2026 Aussie Visit

What happened was, Lauren’s NZ family includes a nephew who’s currently living in Brisbane and got married last month, so a dozen or so Kiwis and three of us Canadians got on airplanes and converged on easternmost Australia. We went on to tourist a bit and visit friends in the Melbourne area. Came away with impressions and pictures. Australia’s different. I don’t claim any particular deep understanding, but at least we were mostly among locals and often off the tourist trail. Also I find some of the pictures pleasing. Damn, that’s a long plane flight. Eleven or so hours into the journey, dawn over the Pacific; ice crystals on the windows plus something put the Pixel into Macro mode and thus the reflections. Vaguely self-portrait-ish. The wedding It was great; she’s a Grade 4 teacher and he’s a cop. They’re both exceptionally attractive and have large supportive families. It was well-organized and good fun. The mothers of the bride and groom both looked very sharp. Niece of the groom…