Final Day - Back to Cairns

After three days in the outback, we jump back onto the Savannahlander and head back to Cairns.

Undara - Mt Pleasant

An early start this morning. We leave just before 7.00AM, this time on a coach to Mt Surprise where we'll be visiting the famous Lava Tubes.

Undara Lava Tubes at Mt Surprise.

Tonight, we're staying at the Undara Lodge in modified railway carriages converted to motel rooms, how exciting?

To Forsayth

Day 2 of our Savannahlander train tour and we're leaving Chillagoe early this morning for Forsayth, southwest of Chillagoe. It's nearly a full day on the train, passing through the Newcastle Range and promises to be a photographer's dream with spectacular vistas all the way to Forsayth.

The Savannahlander crosses Copperfield River

Forsayth Railway Station

Cute little Forsayth Station i not exactly Paddington Station in London, the Garde du Nord in Paris or Union Station in New York, but it's cute.

Onto the Savannahlander

This morning, we jump onto the Savannahlander Railmotor which will take us all the way to Almaden and from there we're on a coach to Chillagoe

Railmotor Route

The trip will take us up the 34km journey trough heritage listed rainforest on one of the most incredible rail engineering feats of the 19th century, past the spectacular Barron Gorge onto Kuranda.

The Savannahlander on the Kuranda track

Chillagoe Station

In the afternoon, we'll be visiting the famous Chillagoe caves

Chillagoe Caves

Accommodation tonight is in the Chillagoe Cabins.

We're Off On Another trip

Today, we're flying to Cairns in North Queensland for a couple of tours. Firstly a four day trip on the Savanahlander Train and then on a APT tour to Cape York.

First up, Brisbane to Cairns

by Qantas, of course

You'll be able to follow us on this blog which is updated most days during the trip.

Minor Renovation

When we had a new kitchen built some years ago, the installer fitted dual trash drawers under the sink. It was plastic and broke about a year later. We put up with it but the Blogger was not pleased and frequently complained to me that we should do something about it.

So, we told the kitchen company (our very nice neighbours) and they delivered a new set of drawers which looked much sturdier. That has been standing in the back bedroom now for a few months, ready for installation, but Keith (the neighbour) is aways very busy so we didn't push it.

So, this morning I decided, maybe I could install it myself. I measured and it looked a very tight fit.

I got the tools  required from the garage, opened the box and inspected the contents.

Will it fit????

 It looked a very tight fit between the pipes and the hinge of the door. I'll try, but first I need a coffee.

The old coffee machine comes in handy

It makes a decent flat white

Oh yeah, that hits the spot

OK, Back to work

I'm really getting too old for this

It works

Finished and ready to use

It goes to show, you're never too old to fit a set of trash drawers.

25 Years Ago Brisbane Hosted the World Expo '88

It's the 25th Anniversary of an event that changed the city of Brisbane forever. What used to be a quiet country town evolved into an international city, capable of staging world events just like any other major city. The event which brought dignitaries from around the world to this city was of course WORLD EXPO '88.

To honour the 25th Anniversary of that event, the newly renovated City Hall is displaying an exhibition of the event in its gallery.

We met up with long time friends Norm and Joan from Esk for a lunch in town and visited the exhibition in the city hall.

The City Brisbane Hall

There are lots of familiar images on display reminding us of a fun six months when we were much younger. A lot of visitors to this event weren't  even born at that time.

Mascot Expo Oz

Uniform of the Expo marching Band

Both our daughters, Carol and Sonya were members of the J.P.C. Marching Band which performed regularly in the daily parade or in the performing area, the Piazza.

Daughter Sonya on trumpet (right)

Daughter Carol-Ann on trumpet

Street Performers

Diane and Joan at the entrance to the Exhibition

A little more about Expo '88

World Expo 88, also known as Expo '88, was a World's Fair held in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland,Australia, during a six-month period between Saturday, 30 April 1988 and Sunday, 30 October 1988. The theme of the Expo was "Leisure in the Age of Technology", and the mascot for the Expo was an Australian platypus named Expo Oz.[1]

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, came out to open Expo '88.

The A$625 million fair was the largest event of the 1988 Bicentennial celebrations of the European settlement of Australia.^[2] Expo 88 attracted more than 15,760,000 visitors who bought tickets worth A$175 million.^[3] The event achieved both its economic aims and very good attendances, was successfully used to promote Queensland as a tourist destination and it spurred a major re-development at the South Brisbane site.^[4] The core feature of the site were the international pavilions.^[3] Many of the exposition's sculptures and buildings were retained by various entities around the state and are still in use or on display decades later.