Back from a ‘walkabout’
I went to the Queen Street Mall to get a cap. Gosh there are some really good-looking women in Oz. I don’t wear caps but I figured if I didn’t change my attitude real quick, I would spend the rest of time here peeling my head until left only with a stump! So I get a cap, put it on – adjust the strap – walk a while – sit down – then get crapped on by the second bird that I’ve seen here in Brisbane. The bird crap hit the cap square on. The green, foul smelling excretion was definitely well past its sell by date – just like that old pigeon. Even while I write this note, my neck hurts.
On my walkabout I noticed a couple things that make Oz unique – really different from South Africa. A large “mansionlike” house was being built in the Carina suburb. Forget the bricks and concrete – think wood. On closer inspection, only the odd house here and there was made of brick. The majority of the houses stand on wooden stilts so that the cars park underneath. Most roofs are either steal or wooden slats. When bricks are used, they look much like those concrete blocks used to build the low cost housing. Some houses actually have fences! Once again, pets are non-existent.
Gardening is definitely not a strong point. Most lawns have large patches gravel. The lawns have that fine grass that you expect to find on a cricket pitch or bowling green. Trees are few and far between with little shrubs filling the void. These trees are either blue gum or something that has leaves like that of an acacia. Flowerbeds and pot plants are almost extinct. The soil itself does not appear “nutritious” but rather dead and dried out.
Gas is popular (supplied by Allgas Energy/ENERGEX). In the hotel room, both the fridge and geyser are gas appliances. Walking through the city, one sees with reasonable frequency “gas mains” or warnings about gas valves and meters.
This evening, some of my comments so far were answered during an interview to share a flat. I also got a chance to meet the second dog in Brisbane. The birds are intentionally scared away from the city because they make a mess of the place. Wooden houses are cooler. Somehow this does make sense, but by implication then wooden houses have poor insulation.
Being on the fifth floor in a hotel, the moment I step out of the room the air conditioner turns off. Returning after breakfast, the room is as hot as hell. My cold just disappeared!
All the walls are wooden – and no they are not just panelled because that would leave no room for the bricks. At a hollow sounding 80-100mm and a little speed it would be no problem to run straight through the wall and take the express elevator right down to the ground floor. Obviously, the ground floor would be irreparably damaged!
