In my meanders to the North of Brisbane, I took a turn toward the beach and found this gem, Sunset Beach at Noosa Heads. Route 6 heads over to the Coral Sea from the major North/South artery, the M1. It passes through a number of small towns, among them Noosaville, Noosa, and Noosa Heads. Noosa Heads was as far as I went; I suspect there are more small towns along the coast.
I had been complaining about roundabouts every since I bought the Defender and started driving on the left. I always seem to miss the correct turn. Many roundabouts have two lanes. The entire way they work was somewhat mysterious. Oh, and by the way, folks in the States would call them traffic circles. In Australia, it seems to be the preferred way to avoid traffic lights at busy intersections. Knowing how to navigate them is an essential skill here. My chance to practice arrived between the M1 and Noosa Heads; I must have passed through several dozen, some larger, some smaller, all with unique challenges. I'm over my fear of roundabouts now, that's for sure.
The Noosas are a charming set of seaside communities, full of touristy, frothy fun, vacation homes, ultra-tans, and some amazing beaches.This is one that I found only steps from a lovely little park. The beach can be reached just downhill from the Surf Club. I took this photo from atop a bluff overlooking the beach. I estimate the sandy portion of the beach was 3km long. The sand is fine, packed, and delightful. There are a couple of lifeguard stations, and I did see a few surfers, though the waves were crumbly and smallish.
I give Sunset Beach a big thumbs up.
[reposted to correct numerous spelling errors]
Wednesday, 26 December 2007
Australia is not flat
This is a photo of an amazing place I stumbled upon. It took some doing, but I eventually got up close and personal with this mountain. Its name is Tibrogargan, which is truly an odd name. Sounds to me like a combination of Polish/Central European and "gargle". Anyway, it's part of the range known as the Glasshouse Mountains, and is clearly visible from the M1 motorway, driving North from Brisbane on the way to the Sunshine Coast. I spent the better part of a day circling around this, trying to get closer. I eventually found the Glasshouse Mountain Lookout, which is a well appointed rest stop (by Australian standards). There's a very nice parking lot, an octagonal lookout, picnic tables with shades, and what I take to be gas-fired grills. Oh, yes...there are even rest rooms.
These mountains are surrounded by pineapple fields, a National Park, and a State Forest. The State Forest is remarkable, because it's clearly a tree plantation...all one species of pine. You can tell the boundaries, because the natural trees, which you can see in the photo, a eucalyptus. The locals call them gum trees.
For some reason, and I have no idea where this came from, I had this preconceived notion that Australia was flat. It's not. It's full of hills and valleys, and occasionally old worn-down mountains like this. By California standards, these things are mere hills, since they are perhaps no more than 1500 feet tall. The coastal hills near San Francisco are around 3000 feet, while the tallest mountain in California, and the lower 48, is Mt. Whitney, which comes in at 14,000+ feet. There hasn't been much tectonic activity in Australia for quite some time, so all the mountains have been eroded. It'll be another 500 million years or so before Australia collides with Southeast Asia, and creates a new mountain range.
It was a beautiful day when I took these, and I can further attest to the hills and valleys because I also went out bike riding, and took the Land Rover out through some fire trails. Up and down, up and down. I am seriously out of shape, but with a place like this so near, I'm motivated to get out and take my bike on the back roads. If you can, take a look at the full size version of this photo.
A big high five for the Glasshouse Mountains.
These mountains are surrounded by pineapple fields, a National Park, and a State Forest. The State Forest is remarkable, because it's clearly a tree plantation...all one species of pine. You can tell the boundaries, because the natural trees, which you can see in the photo, a eucalyptus. The locals call them gum trees.
For some reason, and I have no idea where this came from, I had this preconceived notion that Australia was flat. It's not. It's full of hills and valleys, and occasionally old worn-down mountains like this. By California standards, these things are mere hills, since they are perhaps no more than 1500 feet tall. The coastal hills near San Francisco are around 3000 feet, while the tallest mountain in California, and the lower 48, is Mt. Whitney, which comes in at 14,000+ feet. There hasn't been much tectonic activity in Australia for quite some time, so all the mountains have been eroded. It'll be another 500 million years or so before Australia collides with Southeast Asia, and creates a new mountain range.
It was a beautiful day when I took these, and I can further attest to the hills and valleys because I also went out bike riding, and took the Land Rover out through some fire trails. Up and down, up and down. I am seriously out of shape, but with a place like this so near, I'm motivated to get out and take my bike on the back roads. If you can, take a look at the full size version of this photo.
A big high five for the Glasshouse Mountains.
Tuesday, 25 December 2007
Monday, 17 December 2007
Lights
I put up some Christmas lights tonight. I finally found the warehouse hardware store nearby, though it did take me two tries spread over an afternoon, a check on my map, and a few U-turns. It's been tough to find places around town since I hardly know any place more than a few blocks from a train station or the CBD. Anyway, the local equivalent of The Home Depot is known as Bunnings Warehouse, and it is hardware heaven. I found some rope lights and put them up around the glass and posts on my balcony. It's probably visible for quite a ways, since I'm 38 floors up. Sometime in the next few nights, I plan to take a drive to see if I can see them.
I also bought some LED twinkle lights. Very colorful, and they look nice in a darkened room.
I also bought some LED twinkle lights. Very colorful, and they look nice in a darkened room.
Sunday, 16 December 2007
Defender at Toogoolawag
I stopped for a picnic at Toogoolawah, a little village to the west of Brisbane. I was on the way north from the Wivenhoe dam, headed to Caboolture. The tree in the background has what's known to the locals as paperbark. It is used for a variety of purposes, including a wrap for cooking.
The weather has been hot and muggy for a while now. The early morning is fine, but after about 9AM, the temperature rises and it becomes a bit uncomfortable. Shorts and t-shirts are the order of the day.
The weather has been hot and muggy for a while now. The early morning is fine, but after about 9AM, the temperature rises and it becomes a bit uncomfortable. Shorts and t-shirts are the order of the day.
Saturday, 15 December 2007
At the Mount Nebo Outlook
I discovered an absolutely amazing place today, as I was taking the ute out for a ride. I drove through the Brisbane National Forest and for the first time in I can't remember how long, I was surrounded by nature. The insect noises were deafening. I'm not sure if they were cicadas, but it was definitely the same family. The sounds came in waves up the hillside, passing over me and down the other side. Crescendo, decrescendo. I wept, and thought to myself, "at last, silence." And realized, it was hardly silent; rather, it was the absence of mechanical noises. At last, at last, at last ... a place where my mind can be at rest, an unmanufactured place, an unconstructed place.
I went on to find a tropical rainforest, a lake, a dam, sheep and cattle stations, and a number of small towns worth exploring. The weather was glorious, the sun was shining. A beautiful day.
Wish you could be here.
I went on to find a tropical rainforest, a lake, a dam, sheep and cattle stations, and a number of small towns worth exploring. The weather was glorious, the sun was shining. A beautiful day.
Wish you could be here.
For Reals
Here's the first of perhaps many posts as I photoblog my new ride. This is the logo on the driver's side rear. It's a right hand drive vehicle, meaning the driver sits on the right hand side. I'm not 100% yet, but I'm mostly OK with driving on the left side of the road. Of course, to complicate matters, the Defender is a manual transmission. It's been fun to learn to shift with the left hand. The shifter is a little finicky, and I've occasionally thought I've was shifting from 3rd to 4th, but actually shifted into 2nd. Once, I even almost went 3rd - reverse. That made for some interesting grinding noises, but fortunately, the transmission wouldn't let me do it.
In case you hadn't noticed, you can click on the pictures. That will take you to their page on Flickr. From there, you will hopefully see a link above the phote that says "All Sizes". Click on that, and you can see the photos in various sizes, including high resolution.
In case you hadn't noticed, you can click on the pictures. That will take you to their page on Flickr. From there, you will hopefully see a link above the phote that says "All Sizes". Click on that, and you can see the photos in various sizes, including high resolution.
Sunday, 9 December 2007
The Big Pineapple
Here's proof the Aussies are every bit as goofy as Americans. I stumbled onto this roadside attraction on a trip to the Sunshine Coast. It was worth a stop and some shots to capture the moment. And this wasn't the only attraction I drove by. I also saw a huge cow, and one site claimed to have the world's largest ginger plant. The Big Pineapple has some steps inside and a little balcony you can pup up into just below the leaves. It's really corny!
I stopped and had a bite of lunch in the parking lot across the road. The lot was huge...definitely space for several hundred cars, and there was even a bridge over the road. All this in lovely Nambour, Queensland, just off the M1.
A great piece of Australiana.
I stopped and had a bite of lunch in the parking lot across the road. The lot was huge...definitely space for several hundred cars, and there was even a bridge over the road. All this in lovely Nambour, Queensland, just off the M1.
A great piece of Australiana.
Saturday, 8 December 2007
My New Ride
Well, I did it. I got my Land Rover. I take delivery on Tuesday. Mine has a bull bar, brush bars, UHF antenna, air conditioning(!), bench seats in the back, four wheel drive, and is in really good shape. A real go anywhere vehicle. Australia, ho! Expect a lot of loving photos of my new ride, as well as lots of location shots now that I can get out in the bush.
Thursday, 6 December 2007
Hot and Muggy
A native Brisbanian admitted it was hot and muggy this week. Temperatures have been in the high 20's Celsius for the past few weeks, and we've had a few tropical rain showers throughout this time. Even so, there's been no significant change in the water levels in the dams.
I've been planning to buy a car or truck. I'm a bit tired of using public transport all the time ... there just isn't enough mobility to do the things I'd like to do in a reasonable amount of time. Getting to the nearest park takes about 3 hours by public transport. By car, the same journey is about 30 minutes. On the one hand, I've thought about buying a small car just to get around in, put a bike rack on the back, and have at it. On the other hand, I drove a pickup for a lot of years. After looking around at some of the used cars and trucks around, I'm thinking very hard about buying a Land Rover Defender. It's a classic old SUV...all those movies about Africa and Australia with people driving around the bush...that was mostly done in Land Rover 110's or Defenders. It turns out there's more than a few Defenders around Queensland; they seem to be favored by tour operators and station owners. I've found a few around the area at reasonable prices, so I may just go ahead and buy one used.
Once I get a vehicle of some sort, my next big ticket purchase is going to be a sea kayak. Dragging a kayak around Australia will be a whole lot easier in a Rover. Then, sometime in the February/March timeframe, I need to find a new place to live. Although it's convenient to live in downtown Brisbane, I don't really have much to do here when I'm home. I'm not into bars, clubs, restaurants or shopping. Taking walks is a pain, since it's not really people friendly and you can't really see very much. So, I'm thinking I'll look for a smallish house out in the suburbs and drive or take the train in to work during the week. I'm a little concerned about the houses around here, since they're relatively huge -- three bedrooms is very common. I'm having a hard time filling up a two bedroom flat. But the trade-off is that I'll have a back yard, a veranda, a garden, a place to park the truck, some peace and quiet, and room to breathe.
In any case, I'll see if I can find a picture of my dream truck. When I do, I'll post them here in the blog so you can see what I'm talking about. For some reason, I find the Defender is just a classic truck ... I never found one in the States, so I think I'm going to take the opportunity while here in a Commonwealth country and drive a classic.
I've been planning to buy a car or truck. I'm a bit tired of using public transport all the time ... there just isn't enough mobility to do the things I'd like to do in a reasonable amount of time. Getting to the nearest park takes about 3 hours by public transport. By car, the same journey is about 30 minutes. On the one hand, I've thought about buying a small car just to get around in, put a bike rack on the back, and have at it. On the other hand, I drove a pickup for a lot of years. After looking around at some of the used cars and trucks around, I'm thinking very hard about buying a Land Rover Defender. It's a classic old SUV...all those movies about Africa and Australia with people driving around the bush...that was mostly done in Land Rover 110's or Defenders. It turns out there's more than a few Defenders around Queensland; they seem to be favored by tour operators and station owners. I've found a few around the area at reasonable prices, so I may just go ahead and buy one used.
Once I get a vehicle of some sort, my next big ticket purchase is going to be a sea kayak. Dragging a kayak around Australia will be a whole lot easier in a Rover. Then, sometime in the February/March timeframe, I need to find a new place to live. Although it's convenient to live in downtown Brisbane, I don't really have much to do here when I'm home. I'm not into bars, clubs, restaurants or shopping. Taking walks is a pain, since it's not really people friendly and you can't really see very much. So, I'm thinking I'll look for a smallish house out in the suburbs and drive or take the train in to work during the week. I'm a little concerned about the houses around here, since they're relatively huge -- three bedrooms is very common. I'm having a hard time filling up a two bedroom flat. But the trade-off is that I'll have a back yard, a veranda, a garden, a place to park the truck, some peace and quiet, and room to breathe.
In any case, I'll see if I can find a picture of my dream truck. When I do, I'll post them here in the blog so you can see what I'm talking about. For some reason, I find the Defender is just a classic truck ... I never found one in the States, so I think I'm going to take the opportunity while here in a Commonwealth country and drive a classic.
The Truth about Traffic Control Boxes
I just read this article http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/arty-boxes-keeping-traffic-vandals-moving/2007/12/05/1196812821132.html
Which tells me the traffic boxes in Brisbane have been painted intentionally with the express goal of reducing graffiti on them. Yay! There's even a yearly contest in the city to award the best. This year's winner was titled "Miss Murray Cod -- Pink Bubbles".
Which tells me the traffic boxes in Brisbane have been painted intentionally with the express goal of reducing graffiti on them. Yay! There's even a yearly contest in the city to award the best. This year's winner was titled "Miss Murray Cod -- Pink Bubbles".
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