My trip to Brisbane, Australia 3 -Nature-

This is going to be my last report about my trip.

First of all, let me show you where I was in the gigantic land of Australia.

  
Brisbane is located between Cains in the north and Sydney in south.

On the weekend Lynette and Vince took me to Great Sandy National Park.

Noosa river meanders through towns to Lake Cooroibah.
Mangrove trees grow in the saline river.

To get to the beach you need to cross this river.
The boat ride is only a few minutes.

It felt strange to be on the boat in a car crossing the river!

A few minutes drive brought us to the beautiful beach!
Driving on the beach was a new and special experience for me.

Even after a 30 minute drive, the unbroken beach view continued.

Turing left off the beach there was a completely different world waiting for us.

It was rainforest.

You see how big those trees are relative to the size of our car.

And now I understand why only 4WD cars are allowed to enter this area. The roads are very rough and uneven. I said to Lynette, "It feels like a real "Indiana Jones" to me!"


We had lunch in the shade of the trees, overlooking the beach. How beautiful it is!

The lovely couple, Lynette and Vince.
Thank you both, I had an amazing time!


Emi

My trip to Brisbane, Australia 2 -Animals-

Meet the wonderful animals that I saw in Australia!

There is a zoo called "Australia Zoo" (website) which is a 30 minute drive from Lynette's home. You see animals which you may also be able to see in your countries such as giraffes, rhinoceros and tigers, as well as Australian endemic species such as koalas, kangaroos and wombats.

Wombats

I adored his sleeping face. It was so special to see him taking a walk on the lead.

Kangaroos

There are two different types of free range kangaroos.

Their hair was much softer than I had imagined!

But you might not necessarily go to a zoo to see kangaroos because there are lots of wild kangaroos in town!

One evening, on the way home in the car .... Do you see him watch us in the distance?

Koalas

When it comes to Australian endemic species, Koalas must top the list.

Drowsy eyes!

July is one of the best months to enjoy whale watching.

I have to admit that I was not sure if I would be OK on a ferry, BUT I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to see whales with my own eyes!

About 20 minutes off shore, we saw the first whale!

But then I realized that I was seasick. The ferry stopped and stood still to watch the whales, ( that's what they do) and that made me soooo sick.

This is the only photo that I could take.

I knew it would be a four hour cruise; and for the remaining 3 1/2 hours, I was longing to be back on land again.

But, Lynette, thank you for taking me on the ferry! I do appreciate it!

Let me introduce the animals at Lynette's!

Fat cat. That's what Lynette and Vince call him.

I just adored him. When he finds a hand, no matter whose one it is, he rubs his head against it. I can almost hear him say "Pat me!".

On the other hand, he prefers his personal space and we should honor that.

Hugo often appears in Lynette's works.

Every time I saw him he had different things, such as cushions, and sometimes shoes in his mouth.　He is so precious.

 Lastly, I show you some examples of Australian wild cuisine.

Camel burgers

Kangaroo sausages

Crocodile curry

Which one would you like to try for your dinner?

Emi 

My trip to Brisbane, Australia 1

Hello, Emi is here.

I was invited to stay at the quilt artist's, Lynette Anderson, from June 30th to July 7th. We gave our students workshops for two days last January when Lynette was in Japan.

   
The Sunshine Coast is where she lives. When I arrived at Brisbane International Airport, Lynette and her husband, Vince, were there to pick me up and then we headed home.

On the way home there were some big mountains in my line of vision because nothing to block my view.

Including the very popular site, "Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock", the mountains are monoliths, according to Vince, which symbolizes the mountains in Australia.

It is winter now in the southern hemisphere, but the weather in Brisbane felt like an early summer in Japan with extremely strong sunshine.

There is a man made river running through her town and this was the view from her terrace in the evening .
I found it very beautiful that the moon reflected on the water.

First on my list was to visit Lynette's quilt store called "little quilt shop". It's only a 10 minute drive from her home.

She designs fabric for RJR as well as buttons and kits, which are always popular.

I like her displays, each of which tells you the concept of her fabric collections.