RIVERFIRE in Brisbane!

Spectacular fireworks!

Roulettes - air show... yes I did manage to take this picture. They're fast!
Night shot of Brisbane
We went to Brisbane for the day to enjoy the River Festival and secure a good seat for the fireworks display that night (> 200,000 people come down to watch it). The day was perfect (+ 25 and mostly sunny) and just think Monday is the first day of spring here. For more on the weekend festival, see: http://www.riverfestival.com.au/riverfire/

The fireworks were simply amazing. Check out the video below for the finale of the 1/2 hour long fireworks display along the main river. The ball of fire in the beginning of the video is actually a F1-11 fighter jet dumping its fuel to get the desired effect. Check it out!!!

Quieter Weekend!

Welcome to:

Ocean view sunrise
Amanda left last Thursday after a wonderful 2 months on vacation. She will be missed!!! Amanda definitely saw most of what Australia has to offer.

A big congratulations goes out to my brother, Tim, and his new wife and my newest sister, Ange. The wedding pictures from Saturday are fantastic.

I had a quieter weekend. We have been going non stop for about 4 weekends, so it was nice to take a break.

This morning (Monday here), I went for a sunrise walk on the beach before work. I put up a few pictures from this morning - see above. Also, I attached a short 2 minute video of the sunrise - see below. The video talks about the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere, but my colleagues say it is the tallest residential building in the world.... potential debate on that one.

Our Last night in Australia Together :(

Since the nights are getting warmer now, we went out for dinner and a walk under the full moon. We celebrated 8 years of marriage, yah it was a week late but better late than never. Tomorrow we say farewell and won’t be seeing each other for 7 weeks. Hopefully these last weeks go quickly!

Noosa & The Glass House Mountains

Noosa is yet another beach town 2.5 hours north of us. We went for the weekend, and strolled the Eumundi Market (similar to St Jacobs) and the beachfront shops. In the afternoon we caught a few winks on the beautiful beach.

The drive home was great, we took a scenic rout (on purpose), which took us over the Blackall Mountain Range, and gave us a much closer look at the Glasshouse Mountains. We were also able to see more of the local farmland and roadside veggi stands.

Of course we had to stop while driving on the Steve Irwin Hwy to see to Australia Zoo!

Whitsunday was amazing!!!

Unfortunately I had to go on my own, and we were apart for our anniversary, but it was wonderful to see. I only have a few pictures because I was trying to get a picture of the whales on the first morning when a huge wave landed in my lap, needless to say my camera was not working for the rest of the trip. Gilbert has booked the same trip for October 3rd to the 7th, so he is looking forward to filling in some of the gaps in the pictures.

While out at sea, I saw 2 different types of Whales, Sea Turtles almost a meter in diameter & Sea Snakes. I was also able to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef, both the coral and the fish were beautiful. I did have to wear a stinger suit to avoid any deadly jellyfish stings.

I did get to spend about 3 hours on Whitehaven Beach, which definitely lives up to its name. Whitsunday Island is indescribable!!!!! I hope you all have a chance to see it for yourself.

The sun was much hotter at Airlie Beach, as I was quite a bit further north. I was able to catch a few rays before I head back to Canada later this week.

Great Barrier Reef update

Amanda made it back safely after her 2 day boating excursion on the Reef. She saw some amazing things, but she will have to report that when she gets back from the region on Friday. She did say she felt like she was still on the boat once back on land.

Stay tuned....

Cheers,
Gil

Weekend in Melbourne!

Us in front of the large funky Federation Square

We had a great time in Melbourne. We enjoyed staying with Leslie and Michael. Melbourne has some great history with a European feel to it. The free art galleries were a treat, especially for Amanda. It was one of the coldest days of this winter on Sunday... go figure eh?! http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24158502-661,00.html

Erin & Amanda amongst an art gallery displayPeople are paid to create graffiti. It's everywhere and looks superb!!!
A view from the war memorial
In front of the local theme park
One of many older buildings
Amanda left for the Whitsundays on Airlie Beach Monday morning. Look for some Great Barrier Reef pictures next week!!!

A week of family visits!!!!

I thought I would post one more time before I leave for Melbourne in the morning!

A visit with Hall family in Daisy Hill near Brisbane. We enjoyed a great family night over a spectacular Beijing themed dinner. It was fun to see all the pets especially the blue tongued lizard!

Gil & I walking on Burleigh Beach a very quiet beach 10km from our apartment!

Last week I visited with Jack and Dorothy Haaksma in Childers, I had a great time on their farm. They also took me further into the country to visit the extended Haaksma family. I had a great time meeting the relies! Below is Jack and Dorothy's farm land.

Dorothy took me on a tour of the area with a stop at Woodgate Beach... it was stunning!
Jack, Dorothy & Jenni

I took the train to Childers, it was a about a 4 hour ride north straight up the coast. I saw sugar cane and pineapple fields, as well as a spectacular view of the Glass House Mountains as we passed the base. These project straight up out of the ground, very unique. http://www.walkabout.com.au/locations/QLDGlassHouseMountains.shtml