Kite stalking

 

I was stalking this Brahminy Kite today on Warana Beach. In turn, it was stalking a chap who was fishing on the beach. Must be easier than catching your own fish!

University rankings

My attention was drawn to the QS World University rankings recently, hot off the presses. Once again, I was proud to see my very own Imperial College up there at sixth equal. It's 50 years since they last saw me, mind.

These days I'm seeing more of the esteemed Uni of the Sunshine Coast at Sippy Downs. I was there yesterday for my U3A music appreciation class, and as ever it was oozing an atmosphere of academic excellence. Here's a picture of some of its best and brightest students, just outside my lecture room!

Choice Coastal Cafes #15: Gun Cotton Cafe, Yandina

Yandina, being the home of the Buderim Ginger Factory, is a bit of a touristy, cafe-rich Montville/Maleny sort of place. Of the cafes I've so far explored, the Gun Cotton Cafe is probably the best. What's gun cotton? It's nitrocellulose, an explosive made from plant material and acid. Maybe they used to make it locally?

Mt Barney - initial explorations

 

Here's the view of Mt Barney's East Peak, from the Yellow Pinch Lookout. It's a real mountain, with a 1354m high summit.

 

Trouble is, it's a 3-hour drive from the Sunshine Coast. South, past Brisbane, and then south-west. So in order to climb it, I'd need to spend a long weekend down there. Or start very very early. I'll figure it out in due course. Last Sunday though, I made do with a few hours of constructive reconnaissance. I walked up to the Yellow Pinch lookout, where a helpful sign told me how little of the job was done!

 

I think the castle-shaped one to the south was Mt Lindesay.

Then I did (most of) the Lower Portals walk, which was rather up-and-downy, and which will need to be repeated and finished another day, perhaps when it's not so busy and when I've another hour or two to spare.

I'm having to confront the sad bushwalking reality that the Sunshine Coast just isn't really in the first division. You need to come at least this far south to get to the really good places. The Glass House mountains are special, of course, but other than them, the national parks and various other bushwalking reserves are a bit small and a bit limited. (And often shared with mountain bikes and recreational vehicles!) I was very spoiled by my time living in Sydney, and before that, Tasmania.

Amazing!

 

 

We visited Amaze World in Tanawha the other day. It's worth the visit. An impressive living hedge maze, which I think is actually half-way between a labyrinth and a maze, plus several other lesser mazes and other attractions.

 

What's the difference between a maze and a labyrinth? You can get very lost in the former, but not the latter, as it has only one way in and one way out. And if you'd like to create your own, they had a helpful guide there.

Eclipse!

 

Total lunar eclipse the other night. There were enough gaps in the cloud cover to get some good views of the lead up to totality and the so-called 'blood moon'.

Ground Control to ......... Nambour!

 

The Royal George hotel in Currie St.

The Noosa Everglades

 

I did the Noosa Everglades boat cruise yesterday. It's good value. Three hours on a boat in a unique environment, with food and drinks thrown in, plus interesting commentary, all for $70 or so.

The boat departs from the Habitat Noosa 'Eco Resort', which is just north of Boreen Point. It crosses Lake Cootharaba, then dives through a narrow gap, and makes its way up the Upper Noosa River.

These everglades apparently have much in common with the Florida Everglades, in that they're entirely sand, plus rich vegetation. And there's so much fresh water stored in them that in a long drought, they'd effectively keep the river flowing forever. Or so the commentary went. Lots of wildlife too,including hundreds of bird species. No crocodiles though. You have to go hundreds of kilometres further north for those.

Back at the eco resort you get to watch the (sometimes enormous) kangaroos having their evening graze.

Uncounted!

It was Backyard Bird Count Week recently. I did my duty. I logged a few rainbow lorikeets and noisy miners and the usual suspects for the statutory 20 minutes.

I should have looked up though. Turned out there's an Australian Raven nest overhead! Two in fact. Never saw them before. And then a mob of Australian White Ibises flew over, and two of those extraordinary Australasian Figbirds turned up in  the palm tree above the pool!

Too late. You missed out!