Last night as I said before Ian and Judy cooked a lamb roast with all the trimmings and it was superb - it was such a treat to have a home cooked meal topped off with strawberries and icecream with a hot brandy sauce.Ummm
Judy and Ian have made me so welcome and I've so enjoyed being part of their family and I appreciate how much I miss all of my family back home.
Today is my last day and Judy, her sister Jilly and I went for a walk along the promenade at Shornecliffe. We took Millie with us for the walk and then popped into see Ian's son Paul at his house where Ian is helping him with some doors. Paul has a 9 week old labrador puppy called Ruby who is so cute and who just wanted to play with Millie - so funny to watch them play.
I'm sure this won't be the last time I see them and hopefully the rest of the family in the UK will get to meet them too. Australia is NOT that far away!!
Anyway - it's bye bye for now and I'll speak to you from New Zealand soon
Love to all. Take Care
Sue xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Friday, 19 September 2008
Thursday, 18 September 2008
Thursday - last day on project
Last day at Booloumba as Cameron has a training at the office on Friday so this is a short week. We worked on the track in the morning, said our farewells to Kieron and then did the FIg Tree walk (Huge fig trees !!), ate our lunch and then set off back to Albion.
I rang Judy and Ian when we arrived back to see when it was convenient to see them and Judy said 'I'll come and pick you up now!' which was a great surprise as one more night in the 'young' house wasn't that inviting to say the least.
It's been great meeting up with them again and tonight (Friday) we're having a lamb roast and Yvonne and Keith our coming over too. I can't remember the last time I ate lamb and my mouth is watering already.
Have one more day here (Saturday) and then on Sunday I fly to New Zealand so once again I'll be out of touch for a few days.
New Zealand will be a tour so I won't know till I get wherever, what internet access I'll have - I'm sure I'll find something along the way though.
ONLY 4 weeks till I'm home - Hasn't time flown??
Love Sue
xx
I rang Judy and Ian when we arrived back to see when it was convenient to see them and Judy said 'I'll come and pick you up now!' which was a great surprise as one more night in the 'young' house wasn't that inviting to say the least.
It's been great meeting up with them again and tonight (Friday) we're having a lamb roast and Yvonne and Keith our coming over too. I can't remember the last time I ate lamb and my mouth is watering already.
Have one more day here (Saturday) and then on Sunday I fly to New Zealand so once again I'll be out of touch for a few days.
New Zealand will be a tour so I won't know till I get wherever, what internet access I'll have - I'm sure I'll find something along the way though.
ONLY 4 weeks till I'm home - Hasn't time flown??
Love Sue
xx
Wednesday - still on track
Worked with Ranger Kieron today and though it's hard work I feel really good about our progress - completed 20 metres today and my back aches!!
After work, Ranger Wayne took us to Booloumba Falls which is about a 1.5 kms walk and well worth the it even though we were all tired after making the track.
There were 2 waterfalls about a 10 minute walk apart and Wayne seemed to really enjoy telling us about the stonework they'd completed along the walk and the lookout point at the end of the falls. Wayne is the sort of person I'd describe as 'simple' in the nicest possible way but such a lovely guy who is so happy to help and chat with you.
The falls were set in deep in the valley with trees and mountains towering well above them - really really pretty.
After work, Ranger Wayne took us to Booloumba Falls which is about a 1.5 kms walk and well worth the it even though we were all tired after making the track.
There were 2 waterfalls about a 10 minute walk apart and Wayne seemed to really enjoy telling us about the stonework they'd completed along the walk and the lookout point at the end of the falls. Wayne is the sort of person I'd describe as 'simple' in the nicest possible way but such a lovely guy who is so happy to help and chat with you.
The falls were set in deep in the valley with trees and mountains towering well above them - really really pretty.
Tuesday - more track work
Ranger Kieron and Joe(CVA volunteer and part time ranger - more my age/nice chap/married) took us to the fire-look out tower on Mount Allan which again had spectacular views. Previous CVA volunteers had cleared all the overgrown weeds and plants on top of the mountain and landscaped in a natural style and planted new stuff. It looked really great and you could see the hard work they had put into it - it will look even better once the plants are grown. The top of the mountain is one of the destination points where our track will join up.
Before we started work we had our 'smokies' which is the UK equivalent of our 11's. Daniel (Dutch, Joe and I built a small wall to edge the path and retain the earth and then continued to widen the path. Apparently the completed path will ultimately be 60 kms long (approx 40 miles)and has to be completed by 27 September ready for an official opening. Working with Joe was good as he did the heavier axe work and Danial and I levelled it all out. Today was really satisfying as we could see the results of all our efforts.
Finished work at 3 again as we were all fair tuckered out and then we drove to Maleney cheese shop and sampled several cheese before making our purchases. Tonight we had spaghetti bolognes which I prepared and Cameron cooked then we played some more poker before falling into bed for a well earned sleep.
Before we started work we had our 'smokies' which is the UK equivalent of our 11's. Daniel (Dutch, Joe and I built a small wall to edge the path and retain the earth and then continued to widen the path. Apparently the completed path will ultimately be 60 kms long (approx 40 miles)and has to be completed by 27 September ready for an official opening. Working with Joe was good as he did the heavier axe work and Danial and I levelled it all out. Today was really satisfying as we could see the results of all our efforts.
Finished work at 3 again as we were all fair tuckered out and then we drove to Maleney cheese shop and sampled several cheese before making our purchases. Tonight we had spaghetti bolognes which I prepared and Cameron cooked then we played some more poker before falling into bed for a well earned sleep.
Monday - Week 2 of the project
This is the 2nd project week and this time it was making a walking track at Booloumba Creek in the Conondale National Park. It wasn't as long a drive as week 1 and we stopped at 'The Barrel' which is a wine outlet so after 3 or 4 tasters I bought 3 bottles and was given a bar of wine chocolate free!!
As we drove into Kenilworth, I saw a lot scarecrows (all individually dressed)either in the fields or by the gates of houses or schools - I think there was some scarecrow event coming soon.
The area reminds me of the Waltons and Waltons mountains - lots of beautiful mountains/hills and trees and wildlife.
We had lunch as soon as we arrived and then straight out with Ranger Kieron(another good looking Aussie with deep brown eyes)to the track where we took our pick axes, rakes and shovels and proceeded to create a walkway through the forest. It was blooming hard work I can tell you but we knocked off at 3 and drove back through the fords and countryside. At one point we saw a carpet snake on the side of the road - it was big and not at all happy to see us but NOT poisonous Mam.
Also went to the small hamlet of Kenilworth to pick up some food supplies and it's the nearest place where there is any phone reception. The library is the only place that has internet access but it only has 1 PC so didn't bother with that.
The'bunkhouse' where we were expecting to stay and sleep on the floor, turned out to be a huge cabin and again I managed to secure the single bedroom. There was a deck that overlooked the valley and you can seen the mountains through the trees. This was an idyllic spot withlots of walks and plenty of wildlife.
In the evening Yosuke cooked chicken teryaki and rice and then we played Texas hold-em poker till late - I was doing pretty well but then lost the lot
As we drove into Kenilworth, I saw a lot scarecrows (all individually dressed)either in the fields or by the gates of houses or schools - I think there was some scarecrow event coming soon.
The area reminds me of the Waltons and Waltons mountains - lots of beautiful mountains/hills and trees and wildlife.
We had lunch as soon as we arrived and then straight out with Ranger Kieron(another good looking Aussie with deep brown eyes)to the track where we took our pick axes, rakes and shovels and proceeded to create a walkway through the forest. It was blooming hard work I can tell you but we knocked off at 3 and drove back through the fords and countryside. At one point we saw a carpet snake on the side of the road - it was big and not at all happy to see us but NOT poisonous Mam.
Also went to the small hamlet of Kenilworth to pick up some food supplies and it's the nearest place where there is any phone reception. The library is the only place that has internet access but it only has 1 PC so didn't bother with that.
The'bunkhouse' where we were expecting to stay and sleep on the floor, turned out to be a huge cabin and again I managed to secure the single bedroom. There was a deck that overlooked the valley and you can seen the mountains through the trees. This was an idyllic spot withlots of walks and plenty of wildlife.
In the evening Yosuke cooked chicken teryaki and rice and then we played Texas hold-em poker till late - I was doing pretty well but then lost the lot
Sunday - Picasso
I was going to meet up with Graham today but household drama meant a change of plan so I went to the Picasso exhibition instead and then took a ride on the Citycat ferry along the Brisbane river (full circuit which was 2 hours)- it certainly is a very fast mode of transport.
Back to South Bank where there was a craft market and there were a couple of psychics/tarot card readers and I was tempted but thought I let the future take it's course.
I had a 'Parisian' crepe for lunch at one of the Arbour cafes and listened to another band playing aboriginal and rock music - they were pretty good.
There were loads of people at South Bank as amongst all the arbours and cultural centres, there is a Street Beach where families bring there kids to enjoy the sand and water.
Back to South Bank where there was a craft market and there were a couple of psychics/tarot card readers and I was tempted but thought I let the future take it's course.
I had a 'Parisian' crepe for lunch at one of the Arbour cafes and listened to another band playing aboriginal and rock music - they were pretty good.
There were loads of people at South Bank as amongst all the arbours and cultural centres, there is a Street Beach where families bring there kids to enjoy the sand and water.
Saturday - Weddings in the Park
After I'd updated my blog I walked back along the riverbank to the Goodwill Bridge over the Brisbane river which leads to the Botanic gardens. On my way I stopped to see the Nepalese Pagoda , visited the Brisbane Museum (all 5 floors), had a coffee while a young girl and her brother played guitar and sang rolling stones, led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix - all while watching the world go by. I took in the view of Brisbane city from a bench on the bridge before I reached the gardens.
Saturday (like in the UK) is 'wedding day' and in the gardens I saw at least 3 weddings parties set in these lovely surroundings and one even had a 4 piece orchestra playing classical music.
There were a group of women celebrating someones birthday with a buffet, champagne etc, - I saw cyclists, skateboarders, guys playing football - it's a real good people watching place. AT one point I noticed a tug of war happening so I walked across to watch - it turned out to be a 33rd anniversary celebration of some sort - perhaps aboriginal/native as there were a pile of grass skirts on the floor ready for someone to put on. There were also 2 bands playing on stage. The parks here are certainly a lot more lively than those in the UK.
Saturday (like in the UK) is 'wedding day' and in the gardens I saw at least 3 weddings parties set in these lovely surroundings and one even had a 4 piece orchestra playing classical music.
There were a group of women celebrating someones birthday with a buffet, champagne etc, - I saw cyclists, skateboarders, guys playing football - it's a real good people watching place. AT one point I noticed a tug of war happening so I walked across to watch - it turned out to be a 33rd anniversary celebration of some sort - perhaps aboriginal/native as there were a pile of grass skirts on the floor ready for someone to put on. There were also 2 bands playing on stage. The parks here are certainly a lot more lively than those in the UK.
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