Monday, December 23, 2013

Hiking, swimming and other weekend fun

Girraween & Stanthorpe - 5th to 7th October 2013
Another return visit to Stanthorpe, we love the area as there are lovely walks and everyone is very friendly. The days are incredibly hot and the nights freezing.  We camped at Bald Rock over the long weekend and managed to tag along to the local Observatory tour, it was awesome - he had his own dome and a great knowledge of astronomy, awesome night under the stars!
Shahn all rugged up outside the dome and telescope that he built in his backyard. It was a 46cm reflector cool images turns a small twinkling star into a whole mass of thousands filling the entire view finder.
Eak taking some creative pics of our campsite at Girraween!
Cooking some eggs, lovely day
Sphinx rock and Turtle Rock. There was this crevasse that split the two massive rocks, Eak being the perfect gentleman as always let me go first. So it was a climb up but a body width so I was trying to get myself up the higher step, turned sideways to get myself higher and got my ass stuck, Eak was pissing himself laughing and the guy above me who kindly lifted my bag out, was judging me but beautiful view from the top.
Video to show how graceful I am.  Hahaha!


Butt crack rock hehehe!
Climbing up the pyramids again!
The quick way down


Getting to the top of this rock was a mission, bit of rough climbing good fun
Because everyone that climbs up a rock needs to do a handstand, we love it!!!
Cunningham's Skink (Egernia Cunninghami)

White Rock Conservation Area - 1st December 2013
 Sunday afternoon wander before Eak headed back to Chinchilla for the week. 
We climbed up the side of this wee rock, and met a lovely lady up the top having her lunch and of course we chatted to her for an hour but she showed us another track out which was good. Nice walk.

Mount Norman  - 23rd November 2013
Another weekend walk, it was a pretty crappy day but that made it nice and cool for walking. It was quite challenging this hike, lots of steep sections and lots of stairs. Just stopping for a snack and some water before heading back down before the storm set in. When we got back to Ipswich there was a huge thunder storm that blew our power which meant homemade Sushi for dinner by headlight.
Having a snack up the hill, watching out for snakes with out gaiters on!


Enjoying the view watching storms build


Lace Monitor a big bugger

Mount Timbrogargen - Glass House Mountains 22nd December 2013
We have covered most of the Glass House Mountains now, Timbrogargen was one that Shahn never made it to the top of previously (in hindsight, a very clever move) it was a bloody tough climb - hot as rocks, vertical cliffs and pretty much a freestyle rock climb.  We have been doing a bit of indoor rock climbing so that helped. 
Climbing up Tibrogargan, Shahn did not enjoy this so much a bit steep and lots of shear rock, drinking litres of water and as the rock was so hot from the sun it burnt your hands as you climbed.
Sussing out the climb
The view down…..


Shahn was happy with the climb at this stage


The warning sign - rocks kill people


Enjoying the view from the top
Shahn looking really happy with life (just to clarify, it was 35degrees and very little wind.  We were so sweaty! I didn't make it up the top last time and I did it this time, on the way home I vomited in the service station car park from heat stroke and probably dehydration too - dedication I think, thoughts??)


Michael just living
Dragonfly
Bribie Island in the distance

Cootchiemudlo Island - 21st December 2013

We look gooooood.
So we caught the ferry 
Shahn kayaking and Michael paddle boarding.  Enjoying the South East QLD sun!


Also sailing at Wivenhoe Shahn dared me to see how easy it was to flip my boat so I got out there and put the hammer down and went as fast as I could until I over powered it and flipped the boat, Little did I know that with out extra body weight i was unable to flip the cat back over…… I must have been out there for half an hour until Darryl had to swim out to give me a hand. Lesson learned….. need a float on the mast or mast filled with foam and possibly a bit more weight or a longer rope. So I owe him one or two….


The Kiwi kids playing a bit of Mini putt and having a few light beverages

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

New Zealand, you sexy beast


New Zealand....

So After my work contract finished I had no work..... and after about 2 weeks of bumming around I had to do something as with out any fun plans the boredom was driving me mad, so booked my flights home to help out on the farm.

Lake Wanaka the night I flew in, beautiful but bloody freezing.
The old stone ruin on the farm
The cows walking back to the paddock.
The milking shed with Stewart Island in the distance
The ute while I was fencing on the hill.
Pete coming up the track to put a few posts in.
Just down fishing at the river at about 9pm
Fresh snowfall the second night in Southland
Feeding the calves, excellent shed for rearing- makes life easy
Snow on the hills
Milking the cows, Chris thinking he's the boss
Cows in the yard
Purple Sunset
R22 cleaning up the farm
Long drive north
Stoping for a rest at lake Ruataniwha


Lake Tekapo
Alex and Diana's place Canterbury 
D's pad a veggie garden
High winds a few weeks before I arrived destroyed many of the irrigation in Canterbury.
Haylands Sheep and Lambs only 2months old
Pecker and barry

Haylands, a magic spot.

The Cows wanting to see whats for dinner.....
D and Alex and the kids
Oamaru, historical area.
Shackleton replica lifeboat, the one they sailed all the way north from Antarctica to South Georgia to raise help. http://www.timjarvis.org/shackletonepic/
Moeraki boulders

Dessert 
Dunedin Surf
Sunset Dunedin
My pet ducks 
Pete with is Trout, over the moon, but broke his rod.....
Sunset on the runoff.
Flying over Fiord land, amazing I have never seen this from above as it is always cloudy, I was probably just south of Milford Sound.

A fantastic trip, got some work done and had a blast.