Wining and Dining Queenslanders

Two of our dear Queensland neighbours headed south to attend the tennis last weekend before heading out to New Zealand to visit relatives. With June celebrating a birthday on Sunday and S's one later in the week it was great excuse to host a lunch at Donovans in St Kilda.

As usual the service and food were exceptional. After fabulous food and champagne we decided to skip dessert and just have coffee/tea. I then secretly asked the waitress to arrange a treat for the Birthday Girl and it was wonderful to see the surprise on June's face when the staff came out singing and bearing a platter of assorted treats.

At the end of the meal I had the good fortune to chat with Kevin Donovan himself. If you have time check out the website link. The restaurant is located on Jacka Boulavard in St Kilda and decorated in an eclectic homely style the defies the exemplary standard of food and service.

Tennis anyone??

With Gold pass corporate tickets, seats behind the baseline 8 rows from the court and the chance for a family outing who could say no thanks!

Kingsley, Ahubby, Queenie and I headed off in the drizzle to Vodafone Arena to watch The Australian Open tennis on 19 January. Luckily the roof was closed and play went on as tennis was abandoned for most of the outside courts . It was Queenie's first time at the tennis and what a great way to experience it.

We left before the end of the Fedderer match which finished well after the time the night session usually started. We finished off the day with a casual take out meal at Chez Fairlie.

The Gambler

How proud did I feel watching those words come up on the Tattersalls screen at the local newsagency? I made the retail assistant turn the screen around so the people behind could see while I captured the historic moment on film.

I then pocketed the massive $5 windfall from the $1 investment in the scratchie and went straight to the nearest coffee shop to spend it on a celebratory morning tea with Kingsley.

The Reservation Con

Ahubby and I have a theory. We were looking for a suitable bistro/casual restaurant for dinner while on the Gold Coast. Not being locals it was hard to determine what might represent tasty food at reasonable rates. We happened upon a small strip of predominately indoor/outdoor eateries near Broadbeach. In the end we chose an Italian eatery because of the proliferation of reservation signs. We figured if it was that booked it must be good.

Every table except for one had Reserved Signs placed in the centre. Given its alleged popularity due to the prebooked tables we were thrilled to be able secure the last non reserved table. It was when we seated that we decided it was a fabulous marketing ploy. Look popular, act popular and the patrons will come. During the course of our meal we witnessed many patrons walkup without bookings yet get shown to another "last remaining" table with its reserved sign removed.

For the record the food was passable but really nothing to write home about ( or write a blog about!)

Flying Mammals

Yes - that is 2 dolphins high above the water as if they are flying through the air. No - I did not photoshop the picture! The keepers were at pains to reinforce that the dolphins were only exhibiting traits on command that you would see in the wild.

Back in business now with all the necessary equipment to blog. The photo of the dolphins was taken at Seaworld on the Gold Coast. TeamSAK left the Sunshine Coast for a weekend on the Gold Coast staying overnight at SeaWorld Nara Resort.

The only reason we chose that establishment ( as opposed to one of the thousands of rooms on the high rise tourist strip) was that it provided an opportunity to do a behind the scenes tour in a small group before the park opened to the public. This was the highlight of the trip as we all got to feed and then pat a seal as well as enter shallow water to feed a dolphin. The hotel also offered a room and park entry package at a slight discount to rack rates which appealed to my thrifty ways. That and one entrance to the park is onsite with direct access to the monorail train that circles Seaworld.

Of all the theme parks on the Coast we chose Seaworld as it appeared to offer us the best mix of water sport, popular culture, child / S friendly rides and nature ( and hence educative focus!)

Public warning - With 30 photos from Seaworld there may be a few posts to come over the next weeks on this topic!

I was 21 - Once!

But I can't remember being out that late or bringing home such souvenirs!

There are plenty of stories from the 8 family visitors who joined us at Noosa but unfortunately only a few are publishable to protect those involved!. It was great to catch up with the relatives and spend some quality time. One of Ahubby's cousins, her hubby and little girl travelled with her brother and his mate to visit their sister , her partner and daughter on the Gold Coast. The Melbournites hadn't visited Noosa before so the invite to visit us on the Sunshine Coast only 2hr 20 drive away was quickly accepted. It was a far too quick 2 day visit but lots of fun.

The older girls played together beautifully as there are only a few months difference in age. Baby K , at 14 months , kept us on our toes with her fascination with the stairs but it was the 21 year old boys that entertained us the most.

The younger cousin and his mate who was staying with us managed to locate the "in" nightspots until 4 am and arrived home with a small property for sale sign and a stool. Don't even ask me why but I guess it made sense to them at the time? The boys had fun checking out the local talent and the souvenirs did found their way home again.

Seems like years ago that I was 21 !

The Snake Man

For the very reasonable price of a $45 call out fee John the Snake Man visited us. The Snake Man must be the cheapest tradesman on the coast and the most daring. Armed only with a torch and a canvas bag he ventured into the unknown searching for our "friendly' python.

The python visited us at our pool. He wasn't exactly swimming- just popping up from under the decking surrounding the pool to see who was swimming. John the Snake Man found plenty of evidence of our visitor but not the reptile itself . In his expert opinion the snake has found a new home in a drier environment.

Let's hope he doesn't have any mates who decide to visit!

Surfs up

Those of you familiar with the Sunshine Coast would know that Noosa main beach , which is north facing, is quite protected and known as a child/family friendly beach with safe small waves.

The recent weather , which has bought flooding further south and into New South Wales, whipped up the waves and closed many beaches along the coast. Noosa remained open, with mainly the experienced board riders braving the rips for the ultimate ride near First Point.

This morning at high tide sandy beach was at a premium with the tourists enjoying an early morning dip under the careful watch of the wonderful members of our local surf lifesaving club.

"Sealed' with a kiss

Despite the fact we know the "Seals Behaving Badly" performance almost word for word we love watching it when visiting Underwater World at Mooloolaba. At the end of each performance there is a chance for 10 children to participate in a Seal Kiss experience.

This time, with military precision only an ex project manager would have, TeamSAK were in prime position for Kingsley to get to the front of the auditorium in time. Of course they position the seal and child so that proud parents left in the seating can't take their own photo and need to purchase a professional one ( which we did get for Kingsley as a special momento). It was a wonderful experience for Kingsley . For the record no seal or child was hurt during this experience!

Happy New Year - Hello 2008

So much to say but so little time on a borrowed laptop and wireless broadband! Wishing everyone a safe and happy 2008. Hope that your celebrations last night went well and that you are in a good condition this morning. Given we were all in bed by 9 pm we were up early beating the tourist rush to our favourite coffee shop. TeamSAK's break on the Sunshine Coast is providing plenty of material and photos for future blog entries. Hope to be back regularly blogging in a few weeks with my own laptop and camera download dock. Will keep you posted about the interesting slants of:

1)weather details- not quite the Sunshine Coast at present
2)an amazing surf report-
3) sightings of a "friendly" carpet python
4)tales from the family house guests' stay
5) the perfect marinade for BBQ prawns
6) best value muffin and coffee deal on Hastings Street
7)catching up with friends and neighbours
8)shopping for clothes that actually fit
9) and much more!