Since arriving in Brisbane, Clare and I haven't had a car. Occasionally we have had use of a car thanks to some generous work mates, and occasionally we have had generous work mates or generous new friends drive us to places. But on the whole, the amount of car use between Clare and I over the last two months is virtually nil.

Until recently that is, as we have now been lent a scooter by our boss. Oh yeah, thats right, I have my own toned down version of my childhood dream machine, a CBR250, in the form of a Kymo 49cc 'red dragon' (thats my nickname for it).

It doesn't start with the ignition each time so requires a kick start, but once you get the wind on your chest as you hoon at 50-60km (30-40 uphill), you forget all about that slight annoyance.

She'll easily fit Clare on the back, and thats good, cause we have two helmets on loan as well.

I must say, it's totally awesome. As I alluded to above, a motorbike was a childhood dream of mine, and when I got older, and more realistic with money/danger, I always thought a scooter would be pretty handy and heaps of fun too. But one problem with scooters and Wellington is the weather - and I can tell you categorically that there's no problem with that aspect in Brisbane.

And if the weather god does decide to send down the rains, its not accompanied with 100km winds, or 5 degrees celcius temperatures. So, who cares if you get a little wet.

I must say when I have to give this back to my boss in 5 weeks, I'll be a little disappointed, but we will probably have a car by then so maybe not. That said - I'll be keeping an eye out on eBay for some good deals.

Heres the red dragon: (click to go to flickr page):