Ted Smout Bridge Opening

The Ted Smout Bridge was recently opened (July 11 2010) and we had the opportunity to undertake the 2.7km walk across this road bridge that will act as the south-bound traffic lanes connecting the Redcliffe Peninsula with Brisbane. This bridge not only supports the road traffic but also pedestrian and cycle traffic on a separated area and also has a fishing platform in one of the channels off the eastern side of the bridge.


Now that the new bridge is open, two of the three lanes on the Houghton Highway are now permanently north bound, with the third lane currently closed until the maintenance of this bridge has been finalised with all three lanes to be open to traffic north bound at the completion of the project. The contractors are also currently demolishing a fair chunk of the heritage listed Hornibrook Bridge. This is a sad sight, but something that has been proposed as part of the project for a long time.

The day of the opening was well organised with a limited number of 'tickets' issued to ensure that the bridge wasn't clogged with too many people ensuring the walking pace was appropriate for all people. Also the use of buses at each end of the bridge meant that you didn't have to make the return bridge walk if you didn't want to. Phew!

Underwater World, Mooloolaba

A weekend trip to Underwater World at Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast kept us out of mischief for an afternoon. We were looking for an activity that was suitable for a potentially rainy, cold weekend and this certainly ticked all the boxes. Mooloolaba is an easy drive from Brisbane that takes about an hour and a half up the Bruce Highway.

The 'aquarium' isn't as big as I remember, but certainly kept us busy for an afternoon. Unfortunately the staff didn't seem to have the same enthusiasm as many of the visitors.

Some of the highlights were some interesting freshwater creatures, including lung fish, large Japanese spider crabs and a nice exhibit promoting native frogs. The marine tunnel was still great and the seal show was interesting but a little lack lustre. The part that I found most interesting was actually a photographic exhibition on the topic of invertebrates.

Overall a good afternoon out and would certainly keep the kids (probably older than a toddler/baby age group) entertained on a rainy weekend. Another positive was that the facility didn't actually feel crowded and we were able to access all of the exhibits without much difficulty, this was surprising considering it was the Queensland school holidays and Underwater World had a Shrek promotion on as well.

Out of the Box Festival

My toddler and I headed to the Out of the Box festival that was being held in the Performing Arts/State Library/Art Gallery precinct in Brisbane. There were a lot of ticketed events...we attended the Grug show aimed at the under 4 audience. The set was excellent, the show entertaining and a good sized audience that allowed parents to sit with their children without hindering the view of others.

There were also a number of free events, including story telling, music stages and crafty activities. These were excellent and high quality, all with an educational theme.

There was also a lit maze that allowed exploration for the children. We didn't however venture into this due to queue and the expected wait time, but the photos I have seen of it, made it look like a great experience for parents and children alike.

Overall, what a brilliant idea for the education and entertainment of young people in Brisbane. Certainly looked like it was a hit with the school children and their teachers.

Farm Day complete

Farm Day was brilliant. We spent a weekend at a cattle and sheep farm near Goondiwindi. I recommend everyone who is interested in learning more about farms nominate for the next Farm Day in 2011.

We did so much and our farm family was brilliant. I learnt to ride a motorbike and a quad bike, we had a dinner party with one the neighbours, morning tea with another neighbour, did pregnancy testing on the neighbour's cows, learnt about jojoba beauty products....from paddock to product, fed baby lambs and the chickens, played with an alpaca, sheared a sheep or two, moved stock between paddocks, learned how to use a cattle crush and a number of veterinary tools and just generally had an awesome time.

We were fed like kings, shown how the farms works day-to-day and felt truly accepted by the 'country family' despite the fact that we were true city slickers.

If you're interested in knowing more about this initiative, registering for next year or just want to see what some of the city families got up to on their farms have at look at the Farm Day website: www.farmday.com.au

Farm Day

Well we have had a farm matched to our requirements under the banner of the Farm Day (city families meeting country families). We are heading off to Goondiwindi, close to the New South Wales- Queensland border (approximately 4 hours from Brisbane). This should be an interesting weekend as I am certainly not from the country and certainly looking forward to experiencing first-hand the work that a country family is required to do day-in/day-out.

Let you know how we go!

Paddy's Flat, New South Wales

We decided fairly last minute to head off for a camping expedition on the Labor long weekend. After a little bit of internet exploration we found a place in northern New South Wales called Paddy's Flat. The camping area that we chose is about 50kms south of Tooloom on the Clarence River (about 4.5 hours south of Brisbane).



Our trip took us through Beaudesert, Rathdowney, Wodenbong, Urbenville and Tooloom. After heading through Tooloom we located the Paddy's Flat road which becomes dirt fairly quickly after the intersection with the main road. This road is not only dirt, but fairly bumpy (although still manageable most likely in a 2WD) and there are also a number of old wooden bridges which aren't particularly well maintained to cross.

After travelling down this road for about 45mins, we reached our destination. And what a spot. Right on the banks of the upper Clarence River. One side steep cliffs and the other a nice "sandy" (river sand) flat with grass verges available for camping upon. So blissful. The days were beautiful and the nights were manageable temperature wise. The land is apparently grazing or camping reserve, meaning no camping fees or rangers monitoring, also means no facilities.

Overall it was an awesome spot and a place that I would recommend to campers.

Beeburrum West State Forest - Wamuran

So excited because we went for a short walk (about an hour) in the Beerburrum West State Forest. This was exhilarating for me because I have travelled many a times through this forest but always in a 4WD (as with Mt Mee). This time the other half recognised the dogs needed a walk, as with the toddler and myself, so he suggested a walk whilst he mapped a 4WD track.

Beerburrum State Forest is north of Brisbane near Wamuran (about an hour north of Brisbane on the D'Aguilar Highway). It is a mix of pine forest and native eucalypt (gum) forests and has a large number of tracks (most of them are about a car width wide). The park offers tracks that can be utilised by all number of recreational vehicles, including 4WDs, motorbikes and mountain bikes, with some of them being quite extreme offering excellent roll-over opportunities.



Our walk followed a number of the vehicle tracks and I think when we passed one group of four-wheel drivers they were a little bewildered as to where our car might have been. Certainly unusual to see people just walking around the part of the park we were exploring. The tracks were a little muddy still with all the rain we have had in the last few weeks, but nothing that prevented us getting around the park.

We saw a few bird species, a snake rapidly slithering away from us when we startled him on the track, a number of 4WDs (from the daytripper through to the serious four-wheel driver) and a couple of motocross bikes. Overall a nice leisurely stroll up and down dale in a big loop returning to the car after about an hour (we took a GPS with us to confirm that we would get back to our 'car park').

Nice weather and something a little different for us.

Mt Mee - Gantry Picnic Area

A weekend day trip to the Mt Mee State Forest is a fairly typical outing for us. We have been to this State Forest on a number of occasions, mostly as it is in close proximity to Brisbane (less than 90 mins from the centre of Brisbane) and with a number of activities within one park it has become a regular for us. Many of our trips to this park have been for four-wheel driving adventures, but this time I insisted on a picnic as our motivation for choosing this as our destination.

The Gantry is a picnic ground within Mt Mee State Forest which is accessible by a two-wheel drive. This picnic spot is a fairly level location with car-parking, picnic tables (looks like there are some new undercover ones being constructed), toilet blocks and bbq facilities. The biggest feature for the picnic grounds is the Gantry, which is the remains of an old sawmill that was once located on the site.

After our lunch break, which for us was under the Gantry (shown in the photo above) because it was pouring at the time, we went for a rainforest walk. Just near the entrance to the carpark of the picnic ground there is a rainforest circuit walk. This is a short and flat walk. This seems to have been around for a while, with occasional sign posts pointing out items of interest relating to the forest's logging history. The piccabeen palm grove is probably the coolest part of this walk for me and there were certainly a lot of birds also seemingly enjoying this area.

Apart from the brief showers we experienced, it was a great 1/2 day out and about.

Roller Derby

Saturday night saw the opening game of the Roller Derby, Brisbane season between the 'Love Rockettes' and the 'Diner Might Dolls'. The event was held at the Brisbane Convention Centre and saw 4000 spectators line the derby rink! This was my first game and it was an eye opener! These girls are built of stamina man.....two 30min halves with a lot of argy bargy and tactics seeing me exhausted as a spectator about 20 mins into the first half.

The event was well organised, except for the lack of seating for more than half of the crowd. But the seating arrangement seemed to create some atmosphere, although having such an event at a traditional roller skating rink may have created the event atmosphere I was expecting.

Apart from being very athletic, the ladies were dressed to fit the game, with each team member having an individual name, such as 'Dead Meat' and 'Strawberry I Scream'. There were also a lot of tattoos, with one of the media groups covering the event seemingly an online tattoo tv channel.



Great night out for me and my mates. The next game is on 15 May, again at the Convention Centre. For $15 a ticket, I might just go along again.

Caboolture Markets

Every Sunday morning at the Caboolture Showgrounds (approximately 50kms north of Brisbane city) the Caboolture Markets are held between 6am & 12pm. We ventured to this market last weekend with the view to get some cheap plants and some fruit and veggies.

The markets are quite large, with parking streaming out from the organised carpark into the surrounding streets and parklands. The markets host a variety of stall types with some being permanent and others offered on a more casual basis. Stall types include fruit and vegetable produce, cheap plants (including native, but with a good variety of traditional garden plants), pet fish and bird stalls, meat truck, bric-a-brac, cheap imports, hot foods through to the trash and treasure stalls. There is even a shed with the local poultry club selling chickens, ducks and other birds.

We arrived mid-way through the markets, finding the markets not too overwhelming in terms of number of people thankfully. By the time we reached much of the fresh produce stall it was around 11am and it seemed that much of their nicer produce had probably already been sold and they were busy consolidating produce or packing up. There were still certainly some bargains to be had from the plant stalls, with plants generally ranging between $2.50 & $20. Not bad really.

It was a good day out, although the day we went the weather was quite hot and there weren't many shady spots to seek refuge from the blazing sun. Overall the markets are probably just like any other local, weekend markets that you can find across the State. If you're wanting to make a day of your trip up to Caboolture, perhaps incorporating your visit with the Caboolture Historical Village just next door would do the trick.

Currimundi Lake

Off to the Sunshine Coast! It really doesn't take that long from our place, particularly if it is a weekend when people think it will rain or the weekend after a long weekend.

Currimundi Lake is located just north of Caloundra. It is a nice quiet spot where you can fish, kayak, laze around, watch tandem parachuters land, have a bbq, picnic or sit at one of the cafes. It is a particularly great place for us at present as we have a toddler and she appreciates the calmer waters.

The south side of the lake, where the lake meets the ocean offers the cafe scene and some organised picnic areas. It has all the facilities one needs for a day at the beach, with a children's playground as well. The south side of the lake is the more expansive (sandy beach) and easily accessible side of the lake with a carpark not 50m from the water's edge. The north side has a number of access points for the recreation purposes, with the area within the suburb of Wurtulla housing a number of grassy, shady picnic areas and good access points to throw a line in. There is also a walkway entrance down to the ocean beach through the southern part of a conservation area.

We have spent many a weekend afternoon just lazing around in the waters of Currimundi Lake, particularly at the entrance point to the surf. Over summer these creek waters have been warm and certainly hosted many young families. The entrance of the lake is also tidal, so it does create some nice "rapids" most days to create an interest point for kids and their boogie boards or surfboards when they are tired of the big waves!

Easter Sunday and Brisbane City

Didn't do anything particularly interesting in the city, but thought that I would share some of the photos that I took of St John's Church on Ann Street and some of the adjacent buildings this morning.

St John's Cathedral



Buildings in St John's Cathedral complex

Festival of Sails

Easter Friday every year sees the Festival of Sails on the Redcliffe Peninsula. It celebrates the start of the Brisbane to Gladstone boat race with a number of markets, stalls and activities. I have been to a couple of these now and this year was no different with large crowds occupying the markets along the Margate beachfront and carparking battles throughout the surrounding suburbs.

Due to the crowd and my toddler in tow, we didn't stay long or venture into the depths to discover the details. It did however look like a good day out for those that got there early and saved themselves a sensible picnic space and there were some great vibes being drummed out by a couple of local musician.

Maiala National Park

A day drive is what we were in desperate need of and despite a forecast for showers we headed to Mt Glorious (about 45 minutes west of Brisbane). The Maiala National Park and picnic area is located at the northern end of the Mt Glorious township. This area has an expansive picnic area with car parking facilities. The picnic grounds are located on the side of a hill, but has a number of level picnic tables and bbq facilities. Probably quite a popular picnic location in peak season due to its proximity to Brisbane and its green outlook.

We did one of the shorter walks available through the subtropical rainforest next to the picnic grounds. A loop walk through pines, palms and other rainforest species. The walking track was a little wet on the day we visited due to the copious amounts of rain we have had recently in south-east Queensland but still manageable for the able-bodied. A few leeches present but nothing too overwhelming.

There are a couple of other walks, one of them ending up at a waterfall. They didn't look too strenuous but our toddler didn't appreciate the walking experience on the day so the shorter loop walk is what we tackled. Even this shorter walk had a couple of drainage line crossings and with the wet weather had water running through them. Lovely sounds and scenery.

Another highlight was the large number of bird species that could be heard and even seen in the rainforest. What a great treat!

Gallery of Modern Art

Today we went out to the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane. We hit the road to start with and then stopped closer to town and caught the train to South Brisbane. From here we took a short stroll to the Gallery at the end of the performing art's complex.

At present the Gallery of Moderan Art (GOMA) has the 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Arts. It was very interesting with some significant pieces both physical and emotional sense. Well to me anyway....I don't have a particular artistic perspective, but enjoyed the cultural experience. During the school holidays there was a great kid's experience that linked in with the current exhibition. OUr daughter enjoyed kaledioscope painting, placing stickers on a number of buddha statues, playing with plasticine, mixing her face (photo) with both mine and her Dads, playing in the felt garden with 3D fish, fallen leaves, flowers and soft rocks.

Half way through the day we stopped for lunch at the River Cafe overlooking Brisbane City. The large expansive roof means that this facility is suitable for both wet and dry weather, even though most of the seating is outside. Also a significant portion of the grassed area near this facility was in the shade during this hot part of the day. The cafe also lends picnic blankets (I think for a small refundable deposit) that you can use to sit on the appealing green grass, rather than the comfortable seating arrangement.

After strolling the halls of GOMA for a fair few hours, headed to the State Library precinct where they again had some crafty children's activities and to the kiddie corner. Would have spent more time there but some of the party was getting a little tired.

Back to the train station at South Brisbane and with a convenient soft drink break at Central Station, as we needed to swap lines we spent a lovely day out and about in town using the convience of public transport and taking advantages of some of the additional activities that these public services have put on due to the school holidays.

Booloumba Creek, near Kenilworth Part 2

With half the day gone, we thought that we should continue our adventure. On the way into town we passed the Booloumba Creek sign and decided that this is where we travel onto. The turn off from the Maleny-Kenilworth Road to Booloumba Creek is well signed and not too far south of Kenilworth township. Booloumba Creek is primarily a camping area, with four designated areas within the State Forest. The entrance to the Kenilworth State Forest is signed that access is restricted to 4WD high clearance vehicles. However, the number of two wheel drive cars we saw entering the area and traversing the creek crossings was amazing. Guess they were taking adventure of the well graded dirt road (with a few creek crossings) and the summer weather.

Our adventure to this location was primarily aimed at sitting by the creek enjoying an afternoon of glorious south-east Queensland summer weather as well as lazing in the clear waters of the creek. The easiest access for us without going into the campgrounds was the second creek crossing after entering the State Forest. Here we parked the car right by the creek, raised our beach umbrella and lazed around. The creek offers clear to slightly murky freshwater, limited algal growth, pebbled base and well vegetated creek banks. We had a bodyboard with us and this was useful to swim upstream and visit some of the more isolated pools and search out interesting parts of the otherwise difficult-to-access stretches of the creek. We have walked up the creek a little way, but certainly the body board makes the adventure a little easier on the feet.

After a dip, we continued along the road through the Kenilworth State Forest and Conondale National Park. This is an easy drive (for 4WDs), although parts are signed as 'steep and narrow'. The drive passes through dry and wet eucalypt forests, as well as a nice rainforested area approximately two-thirds of the way through the drive, which still had some muddy strecthes despite no rain for the last week. There were a couple of lookout vantage points along the way, one overlooking cleared State Forest lands which gives you some perspective of the topography of the land you had just driven through. The end of this drive emerged near the Kenilworth State Forest office, with another campground area available nearby here.

Emerging back onto the Maleny-Kenilworth Road we headed home via Maleny and Landsborough (the more traditional route to the back of the Range), arriving not too far short of 5pm.

Great day out with excellent weather.

Booloumba Creek, near Kenilworth Part 1

Setting off around 9am we decided to head north from Brisbane to Kenilworth, exact destination unknown (as yet). Kenilworth is located approximately 33km west of Nambour on the Sunshine Coast and is what I consider a small country town with enough services to enjoy a day's drive to with all the required comforts.

Some of the comforts that Kenilworth has includes a lovely cheese factory, where you can taste and purchase some of the locally produced cheeses and yoghurts, a bakery (of sorts...pie was yummy), few cafes, a tourist information centre (open 10am-3pm), a service station, a pub, a local store and a great playground for the kids.

Our route took us along the Bruce Highway, then via Steve Irwin Way. Not the traditional and easiest way to get to Kenilworth, but certainly a new adventure for us. Once we had looked at a broad scale and not very informative map we had decided to go through Beerwah, Peachester, Conondale to finally then reach Kenilworth. Well, we managed the Beerwah, Peachester part with a requirement then to turn off towards Maleny (well signed), however the next turn off which should have led us to Conondale and avoid Maleny was not obviously signed and we headed up into the western parts of Maleny via a back road which we took because it looked like it had a nice country vista.

We then continued down the back road from Maleny to Conondale and then on to Kenilworth, with this stretch of our journey quite straight forward.

The roads between Peachester and Kenilworth are quite steep and windy (and I'm sure this includes the road we didn't take to Conondale). Maleny sits atop the Blackall Range and the road between Peachester and Maleny is steep in an upwards direction and the road between Maleny and Conondale takes you down the back of the Range and again can be steep in parts.

Once in Kenilworth we stopped for refreshments and utilised the children's park and lunch spot and the bottom end of town, opposite the cheese factory. This area has a number of tables for the civilised, well-grassed areas for picnicers and great playground areas aimed at a variety of ages for use. At the times I have visited this park it has all been well-serviced and maintained.