We have reunited in Brisbane, all is well. Busy unloading all our gear and packing boxes to ship home. Eric flies to Noumea on Sunday and it looks like the weather is good for a Monday departure. That would put him back in Brisbane (or possibly Bundaberg) by week's end. We'll be glad when both boats are in Australia and Daddy is back with us full time.
Brisbane is a lovely city full of new and modern buildings, landscaped walkways along the river, bike and walking paths galore. I expected something much more industrial, but it appears they have quite a cultural life here as well. So far my favorite part of the city is the "Whale Mall." The Mall is a concrete corridor connecting the Cultural Center with the State Library. Life size humpback whales, complete with barnacles, hang from the ceiling. Whale song plays over speakers above filling the corridor. It is very beautiful.
The kids and I had some lovely outings whilst (Australian for "while") we awaited Eric's return. We visited the Alma Park Zoo, a cozy little family zoo in the "bush" (countryside) outside Brisbane. We also visited the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Fig Tree Pocket, just up river from Brisbane City. The kids had the chance to "cuddle a Koala" and have their pictures taken. A great memory for them.
We have encountered wonderful Australian hospitality so far. People offering us lifts in their cars, offering us a place to stay in their home, etc. Our accents give us away immediately and we are often chatted up on the bus or train by people wondering where we've come from, how we got here, what we think of Australia. Many people have trouble with our accents, I get a lot of blank stares the first time I ask a question or make a comment.
I find Australia to be a zoo that people live in - on the beach from near our marina you can take a walk in the park and see Ibis walking along picking at bugs in the grass, mynah birds and cockatoos in the trees. As we walked through a suburb on our way to the little zoo, we saw signs for Koala crossings. Apparently they live in the trees in neighborhoods. Sometimes one male services a female population that spans a few lots - if he is hit by a car crossing the street to visit a lady friend, the entire population suffers. These little creatures are living quite a tenuous life at the moment. They only eat Eucalyptus and the tree population is dwindling due to development. Whilst riding the bus the other day, we noticed a few kangaroos hopping about a high school football (Australian rules) field. Great fun.
We'll be taking a bit of a blogging break for a week while Eric sails on Trenally and Christine and the kids pack up more stuff and scrub the Jenny P. Stay tuned for our November 10th trip to a horse farm where we'll take some riding lessons and hopefully lend a hand in the stables.