Missing home in Melbourne

I'm in Melbourne this week. Normally I'd be really happy about that - I love Melbourne and think it's a great city to be in. But this time it's a bit different. It's the first time I've had to come down here for work while leaving my partner at home in Brisbane. That puts a whole new spin on the joy of travel.




This is a business trip, too. I've been assigned to an exciting new project and have to spend at least this week in the Melbourne office. Fortunately, after this first week or so I'll be able to do most of my work from Brisbane. That suits me perfectly.

While I'm down here though I'm going to catch up with one of my best friends. We'll be going out tomorrow night for dinner. There's a vegetarian restaurant somewhere in Fitzroy that he wants to try, so that ought to be interesting.

In the meantime, I'm stuck in my hotel room. Melbourne is having a winter heat wave at the moment, so it's not actually as cold as it could be, but it's still not all that warm either. Why can't they schedule these trips in summer!!???

Anyway, that's about it - I'm looking forward to getting home on Friday night, just in time to see the Leslie Howard concert at QPAC.

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New Zealand trips

I've been to New Zealand twice since I last signed in here. The photos shown here are just a few of those I took, but I thought I'd share them around.



I only made it to the North Island, as it was a work trip. I would love to go back to the South Island one day.

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Brisbane weather sucks - should have stayed in Hobart!

I came back from Hobart to spend a couple of days on the beach before heading back to work this week. And guess what it does? That's right - it rains right up until Monday morning. Not happy!!! Anyway...

This is what Kedron Brook looked like on Sunday afternoon after a very heavy storm went through. It's the first time I've seen it break its banks since moving up here. It went down again pretty quickly though, but looked impressive while it lasted.

Now if it would just rain like that over Wivenhoe Dam...

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Shanghai lights

Some photos from my week in Shanghai...

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Photos! and more photos! Vietnam and Cambodia

So here's a few of my holiday photos. Thought I'd post them here, just to see if the slide show thing works. Enjoy!

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Spring Break!

It's the start of spring tomorrow. I can't wait for summer to come back - I'm definitely no fan of winter. Anyway, I'm heading off overseas tomorrow. I've taken a couple of weeks off work to go traveling. I've been really looking forward to the break.



In the meantime, though, here's a few spring photos taken around my place.

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Rasterbator...

Something to check out later - when I get a decent printer at home!

The Rasterbator.

Looks like I could have some fun with that.

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Climbing Mt Beerwah

I went off on Saturday to climb Mt Beerwah, in the Glasshouse Mountains. Somebody, who shall remain nameless for now, told me that it was just a steep bushwalk. Hah! Last time I trust him...

It was actually a great day for climbing a mountain. It was overcast, not too hot or windy, not raining. Perfect weather, in fact, for this sort of thing.

The walk starts easily enough. It's an easy walk from the carpark to the base of the mountain. But then it gets... difficult. The sign by the carpark should have warned me - it says the walk is for experienced climbers only. And here's me with vertigo! I really, really should have taken the hint.

Anyway... from the base of the mountain, the track becomes a steep scramble, or rock climb. The path goes pretty much straight up a rock slope, and it is climbing. At this point it is definitely not a walk. I'm not good with heights, and this was very tough. I wanted to give up at several points, but was silly enough to force myself onwards and upwards.

The rock slope ends, eventually. You come off the slope directly underneath the overhanging cliffs, with some beautiful erosion patterns int he rock. You might even get to admire them after you've recovered from the climb up what is practically a cliff face!

From this point on, though, it's actually quite easy. Its still steep, but it's an actual walk from here. The views are spectacular. The track winds around from the western face, with views inland to the hills and across plantations and farms, to the climb to the summit. Along the way there are some great views back along the cliff face and towards the other Glasshouse Mountains.

From the summit there are views in all directions. It was hazy and smoky on Saturday, with a couple of fires burning back towards the coast. On a clear day there would be views back to Brisbane, and up the coast towards Noosa. On Saturday, though, most of this was obscured by the smoke. Still, it was very impressive.



Fortunately, it was much easier to get down than it was to get up. I've noticed this before - I struggled on the climb up, feeling dizzy, sweaty palms on the climb up the rock face, but on the way down I didn't get vertigo at all. It was still tough on my ankles and knees, but I felt fine. I felt a lot more in control on the descent.

All up, I'm glad I managed to complete the climb. It was probably pretty silly, but it's also a bit embarrassing. There were lots of other people on the mountain, too. There were young kids practically running up the slope, and teenage girls in old sneakers who had no trouble with it. To me, they seemed to be taking some insane risks, but they were all fine and made it up and back quicker than I did. Anyway... I guess that's vertigo for you.

I don't think I'll be rushing out to do it again, but I'm glad I did it at least this once.

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The year that was....

It's been a great year all around. I've got out and about the great South East, had a good time with friends and family etc.

I've been to beaches, and forests.

Spent time in the city, and the bay.

I have to say, Brisbane is a great place if you like getting outside and seeing more than just the city.

Anyway, all that is just leading up to this whole new year, starting today. Yes, it's happy birthday to me - it's been a good year, and here's hoping the next one is just as good. Now I'm off for a birthday dinner to celebrate!

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Brisbane days...

It's a beautiful, sunny day here in Brisbane today. It's a bit windy, but that's fine. A great day to be out and about - this the sort of weather I moved to Queensland for! It beats the freezing winters back home, that's for sure.

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