Townsville

In mid January we left the mission office for Townsville. We drove for three days staying with senior couples in Gladstone and Rockhampton. Townsville is a city of 172,000 on the east coast of Australia, north of Brisbane. It is in the dry tropics region, but believe us it is humid! The Ross River flows through the city. The coastline features beaches, mangrove estuaries, salt pans and coastal swamps. A lot of beautiful flora and fauna and a large number of reptiles and amphibians. There are at least 365 bird species, we are always amazed by the birds and the trees and flowers. We try to avoid seeing snakes, but we have seen a lot of frogs and we have house geckos, who we like because they eat spiders!

Our first Sunday, this is the chapel. The branch is large. Elder Montague is in the District Presidency.

This is our home, we have three bedrooms and a study room, it is lovely and we are very comfortable. It is well air conditioned, which we are soooooo thankful for.

Dining area

Another view, study room is to the left. The start of the kitchen can be seen along with the living room which is called the lounge.

Our subdivision is called Mount Louisa. This hill is Mount Louisa as seen from Castle Hill. We live at the base of this hill.

From Castle Hill, but toward the water, the sandy area is Pallerenda Beach. It looks beautiful but you have to be brave to swim there. Stingers (jelly fish) sharks and even crocodiles swim here. There are a couple of netted areas where people get in the water.

We did venture onto the beach for some beach art. To celebrate our anniversary we also had a gelato!

 

These colourful birds are lorikeets, love the birds here

And the trees!

This is sugar cane country, miles and miles of sugar cane. The harvest starts in June.

We went to a koala sanctuary here named Bilabong with Elder and Sister Mizukawa who were in Townsville before us. They are now in Brisbane. Townsville has a reputation for senior missionaries with last names starting with M, In recent history it has been the Matthews, Miles, Millers, Mizukawas and now the Montagues. We are doing MLS work, visiting and teaching less actives and what ever needs to be done. Lately we have had speaking assignments. There are four branches in the area and we have been attending branch conferences.

At the Bilabong they had a feeding of the crocodiles, never smile at a crocodile!

Aboriginal art, beautiful and fascinating 

Elder Montague with Elder Luki and Elder Kioa, our zone leaders who are stationed in Cairns (about five hour drive to the north) we love these men.

Sunset from Castle Hill, crepuscular rays. Australia has beautiful sunsets and gorgeous clouds!

Brisbane Christmas 2014

Christmas in the mission was a time of joy, tired feet, a lot of mail for the missionaries, laughter, pavlova, some old traditions, new experiences, heat and sun, Christmas fruit cake, gatherings, friends, sharing the gospel, gifts, using our talents, mince pies, christmas parade with live camels, goats, a donkey and reindeer, sand and surf, gifts from home, our Christmas newsletter, Skypeing family, "He is the Gift cards", some shopping, Aussie jingle bells, our gingerbread outback shack and best of all the reason for the season, celebrating His birth, His life and His love for us!

Queenslanders

The climate in and around Brisbane is sub tropical, the winters, about May through September are dry and cooler with a lot of sunshine. Summer, about December through March, is hot, humid and the wet season, including cyclones. Queenslander architecture started about 1840 in Queensland. Which is one of the states of Australia, this style of house can be found in other parts of Australia, but is very common in and around Brisbane. The house is built on posts. The posts serve several purposes. It is easier to have a level platform on which to build. Houses can be moved easier, it is easier to control pests (like termites), better for the flooding and torrential rains and last but not least air flowing under and around the house keeps it cooler. Some people put slats around the bottom for a decorative effect. Some have built underneath, providing more space for living. Back in the beginning one of the main features was always a large veranda, some of these homes are large and beautiful. Some just have a small porch. They are all built of timber and usually have tin roofs so the rain runs easily off. As we travel Brisbane we have seen many that look like haunted houses, people live in them but the upkeep is so expensive that they can't maintain them and then there are some gorgeous homes, with large verandas, detail work, well maintained, there is an interest in preserving this style. They are unique.

This week we had  a cyclonic storm. It came in fast and furious. We were at the mission office when it struck, the noise was deafening from the hail hitting the roof and windows. In our ward one house had 16 windows broken. The temple also had some windows broken. We were fine, but our car now has dimples all over from the hail stones. There was a lot of damage from uprooted trees falling on houses and cars, a lot of power outages. The storm was short lived but left a lot of damage. Most of the debri is cleaned up and the sun is shinning, the heat and humidity are climbing. Summer is here.

In The Leafy Tree Tops

The trees in Australia enchant us. Forever more when we think of our time here we will remember the wonderful people we have met, the noisy, singing abundent birds and the fabulous trees. We have marvelled at artic beech trees in the rain forrest, magnificent banyan trees that children can play hide and seek among their roots, vine entwined trees, gum trees that line the banks of the rivers and roadways. The beautiful jacaranda trees that bloom purple in the spring and the aptly named bottle tree. One day we were driving in an area called New Farm and we happened upon Abbott street. The pavement goes around the trees and the trees look like chandeliers! We love all these truly amazing trees!

Earth With Her Ten Thousand Flowers... Bear This Record, God Is Love

Toowoomba is known as the Garden City of Australia. Every spring they have a flower festival where people can go and view the gardens, public and private. We spent a day with the flowers, flowering shrubs and blooming trees. We hope you enjoy the pictures, if only we could include the beautiful, sweet, floral aroma!