• Originally Published in September 2008, this article along with Captain Sandy Stewart's articles, is being republished in 2011. R.P. BenDedek

For Several years now I have been writing about my experiences in China. Along the way I have also written about my trip to the Philippines, and published Brisbane City's Captain Sandy Stewart's travels.

I have also published an article on my home state of Queensland. Today I am just going to publish a few photos taken on my recent trip home to Australia.  I have already written about my Nightmare Trip back to China (which also included some photos).

Tin Can Bay

When I traveled home, my ticket had me flying from Shanghai to Sydney and transferring to a domestic flight to Brisbane. The time between arrival in Sydney and departure for Brisbane was just 2 hours. All my previous trips were out of Hong Kong or Beijing, and I flew direct to Brisbane.

Tin Can Bay where esturine dolphins come in to be hand fed.

What a shocker to discover that at Sydney I had to collect my luggage, exit the airport and travel to the domestic airport and check back in again.

Fortunately for myself and fellow travelers, we made it to the domestic terminal within an hour of landing.

Unfortunately we had to stand in a long long queue in order to check back in. By the time we got to the counter, we were informed that it was too late to put our baggage on board and that we would have to take a later flight. We only had to wait an hour - no big deal.

Then the next problem was that as that plane was boarding, an announcement was made that there was some technical difficulty with the aircraft and we had to disembark and wait for a replacement.

Then when that plane arrived, we were told that priority was being given to passengers travelling beyond Brisbane. So we still had to wait. 

Fortunately we did not wait too long, because they began to shuttle us off to other aircraft.

I had no sooner boarded my plane when they announced that the doors were closing and the aircraft was preparing to depart.

Rainbow Beach

You would think I would be pleased yes?  Not really!  You see they decided to break the rules and send us prior to our luggage, and in my case, that meant waiting at Brisbane airport for 2 hours post-arrival just to retrieve my luggage.

Rainbow Beach

I could go into greater detail about how my family could not find me; how the airline quoted the wrong flight number to them etc, but that would be as boring for you as it was for me waiting for my luggage.

Tin Can Bay Dolphin in for hand feeding

I spent the first couple of days at my sisters place before going to stay with my daughter and her two babies that I have never met.

While there, my sister informed me that her daughter had invited her and her husband to go away for a few days up the coast.

She also received an invitation from my brother to accompany him and his wife on a 3 day stay at Rainbow Beach. (My Sister was in preparation for a mastectomy - hence everyone's concern for her to rest). At any rate, upon informing my brother that she could not go, she suggested he ask me. So off I went to Rainbow Beach.

There are only 11 photographs in this article, and all were taken at either Rainbow Beach or Tin Can Bay; the former lies on the surf side whilst the latter lies in the inlet.  Both are located north of Noosa and south of Fraser Island.

Both areas are Eco-managed for the protection of various species of wildlife.

Feed but don't touch.

If there is one thing that I really miss in China, apart from the blue skies and pollution free air; it is the beach.

The area north of Noosa, where Rainbow Beach is located, is just south of Fraser Island.  Although the surf beaches have for years been gradually eroding, they still remain beautiful.

The sand cliffs there are noteworthy for their varieties of coloured sand.

The shoreline is also famous for something completely man-made and somewhat polluting.

While it may not be too obvious by just looking at this photo, it does in fact demonstrate that to which I refer; four-wheel drivers who misjudge the time and tides and get bogged during incoming tides. Fortunately for these people, they were Egyptian Muslims who found it easy to submit to the will of Allah.

Egyptian Muslims waiting for a rescue that did not come.

My time in Brisbane was mainly spent staying with relatives and living a mundane existence. Although my daughter apologized for not providing me with more entertainment than having a baby throw up all over me; that type of 'daily life' was in fact quite novel for me, being as it is, something other than what I experience in China.

Simple pleasures of life.

If you ever find yourself in The Sunshine State, do take a run up Noosa way and take a look at what it offers. I been to the Mediterranean (Marseilles, Nice) but I think Queensland Beaches have more to offer and are by far more beautiful.

Coloured Sands at Rainbow Beach

That is just my opinion of course!  You can have your own!

R.P.BenDedek

Email rpbendedek@hotmail.com

Rainbow Beach

Tin Can Bay

Larger and/or Different photos at   A Holiday in Queensland Australia

R.P.BenDedek is the pseudonym of the Author of 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran' (http://www.kingscalendar.com ), and is a guest columnist at Magic City Morning Star News. An Australian, he currently teaches Conversational English in China.

Photographic Stories from China at Kingscalendar

"The King's Calendar" is a chronological study of the historical books of the Bible (Kings and Chronicles), Josephus, Seder Olam Rabbah, and the (Essene) Damascus Document of The Dead Sea Scrolls.