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Sandgate

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    • TravelerAustralia
      Day 14

      Sandgate Foreshore

      September 18, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

      This morning was birthday present hunting, morning coffee out and driving lessons in an automatic car around the entertainment centre car park - Trev and I seem to be the oldest there! This car park is used regularly, as it is never too busy, there is a complex of roads that are all one way, with junctions, stop signs, roundabouts and parking places, so it is a good starter place for youngsters to learn the basics of the car with their parents without causing too much stress. We were told by Clare that one of us had to drive the car or we would not get lunch! As it was both of us drove the car - Clare just has to work on Sarah. The only thing we seemed to have difficulty with was signalling - we tended to put the windscreen wipers on instead as the indicators and wiper switches are round the other way - so washing the windscreen to turn left!!
      After lunch we sorted out a trip to Sydney to see my aunt Gwyneth & uncle Graham (Dad's brother and his wife). Gwyneth is the spit image of Hi-de-Hi's, Gladys Pugh - very welsh and similar in looks as well - Graham is quieter, probably because he can't get a word in 'edge ways'; though he does have a very wry sense of humour!
      We took a drive a long to Shorecliff hoping to have afternoon tea at the cafe there, but it was just closing so we settled for afternoon tea/ coffee and cake at The Coffee Club in Sandgate - I am getting used to this relaxed way of living - then we took a walk along the foreshore to dispel the extra calories.
      This evening we have been listening to the geckos outside who 'click' to communicate with each other. We also watched the bats at twilight flying from their roost near the creak over to Moreton island to feed - when I say bats, these are not like the little Pippistrels we have at home these are large proper 'flying fox' / Batman symbol bats. The show lasts for a good 30 minutes each evening and if you are lucky enough they will stop to feed on a fruit tree near you on their way out. Finally, I have been fast enough to 'snap' the bats at roost in a tree near the house (though a picture of bats roosting during the day - hopefully shows how big these bats are)!!      Read more

    • TravelerAustralia
      Day 18

      Dowse Lagoon, Sandgate

      September 22, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

      This morning we decided to go for a walk and headed for the Dowse Lagoon, the 2nd of the 4 lagoons in Sandgate. The Dowse Lagoon was named after one of the first European settlers to this area, Thomas Dowse who was sent to Australia as a convict, when he was 15, having stolen his brother's clothes from his mother's house (she was a witness) and sentence to death at the Old Bailey, which was commuted to transportation for life?! Yet, as it happens, Tom flourished. H He kept a diary of these years that is now in the State Library of Queensland and when he died, there were glowing obituaries to him – though few references to his convict past.
      The complete circuit of the Lagoon is 1500 metres which we completed with a few stops to look at the bird life that frequents the area. There are a number of stopping places and bird hides along the route so you can take a closer look at the water fowl and information boards around the route pointing out information the variety of flora and fauna in the surrounding area. This lagoon is part of a migratory corridor for water birds stretching from Moreton Bay through to Deagon Wetlands and beyond. We saw a number of birds while out, my special favourite being the laughing Kookaburra - which adds to my list of Ozzie beasts and birds seen in their natural habitat. We also saw Magpies, which are more tuneful than ours (like a Mocking Jay); noisy Mynah birds which are like our starlings in number and noise; black swans and rainbow parakeets. The lagoon is also home to the flat turtle or 'Stinker' - back in 2003 there had to be a turtle rescue due to the drought that dried up the lagoon completely. They were caught and moved to other areas where wetlands were still available.      Read more

    • TravelerAustralia
      Day 24

      Sandgate

      September 28, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

      Sandgate, a bayside suburb, is 17 km north of central Brisbane. It adjoins Shorncliffe, and both place names reflect their coastal position. Sandgate was named by the surveyor James Burnett after the seaside district of the same name in Kent, England; and Shorn Cliff, also named by Burnett, referred to the cliff face overlooking Moreton Bay.
      Sandgate is bordered by an inlet, Bramble Bay, on the north and by Cabbage Tree Creek on the south. The heritage-listed town hall in Brighton Road is in the historic precinct north of the railway station. Other heritage-listed sites include the war-memorial park in Seymour Grove, the post office and the former Baptist church.
      The North East Wetlands are located in the city's north-eastern suburbs and are an amalgamation of seven areas of parkland totalling 170 hectares. Dowse, Einbunpin and Sandgate Third and Fourth Lagoons are categorised as permanent freshwater lagoons. Naturally formed lagoons of this size are rare in Brisbane. Sandgate Third Lagoon has been described as one of the most extensive reed beds within the city. Rainbow parakeet, Cockatoos and numbers of 'Bin Chickens' (black-headed ibis') can be found at Einbunpin lagoon at various times throughout the day. We have now seen 3 of the 4 lagoons in Sandgate.
      There are three main type of typical houses to this area - a Bushman, a Colonial and a Queenslander and then a Federation which is bigger still. When settlers first arrived here they found things like termites, snakes, swamps and floods so building their houses on stilts or stacks above the ground made sense. The house developed from being a one bedrooms small bungalow hut style, to a 2 bedroom house raised on stilts and then 3 - 4 bedrooms houses with rooms underneath. These can develop into mansions on stilts! When extending a house here people often lift their house and build underneath, rarely above.      Read more

    • TravelerAustralia
      Day 28

      Sandgate

      October 2, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

      Well typical for a bank holiday the wet weather has settled in! The bank holiday as said yesterday is for the Queen's birthday but few Aussies would be able to tell you this; it was called Labour day as the government here felt that having it in May was a little controversial So the family were all at home doing various things. Clare, Sarah, Hana & Finn went to try and find Koala's with no luck. Earlier today Trev and I were able to go for a walk to the ATM, shops and fore shore. We passed one of the most beautiful trees on the way down - a Jacaranda, it has mainly bare branches with few leaves but is covered in a mass of mauve / lilac flowers with a quite stronger scent. The tide was out at the foreshore and the kite surfers had quite a walk before getting to water, but they did have the breeze! Unfortunately, the 'mistle' that we had, got a lot wetter so we headed back to home, in time to miss the heavier rain that is now set I think for the rest of the day!Read more

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