This week we have visited both the North
and South coasts from our Brisbane base.
On Sunday, we met up with Elaine and Dave
who are old or rather long-time friends of Nina’s family. Strange how although travelling
means you leave some family and friends behind, you can actually end up meeting
with others that you may well of not seen again, which is really good.
It was probably the first time Nina had met
with them in over 20 years, even though they only immigrated to Australia about
13 years ago. We made our way to Landsbrough train station
where they picked us up, once Elaine and I established that it was in fact
quite easy to recognise each other and they kindly took us on a tour of the
Sunshine Coast, which included lunch at Mooloolaba Surf Club.
Whilst eating lunch, we saw some action on
the beach and noticed a lifeguard dragging a young girl from the sea, after a
few moments pause she was put into the recovery position and we watched as no
movement was made… then we all breathed easy when she thankfully came round
after a few minutes of inactivity, she walked away from the beach, a little
bedraggled and embarrassed but otherwise OK. If you have the Discovery Channel and watch
Bondi Rescue, then this was our very own Mooloolaba Rescue. Patrick did ask
Dave if this had been setup for our benefit to show that Australia really is like
the TV, but he assured us that it was not.
The location and views were stunning and
full of natural coves and long beaches with great waves. Patrick was obviously
really impressed and really enjoyed this area.
After lunch, we headed back to
Elaine and Dave’s house to meet up with their children Ellie and Ryan (and Miko
and Simba – the dogs). Their house was lovely and in true Aussie style included
a swimming pool!! So much space, I think our old HK apartment could have fitted
in their front room.
We then headed to Moffat Beach which was a
small and pretty cove with a park area and a few coffee shops, where we sat and
watched the world go by – no dramas this time but it was a lovely relaxed
atmosphere and everyone was enjoying the sun and surf.
Part of our plan for the week was to do
some whale watching and Elaine told us that we could do this from Mooloolaba
(and at a discount to Brisbane rates!) she kindly suggested we stay with them as
it was about 2 hours from Brisbane, so Patrick made a booking for Thursday and
we decided we could combine our other plan of visiting Noosa, which was in a
similar direction.
So we bid them farewell at the train station
with a view to seeing them Thursday.
On Tuesday, as Brisbane is situated between
the Sunshine Coast (to the North) and Gold Coast (to the South), we decided to
catch another train down to Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast. This was
another 2 hour journey but was great to see the countryside on the way down. At
Surfers Paradise, we caught the new G-Link tram (only opened on the 21st
July) and travelled to the furthest station – Broadbeach South and then walked
back along the beach to the main part of the town. The town itself had a mix of
shops and entertainment which was as diverse as the shops…..from Condom Kingdom
to Starbucks! However, whilst pleasant, it wasn't as nice as the Sunshine
Coast.
Non-Whale sightseeing.
We had planned to go Whale watching on
Thursday and to visit Noosa on Friday whilst staying overnight at Elaine and
Dave’s so hired a car, a Mini Cooper S no less from Hertz (I hope Helen
(Patrick’s sister & Hertz manager in France) is pleased!). All ready to see
the whales on Thursday afternoon, but unfortunately the weather had started to
change and the wind had picked up and the Whale trip was cancelled so we
re-booked for 8am Friday and decided to visit Noosa Thursday instead. At Noosa
Head we parked in the country park and set out on the coastal path. The scenery
was amazing and Patrick was sure he saw 2 whale fins appear in the water. I’m
pretty sure he was imagining it …but no surely he would not make up such a
vision!!!
During our walk there was a
point called “Hell’s Gate” and you could see why as the wind whips in from the sea
channeled between two massive rocks which creates a very blustery and breath-taking
scene.
However we did make the 7km walk and we
were then glad to be able to take the short trip back to Elaine and Dave’s who
had prepared a lovely barbie accompanied by some very nice Australian wine.
The next morning to our dismay, the weather
had deteriorated further and to accompany the wind, we now had severe rainfall
and early on Friday morning (actually I think it was still the middle of the
night), the Whale Co. called and cancelled again. So we had to re-visit our
plans and decided to visit the Sea Life Centre in Mooloolaba (I think this is
such a cool name! that’s Patrick).
All day Friday, the rain continued, not
that we were too bothered as we were inside with many other drowned out
families and touring pensioners. However, the Sea Life centre was really
interesting with several shows and talks which included sealions, otters and jelly
fish. The otters were funny and very inventive. Their keepers used to keep them
inside at night but one morning, the otters were found in the outside enclosure
which surprised and confounded the keepers so they setup surveillance and
watched as the otters would put their claws underneath the door and lift it up
for the other otters to go through. Having seen this the keepers adjusted the
door to make sure there was no gap at the bottom to stop the otters…..this
worked for 4 days but then the same situation occurred again. During the 4
days, the keepers noticed that when the otters returned to the inside
enclosure, they were limping but not always the same leg and all checks of the
otters could not identify a physical reason. So with a little more
surveillance, they discovered the otters were collecting pebbles under their
feet (hence the limp) and dragging them to just under the door so that when it
closed….hey presto….there was still a gap and they could get out at night and have
their fun!! I’m sure there is a teenager
or two that has done something similar, in fact I’m sure I remember a similar
story with a window being left ‘on the latch’ by my sister for my brothers, I’m
sure it must have cost them a fortune!
Anyway back to Oz.
After our day’s entertainment, we returned
to Elaine and Dave’s for an Indian takeaway – which was lovely and very tasty –
really appreciated their hospitality, especially Ryan who was bumped out of his
room for us, thanks Ryan!
Weather wise it rained all Friday night and
continued into Saturday morning when we returned to Brisbane, seems more like England
I have to say, but I’m sure it won’t last.
Whilst the rain could have been quite
depressing, for one resident on the Sunshine Coast, the world has become a much
brighter place as they have won half of the AUD 70million Powerball Lottery
Jackpot which is the largest win in Australia’s lottery history! (The other
half was won by a syndicate in New South Wales)
(Another happy Queenslander - a "smiling" stingray)
Our next two days will be spent packing and
getting ready for our trip up to Port Douglas with a drive of 1700+ km,
stopping at Rockhampton for a night and then Airlie Beach for four, hopefully
with some nice beach weather, before going on to Port Douglas.
Looks good
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