Queensland Archives - The Land Down Under

End of Brisbane and Queensland

After 3 weeks in Ashgrove and Brisbane it’s time to leave and head South . NSW is colder and a hour ahead

It was sad to leave Coco and her comforter

She was our second favourite dog after Max the Groodle

Brisbane was a city to meet up with family and friends

The final dog walk with Coco took me past the Brisbane Broncos training

And one last Queensland bush walk on a hot sunny day

Looking forward to coming back to Queensland

Big Wednesday at Surfers

So with a keen budding surfer now with us , where better to go than the aptly named Surfers Paradise . Of course the oldies were happier on the beach

Whilst the girls relaxed on the beach I hobbled down the promenade. My big to was injured tripping at the airport on Sunday

There was a folk singer in the other half of the bar , but poor fella had only sold 2 tickets . We didn’t make it 6 !

Matt , Heather and Amy

So a busy weekend with a few trips to the airport. Which by the end of the weekend we still hadn’t mastered

First of all Coco was happy . A regular morning run for almost a week , rather than being dragged along by me

Saturday we followed the well worn path through Southbank , Market etc . Followed by crossing over the river to the Botanical Gardens. Resisting queuing for the popular Lord Mayor’s carol service.

Night out up the road at Ashgrove East . A Tapas bar owned and managed by a Englishman from Gotts Park , Brantley , Leeds

Sunday , another relaxing day , meeting up with Heather and Anita’s old friends Phillipa and Adam at Kangaroo Point and then on the ferry to the Felon at Fortitude Valley , before shooting off to get Amy from the airport

As usual the heat wave eased with a noisy thunderstorm. Coco is not a fan . As I write this a few days later , the thunder again rumbles about us and the days are sticky . We had a few days off before the weekend guests and England took on France . On ITV , a channel with a poor record of English victories

In the gap , the heat returned, Anita headed of to the hairdressers and nail bar and I out into the bush

Enoggera dam , 11k walk through the bush . Busy near the car park with picnickers and swimmers

But, only a few slow coaches further out on the trail

Trespassers will be shot , mustn’t have been an official route and needed a scramble under the fence to escape

Coco and I discovered another creek route along with Cormorants, unperturbed by our pres

Heat wave

I suppose it should be obvious that Australia is hot . Well it is . Pretty hot . Brisbane is cooking and the storms are brewing

Santa is coming , but his Reindeer ain’t

After a mile down the pool it was off to Simpson falls for a picnic, kindly supplied by Nige and Ali

Sarnies , Christmas cake and Aussie Champagne

Before the slow climb up to the waterfall

So after swapping the empty barbie gas , Barramundi, fresh prawns came off it beautifully ,followed by Christmas brandy baskets with ice cream , strawberries and Bundaberg Rum Balls

But , the star of the show was Coco .Some how she managed to steal cheddar from under our noses of the cheese tray .

Brisbane River

Ella joined us for the weekend. The first of a few guests flying in for a visit

Southbank , Brisbane’s cultural and family entertainment area , on the river , with an inland beach and markets

After exhausting the markets and culture, nothing better than a river trip

On the way to the Eat Street Food market

Another day . Fortitude Valley , on the way to the airport. Two options shopping or checking out the Stone and Wood brewery

The heat wave is on the way

Brisbane

So Brisbane should be 3 weeks of relaxing, living like a local , plodding familiar walks with Coco and knowing how wet it is , it’s still better than at home

Coco relaxing by the pool , still really only of potential benefit as we joined the local 50m pool and swim 32 lengths 3x/week

The cooling off veranda for when the heat returns

First bit of tourism, the botanical gardens , Brisbane but not city – spot the lizard

Real bats evidently. Waiting like us for the weather to improve so we could do our Christmas shopping

Ashgrove

So we headed back South to Brisbane , Anita in the car and I in the train . I had to pick up our Maleny hosts from the airport and they dropped me at Nambour station for the slow express train to Brisbane . It became an express train for short sections , missing out a few stations

Coco is our dog here , a Spoodle I think

Ashgrove is a hilly , green , affluent suburb of Brisbane, near the city centre . We’ve signed for passes at the Centennial Olympic pool , to swim our lengths , seems the busiest pool , plenty of fast swimmers and senior squads

We’re here for 3 weeks , even though we have traveled South the climate seems more tropical, hotter with evening downpours and thunderstorms. This was a little stream that morning

Back to the beach

Our Retreivers don’t seem to appreciate a local walk , but evidently love a trip to the beach

So with the bigger car a 3 desperate dogs we set off for Currimundi beach

Expectations were low as Bouffer can only walk for half an hour

Things went a little downhill after with a Vegan Patty burger and nearly coming to blows with an old lady who sat next to us in a near empty restaurant , on the end of an empty table and asked us to move a dog as she wanted to eat ! Well , no blows were struck and we moved the dog with a smile & I tried my best to let a few trumps off but failed

Mary Cairncross

After our usual early wake and joint dog potter up the road , Anita bravely joined me , it was time to try and get Maddie on a solo walk away from the pack and then an afternoon exploring locally

The local walk around the golf course and beside the Obi Obi creek was potentially a lovely walk

Less so with a reluctant Retriever , but despite escaping twice and at least a dozen ‘ false starts’ , we made it

In search of a mini wallaby we found a rather beautiful and scenic side of town

With amazing views to the Glass Top Mountains

Then a gentle stroll around the Mary Caincross Scenic Reserve

Also known as Pademelons – mother and Joey

And a multitude of beautiful trees and birds

Notably the heard but not see Green Catbird , which does sound like a cat , drowning out a load of local tourists whose talking scared off many birds

And should have confined there loud chatter to the scenic reserve cafe

Kondalilla

With the heat broken and the dogs back on for a morning stroll / sniff , what better than to head into the National Park

Little waterfalls and dubious swimming pools

Views and more views then off to Nambour for it’s aquatic centre, 1500 m swim , aqua aerobics and back late to feed the dogs

The heat in North Maleny

The hinterland here is supposed to be 2-3 degrees cooler than down on the coast . Heaven help them as it’s 31 feels a lot hotter than that . England’s first game of the World Cup tonight and after 5am dog feeding not sure if we can make it to 11pm kick off

Too hot for Mr Bouffa and Grandma Pink . Early morning walk prematurely abandoned due to Retriever fatigue

As it is 40mins to the nearest pool , we tried the Barron Pocket damn and it’s roped area as recommended

But braved a park walk with anti snake stick after recent sightings

So the stick only provided moral support

With the evening cooling I tried to entice Maddie out for a walk

But either the heat or pack instinct eon the day and no poo bags were needed around the wetlands

Up into the hills

Moving on from Thornlands the next stop was North Maleny . A small picturesque town in the hills above the Sunshine Coast

After stopping off for a swim in Caboolture Aquatic centre and severely deficient in calories a return to Beerburrum just before the Australia Zoo and a very hearty, very late brunch , with entertainment from the next table where the owner was regaling 2 South Africans with tales of her food intolerances

After dropping the owners off at the airport back for drinks on the veranda with the Retrievers

Near death experience

So last day in Thornlands we thought that as we were on Moreton Bay we had to have some Moreton Bay Bugs .

After an aqua aerobics for Anita and a bush walk for me

Burnt the Bugs of with a 14k walk back from Wellington Point

Ambling along the track and almost stepped on tho snake . Either a Eastern Brown or a Tiger . Fortunately not too bothered about me and slithered off into the grass rather than inflicting a lethal bite

Back to Manly

A day trip to Manly and Wynnum today . Not Sydney but coastal Brisbane a good Aquatics centre for a swim

Temperature had plummeted to 25 , though in Manly , Sydney it was 16

Queensland and Brisbane have a much better climate than NSW , especially in Spring

View past Anita to North Stradbrook island

Thornlands

So we moved 2hours South for 5 days to look after 2 cats Sooty and Kittie ( not sweep ) in Thornland . A small suburb dug out of the bush , scrub and still surrounded by it and growing into it . West of us is Moreton Bay and the mangroves

Plenty of paths and ways wind around here and on the edge of the scrub , bush and swamp

Anita spent an evening cleaning the house again whilst I wandered round the swamps

Plenty of blue sky and hot days and a local aquatic centre kept us going

The two cats seam like sworn enemies. Oh well it’s only until Saturday. A bit of local exploration is needed – beyond the swamps

Mount Coolum

With Nige working on Monday, Ali & Anita went off to the swimming club , so with a bit of cloud cover , what better to do than put on the boots and explore

Back down at the seafront at Point Arkwright

With the sun out and a warming Northern breeze an afternoon cycle on Nige’s electric bike – motor switched off of course

Cotton Tree for coffee

This weekend Nige and Ali treated us to all there favourite coffee cafes. Not just so that Nige could get extra stamps on his card

Best way to start Sunday morning, with a beach stroll

Sadly no spills and a long day for these 2 fellas

Finally made it to the Cotton Tree after a swim

Including Nige’s favourite fishing spot with the scantily dressed fisherwoman

Village and Ali

After a night at an Airbnb in Maryborough, on Friday we drove down to reunite with Nige and Ali for a few days at theirs on the Sunshine Coast at Twin Waters a small enclave near Maroochydore