North Queensland visit for the weekend

Hey, Sanna and me visited North Queensland for the weekend to get away from the changing weather here in Sydney from warm to cooler as we get into Autumn. We visited Palm Cove where Sanna had a work conference and I flew up on the Friday after work to join her. 3 hrs flight from Sydney where it was 25 degrees and when I arrived it was 32 degrees with a clammy 95% humidity, its never that humid in Sydney, but North Queensland is in the tropics.

Map picture

Palm Cove, Queensland

We were too busy (or not busy) relaxing and generally doing nothing much to remember to take a photo of the cove itself so here is a professional photo courtesy of www.andrewwatson.com.au We walked along the length of this beach twice over the weekend, very pretty and tropical feeling.

Palm Cove Beach and Double Island

IMG_1099

Strolling along the beachside footpath in the summer heat

I didn’t know and went for a paddle in the sea which in the summer is full of deadly jellyfish and crocs, when I came out and wandered up the beach a bit I saw this sign, oops.

IMG_1098

Queensland seas are not swimmer friendly!

Sanna slept by the pool one afternoon, its such a slow life in Queensland , so peaceful and quiet compared to Sydney, same country but worlds apart in speed of lifestyles. Queensland is lovely to visit and unwind for a few days.

IMG_1100

My princess asleep in the tropics

Kangaroo valley kayaking Autumn 2011

Our camp site for Friday night

Our camp site for Friday night

We just got back from my 4th visit to the Kangaroo valley to kayak along the river all the way to the huge dam. Ian and Yeemun and Yeemans sister and partner from England Heloise and Fry joined us so there were 6 of us together.

We left just after 5pm on the Friday and got down to the camp site on the Friday evening and camped on the grass next to the car for the first night. In the morning we got our 3 double sea kayaks, one for each couple. We filled the watertight bags with the important stuff like anything electrical and clothes and the other stuff that can get wet and float like plastic bags of food on top all strapped down, see the photos and you’ll see how we pack.

We then kayaked down river at a slow pace for the day until we found the camp site of our choice in the late afternoon, stopping for lunch on the bank of course. Well that was the plan but we got hit by a sudden thunderstorm of biblical proportions. We were out on the water and seeing the dark storm clouds coming towards us. We wanted to find and get setting up a camp site ASAP because of the thunder and lighting fast approaching.

We ran out of luck and it came down so hard, the rain was so heavy it was bouncing back up off the water and into our eyes. Visibility was so bad at one stage I could only just see the banks. Ian and me were afraid of being out in the centre of the water with all the lighting going on, so we ushered the kayaks over to the banks without telling the girls why so not to scare them.

Then we setup camp out in the wilderness by the river, a very wet camp. It was very hard to get the fire going as all the fire material was absolutely soaked, it took us at least half an hour to get a fire going, I didn’t think we were going to get it going but Ian had confidence. We did start toasting some marshmallows as soon as the fire was going Smile

Sunday morning we got up when we wanted and after a morning swim and wash, kayaked to the end of the river to the big dam.  It was all downstream so very easy, where a mini-bus picked us up and took us back to our cars. A lovely trip again, enjoy the photos.

The Audi RS4, perfect high-performance camping vehicle

The Audi RS4, perfect high-performance camping vehicle

Ian cooking up some bacon sandwiches

Ian cooking up some bacon sandwiches

Picking up the double sea kayaks from the hire company

Picking up the double sea kayaks from the hire company

Ian and Yeemun on the river

Ian and Yeemun on the river

Landed for the 1st days lunch

Landed for the 1st days lunch

Camp just setup on Saturday night after the thunderstorm

Camp just setup on Saturday night after the thunderstorm

Getting the fire started with soaking fire starting material

Getting the fire started with soaking fire starting material

Fry on Fire! and we have warmth

Fry on Fire! and we have warmth

Me playing with fire

Me playing with fire

Ian and me having a bit of a chat in front of the fire

Ian and me having a bit of a chat in front of the fire
with some Johnny Walker Gold label Whisky

The mornings beautiful view from our camp

The mornings beautiful view from our camp

Venturing into the water for a morning bath

Venturing into the water for a morning bath

All of us having a freshening morning wash

All of us having a freshening morning wash

Possibly one of the most beautiful views to brush your teeth too

Possibly one of the most beautiful views to brush your teeth too

The fly's and ants decided they loved the top of our Yellow

The fly’s and ants decided they loved the top of our Yellow
tent and it was their new home by the thousands

A Goanna spotted looking for food

A Goanna spotted looking for food

Just a few hundred metres to the end - we made it

Just a few hundred metres to the end – we made it

Sydney Mardi Gras 2011 Party and the Parade

Well another years Mardi Gras has come and gone, and this years party was as fun and frolicking as the last years one (although I had the trail end of a cold). Here’s a simple video I put together showing some of the build up to the parade on Oxford St and some of our own party behind the scenes, enjoy!

Sydney Mardi Gras 2011 – The Main Parade

> Watch the whole video in HD here <

Thanks for everyone that came to the party, I know we all had a great time.

Supercar Spin March show all done

Note, all the official Supercar Spin articles will be on www.supercarspin.com from now on.

Supercar Spin March show

> Watch the show in HD here <

All done with the March show of Supercar Spin, this month we have news from McLaren, Porsche, Jaguar, Lamborghini and Aston Martin. Brendon and I had the most fun making this show yet I think.

What did we try new this month? well my friend Ash gave lots of top tips from his presenting/filming experience and one of them was to try filming in takes instead of one long 10 minute filming. So this is the first show trying that method out, how’s it look? better than before?

The other new bit for this month was that friend Jay Ng make a new titles sequence for us. He didn’t have time to get it to us in HD (that will be included next month) but we still got in in this months show, just before the deadline.

Just had the first comment on YouTube for this show and its a nice positive comment:

“i like it :). i like how you guys add your own opinions about
the cars rather than just telling us the specs.”

What’s new for next month? well we have a new filming location for a trial and also the possibility of a guest presenter also for  a trial and guess what she’s a girl that’s really into her cars, a rare find.