My time at the Games ...

For 8 days I lounged around the Gold Coast for the Games and attended some of the games events.

There was a great vibe and festive atmosphere around, and many volunteers eager to assist

anyone with information/directional queries.  The public transport was free while the games were on

and this will always appeal to the masses.

In town, at the beach and in shopping centres there were lots of different festival events either

related to the games or simply there for visitor's enjoyment.  The place buzzed with fun and

excitement - if music and dance was your thing, there were big stages set up (on the beach, or

 closed street intersections) with different musicians and bands playing in the evenings and on the

weekend throughout the day.  Daily art exhibits and  street theatre and big TV screens with

beanbags and deckchairs  were strewn around at most of the eating precincts.

View from the apartment, looking south-east towards the ocean

My accommodation for the duration was superbly located in terms of the beach and public transport...    

a friend's apartment who opted to go overseas while the games were on ...  very generous of TC,  it

was gratis so the stay was even more enjoyable!  It was on the 11th floor with a 270 degrees view.  It

gave me great access to a lovely eating and shopping precinct just around the corner.  I felt right at

home.

View of the apartment block from the park opposite, 3rd from the left

View of the suburbs and Mt Tamborine in the distance

View towards the Broadwater and looking north

Hmmm, even though I was wearing my glasses I didn't realise the camera settings were incorrectly set, photos are highly pixelated (apparently)

The Games Mascot -  Borobi

Borobi was a surfing Koala.  There were concrete statues of Borobi located around the place and his paw prints were on footpaths everywhere which created a great attraction for the kids.  Every athlete was awarded a soft toy version of Borobi with their medals.

Borobi

He was very cute, usually a life-sized one was wandering around the events, there was a Borobi dance that everyone got really good at before the games were over.  Out of all the merchandise on sale, he was sold out within three days so he was a real hit.


The following photos are of holoscenes.  In hindsight I probably should have videoed it which would have given a better understanding of the performances.

Holoscenes is a performance where an enormous aquarium-like tank unpredictably floods with water, engulfing the performer.  Submerged for up to 3 minutes at a time, performers are forced to adapt to the rapid rise and fall of water as they continue to carry-out everyday tasks - reading a newspaper, watering the lawn.  It's set to a haunting soundtrack and the message is all about rising seas and the connection of everyday actions of individuals to global climate change. Hmmm.....

It was quite mezmerising to watch and I was positively fascinated.  David thought it was pretty ho -hum!

CARRARA STADIUM

Carrara Stadium held most of the athletics and track and field events.  Smaller venues for other sports  were behind and alongside

I watched some of the hurdles, discus, pole vault, short and middle distance races and some of the decathlon events.  Great viewing despite being up in the "heavens".

Robotic surf vehicle retrieves the discuses 

Workers or lucky viewers in one of the light towers, think they were in charge of the spider cam???

Badminton venue

I got to see some thrilling badminton which is a game I really loved from younger days when we were in Malaya.  I also attended the netball and some of the Rugby 7's.

The Gold Coast Chinatown

Confuscius welcomes all

One of the streets in
Chinatown, quiet during the day but very popular in the evenings

This was in part of Chinatown

Public art - Museum of the Moon

Measuring 7 metres in diameter, the moon features detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface.  

At night it was very life-like and with surround sound music playing it was a little eerie.

The following exhibits appealed to me - they were crocheted globes depicting Giant sea urchins.  There were a few crocheters kept busy doing them!  They were suspended on waterways and the reflections over the water were quite stunning and looked particularly pretty at night.

I thought the following photos were interesting in that the beautiful beaches and water on the Gold Coast are being overshadowed by the multi-storeyed buildings.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the games and being on the Gold Coast.  However it made me realise that apartment living has many downsides and despite having all the theme parks, the beautiful beaches and great retail areas give me rural living and peace and quiet any day.

In my opinion it was a very well organised event, family prices (except for the opening and closing ceremonies), the Gold Coast was an ideal setting and the Games volunteers were to be applauded for a terrific job in ensuring the security, safety and enjoyment were the priority factors.

Animals in our life ....

Besides Norman,  we have a bird family setting up house at our place too!  Mudlarks or Peewees

have been beavering away for about 3 days now, collecting mud and straw and building a nest.  It's

right in front of our kitchen window so it makes  kitchen chores a bit more interesting.  You can see

the sky looks pretty ordinary too, we've had a fair bit of rain over the last fortnight and it's still

hanging around.  There are no other birds in the yard as Norman (the new dog) feels that he needs

 to regularly chase them away.

Nest construction

Mum or Dad working away...

Norman the naughty one!

Then there's Norman ... He's learnt very little in the month we've had him but he's definitely more 

settled in his new surroundings.  The courtyard is starting to resemble a mine site, he likes to burrow

 through the ground cover in search of the lizards that he fixates on.  His behaviour in public leaves

 a lot to be desired - kids on pushbikes, kangaroos, hares are just a few that he is totally intolerant to

 their presence.  The program for Norman's socialisation has slipped back as I need to learn more 

patience!  However he has undoubtedly endeared himself to both David and I.

NZ Trip November 2017

On this particular visit I decided I wanted to reunite with some relatives I didn't know very well due to life's circumstances ... those living in NZ anyway.

 I was also very interested in the Hoani family (Mum's parents) genealogy,  so these were two  areas I wanted to explore in going back to the Hokianga.

 Not to mention also, to visit my dear brother, sisters, mother and some boarding school buddies of the 60s.

My first port of call was to see Mum. She now resides at the Aged Care Home in Kaikohe.  She is very comfortable staying there and enjoys the company of others, services and care.

Mum McRae

She was pretty cheerful and in good spirits.

 I was advised Kathy (Uncle Phil's daughter) was researching the Hoani family tree and along with other family members, were organising a family reunion.  I quickly made my self known to her and my interest in genealogy as well.  She has mountains of information and is gradually putting it all together.

It's a mammoth job but she seems to get a lot of enjoyment plus satisfaction of doing it and although there is an organising committee she is spearheading it.  Good on you Kathy!

I met with Kathy at her place in Henderson

Uncle Dave and wife Linda

In Whangarei, Dave and Linda enlarged upon their side of the family and what is collectively being done at the organising committee's  meetings with regard to the reunion in August 2019.  I was lucky to catch them as they had been attending one of the monthly meetings in Kaikohe.  Various things like each family contributing to a raffle each month as a fund raiser which goes towards the reunion.  I wonder when the Crallans/McRae turn is due?

Auntie Winnie

I visited Winnie and Den at their house in Kaikohe.  It was super seeing them again, hearing about their family and refreshing my memories.

I also popped in and visited Uncle Sammy and wife Joan in Whangarei.  It's been eons since I last saw them and don't know how they recognised me.  Uncle Sammy looks really well.  Joan has been a super record holder with regards to family history as she has notes and diary entries Grandad made during the time he stayed with them.  Not to mention the wonderful portraits of Great grand father and great grand mother - I'm sure they will feature in the Hoani reunion book.

Our visit to see brother Harry...

Niece Lorna-Jen and sister-in-law Jovy tidying brother Harry's grave

In Auckland my very accommodating sister-in-law put me up for a couple of nights.  Talented, Lorna-Jen entertained us with some beautiful piano pieces in the evening and proved she's a pretty good cook in the kitchen as well. Thank you ladies.

The Moselen girls, Alison Rogers on the right of the photo and  myself

Another highlight of my visit was to catch up with some boarding school girls 50 years later!

Thank goodness for name badges.  Anyway there was a well organised gathering of about 60 women who made it for the mini reunion.  Unfortunately I can't show any photos of the day (my technological know-how is not compatible with my camera, phone and iPad with a new iMac).  So the likes of Anne Cripps, Jenny Hildreth, Liz Doreen, Kiddo don't feature on the blog.  Anyhow in the evening Peggy hosted a really lovey night for her sisters, Alison and I.   The tales and stories flowed along with the vino...  I enjoyed the company and evening so much, thank you girls.

It was great fun, Pegs.

Bryan Williams (ex-AB) and moi.

Nobody else would probably understand this except maybe Dave (hubby) but I am an avid All Black fan from early days to this current day.  To meet an ex-AB and rugby royalty as good as Bryan is an absolute thrill.  He was an outstanding winger in the 70's who starred during the South African tour when apartheid was in place.  He is of Islander descent so had to tour as an honorary "white" as part of the All Blacks team.  

Anyway as it happens he married a lass I was at boarding school in Whangarei.  When we were touring the old hostel, he came to meet up with his wife and I recognised him, voila! 

 Doesn't take much to make me happy!

Brother-in-law Don and sister Noreen

Noreen, one of my younger sisters entertained me to the hilt while I stayed at her place, bubbly flowed freely and often.  Don was such a good sport as well.  A fabulous time was enjoyed.  We won't talk about the game of golf though, will we folks??

Grand nephew Kydon and niece Kerrie 

Brother Jack

On this visit, Jack was in retirement so it's the first time we have been together in such relaxing circumstances.  As always Rimu was a great hostess and always a good source for all the family happenings.  It was good to meet some of their extended family members as well -  Jane, kids, John and Mervyn.

At my request Jack turned out to be a great driver and guide. He took me down to meet some whanau from down around the Skyline, Panguru, Pawarenga and Motukaraka.  It was very informative and interesting to visit the cemetery sites where our relatives are buried.  It really meant a lot to me.

The photo below is of Mum's marae - the area where Mum's parents grew up and are buried.  this is the intended site of the Hoani family reunion in August 2019.

Motukaraka  marae, sitting on the banks of the Hokianga Harbour

What a gorgeous setting and especially for a big family reunion.  I can't wait to meet everyone.

Kai, the quiet achiever

Kai, grandson no.2 has his own bit of glory at school this year.  He is the best and brightest year 2

student at Nightcliff Primary School.  We are so proud of Kai, he's obviously beavered away and was

rewarded at the school's prize giving assembly.

Good on you, mate!

Spring cheer!

Spring in Toowoomba, QLD at the Carnival of flowers


In September David and I enjoyed a few days in Toowoomba, staying with friends and visiting many beautiful gardens.  

Geographically Toowoomba sits on top of the range (Great Divide) and is endowed with rich dark soil, the climate is extreme in Winter and Summer but during Spring there are ideal conditions for dazzling blooms. 

Toowoomba has long been recognised as the “garden city”and it's clear the city residents work year- round transforming their private gardens into stunning showpieces.

Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is a great horticultural event going over 10 days in September.  The city comes alive with spring blooms, floral design, private home garden displays, and community floral events. A real gardener’s paradise.

We went mainly to see the prize-winning gardens and the top exhibition gardens which were absolutely awesome.  There were small, large, cottage, formal, acreage, courtyard, native, annuals and flowering bulbs gardens - a huge variety of gardens that would appeal to any gardener.  We joined the many visitors, lots of tourists and enjoyed the many spectacular displays of gardens and blooms.  

We spent a full day at Queens Park that also hosts the Botanic gardens.  It was like stepping back in time, meticulously tended, beautiful Camphor Laurel lined avenue, bright flower beds, large canopies of trees and acres of expansive lawn.  The main festivities for the carnival took place here.  The food and wine festival was the big attraction throughout the day, the fellows were particularly interested in the craft beer and BBQ tastings.  The talks by the crafters covered beer styles, flavours and food-matching.  In the Greenhouse,  Sophie Thomson (ABC presenter) gave a great talk on sustainable gardening.  There were avenues of tree floral displays, a henna hut, chocolate stalls, a huge wine alley and Latin and jazz music to entertain the visitors.

Another of the city outdoor spaces was the Laurel Bank park.  It had a very festive atmosphere, dozens of flowerbeds in spectacular bloom adorned the place.  There were some great topiary displays -a great caterpillar and train topiary.  There was an Australian  map theme to the garden beds complete with a raised  for optimum viewing.  Musicians played at different venues round the park and provided a nice Carnival atmosphere.

Sample pictures of the different displays ...

 manicured front garden

 

just a few tulips

Ranunculas, my favorite blooms

Thomas the Tank engine shaped carefully for the kids

Ornamental Kale and whites in flower

                                                     Some nifty creations

Beautiful orchid took Dave's eye ...

Solid outdoor setting

Dave the secret garden lover

a backyard garden with it's own waterfall

Massive Chinese Lantern tree

Lovely Ornamental Peach Tree

a flowery kangaroo

An abundant Wisteria arbor

 An unobtrusive sign seen hanging in a garden, a massive understatement

Carnival of Flowers was a thoroughly festive event.

Dirt Girls!

Our daughter ...

Not only is Jodes a terrific teacher but she also has TV personalities visit her school.

Costa from the Australia Gardening show called in to see how the Kitchen Garden program was progressing.

Apparently there was a lot of interest in the Bee Hives,  Jodes and the kids established.

Costa the garden gnome, Jodes and the Dirt girls

What a job, gardening, harvesting, cooking, selling, maintaining, recycling and teaching it all to kids!