Did you know that Brisbane City Council offers free Wi-Fi access at Brisbane's:

- Queen Street Mall
- King George Square
- Post Office Square
- Reddacliff Place
- Victoria Bridge
- South Bank Parklands
- 20 parks
- 33 council libraries, and 
- on all their CityCats?

The free Wi-Fi has just been extended to:
- Brunswick Street Mall and Chinatown Mall in Fortitude Valley.

This weekend on August 9 and 10, Brisbane City Council will celebrate the official reopening of the revamped Chinatown Mall in Fortitude Valley with a live radio broadcast from 4ZZZ, live local music performances, interactive artworks and displays, free circus workshops, roving acts and breakdance and beat box demonstration!

More information: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/fortitude-valley-facelift-complete-20140805-100knf.html#ixzz39fqCrLaL

Brisbane, Tuesday 29 July 2014

There are over 600 types of eucalypts in Australia, but koalas, Australian native animal, will only eat 40-50 varieties with only about 10 being preferred. The Eucalypt leaves are not only the source of food but also water for koalas.  The koala is the only mammal, other than the Greater Glider and Ringtail Possum, which can survive on a diet of eucalyptus leaves.

Since European settlement, approximately 80% of Australia's eucalypt forests have been decimated. Of the remaining 20% almost none is protected and most occurs on privately-owned land. Unfortunately, this is where the majority of koalas are already living.

According to the Australian Koala Foundation, Koalas are highly territorial. The individual members of Koala society maintain their own "home range" areas. If the available habitat were to be reduced in any way, the potential for survival of each individual would also be reduced.

The main causes of loss of habitat in Queensland include: landclearing, agriculture, housing, mining, forestry, factories and roads, increased disturbance by humans, injury or death from traffic injury or death from dogs and cats, effects of garden pesticides getting into waterways, increased competition for food and territory because of overcrowding, increased stress on animals, making them more susceptible to disease, bushfires.   

This brings me to the remarkable recent story by the Guardian Australia. 

It is about a koala named Timberwolf. Timberwolf was found clinging to the bottom of a car that travelled 88km North, before the Koala was discovered. The Koala and the car were from Maryborough, 255 kilometres north of Brisbane. Timberwolf was heading north. The family in the car did not know, they had a four year old Chlamydia infected koala passenger.

How despaired the poor Koala had to be to try immigrating for better land, health and life, heading North, possibly to the protected forests of Sunshine Coast or even further?

Staff at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital have treated the koala, naming him Timberwolf after their football team.

Why was the poor koala sick?

Scientists believe that the chlamydia organism has been occuring amongst koala populations for many years, and has acted as a natural population control in times of stress. The organism is harmless in populations with unlimited resources, but manifests in times of stress, such as happens when habitat is reduced. The weaker animals succumb to the disease, become sick, infertile or die, leaving the genetically stronger animals to continue breeding.

Research has shown that socially stable koala populations occur only when there are favourite tree species present. Even if a selection of tree species known to be used by koalas occurs within an area, the koala population will not use it unless one or two favourite species are available.

I think poor Chlamydia infected Timberwolf knew that he would die in Marybourough, if he stayed there. 

Timberwolf took a brave and unusual move to survive. It reminds me the story of the refugees trying to get to Australia…     

The question remains, will Timberwolf find his dream home, so he can survive? 

Will he be released into the Sunshine Coast wilderness or detained and returned to Maryborough?  Your thoughts?

Brisbane - Saturday
My afternoon today was dedicated to impulse bargain hunting in my favourite hiking shop "Kathmandu". They offered up to 60% discount on winter clothes collection, perfect for current skiing season in Australia. No more driving to Fortitude Valley for the Kathmandu Winter sale for me! They have just opened a brand new Kathmandu branch in the revamped and extended Indooroopilly Shopping Centre.  It is quite surprising how lavish our once humble Indooroopilly Shopping Centre has become. Marble floors, new designer shops, such as Crocs, RM Williams, Pumpkin Patch, and exciting restaurants, such as Ole Fuego  (Spanish Tapas).  

Finding a parking spot, when going to a Brisbane shopping centre can be challenging, especially in Indooroopilly (because unlike other shopping centres, it is free!). Let me give you a tip - I go at around 3.00 pm. This is when most of the people finished their lunches and their shopping and are heading back home to prepare for a night on the town... or something else.  It is not too early and not too late. No problem with parking at all. 

After my shopping adventure, I had to go out to get to my car and I saw an unusual, angry looking orange cloud above Mt Coot-ha... Then sudden storm dumped nearly eight millimetres of rain on Brisbane in half-an-hour. I think the most intense downpour was during my 10 minute drive back home. I usually try to slow down, when these storms happen (and they happen), as you can hardly see anything. When it's really bad, I park under cover, or follow the lights of the car in front of me.

According to Brisbane Times, "at its peak, weather zone meteorologist, Drew Casper-Richardson said Brisbane copped 3.6mm in just 10 minutes, while Archerfield Airport recorded the heaviset downpour, with 5.8mm falling there in just 10 minutes".