HMAS Brisbanea Skywatch at Sea

The monument to the HMAS Brisbane sits on the top of Alexandra headland, and features one of the original arials from the ship.  If one sights between the mast and the bow of the ship, and imagines a spot five kilometres off shore, one can pinpoint the location of the hulk.

From Wikipedia:

Brisbane was sunk as a dive wreck off the coast of Queensland. Her bridge and one of her 5-inch (127 mm) guns were removed and preserved at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, which were incorporated into the post-1945 galleries, which opened in 2007.

Brisbane was sunk approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) off the coast of Mudjimba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, 31 July 2005 in 30 metres (98 ft) of water. Brisbane was filled with approximately 200 tonnes of concrete, and 38 small charges were detonated to breach the hull, the activation of which was performed by Queensland State Premier Peter Beattie. Brisbane sank in two and a half minutes. The top of her funnels can be seen lying just three metres below the water at low tide. A 2009 study of the value of protected areas found that the wreck had contributed AU$18 million to the Sunshine Coast economy.

I was high on the hill above Alexandra Headland on that fateful day, 31 July 2005, and took the following sequence of shots (from about seven kilometres distance on the old point and shoot!)

10:15 am

Charges are detonated.   Each has been positioned so that when the ship is breached it will fill and sink so that it lies upright on the bottom, to maximise it's value as a dive wreck.

10:17 am

Smoke still wafts gently from the interior, but nothing seems to be happening.

10:18 am

and she begins to slip away.

10:19 am

All that remains is a throng of spectator craft and a fleet of helicopters, all moored outside a one kilometre exclusion zone.

We leave with a strange feeling; we've just seen a warship sink.

Alexandra Headland

Don't forget to check out other Skywatch photos today, and please note that although I have not participated in the City Daily Photo blogs "best photo of the year" theme today, there are hundreds of spectacular photos to be found should one care to follow this link.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

The Trunk of the Coconut

Two things are always consistent with coconut palms;

One always finds little circular pock marks on them, often they look as though a potter has pushed her thumbs into them before they've set.

When people carve their initials into them (and who knows why they do that), they use a particular style of rigid, straight lettering, and it seems their initial is always "V".

I'm sure both of those observations have a scientific basis, but if I may return to this photo for a second, I do love the way the shells are just visible on the beach, as indeed is the merest hint of foam from the surf (top right).

Mooloolaba

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

The Tropics

Technically we are in the sub-tropics here, and coconut palms are a rare sight indeed, except on the little patch of beach near the caravan park at Mooloolaba, where four survive the ravages of the tides.   They look as though they have been naturally sprouted, but I have my doubts.  For a  start they'd have had to have found their way south against the prevailing winds and currents.

Anything is possible I suppose, and they do give a quite tropical feel to the place when one knows where to find them!

If you like watching water, you can find links to many more wet photos at WateryWednesday!

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

The New Kite

While Dad's reading the instructions, we might just get this thing into the air by ourselves.  Two girls and a three year old make light work of kite flying.

Mooloolaba

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Reading the instructions

Getting that kite into the air looks as though it's going to take a University Degree.  Not a bad place to be studying for it though, on  the rocks at Mooloolaba.

Mooloolaba

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Steve

The Crocodile Hunter lives in our memories on the Esplanade in Mooloolaba, where a marble sculpture depicting himself with his two children Bob and Bindi holding a baby crocodile is positioned so that he is gazing out to sea in perpetuity.

This was his neighbourhood of course, and Australia Zoo continues to be bigger and better managed by his family, just a few kilometres inland.

The kisses aren't a permanent feature, young Robert and Steve received more than their fair share on New Year's Eve.

For more information you may care to visit the website of the sculptor, Silvio Apponyi.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Water Budgie

Joan told me a long time ago, that pictures of Seagulls don't count.   We both agree that they just sort of sit there bored really, and don't provide any sort of challenge for the stalker or photographer.  

So consider today's picture to be challenge free.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Cabbage Palm Skywatch

Is it cheating for a Skywatch post, I wonder, to burn the sky completely out of the photo?

The day was mostly overcast,  except for patches of dull blue, and this one hole just on dusk that the fast disappearing sun found as an excuse to floodlight the palm.  It almost looks as thought it was shining UP into the tree.  Actually it almost was!

For the technically minded, the palm is livistona Australis, a variety of Cabbage Tree Palm indigenous to this area, and this one is about seven metres tall and lives right beside our back verandah.


© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Signal

When we were kids, we'd escape along the beach for hours, crawling among the rocks or building huge canals through the wet sand.  We didn't have watches to tell the time, so Mum used to hang a towel out the window as a signal that it was lunch time.

I suspect this Mum probably sent an SMS, or maybe a Tweet, but the signal brought back memories.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Closer to Shore

It's closer to shore where the timid and the foolhardy hang out.  On a day where the surf is gentle, like today, they'll be content to bob up and down in the foam until their bikini bottoms are filled with sand......

Watery Wednesday is all very well, but where there is water there are consequences!

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

On the Beach

 Meanwhile, back on the beach, life goes on.   The lifeguards guard, mother's apply more UV cream, and NO ONE sits out in the sun with no protection.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Out The Back

Usually one tries to swim out beyond the point where the waves are actually breaking, or "out the back" as it's known.  This gives one first go at the incoming wave, and keeps one away from other bathers.

Perhaps this doesn't apply in the peak of the summer holidays!

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Surf Craft

Just as has happened for generations, life skills are passed down from father to son, from grandfather to grandson.  There are no finer skills to be learned than those involved in catching a wave.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Between the Flags

I was trying to match the join in the flag colours with the join between the sky and land, but nothing would stay still for me.

On a clear day,  from the beach at Caloundra you can see almost the entire length of Bribie Island, but on a day when there's a stiff breeze, spray and mist obscure the view.

Today the weather was somewhere between the two extremes.

©Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Changesand a Happy New Year to All!

2010: Wow!       

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

What better way could there possibly be to welcome the new year than to change one's entire blog skin, and perhaps muck around with posting time as well!  For better or for worse, unless I am swamped with complaints (don't you dare! ;-) ) this is it for the new year.  Maybe.

Of course there may be a few other changes too, for instance there were a few dozen yesterday who used the bathing pavilion at Caloundra to change from their street clothes to their beach attire, although most of the hundreds who were there simply choose to sit around in their bathing suits all day, so perhaps as attitudes to changing change we won't see places to change later in the next decade.

The weather too was a bit changeable as it turned out, for the benefit of the Skywatchers among us.

I hope you all have a fantastic year as we go speeding into the new decade, accepting whatever change is thrust apon you without missing a beat.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in today's City Daily Photo theme; "Changes", and just for fun, it's time you changed your iPhone wallpaper, so you can think of summer at the beach all year round!  Every time you answer your phone, you'll feel a few degrees warmer, I guarantee it!

Just click on the image to download the full sized version!  Don't have an iPhone?  Well print it anyway and stick it on your refrigerator with one of those magnet thingies.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Lilo

Now here's something we don't see too often at this time of year:  A vacant patch of beach.

There are plenty of footprints to remind us that the photo is a trick though.  Don't expect to arrive at Mooloolaba between Christmas and New Year, and find a secluded spot for your towel!

If you intend to have a big New Year's celebration tonight, don't stay out in the sun too long today will you?

Mooloolaba

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Mandy's Mural another Watery Wednesday presentation

Right there on the top of "Alex" is a public convenience.  I wonder about the term "convenience" as these things are usually hidden in the most obscure places, difficult to find, difficult to get to, and then when one does they are often locked.

This one however, is quite convenient.  It's buried into the slope to make it reasonably difficult to find, but if one approaches it from altogetherly the wrong direction, the entire wall is covered in a seascape.

This is a representation of the view from the loo!  (See yesterday's photo for the actual view.)

I'm fairly sure that "Mandy" is actually Mandy Shadforth a local artist who has been responsible for a number of bright and cheery transformations in the Mooloolaba-Alexandra Headlands area.   I'll try to track her down for more information.

Oh!  This of course is Watery Wednesday as well!

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Mandy's View

I've posted this photo to set the scene for tomorrow's!

Here is a view to the south, not too far from the picnic shelter that has featured for the past few days.  That little smudge in the dunes centre right is the camping ground that I posted a few days before Christmas, and regular visitors won't need to be told that in the centre of the view is Point Cartwright.

Mooloolaba

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Rain, Perhaps

We haven't had any useful rain for well over six months.  Actually the last lot brought floods and general mayhem, along with sufficient water to get us through the current dry patch.

The grass everywhere is a lovely brown colour and is so dry it crunches underfoot.

For weeks the storms have been building in the west as they always do, but sitting in the hills behind the coast, teasing us.  

Thankfully, yeterday the water came!

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Yesterday's View(from the picnic shelter)

If you were the lucky ones who got to yesterday's picnic spot first, this is the view you would have enjoyed for the day.

If then, after a time you tired of looking at the sweeping ocean views from Point Cartwright and the mouth of the Mooloola River north to Noosa Heads, you could always wander down a few hundred yards to the beaches at Alexandra Headland or Mooloolaba.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Far from the madding crowd

The picnic shelter on Alexandra Headland sits almost forlornly alone the week before Christmas, but today it will be a different story.  The crowds will have descended, the early birds reserving it for the day, no doubt decorating it with balloons and tinsel, picnicking high above the beach for the entire day.

On Boxing Day, the crowds arrive with a vengeance.

 © Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Christmas Skywatch

And a very Merry Christmas to all who have taken the time to visit us during the year!

I wonder how many children will have been watching the sky last night for signs of reindeer pulling a sleigh?

No stars round these parts, but I suppose even 2010 years ago we may have been a little low on the earth's surface to have seen that particular first Christmas Star anyway.

Take the time after dinner to visit other Skywatchers from around the world.

 ©Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

The night before Christmas

Yes, it is the night before Christmas, and while there may not be too many creatures stirring, there's no room for them to stir in the caravan parks either.  Everyone has their spot ready for the holidays!

Mooloolaba

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

The Bay A Watery Wednesday Photo

Late afternoon on the Spit, Mooloolaba.

In the mood for more water? Why not pay a visit to Watery Wednesday and check out some of the links.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

@browns

No one in the Queue seems to be packing a computer, but the crowd @browns are ready to order!

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Close of play.

It's late in the evening, just on dusk, and the surfing gear has surfed it's purpose for the day, just time for an end or two of boules before the light finally disappears.

Sadly, the playing surface is actually grass, not sand or bare earth; just brown thirsty grass.  We are not formally in drought, but it's been almost four months since we've seen enough rain to give the plants a drink.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Reflections on the weekend

The family pre-Christmas get together happily reflected in the window of the Chrome Plated SUV.  I wondered what purpose such a vehicle could possibly have in a salt laden sea-side atmosphere.

Then I found it.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Blue

In the Australian vernacular, a "Bluey" can be an infringement notice, a cattle dog,  a heavy wool jacket or even a backpack, while "Blue" can be an argument, a redhead, a mistake, or simply the colour of the Fishing Co-op's wall.

Mooloolaba

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

This sculpture by Mooloolaba Artist Wayne Strickland was erected at the entrance to Fisherman's Park on the spit at Mooloolaba, and is dedicated to fishermen who have lost their lives at sea.

I understand that the model for this piece was, in a sad irony, himself lost when the trawler on which he was working, Miss Melissa was washed ashore no more than a few hundred metres from this spot.

A rather sombre Skywatch perhaps, but occasionally we need to remember bringing food to our table is not always a simple process to be taken for granted.

More Skywatch pictures as always at Skywatch Friday.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Fishing Boat

There's a certain no-nonsense air exuded by fishing boats.  Valdon was left on her lonesome in Mooloolaba harbour on this evening when all the others had gone to sea, perhaps she's a superyacht heavily disguised to discourage paparazzi.

It takes more than a mere disguise to throw me off my game!  Come on Tiger, we know you're in there!  ;-)

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Empty Jetty A Watery Wednesday Photo

Once the trawlers go to sea, it only seems natural to use the last of the sunlight on their moorings for a bit of recreation.    So if there are fish here, why do they need to go to sea?

In the mood for more water? Why not pay a visit to Watery Wednesday and check out some of the links.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Empty Harbour

It's late evening, and the harbour is deserted.  All (almost all) the fishing boats are out at sea, ready for another night at work, the owners of the apartments at Point Cartwright no doubt anticipating watching their lights disappearing over the horizon, perhaps to return with the seagulls and sharks feeding on their bycatch at first light.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Double Standards

Sure, we all need electricity and the services have to go somewhere, but this photograph doesn't even show a quarter of the installation on a busy Maroochydore Road.

I can't help but feel sorry for the developers of the brand new showroom next door, as I imagine them negotiating with the planners over the exact shade of blue to match the neighbouring structure.

Wouldn't it be good if Goverments actually had to abide by the planning regulations they impose on everyone else?

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Credit Where Credit's Due

Some may remember back in August, I published a series of bike path photographs, and may have inadvertently implied that some places were less than satisfactory from a cyclists perspective.  One of those photos is shown below, and the new look path above in the main picture.  While neither of the photos in today's post could be described as art, but the  new superwide path and retaining wall could be!

My goodness, they've even chopped out the  bushes on the corner so we can actually ride around it now.

I can't take any of the credit other than that for waiting till the sky matched the colour of the new concrete, but I can thank whichever Council Officer was responsible for the upgrade, and wish them all the best with their continued efforts!

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Safe Cycling

After four months in some of the world's most cycle-friendly countries, it's come as a shock to be back home where bicycle safety means a pole with a sign on it!

As the wagons circle, one wonders just what one is supposed to do with one's bike.  Stand by the post to lessen the impact perhaps?  Or is this the stake where cyclists, once captured are tied as punishment for their transgressions?

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Alex - not quite sunset.My first Skywatch in quite a while!

The sun has an hour or so in it, but the deep shadow is cast by an enormous storm front coming over. Two or three kilometres away, the buildings below Alexandra Headland are still in the clear, and seem quite unconcerned.

As there are every week, there are hundreds of links to more Skywatch photos at Skywatch Friday.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

My Hat!

No, it's actually not mine, but I do have one like it.

Even late in the afternoon it's great for keeping those nasty rays off, but sometimes in the evening breeze it needs a steadying hand.
© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Rockpool

There's a storm coming, yet one cloud illuminates the beach and reflects in the rockpools.

I think I could spend a year photographing them without becoming bored.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Splash

It looks like a great way to cool off, and on the face of it it's harmless enough, but the ocean claims many souls by sweeping them away off the rocks on the Australian coastline.

Thankfully, accidents here are rare, and I'm pleased to relate that no rescue was necessary this time!

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Small Boy

When our children were small, we'd wait till late in the afternoon, and wander on the beach for an hour or so before sunset when the crowds had gone home and the sting had gone from the sun.

With Mr Three yesterday, all those warm and fuzzy memories came flooding back.


© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Boardwalk's End

And then one reaches the end of the boardwalk, and turns for home.

Looking north towards Noosa, from Point Perry.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Sea Art

There's a terrific clifftop boardwalk between Coolum and Pt Perry, interspersed with shaded seating and artwork. Surely it's not coincidence that the ceramic panels reflect the view? No? I didn't think so.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Salt Air

Still closer to town, in the shadows of the Norfolks the sea haze rolls over the buildings still to come.

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Closer to town.

Closer to town, well there is less bush, and more power line.

Coolum

© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Flats

I'm sure the owners call them apartments, but it doesn't matter, with views north over the ocean, and surrounded by bush, a few kilometres easy stroll to the shops, these may just be the perfect coastal location.
© Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia