2014 Christmas Blog
Bob & Joyce Newell, Bribie Island, Australia
The year 2013 to 2014 transition occurred with Joyce volunteering and attending the Woodford Folk Festival. (http://www.woodfordfolkfestival.com). Woodford was great – both helping put this massive village together (I helped with mainly sewing decorations), and the Festival itself. Bob took advantage of Joyce leaving to visit Janet in Geraldton (Western Australia) which included Christmas together in Exmouth (Yardie Creek Homestead) and Red Bluff (137km north of Carnarvon), building furniture, and golfing.
Red
Bluff Tent Cabin, WA
Bob
and Janet at Kalbarri NP, WA
Bob's
Furniture, WA
Janet's
Gingerbread Tower, WA
Home
again, Joyce continued with her Tuesday recorder group in Maleny (70
km north-west), now in about its 20th
year. This year Bob joined her trips with joint early morning
bird-watching at Mary Cairncross Park (rainforest) and Baroon Pocket
Dam (mixed eucalypt forest) followed by being driving-range volunteer
at the Maleny golf course (9 holes under construction).
Looking
over New Course
Clubhouse & Driving
Range
As
well we enjoyed Bribie and surrounds with cycling, walking, kayaking
trips, seagrass monitoring, printmaking, laughing, and singing
(Joyce) and golfing (Bob).
Various
“Green Men” (tree spirits)
Rainbow prints and
Orabela quilt
Special
trips included camping at Caloundra while Joyce joined in a scratch
performance of Handel’s Creation, having Janet visit for ten days
in May, a couple of camps at Booloumba Creek (north-west of Maleny),
and a special kayak trip up the Pumicestone Passage to Caloundra and
back in May/June (two days up, one day resting, two days back- about
30 km each way).
In
June we joined about ten others at a volunteer week at Lake Allom on
Fraser Island making a new walking track and renovating several
buildings at an old forestry camp. We enjoyed visiting the island
after quite a few years absence. It is still a magical place but is
showing signs of over-use (and abuse) by many more visitors – once
a quiet haven but now on the backpacker must-do list.
Lake
Allom, Fraser Is
Western beach,
Fraser Is
A
special treat in July were some genuine Dutch stroopwafels (an ALDI
special) which revived memories of our time in the Netherlands forty
years ago.
Joyce
departed on her second camel trip in the first-half of August this
time to the eastern Simpson Desert with 17 pack-camels, 4 cameleers,
8 to 15 fellow walkers and 3 to 4 naturalists. She thoroughly enjoyed
the 200 km trek over seventeen days, the solitude of the desert, and
the comfy swag and myriad stars at days end. Further information at
(http://www.desertexpeditions.org/great-white-lakes-expedition.html
and photos from one of the group members, Cecilia
https://www.flickr.com/groups/2672518@N21/pool/
(8/14 photos only – Cecilia was also on an earlier part of the
trek this year in May in the Western Simpson, where the sand was much
redder.)
Joyce
and Billie
Joyce's overnight
camp
Camels
on the move
Landscape with trees
August
20 saw Bob elected President of the BribieBUG (Bicycle User Group).
The BUG organises a programme of social rides and advocates for
improved facilities on the island and adjacent mainland. A few
interesting years coming.
In
early September we returned to Lord Howe Island (about 600 km SE in
the Tasman Sea). We thoroughly enjoyed our two weeks spent golfing in
the early morning and then cycling, bird-watching, walking, beaching
and even a kayaking trip over the coral reefs.
White
Terns
Lord Howe
Woodhen
Lord
Howe Golf Course
Putting by the
lagoon
Pandanus
forest
Typical Lord Howe
shoreline
October
brought a second track-making volunteer week at Lake Allom on Fraser
Island. Then followed by a week in a Tannum Sands cabin while Bob ran
a Daesim training course at the Gladstone QAL alumina refinery.
Rough
track cleared
Finished by Terry
the Tractor
We
have one last trip planned for this year. Dec 11th
we fly to Christchurch, New Zealand, to meet Janet and together spend
a week on Stewart Island (just south of the NZ South Island) before
joining our Heritage Expeditions Galapagos of the Southern Ocean
cruise on December 23rd for 12 days visiting Subantarctic Islands
south of New Zealand (The Snares, Auckland Islands, two days at
Macquarie Island and at Campbell Islands on the return trip). We are
looking forward to lots of sea-life and bird-watching, a bit of
kayaking and hopefully some unusual relatively good weather on the
Southern Ocean (visit
http://www.timeanddate.com/weather/australia/macquarie-island
to see what the weather is usually like). More news on this trip
after we return.
Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year.
