The land of Oz- Brisbane, bouncy castles and a pink tongue skink!

I arrived in Australia from Bali at the beginning of December to be met by my oldest friend Melinda (we started secondary school together in the same form). We had not seen each other for about two and a half years when she and her daughter Amelia came for a visit to the UK. It was a wonderful reunion and I was soon to be with the whole family- her husband James, Amelia (now 3) and new addition Luke, born earlier in the year. Melinda and her family live in Maleny, Queensland, about an hour north of Brisbane. The drive was beautiful, skirting the Glasshouse mountains.We went for a wander into town which seemed very pleasant but spent most of the day in preparation for a trip to the Sunshine Coast.

Queensland is known as the 'Sunshine State' and we were heading for the Caloundra coast and a place called Currimundi. It is known for its fine surfing beaches and National parks. The house was amazing, perched on the coast and only a walk down some steps to the beach. For me who had been backpacking around Asia for the last 3 months it was an absolute dream. My own room, crisp bedding and fluffy towels, being able to use a hairdryer and enjoy a glass of wine- heaven! The house was large and spacious, plenty of room for the children to roam and with a view to die for. Although the beach itself was a little windy most days (and very cold on one day- the coldest summer day on record for decades!) just a few minutes walk away was Currimundi Lake which was secluded and a perfect place for children and families to enjoy shelter from the wind. Most days I would go for an early morning walk or run and then go and join the rest of them at the beach. We usually came back for lunch at the house and would have another session at the beach in the late afternoon. I balanced the time between reading, exploring the other local beaches (Moffat was a favourite) and spending time with Melinda and her family. At the end of the day it was wonderful to hop in the hot tub (often with Luke and Amelia) and enjoy the spectacular view whilst relaxing amongst the bubbles...

Our back garden-Amelia enjoys the bouncy castle with a view of the ocean in the background

Melinda, James, Amelia and Luke at the park in Maleny

Amelia and Luke travel to the beach in style

A ship wreck at Dicky Beach

A surf carnival where young people compete in a number of events including ocean swimming, surf rescue and iron man !

A pink tongue skink on our driveway

Melinda and I at Currimundi Lake

The lunar eclipse we stayed up to watch, the last one for 3 years

It was hard to leave the house after a magical week but all good things come to an end I suppose. Just being able to spend time with Melinda and her family was very special and for the weekend we were joined by James' mum, Joan, who invited me to go back to Brisbane with her for a couple of days. Brisbane is the capital of Queensland and Australia's third largest city. Joan took me on the very scenic drive to Mount Coot-tha which gives you stunning views of the city and this one at dusk looks particularly impressive.

A view of Brisbane by night

....and day

I travelled from Joan's suburb, Everton Park, into the city for a full day of sightseeing which took me from to Queen Street, the heart of the shopping district, past old buildings like the City Hall and Old Treasury building, across the Vitoria Bridge to the South Bank and along a modernist walkway to Paul's Breaka Beach (an odd sight in the middle of a city especially as it was named after a milk shake!). I t was close to 40 degrees that day so a dip in the pool was very welcome and made the sight of the huge Christmas tree even stranger! I managed to escape the heat by a visit to the Queensland Art Gallery which has an impressive permanent collection  of Australian and European art. And I also found time to meet up with Ronan who I had met earlier in my travels in Burma! We had a great catch up over a cuppa in an old Brisbane art deco building that is unfortunately about to be pulled down!

Next stop: Fraser Island

Paul's Breaka beach in central Brisbane! A great place to cool off...

Posing in front of Santa's mail box in Brisbane