Lockdown 2020

Our trip to Hawaii had to be postponed indefinitely. 4 days in Kona, 4 days in Lihue and 10 in Waikiki were cancelled. April would find us hunkered down in the inner Brisbane suburb of New Farm marking time while the world focused on finding remedies for the Covid-19 virus that is relentlessly, stealthily sucking the life out of unsuspecting humans.

The world was not ready for a pandemic. Vaccines take time. Governments were thrown in to crisis mode.  As my mother often quoted “The situation doesn’t make a person, it reveals that person”, and  Covid-19 is revealing the true leaders of our nations. The smoke and mirrors that may have worked for some in the past are no match for Covid-19.  

Fortunately, lockdown in April has not been harsh in Brisbane with autumn temperatures ranging 27-30 C (low 80s F). Exercise outside was always allowed. The local grocery stores eventually found their groove and are providing safer shopping experiences. The Brisbane City Council maintains a bevy of beautiful parklands and most of the inner Brisbane suburbs have easy access to the Brisbane River with its scenic walkways and bike paths. Holidaying at home with our music collections, craft collections and internet has been rather fun.

Here's a snapshot of our month in Lockdown.

Early morning walks at sunrise set the tone of the day.

Brisbane River, near Merthyr bowls club

It's autumn here, so while the abundance of the rose gardens in New Farm Park had passed

Rose gardens, New Farm Park

the brilliance and beauty of late bloomers cheered the soul

Pink Rose, New Farm Park

The downstream outlook from the jetty near the Sugar Refinery Apartments is a go-to view of the river that fills my cup and invigorates my mind.

Teneriffe river walk, Brisbane River

Upstream has a pretty nice view too. During WWII the government decided that sugar was an essential commodity that had to be reserved. Output at this refinery was doubled 1940-1945.

Sugar Refinery Apartments, Teneriffe

It was always good to see the city cats operating on the river. With plenty of outdoor seating they would appear to be the safest form of public transport at the moment.

City Cat near Sydney Street, New Farm

Scenes of dogs on leashes and kids cycling with their parents helped you feel connected to the rest of the community.

River walkway near Sydney Street City Cat Stop

Sewing fabric face masks for the people I cherish helped me feel connected to my family. My darling 4 year old grand daughter wore her mask to the Covid-19 testing clinic. She was required to have a test because she presented with a sore, inflamed throat (the test was negative thankfully). And grandpa wears his mask to the fruit and vegetable market.

Homemade face masks - using free online patterns 

Guessing in late March that hair salons would be closed because physical distancing while having a hair cut would be almost impossible, I ordered hair clippers online so we could do it ourselves. I  YouTubed how to trim a 7.5 cm (3 inch) undercut, encouraged my husband to watch the video too (kind of like homeschooling) and last week he did it for me. He did a superb job. It blends in beautifully with the rest of the 'do'.

Undercut trim at home

It was also fun to buy a ukulele online for my grand daughter who is turning 6 very soon. It has already arrived at her home address and she loves it. We are lucky her big cousin already knows how to play the ukulele because she can teach her how to do the island strum. The simple chords for Happy Birthday will be a good start.

Simple chords from Ukulele PuaPua, Waikiki

As of 3^rd May confirmed Covid-19 cases in Queensland, Australia total 1,034; with 113,601 patients tested. So far six people have died. For Australia as a whole there have been 6,801 confirmed cases since late January, with 95 deaths.

Queensland's collective isolation efforts to “flatten the curve” are now being rewarded with the lifting of certain restrictions. We can break out from our house arrest and go on a picnic or shop for non-essentials. But wait, there are three golden rules that must be followed:

1) Hygiene and social distancing (1.5 metres) still applies; 2) Stay within 50 kilometres from home; and 3) only household members, or yourself and one other person can attend that picnic

Schools are still open for children of essential workers or vulnerable students. This will be revised on May 15. Playgrounds remain closed. Queensland’s borders remain closed.

More updates can be found at Health.gov.au

Byron Bay, NSW, Australia

Byron Bay is a beautiful northern NSW beach town 2 hours by road from Brisbane. Golden sand, blue-green ocean water and rolling surf make Byron a great family holiday destination.

The lighthouse on Australia's most easterly point

The view to the north

Byron's Main Beach

Byron's Belongil Beach

Pandanus tree on Main Beach

The rolling surf

The old train station - no trains come here anymore

Byron's Thursday Farmers' market

Juzzie's One-Man Band playing at the markets

Juzzie's quiver of harmonicas

Fundies (fundamental food store) at Byron

Kids playground at Byron's Main Beach

Byron's Surf Life Savers' Club Function Room

The deck of the Surf Life Savers' Club Function Room

Urban Flood, Brisbane 2011

These photos were taken in New Farm, Brisbane, soon after the river peaked this week. New Farm Park, New Farm floating walkway, the City Cat Terminal, Welsby Street, parts of Sydney Street and Brunswick Street and the Merthyr Shopping Village are all damaged by flood waters and/or storm water flows. Merthyr Bowls Club, despite its river frontage, was untouched.


City Cat Terminal, New Farm. Tops of the City Bike hitching posts in the foreground.

Lots of debris, hurtled downstream. A yacht smashed into the City Cat Terminal

New Farm Park, looking toward the Powerhouse

The Bowls Club. Water fully covered the walkway from here to Sydney Street City Cat Terminal

Floating Walkway. Two large sections broke away and floated downstream. Tugs rounded them up to avoid massive damage to bridges and other property.

Floating Walkway near the New Farm cliffs

Howard's Wharves, the site of proposed new development

Looking across to a submerged Holman Street Ferry Stop.

Many people were shocked by the storm water back flows (from river to shop or backyard or road). The car park in the basement of Merthyr Village is at sea level so the storm water pipes filled it quickly. As a result, most of the shops are still without power.


Looking toward the Fish and Chip Shop on the corner of Sydney Street and Brunswick Street. The road entrance (underwater) to New Farm Park is on the right. From here down, Sydney Street was awash.

New Farm Park entrance

Welsby Street, New Farm

Cactus flower, Brisbane, Australia

Our tall, lanky cactus produced this magnificent apricot colored flower in February. It only lasted a day or so and then it was gone.


This week a baby cactus (arm) was born at the base, close to the soil. Perhaps it sprouted out to support the main stem and prevent it from toppling over.


For the past few years this hardy cactus has been growing taller and taller.

Goannas under the Story Bridge

At the northern end of the Story Bridge, beneath the New Farm cliffs, is what's left of the derelect Howard Smith Wharves. The monitor lizards have claimed the fenced off area as home. In Australia, monitor lizards are known as goannas. Look very closely and you will see the large lizard surveying his kingdom.

The Wharves are an historical landmark with both Indigenous and heritage value. Brisbane City Council is developing a master plan to revitalise the 3.56-hectare area.

The site has stunning views of the Brisbane cityscape.

Exercise after a long flight

International flights to Brisbane get in early in the morning and you cannot check into your city hotel until after lunchtime. Leave your luggage at the hotel and go for a walk or a jog along the Brisbane River walkways. This photo was taken around 6.30am this morning on the floating walkway - the Story Bridge is in the backgound. It's summer time in Brisbane December through to February and the UV rays are extreme from about 7.30am onwards so remember to wear a hat and slap on the sunscreen.

Frangipani flower with six petals

My frangipani flower has six petals, not five like all the other frangipanis in southeast Queensland. This has to be as lucky as finding a four-leaf clover in Ireland.

The frangipani remains my favourite flower. It doesn't stay on the tree for very long before it floats to the ground where it becomes accessible to the passerby. It's not unusual to see a frangipani adorning the hair of officer workers in the city of Brisbane....it's the perfect natural hair accessory.

Winter in Brisbane

Story Bridge on the Brisbane River - I have just spent three months in Brisbane....the winter months, though you would never guess it by the flora and the daily temperatures. Some days were 25 degrees celsius or 77 degrees farenheit. I liked to watch the sunset from the front deck of the City Cat. I took this picture of the Story Bridge on one of my return journey's. You can see the Holman Street ferry stop...the stop you need for the Brisbane Jazz Club.

People like to climb the Story Bridge these days...it's become a tourist activity just like climbing Sydney Harbour bridge. I'm happy to admire it from the river or the floating riverwalk that takes you into the CBD.

There's great pubs and cafes to be enjoyed along the City Cat route. There's the Story Bridge Hotel nestled under the bridge not far from the Holman Street stop, the Watt Bar adjacent to the Powerhouse Performing Arts Complex and the Merthyr Street bowls club near the New Farm stop. The Merthyr Street bowls club offers combined barefoot bowling and barbecue specials. The Mowbray Park stop offers the Shafston Hotel and Spoon Cafe. Riverside (the stop I was at when I took this photo) has a multitude of wonderful places to eat and to socialise....it's right on the edge of the CBD.

Looking forward to returning to Brisbane.

Frangipanis in bloom, Brisbane

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The sights, sounds and scents of a tropical summer are everywhere. Brisbane is a beautiful river city; the smooth, fast City Cats (Catamarans) can take you from one end of the city to the other....stretching from the University of Queensland in St. Lucia to Brett's Wharf (last stop downstream). Young women adorn their hair with fresh, fragrant frangipanis. Frangipani flowers have five elegant rounded petals with bright yellow centres; they have a soft, pretty scent. Though Frangipanis come in several colours, the creamy white Frangipani (Plumeria obtusa) is my favourite.