In which we do so much with Juli’s aunt Connie and her Children (Juli’s cousins) it’s taken me until now (day 206) to start blogging about it, which, I guess, is sort of as it should be.
[Apologies if this is a little sparse on details, only I’m running out of time to write about all the people and places we’ve seen while we’ve been here, so I’m going to have to summarise where I can.]
The first full day of our stay with Connie started early to help Connie supervise some removal guys unload a bunch of boxes and some furniture belonging to Andrew (Connie’s youngest) and Jieun (Andrew’s fiancée) at Connie and Bob’s other house in Kenmore – a suburb of Brisbane – which they’ve been letting out. Andrew and Jieun are moving up from Canberra and getting married (twice: once in Korea and once in Australia) and, just in case that isn’t stressful enough, Andrew is changing jobs too. The removal guys wanted us to meet them there at 8.00 am. We were on time, they (the removal guys, that is) were over an hour late.
Once that was sorted, we drove on to Brisbane. On the way, we stopped off at Brisbane Lookout on the top of Mount Coot-tha, which has breath-taking views out over the city and the countryside around it. In Brisbane itself, we had a relaxing picnic by the river near to the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG). Connie took us to the adjacent Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) which was featuring a three yearly exhibition of Asian and Pacific art. I can’t say I enjoyed any of it really, but the building is amazing. After all that culture, we were sorely in need of further refreshment. This was provided at the gallery’s excellent cafe, where we sat and watched a Water Dragon (sort of big lizard) have a staring contest with its own reflection in a glass door.
And that was our run up to Christmas. The next day we went down to Sam and Simon’s for the start of the festivities, but that will have to wait now until next time, when I’ll write about that, New Years and the bit in between.
TTFN - N
Days 182 to 190 (Brisbane & the Gold Coast)
[Apologies if this is a little sparse on details, only I’m running out of time to write about all the people and places we’ve seen while we’ve been here, so I’m going to have to summarise where I can.]The first full day of our stay with Connie started early to help Connie supervise some removal guys unload a bunch of boxes and some furniture belonging to Andrew (Connie’s youngest) and Jieun (Andrew’s fiancée) at Connie and Bob’s other house in Kenmore – a suburb of Brisbane – which they’ve been letting out. Andrew and Jieun are moving up from Canberra and getting married (twice: once in Korea and once in Australia) and, just in case that isn’t stressful enough, Andrew is changing jobs too. The removal guys wanted us to meet them there at 8.00 am. We were on time, they (the removal guys, that is) were over an hour late.
Once that was sorted, we drove on to Brisbane. On the way, we stopped off at Brisbane Lookout on the top of Mount Coot-tha, which has breath-taking views out over the city and the countryside around it. In Brisbane itself, we had a relaxing picnic by the river near to the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG). Connie took us to the adjacent Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) which was featuring a three yearly exhibition of Asian and Pacific art. I can’t say I enjoyed any of it really, but the building is amazing. After all that culture, we were sorely in need of further refreshment. This was provided at the gallery’s excellent cafe, where we sat and watched a Water Dragon (sort of big lizard) have a staring contest with its own reflection in a glass door.
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| Brisbane from Mount Coot-tha |
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| Brisbane's CBD from the South Bank |
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Day two – the beginning of week 27: half way – started a bit more gently. En route to Connie’s local Coles (big chain of supermarkets) to stock up on groceries, Connie took us on a lovely scenic drive up a nearby road called, appropriately enough, The Panorama. The houses up there are mostly multi-million designer jobs which enjoy stunning views both inland to Hinze Dam and out towards the Pacific Ocean and the high-rise buildings of Surfers Paradise.
That evening Juli’s cousin Sam (Connie’s eldest) and her husband Simon plus their two children Sylvie (nearly 6) and Ada (nearly 3) came up from their home in Ocean Shores. Ocean Shores is about an hour’s drive south across the border into New South Wales. However, with daylight saving in effect, going there takes two hours, but coming home takes no time at all, as Queensland doesn’t do daylight saving.
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The next day, Connie gave us a tour of her garden. It’s a great space, full of trees, shrubs and grasses, but I’d have to say: rather her than me. Even with a lot of it as woodland, two acres is a lot to look after. On the plus side, however, it attracts a lot of wild life, and that morning we were lucky enough to see Hares. Huge great things the size of Wallabies. They also get Possums and Flying Foxes as well as all manner of, to our British eyes, exotic birds, including Rainbow Lorikeets, Cockatoos, King Fishers, Fairy Wrens (brilliant blue) and, as previously mentioned, Kookaburras to name but a few.
Next, Connie took us on a long drive down part of the Gold Coast. We visited: Southport, where we walked out to the end of The Spit and watched surfers doing their thing; Surfers Paradise, where Meter Maids sponsored by local businesses wear gold bikinis and feed your parking meter for you; and Broadbeach, where we had another picnic and watched more surfers surfing.
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| Santa's boat pulled by surfing kangeroos |
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We managed to get a bit of a lie in the next morning following quite a humid night before Connie took us off to have lunch with Kate and Kobi, two friends of hers who we met the day we arrived at Connie’s. (It was Kate who shared a birthday with Bob.) They have an amazing house in the Tambourine Mountains, a scenic area not far from Connie.
On the drive out, we stopped off at Curtis Falls, a waterfall – which in wet months is spectacular, apparently – at the end of a boardwalk through a small patch of pristine fain forest. Due to the extended dry spell they’ve been enjoying (enduring, really) it wasn’t perhaps at it’s most dramatic, but we enjoyed the walk nonetheless.
On the way back, Connie took us to see Hinze Dam, which is surrounded by park land where Bob and Connie used to take the family for picnics and their various dogs for long walks. Now though, following an extension to the dam and the enlargement of the reservoir, dogs are no longer permitted on the surrounding land and the picnic areas are less scenically sited.
On the way back, Connie took us to see Hinze Dam, which is surrounded by park land where Bob and Connie used to take the family for picnics and their various dogs for long walks. Now though, following an extension to the dam and the enlargement of the reservoir, dogs are no longer permitted on the surrounding land and the picnic areas are less scenically sited.
Back at Connie’s house, waiting for us, were Andrew and Jieun. The five of us enjoyed a lovely dinner together accompanied by the most spectacular sound and light display of thunder and lightning. Part way through the evening, there was a brilliant flash of lightning, the house was plunged into darkness, followed by the most deafening crash of thunder. However, moments later, as I was attempting to retrieve my trusty headtorch from its pouch on my belt, the power was restored and the lights came back on again. But, to our horror, were previously we had been five, our number had been reduced to… no not really.
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The storm really helped to clear the air and we both got a much better night’s sleep, so we were well refreshed and ready for another day out, this time driving the scenic route down to Sam and Simon’s (i.e. not down the M1 Pacific Motorway) via the Numinbah Valley.
Today was Sylvie’s last day at Kindergarten, Australian School’s Summer holidays coinciding with Christmas and the New Year. Much more sensible than the English way of ending one academic year in July and beginning the next in September, which was done for historical reasons to do with all hands being needed to get the harvest in which no longer apply. [If I ruled the world…]
After a celebratory ice cream from The Yum Yum Tree Cafe, we drove to and went for a walk at Lyon’s Head lookout, which has some spectacular views up and down the coast between Tweed Heads on the QLD/NSW border to the north and Byron Bay to the south.
Just time for a quick cuppa at Sam and Simon’s before we all drove to Brunswick Heads, a town on the coast near to Sam and Simon, for their annual Twilight Fair. [Nothing to do with vampires, incidentally.] There we enjoyed Calamari and Chips (I know: posh, isn’t it?) by the river and some craft stalls, while the kids, including Juli, enjoyed a giant slide and various merry go rounds.
Back at Sam and Simon’s we were joined by Tim, Connie’s middle child, who’d flown up from Canberra, where he lives and works. Now, Tim doesn’t like spiders, so he was probably not the best person to help us out when we discovered an (again, to our eyes) enormous spider lurking in our bathroom. Nevertheless, he manfully mastered his phobia and, after inspecting it, informed us that it was an adult Huntsman and advised us that, although unlikely to kill us, it could deliver a painful bite and was best dispatched with the sole of a flip-flop or similar, which, after a bit of a chase, I duly did. I tell you: those Huntsman spiders have got a bit of pace on them.
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On the drive back from Sam and Simon’s the next day, we stopped off at Fingal Head, site of one of Australia’s oldest lighthouses. While we were there, we spotted a pod of 20+ dolphins just off the headland. I’ve never seen such a big group and it was so brilliant that they were there just at the time we happened to be looking out.
That evening we went out to diner at a Japanese restaurant in Surfers Paradise. I’m a bit of a fan of Japanese food and had a really struggle choosing just one dish from their extensive menu. In the end I plumped for a set meal, which seemed to offer a little bit of everything. Yum.
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I spent most of the next day shut away in our room at Connie’s blogging, while Juli sat very patiently with Sylvie and helped her to make a picture from little bits of foam. The kit was an early Christmas present to Sylvie from a friend of hers who’s dog, Roxy, Connie had been looking after while her family were away. Roxy was very sweet but when she was collapsed in a splayed-out heap on the tiled floor of Connie’s kitchen, looked exactly (same size, shape and colour) like the head off the kind of mop you might use to sweep a wooden floor.
That evening we drove Sylvie back to her mum, dad and sister. The rendezvous was at Coolangatta, where the eight of us Juli, me, Connie and Tim plus Sam, Simon, Sylvie and Ada enjoyed a enormous meal at a Mexican restaurant. One thing to note: unlike in the UK, due to expensive liquor licences, many restaurants in Queensland operate a ‘Bring Your Own’ (BYO) policy where alcohol is concerned, so before sitting down to eat, the first stop is the local ‘bottle shop’, as off-licences are called there.
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Today we made a return visit to Brisbane with Connie, Tim and Jieun. (Andrew was busy sorting out the house at Kenmore.) They showed us more of the South Bank area including an artificial beach, complete with life guard, where we (not Juli, of course) enjoyed a refreshing ice cream.
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| Sand art |
From there, we took a river bus downstream to Bulimba, a suburb of the city and somewhere Connie is thinking she might move to after she sells her current house, which she thinks will be too much for her to manage on her own.
Next, we travelled back up stream, past the South Bank to another suburb called West End, where Bob and Connie lived before they had their family. Opposite West End is the University of Queensland (QU), where both Tim and Sam studied and Andrew lodged while he was at the near by Queensland University of Technology (QUT).
After there, and before driving back to Connie’s, we drove back to meet up with Andrew in Kenmore, where we had chicken and chips from a Red Rooster, another great Australian fast food institution.
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On the last day of this section of our time with Juli’s aunt and cousins, we went back to Robina for some last minute Christmas shopping. We went in with Connie and Tim but soon split up because we wanted to shop for different things. Robina has a huge shopping centre (somewhat unimaginatively named ‘Robina Town Centre’) where you can probably buy anything you might want and today was the last Sunday before Christmas, so it was full of last minute shoppers, particularly men, including me, taking full advantage of the charity gift wrapping service.
Back at Connie’s, we enjoyed a very jolly last (for now) supper on the veranda and I finally finished The Hobbit, which I’d started sometime during the cruise, I think. I wanted to get to the end before Christmas, as we had a plan to see the new film of it the day after Boxing day.
And that was our run up to Christmas. The next day we went down to Sam and Simon’s for the start of the festivities, but that will have to wait now until next time, when I’ll write about that, New Years and the bit in between.
TTFN - N
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