At last I'm in Brisbane!

We were all very tired by the time we got to Brisbane at about 7.30 am. Mrs P's son Dylan met us and drove us back to his house in Paddington. I was a bit excited because I thought I might meet Paddington Bear but they told me that hes called after the station in London, not the suburb in Brisbane. Silly me!


I soon cheered up when I met my new best friend. He's called Chilli and he is a pug dog. He's really cute and friendly. I took this photo of him: 

After that we sat around the house and rested over the weekend. By Monday we were feeling a bit more lively so we went for a walk by the sea at Redcliffe. Brisbane can be really hot and clammy because there is a lot of humidity in the air but there is usually a nice cool breeze blowing in form the sea so I had plenty of energy to go exploring. 

I thought you'd like a close up look at Australian nature so I climbed this bush. I don't know what it's called but I'm sure I've seen them growing in pots in England. Maybe you can tell me what it is? You know I'm only a bear with a little brain and I don't really remember things. 


I know the name of the next plant I climbed. It's an aloe vera. It's juice is used to sooth wounds and it's just as well because if you climb one, you're almost certain to get a prickle in your backside!

This beautiful tree is a Jacaranda. They tell me that all the Jacaranda trees around Brisbane have descended from one tree that was brought to Brisbane in a ship that had sailed from South Africa. They flower from October until early November, which is Spring in Australia. They say that when University students see the trees in flower it's time to start revising for their exams. 

I thought you'd like to see the sort of house that people live in in Australia. This house is called a Queenslander because it was developed to cope with the hot climate of Queensland. It has all sorts of clever things to keep you cool.

You can see that the house is raised up from the ground on what they call stumps. This is to keep the termites out of the house but also means that a cool breeze blows underneath the floor. There is a wide veranda all around the house that keeps the sun out of the rooms. You can't see, but there are also blinds over the windows. The house is painted white because lighter colours do not absorb heat so much. I've noticed that Australians like to have doors and windows open as much as possible whereas we like them shut to keep out drafts! 


Here I am having a sit down by the sea. Look at how blue the sky is! 

Can you see that funny shape in the background? That's the wreck of the HMQS Gayundah, which was Queensland's first gun ship. She was bought by the state of Queensland in 1884. After a long career in the navy, she became a gravel barge in the 1930's and was bought by the borough of Redcliffe and deliberately beached to form a breakwater in the 1950's. Here's a close-up of her:

As we continued on our walk we saw this strange creature. It's an Ibis. I was a bit scared of that long, pointy beak but it took no notice of me!

 Once we've got over our jet-lag we are going to go on a longer trip. We are going to fly in a plane to Townsville and meet up with Mrs P's sister and spend the weekend on Magnetic Island. What a funny name! Perhaps you could find out why it's called that and explain it to me. I'm missing you all so make sure you send me some messages on my blog. 


I've been learning some Australian, so I'll say goodbye in Aussie:


Hooroo!!