Roadtrip begins in earnest

Above:  The beach at Agnes Water; would have been awesome if the weather had cooperated. Bundaberg We said goodbye to Paul and Vanessa at 0810 and started our road trip in earnest.  We are headed for our nightstop at Agnes Water stopping at Bundaberg. On the road, we were surprised by how disciplined Australian drivers […]

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Time with good friends

Above:  Beach at Alexandra Headland, Maroochydore. Apartment hunting with friends The weather turned wet and gloomy yesterday, so we didn’t do any of our possible outdoor activities like taking drives, walks or go whale-watching.  Instead, we backtracked a little south to shop at Costco. We started the day with a walk along the waterfront at […]

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Relocation deal

Above:  We are driving to Cairns; taken about an hour into the 19h journey (if we were to do it without detours). Today was the long awaited day for Kim’s arrival.  With possibility of Covid-19 outbreaks, there was always a chance that he wouldn’t make it to Australia leaving me here stranded by myself.  The […]

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The River City from the water

Above:  People pay to walk on the Story Bridge; I captured them from the ferry below. The plan for the day was to explore the River City using the free ferry service called City Hopper.  But I now realise that the route is largely what I had done on foot yesterday.  It made sense for […]

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The River City by foot

Today I explore Brisbane’s riverside walks by foot.  After a simple breakfast of oats and fruit in my room, I headed out at around 0830.  It was still cool in the shade but lovely in the sunshine. I crossed the river on the pedestrian bridge to South Bank.  The area was a very delightful public […]

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North Stradbroke Island

Getting to North Stradbroke I had planned of making a trip to North Stradbroke Island this visit to Brisbane.  I had toyed with the idea of diving but in the end decided it wouldn’t be warm enough for me.  Having checked the weather forecast, I decided that my Stradbroke trip would be today because the […]

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Arriving in Brisbane

Above:  The Treasury casino in Brisbane. We touched down at Brisbane at our scheduled arrival time of 1055.  We had to wait onboard seated for the Australian border force to give their announcement and then their clearance to disembark. It was just the normal immigration process upon arrival with no one checking the Australian or […]

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International travel for pleasure

Above:  Long wait for the caterers to enter the aircraft. Today I travel internationally for pleasure for the first time in about 17 months, with travel being difficult due to Covid-19.  I had spent the last few days monitoring the situation in Australia, with outbreaks in Melbourne and Sydney that have led to partial suspension […]

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Home again

Above:  My new Toyota Crown Hybrid. I flew back to Auckland on the 0930 flight this morning.  Kim was meant to stay an extra two days but ended up coming back only a day after me. Picking him up from the airport, we called past a car dealer and settled on a Toyota Crown Hybrid […]

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Hiking to Roy’s Peak

Roy’s Peak Jo left yesterday and were replaced by Brent and Moira as our guests at the apartment.  It was a big relaxing day in preparation for today. Today’s plan (for me) was to climb up to Roy’s Peak.  Brent  and Moira were keen to join us for part of the hike.  The hike starts […]

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