A Short Walk at Mount Cootha

I never pass up an opportunity to go for a hike! So, after my boss's BBQ (on 10/10), my ride home passes Mt Cootha. So, drove up the mountain, parked my car at the first entrance I could find and went for a hike...


Queensland is filled with flowers - no matter what time of year! How lovely!

This forest if filled with Cockatoos! They make such a racket! But, they are lovely! I just marval at seeing such tropical birds in the wild. And where I live! How awesome is that??

Another lovely sunset.....

ofcourse, this time I made sure I got back to my car before dark!!

Gonna Go Live on a Sailboat

After hanging out on at a fellow rower's sailboat for the afternoon, I have decided that I want to live on a boat on the Brisbane River.

Here comes my ride.....

Think about it. To rent a mooring is only $100, if you purchase a used boat, when you are ready to move on, you can pretty much sell it for what you purchased it for, and you get to drive a Tinny to work! And sleep under the stars! And then, on the weekend, you can pull up the anchor and head to Morton Island.....Yep, sign me up! Now, if only I knew how to sail.... :-) Just joking - I do know a bit about sailing....

   Look at that smile!  

I plan to sign up for sailing lessons so that I can get on a race team this January....what fun!

Ah.....Life is good on the Brisbane River....

I Want To Ride My Bicycle!

Lots of lovely places to ride around Brisbane....stay tuned for an upcoming blog about my latest adventure ride - where I got mauled by magpies!

But in the meantime.....

Redlands Classic Bike Ride



This was a great charity ride - except, for poor Rachel (she is the pretty, tall blone), who was borrowing my mountain bike. In my infinite wisdom, I decided that I should adjust the seat for her - and then, it keep falling down. We would put it up, she would start riding, and then BANG, it would fall down again!

But, it was a great ride for me! I haven't found any cycling groups that ride at my speed (slow, but, not quite at a beginner rate), and I found a group and hopped on the train and away we went! what fun!

Bridge To Brisbane

The Bridge to Brisbane was an AMAZING ride! I decided to take on the 100K challenge (for you Yanks, this is 60 miles), which is quite along way for someone who hasn't done much riding lately. But, you know me, always up for a challenge!



There were close to 10,000 riders! and the ride went without a hitch! What an amazing effort to coordinate! I was very impressed.



Here we are - riding down the bus tunnels! What fun! The organizers shut down the buses, and we got to use their routes. Through the bus tunnels and even had our own highway to ride on!



Even the bunnies turned up! They let me ride with their crew for a bit...





At one of the rest stops, we were entertained by beautiful African men! It was great fun to watch!










Ah! I made it to the finish! Look at the smile!

How My Nikon Saved My Life and Other Adventures in Lamington National Park

Welcome to Lamington National Park, Queensland Australia



A beautiful rainforest, just a few hours drive south of Brisbane. Filled with lovely water falls and stunning views....







How My Nikon Saved My Life..... I had quite a good time on our dive boat at the Riverfire festival (see previous blog post), with lots of wine and dancing. Ok, no dancing, but, lots of wine. and, needless to say, I did not get going on my hike Sunday morning as early as I had planned.






However, I had been looking forward to doing this 17K at Lamington National Park all week. I talked to a ranger before I set off and he said I could do it in 5 hours, if I hustled. I scoffed at him – 17 K in 5 hours – a piece of cake for an expert hiker such as myself. It was round about noon, since it is a circuit walk, I planned to keep an eye on the time, and I would turn around at the 2.5 hour mark if I had not yet reached the halfway point.




The only problem with this plan was there was no sign indicating the halfway point, my mobile phone somehow dropped out of my knapsack, so, I had no way of knowing the time and I didn’t take in account how slow I would be walking due to a cut on my foot, and a blister that I developed during the walk. But, not to be deterred from my mission, I continued on the hike and kept an eye on the sun, and figured I had plenty of time. But, I didn’t. Let me tell you, darkness falls in the woods very quickly. The next thing I knew, it was PITCH black! I might as well have been walking with my eyes shut. There was no moon, no stars nothing.




I had brought plenty of water, and plenty of food and a hoodie, so, I was ok, if I had to spend the night in the woods. But, damn it, if I just had a little bit of light! I dug around in my knapsack in desperation, looking for the mobile phone – at least I could get a bit of light. What to do, what to do, I couldn’t even see the path.





What was that rustling noise behind me? Was it a bear? A Tiger? A monster? There was no way I was gonna spend the night in the woods, no way. I was going to escape, if I had to do so, feeling the trail by crawling on my hands and knees. No bears were gonna get me, by gosh! (besides the fact that there are no bears in Australia). Then, I thought – my Nixon! I whipped out my Nixon, and the entire way back, I pressed down on the picture button, to illuminate the trail, walk a little bit further and press down the button again, all the while praying that the battery wouldn’t’ run out before I got back! But, by the grace of god and my angels looking after me, I made it back to the car, safe in sound. I will NEVER go hiking without a torch again!!! And that, myfriends, is how my Nikon saved my life! Or at least saved me from spending the night in the woods.