A perfect day to walk by the Broadwater saw us enjoying the warm, winter sunshine under a magnificent blue sky.. We met at Quota Park at Biggera Waters and followed the path to Southport. The sea sparkled, and pelicans, seagulls and black swans enjoyed the peaceful setting as much as we did. We hardly noticed 8 kilometres slipping by before driving a short distance to enjoy morning tea at Jayne's mother's place overlooking a lovely canal. Life is good. |
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We always look forward to the annual Swell Sculpture Festival held at Currumbin Beach. It is Queensland's largest outdoor sculpture exhibition, and it is on until 18 September 2022. This year's sculptures are particularly impressive with over 70 awe-inspiring and thought-provoking pieces by local, national and international artists. The following photos are of some of our favourites. Letter boxes were in abundance . . .
The Lantern Festival marks the end of the Chinese New Year holiday. Also called Yuan Xiao Festival, it is celebrated in China and other Asian countries to honour deceased ancestors on the 15th day of the first month (Yuan) of the lunar calendar. Over the years, the festival has developed multiple meanings. It celebrates family reunions, socialising and freedom, while also featuring ancient spiritual traditions. Two of our Hungry Hikers lived in Hong Kong for many years, so they organised our own little celebration after a late afternoon walk along the Scarborough waterside. We were lucky to have fine weather and a beautiful full moon joining us.
Some kind firemen, who were on a break, stopped by to wish Joc a happy day. When the fire engine pulled up, we told her they had come to extinguish the fire because they heard how many candles were being lit. She had been hopeful that we had organised a stripper. Her disappointment was soon forgotten when she tasted the delicious gingerbread birthday cake Leanne had made. After a long leisurely morning tea, we put on our walking shoes and began walking. We took some side streets to enjoy the homes around canals of Raby Bay. We then wove our way around to GJ Walter Park and were lucky enough to spot a koala. A main aim of today was to make a stop at the Grand View Hotel to see a display of local imagery from Darren C Manning Photography. The Grand View Hotel’s Art Gallery has a history of exhibiting fine art and creative work from award winning and local Redlands artists. We enjoyed a nice cold beer as we strolled around the gallery. On the way back to the Point we enjoyed some more art work at the Old Schoolhouse Gallery, then enjoyed a late lunch of fish and chips by the bay before heading home. Nine kilometres wasn't a bad effort, considering all the eating and art admiring we had done along the way.
Today I felt privileged to try out the front seat of Jocelyn"s new Audi, which she recently won in a Mater Art Union raffle. The drive to Redcliffe was very smooth indeed. After crossing Hays Inlet on the very long 2.74 km bridge that replaced the Hornibrook Highway, we found a picnic table at Woody Point for a morning cuppa. Woody Point is perched at the southern tip of the Redcliffe Peninsula. It is historically significant as the landing spot of Mathew Flinders in 1799. Today a wide path winds through parks along the esplanade. Fortified by morning tea, we took a stroll out on the jetty, then followed the coast line north. It was a perfect Queensland winter day and we lapped up the glorious sunshine and many shades of blue. We went as far as the Redcliffe Jetty, an easy seven kilometres before breaking for lunch. After a walk on the Redcliffe Jetty, we stopped for lunch, then took a stroll down Bee Gees Way before heading back to Woody Point. In 2013, Moreton Bay Regional Council unveiled a 70-metre monument connecting Redcliffe Parade and Sutton Street, and renamed the alley ‘Bee Gees Way’ Redcliffe. We enjoyed posing with the statues, listening to their music and the personal reflections of Barry Gibbs, reading the captioned photos, and generally appreciating the stroll down memory lane.
By the time we returned to Woody Point we had completed a comfortable 14 km. This walk never fails to impress us. Due to various circumstances, this walk was the first time in several weeks that all Hungry Hikers were present, so there was probably much more talking than walking that went on. It was a great catch up in mild winter weather under a sky that just kept on giving a changing kaleidoscope of cloud formations. We met at Wellington Point early morning to catch the low tide that allowed us to walk to King Island. The natural sand walkway at low tide stretches between the point and King Island, situated about 1km offshore. The island is a conservation park and is a combination of sandy pathways alongside twisted trees and surrounded by mangroves. The most spectacular thing about this walk was the sky. The clouds put on a stunning show for us and lifted our spirits no end.. We finished the morning with morning tea and more talk at the Refuelled Cafe right on the Point.
Glorious spring weather, a beautiful Gold Coast Beach, and enticing sculptures are a swell reason for a beach hike, so that was what we did this week. These are just some of the sculptures we saw. Don't forget to click on the images to enlarge them for a better view. The SWELL Sculpture Festival, held annually on Currumbin Beach in early September, is now in its fifteenth year. The ten-day festival brings over 50 works by nationally and internationally renowned artists to a free public outdoor exhibition. Some sculptures were confusing, some intriguing, some ingenious some highly intricate, but all were enhanced by their amazing backdrop of sand, sea, sky and space. We had a fabulous time trekking between them admiring them, discussing them, posing with them and pondering their construction and meaning. But first ... there was food. We started late afternoon so we could see the sculptures in the light and in the night. Wine and snacks seemed the right thing to begin with. Then it was off to the sculptures spread along the sand. As night fell we took a short break to dine on fish and chips by the water, before retracing our steps to view the sculptures lit up. This year's festival is over, but don't forget to look out next year. We'll definitely be paying another visit.
This week was a real adventure for me - my first visit to North Stradbroke Island and my first time joining my walking group for their annual whale watching pilgrimage to Straddie. We caught an early morning ferry for a smooth crossing, then drove from Dunwich to Point Lookout on the east coast. We parked the cars and carried our day's supplies of tables, chairs, food and drink for quite some distance along a wooden board walk and down a large set of stairs to a rocky outcrop, which proved to be a perfect viewing platform for whale watching. North and South Stradbroke Islands were initially joined together but separated in 1895 after a violent storm created the passage between known as Jumpinpin. North Stradbroke Island covers an area of 275.2 square km. It is the world’s second largest sand island and forms part of the Moreton Bay Marine Park. Minjerribah is the traditional Aboriginal name for the island. At this time of year humpback whales are migrating north to more tropical waters and we were treated to a steady parade of these spectacular creatures close to the coast of the island. Some were swimming lazily, others were in a frolicking mood, putting on some wonderful displays of tail slapping and leaping and breaching. A few were even swimming with babies, having already given birth before reaching the northern warmer waters. As well as whales, we were able to see plenty of other wildlife including turtles, dolphins and kangaroos. Yes, it's that time of year again people - the Surfers Paradise Sand Safari, where artists get creative with sculpting sand. Sadly, the sculptures are being threatened by strong winds and heavy rain. Our plan on Wednesday was to walk from Main Beach to Surfers, but heavy rains forced us to take shelter in a toilet block half way there. Our teeth were gritty with sand blown by blustery winds and our skin was glowing from nature's microdermabrasion treatment, but it was very uncomfortable, so we made the decision to return to the car and drive to Surfers. Not the best of weather for our day out, but still a great day. There were not as many sculptures this year as in previous ones, but they were protected by tents, so if you want to brave the elements this weekend, they are available for viewing.
After a picnic lunch at the Ballina Lighthouse, we took a further break for ice-cream at Lighthouse Beach before following the Richmond River to Shaw's Bay. Here we caught a maxi-taxi back to Iron Peg and walked the few final kilometres back to Lennox Head. The final tally of 15 kilometres was nothing to be sneezed at. Not bad really, fore a bunch of retirees.
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