Overdue Update

I haven't uploaded anything new to this blog since the Easter weekend have I? Bad form!
Well, lots has happened, but no photos have been taken I'm afraid.

The Sunday after Easter we took a trip inland, West of Brisbane and up into the mountains (not really mountainous mountains as such, but pretty and hilly in a more-spectacular-than-Lincolnshire-Wolds way). We had a lovely walk in Mt Mee National Park. http://http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/park/index.cgi?parkid=63
The total length was about 13km, and it was predominantly in forest, varying from rainforest to plantation. To be frank the scenery got a bit boring after a while, as you can't see past the trees. The shade was most welcome, though! At the half way point along the walk was a truly fantastic escarpment, and we had lunch overlooking spectacular views across huge lakes, forests and tree-covered hills stretching to the horizon. Very impressive, and certainly worth the walk. Unfortunately somebody forgot the camera, though (no prizes for guessing who that was!)

After the walk we drove further into the park along dirt tracks to find a waterhole to go for a dip after our exercise. Unfortunately the one we chose was green with algae and showing the effects of a dry summer (summer is the wet season in the sub-tropics). We did sit and watch the turtles for a while, though who didn't seem too bothered by the algae at all. The route back down from the hills to Brisbane was superb, with good views and nice twisty roads, lots of people were out in their sports cars using the more interesting roads for a bit of fun, and we were saw an E-type, AC Cobra, and loads of motorbikes.

I'm becoming more accustomed to the 'natural' environment in Australia, or the mind-set that determines what it is. As usual it is a tension between environmentalists and the majority, but it seems to be an argument about different issues than in Europe. In England, at least, it seems that farm land and forest exist side by side, with little comment on suitability or 'naturalness'. I suppose with the enclosure acts of the 18 & 19th Centuries and the 'Dig For Victory' campaigns the British psyche adopts farmland as natural. Our dearth of seriously varied and interesting flora and fauna means that there aren't many concerns about the suitability of the environment or the fragility of the ecosystem. Over here, on the other hand, it seems that the adoption of European farming practices and the stubborn attempts to make them work have caused real problems. In a country which is largely desert, forest clearance just leads eventually to even more desert, and therefore less space for all the indigenous species. I've noticed a fair few anti-clearance (and pro-immigration) bumper stickers on cars. Ella's family, for example are proud of their land, that they have laregely converted from a Pineapple farm back to native species.

On the Sunday after Mt Mee we went north along the coast to Cooloola http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/park/index.cgi?parkid=66, which is the southern section of the Great Sandy National Park. Altogether different scenery here, as it's close to the sea it's very flat. Unfortunately for us it also turned out to be home to the biggest swarms of mosquitos ever encountered by a Reeks (I was absolutely covered), and the 6.1km walk to the halfway point turned into a 4km walk and 2km run to try and get away from them! After a dip in the lake to cool down and some lunch we ran back the way we had come for 3km, until we were satisfied we were out of the mossies radar and walked the rest. So a 12km walk turned into a 5km run and 7km walk! With all the running and biting the camera wasn't even taken out of the case.

Otherwise life in Australia is continuing very nicely. I worked for a few days in telesales before getting a temporary job working for Adshel, the bus shelter advertising company. The Brisbane office is only 5 strong so it's a friendly and fun environment. I've also been asked to help mark some Geography exam papers for Queensland University of Technology.

Am I forgetting something? Oh yes, of course, there is a little matter of a marriage. In a typically laid-back but unromantic style (whilst ironing a shirt for work one morning) I asked Ella if she would marry me. We've been discussing the idea for a while as we're both very happy with each other, so I asked "shall we formalise it, then?"
All well and good, then, we're getting married, but as I've pointed out to people, we've never done this sort of thing before so it's taking us a while to figure everything out. Neither of us want a long engagement, or a great big fuss - something simple, just like us, that's what we're after.

So far, choosing a continent to get married in is proving tricky enough, so I won't reveal anything until we're sorted out completely, but stay tuned and check back regularly

Easter Weekend - The Queensland 'Bush'

Last weekend was great. Ella and I 'went bush' for the weekend. Jana (who you've seen in a previous post) was down in Brisbane for a Cello lesson on the Thursday, and Ingrid (Ella's other sister) flew into Brisbane from work in Sydney for the weekend. Early Friday morning we drove north for about 4 hours (it wouldn't have taken as long if I hadn't been booked for speeding ... Police are the same all over!) and met the Ella's parents and Unle Art in Biggenden (what a great name!). We then convoyed, with Ella's Dad (Jacque) on motorbike and the rest of us in two cars, down a really rough but great fun 4x4 track for about 10km into the bush. When the track eventually petered out we stopped and set up the picnic Ella's Mum brought along. After lunch and a swim at the nearby waterhole the rest of the family headed back home to Bundaberg, and Ella and I set up our tent for the night in this totally desolate spot.

On Saturday morning Ella and I climbed up Coongara Rock. It's very different to England - not only is it seriously dry, even at the end of the wet season, and hot, but there were no other people around. In fact much of the path was tricky as we had to avoid webs with spiders like this on it!


Saturday afternoon was my first experience of a serious Aussie storm. I was amazed at the biggest hailstones I've ever seen! Check this one out that Ella's modelling:



The storm passed quickly but we got thoroughly soaked ... and it was tricky to get a fire lit that night.

The next day we drove back up the track, hindered briefly by a large herd of cows, and then went round the other side of Biggenden to Mount Walsh. By the time we got there it was getting pretty hot, and there didn't look to be too much shelter as you can see from the photo:

We decided to climb it anyway. This was a bit trickier, very steep and the heat sucks the energy right away. Still after an hour of walking, climbing and scrambling (and Ella waiting for me!) we got to the top. Fortunately there were a lot less spiders around on this route. At the top there was a surprising amount of shelter and scrub, and as Ella's Dad has suggested it would be fun to camp up there, after a spot of lunch whilst sheltering between some boulders we traipsed back down.

As there's little else to do in the area, and it would have been a pain to drive back to the camping ground we were at the night before we drove the hour to Bundaberg to surprise Ella's family again, and enjoy a great barbequed steak! Here's a picture of their house, and the BBQ area out the back.