Australian schools generally have two weeks of vacation
per term. This is my first year of full time teaching and I was glad of the
winter break! I’m currently teaching in the outback and I decided to go to
Townsville for vacation. Townsville is one of the major rural cities in
northern Queensland. My brother Paul came up from Brisbane to spend some time
with me too. I also had an impromptu trip home to Brisbane after some travel
plans fell through.
I had been to the aquarium before when I had a brief
stopover for work but it was so much fun being there with a company. The Reef
HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium has the world’s largest living coral reef
aquarium. It has a diverse range of tropical, fresh and salt water sea life
including sharks, jelly fish and turtles.
We saw the main attraction in the museum which was the
exhibit of the HMS Pandora. The Pandora was a British ship that sunk in the
Great Barrier Reef in 1791. The boat was in Australia to arrest the mutinous
crew of The Bounty. The Bounty had been on an expedition to get some breadfruit
from the Pacific Islands to grow on British slave colonies.
Some of the Bounty crew had forced their superior,
Captain William Bligh and his supporters into a dinghy so they could use the
ship to sail back to Tahiti. They enjoyed the lifestyle and some had started
families.
For years, there were accounts that Captain Bligh was a
cruel tyrant but modern historians believe he was fairly tame for that period.
He wanted a tight run ship but he wasn’t a people person which put him at odds
with people.
We also saw a Lego exhibit called Towers of Tomorrow.
There were huge sculptures out of Lego of Singapore’s
Marina Bay Sands, Taiwan’s Taipei 101, Japan’s Tokyo Skytree, Kuala Lumpur’s
twin Petronas Towers and Sydney Tower.
This museum has an extensive collection
of Australian army artifacts. It was my favourite place that we visited during
our stay in Townsville. The artifacts were arranged by the war that they came
from. I found it humbling to be reminded of the sacrifices that people have
made for this country.
On the last day of my holiday, I learnt
the train I was supposed to be travelling on had derailed. So I decided to go
home to Brisbane for a few days. It was great catching up with my family and
friends. I didn’t end up going on the train again as they still had no fixed it
so I took the bus back to my rural community.
I’ve come back to my job as teacher all
refreshed. What I did learn was that I need to make more time for myself. Last
term, most of my life was about work which I believe made teaching a harder
experience.
Paul and I had no set plans for today. I was in charge of organizing
the holiday but I left some days open for spontaneous activity. We didn't know
where to go so we got some pamphlets from the hotel lobby. It’s always good to
pick up a few travel brochures as you may discover an interesting but lesser
known attractions.
We decided to go to Coffee Works, a coffee emporium and
museum. The brochure had a tagline that said, ‘Coffee World… it’s like Disney
Land for Coffee’ which we thought was hilarious so we had to go. Coffee Works
is located in Mareeba which is a one hour drive from Cairns. There is also a
boutique in Cairns city for people who only want coffee.
When we arrived at Coffee Works, we were delighted at
abundance of trinkets, home furnishing and outdoor decorations that were on
display through the entrance and gift shop. We had brought the Coffee Works
brochure with us as it was written that if you bring it, you get a discount on
admission. After we paid to get in, we were shown around the facilities. There
was a room with heaps of coffee and tea dispensers and chocolate for tasting.
Also, there was a museum with coffee machines from around the world.
We decided to do the coffee tasting first and we were given
cups to try whatever we liked. I decided to only take a sip of everything so I wouldn't become hyper from the caffeine. Paul couldn't drink much coffee because of his
health so he mostly drank the teas. There were coffees from around the world,
Swiss coffee, Ethiopian, Colombian, Indian, Mexican and all varying in
strength. I found that the African coffees tended to be the strongest. I liked
the hazelnut, Irish cream and vanilla flavoured coffees. I drank a few of the
teas too but I can’t remember what I liked.
There were also chocolates to try out such espresso, white,
mocha and chilli chocolates. I like the chilli chocolate the most.
After the tasting, we decided to head into the museum. At
the start of the museum, there are interactive phones that you take while you
walk around. Most of the displays have codes on them and you typed up the code
on your phone and you could listen to a recording about information about that
object.
We had lunch after the museum and then left Coffee World for
the next adventure.
Paul and I were in much better spirits today after a good
night sleep. Today we decided to explore more of Cairns City. The first stop we went to was the Cairns
Botanical Gardens. We love being outdoors and walking around gardens. Almost
every city has botanical gardens which is usually free and features exotic and
native plants arranged into beautiful gardens.
The Cairns Botanical Gardens has
4000 tropical plants from Australia and around the world. There are also native
animals that live in the park such as the bush turkey and possums. Bush turkeys
are actually common around Queensland and some even live in people’s backyards.
Some people think of them as pest because they are foragers who dig up the
ground with their feet so it can be hard to grow things with them around. They
are not good eating either, not that you are allowed to eat them. In olden days
people would eat them but they have tough meat.
There were a lot of tourists at the park that we had to be
patient about taking photos and not walking into other people’s photos. The
park was like a rainforest with lots of trees, ferns and exotic flowers. I had
two Chinese tourists ask me in Chinese where things were but I couldn't answer
them because I don’t speak Chinese.
My favourite part of the gardens was the Lowland Swamp
Forest which had a long boardwalk through the swamp. We weren’t expecting the
walk to be so long, we thought the pathway would eventually lead out to the
entrance that we came in but we ended up at the Freshwater Lake. I asked Paul
if he wanted to see the Saltwater Creek but he said once you have seen one
lake, you have seen them all. So we decided to exit the park and go to the
city.
We had lunch at McDonalds in Cairns City. We didn’t pay for
wifi at our hotel so it was an excellent time to use the free wifi from
McDonalds. Afterwards, we went to the Cairns Regional Art Gallery. The art
gallery doesn’t allow for photography so I didn’t take any pictures. The
gallery was doing exhibits on Indigenous artwork and photography from some
celebrated photographer. The gallery use to be the courthouse so had a big
wooden staircase with marble flooring.
When we finished looking at the gallery, we decided to go
the library. The library was near where our car was parked and would be the
last stop of the day. The library is a beautiful building. The library is just
like any other library inside, rows of books and lots of desks and chairs.
There were many local people as well as tourists. We just browsed the shelves
and read a snippet or two before going home.
Paul and I arrived in Cairns alright. The airport is tourist
friendly as there were information guides waiting by the baggage claim waiting
to help people. One of the guides came up to help me when she noticed me
looking at some papers. I was reading the receipt from a rental car company and
the instructions on where to pick up the car. She told us where to wait for the
shuttle that would take us to the car company.
The car we got was a Suzuki Swift which is a small car which
is pretty roomy inside. It’s great for two people with luggage and can fit five
people comfortably without luggage.
I called the hotel to see if we could check in early and
they agreed. We had a self serviced one bedroom apartment, which had a small
kitchen, laundry and bathroom. The room was just like the pictures on the hotel
website except a bit more rundown. There were some scuff marks on the walls and
the sofa looked a little worn. The deterioration was only minor and the room
was clean and tidy. Paul was exhausted so he took a nap when we arrived.
Afterwards, we went out to explore the place and get some
groceries. Cairns is a popular tourist spot so I thought it was going to be
urban like the Gold Coast, with hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions all
crammed in. While Cairns did have all those things, it wasn't a crowded city.
There were lots of people but it was quiet and peaceful. I was also surprised
at the mountainous countryside which was covered in forest. Although, I have
never been to Hawaii, I imagine that it was a good resemblance for it.
We decided to visit the beach that was just across the
street from our hotel. The sand was very gritty compared to the other beaches
that I have been to and there was a big net in the water to keep out the
jellyfish. The marine stingers can really hurt and the pain can last for hours.
There was also a sign warning that there might be crocodiles in the water. Most
crocodiles are removed from areas that humans frequent but sometimes we miss
one. Fortunately, there were no crocodiles present
and we had a nice walk along the beach.
On the second day of my family vacation, we went to
Underwater World. Underwater World is a small aquarium which has a wide variety
of sea life on display. It has tropical and native fish, jellyfish, octopi,
stingrays, sharks and seals.
When we got there we were already tired from our trip to
Australia Zoo. The first thing I asked at the Reception Desk was whether they
had a café so we could have some coffees. The receptionist was in good humour
and said that of course they do and how did I think he got to such a portly
size. We paid for our tickets and they
took a photo of us at a photo wall so we could purchase them later.
The first thing we saw on entering was section of rock pools
that people could reach in and touch the sea life in them. I don’t remember
everything that was in them except that there starfish. Next was a section of
small tanks that had tropical fishes such as the clown fish and tiny seahorses.
The exhibit I was most impressed with was the jellyfish.
There were lots of tanks of jellyfish and there were LED lights that shone down
on the tanks projecting different colours. The jellyfish were white naturally
so the colours from the lights added an interesting element to them. The
display was mesmerizing. One of the interesting things about jellyfish is that
they are not self aware because they don’t have a brain. They don’t think or
feel emotions at all, they are just alive.
We also went to see the outdoor tanks which had huge fish.
There also other aquariums inside that had fish as large as watermelon. I wonder
if they are good eating?
I also liked walking through the underwater aquarium where
the sharks and stingrays were housed.
At the end of the day we caught the last seal show. The
seals are big creatures, it’s what I picture an aquatic dog would be like. They
are agile and intelligent too.
I recommend Underwater World for people visiting Queensland
and local tourists. For a small aquatic centre, it has a good variety of sea
life on display, the staff is friendly and everything is very clean.
Last year, my family and I went on vacation to the Sunshine
Coast in Queensland, Australia which I mentioned here. We spent the last
December holidays entertaining relatives and friends who came to visit from
interstate and overseas. So, my parents
wanted to book a holiday before anyone could come to visit us.
We decided to go the Sunshine Coast as we hadn’t really
explored the area before. The trip was also the first time we had booked a
hotel as my parents prefer staying over at relatives or friend’s houses when on
vacation. Personally, I don’t like staying over at other people’s houses
because you always have to be on your best behaviour and there is little privacy.
View of Kings Beach from our hotel
We booked an apartment so we could save on cost and do
things ourselves. We stocked up on
groceries for the trip so that we could cook dinner and breakfast. Dad even bought
a small rice cooker so that we could always have Asian meals at home.
My parent's bedroom
My brother and I also brought two big suitcases because we didn't have smaller ones so we filled it with a lot of clothes. My brother Paul
pointed out that we might have a problem with fitting all our stuff into our
car. Thankfully, we did manage to fit everything in the car. It was a bit of a
tight squeeze as we had stuff by our legs as well. At one point, an alarm went
off in the car and it turned out that dad had packed a smoke alarm in case the
hotel went on fire!
My room with my brother
The hotel that we booked was a small family business and we
were greeted by the owner when we arrived. He was really nice and helped us
carry our bags to the third floor. There was no elevator so it was sweaty work
hauling all our things up the stairs. The owner was very strong and he carried
our suitcases on his shoulder. It was impressive considering he looked about
sixty.
I was pleasantly surprised that the apartment had modern
décor. It was generic and sparse but better than I expected. I had looked at their website and the rooms were outdated but clean
looking. It had two bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom/laundry, living area and
balcony. It was nice having a place for
ourselves and I could see how we could live with less stuff.
We mainly spent the first day, settling in our new home for
the week. I think the hotel must have excellent sound proofing or maybe we had
quiet neighbours as we didn't hear much noise from anyone.
After we had recovered from our long journey we decided to
go to Kings Beach. Kings Beach was just a short walk away from our hotel. All
we had to do was get out from the back gate and walk in a straight line to the
beach. The beach had rock pools and
boulders on the outskirts and it was fun to walk around on them.
It is summer in Australia and I find the days to be face
meltingly hot. It hasn’t rained in a long time but today there seems to be a
promise of rain. The school year is almost over and I am looking forward to six
weeks of summer vacation! I’ve decided
to go on vacation to Cairns, Queensland. Cairns is located in north Queensland
and is known for its beautiful beaches and rainforests. It is also located near
the Great Barrier Reef which is the world’s largest coral reef system.
This is the first holiday which I will be organizing and
paying for myself. I never went on holiday before as I could never afford it. I
chose Cairns as I wanted to have a typical summer holiday out in the sunshine.
I want to be outdoors, swimming at the beach, strolling through the rainforest
and browsing through markets.
Here are some of the places that I want to see at Cairns:
I want to take one of those glass bottomed boats and see the
reef. I might go snorkelling as well. There are fifty tour companies that take
tourists to the reef and the little tropical islands along the way so there’s
lots to do there.
Kuranda is a small town located in the rainforest of the
Atherton Tableland. It is a town known for its outdoor markets, boutiques and
art galleries. One way to get to Kuranda is to take Kuranda
Scenic Railway which
goes through the rainforest. It is a tourist train that travels past waterfalls
and there is ongoing commentary about the history of the railway line.
I’m also considering taking the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway on the way back to
Cairns. I’m not that crazy about heights but I might still go on the skyrail
for the experience.
I always like to visit art galleries because it is relaxing
to walk around and look at art. I also think it would place to go when it gets
too hot as most art galleries are air conditioned.
I like botanical gardens as they feature exotic plants and
landscapes. I’ve been to the Brisbane, Canberra and Gold Coast gardens so I
would like to see what Cairns has to offer.
Lastly, I’m going to be spontaneous in Cairns and see what
it has to offer. I plan on going in January 2015 and I will post my adventures
later.
My family spent a great deal of time exploring when we came
to Queensland. We went to many major attractions as well as exploring suburbs
and shopping centres. My friend Jenny had not explored much of Ipswich despite
living in it since she was a baby. Her family has always been busy with their
business so it’s understandable that she has not had much free time to visit
the tourist sites. So, I decided to take advantage of the school holidays and show her around Ipswich.
Our first stop was the Ipswich Nature Centre, which houses
some native animals like wallabies, wombats, snakes and kangaroos as well as
farm animals. My favourite
animals were the Spinnifex Hopping Mice which were tiny little dessert mice
that hop really fast to get from place to place. They are a nocturnal animal so
they were in a dark enclosure. Jenny said she liked the bilbies. Bilbies are
marsupial bandicoots and they look kinda like rabbits.
Next we went to the Nerima Gardens which is a Japanese style
garden which also incorporates native Australian plants to show the partnership
between Ipswich and their Japanese sister city Nerima. Jenny took lots of
photos of the flowers and plants she found interesting. I usually just copy her
photos for blog entries because she takes a lot of photos of whatever we are
doing.
Afterwards we had lunch at Queens Park Café which is a café
located in Queens Park which is near the Japanese Gardens. I had the seafood
chowder for $12.50 and an ice cream soda. I would have liked a bigger serving
of the soup as it came in such a small bowl. Jenny had a bowl of wedges and a
vanilla thick shake. The Queens Café boasts that they have the
thickest thick shake in Ipswich. For those who don’t know thick shakes are
pretty much milkshakes with more ice cream. The Queens Café thick shakes were
definitely the thickest shakes I've ever seen. It looked more like whipped soft
serve ice cream then a drink.
We were meant to go to Denmark Hill for a stroll but Jenny
was too full to do any walking. Instead, we went to the Ipswich Art Gallery.
The gallery changes their exhibits regularly and we wanted to see the new
children’s exhibit Wind Tubes. I guess we’re big kids at heart. Wind Tubes is an interactive exhibit where kids can build their own flying
contraption and then put it in a wind turbine and watch it fly.
When we got there, there were lots of families making their
flying creations. All ages were making their own flying things so Jenny and I
sat right down and made our own. Fortunately, our flying things floated. Some
of the children had to learn that heavy things don’t float and that they need
to make their contraptions catch the updraft.
Our last thing of the day was a visit to The Workshops RailwayMuseum. Queensland has a good railway network which has been in existence for
many years. We only had an hour to browse before closing time so we hurried
around all the exhibits. My favourite thing in the exhibit was being able to
walk through difference carriages from various trains. I think a good museum is
one that you can interact with the things in it.
In my part of the world it's winter. One of the perks of being a teacher is the term holidays! To
be honest, I don’t want to go back to school! I’m a teacher so I have to go
back to school when the holidays are over.
I went for an hour long drive with my brother to the
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. It is essentially a zoo to native Australian
animals such as the kangaroo, koala, various snakes, Tasmanian Devils, birds
and other animals.
There’s also a segway track, zipline and ropes obstacle
course available at the sanctuary. I went at the end of the day so everything
was winding down. I think I would have enjoyed the sanctuary during the start
of the day where there’s a crowd and all the animal shows are on. I found the
place a bit run down so I hope they refurbish one day. I didn’t think there
were many animals at the sanctuary.
While I was Currumbin, Queensland I also went to visit Super
Bee Honey World. It’s a big store that features honey from all over Australia
and they also show live bee demonstrations. My brother was a bit scared of the idea
of live honey collection so we didn’t see the show. I bought two honey sampler
packs, one for my family and one for a friend.
We also went to Surfword which is next door to Super Bee
Honey World. Surf World is a small surf museum
dedicated to preserving and celebrating surf history. I think if I knew something
about surf boards, I would have been more interested in the variety of surf
boards on display. What I was particularly interested in was a photo of DukeKahanamoku who was a surfing pioneer. It was good to be reminded that surfing
is actually an old sport from Hawaii.
My mum turned 49 on Thursday. We decided to go Feast which
is an all you can buffet. They have a good selection of food available, from
roast meats, pasta dishes, salads, Asian food, seafood and deserts. The service
was excellent; the staff was friendly and not intrusive. In some places, they
watch you like a hawk because they want to collect dishes so they don’t pile up
which can be an uncomfortable dining experience.
I don’t try to stuff myself anymore when it comes to a
buffet. I don’t like feeling too full and wasting food as there’s always a heap
of food uneaten on the plate. I just aim
for three courses. So I had pumpkin soup and cheesy bread for starters, roast
pork, gravy and potato bake for a main meal and soft serve ice cream with jelly
and mousse.
I got eight new mugs for mum’s birthday and I baked her some
cupcakes. My little brother got her a scarf and a woolen hat. My older brother
is going to take us to Dream World.
Eat Street Markets is an outdoor venue consisting of food
stalls and trucks selling hot food from around the world. Australia doesn’t
have street food except at outdoor events like festivals and markets and those
are only temporary. So Eat Street Market is the closest thing we have to a
street food venue.
The markets open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On
Fridays and Saturdays it opens from 4pm-10pm and on Sundays it opens from
10am-7pm. Admission is $2. I recommend bringing cash because all the stalls
deal in cash. There are three ATMs at the markets but they usually have long
queues. Most of the food is around 6-20 dollars depending on what you are
getting. I think it’s a little pricey but the markets are located in an up
market area and the quality of the food is high.
I first went to the market with my friend Jenny. It was a bit of an out of the way venue for us and we
discussed various ways to get there. At first we were going to take public transport
because neither of us wanted to drive to a faraway place we had never been to
but later Jenny offered to drive.
The markets are very hipster, with lots of trendy people
walking around in their skinny jeans and quirky outfits.
I also liked
how there was plenty of places to sit down and enjoy the food. The markets had
plenty of secondhand chairs, milk crates and wooden tables for dining outdoors
which added to the hipster feel. I hate having to eat and stand, especially if
I’m eating something messy and awkward. There was an overwhelming variety of
food available from all parts of the world. So we wandered around looking at everything.
There was Korean sliders, crispy Peking duck, wood fire pizzas, chicken satay, cheese krunsky, calamari,
calzones, macaroons, ginger beers, ribs, wings, cronuts, churros, gelati,
dumplings, octopus, lamb shanks etc. Jenny and I decided to share food so we got
the Korean slider burgers, Capricosa pizza and herbal iced tea.
The ice tea that Jenny and I had. Photo courtesy of Jenny
I recommend bringing some plastic containers so you can take
food home. There were so many things we wanted to try but we were already too
full. Usually, the food is served on plates or bowls to be eaten there so you
can’t really take it home with you. I think it’s better to go the markets if
you are in a group because you can share food and sample a bit of everything. Besides
food, there are two live bands for entertainment and a few stalls selling
handicrafts and vintage stuff. The emphasis of the markets is food though so
there’s not much to do after you have eaten.
Korean sliders that we ate.
I also went to the markets again on another day with my
brother and mum. This time we bought chicken satays, calamari, curry puffs,
coconut ice cream, Vietnamese rice paper rolls, a German food platter and ginger
beer. I really liked the curry puffs and coconut ice cream. The ice cream is
soft serve and there is a good coconut flavor.
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