River ferry

My sister, Clare came up with the idea of us having a day out on the Brisbane River taking the ferry up the river as far as they go from Hamilton, the northern most terminal.  There can't be a better way to see Brisbane!

 

 A quiet reach of at river beside the Hamilton ferry terminal

Not much of what I saw looked familiar to me, I am pretty much a stranger in the city where I grew up, so the sight of the old wool stores at New Farm were a familiar, welcome sight.  The  historical wool stores and industrial structures which were erected in the beginning of the 20th century have gradually been transformed into a medium-high density residential community since the early 1990s.

I was surprised at the number of bridges spanning the river, I'd say more than double the number that were there in my youth.  I shouldn't have been surprised, progress doesn't stand still, if you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward and Brisbane is certainly not doing that judging by the number of cranes to be seen on the skyline.

 

I think this is Kurilpa Bridge for pedestrian and bicycles

We went up the river to the end of the line (I guess that's not the right word, might it be route?) to the University of Queensland terminal at St Lucia where we hopped off for a few minutes before taking another ferry back towards the city a few minutes later.  Brisbane City Council currently operates a fleet of 23 CityCats which go up and down the river and five KittyCats which go across the river. There's a network of 23 terminals.

On our return journey we got off the ferry again to have lunch at Southbank, opposite the city CBD.  It was a warm day and the man-made swimming beach, overlooking the river, was being enjoyed by quite a few people of all ages.

 

Back to Sweetwaters

My sister, Clare is the glue in our family since Mum and Dad passed away.  She's the one who finds the lovely places where we can all stay together, gathers us all from our far flung homes, plans the menu, delegates tasks (like who cooks which meal).  And does it all quietly, without fuss.  She is lovelier than lovely.

This year five brothers, four sisters and several spouses returned to Sweetwater Cottage in the rainforest at Maleny, about 90 kms north of Brisbane.  It's a beautiful place, secluded and peaceful.

  

 The two photos above are from Sweestwater Cottages website

Last winter we gathered around the fire, this year the weather was more conducive to outside entertaining and the large under cover table was the perfect size for us all.  Don't know how I managed to get a photo with no-one sitting at it.

 

With a family as large as ours there are bound to be personality clashes and although we siblings learned long ago to get along, one of the in-laws rubs most of us up the wrong way.  It had to happen sooner or later.  Finally one of us had enough of being antagonized and words were spoken which would have been best left unsaid.  We are all getting on a bit in years, we span 22 years from 78 to 56 and I guess some, like me, have grown a bit impatient with our passing years. Shame, but it is what it is.

Despite the unpleasant scene we had a lovely two days.  It's ages since I spent any time with my brother who lives in Perth.  I had quite forgotten what a wonderful sense of humour he has.  He reminds me of our grandfather which is the nicest thing I could say about any man.  I'm concerned about the health of two of my brothers.  It's to be expected, I guess.  As I said, we are all getting older.