Feed the birds, tuppence a bag...

So we've been settling in and finding our way around our new neighbourhood. We have been moaning about the severe lack of winter too, but that is another story.

I have had another temp stint with the same firm I was with just as we moved. It was another of those two week assignments that stretched to four weeks and it was good to be doing something again. 

In the weeks in between there had been the usual job application process taking up much of my days, but I did manage to catch up with some of the other Yellow Pages family who now call Brisbane and Queensland home. Hopefully we will be able to do it all again soon.

I also went to the Brisbane DNADownUnder event on EKKA Day and soaked up all the knowledge imparted by the speakers who included Blaine Bettinger who has been visiting our shores from upstate New York. (Random fact: we have some upstate New Yorkers in our tree - from the same and neighbouring counties !) It was great as well to meet up some alumni from UTAS. Now to use some of that new knowledge and enlightment to wrangle all those DNA matches we have been accumulating since testing.

We also went for a drive one weekend to Lamington National Park. We thought we should start checking out places we could take visitors (when they come). It was a long drive, but eventually we started the climb up the mountain and into the rainforest. 

The road was one way in a lot of places but there wasn't too much traffic. Signage wasnt great either, but our destination was at the end of the road so we figured we would get there eventually. The bird song in the trees as we drove was delightful.

At the end of the road is a resort. It is almost on the border between New South Wales and Queensland. O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat.

We had heard about bird feeding opportunities but when we first located the only place where visitors are permitted to feed the birds there were far more people than birds and not a lot of encouragement to join in. I had heard about Echo Point which apparently has the most amazing echo, again information wasn't well displayed so we didnt even attempt to find our way there. But we had also heard about a tree top swing bridge walk (the first in Australia when it was built some years ago). So we went to investigate. It was a bit underwhelming though and could have offered so much more. There were extra climbing challenges along the way, which we didnt do, but there was no information about them either. We wandered through a mountain garden also bereft of information but filled with birdlife and some pretty shrubs and flowers. On our way back we thought we'd try the bird feeding again and what a treat it turned out to be.

Not sure I would put it on my list of places to take visitors though - even though almost every Queenslander I have spoke to seems to think it is the best place in South East Queensland.

Is it Autumn yet ?

There are some towns with reputations or attractions that just need to be visited. Stanthorpe is one of them.

It is in the Granite Belt, a little further inland and south from Allora where we went once before to see the sunflowers. The region is known for its microclimate and winemaking, but there are also microbreweries and an abundance of fruit and vegetables.

It also gets quite cold there in winter. Well cold for Queensland anyway. It seems to share the competition for the title of coldest town with nearby Applethorpe where for many years 100% of the apples in Queensland have been grown.

We went to see if autumn might be hiding there – if it gets frosty and sometimes even snow, you would think there might be some colour in the foliage.

We found some, but not as much as we had wished for. So renown for the chilly winter temperatures is the town, there is a giant thermometer in the park.

Then it was time for the drive home and to continue the packing and organising for our upcoming move. Only weekends and evenings available for those tasks since we were both working. 

ANZAC Day

It was a pretty good first week at work, although there were less days for training.

The last two weeks in April were very disjointed; filled with Public Holidays. First Easter shortened the work week by one day, then the following week as well as Easter Monday, there was ANZAC Day. It isn’t over there – another Public Holiday loomed in early May. Labour Day. Every other state has it in October, but not Queensland.

Anyway, ANZAC Day. I had thought I might go to a service in the local park, but I was a bit tired from the first day at my new job – so much to learn. But we decided we should take advantage of a midweek holiday and go for a drive.

It wasn’t a brilliant sunny day, but we thought we would head into the hinterland a bit. Well, it was my idea, and I didn’t do enough research so we changed plans part way.

We headed for Samford which was surprisingly busy for a small town on a public holiday. I have heard there are some amazing café’s there so another trip may need to be planned. From Dayboro we decided as it was getting late in the afternoon that we would head back toward the coast and perhaps catch the sunset and have fish and chips.

After a slight detour to Bribie Island, to say we had driven to another island, and added it to the revisiting MUST-DO list, we headed for our favourite fish and chip eatery. Timing wasn’t on our side though and we were too late for the sunset.

But we did catch these amazing reflections on Bramble Bay.

Crikey !

So then I got a job.

It was a temp role, 500 people all at once to assist in the recovery after the Townsville floods. What a system and organisation ! There are many countries which should look at this model and find ways to implement it in the event of natural disasters. Holy cow. It lasted about 4 weeks or my team did, smaller teams probably stayed on for a couple of weeks after that tidying up loose ends. It was shift work 5 on 2 off and I worked the afternoon/evening shift. It was a great bunch of people from all walks of life and with such a variety of skills and a willingness to help out.

My team even had a couple of team lunches – the luxury of starting after lunch that the morning team missed out on.

It was fun though and I missed it when it ended. The money too with all those penal rates !

On one day off we went to Australia Zoo, the brainchild of Steve Irwin "The Crocodile Hunter" and a legacy continued by his family. I was technically just the driver as Lauren and her visiting Welly friend had planned to go then discovered they would lose most of the day travelling on buses and trains.

If you haven’t been – you should go. Mid week is best I reckon – if you can do it – and not school holidays. Enjoy the photos – there are lots #sorrynotsorry

On the way back we took a detour for fish and chips by the sea to catch the sunset at Woody Point. All the seagulls wanted in on the action too !

Fields of Gold

Canola fields bright and yellow were something we discovered while living in Victoria. In Queensland though there are fields of something else. I suspect there are canola fields too, but I prefer the new fields and the sense of urgency to find them and take in the scene.

In the Southern Granite Belt and Southern Downs sunflowers grow. Standing tall facing the sun (mostly), in fields under the never-ending blue skies.

The only other time I have come across a field of sunflowers standing tall, was in Suffolk when things were unravelling and my head was a bit of a mess. There they were, just on the side of the road near the turn off to Aldeburgh, nodding in the breeze with a sign that invited the passing traveller to stop and "Pick Your Own". We didn't.

So when we heard whispers of these fields, and secret trails on social media we knew we had to go. Getting there was a bit of a drive, further than we thought, but that is half the fun of a spontaneous roadie.

Although the weather was starkly different to where we had last spotted a sunflower field, there were similarities. Roads dissected fields and farms like ribbons, and no fences defined the edge of the fields. It was a bit like driving those country lanes in Suffolk again. And then finally, there they were, and we weren't the only ones looking for that perfect instagram photo or perfect angle. 

I don't think these were for picking at all, perhaps they were destined for florists, or to become sunflower oil...

#52Ancestors, Week 28, Travel

Travel. It has to be number one on my list of things I like to do. If only I had a bottomless pit of money to go with my passport. I’d be off.

Where did this restlessness and curiosity come from ?

In my recent history, I guess you could say I come from travellers. Not travellers like gypsies – but that could be an interesting twist in the tree – travellers like migrants.

Less than 200 years ago, my ancestors took opportunities offered to them by the British government to set sail for the other side of the planet, to a place they had never seen. A place I imagine many of them had never heard of. For what ? To be pioneers in a new land, where everyone was equal, where class wasn’t as limiting – to be British in another land; building the Commonwealth.

What a giant step they all took. Most of them came from families who had lived in the same hamlets and parishes for generations. They came from different backgrounds; glovers, sailmakers, frame knitters, agricultural labourers, millers, bakers, military, domestic service, farmers and landowners. There must have been other factors, not just the lure of new opportunity.

This migratory, adventure seeking behaviour has found it’s way in to my DNA. My most recent ancestor to leave England was my grandmother in 1929. Her family were travellers too. One grandfather and his brother left the rural agricultural life and joined the railways as they were exploding across Britain and offering opportunities of employments and travel to not just the upper and middle classes. Her other grandfather left the a similar rural life and moved north finding employment as a jaunting car driver or car man. A career path followed by his youngest son who was a coachman and taxi driver as the automobile industry was just beginning.

In New Zealand, too, automobiles were becoming popular and many holidays were taken exploring the countryside, by my great grandparents, grandparents and parents.

When we were little, our holidays too involved cars and travel; to the beach, the lake, three trips to South Island for the summer holidays covering every corner, others to the east Cape, Northland, Coromandel and Taranaki. Don’t leave the country until you have seen it all !

Even in the 1960’s there was international travel; my grandparents travelled to Australia to visit, my aunt too with a friend from work, my other grandmother took cruises to the islands and around the world.

In the 1970’s my grandmother and her sister travelled back to England, plus a bit of Europe. Mum and Dad travelled to Australia and on their second trip took us along too. Then they were off to the UK and Europe, reconnecting with family and exploring. Crazy Kiwis driving all that way in ONE day !

Australia, Fiji, England, Wales, Scotland, Germany, USA….plenty more places I have left to see or revisit.

Is all of this why a love of a road trip has manifested itself in me ? I was never much interested in driving when I was young – but now, I love it.

Jump in the car at any opportunity, go exploring, discover where you live, what’s just down the road, find the interesting places, not always the popular crowded places. See your country like a tourist does. Sometimes just drive for three or four hours to visit people or have lunch in a different city.

Because you can.

And why not ?

Progress

Well, it has been just over a week since our new life began, and as you would expect there have been a few curveballs come our way. But mostly we are on top of it all.

We've taken advantage of having a rental car to get around and view potential places to live, and to explore a bit of the local area. We've also become regulars at a couple of coffee places - just one of the downsides of living in a hotel with no kitchen facilities I guess.

Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options are everywhere (dairy free too !) A-M-A-Z-I-N-G ! there have not been nearly as many hangry moments as would normally occur when travelling together. But, I think we are both looking forward to being able to make our own meals again.

Echuca

Murray River and New South Wales at Echuca

 Lake Weeroona

 Yarnbombed Bike

  Maldon

 More yarnbombing

 A friendly local

 Bendigo sunset

 Sunday walkabout Bendigo

 Flying foxes !!

 Where we are staying for now...