Mooloolaba, QLD

Yes, I'll admit, that's a funny name for a place (Ma-loo-la-bar) is how you say it. But, it's one of the prettiest places on the Sunshine Coast with some of the nicest stretches of beach I've seen in a whiloe - yes, even better than the Gold Coast. Mooloolaba is about an hour and a half drive from Pullenvale - not bad going. We went to Mooloolaba for the first time one Sunday about 5 months ago now. It was just lovely to be able to sit on the beach and watch the world go by. The only unfortunate thing is that one's ice-cream melts way too quickly in the summer heat!







Walking a rocky path















Seeing things in Black & White

The beauty of Ocean Water

Once Upon a View...

When I first started at Dimension Data I had one of the best seats in the house! A desk right next to the window with a perfect view of the Brisbane River and the City...I even got my very own name plate (how official is that?!?). I have since been moved to a desk with no view and no windows, but I still have my photos to remind me.





It don't get more official than this!

Milton, QLD

A view of the City & River view. Coronation Drive is in the foreground.

My 25th Birthday

My 25th Birthday was a rather simple affair. It fell on the weekend, which was just perfect...no work! We had planned on going down to Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast for the day, but it rained quite heavily. So, we drove past Movie World and on to Mt. Tambourine. It's so pretty up there with markets and the like. We found a quaint restaurant among the lush vegetation and had lunch up there. I did get some lovely gifts and flowers. Not bad for turning 25 on the 25th!





Pretty as a picture














From the top of Mt. Tambourine looking inland towards the Hinterland.













The Canopy we ate our lunch under.

A Tale of Two Queens

Nope, it's not what you're thinking...I'm talking about 2 cruise liners. Cunard's Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Elizabeth 2. Apparently these two girls are never in the same port at the same time, so it was quite the 'to do' when both liners arrived in Sydney. The Queen Mary was too large to berth at Circular Quay, so they cleared out the navy base at Garden Island for her. The QE2 berthed at Circular Quay after lots of pomp and ceremony. Both ships greeted each other on the way in and a spectacular fireworks display followed.

The QM2 just visible over the top of a hotel

Here comes the QE2

Preparing to berth at Circular Quay

It's a Dog's Life...

Being a dog is serious business. If you don't believe me just check out Zac (above) and Charlie's (below) expressions. There must be more to it than I thought! They make it look so easy...

Destination: Sydney

I was offered a job with Dimension Data Australia at the end of January this year. I started with DD on the 5th of February. I spent a week in the Milton office and plans were subsequently made to send me to Sydney for 2 weeks for training. It was an interesting experience being in Sydney by myself. At least the Sydney offices were only a 5 minute walk from the Old Sydney Holiday Inn. I found ways of entertaining myself...like wondering around (sometimes seemingly aimlessly) the shops and sights. I got to know the area pretty well in 2 weeks. Not only was Sydney amazing (I hadn't been there since 2000), but working and learning away from home was quite draining. At least I could retire to my room with room service if the mood so struck me. Here are some photos from that "memorable" time in my life.







The Harbour Bridge












A Perfect View of the Opera House













A view of George Street with the Opera House in the background.












The Opera House















City Lights

Broadbeach, QLD

These photos were taken on my very first trip to the Gold Coast...you heard right...my very first trip. Isn't that just sad? Mom and I went down the coast to check out the Carrara markets that run all week, but are at their best on the weekends. It wasn't the best choice for the time of year and we only lasted a couple of hours before heading down towards Broadbeach and Surfer's Paradise. We also stopped in at Pacific Fair (shopping centre) for ice-cream!

It was pretty gusty so we didn't actually walk on the beach - we weren't really dressed for it either! But, as usual, nature puts on quite the show - and my handy camera is always on hand to capture the moment.

Our Local Area

I snapped a lot of photos in our first few weeks in Brisbane - can you tell?!? Here are just a couple of photos of our local area - not Pullenvale mind you, but of the surrounding area. The above photo is of a sign coming off the freeway on the Moggill Road exit and the one below is of the Kenmore Shopping Plaza, about 6km away from home.

Mt Coot-tha

There's a place not far from Pullenvale called Mt Coot-tha. At the bottom of Mt Coot-tha is the planetarium and botanical gardens. At the top of Mt Coot-tha is a popular lookout, cafe and restaurant. Apparently Channel 7 and Channel 9 both have their studios on the back end of Mt Coot-tha (very interesting). We visited Mt Coot-tha in those first few weeks and were amazed at the views of Brisbane. No wonder it's such a popular place. As always I had my camera handy to capture some of the views...enjoy!

It ain't called the "River City" for nothing!

The CBD

What it looks like without 'zoom.'

Y'all come back now, you hear!

A Special Mention

A certain faux conifer deserves a special mention. We haven't had a fake tree in our house since 1994. However, given Brisbane's HOT and HUMID climate, real Christmas trees are few and far between. So, we decided on a fabulous specimen of fakeness to bring into our home. The tree is pretty amazing and should last then next 10 years - or until we decide that we have to have the real thing again.







Daytime























Nighttime

Our first QLD Christmas (2006)

There's a saying amogst the locals up here that Summer starts on Christmas Day. Well, I guess that's as good a theory as any, but I think the Lord decided to have mercy on us and bless us with a very Durban-like Christmas - i.e. it rained! We had our friends, Dave, Estelle and Kimberley Logan from Eaton's Hill (Northern suburb) over for Christmas lunch. It turned out to be a wonderful day with an afternoon spent relaxing on the deck enjoying the sound of the falling rain.







Smile everyone...















Photo taken while relaxing on the deck after lunch.














There's nothing like the freshness of life just after the rain.

Brisbane - First Days

I know, I know! I'm long overdue on a blog update - at this point I have to catch up on more than 8 months worth of happenings. I'm going to try and start that with this post.

So, where was I? Oh yes...We left Melbourne in December last year and travelled the 1,600 odd kilometres from Lysterfield to Pullenvale over 2 days with 3 cats and 1 dog in my car and another dog in the Audi with Dad. It was an interesting experience - and good to be able to travel at more than 100km/h for most of the 17 hour drive. We arrived at our new home just after 4pm on the 10th of December 2006. The next few days were spent cleaning, scrubbing, bleaching and washing the entire house...yep, the people here before us left the place in a state! We collapsed at 8:30pm those first few nights on to duvets on the carpets - in lieu of our furniture that was in transit. Here are a few photos from those first few days - and no, they're not of the inside of the house - but of our newly acquired piece of paradise!





Looking directly out of our front door...

Looking towards the back corner of our property.

That goody in the back of the photo is the chicken coop.