Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Down Under, 4 by ViburnumValley

ViburnumValley wrote:
Marianne and I did have a lot of fun touring around Queensland for three weeks in September. This was a celebration of our 25 years of wedded...er...bliss, yeah - that's it!

It was leveraged by Marianne's 25 years of service running the laboratory at the big equine hospital, which gave her a generous bonus. It was accommodated by our niece and her husband who live in Brisbane and - despite being 8.5 months pregnant - welcomed us into their home during our visit.

We spent the first week with them. We toured the city and environs on our own while they were at work, and then had three days with them squiring us around to some of their favorite haunts.

We then took off in a rental car, all self-assured at driving on the left side of the road, and spent the next two weeks exploring Queensland from Stanthorpe to Airlie Beach and back.

It did not rain. There was evidence everywhere, however, of the tremendous power of water in that part of the world - due to 27 inches of rain over a couple days in January 2013. I could not imagine, but saw the results.

Spent a full day out at the Great Barrier Reef, including my first snorkeling experience. I did not drown, and got to see a big turtle close up.

We ate well. It is more expensive there overall, but most everything we tried was very good and people were about as friendly as we'd ever come across.

Oh - there is wine there, too. It's a little known fact...

Here are some of the places around Brisbane, for starters.