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After nearly four months of being closed to the public, the Queensland Museum and Sciencentre in Brisbane reopened its doors to the public and celebrated its 150th birthday today.

A throng of excited kids complete with eager mums and dads lined the concourse at the museum, all expectantly awaiting their chance to run inside and find out why this is one of the hottest educational tickets in town.

But they weren’t alone…patrolling the entrance were two life-sized dinosaurs complete with razor-sharp teeth, earth-shuddering growls and tails that would knock you off your feet! These are seriously the most realistic human-driven models I’ve seen providing much amusement to everyone there.

The Queensland Arts Minister, Rachel Nolan cut the celebratory cake and opened the doors to the public, who rushed into the halls to see for themselves the huge improvements. The new space is vastly improved with escalators, staircases and lighting leaping the exhibition into the year 2012.

I used to love going to the Science Museum in London when I was six years old… nothing has changed!

There’s something amazingly cool about walking into an exhibition hall and seeing a life-sized dinosaur skeleton in front of you, or sifting through the drawers of the Discovery Centre looking at butterfly collections, or even peddling as fast as possible to generate enough electricity to light ALL of the lights at the Playasaurus Place. I was back in a fantasy world!

A year ago the museum was mopping up after the floods. Today they’re welcoming people back through the doors and it has to be one of the best ways to amuse, educate and entertain the kids (and of course grownups too).

Upstairs there’s a new area dedicated to the wild weather that hit Queensland in 2011. It’s a poignant reminder of the floods and the way Queenslanders pulled together to form the Mud Army – the teams who cleaned the city in their thousands and brought it back to life in a matter of days.

With not long left of the school holidays I encourage everyone to get down there and have a great day out!

Just watch out for those dinosaurs!!!

Ben

I’m more atoned to physical activities… bashing my way through the rainforest, running up gravely mountain-sides or swimming in freezing cold lakes. These are the things that make me tick, motivate my mind and fill the body with feel-good endorphins!

Living in a city doesn’t have to mean the end to that lifestyle, far from it. It’s a chance to embark on micro-adventures – ones that might not test my physical side, more the mental. To add a wider appeal to my blog I’ve been thinking outside of the box…try to do something others have a great interest in, something I take for granted every day.

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I’ve always loved cooking, I have to admit my repertoire isn’t the most extensive, but there’s something deeply satisfying about creating a wonderful meal from scratch for someone using fresh ingredients, and of course so I can stuff my face too.

There’s word on the street here at TQ that a new course has just started up specifically for people like me….men.

Mel Townsend from Vanilla Zulu caters for all tastes with her introduction to the world of gastronomy. Men Behaving Badly is a three hour feast of education, preparation, creation and of course dining.

With a small class size of like-minded eager beavers Mel took us through the menu, how it’s constructed and cooked and then prepares it in front of us whilst we sat sipping wine and beer. It is a cooking course after all!

But it’s not all about a group of guys having dinner prepared in front of them, this is a hands on experience (washed of course) and requires us to make exactly what we’ve just witnessed. We break up into smaller groups (Aussie mate-ship kicks in here with fun barracking and jovial jokes the theme) and together fumble our way through the method until we’ve replicated, almost, the stunning example Mel created.

In a short time we’ve learnt to bake a sumptuous Focaccia bread filled with bocconcini, rosemary and olives. Whilst this is cooking we knock up one of the simplest yet most effective starters I have eaten, haloumi, asparagus and prosciutto parcels with a balsamic glaze and lime and berry scented sauce….extreme yumminess!!

For me and the rather busy lifestyle I lead I need food that’s good for me, fresh and quick to make. Main course fits all three requirements.

My love of fish is rewarded with fragrant Moroccan line fish with a fragrant lime scented gourmet mash topped with chermoula. Using a stacking ring to elevate the food up from the plate is genius; it looks good, displays all of the glorious colours and allows the ‘piece de resistance’, the fish to perch (excuse the pun) on top of the munch-able mountain.

I had a great time with all the other guys in the group, everyone got on well, had a good laugh and shared stories of life, work, travels and food disasters of course. One poor guy had been sent there by his wife as he’d NEVER cooked a meal in his life!

Saving the best to last, Mel cracked the desserts out of the freezer we’d made earlier in the evening. I have to say that my example could have done with just a little more time in there…rather melted! But brûlée and white chocolate scented semi-freddo with nutted caramel shards taste good however they’re presented!

I left the building with a sense of accomplishment, fulfilment and a stuffed belly. It’s not often I eat three courses AND bread in a sitting. Having learnt new things, techniques and a complete recipe I just have to work out when my housewarming/birthday/engagement party will be so I can invite some friends around to test…try out…sorry, enjoy my new found cooking skills!

Thank you to Mel and her team at Vanilla Zulu for a brilliant experience. I feel ‘at one’ with the kitchen now – ohmmmmmm

Ben

Time to take a drive north in the Colonel to the aptly named Sunshine Coast and see just how much I can cram into a weekend away!!

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I’d been speaking to the fantastic team of Beverley and David who run Fairseas Apartments in Caloundra last week and suggested the idea to them. “There’s loads to do here, come up and stay!’ Their perfectly positioned holiday units overlook the picturesque Pumicestone Passage at Golden Beach.

I head north, pull into their car park and eventually rest my head on the pillow in the apartment knowing full well my sleep will be short….

Saturday morning 3:45am…alarm clock goes off!!! Argghhh am I really going to do this?

Coolum Surf School is run by Master-of-the-Ocean Chris who doesn’t like lazing in bed. We’d arranged a 5am meet and I was 40kms away. Still nothing like a good surf to wake your head up.

As we stepped out into the foamies, chunky learners board under my arm, the sun broke the distant horizon way out over the ocean. It’s a very special time of day, just a few other surfers, joggers and dog walkers about.

I’ve never had the best balance in the world but an hour later I was riding my plank to the beach. Chris headed out at 7am to take 20 kids for a lesson….I headed to the nearest cafe for breakfast.

The Sunshine Coast is held in place by the Glass House Mountains, a line of 11 craggy volcanic peaks towering above pine plantations, eucalypt forests and open fields. I love mountains and more than anything scaling them! Named by James Cook during his epic voyage along Australia’s east coast, the Glass Houses are rhyolite plugs formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago – fascinating!

With unspent energy left from the early start I donned my running kit and headed to the 253m peak of Mt Ngungun, within 30 minutes I was at the top. Pretty impressive view huh?

There are so many tracks, climbs and walks here in the Glass House Mountains National Park. I could have honestly spent two days here alone.

Next morning another early start, this time to try my hand at kite surfing. I’ve done a fair bit of power kiting in the UK before but that was five years ago and with 25 knots (50kmh) of wind blowing it wasn’t going to be easy.

Mike from Kite Thrills has bucket-loads of experience and quite literally showed me the ropes (or lines as they’re called). With the wind pumping down the Pumicestone Passage just getting to grips with the power of the 9 metre kite was tough enough. Add to that trying to stand up on the board and NOT be dragged to Hawaii was another thing altogether!

I have to admit there was one serious wipe-out…I was hoisted 5 metres in the air at the same time as being dragged horizontally at 40 km/h and then unceremoniously dumped into the ocean. Talk about winded…talk about damaging the crown jewels. Five minutes later I was good to go again. Finally I managed to get everything sorted…I was kite surfing!

The rush of flying across ocean with a huge kite powering you along is hard to beat. If you want to get the blood pumping then this is most definitely the way to do it. Check out Kite Thrills website here.

I returned to Brisbane 48 hours later having had the best time. I may live in the city but with this doorstep so close and so full of fun there can be no excuses – Queensland is the Adventure Capital of Australia!!

To expand on my last post about the reasons why – it’s not just the proximity to the surf beaches of the Sunshine and Gold Coasts or the green and rolling Hinterland that envelopes it from all sides or the almost constant daily bathing I get in glorious sunshine as I walk to work.

It’s finding outlets for my energy, activities to keep me moving, to keep the mind active. Prior to Best Expedition I was a regular kayak paddler on the Brisbane River at West End but since donating my kayak to the charity Sailability I don’t have a anything to venture out on.

Luckily Riverlife have introduced another string to their bow of already extensive activities on the banks of the Brisbane River.

Last week it was an abseil from the Story Bridge and this week I thought I’d try my hand at paddle boarding. My balance isn’t something to be proud of. I can fall off the pavement given half the chance. Time to give it a go….

All in all much MUCH easier than I thought it would be. Once you get over the idea of paddling and standing up at the same time AND balancing you can actually get up a good head of steam.

I don’t think I’ll be taking an expedition up the Great Barrier Reef on one anytime soon, but if you want to try it out for yourself then head down to Riverlife and give it a bash! Visit Riverlife’s website to find out more.

Ooooo and if you haven’t voted for the Great Barrier Reef yet in the New7Wonders of the World competition, please do so right now. Voting closes on Friday 11th November at 10:00pm Queensland time. Click here to do just that…

As I strive to find challenges and adventures within the mass of people, buildings and noise, life is very different to that I was experiencing two months ago as I paddled around islands, dived with sharks and home was a 12m catamaran called Sunshine.

But fear not there are adrenaline pumping adventures to be had anywhere you live. You just have to go out and find them. Brisbane is a city teeming with opportunities. It has a river running through it, an ocean to the east and the hinterland to the west – all locations to get off the beaten track, try and new activities and loose yourself in them.

But take the dead centre of Brisbane, I mean right in the heart of it….what can you find here to satisfy the appetite of adventurous sorts such as me?!

Next month a new option opens up and this week I was lucky enough to be the first person to test it out.

The Story Bridge Adventure Abseil

As with many other iconic bridges around the world you’ve been able to walk to the top of it securly fastened to a guide rail. But Brisbane’s Story Bridge will become the first you’ll be able to climb AND abseil down from.

The roadway and top of the support piers are 30m from the ground and it’s from here you can drop down into the park below. The team at SBAC have been trained to the highest national level and are proud of their new venture….I mean who gets to throw people off bridges every day!

For me with a ‘slight’ fear of heights it’s a sure-fire way to get the adrenaline pumping and a welcome return to the Land of Adventure.

If you’re interested in trying it for for yourself, visit their website here and book yourself, your mum or your enemy in for a guaranteed heart-thumper.

The Best Expedition in the World was a roaring success.

Not just from a personal point of view as I completed the 1600km challenge without breaking or busting anything on my body (all toes, fingers, arms and legs are still connected).

My Hobie Adventure Island has been donated to the very worthwhile charity, Sailability who encourage and facilitate sailing and boating throughout Australia for people with disabilities. The perfect place for my yellow machine!

Yacht Sunshine was returned to its berth back with Sunsail back on Hamilton Island after covering 2000 nautical miles on the stunning Coral Sea.

Mum & Dad managed to drive around 15,000kms in their Apollo Motorhome without so much as even a scratch to them or the vehicle, blogging about and photographing their adventure as they went. Read more here.

And the media coverage the adventure gained throughout the journey was excellent with regular stories featuring on Channel 7, 9 and 10 here in Australia, ABC Radio and the newspapers across the country picking it up very well. We wrote regular features in the Courier Mail, filmed for Channel Ten’s Totally Wild Show and blogged for The Ecologist online.

I entertained journalists from around the world, giving them all the chance to come and have their own Queensland adventure out on the Great Barrier Reef; bloggers from Korea, a group from Hong Kong, travel agents from around Europe and journalists from throughout Australia.

A big thank you has to go out to Jessica Watson who came and camped with me for a night on Whitehaven Beach (tough hey!) and then raced back Hamilton Island on-board my Hobie kayak, taking on serious lung-fulls of water along the way! Best of luck to her and the team for their latest adventure, Another Challenge, the very awesome Sydney to Hobart Race which departs on Boxing Day.

I’ll be back very soon with another movie from the incredible dives we had with Pro Dive when we visited Cairns back in August.

So here for your viewing pleasure is a short movie that hopefully summarises the expedition and the adventures we had. It’s been recorded and uploaded in full HD, so maximise your screens, sit back and enjoy

For me life is all about setting and achieving personal targets and challenges. The people of Queensland have certainly had to do this over the last few weeks with the rain and flood-waters causing problems across the south of the state. Since then the weather gods have changed their minds and brought back the sort of weather we’d normally expect at this time of year with bucket-loads of sunshine and temperatures back up in the 30′s.

Tourism is the life and soul of Queensland and many people rely on the influx of travellers and tourists to keep their business running, so when the waters had receeded the first ones get out there, sweep up and open for business were the operators and within a few days most were ‘Back in Business’.

I headed down to Riverlife to lend a hand along with 60 other volunteers to sweep, brush and shovel the mud back into the river and three days later the doors were open once more at this Brisbane riverside location. Here are a few of the images from those days:

With camera in hand I thought I’d put together a short movie showing everybody around the world quite how resilient Queenslanders can be visiting Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Riverlife, the Story Bridge Climb, the Brisbane Powerhouse and several other local businesses.

“Brisbane is Back in Business” – enjoy!

The first of the problems happened around Bundaberg and Rockhampton two weeks ago. As the rain has continued to fall the Wivenhoe Dam has slowly filled to well over 150% capacity meaning the spillways on the wall of the dam have had to be opened and this together with vastly increased rainfall for the last couple of months has pushed the river to these flood levels.

The Brisbane River that runs straight through the heart of the city has overflowed into 35 suburbs flooding streets, homes and businesses. Since the problems started to arise the emergency services and authorities have been on hand to offer guidance, support and protection to those who need it most. Evacuation centres have been set up for those whose homes are under water and the true grit and determination of Queenslanders has been clear to see with communities pulling together to help, house and assist where needed.

On Thursday I returned home from a trip to the Whitsundays where I’d been working on my Best Expedition in the World. I ventured back to my own house in West End to find the surrounding roads inundated with brown, muddy river water. The levels had stopped around 20cms short of my doorstep and amazingly everything inside the house has been spared.

Since then the waters have started to recede back down towards their usual level and the massive clear-up operation has commenced that will allow individuals and businesses to get back to normal as quickly as possible.

My blog usually covers adventures, experiences and the highlights of what this incredible state has on offer but for one episode only I thought I’d cover the disaster and appeal to you out there for help. The clear up operation could take weeks and the financial donations will go directly those people who need it the most.

Please consider clicking through to the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal website using the image below and donating something, anything to help out my fellow Queenslanders at this time of heartache. Thank you.

To any of you who’ve got a holiday to Queensland booked in the coming months or who are considering coming out here for a holiday – don’t change your plans!

Queensland is absolutely huge covering 2200kms or 1400miles and most tourism businesses in Bundaberg, Gladstone, Agnes Water and 1770, including Mon Repos Turtle Experience, Bargara beaches, Lady Elliot Island and Lady Musgrave Island, are now open and returning to normal business operation. There may however be some limited local road access.

The Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Fraser Coast, Whitsundays, Mackay, Townsville and Tropical North Queensland are currently accessible and tourism operations in these regions are open for business. This includes beaches, island resorts, accommodation providers, tours and attractions.

If you really want to help us out here in Queensland then don’t change your travels and support the tourism industry!

Ben

Adding a challenging element to diving is something I’ve only done once before – I’m talking about wreck diving here!

The HMS Yongala was my first, and up until now, only dive that involved descending below the surface to discover a maritime world locked in time by the depths of the ocean. Last year I headed out with the team from Yongala Dive to visit the site of the SS Yongala, some 30kms offshore from Ayr, where the wreck now lies on its side after sinking during a cyclone in 1911.

The wreck of the HMAS Brisbane is a little different however. She was a 133 metre long Royal Naval destroyer that was decommisioned in 2003, stripped of all degreadables and scuttled in 2005 three miles from Moloolaba on the Sunshine Coast in shallow waters. The wreck now forms an artificial reef and is the home to a huge variety of fish, marine life and corals. It’s said that it takes many years to grow yourself a coral reef but here the soft corals are already firmly established and thriving, even giving way to some of the more dominant hard corals. For the day on the water I am heading out with the team from Sunreef Scuba Diving Services

On a virtually perfect morning we headed out to the wreck site aboard the stable cat 2 Ezy, the rolling ocean might not have been to everyone’s liking but the anticipation of diving a new location had got the better of me and I couldn’t wait to get under the water to see things for myself.

As we approached the site the stacks of the boiler were clearly visible five or so metres below the surface, the presence of a bobbing turtle’s head confirming we’d arrived at an active location in the middle of the ocean. Once we’d gone through the buddy check it was straight over the side and down into the waters below. Immediately there was something to look at with the the bulk of the Brisbane’s superstructure looming large below me as I descended, the wires and rails on the sides still in perfect condition. It’s a bizarre feeling dropping down onto something as enormous as this, only five years ago this was a fully serviceable naval vessel carrying out its duties in the waters surrounding Australia and now it’s unceremoniously sitting, degrading and rotting on the ocean floor…but that does provide an incredible haven for marine life.

The decks of the ship have been taken over by sponges, soft corals and small barnacles, the sides are inhabited by teeming numbers of school fish and off in the shadows and distant ocean the outlines of larger predatory fish lurk. The sinking of the ship has created a completely unique micro-environment down here and I love it. As I descend down the hull of the ship I turn to my right in time to see a very friendly turtle come alongside me, it stays with me for nearly five minutes – me watching it’s every move and it watching mine. Moments like these are so hard to share with anyone else underwater but I have it there locked in my brain!

The second dive of the day is a little more adventurous – time to actually venture inside the hull and the ship itself. We start with a negative buoyancy descent straight down the main boiler stack into the heart of the ship, its really quite awe-inspiring passing the pipework that once powered this great ship along. We stop momentarily to take it all allowing our eyes to become accustomed to the darkness, our torches taking over providing the light we need to keep vision in the deeper, darker waters.

We swim around the inside of the vessel, the areas in which men furiously worked not that long ago, passing the main control room, the original switches, handles and control panels – even the urinal is still there attached to the wall. I think about stopping to go to the toilet…and then remember I can do it in my wetsuit (as if I would)!

The size of the ship is what amazes through to me the most, it takes me almost ten minutes to swim from one end to the other and the maze of tunnels and stairwells are pretty confusing!

The dive is excellent and after an hour it’s time to hit the surface again. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would highly recommend it to any divers who haven’t yet tried this format of SCUBA before – get out there and wreck dive!!

A big thank you to all at Sunreef who were kind enough to take Sophee and I out for the morning…and even more so to them for the photos you see here. My hard drive crashed leaving me with nothing for this blog so they saved my skin too.

Off River Snorkelling next in Port Douglas – watch this space

Ben

The rain was still falling far too excessively for my liking. it seems to have followed me from Hainan Island last week back here to Queensland but I’d made a plan a few weeks before to head out to Lamington National Park for some bush-walking adventures.

I popped into K2 Basecamp (Queensland’s best outdoor adventure store) a few weeks back and started chatting to the guy behind the counter, Steve. We got chatting and the conversation turned to bush-walking – one of the things Queensland is very famous for but something I’d yet to try in earnest.

Lamington National Park is located at the southern most point of the state where it butts up against New South Wales, covering 206 square km with lush rain-forest, most of it at altitudes of over 900m above sea level.

Steve runs a company called Epic Pursuits who specialise in extreme sports; abseiling, rock climbing and bush walking. At 6am on Saturday morning he collected me from my house and together we drove south to the entrance to the park near Beaudesert.

Day One

The rain was falling, the road was muddy and we had a weekend of fun ahead of us starting with a 4WD track known as Duck Creek Road. We wound our way up the escarpment until we arrived at the bitumen road just short of O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat – a luxurious resort high in the hills.

But we were there for a pampering. This was boys stuff, this was adventure, this was to be a real mental and physical test of our endurance. We parked up and hit the trail…

Steve had plotted out our route on the park map and together with a compass we left the graded track and headed deep into the bush. This is an activity for those who like a real adventure, it’s not about a simple walk in the park or a light jolly along the coast – this is real bush-bashing!

The rain-forest was alive with sights and sounds; parrots and lyrebirds could be heard making their distinctive calls, there was the occasional scrambling of something through the undergrowth and always the sound of dripping water – sometimes lightly from the leaves, sometimes heavily from the heavens. You can’t have rain-forest without rain.

The terrain here is pretty unforgiving, steep sided, heavily wooded landscapes that haven’t changed for centuries. The undergrowth in a constant battle to reach for the skies. I was always aware of the dangers the Stinging Tree, it’s one to avoid – the micro-fine fibres on the leaves are definitely something you don’t want to be touching! Huge trunked Hoop Pines grow alongside delicate orchids, rotting timber provides life for a multitude of new growth, the battle for supremacy is constant.

We cover good ground throughout the afternoon, occasionally stopping to cross a creek, photograph a flower or fungi and then suddenly I stop in my tracks as a curled up Carpet Python blocks our path. They are pretty dormant at this time of year and this one’s curled up trying to stay warm.

With the light fading fast it’s time to find a suitable place to bivvy for the night. We follow our map to the edge of a creek and find a suitable flat area in which to setup our tent. With the rain still falling it’s a race against the clock to get it all up before we become too cold and wet.

Dinner tonight comes from one of the finest restaurants in the area – Chez Steve. As I dive inside the tent to change into something warmer and drier Steve sets about boiling some water ready for our dinner – Chicken Tikka Masala – re-hydrated of course! We sit and chat about our various worldwide adventures; climbing, trekking and riding but finally the day’s exertions have caught up with us. 11kms covered, 19:40hrs and time for bed!

Day Two

Sunrise the next morning doesn’t happen, overnight the rain has continued unabated and the sound of the waterfalls we’ve camped next to have got louder. We have a mighty big day ahead and there’s no point laying in bed. I glance at my watch – it’s 05:30am.

Our last steps of yesterday’s walk brought us all the way down to the raging creek and now we have to climb back out again AND find a way across. We had pretty wet feet anyway but the idea of dipping them into the cool waters so early on in the day didn’t fill me with joy so instead we walked a little further up stream and found a conveniently placed fallen tree. Sometimes nature provides you with all you need.

We spend the next few hours fighting our way up and slipping down steep slopes, avoiding the sharp needle like vines that seem to lay everywhere and slowly making our way towards our lunchtime destination – Binna Burra information centre.

The respite is well and truly needed when we get there as the weather has really set in now with strong winds and heavy rain making progress a little weary. Lunch consists of muesli bars, nuts and jelly snakes – there is simply nothing finer for the intrepid adventurer!

On a map the final leg of the trip looks huge. We’ve only covered around 14kms today and there’s still 21 to go, but the big difference is the quality of the track. Years ago when the park was first opened up there were a number of paths built and we’ll be following this one all the way back to the car at O’Reilly’s. We head off into the cloud.

Leeches have been one of those interesting little hitch-hikers who’ve jumped onboard for the ride and on closer inspection I find about ten of them quite happily feasting on my ankles and legs. Steve fairing even worse as they seem to have a ponchon for Aussie blood. We remove the little blighters and carry on.

As the light of the day fades, it’s out with the headtorches for the final few km’s and it really becomes a battle of attrition. Our legs are tired, we’ve been wet through for two days straight, the rivers running down the path have meant paddling for the last 20kms and mild-hypothermia is setting in – but this is exactly the sort of adventure I love!

As we climb our final ascent the reflectors of the car shine out bright against the dark night, Steve turns to me, shakes my hand and we both give a wry smile. That was a real mental and physical test – time to get into some dry and warm clothes.

I can imagine that when the weather isn’t throwing all it’s got at you, Lamington National Park has stunning views out across the mountains, valleys and New South Wales. However our view for the last couple of days has been restricted to a few hundred metres at best. That just means one thing though – I have to come back and do it all again when the sun is shining.

Steve and Epic Pursuits offer a range of guided activities that get the blood pumping and the heart rate going. It says on the back of his business card - “…is all about people who want to live their lives to the fullest, realising that we are on this Earth for a good time, not a long time! So get out there and do something different…NOW!”

We certainly did that this weekend Steve, thank you

Ben