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Tasmania

2009-02-19T03:10:00.001-08:00

Leaving the Port in Melbourne.

Ship Stern

Hobart and bay from Mt Wellington

Cradle Mountian

Hobart and Bay

I suggested to Sara that we should make a trip to Tasmania at some point while here in Australia. She quickly suggested that I go while im here in Melbourne since it so close (what a wife!!!). So friday night I drive my car onto this massive ferry the would deliver me to Tasmania at 6 am saturday morning. I was off the boat by 6:30 and drove the 3 hours to Hobart, the largest city in Tassie. Its nice setting with Mt. Wellington overlooking the city and the bay it sits on. I then headed down the coast to Port Arthur a convict colony in the mid 1800's. A beautiful place, to bad it was used for criminals. I quickly checked some books and realized I was close to Ship Sterns a famous surf break. I knew there were no waves but it was a beautiful hike in. its was now getting dark so I jumped in the car and drove for hours intill tired and slept in the back of my car. I woke and drive the rest of the way to Cradle Mountain. I hiked the summit, enjoyed all the lakes and great views. While waiting for the park buss a German and Swiss couple had just finished several days of hiking and needed a ride. So, we traveled the 1.5 hours together to Queenstown. We had a great evening over some beers and they offered up a bed in their room at the local Hotel, which was nice compared to the back of the Jackaroo. We parted ways in the morning and I headed to the north coast to see the sights and catch the ferry back to Melbourne on Monday night at 6 pm. the last shot is sunrise as we came into port in Melbourne.

The Great Ocean Road

2009-02-19T03:00:00.001-08:00

The Great Ocean Road is a beautiful road build right after WWI to give the veterans work. Its about 300km long or 180 miles. It took 15 years to build. The area is known for its beauty and danger. Its foggy much of the year and is thought to have nearly 1200 ships that have sunk off the coast of this short section. Most occured when the area was being explored but it wasone of the most dangerous areas on earth for ships. The first shot is of Bells beach a famous surf break, me with the 12 apostles, my kiteboarding friends from Canada, Sara and Christian, and some other shots of the drive. along with a friendly reminder of where to drive.

The Grampions

2009-02-19T01:17:00.001-08:00

The Grampions is a national park about 4 hours north west of Melbourne. Its beautiful spot with grand vistas, waterfalls, and lots of wild life. I headed up there for a weekend with Cindy and Patrick my roomates in Brisbane. They came down for a long weekend.

I will let the pictures do the talking for me. It was a long day and by the end I was the only one awake at 2 AM when we finally got back to Melbourne.

Camping at Noosa Head

2009-02-04T01:30:00.000-08:00

We got a late start saturday, Cindy, Patrick and I. Cindy and Patrick are friends from Portland that I am living with until Sara and the girls come over. We did stop in Noosa to check out the scene and get some rental boards for Cindy and Patrick. Once we arrived at the campground, I was quick to get my gear out and get on the water before it got dark. It was a fun session but a bit wierd, I was the only one in the water and all the fishermen were giving me the stink eye. Cindy and Patick were busy setting up their tent and getting dinner started while I enjoyed the warm water and the setting sun.

We did have some visitors the next morning to look over us while we ate breakfast and packed up our stuff. the surf was a bit junky so we went into town to find some better waves.

We ended up finding some great waves out on Noosa Head that were protected from the wind. It was a great surf in the sun, my first since landing on Oz so I was ready to go for another session after a walk though the nature park that is Noosa Head.

All in all it was a fun weekend. good to get out and see some of the country, do a bit of camping, surfing, kiteboarding and hiking all in a short weekend.

2009-01-21T01:57:00.000-08:00

Sara, Phoebe and Jillian came to Brisbane for 3 weeks over Christmas and New Years. We stayed in the Brisbane area with some day trips to the Gold Coast, the Australia Zoo (Thanks Gail), The Sunshine Coast and lots of sights around the city.

Our first Christmas away from the rest of our families and in the warmth of the southern hemisphere was a little different but we really enjoyed the slow pace of life. I was off work for the whole time they were here. You can see our great fake tree in the picture below. They dont

have any sort of fir trees here so they are all fake. Christmas ev, we had a nice dinner just the 4 of us, went to church were I have been attending and then went home and opened some presents and then the girls went to bed.

Christmas day we had a slow easy morning with some presents, food and then we played with all our new presents.

The picture below is of me and the girls right before church on the Good Will bridge over the Brisbane River.

One of our day trips was up the Sunshine coast to Noosa Head. The water and beaches are beautiful there. The picture below tells the story a little. We went to another beach and had a swim.
We learned here that Jillian is fearless when it comes to the water
and the ocean. She would walk right into the water and eventually

fall down with her head under water. Of course we were there to
pluck her right up but she would do it time and time again.

There are many great stories to tell
and many great moments. Mostly it

was just good to be back together as
a family. I dont think we will go for
a separation like this ever again, by
choice anyway.

On the last night before the girls left we had dinner up a restaurante in Paddington, a nice suburb in the hills north of Brisbane. We at at the Kookuburra Cafe and had a great meal. After dinner we walked around a

little and the sun was setting. we got some great shots, this one being one of my favorites of the whole trip.

I love you Sara, Phoebe and Jillian.

Glass House Mountains

2009-01-19T02:22:00.000-08:00

On my first hike in Queensland I headed up to the Glass House Mountains about an hour north of Brisbane on the Sunshine Coast. The 'mountains' were Named by Captain Cook for there appearance and similarity in shape to the glass stoves used in England at the time. They are old volcanoes or hot spots were lava build up a dome underground. Then over centuries all the sandstone has erroded away to reveal what we see today. There are about 7-8 mountains of various size and shape. I chose Beerwah that you seen in the first picture below. The 'trail' heads up the light colored area in the middle of the mountian and is quite steep for the first part.

I turned into a hot day and I drank 3 liters of water in a 2.5 hour hike, mostly on the way up were I was actually driping with sweat.

View from the top was beautiful in all directions. To the west as you see in the bottom picture is another mountain and the south end of the Sunshine Coast. I lingered at the summit for 30 min or so to enjoy the pay off of the hike and then went down.

I met 3 guys from Brisbane on the way down that were suprised I was there alone and from the states. I didnt think much of it. They were nice and I asked them all sorts of questions about the area, Queensland and Brisbane.

The hike down was a bit harder than the way up
but was not to bad. you can see the guys on the way down blow me. it was steep enough that you almost wanted to turn around and head down like a ladder.

After my hike which I completed by 1 pm to get down before any storms, I headed to the bay for a kite session.

The Daily Grind (Ride)

2008-12-14T02:38:00.001-08:00

This is where it all starts sometimes as early as 4:30 in the
morning. Queensland doesnt observe daylight savings so the sun (and birds) are up early. I dont have AC in the room (the only one in the house) so my windows have to be open. It usually drops down to 72-74 degrees at night so its a little adjustment from the temperatures im used to. Of course now I start thinking its cold when it gets down to 75. I have been riding into work which is an 18 km (11 mile) ride that takes me though the west side of Brisbane and suburbs then along the river to downtown. The following are a few pictures from along the way.

This is the city with one of the city cats which is a ferry to move people around the city. Its much like Portland with the river flowing right down the middle of the city. This is me on my way home. I stopped to snap a picture with one of the many bridges in the background. The picture is taken from a floating 'sidewalk' much like the one in Portland. Brisbane at night is beautiful. Several of the bridges are lit up and the waterfront is alive with music and people having a good time. This picture was taken from the Story Bridge Hotel where I had my company Christmas party. I snaped this from street level standing in front of the Hotel.

This is a picture of the city from Mt. Coot-tha a hill west of the city. It offers a great view of the city and the area beyond. its hard to see in this pictures but right at the horizon is Morton Bay, some barrier islands and then the Ocean. As a crow flies Brisbane is about 7-8 miles from the ocean.

My day ends with the same ride on the way home. Usually a bit slower (about an hour) and often wetter. The afternoon storms that are so characteristic of the tropics have been chasing me home on many nights. Getting rained on when its 80 plus and 80% humidity doesnt really bother me to much, however.

Three Weeks

2008-12-05T17:56:00.000-08:00

Rainbow Beach (Snapper Rocks) at Tweed Heads (Gold Beach area)

Christian, Mattanja, Naomi at Gold beach storm

Kite beach at Sandgate on Morton Bay

I have been here for just over 3 weeks now and am feeling somewhat settled at work, getting around the city and living with Christian and Mattanya. My daily routine is getting a bit old with an hour ride on the bike to and from work. So, by the time I’m home I am fairly tired. That will change in a couple weeks when Sara and the girls get here (I can’t wait for that!!!!). We will be staying at a friend’s house while they are in Tasmania over the holidays then I will move in with Cindy and Patrick, some friends from the states.

I have been able to get out and see quite a bit despite not having a car. I went to Caloundra and the Sunshine coast to the north for a weekend, down south to the Gold coast last Saturday and Sunday and out to a couple spots on Morton bay which is a large shallow bay that separates the greater Brisbane area from the ocean.

The people of Australia and Brisbane are great. Very friendly and helpful when ever asked a silly question by a Yank. I don’t ‘hear’ the Australian accent anymore which is really strange. I do notice when there is another American or other accent in the room. Some key phrases I hear a lot are ‘cheers mate’, ‘no problems’, ‘bits and pieces’, with nearly everything shortened if possible. Umbrella is ‘breli’, afternoon is ‘arvo’, chocolate is ‘choc’, and the letter ‘R’ is not pronounced. If a word ends with an r its finished with an ‘A’ sound similar to the Boston accent but much softer.

That’s all for now.

First Post

2008-12-02T02:58:00.000-08:00

Its Tuesday, 9 pm after work and I am nearly ready for bed. I am setting this up to stay in touch with you all. I will be updating this from time to time and i hope you all enjoy it.