Since I had to change my original up-the-coast travel plans, I missed out on seeing what a sand island is all about, so decided that I didn’t want to miss that. The alternate was Moreton Island. It lies 36 miles off the coast of Brisbane, in Moreton Bay, reachable by a ferry down the Brisbane river, and is the 3rd largest…
April 10 & 11: Brisbane & Musings on Australia
I’ve now been ‘down under’ almost 8 weeks, and will be here until April 30. It’s a big country (like the U.S.), but with so many fewer people (24 million). And the population, concentrated in urban areas in the east and southeast, and the west, means that the center of the country is pretty well left to the camels and kangaroos.…
Sunday, April 9: Uluru and back to Brisbane
Waking in the dark isn’t easy, but the stars were once again glorious to see. Ian from Taiwan had a terrific camera and a tripod and apparently got some amazing photos — which he will share once he gets home. Side note on Ian — he lives in Osaka, and is doing medical research involving brains. He had come to…
Saturday, April 8: King’s Canyon to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
Up at dark, breakfast and instructions to make a wrap for lunch and we set off for a relatively short drive to King’s Canyon. The sky glowed pink and Venus was visible, and we had begun our climb to the rim of the Canyon by 6:45. And it was a climb. Hundreds of rock ledge steps led the way to…
Friday, April 7: Brisbane to Yulara
Because of the recent cyclone that hit the eastern coast of Queensland and the subsequent flooding, I decided to once again change my itinerary, which left me with some opportunities for new places to see/visit based out of Brisbane. So on Friday I flew to Yulara in the red center of Australia, in the Northern Territory. The outback, and home…
April 6: Brisbane, con’t
A day without sunshine today, and some threats of showers… a perfect day for the museums! All located in the same area — the arts district — there’s the Queensland Museum, the Queensland Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art all free and almost connected. So, I set off in that direction, and before reflecting on what’s there, I…
April 5: Brisbane con’t
An early morning run around through the City Botanic Gardens, and over the Goodwill Bridge found lovely river views and a sculpture stealing my victory pose! Back in the Gardens, lots of birds — Australian ibis and and Australian bush turkey in abundance. The big event for the day was a trip to Lone Pine Koala Preserve. The easiest way…
April 4: Brisbane
Another nice day in Brisbane. My event for the day — the Julie Andrews-directed production of My Fair Lady at the Queensland Arts Center! I had seen Dame Julie interviewed on a morning show just after it opened and immediately bought a ticket — it’s one of my favorite musicals and I thought there could be nothing better than to…
April 2 & 3: Apollo Bay to Brisbane
The “fall back” time change took place Saturday night and with the need to get up early on Sunday I spent some time trying to figure out whether my phone (which is my alarm) would recognize the time change and if so, (and if not), what time to set the alarm for. I don’t know why it flummoxed me so…
Saturday, April 1: Great Ocean Walk — The Gables to 12 Apostles, 20km
Today was the last day of walking. I left the Southern Anchorage at 8:30 and headed to where I ended yesterday and set off in the morning chill and grey skies. It was meant to be a fairly easy day, but the wind was strong and I found that when I was on the bluff I needed to use my…