Saturday, May 30, 2015

Stradbroke Island day 8 + Goodbye

What?!? How is it already their last full day here?! That is so crazy! Today we went to Stadbroke Island. We drove to Cleveland and caught the Straddie Ferry.


The weather was so great! It was warm with clear skys.


We did the gorge walk. First we could see the Coral Sea which is green then after we walked around the corner and it is the Pacific Ocean which is dark blue. In the Coral Sea we saw some pods of dolphins! It was crazy! We saw so many dolphins!!! I can guess between 20-25 dolphins. Win!


The walk was perfect!


They really take really great care of the walk area. It is easy to walk and safe.




After the gorge walk we gabbed some lunch. Mom and I split a shrimp wrap. It was yummy!


We went to the little shopping center and picked up an extra suitcase so my parenst could take back all the stuff they bought... well no... that is not true. Maybe the suitcase was for some stuff I sent home... I pleade the 5th.

Then I saw a Panera!!! I miss Panera!! It is not called Panera but it is Panera! ;)


After that we headed back home and packed. Then we walked up the street to some shops and restaurants. We passed by some boccie ball players. They take it so seriously here! Scoreboards... little outfits... it is so cute!


We ate at Grill'd. It was so yummy! :) I love this place. I am glad I got to share this place with them.


Finally we walked back to the hotel. We were so sleepy. It was a looooooong week.


The next morning they headed home. I was actually sadder this time than when I left the US. Katja says it was because them being here made me realize just how much I miss home. I think she is completely right.


I waited until their plane took off then I headed to Kims. We had a girls day walking around the mall and catching up. It was really fun and really good to have someone to spend time with to keep away the lonely feeling that was creeping in. :) I bought a Pandora charm with a kangaroo and the Australian Southern cross on it. My Dad wanted me to buy something that would last and be nice for a memory. I think it is perfect!


I also got a Japanese pastry... yuummm!



Cheers! :)

Friday, May 29, 2015

Glasshouse Mountains/ Koalas/ Brissy - day 7

I can't believe it is already time to head to Brissy! It feels like they just got here! Nevertheless this morning we grabbed some brekky and then off went to the Glasshouse Mountains. The drive there is really pretty. You go right by a few of them. We thought about hiking Ngugun, but we wanted to make sure we had time for the koalas later so we skipped it.


We followed Kim down to the lookout point. Well I guess I should say up to the lookout.


It is hard to describe how pretty it is up there, and even harder to show in pictures. The old volcano plugs really are something to see.


We walked around up there for a while.


The toilet was... special...


Then we headed down to Lone Pine Koala Reserve. As always it was very cool!



My parents were really excited about all the koalas!


They were actually really active! They were running around and jumping. They usually just sit there and sleep and eat, but it was almost feeding time so they were all over the place. We timed our trip perfectly!


Mom even held one. She liked it a lot! :) Dad was not into holding one.




We continued though the park. Of course we had to take a token distance to home picture :)


Then we got to the kangaroos! At first my parents were nervous, as my Dad has a rather odd history with animals... well my whole Wilson family really... so I can see the hesitance.



Eventually they relaxed and it was really nice! :)



We gabbed some lunch and found a hotel online to stay in in Brissy for the next couple nights. After that we finished walking through the reserve and headed to the hotel.





Once we got to the hotel we rested a bit then took a bus into the city. We walked aroundSouth Bank. I even sang ion the ampitheatre ;) Then we met up with Kim at the Thai place in South Bank. Dinner was good then we walked around a little down by the river. We even caught the City Cat. (of course)


The ride was really pretty!



After that we headed back to the bus stop and took the 301 back to the hotel for the night. It was a pretty eventful day! Everything really fell into place well! I couldn't be happier.

Tuesday Day 6 - Noosa

This morning was such a pretty day! We took a nice morning beach walk.The weather is warm enough to be comfortable in a swimsuit. Mom is working on her tan lines :)


After the beach walk and some brekky Kim drove up from Brissy. She is a great little tour guide. I was so happy to have some help. I have tried my very best to be the best tour guide I can be but I haven't been here THAT long either. Also 2 heads are always better than one anyway. We headed off to Noosa.


Noosa is known in Aus and around the world for the beautiful beaches and wonderful shopping on Hastings St. It is comparable to maybe Beverly Hills Rodeo Dr. Very shi shi. Dad and I were planning on spearfishing... but apparently we are not allowed. Darn. Plans are shot to hell. Also, just like everywhere in Oz... bush turkeys everywhere!


We had lunch at the Noosa Surf Club. Holy Cow! My mom and I split this huge seafood feast (of course my Dad with his seafood allergy did not partake).There were oysters. calamari, crab,scallops, shrimp, fish, fries, salad... just a ridiculous amount of food really.


It was soooooooooooooo good! It was some KIND of crazy feast! Yum!!


Then we went on a walk up the coast and around the top of Noosa Heads. We even saw a koalain a tree! A KOALA! In the wild!!! That was crazy. He was soooo high up in the tree I couldn't get a picture. I am so glad we saw one in the wild! I hadn't seen one yet! :) We also saw lots of other wildlife. Some of it was a bit too much. We came across LOTS of spiders! Ick. Welcome to Oz I guess.


We did see lots of very pretty spots though! We even walked through what reminded me of the forest in Beauty and the Beast. I am sure you know the one where the Dad is driving to the fair and he is telling the horse 'it is a shortcut'. The horse is like 'hell no that looks super creepy'. Anyway these trees are amazing in the daylight and I bet super creepy at night.


Also I keep thinking how funny it is that people here refer to Australia as Oz and my mom is very scared of flying monkeys. The Wizard of Oz scarred her as a child I think. It is actually kind of funny, but we are walking in Oz and some of the birds sound a bit like monkeys. She keeps saying the flying monkeys are coming. :)


We did quite a long walk actually. We went farther up the trail than Kim or I have ever been.


I even saw a sea turtle! ;)


After all the walking we figured it was time to head back. We stopped by my place to grab some clothes and drop off dirty ones. My parents got to meet Raphael and I got some clean clothes! Win! We also went to campus to look for kangaroos... but none to be found today. Sometimes they just are not there. :( I guess there was too much activity on campus for them today.

We drove back to the apartment and decided to head to dinner. We had a nice dinner by the water. There was one small struggle. Kim has a deathly allergy to nuts and they brought her a crepe full of nuts... so... there's that. Luckily she has a good eye and spotted one right away. I took her plate and fork and got rid of the coconut carmel berry nut crepe of death the beat way I could. I ate it. Then I bought her some TimTams ;) She deserves dessert too! ;) TimTams to the rescue!


After all that we walked by the beach some and headed home. We watched some Agatha Christie on TV then everyone hit the hay.