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.

Weekend Wanderings

We had to go out for a bit yesterday because the estate agent has suddenly decided to market our rental home for sale a little more aggressively than they have over the past months.

Since it was a nice morning, I went for a walk around the lake and then home. It is always so busy there, dog walkers, runners, walkers, families, friends. Great to see the community out enjoying the outdoors.

I took some photos of the birds. So many swallows flitting about but all congregating in the one place. No turtles on that circuit and I didn't see the swans with their growing cygnets. The galahs and rosellas were way too fast for my reflexes, but I did spot one pelican having a great feed out in the middle. First time I have seen one there, but apparently they are regular visitors.

Springtime in Central Victoria

So, spring has sprung and many photos have been taken on days when I have wandered into town to the shops, or to the library to print stuff.

I haven't tired yet of all the old buildings. A taxi driver told me they have pulled a lot down - but there are still enough for me ! Ghost signs on the sides of some speak of days gone by, others stand in all their glory, protected from the demolition people by their heritage listing.

Then there is the lake just down the road, with a great cafe and an easy stroll around the edges with lots of wildlife to see.

Then today, we got a rental car since it is a long weekend for Lauren and we are going exploring. This afternoon we found the Botanic Gardens.

what will tomorrow bring ?