Nov 2006

Well, Brisbane is a lovely place ..... we have really enjoyed exploring it and have now been on the City Cat river ferry up and down the river . We have also met up with Bob's Great Aunt Mary and some of her family and had a lovely meal out with them. Mary's son David and daughter-in-law Jo had travelled over 80km for the meal - the Australians don't have the same concept of distance as we do. They think nothing of a couple of hours drive for dinner (or a hash)!!!!

The cricket??? I said don't mention it!!!! No, actually it was very entertaining if you ignore the result!! The Gabba is a very modern stadium with all the facilities you could wish for and apart from the issue we had with what sort of bag we could take into the stadium and the "Fun Police" throwing out anyone who looked like they might be enjoying themselves we had a good time!!

After the first day we were very hot and tired as our seats were right down the front in the blazing sunshine, but on the other two days we had seats at the back in the shade and a better view looking down onto the pitch. We received a lot of abuse (mostly friendly) from all the Aussies surrounding us but managed to give a bit as well!!!

On the day we didn't have tickets for the cricket we went down to the South Bank where they had a big screen by the lagoon (the Aussies certainly know how to do things in style) lazing by the beach and in the water watching the cricket!!!

We have now hired a car and set off tomorrow to drive down the coast to Sydney - a distance of over 1000km - a lot for us but nothing to the Aussies!!!!

After a couple of relaxing days in Cairns we headed to the railway station for the Sunlander Train to Brisbaine. Well, what luxury!!! We had our own sleeper compartment with all the complimentary goodies you could hope for and were greeted by David the Maitre 'De who explained where everything was in the cabin and on the train generally. The doors were locked beyond our carriage so only those travelling Queenslander Class had exclusive use of a lounge complete with entertainer, a games room and dining room for the almost continuous "fine dining" we experienced over the next day and a half. We had everything from oysters, fillet steak, lobster, to scones and cream and lots of lovely puddings. We were allowed off the train at certain points for a 5 minute walk along the platform and boy did we need it!!! The whole experience was brilliant and yet another wonderful thing for us to remember.

So, on to Brisbane. We spent our first day on a circular walk around the city and have been very impressed with it. The city is based around the river and there are walks and runs mapped out along the banks. They even have a beach and lagoon for swimming on the south bank!! We walked through the Botanical Gardens and admired the wonderful Georgian facades on many of the properties.

Then we had to hurry back to our hotel to prepare for Kylie!!! (Well Bob had to at least!!!) We travelled out of town on the train a short distance, along with several thousand Kylieites to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre - another superb facility. The show was brilliant and Kylie was on excellent form. I managed to stop Bob from buying up all the memorabilia - sorry Laurie, no calendar next year!!!! Shane Warne was in the audience sat a few rows from us - we managed to control ourselves and not try and kneecap him!!!

Today we went into the city centre again and had a "Hello Bob" moment!!!! We actually managed to bump into Bob's Great Aunt, someone we only met a few weeks ago in Oxford. She is in her 80's and yet still managed to recognise us as we walked along the street!!! Also in the city centre were Jeffrey Archer doing a book signing at Borders and Westlife giving a rendition of their new single in the Queen's Mall. Brisbane certainly seems to be the place to be at the moment - Billy Joel and Elton John are both performing at the Entertainment Centre later this week!!!

We eventually managed to find the right bus stop for Mount Coot Tha and admired the amazing panoramic views of the city and its surrounds. We then visited yet more Botanical Gardens adjacent to the viewing area - with a wide variety of plants and wildlife (we are becoming experts!!!).

We are off to Boundary Street in the West End this evening where the live groups play and where there are lots of good restaurants and bars. One more day sightseeing and then its off to the Gabba!!!

Another update from paradise!!! Well, after a quiet day on the beach we then went to the Port Douglas Habitat Sanctuary for an afternoon with the koalas and kangaroos to name two of the many animals and birds on parade. It was brilliant!! We got up close to most of these animals (except the crocodiles and pythons!!!) and even fed the kangaroos!!!

We were then picked up by one of the local hashers and taken to the starting point - the house of the hare. They certainly do things differently here - most of the hashes are from houses and end with a barbie and stubbies!!! Both Bob and I joined in - the walk was a sedate affair but the hash was a bit more energetic!! Still, neither of us got lost and we ended up back at the ranch for a good feed and an excellent social evening. Bob got a down down for being a visitor but I managed to escape!! It was a family affair with lots of children, one of whom managed to get hold of a set of car keys and deposit them in the bottom of Bob's bag!!! It wasn't until the next afternoon that we were accosted by a harassed hasher asking us to empty our bag!!! Sure enough the keys were nestled in the bottom, so relief all round!!

We then went on a guided tour up into the Daintree Rainforest. Our guide was very knowledgeable and took us to lots of interesting spots to view a variety of wildlife, flora and fauna. We even managed a sighting of the very rare cassowary bird (a bit like an emu) with its young - they can be very dangerous and disembowel a human with their claws, but luckily these seemed curious rather than vicious!!

Next we move on to Cairns, just a short coach journey away and then on the Sunlander Train to Brisbane this weekend and the cricket!!!! (????)

What an experience!!! A super cat took us out at high speed to the Reef, some 60k off shore where the weather was perfect - just a slight breeze and some cloud cover, but with the sun promised later in the day. We had hoped to do some scuba diving but because of medical conditions we were not able to do this, but in the end we were glad, as so much time would have been taken up with learning the ropes and we spent all that time snorkelling on the Reef. We first had a ride over the Reef in a glass bottomed boat and learnt about its history, all 18 million years of it, and about the creatures that inhabit it. Very interesting and made the snorkelling much more relevant.

Then with our lycra suits on (very fetching!!!) because of the threat of jellyfish in the area we were off!! There was so much to see and so many fish to keep us amused - all the colours of the rainbow - yes and we found Nemo as well!!! It was all we had hoped it would be.

Then lunch and on to another site on the far side of the Reef and the sun came out. Again, there was lots to see and Bob and I spent a couple of hours just swimming round admiring it all. A brilliant day!!

Today we have been by the pool soaking up some more rays and tonight we watched the sun set over the Inlet at the Marina - not as spectacular as some we have seen but a perfect setting. Apparently Kate Hudson is filming in Port Douglas and has been spotted on a bike riding round the Marina recently!!! (No we weren't sure who she was either!!!)

Bob has organised to meet up with the Mossman Hash tomorrow evening - they are hashing in Port Douglas luckily so we will have another lazy day and then head on down to meet them.

Well, our first day in Sydney was a bit of a disaster as I was very ill and spent most of it in bed and Bob lost a crown and on a visit to the local (Chinese) dentist had to have the root removed!!! Fortunately we had booked a wonderful guest house with hosts Peter and Declan who looked after us really well and tended to our needs. They were also very knowledgable and gave us some good advice which we will be able to use when we return to Sydney over Christmas and New Year. We did manage a quick visit to the Quayside to view the bridge and Opera House before we succumbed, but as it was Melbourne Cup Day (equivalent of our Derby at Ascot) everywhere was packed with partygoers all in their best bib and tuckers so we soon decided to make a retreat back to the pub opposite the guest house. Glad to say we are both now on the mend!!

We have now flown up to Cairns and on to Port Douglas - a beautiful part of Australia, unspoilt at present although with a lot of building work in progress. The weather here is wonderful and warm - a real treat after the last few freezing days in Beijing and Sydney. We have spent the day on the beach, enjoying the bath warm sea but avoided laying under the coconut trees which were a real hazard, regularly shedding their fruit!! We are booked onto a trip tomorrow to the Great Barrier Reef to have a go at snorkelling and scuba diving, which we are both looking forward to.