QUOTE OF THE DAY (AND HOLIDAY PICS)

God quickened in the Sea and in the Rivers,
So many fishes of so many features,
That in the waters we may see all Creatures;
Even all that on the earth is to be found,
As if the world were in deep waters drowned.
~ Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas

A few more pictures from my holidays. Aren't the fishies cute?

QUOTE OF THE DAY (AND HOLIDAY PICS)

A perfect summer day is when:
The sun is shinning;
The breeze is blowing;
The birds are singing, and
The lawn mover is broken!

- James Dent

And in my son's case, by the beach or river, fishing. For me....on a lounge chair, in the shade, sipping my Midori Melon, with a good book in my hand. Heaven....

QUOTE OF THE DAY (AND HOLIDAY PICS)

When the bloom of the jacaranda tree is here,
Christmas time is near"
- Australian Christmas Rhyme

Indeed it is – another 21 days. Scary! Have you done your Christmas shopping yet???

The sun shining through the Jacaranda Tree is one of my favourite pictures this trip. I am so disappointed that the Jacaranda and the Flame of the Forest cannot be grown in Canberra because they are not frost tolerant. Sigh…..

By the way, here are more pictures of the flora that I took around our apartment and the Cascade Gardens in Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland. Unfortunately, it rained really hard the few days leading to the day I took the pictures, so most of the Jacaranda and Flame of the Forest flowers were shaken off the trees. Anyhow, hope you enjoy the pictures

QUOTE OF THE DAY (AND HOLIDAY PICS)

“FUZZY WUZZY ANGELS”

Many a mother in Australia when the busy day is done
Sends a prayer to the Almighty for the keeping of her son
Asking that an angel guide him and bring him safely back
Now we see those prayers are answered on the Owen Stanley Track.

For they haven't any halos only holes slashed in their ears
And their faces worked by tattoos with scratch pins in their hair
Bringing back the badly wounded just as steady as a horse
Using leaves to keep the rain off and as gentle as a nurse

Slow and careful in the bad places on the awful mountain track
They look upon their faces would make you think Christ was black
Not a move to hurt the wounded as they treat him like a saint
It's a picture worth recording that an artist's yet to paint

Many a lad will see his mother and husbands see their wives
Just because the fuzzy wuzzy carried them to save their lives
From mortar bombs and machine gun fire or chance surprise attacks
To the safety and the care of doctors at the bottom of the track

May the mothers of Australia when they offer up a prayer
Mention those impromptu angels with their fuzzy wuzzy hair

- Bert Beros

The Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels was the name given by Australian troops to a group of Papua New Guinean people who, during World War II, assisted and escorted injured Australian troops down the KOKODA TRACK/TRAIL (further explanation below). The Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels were named for both their frizzy hair and helpful role.

The Kokoda Memorial at Cascade Gardens has been created to help visitors to Cascade Gardens appreciate the courage and determination of the men who fought on the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea during World War Two.

The walk extends from Rotary Park in the centre of Cascade Gardens south along the pathways towards the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre. Sections of the walk pass through tropical rainforest reminiscent of the fetid jungles in which fierce battles were fought on the KOKODA TRACK/TRAIL.

The KOKODA TRACK/TRAIL is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs 96 kilometres (60 miles) overland — 60 kilometres (37 miles) in a straight line — through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track is the most famous in PNG and is renowned as the location of the World War II battle between Japanese and Australian forces in 1942.

It is one of the bloodiest campaigns of World War II, which has forever sealed the relationship between Australia and PNG. It was on 21 July 1942, that Japanese troops landed on the northern coast of then New Guinea and unexpectedly began to march over the Owen Stanley Ranges with the intent of capturing Port Moresby.

Had they succeeded, the mainland of Australia would have come under dire threat.

Kokoda was arguably Australia's most significant campaign of the Second World War. More Australians died in the seven months of fighting in Papua, and the Japanese came closer to Australia, than in any other campaign.

Many of those young Australians, whose average age was between 18 and 19, now lie buried at the Bomana War Cemetery outside Port Moresby.

The famous photograph of ‘fuzzy wuzzy angel’ Raphael Oimbari leading a blindfolded wounded Australian (picture above) epitomizes the close relationship between Australians and Papua New Guineans which has come about because of the battle of Kokoda.

To read between the lines of ‘Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels’, the celebrated poem by Australian digger Bert Beros, will drive you to tears.

The poem, which whilst sentimental, touches a chord that has endured to this day in the hearts of both Australians and Papua New Guineans.

It tells of the prayers of worried Australian mothers, whose young sons are fighting the Japanese on that rugged trail, and how their prayers are answered in the form of ‘fuzzy wuzzy angels’.

QUOTE OF THE DAY (AND HOLIDAY PICS)

Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures ~ Henry Ward Beecher (Liberal US Congregational Minister, 1813-1887)

This talented artist took less than 5 minutes to finish this painting. You can find him at the Surfers Paradise Esplanade Markets, which is held every Wednesdays and Fridays (except during schoolie week, which is around the third week of November, when the esplanade shuts down to accommodate drunk and disorderly teenagers!).

PS: I am so proud of myself....this may sound like bragging and I am sure you guys out there may think this is no feat. But I am not very computer savvy when it comes to blogging so the fact that I was able to turn my pics into a video file and upload it onto bloggers, I am quite pleased with myself! It took me 20 minutes to upload these pics as opposed to 2 hours to load just 8 pics. Go figure!?!

What I did was make a slide show in PhotoShop, then I saved it as a video file on windows. Use the video icon on bloggers and upload the files. Bobs Your Uncle!! ('There you go, it's done').

QUOTE OF THE DAY (AND HOLIDAY PICS)

Four ducks on a pond,
A grass-bank beyond,
A blue sky of spring,
White clouds on the wing,
What a little thing,
To remember for years,
To remember with tears!
~ William Allingham (Irish Man of letter and Poet: 1824-1889)

Aren’t the duckies cute???

This is taken at Cascade Gardens (the holiday apartment is aptly named after it). More pictures of the Gardens to come.

QUOTE OF THE DAY (AND HOLIDAY PICS)

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating ~ Luciano Pavarotti


Chiangmai Thai Restaurant
2779 Gold Coast Highway
Broadbeach (GC) QLD 4218

This is one of my favourite restaurants on the Gold Coast. Once you try their food, you can see why it's won a whole heap of awards. The food is truly authentic and the waitresses are dressed in traditional Thai costumes. Also, there are plenty of Thai artefacts. I loved the wooden carved picture on their wall. I’d like to know how they got it there!


You can’t miss the place – it’s always brightly lit in purple lighting. Come early for dinner as there are limited parking spaces. Best to book on weekends.


Top One Chinese Restaurant
Australia Fair Shopping Centre
42 Marine Parade
Southport (GC) QLD 4215

The restaurant serves yum cha for lunch everyday. I wouldn’t say it’s the best yum cha I have tasted, but it was passable. You must get there around 11 am to get the best food and to beat the crowds. My favourite were the prawn dumplings, prawn spring rolls and the BBQ pork. Sorry, but I passed on the chicken feet....but I did see some of the patrons digging into it with some gusto!!!

QUOTE OF THE DAY (AND HOLIDAY PICS)

Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone ~ Jim Fiebig




Ice Cream, Ice Cream Everywhere.....Don't forget to visit Norma and Frank (he's in the top picture) at Zanette's Gelati if you are ever at Surfers Paradise. They make the best ice creams in town.....in fact, the best I have ever tasted. You can find their place at:

Shop 55, Chevron Renaissance
Surfers Paradise QLD 4217

PS: I will be putting my holiday snaps on my 'quote of the day' for the next couple of weeks.

NATTER: MY HOUSEHOLD ON HOLIDAYS - QUEENSLAND 2008

The beach on Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Queensland

Helloooo everybody, I’m back……after two glorious weeks on holidays in sunny Queensland – well actually, not so sunny cos there were some serious storms whilst I was up there, didn’t I???

However, I was lucky enough to dodge the worst of the storms but even when it was raining, the temperature was still perfect. Which is not what I can say about the temp in Canberra at the moment! It is nearly the beginning of summer and when I arrived home on the weekend, the temp here was 9°C! Go figure??? And it has not stopped raining here since.

This is where I stayed in Surfers Paradise

The beach at Noosa Heads, Gold Coast, Queensland

I stayed in Surfers Paradise at the Gold Coast and also in Noosa at the Sunshine Coast. I was in heaven with all the yummy shops around. My favourite was Elkhorn Avenue in Surfers Paradise as the street houses all the designer shops. I had a tough time deciding on a Louis Vuitton or Gucci handbag – I finally opted on a Gucci bag…..always been a little partial to Gucci. I also went crazy at the Wedgewood and Villeroy and Boch factory outlets. My bank account is looking so pathetic at the moment!!!

Louis Vuitton on Elkhorn Avenue, Surfers Paradise

My favourite shop, Gucci, right at the end of the designer lane, opposite Louis Vuitton on Elkhorn Avenue

My purchase this trip.

Even on holidays I was waking up at 6.00 am but I actually enjoyed it - it gave me a chance to have breakfast by the pool and read my books before the sun was up. I actually found some old Mills and Boons and it made great reading. I can't remember the last time I read those books....actually I do...20 years ago!!! I was really glad that I found some Janet Dailey books at the Carrara Markets. She used to be my fav M&B author. I also watched a few movies (the wonders of having a portable DVD player).

My holiday reading and movies

My favourite Thai Restaurant - they have won numerous awards and the food is divine! Within walking distance from our apartment, which helped.

Make sure you visit Norma and Frank Bailey of Zanette's Gelati at the Chevron Renaissance Shopping Centre in Surfers Paradise. They make the best ever Italian ice creams, truly! My favourites - Macadamia, Pistachio and Ferraro Roche, yum, yum.

Anyway, am I pleased to be back? Yes and no. I definitely do not miss work. In fact I am dreading going back to work; having to catch up on 3 weeks of work. One consolation - Christmas holidays are coming in less than a month's time! Yipee.

My total journey these holidays was 3007 kms.... Oh yeah and I drove all the way!!! It's a sixteen hour drive from Canberra to Surfers Paradise and I drove in one go on the way back to Canberra. I also had my first ever puncture since I have been driving a car. On the way up, I broke journey in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales and spent a day there. I took over 600 pictures (no joking) and it was so difficult to decide what pictures to put up on my blog. It is going to take me forever just to sort out them out. So, I hope you enjoyed the snippets of my happy shots from my holidays!

PS: I would have put more pictures up but as it took me 2.5 hours just to load these few pictures on the blog, I am afraid that my patience is running quite thin. We are not amused!!!

NATTER: MY MELBOURNE – BALLAN - BALLARAT TRIP

I went to Melbourne last weekend for a debrief of an inquiry that I have been working on for the past six months. I have to say that I am glad it is over as it has been a hectic six months but unfortunately there’s no light at the end of this tunnel for me as now I will be busy implementing the recommendations for my department. I am however looking forward to the challenges though and it would be actually good to see a project through to its completion.

These are pictures from out of my plane window. I am surprised that they came out okay. Can you see the snow? That is the Mount Kosciusko National Park. Not sure which one is Mount Kosciusko (Australia’s highest mountain) though!
Below is the apartment that I stayed in whilst I was in Melbourne. It was really nice and I would recommend the Quest Service Apartments if you happen to be looking for accommodation in Melbourne. It is located on Lonsdale Street, only one block away from Chinatown and other major attractions. I had wanted to go to the Melbourne Gaol but it was nearly closing by the time I got there (the perils of working 9 to 5). So unfortunately, I could only take a picture of the façade. Ned Kelly, the famous Australian bushranger was executed here on 11 November 1880. To most Australians, he was a folk hero for his defiance against the colonial authorities. It is funny how we Australians revere a robber as our hero! Next to the gaol, is the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). The campus building is the former Magistrate Court and was built in 1913. Both the Melbourne gaol and RMIT building are located on Russell Street. Her Majesty's Theatre is a 1700 seat theatre. Built in 1886, it is located at 219 Exhibition Street, Melbourne. It is classified by the National Trust of Australia and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. Purchased in 2000 by Mike Walsh, the theatre was restored and refitted to accommodate larger productions. As you can see, Billy Elliot is currently showing there.I was also lucky to see some police horses and managed to get a picture. The Victorian Mounted Police Branch operates primarily to provide operational mounted support to the Victoria Police. Horses have been used by police in Victoria since Military Mounted Police rode into the colony in 1836. The establishment of Victoria Police in 1853 brought several mounted units together under the banner of the Mounted Branch. Horse and rider numbers increased in line with Victoria’s population, till they reached a peak in the early 1900s with 211 Mounted Stations throughout the state. The introduction of the motor car replaced the horses at these stations and now the few horses that are around are used predominantly for patrols in the Melbourne city area and for ceremonial duties.

No visit to Melbourne is complete without a trip on the trams. Unfortunately, I was too slow to get a picture of the City Circle old tram that is still being used but I got one off the net anyway. The picture below the burgundy tram is the normal trams that service Melbourne.

The Melbourne City Circle tram is an ideal way for visitors to see Melbourne, and best of all it’s totally free. You can ride the distinctive burgundy coloured City Circle tram between 10am and 6pm everyday, and hop on and off as you wish.

During my second trip, my colleagues and I had about 1.5 hours free time before our next meeting so we decided to have a laze at Flagstaff Gardens. Flagstaff Gardens are Melbourne's oldest gardens. They take their name from a flagstaff erected in 1840 at the settlement's highest point, in order to communicate between the harbour and town. This became known as "Flagstaff Hill". Before this, the area was used as a cemetery and was known as Burial Hill. The gardens were constructed in 1880 after residents of West Melbourne became concerned at the dereliction of Flagstaff Hill and petitioned the Governor to turn the area into public gardens or a recreational area.

The Flagstaff Gardens are a popular lunch-time spot for the city workers (which we quickly discovered). That's not surprising as even in the early times of the settlement they were regarded as a fashionable place, with people going their to picnic and listen to the music of regimental bands, while taking in views of the bay. Interestingly, many more people visit the gardens each day than the more impressive Fitzroy gardens, on the other side of the Melbourne CBD. The Flagstaff Gardens have been classified by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and is listed by the Australian Heritage Commission.

Aren’t the flowers lovely???

Unfortunately I did not have enough time to do much whilst I was in Melbourne. What I did do was work, eat and some grocery shopping. I found fresh quail eggs which I made sambal out of it. The recipe to follow soon. I also finally found ovalette. I have been seeing this in cake recipes and I finally got some. Cannot wait to try it out.

I went over to Ballan and Ballarat (about an hour and a bit away from Melbourne) to visit my rellies and managed to take pics of my old house and meet my neighbours. It was good to catch up as I have not been to see my old house since I left Ballarat 7 years ago (I have seen the rellies though). I took a picture of this burnt house cos it burnt down nearly ten years ago and it is still there in the same condition. And yes, someone is living in it!

Ballarat is a beautiful town and deserves a posting by itself. In summary however, Ballarat is one of the Australia’s largest inland cities. It is well-known for its history and heritage. Gold was discovered near Ballarat in 1851, and the influx of over 10,000 miners in less than a year transformed it from a pastoral town into Victoria's largest city. Ballarat is notable as the site for Australia's only armed civil uprising, colloquially referred to as the Eureka Stockade but more correctly titled the Eureka Rebellion, which took place on 3 December 1854.

While the city's growth slowed after the 1880s and Melbourne quickly overshadowed its importance, Ballarat remains a major inland regional centre and tourist destination, having retained much of its Victorian era heritage and is known for its grand heritage listed buildings and gardens.

Have a look at the beautiful quilts that my niece has made. She won first prize for the Egyptian inspired quilt and she calculated that if she was commissioned to make one, she would need to charge at least $4000. The quilting itself (that’s the sewing/thread designs on the patterns) costs her over $400! Isn’t she a smart cookie? The two days I spent there went too quickly and I was really sad to leave. I definitely have to make a trip back soon. I took the train back to Melbourne to catch my flight back to Canberra. I liked the look of the Ballan train station so here it is. Isn’t it quaint? Could not believe how green the fields look. The last time I was down, it was all scorched. Obviously there has been some rain around. Can you see Melbourne’s sky scrapers on the horizon? And that, brings me to the end of my tale.