Brisbane

Two full days in Brisbane now and still no sunshine. Very hot and very humid with rain at regular intervals but it has not stopped us walking all around the city and making full use of the day tickets including the ferries which are great. Yesterday evening we had dinner at a very nice pub in the Riverside complex and took the ferry back after dark; the views over the river and the business district were great.

Today Christmas Day was slightly more difficult with lots closed although the public transport was working a Sunday schedule. We decided to try a trip to North Stradbroke Island (Straddie) but having reached the ferry terminal after a train journey from Brisbane we found there was no ferry for 3 hours and then we would almost immediately have to turn around! So back to Brisbane it was with an interesting train journey, more ferries and finally a very good street restaurant for a late Christmas lunch. Moreton Bay bugs, scallops and enormous prawns for me and a very large steak for the lovely lady wife.

Back to the hotel for a couple of hours rest (and boring washing) before we head for the ferries again this evening. Really warming to Brisbane; a lively and vibrant city.

Arrived in Brisbane

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls (as they say in Oz)

We had a good flight into Brisbane and checked into our hotel about mid afternoon.

The sun is not shining and judging by the weather forecast, we won't see the sun any time soon.

In fact the forecast is for torrential rain in the north of Australia as far down as Brisbane over the Christmas period and there are the usual stories about staying in and stocking up!!

We had a good walk around the city yesterday and will do more exploring today.

Sunrise in Australian television has confirmed that Santa has left the north pole and air travel control have confirmed clearance to landing in Oz for tonight, notwithstanding the dreadful weather!!

Happy Christmas from Brisbane.

Great Barrier Reef

Back from our trip to the Great Barrier Reef and exhausted! Quite a difficult crossing particularly going out; strong winds and heavy seas. We were fine but lots of people suffered from seasickness. The attached picture is not of me but it could well have been except I was wearing a stinger suit in a rather fetching shade of blue. Really good experience and the reef is fascinating with countless species of corals and fish; which were all around us. As well as the snorkelling they has a semi submersible which gave an excellent view of the fish, turtles and corals.

Weather has not been great and we have hardly seen the sun whilst in the islands. A severe tropical storm is forecast for Saturday with up to 30cm of rain in one day. Luckily we will be in Brisbane by then.

Whitsundays

We are about to head off for our trip to the Great Barrier Reef. Staying on Hamilton Island which is quite busy and very expensive. Very beautiful all around but we haven't seen the islands at their best because the weather has not been great. Very hot and humid but mostly cloudy with the occasional rain shower some of which have been very heavy. Still enjoyed swimming in the sea inspite of warnings of Irukandji jellyfish

Moving on

Landed in the Whitsunday Islands a couple of hours ago. Shortly after arriving we experienced an extraordinary tropical storm and it is still throwing it down. The flight was delayed for a couple of hours because of very high winds in Sydney.

Very sad to leave Sydney as we had three great days there. On our last day, Sunday. we spent the morning walking through the botanical gardens which were wonderful. We saw the flying foxes roosting high in the trees and some flying. The signs suggest that they are not welcome visitors because of the damage they do but they made an interesting spectacle. We saw our first lotus flowers, which are stunning. They filled a pond in the oriental garden. We walked down to Mrs Macquaries chair which has a lovely view of the harbour and back around Farm Cove to the Opera House and Circular Quay where we caught the ferry to Manly.

We walked to Manly beach via the Corso and spent a couple of hours there swimming and relaxing. Initially it was slightly cloudy but the sun came out later and we realised its strength. Beautiful beach and lovely clear waters. We then headed back across the Harbour on the Ferry and after a short rest we were out again by ferry to Watson's Bay to visit Geoff Norman and his family, for drinks at his house then dinner at a lovely restaurant in Rose Bay. After a very enjoyable evening we headed back to our hotel through the lights of Sydney.

Off to dinner now!!

We love Sydney!

A great day yesterday and started with the bus to Bondi beach, a walk along the bay and of course a swim in the sea. Beautiful pristine sand and clear water. We then took the bus northwards to Watsons Bay and the bus dropped us off at the start of a coastal walk which we explored for a short distance. Fantastic views of Sydney Harbour and on the other side, the Pacific Ocean. Disturbed a family of blue wrens and one of the annoyed parents came very close to us in an attempt to distract us from the young ones -lovely! A light lunch at Doyles in Watsons Bay - yes I promise you it was a light lunch but certainly not inexpensive. We were joined at Doyles by four young Aussie lads wearing Reindeer antlers and not a lot else who had obviously rowed from Sydney; I promise you we had only one glass of wine. Sydney is great but cheap it is not; I think it's probably the most expensive city we've been to.

Took the ferry back to the hotel and after a brief interlude trying to encourage our cricket team (total failure) we headed off walking south through the city via Hyde Park and several other areas ending up in Chinatown where we dined at the Emperors BBQ. Very good and very authentic.

Bused back to the hotel and after a brief visit to the bar on the 36th floor (fantastic views of the harbour as you would expect) we collapsed into bed exhausted!

Enjoyed dinner last night at Wolfies Grill on Circular Quay with great views of the Opera House. It was particularly stunning against a dark sky. Lots of buzz and Christmas parties and some karaoke. Just up and about after our first night in Sydney. We both seem totally adjusted to local time and no jetlag! Off to Bondi beach this morning