KB Down Under

Tonight Val and I attended Sing for Water, which was one of the many Riverfestival events scheduled this month in Brisbane, but only the second we have attended (Riverfire was the other). We took the CityCat from Guyatt Park to QUT Point - one stop beyond our previous furthest on the river at South Bank. We walked along the bottom of the highway and then finally popped out underneath it on the QUT campus and heard music in the distance, so we wandered toward it.

We trekked up a hill and were upon the amphitheater lit in purple and green. There were over 400 people on stage singing when we arrived (about an hour into the performance, which was scheduled to go from 6:00 to 8:00). We found a spot to sit and watch the performances from on the hill. Of course, two people decided to stand and watch themselves directly between us and the stage, so we moved.

The choruses filed off stage until there was less than one-third remaining and they sang a few songs. Then they left and a pianist, bassist, and drummer performed. Then a quartet sang some African songs (accompanied by someone on a djembe drum like Val has).

If Val writes a blog post about tonight, read it because I am sure it will be a little better than my "this happened, then this happened, then this happened ..."

Then the whole 500+ chorus returned to their spots on stage and David Campbell came out and sang a few songs (Frank Sinatra-ish, Elvis, some other rock songs, etc.). When we got back to the apartment, Val checked online and he is an Australian celebrity - which would explain all the barracking at the concert.

After dancing to his singing and the accompaniment of the chorus, we walked through the QUT campus and into the CBD to find a 7-11 (or anywhere that was actually open at 8:30 p.m.). We found a 7-11, bought two rolls of much-needed toilet paper and then moseyed on over to the Queen Street Mall. We poked around in a bookstore for a while. I was amused by the Lonely Planet guide for the USA - I looked up Connecticut to see if Old Newgate Prison was listed. Sadly, no Australians will be visiting East Granby if they adhere to that book. After buying nothing in the bookstore we caught the CityCat at North Quay and made out way back to the apartment with our toilet paper. When we got back here, we made a chocolate cake with peanut butter icing.

I love making cake with $0.59 AUD cake mix!

Last Sunday (3 September) we went to the last Brisbane Broncos rugby game of the season. We took the CityCat to Regatta in Toowong and then the train two stops to Milton and walked along the pathway and on the bridge over the road to Suncorp Stadium. We didn't have to wander very far to find our section, as it was pretty much straight in from the entry gate. We found out seats (1 and 2) in row 23 and were very happy with the view we had of the field.

We arrived less than 15 minutes before kick-off (if that's what they call it) and got to hear the player introductions for both teams and saw the players run out onto the field. When the New Zealand Warriors ran out they were greeted with boos and Val and I commented to one another "I guess they boo here, too." I think we both thought maybe they would give the Warriors a fair go, but apparently not. The Broncos, on the other hand, ran onto the field via a path made by their cheerleaders shaking gold pompoms and were greeted with waving flags and heaps of barracking (cheers).

The first half of the game mostly took place on the far end of the field because the Broncos were better than the Warriors, but we were able to figure out some of the basics of rugby. They can pass the ball with side or reverse laterals and at some points (probably when necessary for some reason) they punt the ball down the field. If a player runs with the ball into the American football equivalent of the end zone it is called a "try" and six points are posted on the board. After a try there is a field goal attempt, but it isn't straight on, rather it is from way off to the side of the field. If the ball goes through the two uprights two more points are awarded.

Similarly to American pro football, the referees can and do use instant replay review to make calls on close plays to determine if tries were scored. Trainers/medical people come onto the field while the game is still going on to tend to injured players, to give them water, etc. One of the Broncos players left the field at one point because he was bleeding on the field and the fans in the row behind us said he was probably going to get stitched up and then come back in - and sure enough a little while later he was back in the game.

At halftime four teams of school-aged rugby players came out onto the field and played in two mini-games of rugby. It was really amusing to see the little kids tackle each other. During the second half, although the Warriors scored a few more times, most of the action took place on our side of the field.

Val and I wandered around the stadium, completing one full circuit, and grabbed two Cornettos (ice cream cones similar to drumsticks in America) to enjoy during the remainder of the game. We asked the attendant for our section to take a picture of the two of us (check out the album) and it came out great (except for Val's eyes being shut) because she took it simultaneously with when one of the Broncos players scored a try in the background.

After the completion of the second 40 minute half (the clock keeps running most of the time, so it is a much shorter game than American football) and a victory for the Broncos 36-12 we filed out of the stadium and back onto the train. I wish it wasn't the end of the season, because I would have loved to see more rugby games, including some of the different types of rugby.

In Australia, seasons are defined meteorologically, not astronomically. In the Northern Hemisphere summer will end and autumn will begin in late-September, but in Australia winter ended and spring began September 1. To kick of the season, Brisbane holds an annual River Festival, with activities focused around or on the Brisbane River for a little over a week.

Saturday night was the big opening ceremony - Riverfire. Val, Chris, Natalie and I took the CityCat from Guyatt Park to South Bank and planned on either watching the festivities from South Bank or one of the bridges crossing the river. When we got off the CityCat, there were people checking our bags to make sure we weren't sneaking anything in to the event and they also checked that we had actually paid for our ferry tickets. Upon wandering around South Bank some more we discovered that the entire area was fenced in and there were checkpoints at the few entrances. Parts of a few of the roads had been closed off too.

It was still two and a half hours until the main event was to begin, but people were already staking our their spots all along the river. Speakers were set up on poles along the river edge and were broadcasting the radio station sponsoring the event. A little after 5:00 six prop planes few overhead and began doing acrobatic moves in very tight formations. They would swoop in from one end of the river and shoot up into stunts above the city and then come back and do things in the opposite direction.

A bit after 5:30 we found a decent spot in front of most of the crowd and sat down there. Val and I had packed a dinner, but Natalie and Chris had not and they didn't want to sit there until 7:00 so they found some food and watched from elsewhere in the crowd.

We knew the time had almost arrived when the CityCat and City Ferry stopped running and the only vessels in the river were a few anchored barges and police boats. Suddenly, two F-111s flew in from the east over the river did their first of two flyovers and "dump-and-burns" of the evening. They flew in at 300 ft. and shot up to 10,000 ft. - it was awesome! Their second appearance was after the fireworks show.

After to F-111s the choreographed fireworks show began and the barges up and down the river launched an amazing display of fireworks into the air. It was cool to see how it was coordinated with the music and similar fireworks were exploding from the various launching points along the river. One of my favorite parts of the 30 minute show was when we glanced over to the footbridge connecting South Bank to QUT (Queensland University of Technology) and it wasn't launching fireworks into the air, but rather it was spilling them into the river. White fireworks were falling from the bridge downward to create the appearance of a waterfall - it was beautiful (check out the album to see my attempt at photographing it).

Another cool part of the show was while one of the songs was playing along with the fireworks, every time the singer said the word "love" (which was quite frequently) pink fireworks would explode in the shape of a heart. The grand final (or grand finale as one of the DJs on the radio choked out - not something they say here) was impressive and of course the second dump-and-burn by the F-111s topped it off quite nicely. Last year (as surely was true this year) the F-111s were seen as far away as the Gold Coast (about 50 miles away).

The fireworks at Ekka made up for my missing fireworks on the 4th of July in the USA, but Riverfire really raised the bar ... sorry America, Brisbane has my vote for the world's best fireworks show I've ever seen.