While everyone loves to enjoy the coastline, beaches and the surf of the Gold Coast, hidden away towards the back is the most beautiful place of hidden rainforests, birds and native animals. This is Mount Tamborine – the plateau is really not hidden because it rises to a spectacular height from the surrounding landscape, allowing those who take the time to visit to enjoy the most magnificent views.

Some of the views include the tall buildings of Southport in the distance and seemingly surrounded by bush. Others are mountain views of gorges and rock faces.

It is not all bush; many lucky people call Mt Tamborine home. Some of the industries there include grape-growing, wine-making, growing native flowers and fruit such as the avocado. The gallery walk includes many galleries and gift shops where talented artists have all kinds of work on show.

Eateries abound and vie between the elegant and the rustic, with alfresco meals and take-aways some of the most popular. You can have a romantic interlude in a cosy tearoom, or enjoy morning tea by a thundering waterfall. The birdlife is stunning, with many colourful parrots often happy to eat treats from your hand. The brilliant reds, blues and greens of king parrots, crimson rosellas and rainbow lorikeets has to be seen to be believed.

Years ago commercial flower growing was a viable industry and there are still many beautiful flowers such as proteas, orchids, strelitzias and lilies to see in local gardens. There is so much to see and do on Mount Tamborine that you will be sorry to leave after just one day. Entertainment includes such novelties as whip-cracking and boomerang throwing.

But then there is O’Reilly’s Plateau at Lamington National Park with its sweeping vistas and fantastic waterfalls. Then there is the boardwalk through treetops, so you can get glimpses of birds in their natural homes – the treetops, as well as more wonderful views. You could even see a kangaroo or wallaby as the day closes to an end. They often come out at dusk to start feeding and are so used to tourists that they hardly bother to hop away.

The terrain up to these two beautiful scenic wonders is very steep. But when you take a guided tour you can go in a 4WD vehicle, so that is no problem. Some of these 4WD tracks are pretty awesome, but the drivers are experienced, so there is no need to worry.

I applied last year, was accepted to griffith and then deferred for a year, but now that i have had my gap year im ready to go back in 2010 but am not sure how to go about ending my deferment and enrolling back into my courses. If anyone in Brisbane can help with this id really appreciate it!
Thanks!

I just spent a semester abroad in Prague and met two of the most amazing people ever. Unfortunately, one lives in Brisbane, AU and the other lives in Dunedin, NZ. Small problem, indeed. I've heard about around the world flights being good for people who aren't worn down easily and that they can be cheaper, but I wanted to see if anyone out there would know. Please!

Image taken on 2007-06-11 15:22:21 by Christolakis.

Sculpture has been used for centuries to enhance a garden's natural beauty. Every garden would have a little spot which could be better highlighted using an unusual sculpture, a bird bath or water feature rather than just another plant.

Careful positioning of these sorts of things has traditionally been used in garden feng shui to bring all the elements into the garden. Any size garden can be enhanced with sculpture as it draws the eye to a focal point as you walk around the garden.

Metal sculpture is often chosen due to its durability to withstand the variances of weather and the uniqueness that the artist can create. It is often heavier and more stable with the ability to be pegged to the ground which is important in strong winds. With the correct coating outdoor sculpture should last for years in the garden.

One sculptor who is creating uniquely Australian garden sculpture is Peter Kozina of Brisbane's bayside. Peter's works are made completely from recycled steel hence he goes by the business name "Recycled Treasures". He is often inspired in his work by what he sees in a discarded piece of scrap metal whether it be a piece from an old plough, a brush hook or railway spike from days gone by. He immediately sees an emu, eagle or perhaps a person's stance in a shape he discovers buried in the scrap heaps of Queensland.

Recycling has long been a passion of Peter's and he likes nothing better than making something worthwhile out of supposed "junk". He was featured in a segment on Channel Nine's Brisbane Extra last year which highlighted the benefits of recycling in the Brisbane area.

Peter also makes a series of garden ornaments which feature terracotta pots which can be planted up as an added feature in the home garden. Old pushbike wheels have been transformed into penny farthings which look really colourful when the 3 pots are planted with your favourite annuals.

He turns a rusty wheelbarrow into a real talking point complete with a huge central terracotta bowl and 4 smaller pots surrounding it enhanced with scrollwork. Another popular item is his unique birdbaths. No two are the same as he builds the stand out of an old car or truck spring which leads up to the bath encased in a discarded basketball hoop with 2 feeders on either side.

Water features are popular in modern garden design. Peter makes his uniquely Australian by using farm posts with an old brass tap attached. It flows into a bucket so for the water saving folk it uses only a small amount of water to get that soothing sound of running water.

Peter is aware of the difficulty metal features have in being able to withstand the weather. All his garden ornaments have been coated with a high quality etch primer followed by an enamel exterior paint. His individual sculptures have been specially treated with a formula he has created to allow the natural look of rusted metal to be maintained without rusting any further.

All the purchaser has to do is spray it occasionally with clear lacquer if it is in direct sunlight and the sculpture once again has that wonderful lustre. Peter's motto has always been : "Bringing the past to life in sculpture".

I would like to do some sightseeing along the way. Definites are the great ocean road, melbourne and the eastern coast from coffs harbour to brisbane. For other areas I am happy to take inland routes to save time.

Mount Coot-tha Lookout: This is only a short drive out of the city to the top of Mt Coot-tha and once there , you will be rewarded with a fabulous view of the whole of Brisbane City .At night , the city lights and the star lit skies are an amazing view from here.There is a restaurant and bar and a caf and gift shop as well as the observation deck and also in the vicinity there are a number of interesting bushwalks including an Aboriginal track down to Slaughters Falls where en route you will see Aboriginal art .

Southbank: These parklands are within easy walking distance of the city but the City Cat and ferries stop here too making it even easier .There is much to so here but the stand out attraction has to be the Streets beach " a crystal-clear lagoon that contains enough water to fill an Olympic swimming pool five times, surrounded by tropical palm trees and Life savers. There are barbecue areas, cafes and shops and also cinemas, regular free live entertainment and many festivals and fireworks throughout the year. Southbank is also home to the Queensland Cultural centre.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary : At a thirty five minute ride, or relaxing hour long cruise along the river, is a refuge where you can find and abundance of Australian wildlife.  The Koalas can be cuddled for a small fee and the Kangaroos can be hand fed.  After walking around you can then relax in the small cafe.

City Botanic Gardens:  These gardens were planted in 1825 as food crops to feed the prison colony.  Today they are the city's oldest park.  Trees and rainforest glades run the length of Alice street and are bordered by Parliament House and Brisbane River.  You can choose to explore yourself or take a guided tour.  The gardens also have a cafe to relax in and many children play areas.  It is a great retreat for visitors and local alike.

Roma Street Parkland : A large subtropical garden just north of Roma Street Station.  Here you will find landscaped gardens, Queensland's biggest public art collection, unique plants and a subtropical rainforest.  The parklands horticultural heart is the Spectacle Gardens.  You can choose a guided tour or grab a brochure and venture out on your own.   If you do not wish to walk, at all, there is also a mini train that travels the parks paths.

We all know and aware that all plants needs proper fertilizer, water and the sunlight for their growth. Many plants can grow without the sunlight rays and many plants can live without water for 10-15 days. All plants have different breeds and requirements for their survival especially for the indoor plants; so it is very important to have a deep knowledge about the indoor plants and the climatic culture in which the plant can survive. As we aware of that we can’t change our house, direction and its design so we need to choose the appropriate space for the indoor plants from where the plant can grow properly.

First of all the climate of Brisbane is such that we can grow any plants. Its average temperature in summer is 25.4 C and in its winter 15.7 C.  So following are the precautionary measures for the Brisbane Indoor Plants -

•    Place a plant in such a way so that sunlight can reach towards it.
•    First of all think before you buy any of the indoor plants as per the space and the light in your house. If the plant is not getting enough light either it will die or becomes thin. So to avoid this problem it is better to buy plants that need medium light or else you need to provide artificial light to the plant.
•    You can always place your indoor plants to outside; it is not a rule of thumb that you have to place indoor plants inside the house only.
•    Always use the room temperature water for watering your indoor plants and make sure that your plants are getting enough water for the growth. Always remember if your plant is very dry they will die and if they get excess water, roots will rot.
•    Occasionally give you plants a bath, it is not recommended that you need to give shower daily just that once or twice a month you need to give a bath with lukewarm water.
•    It is very important to keep your house airy so that fresh airs comes in so that indoor plants can improve the air quality of your household.
•    Make sure that your house is not over Smokey and always pay attention to your room temperatures during day and night and accordingly take care of your plant. Always treat plants like your baby give name to it so that you can always remember the name of the plant.
•    Fertilize your plant twice or thrice a month depending upon your plants requirement.

Image taken on 2006-09-30 18:58:50 by Shaun Johnston.

I lived in Australia for one year. Most of all, I lived in Brisbane, for one year..... Now that Im back to Brazil, there's no single day that i dont miss there.....