More Adventures in and around Brisbane

I guess I have either been busy or lazy (or both).  It has been a while since I wrote on the travel blog.  This will be an attempt to catch up without getting too long winded.

Saturday, Oct 5

We had a slower day.  In the Morning we went to the first Saturday Market held in the next town north, Wynnum.  They had blocked off about three blocks of a city street where venders selling clothing, fruits, vegetables, and takeaway foods.  It was fun to wander and look at all the wares and people.

Then we had lunch at a place called Indigiscapes.  It is a garden and café dedicated to creating garden spaces of indigenous plants.  They have example gardens set up to give ideas of building a garden that supports local birds and wildlife.  They have a nice café that uses local ingredients as part of the meals.

While there we say a Wag Tail.  So named because its tail is in constant motion, wagging side to side when not flying.  Note the white eyebrows!

Sunday, October 6

This is the day we rode on a steam train around Brisbane.  The Queensland rail museum operates weekly trains on Sunday.  For our ride the engine was the last steam engine built for Queensland rail.

The rail cars are from various ages. 

I believe the one we rode in was from the early 1900’s

From the train we went to Downtown Brisbane for a little lunch and shopping.  They have converted a street into a walking mall with stores and shops.  A nice area with fountains, art, and some really nice older buildings.

They even had street entertainment.

Monday, October 7

We drove back toward the Gold Coast and into Springbrook National Park.  This is in the mountains Southwest of the Gold Coast near the border between the states of Queensland and New South Wales.  Nice area in a rain forest type area with stunning views of the mountains and coast line.

Moss growing on a tree trunk

Tuesday, October 8

We headed North toward the Sunshine Coast to Bribie Island.  There is a war bird museum that Monty wanted to see.  It was small but fun.  Here is a ex USAF pilot standing in the cockpit of  MIG 17…hmmmmm.

Nieuport Type 17 (WW I) being rebuilt.

Flyable P51 (Australian version)

Then off to ice cream at Scoopy’s….looks like something from the 50s era but they had good icecream.

On the way home we stopped at this overlook of the Brisbane river.  It is actually in a residential street.

Wednesday, October 9

Today we headed north toward the Sunshine coast again.  Our first stop was at the town of Eumundi and the Wednesday Market.  This market was much bigger than the one in Wynnum and covered many blocks.  It reminded us of the Eugene, OR Saturday Market or the market we saw in Hobart, Tasmania in 2000.  Lots of food (take away and fresh fruit/vegetables), clothing, jewelry, pottery, etc. etc.  We spent about an hour or so there but could have spent much more.

Of course there was entertainment, like this guy playing the drums and didgeridoo.

We stopped in Kenilworth for a coffee break.

And then on to King Ludwigs German Restaurant and the beautiful view of the Glass House Mountains.  Klaus and Barbara are friends of Sylvia and Roy and are very gracious hosts.  The food was also excellent.  Here are some views from our table.

They even have an accordion player to add to the authentic atmosphere.

That brings you up to date with our adventures.  Our trip is quickly coming to an end.  Tomorrow (Thursday) we are going to see some more sites around Brisbane, then Friday, we do mundane things like laundry and organize our suitcases, then Saturday we head back east and home.

More tomorrow.

So much to see and do!

The title is my lame effort at an excuse for not adding to my blog for a few days.  We have been mildly busy and enjoying the area around Brisbane.  It is such a nice area with lots of things to do.

On Wednesday (Oct 2) we went to Mount Coot-Tha and had a lovely lunch at The Summit Café.  Lovely views of the city from a really nice place to eat.

Downtown Brisbane from Mount Coot-Tha

Thursday was a fun and exciting day.  We drove to the Gold Coast, which is a lovely area south of Brisbane with lots of hotels and beaches. 

Sea World has an amusement park there but they also do Whale Watching tours.  That was our purpose of going there.  It was well worth the effort.  We went about a mile off shore in a very nice boat.

The Whale watching was superb as you can see from these pictures.

We later drove to The Polish Place on Mount Tambourine.  From there we had a lovely view of the Gold Coast Area

A nice view of the valley to the West,

And a nice lunch in a polish style restaurant.

Yesterday, we started the morning with home made waffles on the deck.

And then it was a trip to Ipswich and the Queensland Railroad museum.  An interesting find was this locomotive made by the Baldwin Locomotive Co. of Philadelphia, PA.  It was made around WWII and part of the lend-lease program.  Since it was narrow gauge, the US didn’t want it back.  It is now stored in the shops and will eventually be rebuilt to operational status.  It is significant to Katie because her Dad used to work for Baldwin Locomotive during the war years. 

It was fun to see all of the engines there plus the other displays (we are going to ride a steam train on Sunday). 

We got to ride on the Transverser.  It is normally used to move engines and cars between the various repair shops, but is also used to transport tourists between the displays.

They even had a display of “steam punk” art.

This is actually an operational CD player!

Today the adventure continues.  More later.

Back to Brisbane

Not a lot of activity for the past three days, hence the lack of a new entry in the blog.

Sunday, we checked out of the Hotel and drove to Sydney.  We took a few pictures of the court yard of the hotel.  The Hotel was one of the early buildings in Canberra (1920s) and was a hostle for working women at first.  It was later converted to a hotel and has been added to over the years.  It is a complex maze of buildings but was a nice place to stay.

Somewhere along the way before we left Canberra I got this picture of an Australian Magpie.  It was somewhat tame because it was very close to me.

This is a typical scene along the road.

In the world of unusual (for the USA anyway) road signs.  This is a wombat crossing sign.

I was surprised to get passed by a Lamborghini.

After arriving in Sydney and a small adventure of finding a gas station and then the entrance to rental car return, we had time for some lunch before our airplane for Brisbane loaded.

Monday was a low key day.  I spent most of it catching up on my photo backup process and generally relaxing.  Katie and Sylvia did a little shopping.  These Rainbow Lorikeet’s are regular’s at Sylvia & Roy’s bird feeder.  As you can tell they are used to people being around.

We also saw this Spotted Turtle Dove at the feeder a little later.

And a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike was also in the neighborhood.

Today, we had breakfast at Cooper’s in Manly.  This a picture of Monty’s Sister and Brother-in-law.

While there, the neighbor hood Ibis paid a visit.

Here it is early spring, so a lot of the trees are starting to bloom.  This is a Jacaranda trees with its beautiful blooms. 

 

In the interesting road sign category, this one is for Koala crossing zone.

Of course when you travel with a quilter, no trip is complete without a visit to a quilt shop.  This one is in the Cleveland area….and a stop was mandatory!

Cleveland point is a pretty park.  We were there at low tide so lots of tidal land was showing.  It was a pretty area.  This is also a set location for one of the “Chronicles of Narnia” movies.

We were intrigued by this Banyan Tree.  This is the oldest banyan tree in Queensland. 

We discovered Kangaroo’s running wild at a vineyard.  There were a lot of them in the area.

A face only a mother could love?

We stopped for afternoon tea and scones and were treated to a peacock display.  I think is puts on a show for seeds!

Overall a fun day.  Until next time………….