Bart Bear's Blog

Bears always get their revenge on cows that toss them. I mentioned that Cav's is a steakhouse. It is actually right next door to Cav's butchery, so recalcitrant cows have no chance. Here I am, menu read, choice made, waiting for the meal to come. Dad has foolishly left me to guard his XXXX while he and Mum go up to choose their steak. He can't understand why the beer level drops so fast and thinks it must be a higher evapouration rate in Queensland. Of course it has nothing to do with a very dry small bear.

Labels: Gold Coast, Queensland

Mum found a great place to eat when we were looking round the Gold Coast. It is called Cav's Steakhouse and is at Labrador. Outside the shop are a couple of cows. They looked really friendly and weren't moving much so I climbed up on one and played rodeo cowboy for a while. I jumped all over its back and hat and was just about to start yodelling when the critter bucked. I ended up sprawled over the top of its hat. Just as well it had a hat or I might have been skewered on a horn, although this cow doesn't have sharp pointy ones. Dad says it was a lucky escape - for his ears. I think he was having a shot at my yodelling.

Labels: climbing, Gold Coast, Queensland

At Movie World I met lots of people from my favourite movies. These two are my favouritest favourites. There they were, just strolling down the street, and I got to meet them personally. The cutie is Wonder Woman. I had only heard of the lady in comics and on TV from years ago. Well, she obviously ages at a different rate to the rest of us. I got a very own personal cuddle from her, so she is now on my list of favourite heroes in number 2 position just after ...... TA DA!! Yippee!! Hot Diggly Dog!! THE FLASH. Flash has been number 1 ever since I snuck bro Trent's DVD set of the complete TV series of Flash's adventures. I would love to be that fast. If I was I could even escape from Mum when I was in strife due to adventures turning into mischief and she was after me. Flash took me for a run around the theme park, but it was so quick that we were back before anybody noticed we had moved. Flash Rules, OK?

Labels: Gold Coast, heroes, Queensland

Yes, helicopters do have wings. Dad says that a helicopter is really a rotary-winged aircraft. The wings are the long thin things that whiz around on top and that you have to be careful of when you are getting in and out so that you don't end up as thinly-sliced bear kebab. Anyhow, here are a couple of photos of what we flew over.
The top photo is over South Stradbroke Island. South Straddie is one of the islands that make the outside of the Broadwater and the southern end of Moreton Bay. It is mostly sand and scrub. Notice how the pilot has given me a really important job. I am the forward lookout and I have to yell if I see other aircraft in the sky or sharks or whales in the water.
The bottom photo shows some of the big buildings of Surfers Paradise. The really big one is called Q1. It is the tallest residential tower in the world at present. I have been almost to the top of it. In fact, the very second picture on my blog was taken out of one of the 78th floor windows; check it out in the November 2006 archive. It is the building where the security guard insisted on putting me through a full-body search before he let me in the building (check the Dec '06 postings for an embarrasing picture). It was great to see it from way up above with no security hassles. Small bears and helicopters are really meant to go together.

Labels: aircraft, Gold Coast, helicopter, Queensland

Gotta love these oldies of mine. They took me on another helicopter ride! This one was in the same sort of chopper that we flew in over Port Campbell National Park, a Robinson Raven. But the country we flew over this time was very different. Instead of the wild, windy, rough cliffs and ocean, this time it was over the high-rises, canals and theme parks of the Gold Coast. And the weather was perfect this time. The pilot was agreeable to having small bears in the cockpit (more on that later). Here we are with the Raven on the floating heliport at Southport, just back from our flight. The yellow things on the oldies' waists are life-jacket pouches. They had to wear them in case the chopper had to land in the water. We didn't, so I still don't know how they work, but there wasn't one my size so maybe it's just as well.

Labels: aircraft, Gold Coast, helicopter, Queensland

One of the places we visited was Movie World. I wanted to go there because some of my favorite movie heroes live there and there are lots of shows and rides. These crazy vehicles were parked behind a fence to keep kids away from them. No problem for small bears, who can always climb over or through the fence. The old Batmobile was a great looking bit of machinery, but I prefer the new one that I saw later in the day. I really like the Batboat. I was able to clamber all over it and even get into the engine spaces when the oldies were distracted (can you see me in the photos?). I was just about to see if the engines would start when the owner turned up. Was he annoyed?!! Oh well, I always thought that Batman had turned into a bit of a grump. Just wait until you see the next heroes I met. One of them is my all-time favourite and another is a real cutie.
Remember that you can see the pictures bigger if you click on them, and do visit the archive to read about my earlier adventures.

Labels: climbing, Gold Coast, heroes, Queensland, trouble

You might have noticed that I have been away for a while and wondered where I was and what was happening. Well, Dad saw this add for a great deal at the Surfers Paradise Marriott and thought a break away from the cold would help Mum's torn tendon heal. We only got back yesterday. So here I am, out on the balcony of the Marriott, looking out over some of the high-rises and canals across to Mt Warning. We did some interesting things during our stay and I will post piccies every time I can get the oldies away from the computer.

Labels: Gold Coast, Queensland

I went on a grand trip a fortnight ago. Mum, Dad, Unka Mark and Aunty Vicki went to Sydney to see the stage production of "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and they took me along. Now, any sort of trip is OK by me, but this was a trip with a difference. They went on a train operated by the Railway Historical Society and it was 12 carriages long with two engines at the front and a power car behind. It didn't just go straight to Sydney, but detoured down the Illawarra escarpment and up to Sydney along the Illawarra line. For a train buff like me this was great. The track down the escarpment is one of the prettiest in NSW. And guess what? We didn't just sit in a seat all the way. We had our very own table in a special restaurant car and a set of sleeping compartments, vintage ones that were used on the "Southern Aurora" back in the 1960s. The sleeping cabins were full of interesting things for small bears. Here are a couple of them. The small shelf was just right to sit on and watch the world go past the window. The fold-out washbasin would have made a beaut swimming pool if Mum didn't have this thing about me getting wet. And you have probably guessed it. The meanies didn't take me to "Priscilla". They say that I wouldn't understand the adult humour. Don't you just hate it when adults snigger about something and won't explain what it's all about? Anyhow, with them out of the way for a few hours I had a great session of exploring all over the train.

Labels: New South Wales, Sydney, train, trips

Mum and Dad have to get all wet to see coral close up. They say it is fun but won't let me go in with them. I think that is incredibly mean of them, so Dad is working on a bear-sized diving suit for me to wear; Mum is not impressed. In the meantime I have to see coral through the bottom of Captain Cook's see-through boats. In Fiji the water is so clear and the boatmen so skillful that I can get to see things pretty good anyhow. The see-through boat gets really close to the coral, but never bumps into it. This is a really pretty patch of the reef at Drawaqa and is what I could see of it through just one window. Dad has fiddled with the picture a bit and made the colours brighter. I don't really have grey hair on the top of my head yet (Dad does though).

Labels: Captain Cook, cruising, Fiji

Cold and wintery again in Canberra today so naturally I am wishing I was back in my favourite place, Fiji. There is nothing to equal the thrill of leaving the "Reef Escape" and heading for yet another new island. I like to watch the people race off the boats and up the beach, just like the Marines storming ashore. Being a smart small bear I wait on the boat until the thunder of big feet has scared all the crabs away into hiding before I saunter onto the beach. You can see me near the front of the boat if you look hard. Here we are coming into Drawaqa, an island where my Captain Cook friends have a lodge for family holidays. The beaches here are great, the oldies say the snorkelling is really good, and if you are there at the right time you can see lots of turtles. Beats Canberra on a 10 degree day.

Labels: Captain Cook, crabs, cruising, Fiji

We have seen lots of lighthouses in our travels. Visiting lighthouses takes you to some of the prettiest and wildest places, so we always try to get to as many as we can whenever we plan a trip. So far Mum has been to 72, Dad to 68 and us bears only to 54. This one is really pretty. It had just been re-painted when we visited and was a bright orange-red and glossy white. You can see this one at Cape Banks in South Australia. To get there you drive to the small village of Carpenter Rocks and then take a sandy track to the lighthouse. I wouldn't like to try driving it when the track is wet or deep in sand, but Mum can drive anywhere.

Labels: Great Ocean Road, lighthouse, South Australia

This is a fun way to spend some time on a boat. These brassy dolphins were attached to a wall on the Queenscliff-Sorrento ferry. As the ferry rocked across the entrance to Port Phillip the dolphins bounced as well. It was as good as a merry-go-round ride at the show. Mum says that If you took the big dolphin away you would be left with something that looks a bit like the engraving on some ancient Greek coins or the statue in one of the Sophia Loren movies. I didn't know the ancient Greeks and Romans had small bears.

Labels: boats, Melbourne, Victoria

Drat! Dad has found my latest hidey-hole. It is a beaut one too because it is so nice, warm and cozy. Mum bought herself this fluffy hat to wear when she is outside at the telescope. She hung it away in the hall cupboard between times she wants to use it. Now it's coming on for winter in Canberra. We have had our first frosts and a couple of days where the temperature barely made it into double figures. What do bears do when this happens? That's right, they look around for somewhere to hibernate. This hat looked just right to me so I clambered up into it and snuggled down. Just about the time the oldies missed me they also wanted to use the telescope. I was tipped out of the hat and told that the air-con would keep me warm just like it does everyone else in the house. There goes a beaut hidey-hole and my chance to see what hibernation is like.

Labels: astronomy, climbing, trouble

Guess what? I have just been given a great honour. The committee of the Canberra Astronomical Society has made me a Member of Distinction. They have even given me my own special name badge. I guess that it is because of all the CAS events that I go to and help out by guarding the cars. Maybe the fact that Mum and Dad are both Life Members has something to do with it too. Anyway, I have joined the select group of Astrobears and I am totally chuffed about it.

Labels: astronomy