Sunday! After breakfast in the hotel, we had a morning walk around the neighbourhood, ending up back at Hyde Park. The Royal Parks Half Marathon was underway, with organisers cordoning off paths, getting ready for the energetic people to come through. Though busy, the park was still enjoyable, and while overcast, it was looking like ... [More]
Surviving jet-lag
(backdated post) Friday morning: time to head for Europe! Thankfully not an early morning flight – they are not my favourite. I finished packing then caught a train to Footscray to collect my travelling companion, then (for reasons of speed and convenience) we caught an Uber to the airport. They recommend arriving 2-3 hours early ... [More]
(backdated post) How fast can you get a passport renewal? Pretty fast if you’re prepared to pay. With about a week until the holiday, the travel agent pointed out that I had just five months left on my passport. I was already aware of this. I’d checked, and five was enough for the countries we’d ... [More]
Can we see the effects of the fare cut yet?
Some thoughts on Australia’s biggest Bus Rapid Transit deployment
Monday morning, and sadly time to head home from Brisbane. At home in Victoria it was Kings Birthday (still doesn’t sound quite right), but in Queensland they have that later in the year, so it was a standard weekday. I walked with my sister back to the Cultural Centre bus station again – she was ... [More]
(As usual with my travelogues, this is backdated to the day.) Sunday morning in Brisbane. More perfect weather! We planned a visit to University of Queensland. By the lake is a bench in memory of my dad, so it’s a must for our family holidays. Last time I was there, the bench was looking a ... [More]
Saturday morning in Brisbane, fine weather, low 20s again. I could scarcely believe it was winter. We headed out to explore South Bank and the Cultural Centre. The Cultural Centre does what it says on the tin – it’s got the State Library, Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art, Museum, Performing Arts Centre… and an ... [More]
For those of you who follow my blog for the public transport content, the next few posts will be one of my travelogues… but of course you will also find some PT observations in here. I quite like a winter warmer getaway, and this year an option presented itself: Brisbane for my aunt’s 80th birthday ... [More]
Heading home from holiday, and a postscript on things I shouldn’t have bothered taking
Another fine day in Cairns. After a quiet start, we took a walk to find a post office to send some post cards, and then headed for the marina. We’d booked a tour at the very civilised time of 11am to the Great Barrier Reef on the “Reef Rocket“, a fast catamaran that gets you ... [More]
Cairns CBD footpaths are wide, so walking around is easy… until you need to cross a street.
Time to head from Cape York back to Cairns, but because of reasons, we weren’t flying directly out of Bamaga, but instead from Horn again. So another early start: brekky in the hotel before a quick trip to the Seisia wharf, and back to Thursday Island on the ferry, for a very brief reunion. Then ... [More]
Cool water, dusty roads, and the biggest ant hills you’ve ever seen.
My tip: Go to the tip (and use a local guide if you can)