Birthday celebrations of a friend

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Last weekend, we were invited to a full day of birthday celebrations of a friend that I met through beach volleyball. I think all of our friends so far are through beach volley. It’s such a friendly community and very easy to meet new people.

Saturday was such a beautiful day, around 25C, no clouds, slight breeze. Just perfect conditions! First, a bunch of us met up down in Coolangatta to hang out by the beach and of course play beach volleyball. I only used sunscreen twice in the morning, and actually got a little bit red on my shoulders, but that was gone by Sunday. The sun is very strong. The UV index has been around 3-4 these past three months, but now it has increased to 7. I have started to wear a hat! I usually hate hats. But I will definitely be a full-blown straw hat person by the time summer arrives. Of course, we also went into the water which was incredible! The ocean was so calm today and the boogie board was of no use. Although people wanted to swim out to the whales with it, but never did.

The morning was perfect in itself. Sun, warmth, ocean, beach volley. But what made it truly magical was the extreme amount of whales swimming so close to shore. I started seeing them as soon as we arrived at 8:30am and they just didn’t go away. At one point, there were a couple who were so active that one of the guys brought out his drone and filmed them from above. And that was just so cool! I have posted the video he sent us on my Instagram highlights (down under) and also added a few screenshots from it at the bottom of this post.

We had lunch at 4 Pines and then drove to Pickleball up in Miami. I’ve never played pickleball and the reason it became popular during covid was that there were specific rules about very specific sports you couldn’t play. And pickleball wasn’t a part of them, even if the court is smaller than tennis and you are two people playing together. Funny how rule works. Anyway, it is like tennis, but you play with rackets that look like they came from the beach game and you also hit a floorball, plastic one with holes in it. My still twisted ankle (after 2,5 months!) didn’t like it. But it was kinda fun. Very specific rules, but I think I got a hang of it eventually.

Last stop of the day, was a BBQ at Daisy and Arthur’s (one of two birthday boys). Our very first Australian BBQ. Super nice!

Really fun day with fun people 😊☀️

These are screenshots from the drone video Jack shot. MAGICAL!

Moon rising

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Two nights ago, I saw something I’ve never seen before. A red burning moon rising over the horizon. During social games in Surfers on Wednesday like normal, I had to stop during a game and ask my partner what that dim red thing was on the horizon, it looked like a big red boat, which was weird. She got super excited, almost jumped and screamed: “that’s the moon!!”. And yeah, it was the incredible moon rising and getting brighter by the second as it rose above the horizon. We had to take a time out and take lots of pictures of it. Holy shit! It was magical! It lost most of its red color the higher it got, but it was so beautiful. Apparently it’s not too uncommon here.

The pictures of me about to serve was taken by Shanon, the guy in charge of Volleyball in Paradise.

Pacific Airshow

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This weekend, the whole beach in Surfer’s Paradise was off limits and only available if you paid $50 pp. The section off limits was apparently much bigger this year compared to last year from what we heard which was a little bit unnecessary in my opinion, but oh well.

It’s not like you can’t see an airshow from pretty much anywhere even if the beach is shut off.

So, the Pacific Airshow was pretty much a bunch of American and Australien muscle airplanes showing off for three days. Some were just wonky flying around, making loops, falling, there were F-22 Raptors, F81s, parachuters, and big cargo planes. Much noise, super fast, really cool!

Mikael also went into the ocean for the first time since we got here, about time 😍

Byron Bay 4/4; Whale Watching

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One night of planned camping spontaneously turned into two nights because we were too spontaneous and didn’t look up availability for the whale watching we wanted to do. All good though, we got a really good weekend out of it down in Byron Bay. It can be divided into four parts and there will be an equal amount of posts because one will be way too long:

  1. Brunswick Heads Market
  2. Killen Falls
  3. Byron Community Market
  4. WHALE WATCHING

The highlight of this weekend was for sure the whale watching.

We went with Blue Bay Divers and were so happy that we did. They start from Brunswick Harbour, have a small but dry boat and the guys going with us were both friendly and informative. $119 for a 3 hour tour.

It was a very calm day out on the water and we actually only saw a few breaching whales. They all seemed to be on a mission to go somewhere. They had a whale spotter on shore up high and they called the boat every now and then when they saw activity. The first couple of whales we saw were close to shore, hoping for a mother and calf, but they were both adult.

Next, they had spotted a group of active whales way out, so we rode straight out for about 10 minutes where we found a large pod of whales and more kept adding to it. They were going straight north with us along its side for a good 45 min. The guys estimated them to be 12 at most. They did nothing more spectacular than just being the huge beings they are but that is more than enough. It is so incredible how big and gentle this giants are. And these were only humpback whales, not even the biggest type of whale there is. A blue whale is twice as big and up to four times as heavy!

Our boat always kept a good distance to the pods which felt really good.

I was the dedicated photographer on this trip. Mikael filmed. His plan is to make a video of it all and post it on your new Youtube-channel within short. It was a cloudy day, but it was perfect for whale watching. Not as much reflections on the ocean. This one was flapping its flipper on the surface for so long. I wonder why.

Then we found a smaller pod of 4 whales who were super curious about our boat and swam around and under it several times. It is hard to believe how big they truly are! And it is amazing that we live on this planet alongside them and all other living animals. And devastating how we are destroying it…

I am so glad I got this smaller breach on camera. WOW! This one was so close!

 

And lastly, some of the photos from the guys of Blue Bay Divers. He looked so casual but still managed to get the one big breach we saw. I guess when you do this every day for the whole winter season, you get good at it. Such a wonderful day!

Byron Bay 3/4; Byron Community Market

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One night of planned camping spontaneously turned into two nights because we were too spontaneous and didn’t look up availability for the whale watching we wanted to do. All good though, we got a really good weekend out of it down in Byron Bay. It can be divided into four parts and there will be an equal amount of posts because one will be way too long:

  1. Brunswick Heads Market
  2. Killen Falls
  3. BYRON COMMUNITY MARKET
  4. Whale Watching

After sleeping like babies for almost 10 hours, because while camping in the middle of winter, there is nothing to do after the sun sets and it gets dark, so you go to bed, we woke up and were ready for the new day!

We headed straight to our next camping spot after check out and hoped they had early check in. They did. Which meant we had somewhere to park our car in central Byron Bay on the first Sunday of the month for the Byron Community Market. We went straight out to the market, which was even bigger then the one in Brunswick. But very similar, many stalls were at both markets, there were lots of food stalls and live music. We bought a few things, like dragon coasters, a natural loofah, and some keychains to our car key and Mikael’s home key.

But I think the best part of the market was Mikael’s celebrity spotting. None other than Jeff Ling from Parkway Drive. He was so starstruck but managed to humbly ask for a picture and tell him how much he influenced him personally to start playing the guitar but also how much of an inspiration Parkway Drive was to his own band Reborn as Phoenix. He was such a down to earth guy, super kind and seemed to appreciate Mikael’s praise. We were told that the concert in Brisbane will be special, so we have something to look forward to on 18 September.

After the market, we walked along the beach to Cape Byron Lighthouse for a rematch with the sunset. We caught it along with so many whales and dolphins. It was a magical evening.

Out there between the boats was a whale earlier in the evening splashing with his flippers. Like a lot! Just above the trees to the left is a small small dot. That’s a dolphin.

Byron Bay 2/4; Killen Falls

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One night of planned camping spontaneously turned into two nights because we were too spontaneous and didn’t look up availability for the whale watching we wanted to do. All good though, we got a really good weekend out of it down in Byron Bay. It can be divided into four parts and there will be an equal amount of posts because one will be way too long:

  1. Brunswick Heads Market
  2. KILLEN FALLS
  3. Byron Community Market
  4. Whale Watching

After the market, it was still early, so we drove down to Killen Falls in the Country of Widjabul. It was an easy trek to the top of the fall, but a little bit rougher to go down to the bottom of the fall. Not impossible, but steep and lots of roots and rocks. Apparently there could be platypi, but we didn’t see any.

I had almost forgotten about my favorite animal when I was a kid, the platypus! We (I !) was looking really hard for them in the water, but we saw none. I have been too focused on the most obvious animals since moving here, the roos and koalas. Rainforest is so beautiful! Our setup for the night at Broken Head Holiday Park. Such a pretty caravan park. Very clean, super close to the beach. Only $53 per night. Really good spot. Falling asleep to the sound of crashing waves was nice. It was cold though, haha! But as soon as you get the heat up inside our queen-sized sleeping bag, it’s really comfy! It’s so dark here. So little street lighting which makes the stars super visible at night.

Byron Bay 1/4; Brunswick Heads Market

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One night of planned camping spontaneously turned into two nights because we were too spontaneous and didn’t look up availability for the whale watching we wanted to do. All good though, we got a really good weekend out of it down in Byron Bay. It can be divided into four parts and there will be an equal amount of posts because one will be way too long:

  1. BRUNSWICK HEADS MARKET
  2. Killen Falls
  3. Byron Community Market
  4. Whale Watching

Our first stop for this tiny road trip was the Brunswick Heads Market in Brunswick. We were lucky to find a parking spot reasonably close. People were crazy and even if they nicely waited in line for a spot, there were not as nice people rushing in to take their spot before them. It was crazy!

At the market, they had live music, lots of food stalls and anything you can imagine would be at a monthly farmer’s market in Brunswick which is very similar to Byron Bay vibe-wise. People were walking barefoot, dogs everywhere and it was just a cosy feeling. For lunch, Mikael had a German bratwurst and I had a falafel pocket. Very yummy!

After the market, we went to Torakina Beach, which was where we parked and out on the pier by the Brunswick River inlet. The waves there were insane and there were several signs saying how dangerous the water was there. Still, people were surfing there.

After the market, I got a magpie friend. It was looking at me from ALL angles and finally got himself a little treat from my banana lotti desert from the middle eastern food stall. Torakina Beach to the left and the inlet to the right. Two stone laid piers were on each side. The beach to the south and Byron Bay. The lighthouse is way back there.

Camping and Australia Zoo

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25-26 July

As soon as we got the opportunity, we took our new car out for our first adventure to try out the rooftop tent. It worked wonders! Super easy and quick to pop up and our sleeping arrangements for the night was secured in less than 5 minutes. We drove up to Bribie Island, which is a little bit south of Sunshine Coast and camped there for the night. We had bought a two person sleeping bag which was perfect. I wasn’t cold at all, even if it is winter now and not too many degrees during the night.

The day after was spent at the Australia Zoo in Beerwah, about an hour from our camping spot at Bongaree. Such a lovely zoo!

We first had breakfast at Alkemist Café, right around the corner from us. This was probably the best thing I ever had there so far.

Our Nissan is ready to go: It is so dark here (kinda reminds me of the US), so when it is a clear sky, you always see tons of stars.

Then we came to Australia zoo: Aldabra tortoise. Baby koala. Cassowary. Tasmanian devil. Robert Irwin going in his dad’s footsteps. The show was both birds and Bluey, the crocodile. We got a lesson in what to do if we get bitten by a snake and what to think about when being close to water.

If bitten by a snake: stay calm, bind the limb you were bitten on from the bite and up and get to a hospital or get help to you.

If you are close to water, especially fresh and murky water, where you can’t see anything, stay at least 4-5m away from the water and if you’re fishing, stay behind a tree, because salties (saltwater crocodiles also live in freshwater, don’t be fooled) are quick! They can also hold their breaths for up to 7 hours, so waiting 30-60min by the water before going in won’t help. They can also swim under the surface without making any ripples. Quokka. Very curious lemurs coming very close to us. Southern white rhinos. Giraffes, southern white rhinos, and meerkats. My favorite meerkat ❤️. There is a cheetah in this picture above. I did not see it when I took the picture, haha. Wombat.

Coombabah Lake Conservation Park

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24 July

This was the best day in Australia yet! Coombabah Lake Conservation Park was incredible. Such beautiful nature and so much wildlife.

In summary, we saw 5 koalas, two of which I spotted myself (people here are very friendly of pointing out where things are), 5 kookaburras and endless of kangaroos.

Can you spot the koala in the canopies in the picture below? This was our very first one, only five min into the park.

Here is a zoomed in one:

Our first kangaroos (except the one I saw lurking in the high grass beside the M1 a few weeks back):

Kookaburra number one:

Koala number two (this one was harder to spot but we got help):

Koala number three (this one I spotted all by myself): Zoomed in through my binoculars:

This could have been northern Sweden:

And in the same park there is practically a jungle:

Koala number four (also spotted by me, but pretty hard to miss):

Three different kookaburras (the last one was so big it was floating out on the branch):

And koala number five (we got help with this one, super hard to see):

A super pregnant roo:

Here you can see the joey’s feet sticking out of the pouch:

And also the face sticking out ❤️ (I got this on video and it is probably the best video I have ever filmed):

Review of “The Emperor’s Soul” by Brandon Sanderson

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Title: The Emperor’s Soul
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Collection: Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 136 of 831
Published: 2016, Tor Books (originally published 2012)
My Grade: 5 out of 5

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

A heretic thief is the empire’s only hope in this fascinating tale that inhabits the same world as the popular novel, Elantris.

Shai is a Forger, a foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by rewriting its history with skillful magic. Condemned to death after trying to steal the emperor’s scepter, she is given one opportunity to save herself. Though her skill as a Forger is considered an abomination by her captors, Shai will attempt to create a new soul for the emperor, who is almost dead.

Probing deeply into his life, she discovers Emperor Ashravan’s truest nature—and the opportunity to exploit it. Her only possible ally is one who is truly loyal to the emperor, but councilor Gaotona must overcome his prejudices to understand that Shai’s forgery is as much artistry as it is deception.

Brimming with magic and political intrigue, this deftly woven fantasy delves into the essence of a living spirit.

 

MY REVIEW

It doesn’t matter what I pick up from Sanderson, I know I will love it! I found a list online on reading order for the Cosmere books. This was not a book though, but a “short” 130-page novella set on the planet of Sel, the same as Elantris. I try to pay attention to details in books, but I’m not sure I will be able to catch everything Sanderson intended for his readers on the first read. But I went for this one before continuing with Mistbord era 2.

There were definitely things I recognized from Elantris, still my favorite of Sanderson’s books. But I don’t think there were any exceptional easter eggs yet. But like I said, I am new to the Cosmere in terms of re-reads.

The story is really captivating but a little complex. Well, not the story itself, but the magic system. I think I understood it at the end, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I was completely wrong as well. I wouldn’t have minded a deeper story about Shai.

Since it is taking place on the same world as Elantris, it did make me wonder how that was all connected? Time-wise? Magic-wise?

Easy read that was over too quick! Still well thought-through and complicated but written very well for that format. 5 out of 5.