Quick update

Sorry peeps...I've not been able to update the blog because we left our computer at a friend's house in Cairns (I say friend but really just someone we didn't know but who invited us for dinner when we arrived...it is the way things go...now we are staying with someone else we met that day and she lives on a sugar plantation so we are watching them harvest it today with a machine that looks like it is out of Thunderbirds - great, spiralling cutters at the front.)
The woman here is called Shaneen and she is an architect who works for QLD govt on Aboriginal housing projects - absolutely fascinating as she has to negotiate their traditional beliefs and practices and incorporate them into her designs. She introduced us to a friend of hers the other day who is Aboriginal and he showed Patrick how to play the didge as it is 'man's business'!
The boys didn't have a go because they were too busy riding around the farm on a motorised cart - you can imagine how much Oscar is enjoying that!
Unfortunately our camera broke just before we left Brisbane - I think it got too much sand in it and the shutter won't open or close properly - so we have been using the boys ipads to take video and photos. We will update the blog with photos as soon as we get access to wifi which will probably be at the weekend when we get to Bangkok.
Since arriving in Cairns we have been pretty busy: we hired a car for a couple of weeks and have clocked up 2000km so far. We picked up some camping kit so that we could be self-sufficient and we had to decide between cheap kit ($15 tents) or expensive kit that we might bring home with us. Given that our rucksacs are already overloaded we chose the cheap kit...but there have been times when we have regretted that choice - next time we will get thermarests to sleep on at least!
We've been up to Mossman Gorge to walk and swim in the rainforest and then onto Daintree which is a world heritage rainforest that runs down to the sea. Wonderful beaches en route to Cape Tribulation. We've done quite a bit of swimming because this is out-of-season for stingers in the sea but crocs are a continual problem so you have to be very careful near creeks and even in the sea.
We've enjoyed sleeping out under the stars - incredible depth to them here and we now know how to find south using the southern cross. Love seeing the crescent moon at a different angle too - here it is on the bottom rather than on the side.
We drove up to Cooktown to do a guided walk with an Aboriginal from Hopevale called Willie Gordon - it was fab... will provide some photos later but it involved lots of rock art and eating green ants!
We spent a day out on the 'GBR' - Great Barrier Reef - went out from Port Douglas rather than Cairns. Only 10% of the GBR business leaves from Port Douglas so it is a bit quieter. Simply amazing on the reef!
I've bought a painting from a local woman who is also a weaver at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair which was on this weekend - hoping to get it back in one piece!
We've camped at hot springs out in the bush and travelled through very dense rainforest. Had to remove leaches from our shoes and legs at regular intervals.
I've ridden a 'green' horse, only 4 years old on a station north of Cairns. 'Zippy' had only recently been backed and ridden a few times, the last time was some weeks ago so she was pretty lively. Amazing station - again pictures to follow - Alfie met his namesake, a Droughmaster bullock weighing 1000kg called 'Alfie' and complete with deadly horns.
Talking of deadly, Alfie, Patrick and I went for a jog at sundown and I was 2cm from treading on a venomous snake. Found another one in the woodpile. Plently of deadly ones around here e.g. Taipans that kill you in 2 minutes! Best not to walk around barefooted at night!
Anyway, Oscar is whizzing around outside on a motorised cart - I can hear him revving it up to max speed. We are just about to head off towards Cairns for the day...may go up the pyramid (Volcano) mountain that is near us if the top is not shrouded in mist!
Preparing to leave in two days time...booked 5* hotel in Bangkok for some last minute luxury - not expecting to find pythons living in the cupboards there or to have to share the bathroom with spiders and frogs or watch out for ticks, leaches or crocs but there again I prefer these critturs to smog!
TTFN

Running success

Alfie came 2nd for his age group in the Queensland Cross-country championships...3000km.
He won the school 800m by at least 100m! Alfie is looking forward to the x-country season in the UK!
Patrick then went on to win an ultra-marathon (50km trail race) the next day in the Glass House Mountains. He is preparing for an epic run through Wales in September: starts in Snowdon and then crosses all the mountains that run through the centre of Wales...a race that has only been run once before (1992) and which is called 'The Dragon's Back'. He will be running for 5 days and covering about 40 miles per day (with excessive amounts of climb). We hoped that our friend Steve Black from Underburg in South Africa would be coming over to do the race but like quite a few other people who thought they would be doing it, he has dropped out...shame!
With this race in mind, Patrick is out as I type, running a four hour training run...inspired by the women's 10000m Olympic final that we watched this morning!

Booley Hut

Last weekend we spent the night in the 'Booley Hut' ...not sure how you spell 'Booley' but it was built by Ali's dad, Vernon, at the bottom of their garden, adjacent to the Brisbane river. It almost got washed away in the 2010 floods - often people comment on the height of the floods and the devastation they caused...yet everyone seems to have rebuilt pontoons, houses, factories etc. in exactly the same places that got flooded in 2010 (and 1974). I guess they might be safe for a couple of decades!

This hut has got one room downstairs and a mezzanine upstairs which is where all the kids slept. It was very cosy when we got the fire going. We all paddled here (and back the next morning) in a couple of kayaks and a larger canoe but only after we had dropped off all the bedding etc - very easy!

Another Thursday in Moggill

As we are living on the 'sunshine coast' you can be pretty certain that it will be sunny by 9am even though it is the middle of winter here. There are very few clouds so it stays lovely and warm (about 22 degrees today) but it does get dark at 1715 exactly, every day! There is no sunset, it is very sudden so you need to be prepared for the dark (head torch/lights for bikes etc) and for the change in temperature (need a light jumper/long trousers/socks in the evening).

We've been lent jumpers by kind friends but not only jumpers: a guitar (for Alfie), a saxophone (for Oscar - from the local school) as well as a clarinet, a car (well an 'almost' car - it must be the smallest car in Australia, a Daewoo Matiz that refuses to start most mornings - the kids are getting pretty good at pushing it out the garage, down the small ramp while I turn it over), riding boots and gloves, books/guidebooks and two surf boards...amazing generosity!

The boys had a day off school today because Alfie has a cold and has a sniffly nose/sore throat. He has his sights set on the final Queensland cross-country race that is happening on Saturday so he needs to be well by Saturday. His PE teacher here at Moggill school saw him win the 800m in such style that he made sure that he knew about this upcoming race. As Patrick is doing a cross-country race in the Glass House Mountains on Sunday there will be a little bit of competition between them for who can do the best in their respective age categories!

Oscar didn't have an excuse for missing school today other than his least favourite teacher, Mr Leggett, would be teaching today and I couldn't really see why he had to go in especially as the schools in the UK have now finished so he had the day off too! We didn't do much. Well I say that and then I realise that I went for a run at 0630 and then caught up with my university work before taking the boys to see the place that we are going to canoe to/stay overnight at on Saturday night. It is right on the Brisbane river and belongs to the parents of the people whose house we are renting. While we were there I had a go with a stock whip and ended up with a lash across my own back! I managed to make it 'crack' in the end though. Meanwhile, the boys were turning the rotary line around as it had 4 kookaburras sitting on it and we all laughed as we watched them trying to keep their balance on their very own merry-go-round.

This evening, I took one of the neighbour's horses out for a spin. It was a bit lame in the offside fore because it had had it's hooves trimmed yesterday so I just walked it on the verges. I've got a dressage lesson lined up for tomorrow and I'm arranging an outride with an endurance rider I've just met (she rides 160km at a go). To stay with horses, we've just watched the Australian classic movie 'The Man from Snowy River' - get it if you haven't seen it cos it has some fantastic horse riding in it! And then, to keep the horsey theme going, my dad texted from the UK to say he has a horse for me....it is a 15 year old gelding called 'Cowboy Boots'!  Worth getting it just for the name!!

Ride 'em Cowgirl

So this is what I've really come to Australia for...mustering cattle!

Here is my 'no name' steed (with Greig who owns the cattle station - don't call it a 'ranch' round here).

KJCC shirt gets an outing ... but not on a bike. In my element...chose to wear my new 'endurance' helmet (as worn by the Aussie mounted police) rather than my usual Aussie, kanga-hide, cowgirl hat because this one is guaranteed to stay on. Could have done with long sleeves as the trees/thorny undergrowth was very dense at times. My horse got pretty anxious when it couldn't see or hear the other riders which was 'fun'...Greig said he'd only ridden this horse once, that they knew nothing about it and it hadn't been ridden for 8 weeks so it did pretty well really.

The boys got to see some kangas and they watched as we brought the cattle into a coral for branding. They weren't too impressed by one of the cowboys as he was quick to whip the cattle with his stock whip when riding behind them...my horse caught the end of his whip on its nose at one point which startled it some more!

Oscar rode one of the horses back to the paddock. All of the horses were fed day-old bread that they'd got free from a bakery. It turned into a 'bun fight' when we lobbed bread rolls at each other!

Byron Bay (in the rain)

OK - rain wasn't forecast so we planned to drive south for a couple of hours and spend at least part of the weekend at Byron Bay. I was last here more than 20 years ago and at that time I swam with sea turtles, dolphins and small sharks and touched the velvety inside of a giant clam - all very memorable. But today it is raining...!! We are staying with Peta's parents, Bruce and Carlene and they are sooo hospitable. We have the run of a 'granny annex' and the boys are delighted to be able to play with their corgi, Jock. It takes us a while to get out of the house as nobody (except me) is keen to go outside!

Oscar enjoying the surf...

Surfers enjoying the surf...

Volcanoes across the water. We didn't let the rain deter us and all of us (except Patrick) went swimming/body surfing. Mind you, it was freezing out of the water and the wind turned both the brollies inside-out! EVERYBODY else who was in the water had wetsuits on....

When the rain cleared we walked out to the lighthouse along a boardwalk and saw DOLPHINS - yippee! So this is us at Australia's most easterly point - next stop New Zealand. With the sky darkening, we ran all the way back to the car and headed back for dinner with Carlene, Bruce and a friend of theirs.

Morning Mr Magpie

Just thought you might like to share the view from our house...taken early one morning, note the blue, blue sky, the adjacent pony paddocks (I'm riding a couple of horses that live next door: Spider and Waffles) and the ever-present birds, in this case, a magpie.

Brisbane by river taxi

You can travel around Brisbane's public transport system using a 'go' card that allows you to not only take the bus and train but also, to take the water taxi service. We got on at the university of Queensland and took the taxi firstly, to the Powerhouse, a renovated power station that is now an arts centre and then all the way to the end of the line (and back again). The boats are sleek catamarans and they zig-zag  up/down the river, picking people up from both banks. It is a great way to see all the different bridges including the recently opened 'Go Between' bridge. There isn't a guide on board - there are plenty of other boats that provide 'guided' tours of the river - but the conductor on our return journey was very witty, making jokes at the expense of the guy who was in charge of opening/shutting the gates each time they docked to pick up passengers.

As it was Sunday there were a lot of people milling around the Powerhouse. We stopped to listen to a brass band performing in the band stand. There was a group of people in front of us celebrating a 50th birthday so we all had to sing 'Happy Birthday'. Oscar climbed one of the trees and then got down quick when he realised just how many HUGE ants there were in the branches!

Aardvark in the kitchen

Paintings by Ali Hill that we have in our Queenslander house

The real stuffed aardvark lives in Ali's house next door. It originally belonged to her grandfather. This painting has just been shortlisted for a Aus$15000 prize so we all have our fingers crossed that Ali will win the prize.

Apologies for the poor quality (reflection) photo...another painting by Ali Hill - it has sold but we can enjoy it until the new owners come and pick it up.

Ali loves birds...she works as a taxidermist in the Brisbane museum - photos to follow shortly of our exploits stuffing birds and mammals in the museum!

Noosa

Alfie relaxing at the house at Sunshine Beach, Noosa. Stayed with friends of friends - always useful to know people with beach houses!

Lots of white sand and enough waves to make it worth taking out the surf boards. Clayton told us all about the dangers of rip tides (that can sweep you out to sea) and then he promptly put the kids in a rip tide so that they could get washed out to him on their surfboards! Luckily, he is such a 'surf-dude', he knows what he is doing!

This is 'Effe' and she belongs to Anna and Lucy, the daughters of Peta (who has invited Patrick out to Australia). Effe had only been with them for one day (she is 8 weeks old) and she is simply adorable. Part Pappillon, part Lhasa (?). Anyway, bundle of fluff and fun for us to play with!

Another lifeguard hut...note the beautiful beach in the background. We set ourselves up in the shade of a few trees at the edge of the beach and kept an eye on the bush turkeys that would eat anything...we settled for eating delicious ice cream from Maximo's ice cream parlour in Noosa - great to go back to a place we knew!

All the kids jumping down a sand dune...bigger ones to follow on North Stradbrooke Island.

Daisy HIll Koala Sanctuary

The Daisy Hill Koala Sanctuary is within a conservation park filled with different types of eucalyptus trees. It is about 25km south west of Brisbane. 

http://www.360tours.com.au/DaisyHillKoala/index.htm

There is a bigger Koala Sanctuary near Brisbane called the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary but we didn't really want to go somewhere to hug a koala/have your photo taken with a koala - we preferred to go the Daisy Hill Koala Sanctuary where they rehabilitate injured koalas and provide a small, informative display about koala habitat, habits and threats to them such as swimming pools (that need to have a rope in them so that koalas can pull themselves out).

Not only did we see koalas, we also saw a wallaby....

And got a good close-up of a kookaburra. We actually see and hear these all the time but this was a good opportunity to get a photo. We can hear them laughing from our house and boy, are they noisy!

Here is one of the koalas doing what they do a lot of the time - sleeping.

And here is one doing what they also do a lot of the time - eating eucalyptus leaves. They are quite fussy eaters so not just and eucalyptus will do!

Queensland Diving

Brilliant day for the boys at the Sleeman Sports Complex, Brisbane.

Brisbane City Council run a series of workshops and activities for children during the school holidays. 

http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/whats-on/featured/school-holiday-activities-for-kids/index.htm?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D94601849

These activities include:

• abseiling
• climbing
• stand-up paddle boarding
• diving
• drama and craft workshops
• various games and challenges.

All the places are subsidised so for example, it only cost $10 (about £6) per child for 2.5 hours of diving tuition with the Queensland diving squad.

The boys started off in the dry area. They REALLY want a foam-filled pit at home now....so that they can do back flips from a trampoline in safety!

When they had got the hang of leaping off the trampolines and diving boards they went poolside.
There are plenty of pools to choose from: two 50metre pools (one indoors and one outdoors), a play pool with slides/flumes, a 25 metre pool and a diving pool. I made use of the 50m indoor pool while the boys dived - I could watch them from the pool.

Here is Oscar on the 3m diving board (above) and Alfie mid-dive (below).

We all thought about Sue and Peter while we were there because Peter taught the boys to dive - thanks Peter! You can see where they have got to now....and Alfie says he would like to do it when he gets back to the UK.

Maybe one day he might be able to do something like this - better as a movie clip - but this is one of the Australian Olympic team divers in action...they were all practising while the boys watched from the pool...this guy, Ethan Warren, did a 4.5 somersault from the 3m board - incredible! And we saw synchronised pair diving from the 10m fixed platform. Couldn't believe how graceful they were and soo together!

 Here is Ethan Warren of the Australian Olympic squad being interviewed at poolside for Australian TV. They also shot footage of the kids diving so the boys could well have ended up on Australian TV too!

Charming snakes

We went round to a friend's house (Kieran) to see his collection of reptiles. He let the boys hold one of the friendlier pythons! As you can see from their faces, it was quite something to have them slithering up towards your face. You can't hold them, just have to keep your hands open and let them move over you. You can feel every muscle/bone and they feel very strong.

These pythons are green when they are mature and when they are young they are yellow - see below.

This one is about the size of my finger! I really like the way they curl up and then drape themselves around something - such a neat knot. This one was sleepy because it had eaten something recently. The green python that they boys are holding only has to eat about 6 mice a year and for half the year it doesn't eat anything. It only eats when it is mating time of year!

Beaudesert Pony Club Camp

Drove down to Beaudesert to join Peta and her daughters at annual Pony Club 'Draft' Camp. 

Bit different to pony club in the UK: 

• riders were 'cutting' steers (selecting one from the herd and then driving it through an 'S' shaped course and all in 40 seconds);
• being shown how to ride their horses over a 'body' (inflatable) and push through crowds (huge, inflatable balls) by the mounted police (whose training headquarters is within 1km of our house so we are going to go over and see them training one day);
• taking part in an endurance race (checking the heartrate of their horse and cantering around the very large arena five times);
• jousting;
• jumping, dressage and gymkhana events.

Oscar got a ride on one of the ponies. Both boys took part in a water bomb fight and we all ate massive cheese burgers from the barbie...great Aussie experience.

I got to ride two ponies. Took them for a fling round the fields and went through the bending poles with them. Got told off for not wearing a sleeved top (!), not following pony club rules - reminded me of being part of pony club in UK and getting told off for galloping too much!

Met a man called Greig who has a 'station' (cattle ranch), breaks/trains horses and says I can go help him muster cattle on horseback...yeehah! Have bought myself a lightweight riding hat (as used by the Aussie mounted police) and as the size is adjustable, the boys can also use it. 

Anstead Park, Moggill

Went to Anstead Park (only about 2km from us) to do free session of qi quong/tai chi last Wednesday (with Ali) and met a lovely bunch of women with whom we had a cuppa in a horse feed/tea shop just opposite, where you can pick up hay, kit, worming medicine and have a latte at the same time. Then stuck around to go riding on an ex-racehorse belonging to a woman Patrick met on the side of the road - a woman called Suse from Zimbabwe. She brought them on her 'float' (Aussie for horsebox) and we ambled around the park, disregarding the 'no horses' on this path signs!

Went back later that day with Alfie and Ali and James' dog, Macey to catch the evening sun setting on the Brisbane river that winds through the park. Evidence of stone quarrying - apparently the stone was used to build Brisbane city hall and other esteemed buildings! Macey doesn't get walked much which is probably why her tongue is hanging out! Alfie is wearing his year 7 'Moggill Seniors' shirt - so this is his school uniform. Oscar is happy because everyone wears shorts at school.

Beware of dinosaurs (and pigeons)

The staff at the museum have failed to stop pigeons perching (and pooing) on the t-rex!

Behind the scenes at the museum

I've been lucky enough to work with a taxidermist at Brisbane museum...here is a photo of the 'office'!

Here are some of the birds that have been stuffed recently.

They can be finished in two ways: one, for display to the public in which case they are put into a 'natural' pose or two, for research, in which case they are put on a stick (!) and stuffed flat so that they can be kept in a drawer!

This is a photo of a real crow's nest and yes, those are coat hangers in there! I thought my mum would like this photo to go with her wire sculptures that she has done for her final year art show (well done mum)!

It's not just birds in here...there are mammals too - here is a koala that has been finished recently and then situated on an existing display. It sounds like it is not unusual to have to stuff an animal in such a way that it will fit within an existing display...so for example, if they take out an animal/bird that looks tired and moth-eaten, they fill the space with something else..!

 Here is the taxidermist with an example of a 'bird on a stick' - BBQ anyone?

Glass house mountains

On the way back from Mooloolaba we took the 'Steve Irwin' scenic drive thru the Glass House Mountains.

https://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=glass+house+mountains+national+park&sll=-26.897944,152.958923&sspn=0.11145,0.130119&g=glass+house+mountains&ie=UTF8&hq=Glass+House+Mountains+National+Park&hnear=Glass+House+Mountains+National+Park,+Glass+House+Mountains+Queensland+4518&ll=-26.926355,152.810898&spn=0.445685,0.780716&z=11

A series of volcanic rocks erupt from the otherwise flat plain.

The Aboriginal Legend fo Glass House Mountains

It is said that Tibrogargan, the father, and Beerwah, the mother, had many children. Coonowrin the eldest, Beerburrum, the Tunbubudla twins, the Coochin twins, Ngungun, Tibberoowuccum, Miketebumulgrai, and Saddleback. There was Round who was fat and small and Wildhorse who was always paddling in the sea. One day, Tibrogargan was gazing out to sea and noticed a great rising of the waters. Hurrying off to gather his younger children, in order to flee to the safety of the mountains in the west, he called out to Coonowrin to help his mother Beerwah, who was again with child. Looking back to see how Coonowrin was assisting Beerwah, Tibrogargan was greatly angered to see him running off alone. He pursued Coonowrin and, raising his club, struck the latter such a mighty blow that it dislodged Coonowrin’s neck, and he has never been able to straighten it since. When the floods had subsided and the family returned to the plains, the other children teased Coonowrin about his crooked neck. Feeling ashamed, Coonowrin went over to Tibrogargan and asked for his forgiveness, but filled with shame at his son’s cowardice, Tibrogargan could do nothing but weep copious tears, which, trickling along the ground, formed a stream that flowed into the sea. Then Coonowrin went to his brothers and sisters, but they also wept at the shame of their brother’s cowardice. The lamentations of Coonowrin’s parents and of his brothers and sisters at his disgrace explain the presence of the numerous small streams of the area. Tibrogargan then called to Coonowrin, asking him why he had deserted his mother. Coonowrin replied that as Beerwah was the biggest of them all she should be able to take care of herself. He did not know that she was again pregnant, which was the reason for her great size. Then Tibrogargan turned his back on his son and vowed that he would never look at him again. Even today Tibrogargan gazes far out to sea and never looks around at Coonowrin, who hangs his head and cries, his tears running off to the sea. His mother Beerwah is still heavy with child, as it takes a long, long time to give birth to a mountain.

It was about 2.5km to reach the top...easy for us (Patrick ran it of course) but some people struggled...

Note the blue sky (again)!!

Only problem was that the boys only had 'thongs' (flip flops) with them so they had to do the ascent and descent in bare feet...here they are with a fat labrador dog called 'Shadow' who was taking his time getting down the steeper parts!