Moreton Bay Fig Trees

If you have visited Florida you may have seen Banyan trees.  These trees grow numerous roots and spread their canopies over a large area.  The Brisbane equivalent – and don’t forget Brisbane enjoys a sub-tropical climate just like many areas of Florida – is the Moreton Bay Fig Tree.  The tree derives its name from the island just off the coast near Brisbane where the trees grow abundantly.  If you visit Brisbane make sure to visit the old Botanical Gardens on the river to see these spectacular trees.  A bit of trivia!  These trees were imported to southern California where they are thriving.  I saw several in and around Santa Barbara.

Paul in front of a Moreton Bay Fig Tree which has overtaken the surrounding fence

Three Dog Night

I was driving to work the other day and heard a radio announcer talking about a three dog night which is a colloquial saying for a very cold night.  But do you know where this saying originates?  It comes for Australia’s aboriginal people.  Aborigines (native Australians) sleep under the stars in a lean-to which is simply a sheet or sheets of plywood or tin roof leaned against a tree.  This lean-to provides a rudimentary cover from the elements and from the cold of the austral Winter night which can be quite cold in certain areas.  So where do the dogs come into all this?  The aborigines also raise numerous dogs even dingoes in their settlements and often sleep with them for warmth in their lean-tos.  A three dog night is such a cold night that an aborigine needs three dogs in his lean-to to keep him warm.

Public Swimming Pools

Did you ever wonder why a nation of less than 30 million people can produce such good swimmers?  The answer is beaches of course but also public swimming pools.  Even in small towns you will find olympic size swimming pools.  Brisbane has nineteen of them and they are life savers on hot sweltering days.  Once when passing through Goondiwindi (pronounced Gun-da-windy) we bathed in the artesian-fed public swimming pool for hours to escape the heat which was a balmy 122F (50 celsius).  Most of them has a open-air change rooms, a restaurant and even grassy areas for a picnic.

Check out Brisbane's pools at:  http://www.ourbrisbane.com/lifestyle/health-sport-and-fitness/swimming-pools

Some delicacies you have to try

Musk lifesavers:

One of my favourite candies (lollies), and indeed a favourite of many Australians, is the musk lifesaver.  Non Australians say it tastes like soap but it is a great breath revitalizer.

Vegemite:

This salty, yeast-based spread has been exported to many countries overseas.  It has therefore lost its surprise factor.  I still remember the day my wife to be Marielle slabbed on a thick coating of vegemite onto her toast thinking it was nutella and then took a big bite.  Call the fire brigade! 

Snack bars:

Australians love chocolate.  In every grocery store are large displays of chocolates which we ate as dessert every night.  Lucky we did lots of walking during the day.  The large family size bars would cost from $3-5 AUD and the tastiest was the Snack bar.  The snack bar has twelve different flavours ranging from pineapple (my favourite) to vanilla and even turkist delight.

Surfer's Paradise

Surfers in the distance - taken from Burleigh Heads

Many rich people from Asia have condominiums in Surfers

At the North end of Queensland's Gold Coast lies Surfers Paradise about seventy minutes South of Brisbane.  Surfers is Australia's Miami with numerous skyscrapers, nightclubs and with a great surf beach and of course the Meter Maids.  These skimpily clad ladies - sorry no photos unless you pay $5 AUD - are a great tourist attraction.  They feed coins into expired meters (car meters that is).

Cassowary

I will forgive you for thinking that Australia has only one large flightless bird, the emu.  However in the tropical rain forests of North Queensland lives another one, the cassowary.  Unlike the emu the cassowary is declining in numbers due mainly to habitat loss.  Note the large helmut (comb) on the head which is used by the bird to brush aside vegetation as it runs through the rain forest.  Looking at this bird you could perhaps support the argument that birds descended from the dinosaurs.

Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is one of the world's twenty most distinctive buildings.  It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007 and visitors to Syndey are impressed by its unique design of sails jutting into Sydney hrabour.  However its construction was shrouded in controversy and a very sad event.  The Opera House was formally completed in 1973, ten years over schedule and a staggering fourteen times over cost, from $7 million planned to $102 million actual.  The architect Jorn Utzon left the project before it was completed.  The New South Wales government organized a lottery to pay for the overrun and the winner's son was abducted for a ransom.  The son was murdered before the ransom could be paid.

Read more at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Opera_House#Construction_history