Calypso's Journal: Up the River

Our anchorage on the Brisbane River

I must be mad. I’m off to Toronto in the morning where it’s the dead of winter but right now am sitting sweltering inside the boat in about the coolest position I can find; it’s 32°C; heaven only knows what it is outside in the sun. Sydney recorded their highest ever temperature yesterday at 45,6°C! I think I'm in for a bit of a shock.

In preparation for the trip, I now have a beautiful pair of knee-high leather boots which will definitely go a long way to hide my usual mode of ‘hobo’ fashion. My friend, Gillian, who has lent me her winter jacket, arrived on Friday with the boots and some scarves so now I’m well set and reasonably fashionable.

I managed to find a pair of shoes as well. This then meant purchasing a pair of stockings to wear with said shoes. Stockings, yikes, haven’t seen a pair of those in a month of Sundays. Nor have my feet seen the inside of a pair of closed shoes for some 9 years so, when buying the stockings, I threw in a pack of bandages knowing darn well what new shoes on these inexperienced feet are going to mean. With stockings and shoes in place, I went off into town yesterday to practice (yes, one has to practice after such a long hiatus) but very wisely took my flip-flops along for good measure. Thank goodness, a couple of hours of practice and my feet rebelled. I guess this means sneaking my flip-flops into my carry-on luggage. I tried again in the evening, managing all right but very thankful to be home to get them off.

Gillian is a friend from way back when, having first met her in England before Paul & I got married. Her youngest daughter, Tarryn, who was also with us on Friday, is my god-daughter who I hadn’t seen in a dozen years either. They moved out to South Africa after us and followed us down from Johannesburg to Durban before settling in Australia; so great to meet up with them again.

For so long, we’d said that we wouldn’t come to Australia due to the expense and all the negative things we’d heard. It certainly is expensive but no more so than New Zealand and, here we are, anchored right in the middle of Brisbane free of charge. We can’t complain. As far as the negativity goes, how wrong can rumours sometimes be! From the moment we arrived, we have found everyone so helpful and friendly and are saddened that they receive this unwarranted reputation especially in the cruising community.

We loved Sydney and the same goes for Brisbane. It’s a vibrant city of over 2 million people, 3 million if the surrounding areas are taken into consideration, and lies on the banks of the Brisbane River which winds through with a myriad of s-bends making for some very pretty settings. We’re in a spot by the City Botanical Gardens with a sheer rock wall on the far side where we can watch dozens of rock-climbers each day slowing working their way to the top. Below, hundreds of avid exercise enthusiasts walk, run, cycle, paddle, spar and BBQ along the pathways and parks that line the river.

I'm really looking forward to seeing my Mum and all my family despite the cold. Just hope they've saved me some of that white fluffy stuff to play in. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Paul will be doing the usual, boat work. This time, he's hoping to refurbish much of the woodwork which is in sad need of some TLC.

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