The Twine again
(click anywhere on the underlined parts to go to check out their website & hear some of their studio recordings)

One of the many street performers at South Bank

Shawn pretending to jump in - he was all big mouth about going for a swim until he felt the water.... More about this later...

Next to the beach (which they're doing major renovations to at the moment) is a kiddies water park. I can't think of any other way to describe it. This is a beautiful water feature which randomly drops water.

Shawn dodging water features

A water curtain, fountains and rivers

Love this one!

Kerry & Shawn at South Bank

After wandering around South Bank for a few hours taking in the, exhibition, street theatre, live music, markets, walking along the river, yummy lunch and plenty hustle, bustle & people watching; it was time to head for the hills.....

Mount Coot-tha to be exact. It's on our way home so we thought we'd treat our visitors to a lovely view of the whole of Brissie.

Kerry & I nattering away

Turn around for a photo girls!

Now on the way home, Scott & Shawn had hatched this "deal" whereby Shawn was going to go for a swim in exchange for a foot rub from Scott. There were all sort of conditions attached (which Scott kept adding to!) and when we finally got home, Shawn went off to get his trunks on & then the procrastinating started..... I think I mentioned how he was a big mouth until he felt the water......

First we gotta check the temperature.... a chilly 14 degrees!

Then a pose with the new spray-on tattoo he got at South Bank

Then he had to debate whether to use the snorkel or not (he was supposed to stay underwater for 1 minute to get the foot rub)

Then he decided to dive in from the deep end..... which he decided wouldn't be the best way to get in after all....

Eventually Kerry couldn't take it anymore!!! And in he went!!!

Yikes! That looks cold!

Brrrrrrrr!

The lips are starting to turn blue & you can almost hear his teeth chattering! There was a bit of a 'moment' when Scott refused to honour the 'deal' on a technicality because he was pushed in. LOL!

So Scott tied him to the dining room table instead....

Not sure why..... but Shawn seemed to enjoy it - so did Scott by the looks of things!

Kerry & Shawn left shortly after this to go back to the Gold Coast. They were both getting up early on Sunday morning to run in the Gold Coast Marathon. Kerry finished the 5km & Shawn did the 4km kid's dash. Congrats to both of you!!! And thank you for coming to visit - we loved having you here!

Da Vinci Machines Exhibition

2009-07-04T10:19:00.002+10:00

On our many trips to South Bank over the last few months, we've noticed a tent being built in front of QPAC and wondered what it was. Then the signage went up...... an exhibition of Leonardo Da Vinci's Machines! I'm not sure who was more excited - Scott or I! The exhibition opened on 6 June but we wanted to wait a little while so that it wasn't too crowded when we went. The perfect opportunity presented itself when Kerry and Shawn came up for the weekend (more about their visit in the next update!).

Our tickets

Shawna Lisa

Scotta Lisa

Amanda Lisa

Kerry-Leesa

It turns out that Da Vinci, aside from being an absolute genius, was quite a sadistic bastard! You really didn't want to be on receiving end of any of the war machines he designed!

I'm really going to cheat in this update. The captions to the photos are going to be copied directly from the description board which accompanied each model. If you're not interested, then skip this blog. I promise I won't be offended (much!). To try and paraphrase all the descriptions will take a month of Sundays and I don't know that I could do any more succinctly than has already been done. Incidentally, his groups of drawings, calculations and descriptions are known as Codex. The dates on each description contains a C. - I'm assuming this is the date of the Codex.

I couldn't help thinking about how so many of our friends and family back in SA would so enjoy seeing this exhibition. This blog is for you. I hope I've managed to capture enough to give you a decent impression.

NAVAL TANK (C. 1503 - 1505)
This extraordinary war machine was designed by Leonardo to impress his patrons with new and improved military devices. This design is a culmination of his previous ideas and sketches, and features a ship with a circular platform on which is mounted a series of symmetrically opposed cannons. These cannons would need to be fired simultaneously so that the boat isn't thrown off course by the recoil of the explosions.

THE SCORPION (C. 1484 - 1486)
When his mind turned to naval warfare, Leonardo found himself inspired by the great Roman engineers of the past. Following on from their example, Leonardo invented ships equipped with gigantic scythes designed to destroy the masts, hulls and sails of enemy ships, leaving them to sink or flounder. The remarkable destructive force fo the Scorpion's massive scythe lay not only in the sheer devastating power of its instantaneous drop, but also in its manoeuvrability, which was achieved by a revolving platform. The scythe was lifted by a crank and gears system, and its rapid drop together with this meachism ensured the effectiveness of the machine. In addition, the ship was also equipped with strong leather-covered screens with secured entrances to protect the rowers from overhead fire.

NAVAL CANNON (C. 1483 - 1485)
Naval warfare became one of Leonardo's principle areas of interest. He invented this military vessel featuring a large square cannon attached to a revolving platform, which enabled it to be fired in any direction. It was designed to fire combustible shells at enemy ships to sink them.

BOAT WITH DOUBLE HULL (C. 1484 - 1486)
Another of Leonardo's modern inventions, now applied to all ships, is the double hull. A useful system designed for use in maritime warfare. The double hull could prevent the boat from sinking if the outer hull were breached. Perhaps no other machine designed and described by Leonardo da Vinci expressed both the originality of his imagination and the simplicity of his ideas as clearly as the double hull.

SCUBA DIVER (C. 1508)
This device was designed to allow divers to breathe underwater, permitting them to move almost unseen beneath the surface. This model had a floating buoy to keep the breathing tubes above water and flexible tubes to facilitate movement. Rather than force the diver to inhale air directly through a tube, an exhaustive process only possible at shallow depths due to underwater pressue, Leonardo's apparatus makes it possible for compressed air to be forced down the tube to the diver. In these drawings it is possible to see details in which Leonardo had clearly anticipated modern solutions for breathing underwater.

LIFEBUOY (C. 1487 - 1490)
Just as it is used today, the lifebuoy was invented by Leonardo to save someone from drowning. It is made from waterproof leather and could be filled with air to increase its volume and buoyancy. In his words "Jump into the sea and allow yourself to be carried by the waves... always keep in your mouth the air tube and if now and again you require to take a breath of air and the sea foam prevents you, you may draw breath from within the apparatus."

CAM HAMMER (sorry, date was cut off in my pic)
The cam is a system used to convert circular motion to alternate linear motion. In this case used to move the hammer up and down. Leonardo often made use of cams. The cam is incredibly useful here becasue it ensures that the hammer hits exactly the same spot with the same force, and if you turn the handle at an even pace, it will also do so at a regularly spaced interval. Furthermore, cams can be linked up, so you could easily have multiple cams and hammers moving together by turning only one handle.

THREE BALL BEARINGS (C. 1497)
This principle is still widely used today. A series of balls are placed between two moving surfaces that would otherwise rub together creating a great deal of friction that would damage the parts, thereby eliminating the friction and preserving the parts. Leonardo further improved upon this idea by designing a ring-shaped track along which the balls could move without coming into contact with each other.

ARCHIMEDES' SCREW (C. 1480)
This device for lifting water cannot be considered one of Leonardo's inventions, as this method has been known since the days of the ancient Egyptians and was later studied in the Greek world by Archimedes, one of the greatest scientists of classical antiquity. Leonardo was one of the few thinkers of the time to understand the principle of its use (the length of the screw must be inclined at a 45 degree angle creating a right angle from its height to its base, as dictated by Pythagoras' theorem). He also drew plans to implement a system of screws to raise water to dwellings above ground level.

FLYWHEEL (C. 1497)
The flywheel is a device designed to keep maximum angular momentum (ie longer spinning time). These four balls are Leonardo's design for a flywheel - a heavy device that can store the energy it receiveds, then release it evenly to maintain a constant speed. Leonardo worked on ways to make the flywheel spin for longer while being easier to start. Today flywheels are used in many everyday machines such as the exercise bike.

STUDY OF A UNITED WING (C. 1480)
After his studies on bird anatomy, Leonardo decided to apply the same laws to his flying machines. He directed his interst towards a united wing, which was supposed to have a single cloth or canvas stretched over a rigid skeletal frame. This particular design is based on his study of bats.

INCLINOMETER (C. 1485)
This instrument was designed to help regulate flight. Its purpose is to show if an aircraft is flying at an angle. It consists of a pendulum suspended inside a glass bell to protect it from the effects of air currents. During flight, the pendulum inside the inclinometer would shift as the flying machine tilted in its journey. The pendulum would come to rest at an observable angle, thereby showing the pilot the plane's tilt, allowing the pilot to make the necessary adjustments to steady the craft.

FLYING MACHINE (C. 1485 - 1487)
This is one of Leonardo's most famous drawings. It is very precise and accompanied by useful notes which explain how it functions. According to the notes, it is designed so that the man lies stretched out on the platform with his feet in the stirrups, one of which raises the wing while the other lowers it. This is accomplished by a series of three pairs of ropes linked by a system of pulleys which are attached to the various wing joints to enable the wings to be bent, rotated, opened and closed - all movements that enable the pilot to maintain balance or change direction.

FLAPPING WING EXPERIMENT (C. 1487 - 1490)
In this experimental model, Leonardo set out to test the capacity of human force to efficiently flap the machine's wing and therefore verify, experimentally, if the force of a repidly flapped artificial wing could support the body of a man in flight. Leonardo thought that if it was possible to lower the long lever quickly enough, the wing would be able to lift the plank mounted on it, designed to be about the weight of a human. he calculated the necessary wingspan to lift a human based on his observations of birds, working out that the wings would have to be twelve meters long and twelve meters wide to be able to lift a human.

FLAT BALL BEARINGS (C. 1497)
This is a ball bearing based on an extraordinary sketch by Leonardo which depicted both the top and side views - even drawing the object in this way was revolutionary. The structure has eight balls moving freely, while the spools keep them moving in the correct direction. The ball and spindle system reduces friction, allowing the top platform to turn easily even when it is supporting a heavy load.

CHAMBER OF MIRRORS (C. 1486)
The study of optics was of particular interest to Leonardo. This particular creation was probably designed and built as a royal entertainment. This eight-sided mirror chamber enabled observers to see themselves completley and from all sides without moving. A hole drilled into the side of one panel also gave the chamber a practical purpose by giving observers a 360 degree view of an object within it without having to move it around.

PARACHUTE (C. 1485)
This project demonstrates how ingenious and futuristic Leonardo's ideas were. His parachute had to be made of linen cut in the shape of a pyramid, with each side to measure seven metres. "With this mechanism anyone could have flung himself from any height without risk". While many of Leonardo's designs were never tested, the parachute has been. In 2008 a Swiss parachutist made a successful jump from 2000 feet using a parachute built to Leonardo's specifications, exclaiming htat it was "a perfect jump" thought rather tricky to steer!

Shawn trying out the gear shift

JACK (C. 1480)
This machine is easy to understand for anyone who has ever changed a car tyre. When the crank is turned it rotates the cogs, which in turn moves the toothed rod up or down thereby raising or lowering the attached load.

VERTICAL DRILL (C. 1485)
The drill was designed to move up and down by means of one screw turned by one or two men. The drill creates a funnel-shaped space between the earth's surface and the screw head to prevent the earth falling on the heads of the workers.

Heavens above! What a look!!!
AIR SCREW (C. 1489)
One of Leonardo's most famous designs; the 'aerial screw' is interpreted by many as an ancestor of modern helicopters. This machine was to be constructed in wood with the screw's blade made of linen with a metal border. It was designed with a 4.8 metre radius, and was to be powered either by four men pushing levers as they ran around the shaft's base, or by means of a rope quickly unravelled from around the axle. It is clear that the mechanism so conceived could never have taken off, but the idea remains that with the force of an adequate motor, the machine could actually have spun itself into the air. Leonardo himself had included at the base of the craft a mysterious box which the Artisans of Florence discovered to be a spring powered launch mechanism.

GLIDER (C. 1493 - 1495)
In the beginning of the 1590's, Leonardo abandoned his work on flying machines with flapping wings, moving on to those with partially fixed wings. This reflects his progress in aeronautical research, although this craft is still unable to sustain human flight and is erroneously based on multiplying human force. At this stage Leonardo is moving towards gliders, in which the pilot directs the machine, changing direction through subtly shifting his body. In line with his keen observation of nature, Leonardo calculated the wing dimensions necessary to maintain human flight by studying large birds like pelicans.

CART WITH DIFFERENTIAL
Leonardo realised that two-wheeled carts have a fundamental problem; when the cart goes around a corner, the outer wheel has to go further and at a faster pace than the inner wheel. To solve this problem, Leonardo devised a way to transmit motion through the axle connecting the two wheels. A crank turns the cog wheel which links to the lantern rocket that is linked to one of the wheels, making that wheel turn faster.

SPRING-POWERED CAR (C.1487 - 1490)
This is one of Leonardo's most famous inventions. It is a self-moving car designed to be powered by leaf-springs (balestre) and designed to move in a specific pattern. While the car was self-propelled, an operator would have been needed to tighten the leaf springs that power the wheels. Energy stored in the leaf springs by winding them up tightly was transmitted to the driving wheels by means of a simple set of gears. A single small wheel at the back was controlled by a rudder, enabling the car to be steered from the rear. It is believed that this particular machine was originally designed for use on the stage, as Leonardo often designed complex theatrical devices for his patrons.

THE BICYCLE
This is one of the many mysteries still surrounding Leonardo's life and work. During restoration of the Codex Atlanticus, this drawing was found between two glued-in pages. The lack of detail in the drawing and the signature of Leonardo's pupil, Salai, lead us to believe that Salai may have drawn this image by sketching a model seen in his master's workshop - a common practice for apprentices of the time. Believed to have been created for use in theatrical performances, the bicycle's modern features and the fact that it uses chains had many scholars convinced that it was a hoax until the rediscovery of the lost Codex Madrid in 1966. Notes and sketches found in the Codex clearly show that Leonardo had all the technical knowledge required to build the bicycle.

CHAINS (C.1497)
Leonardo studied many different types of flexible chains which were used to create continuous motion from one part of a machine to another. The chain is also a key feature in one of Leonardo's most famous & controversial inspired creations; the bicycle. The chains would not be reinvented until the industrial revolution in England 300 years after Leonardo's famous drawing.

GEAR WITH A CIRCULAR MECHANISM
Leonardo often used this system of producing motion in his machines to change the direction of movement from a vertical to a horizontal plane. Leonardo pointed out the main problem with this design, which is that the cogs on the wheel wear down quickly when moving heavy loads. This paved the way for the invention of his 'corkscrew' mechanism.

Sorry, didn't photograph the info board for this one, but hink it's pretty self-explanatory...

Dad, this one's just for you!
TRENCH EXCAVATOR
Leonardo designed this excavating machine to dig trenches. The shovel of this machine is set in motion by releasing the balance weight. The large rocking half-wheel helps to lower the balance weight which lifts the shovel. As the weight swings up and down the shovel digs into the earth to create a hole. When the hole is deep enough, the machine is moved along to dig a new stretch of earth, thereby excavating a trench. Modern backhoes work on the same principle.

Brisbane Cycle

2009-06-28T16:09:00.001+10:00

When we packed up in Cape Town, Scott spent ages cleaning our bikes with engine cleaner & a toothbrush! We packed in the bike rack that fits onto the towbar so we could take our bikes all over the place & ride. Well, unfortunately the bike rack doesn't fit our towbar. We've been meaning to get one but they're pretty pricey at nothing less than $150. Until the End Of Financial Year Sales!!!!! Scott picked one up on Friday at a bike shop down the road for just $100 which wasn't bad.

So Sunday seemed like the perfect time to try it out! We drove through to South Bank again to try out one of the many cycle ways around the river. The only thing we need now on our bikes are bells. Yes, bells! We ended up having to shout "Tring! Tring!" to alert walkers to our approach. LOL! Scott wants to get one of those air horns so he can watch people jump out of his way - such a boy!

Just a head's up here - this isn't a massive blog with loads of photos. Taking photos while riding & navigating through pedestrian traffic isn't the easiest so we left the camera in the backpack for most of the day.

Me on my bike - this is right at the end of the path we were on so it was totally deserted. This is one of the few marinas we've seen along the river and the apartments and houses along here extremely swanky! I think it was around here where there was a guy singing opera from one of the apartments - not my kinda thing, but he had a beautiful voice!

On a little grassy area next to the path we found a whole bunch of vintage cars on display. It looked like they had had a bit of run and were all having picnics behind their cars while passersby asked questions & oggled the machines. Some of the cars seemed to be a work in progress & they arrived on the back of flatbeds. There was also a table set up with a whole lot of trophies. We reckon it was a vintage car club having their annual awards run or something like that. Some of these cars we'd never heard of before!

A Riley

A work in progress - Tercat-Mery. Yes, that's me in my bike helmet - couldn't take it off because of the horendous helmet hair!

Scott with a Minerva. Some of the cars had beautiful radiator caps. This one of Minerva, the virgin Roman Goddess of warriors, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts and the inventor of music - a large portfolio even for a goddess!

Scott clearly doesn't have the same problem with helmet hair!

This Alvis was absolutely stunning! Looked like something you drive to the country for a picnic (packed in a wicker basket of course) wearing a straw boater.

Not sure what this one was - also a work in progress. It had a Scottish thistle as it's radiator cap.

Another Alvis with what looks like the March Hare from Alice in Wonderland as the radiator cap.

Scott inspecting a Talbot

The Talbot radiator cap - a rearing full maned lion

What an awesome looking 12 cyclinder engine! Brass & copper everywhere!

I had to get Scott to stand next to this little Austin so you can see just how small it actually is - very cute!

I think this is another Alvis - totally made of alluminium

Lunch time!!! We built up quite an appetite after the 14km or so ride and stopped at Mado - a Turkish restuarant.

Peak-a-boo! The beers were ice cold and the food was excellent - Anatolian chicken & the most delicious falafel I've ever tasted!

Back to the parking lot - Scott putting the bikes back onto the new rack.

Another fabulous day out!

Queensland Museum

2009-06-27T15:57:00.003+10:00

Our next outing was to the Queensland Museum at the Cultural Centre. This Cultural Centre incorporates the Gallery of Modern Art, Art Gallery of Queensland, Queensland Museum, QPAC (Qld Performing Arts Centre where we saw Chicago) and the State Library. All situated on South Bank where there are markets, buskers, festivals, cafes, restaurants, a man-made beach, parklands, picnic areas and walkways all along the river.

A aeroplane hanging in the Whale Mall on the way to the Museum

Now you know why it's called Whale Mall....

Ready to go in

A Volunteer Fire Brigade quadricycle built in 1912 for the New Farm brigade

Scott hanging out at some of the exhibits

2 Indian Scouts which, before 1030, were all painted red. Indian only brought out 2 models between 1901 & 1953 - the 'Scout' and the 'Big Chief'. American made, it's main rival was the Harley which had an equally devoted fan base. I loved this quote... "You can't wear out the Indian Scout Or its brother the Indian Chief. They're built like rocks To take hard knocks. It's the Harleys that cause the grief."

The Acrohc Australis holds the record for the smallest boat (11 feet, 10 inches!) to sail around the world. In June 1984 Serge Testa sailed it from Brisbane via the Qld coast to Darwin, Maritius, Cape Town, St Helena, Natal, Tobago, The Panama Canal, the Galapagos, the Marquesas & the Cook Islands, Tonga and Lord Howe Island, 80,000km later he returned to Brisbane in May 1987.

Crash! This is what Scott does to planes in his computer games! Unfortunately the real life ones don't have 'restart' buttons. LOL!

Who's the animal?

I thought this was a funky shot - taken in the mirror

Oh good - I'm bigger than most of them!

But some of them have much bigger teeth

Love this one - looks like the polar bear has wings!

This Beech Duke broke the round-the-world speed record for piston-engined aeroplanes in 1975 - it took just 122 hours, 19 minutes and 57 seconds.

Scott really fancied this Beech Duke

One of the water features around the Cultural Centre

Another water feature with pelican sculptures

Scott on the other side ready to dive in!

Lovely shot of Scott between the fountain & another sculpture.

And a late lunch at Kapsali's - a wonderful Greek restaurant overlooking part of the Streets Beach. Then it was off home to wish Cavell (aka Hermit) happy birthday on Skype!

Fête de la Musique Brisbane

2009-06-21T11:19:00.000+10:00

Okay, go grab a cuppa & put your feet while you catch up on our latest adventure...

I recently found a great website, Brisbane in Winter. While browsing around, I came across an event called Fête de la Musique which is a music festival which takes place in about 350 countries around the world on the same day. There are no tickets, no A-Reserve seating, no headlining musos, no critics. Jazz, rock, rap, umpa bands and gospel singers could be on the same bill. All performed in non-music venues.

So armed with our waterproof jackets & a great big umbrella, we braved the rain & headed off to the city. We parked the car at Scott's office and walked down to the Queen Street Mall where there was a big concentration of acts all along the mall. Brisbane isn't as vibey as Sydney but it's certainly got a helluva lot going on in the arts & culture department! Just walking through town, you get to see some pretty cool architecture & there are also sculptures all over the place.

Something else I picked up while browsing the Brisbane in Winter site, was that the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace was on display at Brisbane square - at the river end of Queen Street Mall. This buddha was carved from a rare find - an 18 ton boulder of gem-quality Polar jade discovered in 2000 in Canada and called Polar Pride.

Cathedral Square - Just across the road from Scott's office

I absolutely love this sculpture! I can't find what it's called or who the artist is so it's all very mysterious. I guess that adds to the attraction.

Wanting coffee..... ah great a big NOW OPEN sign at Gloria Jean's..... oh wait, it's closed. Damn!

Funky new building

"The Overseer"

Sculpture on the side of a building

"Dialogue" on Queen Street

It begins.... Our first glimpse of live music in the Queen Street Mall

The Pig & Whistle with Tattersalls Club in the background.

Sahaj Sangeet - An ensemble playing Indian music. They were great - very rhythmic & you could see they were thoroughly enjoying what they were doing.

The Jade Buddha

The Dreadlock Cowboy
(Just to let you know that some of the captions are actually links to the artists' websites - so go, have a look & listen! If it's underlined, it's a link, so get clicking!)

A whole bunch of teenage girls & one guy - can't remember what they were called - something Collective. They didn't really appeal to us.

Scott with a couple of the balls in Brisbane Square

Joseph's Caravan - the St Joseph's Bardon Gypsy Band. A whole bunch of school kids - only their parents were really enjoying their perfomance. But good on them for giving it a go!

Jambezi - an 8-piece marimba band. They were fabulous & had the biggest crowd clapping & dancing

Including me!

It was a total blast!

And this lonesome fellow with his accordian playing for about 3 people

Next we found the Cook Islands Cultural Dance Group. Check out this woman's "bum dance"

Then each of the dancers grabbed someone from the audience. I tried to hide behind Scott but was dragged up anyway!

A very bad impersonation of a hula girl! LOL!

But I think I did better than this guy who looked like he needed a shot of vodka & a furry hat!

They ended off with this dance

And then we found Martin Rappeneau - he normally plays Fête de la Musique Paris but came over to Brissie this year. WOW!!! What a beautiful voice!!! And a real character on stage. It was well and truly worth standing in the rain to watch his performance.

Martin Rappeneau with the Brisbane String Quartet whom he had only met & rehearsed with 2 hours previously. Brilliant!

I'm pretty sure if you click on this picture & look at the enlarged version, you'll see the rain falling.

Here's one of Martin Rappeneau's music videos so you can hear what he sounds like - it also gives you an idea of his sense of humour.

The last perfomance we took in was Muziz. Scott had spent the day wondering if he'd see his work mate, Michael performing. Well, here he is, 3rd from the right. They play Egyptian music while Mike's wife, Tamara (on the far right) does a bit of belly dancing.

Heading back to the car.... "Echoes From The North"

Through Anzac Square

A Queensland Bottle Tree

The Anzac Memorial with Central Station & the Sofitel Hotel in the background.

Scott at the fountain in Anzac square

Scott on the steps of the Memorial

We were very surprised to see the flame out. I'm pretty sure the Memorial in Sydney burns constantly.

All very symbolic - the number of columns, steps leading up to the memorial, all have meaning which I won't bore you with. ;)

The Masonic Memorial Temple. Opened in 1930, this is an incredibly imposing building. Wish we could get a glimpse inside.

And that's all for this time folks!

Bye for now.

Lake Wivenhoe

2009-06-14T10:22:00.001+10:00

I was looking around on Google Maps for places to go on a Sunday drive and came across Lake Wivenhoe. It's the origin of the Brisbane River, is one of SE Queenland's main water sources and is just 50km away from Moggill. We took a small picnic lunch and hit the road.... Only to discover that the first road we had to take, Mount Crosby Road, was closed. Scott insisted we take a "short cut" along the side of the road next to a big pipeline. There was no road. Just churned up grass where a couple of 4x4s had tried their luck. I was driving our Astra - not even a 4x4 wannabe! Because there was a bend up ahead, we couldn't even see if the 4x4s had been successful or not. When I refused to take this "short cut", Scott accused me of having lost my "spirit of adventure"..... It coulda gotten ugly but I bit my tongue instead! Ouch! LOL!

We stopped along the way at a bustling little village called Fernvale. Heaps of cars, bikes, trucks & bicycles parked outside this one little shop - Old Fernvale Pie Shop, The Best Pies In Australia. Even though we had our picnic, we couldn't resist & figured that all these people couldn't be wrong. They weren't!!! Fabulous pies - in over 100 varieties & flavours. Absolutely delicious & it won't be the last time we stop there either! Next time we'll take some pics - I totally got lost in pie heaven & completely forgot about the camera.

A is home - B is Lake Wivenhoe

Scott at Logan's Inlet - a picnic area which also has a slipway. Only non fuel driven boats are allowed on the water which is great as you don't have speed boats racing all over the place disturbing the tranquility. All the tinnies we saw on the water had little electric motors.

There's a camp site in the distance there - we're planning a few days away there in for next month

The picnic area at Logan's Inlet

Getting my feet muddy for the pic

A couple with their canoes at the water's edge

It was a beautiful day and we practically had the place to ourselves. There is another picnic area on the other side of the dam wall which was alot busier than this one.

Enjoying the view

A successful Sunday drive discovering somewhere new... Nope, clearly I don't have any "spirit of adventure"..... ;)

Wintersun Nostalgia Festival

2009-06-06T12:55:00.001+10:00

We first heard about Wintersun from Doug, my brother. He's done the artwork for all their printed media - programs, posters, t-shirts, etc. for the past 2 or 3 years. It takes place over a 2 week period and is held in and around the NSW/Qld border towns of Tweed Heads, Coolangatta and Kirra. It is Australia's No1 Rock 'n Roll Nostalgia Retro Event - consisting of all things rock 'n roll, Elvis & 50's retro. There are live bands, dances, swing & rock 'n roll dance classes and exhibitions, everything retro markets. It all comes together on the last weekend though - which is usually the Queen's Birthday long weekend - the thing that brings the punters...... THE CARS!!! Aside from the cars being displayed in 3 ENORMOUS zones, they hit the road in an organised cruise. Unfortunately we missed the cruise on Saturday. We spent the day oggling the cars and the people on Sunday instead.

If you don't like bright, shiny classic and custom cars, you will probably scroll through this blog thoroughly bored. It's okay, there IS something wrong with you and we'll just snigger behind our hands at your unfortunately situation. Tsk tsk!

I took a total of 217 photographs on the day. I've managed to wittle it down to 93 for the blog and that was no mean feat I tell you! I really only took pics of the outstanding cars. And we only managed to get through 2 of the 3 zones! I have no idea how many cars were actually on display - there were so many varying numbers being bandied about that I just couldn't figure out what the true number was. Let's just say A LOT and leave it at that. Sensory overload!

Doug had spent the day at Wintersun with his family on the Saturday but came down and joined us for a good look at the cars. Trying to keep an eye on & chasing after an extremely adventurous 2 year old must've been a helluva distraction for a boy wanting to drool over all that shiny metal! LOL!

Some of the artwork Doug did for this year's festival (hope you don't mind me pinching the images of your website Doug!)

The stickers Doug did for the cars for last year's festival

Some more artwork he did for the 2008 festival

On our way down to the Gold Coast in the morning we were engulfed by an enormous thunder storm. By the time we got to Coolangatta, the rain had stopped and the skies had started to clear.

There were alot of Buicks in varying colours

The first of MANY hotrods

"Black Sheep"

DROOL!!!! Shelby Cobra Mustang

Scott really loves the hot rods - maybe has something to do with his love of ZZ Top?

I still dream of owning a Mustang....

Chrysler Imperial

A very orange Buick

There must be a VERY short person who drives this hotrod - anyone taller than 4'2" will have their knees knocking their ears!

This was hand painted

The couple in the photo bought "Herbie" new in 1967.

I just wish he'd put the siren on - I could almost hear it while looking at the car!

And to our surprise, out steps the Sheriff himself - in authentic dress too! He wasn't impressed with this girlie & her sister so.....

Decided to make an arrest....

Scott was completely colour coded to this Dodge truck

Studebaker Bullet-nose

Chevy with a roadhouse tray with hamburger, mustard & ketchup

I think this is a Studebaker Avanti but I could be wrong...

Think that's an Indian on the back of the truck

*sigh* Another Mustang

A night at the drive-in/roadhouse

Ooh! And now we get to the "Rat Cars". I loved these!!! Here we have "Corupt"

"Weirdo" - painted to look like it's made from beaten copper. This was one of my favourites.

Looking into "Weirdo" - love those door handles!

Give new meaning to body art...

A Willys Coupe

Grrrrr...... MzKity

Just a crowd shot...

Not sure what this is but liked the shape of the boot.

This guy's eyes were completely freaky so I asked if I could get a pic - he insisted I be in the pic too.

The boys inspecting an EXTREMELY beautiful Buick Eight "Woody"

Only 1400-odd of them were built in 1952 & this one still has it's original woodwork.

"Woody" towing a beautiful wooden speedboat & sporting a wooden longboard

Drooooo! Another Shelby

Vrooooom!!! Vrooooom!!!!

Cecil turned 80 this year!

Get in, sit down, shut up & hang on...

There were quite a few people dressed up - more as it got later. I suspect there were some late risers after all the festivities on Saturday night.

We saw a few Elvis's. They have a huge Elvis competition & people come from all over Australia & the rest of the world to compete.

I could SO see Doug driving this ute with his boards on the back!

The boys making their inspection...

Another fabulous custom job! Unfortunately it was a real attraction and I couldn't get a very good shot. This was the trailer - it was a replica of the car, just with bonnet & boot joined together. It's the ultimate party car... Fold out bar, bar stools in the back, on the bonnet side of the trailer there's a built in esky (coolbox). The inside of the car is also kitted out with fold down drinks trays, a kick-ass sound system and even has an airconditioner fitted. All colour coded in black and yellow.

Custom kiddie's cars

"Diablo"

Doug in between the hearse & it's trailer

The hearse

Yip, there was actually a baby in there! This was one of a few I noticed.

Crowd shot with Doug in the middle foreground

Big Pink

Another one with wonderful styling on the boot

DROOOOOOOL!

All these Mustangs......

Mandy heaven!!!

Grrrrrr........ Droool....... Pant.......!

Kramalot "Inn"

A genuine mobile DJ! What an amazing setup inside. DJ for hire - only really good for street parties though.

Scott drooling!

This beautiful Astin Martin even had lots of switches and knobs which I'm sure Scott was just itching to try out!

Customised DBR 03

Goggomobil Darts

Hope you enjoyed our trip around Wintersun with us!

Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens

2009-05-31T12:31:00.002+10:00

Sunday was a lazy day so we decided to just chill out at the botanic gardens down the road. We packed our books and a picnic lunch of fresh sesame seed loaf and delicious cheeses. And we spent the afternoon listening to the ducks fighting, the breeze in the trees and distant sounds of children laughing. Very peaceful indeed. As you can imagine, we didn't take too many pics of us just chilling out. But I didn't completely forget about the camera so here are the ones we did take.

A brush turkey being curious - it actually walked over the side of the blanket but was off by the time we got the camera out.

I'm re-reading Stephen King's Dark Tower series so was quite happy to lie there all afternoon and read.

Scott found the perfect pillow!

Queensland Art Gallery

2009-05-30T11:10:00.000+10:00

Scott & I kept saying we'd go and visit the NSW Art Gallery & never got around to it. So we decided to go down to South Bank to the Queensland Art Gallery instead of just talking about it.

And weren't we in luck to find a travelling exhibition from the Met in New York: Amercican Impressionism & Realism.

The brochure & our tickets

The first hall...

A Toulouse-Lautrec

A Degas statue and one of his paintings in the background

A Renoir

A Picasso

Scott outside the gallery on the Southern bank of the Brisbane River

Just me in the same spot

Off to take a walk down on the river front

This guy was just running up this wall and doing these awesome back flips. So I thought I'd try and capture it...

We ended up at South Bank for lunch and a walk through the markets. This is the view from our table at lunch - the sculpture overhead looks great at night with the lights on. Unfortunately it doesn't photograph well at night.

Kite Festival & Brisbane Powerhouse Arts

2009-05-18T15:18:00.006+10:00

There's a great website called OurBrisbane with a huge What's On section. We found and headed out to Redcliffe for the annual Redcliffe Kite Fest.

Very eye-catching banners

Some of the kites - a killer whale, a shark....

Goldie - really amazing!

Some more kites

And more...

Beautiful bright colours

Not sure exactly what plane this is but the show he put on was excellent - loop-de-loops and all!

Kites, kites & more kites...

And some more!

The Coastal Patrol boat went up and down the coastline with this massive kite

And even added a diver

The wind eventually died down so we headed for home. We decided to take a quick detour at Indooroopilly shopping centre to watch the new Wolverine: X-Men Origins movie. BRILLIANT!!!

Sunday saw us heading off to New Farm to the Brisbane Powerhouse Arts Centre. We walked around the massive New Farm Park for a while and then headed for the Powerhouse for some lunch. They have free entertainment on over weekends which is great. The first one we went to see is called LiveSpark - up and coming Brisbane indie rock/pop bands. Okay, so the first band nearly blew us out of the venue, but the 2nd band was good. Just a pity that they don't advertise who the bands actually are.

The second show we went to was LiveWired - stand up comedy - both local & national. We were lucky enough to see Dave Thornton.

What a fabulous evening's entertainment!

The New Farm Park / Brisbane Powerhouse Precinct

Scott in front of the Brisbane Powerhouse

A "Notice" in the gardens of the Powerhouse

Brisbane Powerhouse - side view

Scott in the park at New Farm

People picnicking in the park

Looking at the art exhibition at the Powerhouse - The Legacy of Koorah Coolingah - paintings by child artists from Carrolup

After the bands had finished playing, Scott managed to get us a table right near the front for the comedy line-up. Me having a beer!

Scott & his beer!

The stage with the Live Spark banner.