James & Quene travelling around the World

Back from Queensland and we did the walk from Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach, nice walk along the coast but we were dying to get out of the city, we hadn’t seen much nature, so it was time to put our skates on. Thanks to Nadine and John for driving us into the Blue Mountains, it was a pity about the bad weather, so misty and foggy, then rain, it felt like we were in Sligo or Galway… I had to repeat myself “You are not in Ireland anymore”…!!!
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Vuelta de Queensland a Sydney , como no hemos visto mucho todavia , dimos un paseo de Bondi a Bronte , a lo largo de la costa , estuvo muy bien pero estabamos deseando salir de la ciudad y ver algo mas , asi que nos pusimos las pilas y a ver un poco de naturaleza y aire fresco,
Gracias a Nadine ( la prima de James ) y Jonh por llevarnos en coche hasta alli, es una pena que hiciera tan mal tiempo , no podiamos parar de pensar que estabamos de vuelta en Sligo o Galway.

Another view from Bondi Beach, where the beautiful and the rich people are toasting themselves in the sun.
Otra vista de Bondi beach donde los ricos se tuestan al sol…esta bien por un par de dias …

Swiming pool right beside the sea, so no sharks can disturb your lengths.
Pisci al ladito del mar , donde no hay tiburon que te distraiga de la linea.

Rock formations along the coast, it was a nice walk.
A lo largo de toda la costa hay rocas con formas increibles ..se te hace el camino mas agradable.

The heart is still beating over the bridge and it will continue do so until the end of January…Iluminated under the bridge is Luna Park fairground.
If you check above the bridge you will see groups of little people .. you can do tours over the bridge but it is very expensive , so we didn’t go.
Esp- El corazon seguira latiendo sobre el puente hasta finales de Enero, iluminado debajo se puede ver Luna Park ( el parque de atracciones en Sydney)
Se caminar arriba en el puente , en la foto se grupos de gente, era muy caro asi que no lo hicimos.

Blue Mountains
First day we couldn’t see absolutely anything, we had a thick fog around us and it was hard to believe that 150 Kms away people were at the beach.
Thankfully the second day it got better but only for a few hours before started to pouring rain..for hours and hours…no outdoor sports again.. we are not being very lucky with the weather in Australia, it rained in Brisbane, Surfers, Sydney and now Blue Mountains… and Darwin won’t be better, it being the wet season so we thought of our soundtrack for this trip will be:
Always take the weather with you (Crowded House), I’m only happy when it rains (Garbage), Why does it always rain on me? (Travis), Purple rain (Prince)

Ruari I’m sure you can help us on that .. I just hope doen’t rain the 19th…

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Primer dia no podiamos ver absolutamente nada , una niebla muy espesa nos cubria , se hace dificil pensar que a unos 150 Kms , la gente estaba en la playa.
Tuvimos un poco mas de suerte el segundo dia pero sobre el medio dia , cuatro truenos y comenzo la ducha por horas y horas , menos mal que en el hostal tenian secador , ni siquiera el chubasquero fue suficiente… Habia un monton de actividades para hacer , pero cansados de esperar nos fuimos al dia siguiente, tan pronto como subimos el tren , trozitos de cielo empezaron a aparecer .. demasiado tarde !!

Stunning view of Jamieson Valley. As long as the eye could reach was trees and more trees, is there anywhere in Spain left like this ?
It did remind us of Virgen de la Oz in Zaragoza but much more bigger probably like the whole province it self. Well Australia is the size of Europe, if not bigger!
Esp -Increible las vistas del valle , el bosque y el valle no tiene fin , nos recordo a Virgen de la Oz en Zaragoza pero a lo bestia , no creo que quede nada asi en España..

Before started to pour rain we enjoy one of the walks and the several waterfalls we encounter on the way, this is Leura Cascades.
Esp -Antes de que se pusiera a diluviar , estuvimos disfrutando de uno de los muchos senderos y cataratas que nos ibamos encontrando

James waiting for the rain to stop couple of hours it wasn’t just a few drops … It was pouring !

These are the three sisters, they don’t look big if you check on the pic the left one, you can see a bridge and people just to get an idea how big they are. There is a beautiful Aboriginal tale about these rocks,
3 Aboriginal sisters (Meenhi, Wimlah y Gunnedoo) lived with their father a witch doctor Tyawan, one day he was hunting and left his daughters on the cliff so they would be safe from the evil creature Bunyip. A big centipede appeared on the cliff and one of the daughters threw a stone at it and the stone smashed the cliff leaving the 3 sisters on a thin ledge. The noise woke the evil Bunyip from down below who came up to thre cliff to see who had woken him, he went for the 3 girls, who let out a scream. Their father heard this and rushed to the top, he saw that Bunyipo was about to grab them so he turned them into stone with his magic bone. Bunyip got even angrier and turned on Tyawan, and began to chase him. Tyawan got trapped in some rocks so had to turn himself into a lyrebird and dissappeared into a cave, he dropped his magic bone. When it was safe to come out of the cave he began searching for the magic bone so he could turn the 3 sisters back into themselves but he couldn’t find the magic bone. It’s said he still searches the valley for the magic bone hoping to return the 3 sisters back into themselves. :

Esp - Estan son las tres hermanas , Son impresionantes , os podeis hacer una idea fijadose en la roca de la izquierda se ve el puente y gente cruzando , hay una historia aborigen preciosa sobre estas tres rocas:
Es la historia de tres hermanas aborigenes (Meenhi, Wimlah y Gunnedoo) que vivian con su padre un brujo Tyawan, un dia cazando dejo a sus
hijas en un acantilado para que estuvieran a salvo de una criatura malvada Bunyip.
Un gusano aparecio en la y una de las hijas tiro una piedra pero la piedra cayo por el acantilado despertando a
malvado Bunyip.. Bunyip trepo el acantilado para ver quien le tiro la piedra , las tres hermanas gritaron y su padre al
oirlas volvio para ayudarlas , cuando vio que Bunyip estaba a punto de cogerlas , su padre las convirtio en piedra con su hueso magico.
Bungip se enfado tanto que persigui al padre , al estar atrapado en unas rocas , utilizo el hueso magico convirtiendose en un pajaro
y desaparecio en una cueva, dejando caer su hueso magico, cuando estaba a salvo se puso a buscar el hueso magico para devolver del encantamiento a
sus hijas , pero no pudo encontrarlo . Dicen que todavia hay pajaro en el valle buscando el hueso para poder devolver la vida a las tres hermanas.

This distintive parrot can be found all along the Blue Mountains, it was beautiful to listen to them . It was difficult to make him look at the camera though.
Maybe was the father of the trhee sister crying for their daughters .
Esp - Este es loro es tipico por las Blue Mountains , hacen un sonido bastante peculiar ..Intentamos que mirara la camara pero nada , estaba a lo suyo.. Igual era el padre de las tres hermanas , llorando porque no puede encontrar el hueso !

See you the next post !!!!

Welcome to Surfers Paradise

This place is massive….! It is in the heart of Gold Coast - Queensland –Quene’sland . Huge beaches with big waves, skyscrapers , great night life and lots of mad people ready to enjoy themselves .
The weather was very bad so what else you do when you can’t swim in the sea or do outdoor sports … Go out!!! We manage to the the 4 - 6’s .. 4 days in a row until 6 in the morning , pouring rain in the morning but it was warm rain and the place was beautiful and vibrant ( perfect for singing in the rain type of thing ..night life was deadly ..we took turns for babysitting Leon and out we went ..!!
We might comeback at the end of February.. who knows?
Español -Este lugar es inmenso.. En el corazon de la “Costa de Oro” . Interminables playas , olas gigantes, rascacielos, mucha marcha y gente loca preparada para divertirse a tope..
No nos hizo muy buen tiempo ( tormentas de verano a lo grande ) asi que que se puede hacer cuando no puedes ni bañarte ni hacer otro deporte de aventura .. Pues Marchuki…!! Hicimos 4- seises … 4 dias seguidos hasta las 6 de la mañana, llovia a cantaros pero hacia tanto calor que era una gozada cantar y bailar bajo la lluvia .. .. Hicimos turnos con Leon asi que nadie se quedo sin disfrutar de la marcha de Surfers..
Nos pilla de paso a finales de Febrero asi que volveremos ..!!

This is the endless Sufer’s Paradise beach, walking from the Motel to the city center .. the weather was stormy ( only by nignt ) so the sea was rough and no swimming in the sea was allowed…
Esp- Las playas en Surfer’s Paradise no tienen fin .. aprox 16 km the arena blanca . Durante nuestra estancia hubo muchas tormentas ( pero solo durante la noche ) y no pudimos bañarnos en el mar ..las olas eran gigantes , demasiado incluso para surferos.

From here they check people on the beach, control the currents the waves and check for sharks , one girl died in Brisbane during these days by 3 bull sharks -they’re the most aggresive , the bad weather and the crazy currents bring them near to the shore … Underwater we are not on the top of the food chain as we are on land… Experts are afraid that sharks might change their taste for humans instead of seals…. poor thing .. ( cross fingers for the great barrier reef)
Esp- Desde aqui controlan el estado de la playa , las corrientes , las olas y sobre todo los tiburones , durantes esos dias una chica murio , 3 tiburones la atacaron mientras nadaba , cuando el tiempo y el mar estan revueltos las corrientes acercan los tiburones a las playas .. no pudieron hacer nada por ella… pobrecita .. ( dedos cruzados para la gran barrera de coral)

Can you get a more typical image of the lifeguards on the beach than that ..?
Tipica imagen de los salvavidas en las playas ..

This is Q1 the biggest residential skyscraper in the south hemisphere… or is the world ? .. Doesn’t matter … they are planing to build more and taller.. it’s difficult to imagine how Surfer’s Paradise looked 30 years ago, when a few hippies arrived and slept on the beach in hippie volkswagen vans ..
Esp-Este es Q1 el rascacielos residencial mas alto del hemisferio sur , o del mundo (aqui les gusta fardar mucho con estas cosas , asi que no se sabe) , estan planeando ya mas edificios y mas altos . Es dificil imaginarse este lugar cuando los primeros surferos llegaron y dormian en las tipicas furgonetas volswagen hippies ..

This was the 3rd night ..Not sure how we manage not to get too tired ..we conquered the dance floor all night long … and enjoyed the friendship of the locals (who we gave them the website so please put some coments ) and the music on the street coming back home ..
Esp -Tercera noche de marcha,no se ni como logramos no estar cansados con tanta fiestuki.. conquistamos la pista de baile durante toda la noche, disfrutamos de la simpatia de los locales y los musicos por la calle volviendo a casa.

In Nadine’s house , thanks for the delicious BBQ.. Leon, Jack and Aaron.. It’s great when cousins meet living so far away.
En casa de Nadine , muchas gracias por la BBQ. .. es genial cuando conoces a tus primos que viven tan lejos

They are so cute !!!
Pa’ comerselos

Sadly this was Janis last day at the airport .. It’s nice to see the family reunited down under.. we miss you already..!!
Ohhhh .. El ultimo dia de Janis en Australia en el aeropuerto .. os echamos de menos ya..!

See you the next post !!

Ahhhhhh isn't he soooooo cute!!!!!!!! I wanna take one home! Que boniiiiiiiiiiito!!!!!!!! Quiero llevarme uno! We visited the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary on the outskirts of Brisbane. Home to some 130 or so Koala ... [Continue reading this entry]

G'day from us all down under!!! Buenasss desde los antipodes!!! How do you celebrate New Year's Eve in Sydney?? You make some sandwiches and something to drink, ... [Continue reading this entry]

G'day all from Sydney Quene & James outside Sydney Opera House We made it to the other side of the world, half way round. Seem to be having a prob right now with getting thumbnails ... [Continue reading this entry]