Yes, I know you folks in the Northern Hemisphere are out of school, period. Here in the Southern Hemisphere we're in the throes of winter but at least we had two weeks' school holidays to break up the season.
We headed north (which equals warmer down here) for a week at the Sunshine Coast.
I must set you straight about winter in the state of Queensland, lest you are feeling sorry for us. Being a sub-tropical/tropical state, winter is rather delicious. Here in the vicinity of Brisbane we get an average of 20℃ (68℉) during the day and 12℃ (54℉) at night, and that's the cooler end of Queensland. It only gets better the further north you go.
Our week at Perigian Beach started a bit dreary but ended with sunshine and 22℃ (72℉). Sublime.
We also spent a rainy afternoon at the Yandina Ginger Factory with its tropical gardens and little train:
Scones with cream and ginger marmalade
Another damp day was spent at Underwater World:
Rows of sharks teeth within a Great White's jaw bone, waiting to be called to duty
Otters look so cute, but I reckon they could easily chew your hand off. Probably squeaking adorably as they did so.
As the weather fined up we got in some beach time and a nice walk in the Maleny Rainforest.
There was also time to enjoy a bakery take-away lunch at the Noosa Botanic Gardens, where the kids had a ball:
There's no shortage of meandering paths to wander:
Or picturesque picnic points:
Alright, enough of the Sunshine Coast and on to the giveaway for the latest issue of Down Under Quilts. The ole random number generator tells me that the magazine will be heading over to Austria:
making its new home with
Needle Little Balance.
(I always hate leaving the first comment for a giveaway because it
never comes up. Until now, hooray!)
Almost Friday - I hope you've all got something fun planned for the weekend. Might be a spot of gardening for us here. We had a new deck put on the front of the house (it's a highset house) and the garden underneath it was pretty much destroyed by the process. Time to remedy!
