Hi all, I know I have been a bit MIA after my Melbourne recaps. I don’t really have an excuse as to why but I just was. Anyways, here’s what I got up to in April…

I got a new phone just before Easter – I upgraded from the Samsung S7 to the S9+ and as a result of a way better camera I, of course, had to use it .. a lot. So all the photos in this post are taken with that new camera 🙂

The first weekend in April was Easter so on the Saturday (which was technically in March but we won’t quibble over little things like that), my niece and I headed on a day trip out west. We visited the cute wee town of Marburg, headed to a couple of cemeteries (as you do) and went to Toowoomba (which I think I totally oversold to my niece) among a few other things.

Roadside stops are obligatory when you see places like this!

Cemetery with a view

The cute as ever Spring Bluff railway station

No visit to Toowoomba is complete without snapping some street art

The Commonwealth Games came to the Gold Coast in April. For those who don’t know, the Commonwealth Games are like the Olympics but they are for countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. As part of the celebrations for hosting the games, South East Queensland had Festival 2018 going at the same time and one of the events during this time was One Million Stars to End Violence.

Started by Maryann Talia Pau, the One Million Stars project was created to unite people around the world to end violence and support each other. People from over 15 countries got together to weave stars and the end result was the One Million Stars installation in Brisbane’s King George Square. I managed to see the installation a few times during the time it was in the square and it really was amazing.

That’s a lot of stars!

I have been to King George Square thousands of times but never seen it from this view before

It was cool to see the One Million Stars installation through the day and at night also

Also during the Festival 2018 was the Brisbane Street Art Festival (BSAF) and there were a number of different activities around the city including live murals – which is basically you watching the artists create their art. I went to check out some of the live murals and also went for a wander around the area of Fish Lane, located opposite the Queensland Museum at the Cultural Centre. Wandering down Fish Lane you will find loads of interesting art work.

Lots of different artwork can be found in Fish Lane

I have a thing about beer kegs!

There is a reason it’s a good idea to roam around your own city.. you find cool places like this

Fish Lane also has a lot of cool eateries as well as artwork

An awesome piece Aussie artist Fintan Magee

Artist Leah Falcocchio doing her thing

One thing I am loving at the moment is street photography. More specifically, catching people in those every day moments. I haven’t worked out yet if it is a good thing to do or it is impeaching on their personal space but I figure until someone tells me to stop then I’m going to keep on doing it. Although in saying that, sometimes I do actually ask if it is ok 🙂

Just out walking the dog

Busy intersection after work

Quiet moment in between customers

Night time in the city

In other news.. I got a car!! I have lived in Brisbane for 15 years and never had a car so it has been a LONG time coming. Now having had a car for just over a week (at time of posting), I can’t believe I’ve never had a car before! The first proper day I had the car it was ANZAC Day public holiday so I went for a bit of a cruise to a place I haven’t been to before but had wanted to visit for ages – the riverside suburb of Teneriffe.. and it was so lovely that I went back again later that day after a rest. Look out for more car trip adventures.

My new toy

Teneriffe & New Farm as gorgeous suburbs along the Brisbane River

Finding those Instagramable places

Colouful places at West Wend

I loved the industrial feel of Teneriffe

Industrial buildings & tree lined streets.. what’s not to love!

I loved this! Came across a photoshoot and asked if I could snap a photo – this was the result

The last thing I did in April was fly down to Sydney for a weekend. I didn’t do any sightseeing because I was there to visit friends. I flew down to Sydney on the Thursday night. On the Friday we went to see the new Avengers movie then to the Harry Styles concert. On the Saturday we had a movie day – literally only moved to go to the loo and to open the door for the pizza delivery guy and then I flew back to Brisbane on the Sunday.

Concert time at Sydney’s Olympic Park

Didn’t get very good photos but the one & only Harry Styles

Well duh

Flying out of Sydney

The other big news is that I have changed my name. I have gone from ‘Kiwi On The Loose’ to ‘Postcards From Sarah’.

I have felt for a while that I am not living up to the ‘kiwi on the loose’ name and the analogy I have come up with is that I feel more like a ‘caged kiwi that is let out once in a while’ as opposed to one that is on the loose. I feel that Postcards from Sarah is a more suitable name for me and reflects more of my photography than just travel.

I have changed my Instagram handle and the name of this blog – I couldn’t change the address because someone already has the webpage. I have tried changing my Facebook page but they are being dicks about it and I have appealed their decision not to update the name after my request.

So I guess that is what happened in the month of April. I have a couple of things on in May, including a quick trip home for a long weekend however I do need to let you know that I am not going to be posting here as much as I was – or as much as I thought I was.

As a lot of my regular readers know, I have struggled a lot (especially in the last year) in what to keep posting. When I am travelling or have had a trip it’s fine because I have something to write about but I don’t travel a heck of a lot (contrary to what a lot of people think!) so I feel like I don’t have much to say.

I have decided to only post when I actually feel like it and not put so much pressure on myself to constantly have to come up with content for a ‘travel blog’. Which also means that you might see a few more different posts, especially now that I have a car and will be doing more local trips.