Matthew Ford’s Infernal Blog

We went to Maroochydore, which is a beach town up the Sunshine Coast, about 1.5 hours’ drive north from our Brisbane home. We stayed at the Sebel, a wonderful, new hotel which was both lush and affordable! I surfed, Dylan boogie-boarded, Kat sunbaked. (Kira was in the loving care of Dee back home.) We had a great weekend away. Some pictures of the trip, and Dylan’s 14th birthday, are now in the Flickr photostream.

In an episode that would be cut from a Baz Luhrmann epic as “too cliched”, last night a kookaburra tried to steal some roasting kangaroo fillets as I cooked them on our barbecue.  Let me say that in a more cliched manner: a kookaburra tried to nick some roo from my barbie. I expect this to be followed by a dingo taking our baby and my being attacked at Bondi Beach by a shark and crocodile, which I fend off with a boomerang.

The  footage below (also at http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ll8aPonbA7E) sets the scene: this is a few days before. On Christmas morning, as you do, we put out food for the resident kookaburras. Kat, Dee, and Kira all star; I am the cameraman.

(Please sing the above title to the tune of “Holiday in Cambodia” by the Dead Kennedys… we did…) We just got back from a holiday in Tasmania, we three running about in a campervan for a week. It was great! Not sure if we are campervan types but we enjoyed Tassie and enjoyed the freedom of carrying our home around the island. (continued »)

Me and the family are about to take a little holiday in Tasmania, so what better time to finally post something about my trip in November with my buddy Cameron? (continued »)

Dylan and Kira and I took a walkabout yesterday in the reserve behind the house. In the big loop formed by Moggill Creek there is a hill which every springtime erupts in thick clover, so Dylan suggested we check it out. It was a li’l slice of heaven, and I was lucky enough to get a really nice picture out of it as well.

I’ve uploaded a bunch of photos from my and Kat’s weekend trip to Townsville; head to my Flickr site to see many more! This one is from when the tour operator (pictured) on Magnetic Island (near Townsville, Queensland) brought us to a pub that specialized in attracting hordes of rampaging rainbow lorikeets. On his instruction I took a handful of sopping wet bread from a bucket and held it out. “What n–” I started to ask, and was answered by one of most startling and intense experiences of my life. I was instantly set upon, and you really have to be there to understand how overwhelming it is. The color, the claws, the whipping of wind from the wings, the deafening caws in my ear… it was a feast for the senses in the sense that having a cannon full of Chicken Cordon Bleu fired at you is a feast for the senses.

Here are some notes on my trip to Uluru with Dylan, Kat, and her mom Josie. Photos are still in the camera with Kat. They are still vacationing and I am playing the bachelor at home, then I’ll catch up to them again Saturday. (continued »)

The building inspections and financing went through so it’s a lock… the house will be all ours on July 18. It was great to be back in the house again as we met the inspectors. I just love it more and more. I’ll put up pictures before long.

The termite inspector was a great Aussie bloke. He probably enjoyed horrifying us with tales of termite persistence. But he basically said “That’s Queensland, you got termites. It’s not our land, it’s theirs. We’re just building houses on it. If it weren’t for termites this place would be 100 foot deep in dead wood and we’d have no place to stand.” He’s been bitten by redbacks 42 times and “I’m still here” so I think he has a pretty relaxed attitude about annoying insects.

Dylan got back from his school’s camp out at the reservoir and was delightfully telling us about it last night. He loved it and did lots of fun outdoorsy things. He got a lot of living in the wild advice from an Aboriginal man who showed them plants to chew and ways to learn about animals, and Dylan even broke open a termite nest and ate some live termites! He said they tasted like peanuts. It was wonderful to hear and it’s so good to have him back.

It was a holiday on Wednesday. After a bit of indecision and regrets about having to leave the dog behind we accepted Robin and Paul’s invitation to go out to Bribie Island. I’m glad we did. We caravanned to a 4×4 lot and took Robin’s 4-wheeler up the beach, with me, Kat, Dylan, Robin, Penny, and their son Toby. It was exciting and bouncy, and a bit scary to be plunging up and down the sand rises next to the crashing waves. (continued »)

Dylan and I drove out to the Brisbane Forest Park. It’s not far, maybe 45 minutes west of the city. I even avoided getting very lost on the way there and back, which is quite an accomplishment for me. Dylan and I had a great time. We went to lookouts and saw fantastic views of Samford valley. We ate sandwiches at Jolly Lookout. Then we went to a rainforest walking loop. Dylan loves the rainforest and we explored a bit. It was kind of spooky looking at the strangler figs swallowing up trees. Dylan also remembered and wanted to talk about my Alchemy game concept so we chatted a lot about that. It was a rainy day, which was perfect for the rainforest. It never poured on us except while we were in the car so the timing was good.

I’m taking three days off to spend time with Dylan while he has his school holiday. Today we went down the Gold Coast. It was a fun trip. We stayed on the beach a bit though it was not very warm. Dylan made castles and got his feet wet; Kat and I hung out with Kira. We drove up to Mount Tamborine and it was beautfiul. A windy road through trees. At the top we stopped and walked a trail for a while. No dogs were allowed and it was sunset so we made it short. Dylan had a nice time wandering ahead; it was just his kind of forest. It really was extraordinary with a long view downhill through the trees. Went to see State of Origin at the Ice Bar with Greg. We had a good time though Queensland lost. It is such fun watching sport in Australia; everyone is quite friendly even if rivals, and lots of cheering and yelling at the screen and such. I feel patriotic about being a Queenslander.