This post has been put together more with my international audience in mind that those here in Australia, who are very much aware of the ongoing situation here.

Queensland, Australia is currently struggling to recover from a natural disaster of epic proportions that saw up to 80% of the state underwater at some stage over the past two weeks. To put that into perspective, 80% of Queensland equates to an area twice the size of Texas (largest state in the US), an area larger than France & Germany combined, or an area 6 times the size of the UK!

Through the crisis, 16 people are confirmed to have lost their lives, with over 20 people still missing. On top of this, tens of thousands of people have had their homes & businesses completely destroyed.

The flooding has affected regional Queensland as well as major urban centers such as my home city, Brisbane, with a population of over 2 million people. However, now that the water has started to recede, the mammoth task of cleaning up the state has begun. This has been an amazing experience that has brought out the best in everyone. The affected streets are literally packed full of people helping out those that were affected, cleaning, scrubbing and trying to repair. On top of that, other crazy cool initiatives have kicked off, such as #bakedrelief on Twitter, which has seen people get together to cook & bake for volunteers assisting with the cleanup efforts. It’s truly amazing and inspiring to see so much good happening around the place.

Every little bit that can be done to assist the recovery effort is most appreciated. If you are able to dig deep and donate to the Queensland Premier’s Disaster Relief Fund if would be very much appreciated by so many.

Finally, thankfully, I managed to escape any flood damage which puts me in a category of very lucky people (a relatively small group!). Yes, we may have gone without power for a few days and business around the city may be shut down and disrupted for several weeks, but in the overall scheme of things, it’s minor.

Below, I have included some further photos which I have taken over the past few days. There is a larger collection in this flickr set

Ok, it’s been hectic since I got back, and I didn’t have a chance to write anything about our weekend in Sydney, but, we had an absolutely fantastic time. The city is very, very cool! Aside from the weather, which, as I’ve already mentioned, was more Irish than Australian for the weekend, we had a fantastic time. We were very fortunate to stay in my companies apartment, which is right under Sydney Harbour Bridge and has fantastic views, but not only that, it’s really easy to get around the city from there too. Added to this, we had a car from work for the whole weekend, which makes exploring a city so much easier than trying to do it the usual ways by bus, boat and taxi. As a result, we got to see far more than I had ever imagined we would, and got a good feel for the whole city that way.

Not once did we encounter the Sydney brashness or rudeness that so many people talk about. I guess having spent quite a bit of time in France, and having lived in London and Dublin for so long, I’ve become hardened, but, everyone in Sydney was super nice and friendly, and it is a city that both Kassie and I could very easily live in at some stage in the future. I was also amazed at just how big the city was, Brisbane really does seem like just a small little town in comparison!

Disappointment of the weekend has to have been Jordons Seafood Restaurant at Darling Harbour which is reputed to be one of the best seafood restaurants in the city. We were really unimpressed by the whole experience, and will be in no rush back.

Highlights of the weekend had to be stumbling upon the uber-cool Water Bar in the very, very cool Blue Hotel in the town with probably the funniest name I’ve ever seen or heard – Woolloomooloo!! Try saying that with a few of their amazing cocktails in you! Speaking of cocktails, the few that we snuck in whilst in the Four Seasons were brilliant, all down to the fact that there was a really neat little jazz trio playing in the bar!

I’ve got heaps of photos to sort through and upload over the next few days. Every evening is a bit hectic this week, but, as soon as I’ve got them sorted, they will be up on flickr as per usual!

I’m working in Sydney this week, and Kassie and I are staying down for the weekend, which is really very cool. But, I’ve noticed that Sydney is just like Dublin, it’s bloody freezing! Compared to back home in Brisbane, where the temp still climes to 24 or so during the day, it’s only getting to about 17 here at the moment, and added to the wind that blows off the river, it’s baltic compared to what I’ve been used to over the past few months. It’s amazing just how quickly your body adjusts to the heat. 12 months ago, 17 degrees would have been a nice warm day, and 24 was a stinker! But now, even 24 feels relatively cool!! Yep, I know, I’ve softened up, don’t ask me how I’m ever gonna survive a trip back to Ireland in the winter!!

On another note though, despite having worked here a few times now, I’ve still yet to explore any of Sydney. Last night was the first time I’ve ever stayed down, and the city looks absolutely beautiful. I’m really looking forward to getting out and about for the weekend exploring and taking photos. Let’s just hope that it warms up a little for me!

And you just do something that you think, wow, that was pretty special! Well, that’s the feeling that I got twice on Saturday, once after taking this series of images and secondly, later on on Saturday evening when I got home, and produced the following panorama from four stitched shots! I’m pretty pleased with the result!

Woo, almost quitting time! This is the first of three short weeks for me! Tomorrow is Anzac Day here in Oz, so, in order to commemorate the Anzac efforts in World War I, we get a day off. For me, that means that I have a nice long weekend to play with my new camera and lens, which I am exceptionally excited. As usual, we have an action packed weekend ahead, with lots of dinner, drinks, a trip down to the Gold Coast and other bits and pieces on. Expect lots of pics to appear on flickr over the weekend!

Ever wondered how to build a submarine fibre optic cable? PIPE Networks are a large carrier / IXP here in Oz, and are in the process of building a much needed submarine cable between Sydney and Guam. I’ve met with Bob, their Network Architect and he told me about some pretty crazy and cool stuff that they are doing, and it looks like the project is going to be a huge success for them.

They have decided, rather unusually for such a project, to be very open and transparent about how they are going about it, and you can find lots of details over on their website which includes a blog that you can subscribe to in order to stay up to date with the project!

And having a fantastic time! I’ve settled into work just nicely, and I’m really enjoying it! I’m covering a whole range of different things, and some of it is quite new to me, so, I’m learning loads too. Lots of pressure to get things done for a big deadline we have coming up, but, that’s all good!

Outside of work, still having a fantastic time too. Things are finally starting to settle down and we’re having a somewhat normal life. We’ve just bought ourselves a new MINI Cooper S, which is currently being built over in Oxford, England, and should be here by mid July, to say that Kas and I are excited about that is a massive understatement!

On top of that, I’ve just gone and splashed out on some new toys for myself, I’ve got a new Canon EOS 40D and Canon EF 24-105 IS L lens arriving here tomorrow, so looking forward to getting my hands on that. Yes, I’ve been out getting more pictures of late too, which can be found on flickr as per usual. Keep an eye out for pics from my new gear there too over the next few days!

Other than that, not a huge amount going on that I can bore you with here, if you want more info, just drop me a mail!

It’s back to work I go!! Wowsa, has it really been nearly 8 weeks since I arrived here in Australia?! That’s kinda insane, the time has just flown by so much. After a well earned holiday (who could ever say no to 8 weeks off work!) I feel refreshed, recharged and ready to hit the ground running with work.

I have been in the fortunate position of being able to take my time with job hunting, and seeking out something that seems really exciting and interesting and being exactly what I want to work at. To that end, tomorrow, I start out as IT Manager for AustCorp, an insurance company based here in Brisbane, with offices in Sydney and Melbourne as well. Currently they have about 100 staff and are going through a rapid phase of expansion through mergers and acquisitions, so the next few months look to be exceptionally exciting, with lots of deadlines and challenges to meet. I really like the whole company ethos and attitude to work, and I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about getting my teeth stuck into work! Will report back over the next few days as to how it’s all going.

Kassie asked me to shoot an advertising campaign that she needs for an assignment in college. The idea was to make Kraft cheese advertising seem elegant. This is the shot we have decided to run with.

Whoa! I can’t really believe this, but I’ve actually been in Brisbane for just gone a month now! Where that month has gone really is beyond me! It’s been absolutely hectic, and I’ve had such a good time! Quite enjoying my extended break away from computers and work as well, could get used to this! I’ve been all over the place, visiting new places, seeing new things, eating out lots, meeting lots of new people and I even managed to squeeze in my first proper portrait session as well, and I’m exceptionally pleased with what I managed to take!

I’ve managed to clear out most of the clutter in my inbox, so, if anyone out there fancies dropping me a mail to say hi, you should get a pretty quick response now I think! Hope everyone back home (and in London!) is enjoying all that lovely wind and rain that you’ve been having, it’s a beautiful bright 26 degrees here at the moment! I did say I wouldn’t rub that in too much though, right!? Who knows, the ten day forecast is for more of the same, but then it could all disappear, and we could have wind and rain and cold……