1st Day of Winter

The 1st of June is the start of the winter season here in Queensland, the winter months are June, July and August, with July being the coldest month statistically at 15C which means that Queenslanders enjoy more winter sunshine and warmth than most other Australian states. The northern tropical parts of australia do not have summer and winter as such, here these months are the dry season although the recent rains goes against the weather trend.

As Australia is so large there are big variations in the winter climate. In the south-eastern zone in South Australia there is a wetter oceanic climate with mild winters, averaging about 20 degrees Celsius. Many consider the winter season to be the best time to visit Brisbane, avoiding the highest temperatures and humidity of summer and allowing for better conditions to explore the countryside...we will see...

Italian Week in Brisbane

This week Brisbane has an italian flavour as there's a festival promoted by the italian consulate celebrating all things italian down in the city centre.

Tomorrow we are off to see the Queensland Orchestra, which is the 'state orchestra’ playing the Four Seasons in the shopping mall in the city centre. The Four Seasons is Vivaldi's best-known work, and is among the most popular pieces of Baroque music, instantly recognisable.

There's also a food market with some tasty wares on offer so we are quite looking foward to it. There's a sizable italian community in Australia which accounts for some of the good coffee and favourable influence on the food here which is not a bad thing at all.

No dutch festival yet in Brisbane I'm afraid, they only seem to be in Melbourne and occaisonally in Sydney and are very low key, though there is a shop here selling dutch stuff including raw herring which I had a go of, somehow its not quite the same as the real thing in Holland so we gave up the idea of shopping there again.

I still have to try the Belgian Beer Bar though, also in the city centre. So there is hope...

Heavy Rain here in Brisbane

Its been raining really heavily for the past day here in Brisbane. This is what the news says....

Queensland's southeast is in the grip of the worst floods since the 1974 disaster, with one man killed and people trapped and stranded throughout the region.

Premier Anna Bligh said rainfall across the state's southeast in the past 24 hours had led to the most extensive flooding since the 1974 floods, when the Brisbane River broke its banks and inundated the surrounding areas.

'Advice from the Bureau of Meteorology is the wild weather could continue through to Friday, she said in a statement late on Wednesday.

Brisbane was in chaos on Wednesday evening, after some of the heaviest rain in years. Roads and watercourses were flooded, sparking many rescues.

The city of Ipswich, west of Brisbane, was all but cut off with floodwaters closing the Ipswich Motorway and most alternative routes cut.
The Bureau of Meteorology said that in the 24 hours to 7pm (AEST) Wednesday, Brisbane's CBD had received 159mm of rain, Redcliffe north of Brisbane 141.6mm, Beerburrum north of Brisbane 236.6mm, and the Gold Coast 83.6mm.

But the figures for the 24 hours to 9am on Wednesday were even more alarming.

Beerburrum had its wettest one-day period in 17 years with 302mm of rain. Over the same period Redcliffe received 151mm, and Brisbane city 89mm - its wettest 24 hours in eight years.

The mean May rainfall for Brisbane's CBD is 73.7mm.

The upside is that the combined levels of Brisbane's dams has jumped by 8.22 per cent to 67.5 per cent of capacity - the most water they've held since 2002.

Rain in the past 24 hours alone has added about 8.5 months' supply to the system.

Severe weather, flood and coastal wind warnings remain current throughout the southeast.

City Cat Boat Service

The City Cat is one of Brisbane's icons, just like the ferry on the Mersey in Liverpool. Not a tourist service but one of the best ways to get around the city of Brisbane and it costs just an euro and its an integrated service with the same ticket as the buses and railway. They are catamarans and zip up and down the river stopping often, they all have aboriginal names, often unpronouncable...
We plan to do the paddle steamer boat trip where they also serve a buffet meal.
The weather we had on the trip was excellent, 26C for autumn and beautiful skies.

Cruise on the Brisbane River

On Sunday we went on a 4hr river cruise down the Brisbane River a bargain for Euro 15. The captain gave a running commentary on what we saw as we sailed down the river towards the Brisnae Container Terminal at the river mouth enterance where it meets the sea, giving a history lesson as well. There are superb riverfront properties just beyond the city centre worth millions, then it changes to industrial and port facilities as you go further down. Theres a photo of the rivercat which is a boat service which ferries commuters up and down the river. It was nice to see a dredger - the "Brisbane" at work and we saw many sides to the river both commercial, residential and private. They say a river and port give an insight into the heart of a city and I think thats the case with Brisbane it has really undergone amazing redevelopment over the years and it is set to continue as both the airport and the port facilities expand. They have only been running this cruise for a few months and its worth doing again as there's so much going on the river

Brisbane Ferris Wheel

Today I took a trip on Brisbane's ferris wheel (Inge doesnt like heights) It is the same idea as the London Eye only a smaller version. You get a good view of the river and the city on the opposite side of the river. Its situated at South Bank and is a tourist must do along with a river cruise. More of that to follow...

Climate Smart Service

We booked a Climate Smart service for the house and today we had a visit from a electrician who installed an energy monitor into our electricity box and gave us 12 long lasting light bulbs and all this for only 25 pounds which we can claim back from the council, so it costs us nothing!. The energy monitor is great as it is a wireless screen which shows your actual electricity use in pounds and pence, so you can go round switching things off to get your energy use down.
Australia has a long way to go in terms of environmental measures compared to Europe but every little we do helps.

Rythms of Ireland

Last night we went to see the Irish Dance Group "The Rythms of Ireland" After a sell out Australian season in 2007 and due to overwhelming public demand, The Rhythms of Ireland returned to Australia. It was a good show with a mix of dancing, singing and traditional irish music and we enjoyed it. It is impressive to see the show from close by, we were in the 3rd row.The website is here : http://www.rhythmsofireland.com

Buddha's Birthday Festival

Over the weekend we went to a festival celebrating Buddha's birthday which was held on the South Bank which is an area on the south bank of the Brisbane river opposite the city centre. It is an area with gardens, a piazza and a ferris wheel. Quite similar to the south bank in London only with better weather!
There were lots of stalls selling all sorts, food and all things chinese. We went to two talks by a buddhist nun, she was very good and it set us thinking about the meaning of life, the universe and everything.