Every August in Queensland we have something called The Royal Queensland Show, better known as 'The Ekka'. That nickname comes from the fact that the Show is an exhibition of Queensland's agricultural roots ("bringing the country and city together for a true celebration of agriculture"). When we finally went, two years ago, we saw a… Continue reading Sea change weekend – whalewatching off Fraser Island
Category: Australia
A short hike on Mt. Barney, nothing too strenuous
The Scenic Rim is the name of the bottom left quadrant of a giant circle in south-east Queensland, centred on Brisbane, of radius one hundred kilometres and which more or less forms, in those parts, the border with New South Wales. The Rim itself is made of a chain of mountains which was formed by… Continue reading A short hike on Mt. Barney, nothing too strenuous
An Aesthete at Surfer’s
When I was a young aesthete, a long time ago now, I sat down and watched the movie Death in Venice. The image of Dirk Bogarde sunk in his deckchair on the Venice Lido, hair dye running down his face, as everyone else (including the object of his obsession, Tadzio) fled the cholera-ravaged city, all… Continue reading An Aesthete at Surfer’s
A chaos of delight
"The delight one experiences at such times bewilders the mind, if the eye attempts to follow the flight of a gaudy butter-fly, it is arrested by some strange tree or fruit; if watching an insect one forgets it in the stranger flower it is crawling over, if turning to admire the splendour of the scenery,… Continue reading A chaos of delight
On Lorikeet Lane
Tina and I got married exactly nineteen years ago. Our list of previous anniversary getaway locations includes Montville (Sunshine Coast), Spicers Hidden Vale resort, Mount Tamborine, and Westport, Co. Mayo. This year we went back up to the Sunshine Coast hinterland for an anniversary overnighter. A feature meal is an important part of an anniversary… Continue reading On Lorikeet Lane
Getting ready for Europe
First of all, our big news is that we're flying to Europe on the 31st of May. We'll be in Ireland for about a week, then Denmark for a few days, where we'll be just in time to see the fullsize Lego Technic Bugatti Chironat at Lego House. After the Viking Museum in Roskilde we… Continue reading Getting ready for Europe
A Fish called Stargazer
A blissful three whole days of no driving whatsoever under any circumstances was our reward for the arduous - by our standards, anyway - road trip from Brisbane to Sydney we'd just done. We were staying in Kingsgrove, inland of Botany Bay, on the edge of Wolli Creek; not that we were ever aware of… Continue reading A Fish called Stargazer
The Road to Sydney
Day 1: Brisbane to Coffs Harbour Christmas was but a distant memory when we set off early on Boxing Day on a long-planned road trip subsequently dubbed ‘Australia: it’s a bloody long way’ after a fridge magnet we bought in - spoiler alert - the souvenir shop at the base of Sydney Tower on this… Continue reading The Road to Sydney
Sunday morning, Alexandra Headland
Walking over the rocks that separate Alexandra Headland from Mooloolaba I nearly stood on a sea snake. I made sure it was dead before inspecting it closely. It was silver, with dark bands, and up close you could see it had non-overlapping hexagonal scales. They weren't perfect, however; it was as if they came from the… Continue reading Sunday morning, Alexandra Headland
On the good ship Gráinne Mhaol
The Mooloolah river flows into the Coral Sea just south of the seaside town of Mooloolaba. In its final half kilometre it wraps around a spit, enveloping the boats anchored in Mooloolaba Marina that stick out into it on hundred-metre-long arms. On arm C of the Marina is a thirty-five-or-so foot yacht called the Gráinne… Continue reading On the good ship Gráinne Mhaol
