Brisbane

I got the usual grilling at customs again but this was to be expected, Australia has very tight rules on goods brought in to the country, especially anything organic. So I declared everything including my wet-shoes ('cos I'd walked on Vietnamese soil in them. Everything got through ok and they didn't take anything off me, The shoes got spayed with methylated spirits and my Fisherman's Friend's were deemed safe! I went to the Avis desk to get the car and was told unfortunately they didn't have the car I'd booked but would I mind a free upgrade to a higher grade car as it needed to be taken back down South anyway; a Vauxhall Omega (But badged Holden) I got some cash from the ATM and gave Mark a ring, Mark is Jane Lomas' brother and he lives out in Brisbane, Jane had already rung ahead and asked Mark if Icould stay with him and his family for a day or two and it was no problem. Mark gave me directions to his house and armed with a copy of the Brisbane 'A-Z' I set off to find them. Luckily for me it was Australia Day and the roads were quiet so navigating wasn't to bad. I arrived at Mark and Caroline's in about 40minutes and was greeted with a beer and bacon and egg buttie – heaven! We chatted for a while then went over the road to the neigbour's house where all the residents of the cul-de-sac were having a traditional Aussie Day BBQ complete with beers, snags, and steaks and a huge Pavlova to finish . It was really good to just sit down and relax and everyone was very friendly, all the kids just ate what they wanted and played and the adults just sat around the table and chatted. It was also damn hot – I don't think I felt heat like this since Trivandrum in India but it was also fairly humid here which added to the heat, which of course means you drink more beer suffice to say I slept soundly this night!

Comments

  1. Liz Warrington7 February 2010 at 06:06

    what an ace start to your time in aus! hope you are enjoying yourself. eat lots of pies and anzac cookies and check out the milky way! x

    ReplyDelete

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