Melbourne

Phew! Big relief. Manage to get ourselves on the 8am plane out to Melbourne. James very kindly takes us to the airport at 6.30am. Plenty of people talking about the impending flooding of Brisbane as the news channels continue to issue warnings of a record river rise.
Airport, however, very calm with no sense of any panic. This is all a bit surreal for us as dawn heralds a fine sunny day. On board plane, though, we monitor news channel as the river we have left behind gets ready to burst its banks.
Watching reports brings a mixture of emotions - glad we have got out and happy in the knowledge that James, Chris and family will be fine because they are on high enough ground, but sadness too that so many are going to have their homes devastated by the murky brown waters of the Brisbane River.
That evening in the comfort and safety of our downtown hotel room we watch with incredulity as Brissie and its suburbs are completely swamped. The South Bank where we walked just days before with the Killen family is underwater, pontoons, moorings and boats are being swept away as we watch. The Central Business District is awash and the mighty Suncorp sports stadium (think the Millennium Stadium) resembles an aqua park.
It's all so bizarre watching a first world city succumbing to mother nature as would a third world one. Atlantis springs readily to mind. Poor Queensland has had such a pasting, but its residents are a touch bunch. Premier Anna Bligh, who cuts an impressive figure, tells its people that the floods "may break our hearts, but it will not break our spirit.''
As we fly towards Victoria we can only hope that Brisbane and the rest of Queensland will recover from this shocking natural disaster in due course.

Awake to rain in Melbourne (it's following us around at the moment) but a quick self-guided city tour confirms that we are going to like it here.
Sitting on the Yarra River, Australia's second largest city is a heady mix of Victorian architecture, great Gothic cathedrals, leafy Paris-style boulevards and slick, sophisticated high-rise contemporary structures that soar skywards.
Just outside the city lie neighbourhoods full of character like trendy Carlton and Fitzroy, where cafe culture rules, and the hip beachside suburb of St Kilda where the youngsters come to hang out.
On top of that, Melbourne is sports mad - and we have arrived just as the Australian Open Tennis tournament is about to start.
First, though, we and 58,000 other like-minded folk take in the second Twenty/20 evening match between Australia and England at the world-famous MGC (Melbourne Cricket Ground) - it's Chris's first experience of Test match cricket and, fortunately, the rain stopped hours ago too. We Poms lose this one by five runs (the Aussies are deserving winners despite KP getting out cheaply again), but it's been an enjoyable way to pass a few hours.
Next up is the first day of the Aussie Open - the sun has got its hat on now and the forecast is for continuing good weather - and we have landed tickets for the Rod Laver Arena and get to see Maria Sharapova (John very happy), Caroline Wozniacki, Tomas Berdych and, best of all, Swiss maestro Roger Federer (Chris even happier) in action. It's a magic day out and the atmosphere both on the main court and on the outside ones fantastic. Oh, Federer, who won in straight sets, was a bit special too.
Get in touch with Susan and Peter George, friends we made during our trip to Ayers Rock. They are coming down to see their daughter Claire in a sell-out theatre production of The Boy From Oz about the life of Australian entertainer and songwriter Peter Allen and ask us if we would like to join them. We certainly would - and we do. Claire has a major role - and is excellent in a top-notch musical about the song and dance man.
After the show we get to meet Claire - she is delightful - and fellow members of cast over nibbles and drinks before going for a sushi meal with Peter, Susan and Peter's friend, Andrew, and his family. Spend a lovely couple of hours enjoying a meal at Federation Square - hub of the city where visitors and tourists make a beeline for.
Susan and Peter kindly invite us to stay with them at their home at Ballarat some 90 minutes inland from Melbourne for five nights - and we are thrilled. Looking forward to their company again.
Before we do, though, we have a couple more days in this fascinating city of glass, steel and old colonial buildings and gorgeous grassy parks which include the lush Royal Botanical Gardens and the smaller but equally charming Fitzroy Gardens.
There's the little matter of Chris's birthday to attend to also. In between a heavenly breakfast and later dinner in one of the quaint little alleys dotted throughout the city we spend the morning on the coast at St Kilda, and the afternoon popping into St Paul's Cathedral and taking a walk to the impressive Shrine of Remembrance with its eternal flame burning brightly to commemorate those Australians lost in both world wars. Also head for the Queen Victoria Market, one of the largest of in the southern hemisphere where more than 600 traders do business.
Bidding Melbourne goodbye tomorrow - it has been a big hit. Susan is picking us up and speeding us north to Ballarat - heart of the goldfields where once diggers came in their thousands to sink mines and seach for the quartz that would hopefully make their fortunes.