Brisbane
When we booked the cheapest bus service Australia has to offer to get from Sydney to Brisbane, we weren't expecting much. We were still a bit shocked to find ourselves going from 5am to 1pm with no toilet or food stops, in the blazing sun. If anyone from the Oz travel industry is reading this, go to Argentina. Those guys know how to run a bus service. They don't speak English and still show better English speaking films.
Brisbane. Nice city. Nice Botanic Gardens. Good museum ( we liked the bits on Queensland, it's nice to know about the state we're now it). It also seems to be a common feature of museums worldwide to have one large dinosaur skeleton in the entrance and then no more. This is possibly the museum equivalent of advertising computer magazines using a scantily clad woman. There's also a growing cafe and bar scene in Brisbane, which we sampled. They also have a South Bank, not massively dissimilar to another South Bank, closer to home.
Couchsurfing
Following the instructions of "get a boat down the river, then walk to the Arts Centre and I'll be in the car park", we went to meet our couchsurfing host, Vince. We got chatting over a few beers near the river while we waited for his 17 year old son to finish his circus lesson. It's nice to be somewhere having a beer, while the sun goes down,watching large bats fly over head. Very cool.
Vince is a primary school teacher, living and working in the suburbs. Very laid back and easy to talk to. We also enjoyed seeing a teenager up close (crazy driving, loads of energy, endless appetite, communicates using names of bands we've not heard of). Riley was a top lad.
Beyond Brisbane
Let's be honest. Kara is a huge Steve Irwin fan. There was no way we weren't going to Australia Zoo, which he founded. We almost cried at the price, but these are the cool things we did and saw there:
- met our first koalas and petted their speckly, furry bottoms. Very cute.
- Fed elephants. Dribbly.
- Saw a giant crocodile (about 3 metres) at the live show. The guy doing the feeding was either a very good actor or genuinely worried. And he does this everyday. They were so cautious round this bad boy. We'll be taking extra care near water from now on!
- we saw a Komodo Dragon. Massive!
- petted a possum.
- Reticulated python - about 5 metres long. This thing can take on deer.
To the hills
We spent a night in the hills beyond Brisbane, visiting twee villages. The next morning we went for a walk to some waterfalls.
So, we're ambling along, unusually with Kara at the front. Then she saw a snake. She screamed like a girl and leapt back, while Martin tired to push forwards for a better view. It should be noted this better than our last wild animal spotting, where Kara pushed Martin towards the danger. It was a pretty snake - blue then bright green. Sarah Chambers helped us identify it as an Australian Tree Snake. You can google it for a picture. It is non-venemous so we weren't as near death as we thought.
Then we ambled on and saw a cluster of caterpillars squiggling down the path. Very weird.
Then we went to eat fudge.
The Alleged Sunshine coast
So, we reach the Sunshine coast at the same time as a cyclone. As is often the case with excitable weather men, when they say "Stay indoors, batten down the hatches or die" it turns out to be a few days of slightly crap weather. Though to be fair, they got it worse further up the coast. This meant no swimming in the sea, thick grey cloud, and showers.
Martin also tried wake boarding (water skiing on a snow board). This has now been added to the list of sports Martin is crap at.
Kara stayed at the hostel petting the 14 week old puppy - an Irish wolfhound/Staffy cross. The wolf hound was the dad. His knees must have hurt.
We also headed up to Noosa to watch a surf competition and instead engaged in Clifton style driving round to find a parking space, before going to watch some fun.
Hot and Wet
"Today's weather is hot and shitty with a pissy weather front moving in and continued shitty until the evening." *
Robin Williams, Good Morning Vietnam
We got an upgrade at the Hervey Bay YHA to our own villa! We also went out this morning at 8.50 to take advantage of the free tennis courts. By 9.30 we were dying from heat exhaustion as it is so hot and humid. We reached 4-4 and gave up.
Tomorrow we're off for a 2 day tour of Fraser Island - the world's largest sand dune. Lots of swimming in lagoons - but not the sea. Home to Tiger Sharks! This country is crazy!
*Mama - it's not swearing if you are quoting a film. x
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