Here we are again, Sunday morning…time for the weekly catch-up.
Lockdowns
Okay, since we last spoke the lockdown in South East Queensland has been extended by a few days but will be ending at 4pm this afternoon. The state of Victoria has also been locked down again, and Sydney, well, the numbers are still growing down there. It’s hard to know what to say to Sydney-siders – everything seems like such a platitude.
As I mentioned last week, the SE Queensland lockdown came as such a surprise. I was already here in Hervey Bay, a few hours up the coast (where we’re not in lockdown) so have decided to stay for another week with my daughter. I’m very lucky I can do my day job from anywhere. I’m missing home (and husband and pooch) but if I’m going to be stranded anywhere, here would certainly be at the the top of my list.
Sunrises
My early morning walks continue, although the views are different…
Sunset Cruise
I caught a quick sunset cruise after work on Wednesday night. I’ll tell you more about it another time, but it was a lovely way to end the day.
There was a fire in the canefields out of town – adding some drama to the evening skies…
…and I was still home in time to cook dinner and for us to eat it virtually with hubby. (Dinner was oven-roasted salmon with crushed potatoes and a bacon and spring onion dressing.)
Whales
Hervey Bay is known as one of the best places in the world to watch whales. It even has a UNESCO listing because of it.
I’ll tell you more about this another time too (trust me, it deserves it’s own post), but for now, here’s another pic to keep you going until then.
A secret project
I’m collaborating with my friend Debbish on a new top-secret project, so we spent Friday in an on-site off-site planning session with butcher’s paper and markers and post-its. She suggested we do team building exercises, but we both decided that was just a step too far.
Brekky in the sun
This mushrooms on vegemite and cream cheese toast with a perfect (soft) boiled egg. The scraping of vegemite gave it a real umami boost.
Lunch in the sun
This takeaway Thai fishcake salad bowl from Hervey Bay General Store was a fabulous workday lunchtime treat. (Ignore the badly chipped nail polish.) And I got some steps up in walking there and back.
Okay, that was my week! How was yours?
And Anyways... 
What a beautiful week Jo, despite lockdown. The Whales are just awesome aren’t they. We went to Canada to see them and unfortunately they didn’t want to play that day. I could have just headed north in my own backyard. We had salmon on Wednesday and usually bake it. So good for you. The Thai fish cakes look delish and how about those sunrises and sunsets! Stunning. Have a great week, Jo. xx
You have a lovely week too. I go whale watching every year in Mooloolaba, but this was another level entirely.
A beautiful week, Jo, despite the circumstances – you always manage to capture such lovely silver linings …
Have a safe week ahead.
Thanks Ju-Lyn. Wishing you a lovely week.
As others have said, looks such an interesting week, with some good food there too (the mushrooms in particular). Hope you get home soon.
That mushroom toast was the business. Have a lovely week.
If one has to be stranded somewhere that certainly looks like the perfect place! Those piers and beaches look amazing.
It’s such a lovely place. I’m grateful to my daughter for moving here.
I can understand why 🙂
That looks like such a lovely week, Jo. Great place to be stranded. And the whales! Wow! Very curious about the secret project. The food looks so yummy!
The sunny coast is home, but it’s so lovely up here and the whales were awesome.
What an amazing time you’ve had Jo and those whales are the icing on the cake, great photos! Can’t wait to hear about your secret project 🙂
It’s been a good week – and we were so blessed to see the whales doing everything from the brochure.
That definitely looks like a fabulous place to be stranded; I can not get over those whales!!
They certainly put on quite the show. Have a lovely week.
The photos from your week are so beautiful I scrolled through them several times, taking in the details. I like the composition choices you made for all the sunsets. Whales do deserve their own post. Looking forward to that one.Have a beautiful week.
Thanks Suzanne – esp for your comments re composition. We were so blessed to see the whales in all their whaley glory.
Thank you for sharing, the food looks delish! I know lockdown is hard, but you are surrounded by such beautiful nature. Have a great week!
Lockdown can be hard, although in this case hubby back home was locked down and things were pretty free up here in the bay where it truly is beautiful. Have a lovely week.
Being able to see whales is a great! Enjoy.
It’s such a privilege. Have a lovely week.
Stunning photos, Jo. I’m glad you had a decent week in spite of the lockdown. Look forward to your Whales post. Thank you for linking with #weekendcoffeeshare.
Thanks Natalie. Thankfully it’s not been locked down up here so all is good. I am, however, looking forward to getting home.
We had planned to go swimming with the whales last year but the only boat that would take my daughter was fully booked. However, she’s older now so I think we have a few more options. Maybe next year! Your sunrise shots are gorgeous. How lovely!! Esp the jetty one! #Lifethisweek
Maybe next year… Wishing you a positive week.
What a gorgeous place to be ‘stuck’! Love your sunrise photo’s Jo. Your daughter is also very lucky having you up there and cooking gorgeous meals – that salmon dish looks divine!! I’m very curious about this top secret project you’re working on with Deb. I love the intrigue you’re both building! Good thinking! lol I went whale watching up in Hervey Bay a few years back but sadly it wasn’t the best (just rotten luck) – only saw distant whales and we were on a big boat full of sceaching kids running riot everywhere. I may have posted about it. Can’t remember. I’ll see who you when with when you post about it and maybe I’ll try again another day for a better experience. Hope you have a great week!
Sarah’s freezer is now full so I suspect she now wants me to go home lol. And about our top secret project? I could tell you but…
Glad lockdown hasn’t been too onerous for you Jo – and I’m looking forward to hearing what you’re Secret Squirreling with Deb over – sounds very mysterious and exciting. As usual, great photos and food (loved the whale pics) x
Secret squirrels indeed… have a great week.
I always enjoy seeing your sunrise pics first thing each day. (As I’m usually under the covers flicking through my phone!)
Looking forward to hearing more about the whale watch trip of course and it’s certainly a lovely spot there by the water. It makes me feel a bit sad about being so far out of town but I realise I need to weigh the pros and cons etc…
We had such an amazing time out on the water…and yes, pros and cons. And you have that amazing view.
I’ve never had vegemite before. I’m hunting for a jar in the U.S. I live in an urban area so I’m sure I’m bound to find it somewhere.
It’s similar (but different) to Marmite. It’s also an acquired taste, but one us Aussies have grown up on. It’s an umami flavour bomb.
I think I saw that fishcake salad on the gram and it had me drooling! I am living vicariously through your tropical getaway as it looks like we’ll be locked down for the foreseeable! Excited about your side project with Deb, when will you spill the beans?!
Not sure when we’ll spill the beans yet. We’re still at that planning stage…but it’s very exciting…
Your whale photos are breathtaking. So amazing!
And I really think that you and Debbish should have done that Team-Building Exercise…and then shared it all with us in a post! 😀 😀
Thought ball anyone?
H Jo. I was sorry to hear that lock down protocols are back for so many of us. Like many others, I’m exhausted with them.
Your whale photos are wonderful and reminded me of the one whale watching trip my wife and I took just west of the opening to San Francisco bay. We saw lots of wild life, all wonderful for just over an hour. I was moving back and forth from one side of the boat to the other with my traditional film camera when the pilot announced over the loudspeaker, “There she blows of the starboard side!”
Of course, I was on the other side so scrambled through the crowd to get a view of the breaching whale, way off ahead of the boat.
With my camera ready, I watched hoping for at least a nose or blow spout to capture, but could only see a moving hump that had to be the whale. Suddenly, out of the right corner of my eye, something big moved and I turned to see a giant tail fluke lifting out of the water. “No way!” was my thought as I quickly tried to gauge how long this creature was. My guess was 75 feet, nose to tail. and I realized that beside this guy, I would barely be noticeable. The pilot came back to his microphone to confirm that this was a blue whale 70-90 feet log – and the crowd of us went wild.
Thanks for bringing back a great memory and illustrating yours so well.
Wow! That would have been absolutely awe-inspiring.
I’ve never been to Hervey Bay (we seem to always stop at Noosa and go no further unless it’s way up north in a plane). Seems to be the place for whales and looks like you were super close. Lockdowns in Queensland when you can still get outside lots are still quite bearable. I fear this way of living will be with us for a long time to come.
It really is a special place – and particularly at whale time.
You got stuck in a great place alright…and you are getting to know the area more and more. Your photos are so creative and cool. I love the composition and framing too. As for the whale watching! Woo hoo. Secret meetings with Deb really intrigued me when I saw IG post (I think) and now I have far more of an inkling about what’s ahead.
Thanks for linking up for Life This Week. Next week’s optional prompt is Shopping and it will be interesting for me to decide what to write! So much has changed in #lockdown this time round. Hope to see you link up too. Cheers, Denyse.
Thanks Denyse… Yep Deb & I are plotting something special.
Glad you are able to extend your time with your daughter and avoid the lockdown. Hervey Bay certainly is picturesque. Even pretty smoke!! Those seafood dishes look and sound delicious. Our numbers are soaring back up. Over 20k new cases in Texas today. Washing up all my masks and getting them ready for use again.
It’s a never ending cycle, isn’t it?