Since I was going on about the plants in the last posting, here are some pictures from our Saturday trip to Brisbane Forest Park, just about 30 minutes from our house. Our bush walks, aka – hikes, took us along a lake, fringed with water lilies and through a forest of gum trees. Being a Pacific Northwest native, I’m still not fully appreciative of the dry starkness of the gum tree forests. I miss the lush undergrowth of Cascade and Olympic mountains. However, being able to hike year round is going to be a definite bonus. I guess it will kind of make up for missing all the great early ski season that I have been hearing about.
Nonetheless, we had an enjoyable day out in the bush and Erik was delighted by one trail that took us by some abandoned gold mines. Apparently the Australian gold rush makes the American one seem tame. According to one, not completely reliable source, (Bill Bryson, for those of you planning on visiting he's highly recommended reading)"the real effect of the gold was to put an end to transportation (the practice of shipping prisoners to Australia). When it was realized in London that transportation was seen as an opportunity rather than a punishment, that convicts desired to be sent to Australia, the notion of keeping the country a prison became unsustainable." In any event, we got a bit of exercise along with some natural science and history.
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