Driving Miss Stevie

Well after traveling for 29 hours we made it to Noosa .
The most entertaining part of the travel has been Steve navigating while Joanne drives on the wrong side of the road. No GPS was available so Steve has his head buried in a map periodically looking up to remind Jo that Steve's side of the car must remain close to the curb ( left and right are terms that have variable meaning to Joanne ) .Even the Aussies acknowledge that the Noosa area sets some kind of record for round abouts and since we are entering them from the wrong side this makes navigating them even more challenging!!! Joanne thinks that it is highly unlikley that we will get our damage deposit back on the vehicle given the fingernail marks I have embedded in the dash and the hole in the floor board from me applying my brake foot!!!

Today we went on a very beautiful tour of the Noosa river system and everglades , a whole appreciation you could not get from the roads , and someone else got to drive!
Lots of very unique flora and fauna , we know why so many people have said Noosa was one of their favourite spots .Weather is 24 degreees we can see the surfers from our apartment.

Tomorrow we head to Fraser Isalnd for the day ,the largest sand island in the world .
The Aussie are very freindly ,but think we are from the States :)

"Kick a Kangroo in the Balls"

Those were the parting words of Dick as we left Vancouver after Genny and Lupo's wedding.According to my father in law that is how you see how high they can jump...I'm not sure if it's the best advise that Dick has ever given me but I will take it under advisement.


The photo is of the birthday boys celebrating another milestone from the deck @Dave & Denise's spectacular new home . Nothing really to do with Aus but I wanted to make sure I could actually down load and post a photo on the blog before I went south of the equator. (Jane I am the one on the left) .

Our Changing World

Just talked to our long lost Aussie friend Mike .We are looking forward to getting together in Brisbane . His comments were interesting as he said it was good we were coming to see the Great Barrier Reef now and not in 10 years as it is bleaching due to the warming seas killing the coral. He also related that there are sever droughts in Aus that effect washing cars , showering and watering of golf courses and cause wild fires.

Since I first wrote this entry things in Sydney have gotten more dramatic;check out this link for photos of the dust storm that delayed flights and made for some neat photos . Its has blown through same day.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/09/dust_storm_in_australia.html

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When Pigs Fly
The other Aussie story is the swine flu out break in Aus . Maybe I should have called this entry the Three Horseman of the Apocolypse . Does not sound like I work for the Aussie Travel Bureau. No worries we are still looking forward to our trip !!!

Bolton Brisbane

Hi Steve
this is just a test
MY PHONE Home 36301533 and cell 0412175820

The Final Count Down

G'Day

Back from beating up on the poor dears at the BC Seniors Jo, or JoJo, as she will be know in Aus seems to be coming down with a pretty nasty cold .

Talk about your exciting blog news !

We head out one week today so I thought I had better get the blog up and running and send out invitations to family and friends so you can track our adventures in the land of the Crocodile Hunter , krikky he's dead !