New family and a trip on the Brisbane river.

I am no sooner back in Brisbane than I am off again. This time only a very short drive to Bulimba, a very nice suburb of Brisbane right on the river. I am here to meet up with 2 second cousins on my mother's side of the family. Their mothers were  my mother's aunts.

First Richard and I collected Anne, and husband Wain, from the airport. Anne is my cousin and lives just outside Melbourne. I have never met her although I have been in touch with her several years ago when my mother died as she had kept in touch with mum. Richard took us for a quick drive round the city to see all the main buildings and places of interest before he had to collect the children from school. Anne had booked us 2 nights in an apartment just a minute from the river. Once we were settled in we had so much to talk about and to catch up on what the family had been doing over the years. Then off to a pub for a very nice supper.

The next day my other cousin, Bernadette (known as Berni), drove down from the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane. Unfortunately she was unable to stay the night but we managed to fill the day with lots of talking and stories of our lives. Berni is also several years younger than me but had lost her husband to cancer 6 years ago. Left with two young boys it had been a very difficult time for her but she has just published a book called 'The Griefcase' chronicling her struggles to come to terms with the loss of her husband and how she has now found her new path in life.

                                Anne on the right, Berni in the middle

        

If you have River Cats you must also have River Dogs. So here we have 'Bluey' and 'Bingo' who originated in Brisbane and are now well known around the world on children's TV. Of course you occasionally get a small river ferry so you now have a.......

Richard joined us again the next morning and we took the river Cat down the river to South Bank in the city. It is a beautiful area to wander along the paths next to the river. We found a nice pub for lunch, again looking out over the river from an upstairs balcony.

        

            

This little pink sailing boat named Ella's Pink Lady and is the one used by Jessica Watson to sail solo and unassisted around the world in 2009/10. She become the youngest person to sail around the world at just 16 years old. The 34-foot yacht was purchased by the Queensland and Commonwealth governments and is now on display at the Queensland Maritime Museum.     

Then it was time for Anne and Wain to return to the airport while we returned to collect the children from school. 

It had been a lovely couple of days and we have vowed to try and keep in touch now.