Treatin' the sweet thing

I spent a couple of hours of quality time with my significant other today. I turned by back in haste a month ago and she hasn't been the same. It was time to make things right. It was beautifully sunny and I just took my time.

The renovations meant casting off the bent handlebar and brake lever. We made it through the operation with just one rounded-off bolt. I figure that I'll superglue a (sacrificial) socket to the the bolt and wind it out during the week. (And then replace it with a new bolt.) Got any better suggestions? It was a beautiful day in Brisbane - 23 deg. C and gentle (7 km/h breeze). Time to shoot off to squash now.

Caramel Slice

I made some slice this weekend. I will take some of it to a New Year's Eve party this evening. Here it is before I packed it. I used this recipe.

Here is my best slice yet.

The Fraser Coast

Emily and I headed south from Agnes Water and stopped in for tea at a little cafe in Rosedale.

From 2012-06-14

Later, we took a dip at Moore Park Beach, just north of Bundaberg. The surf was pretty calm here. Later we took some lunch in town and continued heading south.

From 2012-06-14

We stayed overnight in Rainbow Beach and headed out the next day, Friday, to explore the actual beach. We met up with a couple who were taking samples of the sand at different points along the beach in order to capture all of the colours of the rainbow.

From 2012-06-19

There were a few vehicles travelling along the beach here. (It's okay to drive on the sand in parts of the Fraser coast.) However, you  must be aware of the tides! We saw one vehicle that seemed cut off by the tide and may have had to wait for it to recede again. At the local pub, there's a tally kept of the number of vehicles that are lost to the sand and the waves each year.

From 2012-06-19

This view is looking south across the bay at Rainbow beach. Sometimes people hike all of the way down to the southern headland.

From 2012-06-19

That Friday afternoon, we returned to Brisbane. Emily found that picking fresh oranges was a novelty! After indulging in this, and an icecream too, we found ourselves back in Brissy.

From 2012-06-19

Over the second weekend of Em's trip, we visited South Bank and the markets and rode into the mountains again. I have some more photos from these forays to post next time.

Snorkelling around Lady Musgrave Island

Here's a few different types of coral that Em and I swam by in the southern section of the Great Barrier Reef, near Lady Musgrave Island.

From Lockett

A nice bloke called Allan took a photo of Emily and I with my old-school camera (which was taking on water).

From Lockett

And here we are next to the boat between dives and probably talking about the lack of clownfish.

From Lockett

Alan snapped this guy but somehow we missed him.

From Lockett

We did see a few of these bright starfish amongst the coral. Look at how brightly it's coloured!

From Lockett

After an afternoon diving on the reef, we took dined out but retired before the Origin started! The next day, Thursday, we headed south again en route to Rainbow Beach on the Fraser coast and I will start my next post on that topic.

Lady Musgrave Island

Lady Musgrave Island is in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef and surrounded by coral. The island itself is now listed as a National Park. Miss Pure Awesomeness and I reached the island on the second Wednesday in June by boat and hiked through the light forest and along the white sand.

From 2012-06-14

This is on the north-eastern side of the island. The forest behind me is fairly new; years ago, introduced goats lived here and devoured all they could. (They were intended as emergency rations for stranded sailors.)

From 2012-06-14

A friendly (but dangerously pasty) Brit' kindly snapped the pair of us on our loop around the island.

From 2012-06-14

These birds visit the island for a feed and to make their nests in the trees. However, as the island is short on nitrogen, the trees have evolved a macabre tendency to ensnare the birds with sticky seeds in order to stop that precious nitrogen source from escaping.

From 2012-06-14

We boarded our little tinny and headed back out to the moored boat for lunch prior to our afternoon of snorkelling on the reef.

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Em and I prepared to go looking for starfish, turtles and sharks. I'll post a few photos from under the waves next time.

From 2012-06-14

Agnes Water Surfing

Emily and I joined in for a lesson in surfing with about half-a-dozen other people. The lesson was led by a really chilled out surfer-dude. We started off sort-of gliding along on the little waves like this.

From Agnes Water Surfing

And then we try to leap up on to the board.

From Agnes Water Surfing

Sometimes I would break the surfer's code of etiquette; I would get jump on someone else's wave and cause a bit of a pile-up.

From Agnes Water Surfing

Eventually, though for only short bursts, I was able to get up and ride the waves!

From Agnes Water Surfing

After all of this time in the surf, which turns out to be surprisingly salty to a mid-west girl more used to fresh water lakes, we diluted the salt with a few well-earned beers on the deck at the Agnes Water Tavern.

From Agnes Water Surfing

Bundaberg and Agnes Water

Em shared the driving with me and did a really great job. 95% of the time, we were on the correct (left-hand side) of the road! Here, she is at the wheel as cruise along between the cane fields on our approach Bundaberg.

From 2012-06-12

Here, I pose with some of the big grass. Its harvest is just starting now.

From 2012-06-12

Bundaberg's most-famous export is Australia's favourite rum - Bundy. As such, a road-trip this way would not be complete without a visit to the distillery.

From 2012-06-12

We arrived at our beachside campsite a little too late to take advantage of the beach then. But on Tuesday, we took a lesson and went surfing at Agnes Water.

From 2012-06-12

My next post will be all about the surfing, (dude).

Mooloolaba, Steve Irwin's Zoon and Montville

On Saturday a couple of weeks ago, Em and I headed north from Brisbane to Mooloolaba. En route, we stopped for a lost dog that we named "Sascha". Though determined to get herself run over, we brought her to a nearby vet and is now happy and back with her owners.

From 2012-06-10

With the weather coming in a bit, we stopped for a beer at the Ettamogah pub for a beer.

From 2012-06-10

We also indulged in a few Tim Tams, a classic Aussie biscuit, and waited out the rain in Maloolaba.

From 2012-06-10

In Australia Zoo, Em nursed a koala and fed some (pretty demanding) kangaroos.

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Here's a koala that is actually awake for a change!

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Chips and chicken salt, a staple that I missed while in the US made up part of our lunch on Sunday.

From 2012-06-10

Our first weekend away did not really lend itself to hanging out at the beach, so we headed up in to the mountains and were treated to some spectacular views and later, a spot in a cozy pub in Montville.

From 2012-06-10

As the skies cleared on Monday, we headed further north to Agnes Water, via Bundaberg. I'll describe that leg of our trip in the next post.