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 20^th 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 11^th 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.