Bergman Travel Diary

Today was one of those days in life that really threatened to bring me down! Matt and I set off with a group of hikers to head up Mt Warning today.  Having never done this track before we had no idea what really lay ahead.  The sign at the beginning warned that there were many steps and steep inclines .... but nothing could have prepared me mentally for what this really meant. The Wollumbin National Park, at Mt Warning, Summit track is NOT for the light hearted!  6 months ago there is NO WAY I could have made it up the 4.5km track (9km return) ... well, not in the 2:15 hours we did it in.  The track is listed as a 'difficult' climb, with many (many, many) steps, followed by a steep rock face (with a chain to assist the climb). By 2km I knew I had bitten off more than I really wanted to chew.... but refused to give in to the voices in my head.  I may have chewed poor Matt out for his attempts to support me mentally.  Definitely not in the right headspac...

What a spectacular way to spend a day!  This past weekend we set out with a group, organised by Matt's awesome PT Gavin, to hike our way up the Mt Cordeaux track , on the northern side of Cunningham's Gap and part of the Main Range National Park.  To download the official PDF brochure of the area click here . To get there we took the Ipswich motorway and then the Cunningham Highway, towards Cunningham's Gap.  Parking is available in a designated car park, along with spaces on the shoulder adjacent the car park.  This is a really popular location for hikers but parking still seemed readily available, even on this long weekend. All I can say is Wow!  What a feat!!!  This walk is definitely not for the faint hearted or the beginner. It's a Class 4 track.  Most of the way is uphill so get those legs ready for some real climbing.  Moderate fitness is recommended, along with good shoes and ankle support (so glad I invested in a good ...

Having a fur child in the family can make adventures limited at times.  We love to get out and about but are often then faced with the guilt of leaving our beloved fur child behind.  Today we decided to head out to somewhere pet friendly .... and scratch that itch for a hike with the whole family. Our venue today:  Moggill Conservation Park.  This conservation park can be found 22km west of central Brisbane, on Chalcot Rd (off Mt Crosby Rd) in Anstead.  Parking is available in a designated parking lot.  Popular activities at the conservation park include walking (our chosen activity for the day), horse riding and bike riding.  We even saw a rather keen bunch of 4x4 drivers taking to the track at one stage.  Sturdy shoes are advised and dogs are allowed as long as they are on a leash.  Perfect for us! "This 491 hectare park forms part of the D'Aguilar Range, a bushland corridor that extends north to Woodford, providing valuable habitat for ...

This weekend we took on an adventure of a new kind as a family.  With the desire for more 'adventurous' outings we joined a group of gym buddies and headed to Crank Indoor Climbing at Mt Gravatt.   Crank  Indoor Climbing can be found near Garden City, at 2/537 Kessels Rd, MacGregor.  Parking is readily accessible at the adjacent parking facility. We had so much fun at this venue!  The climbing walls available are graded from beginner to advanced, and are all well labelled so that you know which grade your chosen wall is.  The pegs are also colour coded, making life much easier. The boys were AMAZING!  They worked together, even helping their cousin Amara (who joined us for the day).  Together they scaled walls, belayed for each other and encouraged everyone involved in our day out.  Much to my surprise, I even managed to scale several walls - there's a first for everything.  I absolutely LOVED it!!!  Proof that you are ...

After our recent mis-adventure in the Redlands Shire, where we narrowly missed a hefty fine for taking our beloved fur child for a walk during the wrong hours, we decided to visit somewhere a little more "Dog Friendly".  Having ridden today's trail on his bike some time ago, Matt knew that we were off to somewhere our little girl could wander happily, without the risk of getting into strife.  The location:  the very lovely Boondal Wetlands walk. It's hard to believe that, only a short distance from the busy Brisbane traffic, this idyllic walk waits.  The sounds of the city are completely blocked out by the dense growth that surrounds the Wetlands. Mother Nature turned on quite a spectacular show today, with the sun shining gloriously.  It was so warm, in fact, that we decided to walk only a little over 1km of the 8.4km Bikeway Walk at Boondal. I'm so happy that I decided to take my camera with me today.  So many beautiful macro shot...

Are you looking for somewhere in Logan City to do a decent sized walk, hike or mountain bike trail? Who would have thought that, hidden amongst the Daisy Hill Koala Centre you would find such a place?  Our family has been to the Koala Sanctuary/Park many times over the years and never knew it existed until our search for 'Dog-friendly' walks revealed it. Matt recently purchased a book called "Brisbane's Best Bush, Bay & City Walks" (ISBN: 978-921874-87-1) in hope of finding more weekend adventures for us and our fur baby.  This book tells you what to expect from each walk listed, including whether or not it is pet friendly.  A definite must for those who like to get out and about with their furry friends. Just a short walk through the Daisy Hill Conservation Park, located behind the Koala Centre in Logan City's Daisy Hill area, you will find several walk options.  Today, with Matt's brother Daniel and two of his boys by our side, we set off i...

We woke to a cooler day today.  Good timing. Once packed we decided to wait out time, until checkout, on the balcony…. where we saw more WHALES!  This time I had my zoom lens handy so managed to grab a quick snap of what looked like a mother and calf.   So cool! We're now settled back at home, totally refreshed and ready to enjoy the rest of the school break together.  This is the first time the four of us have been together like this most of this year and it's so refreshing. Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

This morning I awoke to the gentle nudge from Matt, telling me it was 5am.  Yep, 5 am!  While we are on holidays anywhere near the coastline it is our tradition to get up at least one morning and see the sunrise.  Thyroid medication time or not (not until 6:30 so no kick start for me) I had a tradition and promise to keep.  There was no tucking me back into the comfort of bed.  I was up and ready in a heart beat!  You only get one life and I am determined to LIVE it! Was it worth it?  You tell me???  I say:  YES!!! We got across the road with Zane (leaving Daz snoring in bed), camera gear ready and eagerness at it's peak, just in time to set up and start capturing what turned out to be a STUNNER of a sunrise.  A true Morning Glory in our eyes! We watched as a group of canoe riders headed out for a morning tumble on the waves, and as the world slowly woke to this glorious day. Once we were back at the apartment Matt put s...

After everything that has been going on this year, Matt and I knew that a family getaway was needed.   Such a crazy year, dealing with selling a house, buying a home, moving out of a rental .... and then there was the cancer issue.  Seems we have had our hands full of stuff that could cripple a family quite easily, but we kept rolling with it. When our yearly getaway to Kawana, for rowing with Mr D, fell through, we decided to reschedule these couple of days and turn them into a true holiday.  Normally we don't have the chance to explore Kawana and are too busy at the lake with rowing to even wander past the Surf club and see the beach.  This time was different.  We packed up the house, left Trinket in the care of her beautiful grandparents, and headed off to kick off our shoes and PLAY! How we are feeling right now!!! This is our fourth year visiting Kawana and we finally got to ENJOY it!  What did we think of Kawana?  Loved it!  We h...

We had a bit of a close call with authority today.  Really must remember to check where we are going before we decide to bring our lovely Miss T along.  It seems that there are still places in Australia which are very 'Dog unfriendly'.  After our time living in the UK and traveling throughout Europe this still surprises us. Our destination today was Wellington Point in the Redland City, a lovely area to be sure, but beware if you are visiting with a dog.  Due to the Redlands area being considered a conservation area residents voted to have dogs not alllowed during certain areas.  They are ok at some hours but not others so be sure to check this before heading out for a day in the sun with your beloved pooch. All that aside, we had a magnificent day.  Luckily for us we had managed to enjoy a 3 hour stay before the lovely (and I do mean lovely) ranger came and had a chat with us about why we should get in our car and drive away from the area with our...

Today was a typical 'at sea' day: relaxed and easy going.  I woke at just after 4am (home time) to the sun shining in the window of our cabin.  Sleep called, but the chance to surprise Matt by meeting him up on the running track was too tempting.  I rose, got dressed, left both boys sleeping soundly (or so I thought) and headed up to the top deck to meet my man.  Despite my best efforts to sneak up on Matt, he spotted me straight away.  Before we made another lap of the top deck we found Zane waiting for us.  The wind was quite crazy so we all headed down to the Gym. After a great wake up work out Mat and I headed into the Aqua Spa for some rejuvenation.  What a way to start the day!  I could seriously get used to this. We had a nice early breakfast outside on the Adult Only deck, followed by chilling out in one of the lounges for a while.  All seven of us enjoyed the chill time. Matt, John, Carol, Daniel and I headed to the ...