Final impressions from Brissie

Our two weeks of holidays in Brisbane are over now. We had a really good time in and around Brisbane and with Harry (thank you so much, Harry!!!). Unfortunately, Sydney has really bad weather right now.. However, enjoy some nice impressions of Brisbane:

The skyline of Brisbane as seen from South Bank.

Sunset at Kurilpa Bridge

Australian job creation schemes

These signs are very common in Australia and for themselves they are no reason to get excited or to wonder.

Associated with these signs, however, are usually one or more people in bright orange safety dress holding signs that say ' STOP' or 'SLOW'. Those poor people seem to be replacements for the old fashioned stands on which signs are commonly attached in other parts of the world. A reason to wonder for me.. or maybe just a desperate job creation scheme?

Camping on Moreton Island (part 2)

Most of Moreton Island is National Park. Only one resort and a few villages are located on the island with altogether 45-50 people constantly living there. There is an old history of aboriginal culture on the island, too. And some aboriginal people are still living on the island as we got to know.

The north-eastern cape with the light house. A good spot for whale watching. The ca. 20 km long eastern beach seems inviting for surfers. It is crowded with sharks, though and people have died from shark attacks.

Our tour guide Helge.

A small crustacean on the beach: the soldier crab Mictryris platycheles (Thanks to Shane Ahyong for Identification!).

Native Grass Tree.

A flowering Banksia.

Scribbely Gum bark. In several eucalyptus tree species insect larvae living under the bark create beautiful artwork on the trunks and branches.

Our base camp at the Blue Lagoon. Here we had our meals, enjoyed a bonfire with the wonderful smell of the burning Australian bush and started our trips across the island.

The bush at Mt. Tempest, dominated by Native Grasstrees (Black Boys), Gum Trees (Eucalyptus) and Banksia.

Camping on Moreton Island (part 1)

18°C water temperature and clear blue water. Swimming and free diving with rays, box and many more fish was a nice experience - a little cold, though!

Two days on Moreton Island: A beautiful experience! With the 'MICAT' from Brisbane Port to the western beach. The second largest sand island in the world. No roads, only sand paths and beaches. Heath land and forests, ginormous dunes. Blue sea and red fresh-water lakes. Amazing wildlife. Whales, sharks, sea eagles and snakes..

Right after sunrise: A Coastal Carpet Python (Morelia spilota mcdowelii) of about 2 m length is looking for a shelter. In this picture, Jasmin has not yet realized that the snake is approaching her in order to grab a nice breakfast.

The Carpet Snake again. I risked my life to keep it away from Jasmin.

Dolphins (probably Bottlenose Dolphins) as seen from the coast. Plenty of Humpbacks were also around but not close enough to get a good shot with my small Nikon P7000.

Old wrecks off the beach. A nice place for snorkeling.

Tracks in the sand at the 'Blue Lagoon'. What was it? Maybe a small Wallaby?

Signs: A way of expression for humoristic Australian bureaucrats

The good sense of humor of Australian bureaucrats displayed in a loo door in South Bank, Brisbane (QLD). Pic: (c) J.Ruch

What does this sign tell us? 'Don't shoot the Wallabies in the face with a hand gun!'?

Your baby is not meeting your demands? Trade it here for another one - hopefully a better one! Pic: (c) J.Ruch

Possum emergency!

On our way to Harry's place Jasmin and I found a baby Common Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus). It was lying on the grass between a super-market car park and a main road. It was shivering and calling his mother. Also, as can be seen on one of the pics, it was injured a bit on the left eye. Because the mother was nowhere to be seen and as the street and car park were pretty busy, we decided to take it with us.

The cute little thing was freezing in the wind chill. Its cuteness was stunning somehow..

Mother for an hour. The guy at the emergency hotline insisted we should give the possum to a woman, not to a man. She should put the possum on her bra to make it comfortable. Not only the warmth, also the heartbeat and maybe the smell help to calm the baby down. Jasmin was lucky to be the only women around. We all wanted to hold it!!!

Harry got hold of an emergency hotline for injured wildlife and we brought the possum to a carer. Poor little thing!

Moreton Bay Diving

Western beach of Moreton Island, Queensland.

No big sharks, relaxed and safe dives: Everything alright!

We had an awesome day diving in Moreton Bay off Moreton Island. We saw dolphins, various rays, wobbegong sharks, Groupers and green turtles besides many other things. Three dives in one day: 2 x drift at 'The Pines' + 'Curtain Artificial Reef'. Amazing!