Winding up, winding down

Well, these are the last few days left in Australia. We are checking out all the things you would never see if you only stayed for 3 or 4 days. Nina calls it "going to the lizard museums"!

We went on a long ferryboat ride today and got off to see an old homestead further toward the mouth of the Brisbane river. It was called Newstead Farm and was the first private residence to be built in the area after they closed the penal colony. Very beautiful. We then took the bus back into the city and that took about 1/8th of the time to return because the wending of the river for the ferry ride is deceptive as to the real distance. Then, went to see an old old building the Cimmiseriat (part od the penal colony buildings) in the downtown core. They had a historical exhibit about the very early penal colony days, before Queensland was a state unto itself.

All these little tootles, with lunch in between took us from about 10am to 4pm. The sun was (again) very hot even though the temperature was not overly hot. I don't understand other than the thin ozone? Wearing all the sunscreen, I probably have no tan at all, nothing to show for so much time in the "Sunshine Coast".

Tomorrow, we try to find a market in the morning, just for the fun, find a lovely brunch with delicious coffee, then visit another historical site. We save one more historical site for Sunday, then wend our way to the airport via a train and we will be leaving OZ.

The climate in this city is very much like San Diego in the winter, just warm enough during the day for very nice comfort and cool/cold at night for sleep. I think this temperate part is fairly short before summer kicks in and it just gets blisteringly hot and a lot more uncomfortable to deal with. Houses with tall ceilings and fans, for ventilation, houses on stilts to catch the wind and every conceivable form of shade making for windows and yards

Wellington will have a few side trips for me. Masterton one day, as the train ride is rather nice. Paekakariki Beach another day, because that is one fantastic beach. It will probably be rainy and cold, but never mind, I will be back in Canada's summer in a few days, so I can take it. Then the Wellington Zoo!

The zoo here in Brisbane is not very reachable even by train. You have to transfer to a bus after a long ride. Not good for getting young families there who do not have a car. But I suppose Toronto is really no better because the Rouge Valley is quite far from downtown even if the place is reachable by bus.

There were two American Navy ships in Brisbane over the last week or so and busloads of sailors all over the place. I spoke to one and he said they were helicopter carriers.

I have been enjoying travelling and all the incidental stuff that goes on in what is never just "a day". There is always some small thing that affects me with either a memory or a surprise. I've been reading boks by Australian authors and it certainly makes their descriptions clearer to me, having seen the country and even some of the cities they describe. Even a particular street!
I have a lot of work ahead of me. I need to sort what will be over 1600 photos. Work up sketches from some of those picks as it was too difficult to di a drawing there and then. Work on a few serie ideas I have. I think I will be busy over a very very long time.