The Festival of Public Holidays Continues

One of the wonders of living in Australia is the amount of Public Holidays (I still call 'em Bank Holidays, much to the puzzlement of most Aussies) the Australian's can fit into one year. Starting with Easter, they start coming thick and fast over April, May & June.

According to the Australian Government website which says: Public holidays in Australia are designated on a state and territory basis with the exception of national public holidays such as Australia Day, ANZAC Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day.

Nice to know even State Governments can't change the date of Christmas or New Year's Day to suit themselves!

As we're in Queensland we'll stick to that. So, after Easter's four days off (or at least getting double time), the festival of Public Holidays continues with Labour Day (shouldn't that be non-labour day?) on Monday 4 May.

Labour Day is followed by my particular favourite Public Holiday, The Queen's Birthday on Monday 8 June. Considering that the Queen's Birthday isn't a Public, sorry, Bank Holiday in the UK it amuses me highly that the Aussies are so keen to have a day off to celebrate it. In fact it's been suggested that the referendum on Australia becoming a Republic failed only because the Fore's forgot to mention they'd be swapping the Queen's Birthday Holiday for the President's Birthday Holiday ...

And it doesn't stop there! Thank goodness you chose the Sunshine Coast!

• 29 May, Sunshine Coast Region - the area of the former Caloundra City Council -
  Maleny Annual Show
• 12 June, Sunshine Coast Region - the area of the former Maroochy Shire - Sunshine Coast Annual Show
• 11 September - Sunshine Coast Region - the area of the former Noosa Shire -
  Noosa Country Show

Which can all get a bit confusing if you live in one 'former' place, work in another, and possibly have a child going to school in yet another. i.e if you live in Noosa, work in Caloundra and your child goes to school somewhere in the former Maroochyshire, you've got a lot of organising to do ... as well as the difficulty of choosing which show to visit! Lucky you've got a Public Holiday to help you recover.

If I've confused you - here's some links from the horse's mouth (Australian Government)

http://www.australia.gov.au/topics/australian-facts-and-figures/public-holidays
http://www.wageline.qld.gov.au/publicholidays/index.html

Poms Awaaaaaaaaaay!

Only for the brave, mad or suffering a mid-life crisis. Surely there's a category there to cover everyone. I can personally vouch that the BEST way to see your new 'home' is by jumping out of a perfectly good airplane for Bird's Eye views of the Sunshine Coast and beyond, to quote Buzz Lightyear. A 20-minute or so scenic flight takes you to jump altitude (you can choose which height you jump from - so you can suit your budget) and you see the Glasshouse Mountains, Bribie Island, Moreton Bay to the South, the whole of the Sunshine Coast and as far as Double Island Point to the North ... WOW! Then you jump out of the plane. My tandem skydive was, unexpected shall we say, and not something I would have chosen to do. Left with no choice, I jumped and it was one of the best adventure experiences ever. It's stunning jumping out over the ocean - more serene than you'll ever imagine and just beautiful, beautiful. I was expecting an adrenalin rush after, but better than that, I had a sense of achievement that lasted for a couple of weeks. I literally wanted strangers in supermarkets to ask me what I'd done that day. Nothing much, just jumped out of a plane at 14,000ft ...

I went with Sunshine Coast Skydivers in Caloundra. They offer tandem jumps from 6,000ft, 8,000ft, 12,000ft and 14,000ft. The higher the jump, the longer the freefall, the bigger the buzz. I didn't get my skydive on DVD and I'm gutted, so make sure you do. Check out http://www.jumpscs.com/ or call 07 5437 0211/0418 776 775 / email jump@jumpscs.com - up to three people can take a tandem jump (skydive with an instructor harnessed to you - he's the one who does everything, you just go along for the ride) together and you land on one of Caloundra's lovely beaches. If you're from the other end of the Coast (Noosa way) make a day of it checking out the beaches 'down south'. Just don't forget to shout 'Poms Awaaaaaaaaaay' as you jump ...

Kings Beach is a real jewel for the Sunshine Coast

The other day I recommended a friend take her young son to Caloundra's Kings Beach to enjoy the fantastic water play area, the beautiful literally-on-the-beach swimming pool, and the great facilities they have in general down there in - kids playgrounds, BBQ areas and great beaches - ALL COMPLETELY FREE! Got a text from her later saying 'Thanks for the heads-up on Kings Beach - it's gr8!'. She's been on the Coast for 3 years, but living in Noosa, has never made it down to the 'other' end of the Coast. Will try and post a video so you can see what you're missing.

When Maccas Freezes Over

So here I am sitting in Maccas Coolum using their free wifi to try a make a living. Trouble is they're much better at it than me and I seem to keep popping to the counter to 'warm up'. It's bloody freezing in here. I left England to come to warmer weather and end up with hypothermia in a fastfood joint.
Admittedly I've been here since 8.30am and it's now 3pm but I've been shivering for the last 2 hours. Don't they want my business? Two cappuchinos and a classic chicken meal deal must be helping to pay the rent in these tough times surely? Bugger just added up how much I've spent. Maybe I'll go back to working at home. (Actually thanks Maccas, for your free wifi - but can you come up with some thermal give-aways along the lines of the happy meals?)
Finally, until the pitter patter of tiny feet, I had never set foot in Maccas - but the lure of a covered play area after a week of rain was too much (Maroochydore, Caloundra and Noosaville offer these play areas - possibly others on the Coast do too, but not sure. Coolum definitely doesn't.). Previously I considered Maccas + clearing-of-the-rainforests-to-produce-beef-for-hamburgers = devil incarnate. Time I revisited my ethics ... will do over the next month or so. Will I be for or agin? I'll let you know.