Last day in the sun

Off to the local pool for Jessie to do her weekly swimming training. Lovely pool and I met all Jan and Jessie's friends.

Dunlop Park pool....

With Jan...

Jess after training...

Rob with Rusty..

I have had such a good time here and their hospitality has been marvellous. The weather is too hot for me but it reminds me so much of the years I spent growing up in Gosford.

Brisbane International Terminal...don't take fruit to New Zealand!

Having a decaff at Hudson's...

This airport is like all other international airports, but perhaps just a little more laid back, with Aussies on their way to nearby Asian resort countries like Bali, except for the Kiwis who are returning home. And me!

My final impressions from this visit are that Brisbane is a bustling acquisitive city, filled with adventurers who know they can make it if they take risks, which most seem prepared to do. There is a very high quality of life materially, but I wonder if this material wealth translates into real happiness? One thing I took away from the Seminar is that wealth by itself does not create this elusive and much desired quality of happiness which we all pursue. 

Many thousands of Kiwis, mostly Maori, come here in search of the 'good life', but often there occurs some awful disaster like the recent death of the teenager, caused by a blow by two drunken men, one a Kiwi of Maori descent. What can one say, if alcohol is a problem, changing countries won't help you at all. The Maori, because of episodes like these, do not enjoy a particularly good reputation in Brisbane. This is unfortunate, as I know them to be a kind and generous race of island people.