I've been Down Under for nearly a week and have spent time in the country's third largest city Brisbane. The city itself is a very energetic place, easy to move around in and the locals are friendly. I spent a few hours in the city's Botanic Gardens which not only contained native plants but others from around the southern hemisphere. I visited the Gallery of Modern Art along the South Bank of the Brisbane River. The city skyline reflects the growth of this city over the last ~30 years with many newer high rise buildings with what I fine very interesting architectural features. The vitality is palpable reflecting the atitude and optimism of this country and it's proximity to Asia. Really makes one wonder about where this planet is headed...
Yesterday I spent the day touring Fraser Island of the coast town of Hervey Bay,the worlds largest sand island. It's around 123km long by 2km wide and the depth in tested spots is 100 meters below sea level. It was declared a World Heritage Site back in the early nineties. The really interesting thing is that there is a semi tropical rainforest covering much of the island which has managed to grow using nutrients from the sand. The flora is beautiful and the different species of trees on the island are very interesting, eucilyptus, three types of pines and others. One of the pine species is ramrod straight and guess what, they were used by the English for ship masts. Sound familiar? There are quite a few rainwater fed lakes which have really white sand and tourquise water at the edge. I swam in one and the folklore is one will feel ten years younger after you swim in the waters. Now only if that would work for my knees, etc. Unfortunately we didn't see any wild dingoes whose numbers are estimated between 150 - 200 on the island. They are not an animal you want to turn your back on though and have been known to harm people visiting the island, carry away boots, etc.
