Out of chronological order entry!

There were some beautiful sights to see around Townsville, Queensland,  and I never put them in the blog so I'll add a few here and there. These are of the free pool at Riverway. I often would go there to swim laps.

Ian is walking Bird Dog along Rowes beach. That is Magnetic Island (the home of the notorious Julian Assange) in the background. From November to May they say it is safe to swim there but the box stingers are always a worry. There is a stinger net further up the Strand and we would often swim there instead. No use taking chances, you can die from those stingers!

Here is Town having a nap in one of the bedrooms in the Carr Street house. I loved the louvred windows but when Cyclone Yasi came along, they didn't do much to keep the rain out. Of course we evacuated before it arrived. We went through Monica in Jabiru and that was enough for us. That was a category 3, Yasi was to be a 5! When it actually hit, it had diminished to a 3, but that was enough to cause flooding and some damage. I wasn't sorry that we missed it! And that is Bird resting on the back steps. It never really got cold in Townsville but after living in the NT for almost 6 years, anything under 85 and Bird wanted to wear her jumper!

This is one of my favorite photos on the Strand.

Long Time No Blog!!!

I haven't blogged because there has been not too much exciting happening in my life. Seems as if everything after the Jabiru and then far north Queensland has been an anti climax. But there are some beautiful sights here as well so I am going to start sharing them again.

To bring you up to date, we have only 2 dogs now, Town and Bird.

We lost the big Red dog during Cyclone Yasi in Townsville a couple of years back. But we have added 2 birds to the family. We have Winnie the Cockatiel, she is named after my mom of course. Here she is with one of my carvings.

And here is Macca the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo. He is such a funny bird! We rescued him from a home where he was loved but neglected. We are hoping with proper nutrition his feathers will be restored to their true glory.

Townsville 400

The Big V8 Supercars (Ford & Holden which is the Aussie name for General Motors) race around the streets of Townsville. They pass within a block of our house. It was a noisy weekend but lots of fun and excitement. Here are some pics.


If you google Townsville 400 it will lead you to this website.


This is the route through the center of town.


The winner of the 2010 Townsville 400, a Chevy of course.


Ian and I spectating.


Does Bundy Rum make it to the USA??? It's very popular here, I like the bear.


The happy little blimp was everywhere over the course.


This guy had the best view!


Road races aren't very exciting because you only see the cars as they pass in front of you, it is hard to tell who is winning. But the big screens were everywhere and you could see the whole course on them.

It was an interesting experience!

Watch Dog

Latest Project

We needed a table for the front verandah. It had to be long and narrow, long so that we could each spread our morning newspaper out at either end and still have room to put our cereal bowls on there as well. It needed to be narrow because the verandah is not that wide. We searched high and low and couldn't find one to suit us. So I made one out of a 2 x 4 and some scraps I found under the house. I put a paint wash on the bottom and a couple of coats of marine varnish on the top and I think it looks pretty good and is perfect for the spot! And it only took about half of a 55 gallon drum of Plastic Wood to hold it together. My carpentry skills are improving.

No Fool Like an Old Fool!

Or Old Runners Never Die, They Just Get Slower and Slower!

The local running club held their annual running festival which included a marathon, half marathon, 10k and 5k. I really wanted to do the marathon but have had a sore knee so couldn't train properly and had to settle for the 5k. I have sort of given up on doing a marathon, now am aiming for a half sometime before I become too decrepit!

Here is a pic of me with my finishers medal and one of the online ad for the festival.

Townsville Field Days 2010

Field Days are like a combination of an expo of agricultural, mining and excavation equipment plus throw in a bit of a county fair flavor. We had a stand for Duplex. It was successful from a business standpoint and we had a wonderful time. Here are some pics of the good stuff.


Ian and Town getting ready to set up our spot.


Mining Equipment


I don't know what it is but I like its name.


Cat was well represented.


My handsome Ian manning the stand.

Town Dog Graduates!

Town Dog has been attending obedience school to learn to be an acceptable member of society. And we are proud to announce she has graduated from her basic course. She will now attempt her first official title. We will keep you posted on her progress. In the meantime, here is her diploma and graduation picture.

Road Trip to Cairns or Newnham Family Reunion - N. Queensland Contingent

Went on a road trip to Cairns for the day. Caught up with Ian's sons, Nat John and Xavier and Xavier's daughter Zamarra. It was good to see them and a great ride up. Of course Town Dog came along, mostly because she is too much trouble to leave at home!





Self portraits are always fun, getting the timer set, running back to get in place, tripping over the pup, it's all good fun!



Usual tropical weather, pouring one minute, sunny the next. Clouds seem to get stuck going over the mountain top.



You can see the tracks for the sugar cane railway just on the edge of the cane field. They are not running yet. When the harvest starts I will get a pic of the little trains for you.



What a lovely bunch of coconuts!



Town Dog, the picture of innocence, enjoying her ride on her own special seat cover.



The rivers and creeks are all running high.



More clouds on the mountains.



Lots of bananas up here. They put bags over the bunches so the birds and bats and bugs don't get them.



The sun highlighting a patch of green while the rest is in the shadow, it looks as if that one patch is glowing!

Mount Inkerman

We went for a drive towards Bowen. I noticed a road going up the side of this mountain and a sign saying "Scenic Overlook" so we headed on up. It was almost as scary as when, years ago, I went up Pike's Peak. The road was very steep, very narrow and only one tiny section had guardrail. When we finally reached the top, we were in the clouds and couldn't see a thing. But the ride back down was pretty spectacular, a fantastic view over flood plains and sugar cane.



The clouds were so low and so dense, we could barely see the top of the tower, very eerie!



We knew there was a great panoramic view there, but we couldn't see a thing through the clouds.



When we reached the second repeater tower the world was starting to reappear.



Seemed a lot steeper going down and where are the bloody guardrails???



At last, a guardrail, I feel so much safer!




The view over the valley was worth waiting for, sugar cane and flood plains. I don't think it could be any greener!

More Pics of the Warehouse

This is the front, see the dogs running towards me. Well Bird and Town are running, Red is sauntering along behind.


This is what you see if you pan to the left from the first photo.




This is the end from the right side.


There are mango trees everywhere, unfortunately they have all already fruited this year, so I missed the crop.


But we do have a lot of banana trees and these are the best bananas I have ever tasted. You would swear they have honey on them, they are so sweet!