havecarryonwilltravel

Main Beach. D is lolling in the sun reading. Murray, M and I are in the water. I was smarter today and am wearing my sleeveless scuba diving  “hoodie” made of neoprene to keep me warm. M is teaching me how to body surf.

Timing is everything! We try to catch the lip of the wave, just before it starts to break. Swim like he** for a few strokes and then extend arms and put hands together, like a surf board shape, and go for it!

I ride a few waves getting caught in the foam ball. Don’t get nearly as far as M does. Salt water up my nose every time.

The waves come in sets so we wait. Murray watches out to sea and warns us when they are coming.

M tells me about not getting caught at the very top of the wave as it will break and pummel a body surfer into the sand. Great. It is quite shallow, only about 2 feet of water in the trough between waves. Sure enough, I get caught on the wrong part of the wave and get nicely tossed around. Fortunately I do not hit the sand, just a huge nose full of water. Ouch, that burns!

M coaches me when to start swimming on the next wave and we both ride the wave for about 40 feet. WOW! That was amazing! I went as far as M did that time and could feel my body riding with the wave. Another nose full of water.

Main Beach

I think I have had enough water in my nose, so I frolic in the water as I make my way to shore. Even after all the salt water up my nose, I am eager to try body surfing again!

Once upon a time, a long time ago in a back room of the parliament buildings in Canberra, Australia, the marketing group for the Department of Tourism sat lementing the fact that tourism has become big buisness around the world and yet no one wanted to visit Australia. For many years they had tried to sell a big rock in the middle of nowhere calling it Ayres Rock. It had sparked a little interest but not what they felt was their market share of world wide tourism. The brain storming session went on for days. Someone off handly mentioned ‘too bad all we have is deadly snakes and spiders, Australia would be easy to sell if we had a cuddly little bear or something like that’. Everyone in the room got excited and the ideas flowed like water from the tap. An artist was called in and the Koala began to take shape. It took several renditions but the image they had been looking for was eventually produced. Adorable, fluffy, cute, cuddly.

The next step was to come up with a name. A contest was held. It was a closed contest as only the marketing crew knew anything about this. The prize was the first stuffed animal off the line. As you can guess Koala was the winner. The secretary won the stuffed animal and it sat in a place of honor in her livingroom until she passed on. It is now in a vault accessible only by a select few from the Department of Tourism. Even though the animal was not truly a bear the department head insisted bear be added to the name thus the Koala Bear is known around the world.

The ruse was only partially complete. There was much to do. First every zoo in Australia had to be outfitted with a couple of Koalas for display. The idea was to place them in y’s of the branches of gum trees with the explanation that they spend most of the time sleeping and only move very little at night when no one is allowed in the zoo. These stuffed animals would have small motors that allowed things like twitching ears and other minor movements. Over the years, as robotics progressed, this part of the marketing campaign has been very successful. There are now zoos where one can pet or even hold a Koala and they are very life like.

The next step was to indoctrinate every school kid in Australia, who by the way know Koalas don’t really exist, to point out Koalas in the wild to any tourist they run into. Of course the untrained eye would never be able to pick out a small ball of fluff sitting 30M above the ground in a gum tree so who is going to question it.

I discovered all this while walking on a forest trail at Binna Burra in the Lamington National Park about an hour west of Gold Coast. A beautiful park it is, with much forest that is viewed from very high up an Australian mountain.

The trail is groomed and easy to follow. In the literature its difficulty rating was 4 out of 5. I did not find it hard walking at all with a hard surface and actual stairs to traverse the changes in elevation. The scenery is great, well worth the time to get out of the city and commune with nature.

Which brings me back to Koalas. There are plenty of signs on the way to the national park indicating drivers should watch for Koalas as they may be crossing the road and no one wants a teddy bear as a hood ornament. So, upon arrivel at the national park one would expect it would be an excellent place to spot one of these visually elusive animals. The trail is not sidewalk smooth so I keep my head down when I am walking but every 100M or so I stop and look up into the gum trees to see if I can find a Koala. Not one. We walk 7 km which means I stopped about 70 times and looked up into the trees around and there are no Koalas. After that much searching and a little contemplation it was fairly easy to figure out all of us tourists have been hoodwinked. Personally I am OK with it, so far this trip has been quite enjoyable and even the pie in the sky idea of a Koala is a cuddly thought.

D has an appointment this morning so we hang out with M at the condo, which is just fine as it is raining. We research hotels in Brisbane, as we are spending two days there at the end of our trip, and book one.

Murray and I muse on how the type of traveling we are doing in Australia is quite different than traveling with a guide, like we did in Myanmar, Bhutan, Tanzania and Botswana. When traveling with a guide, gone is the stress of navigating and driving. Gone is the stress of finding a room for the night. Everything is taken care of – hotels, food, transport. All that is necessary is to look out the window at the wonderful sights going by. And a deep wallet!

A view of Surfer’s Paradise

D returns, we munch lunch and are off for a tour of “A Day in the Lives of D and M”. We first go to Griffith University and have a quick tour of where D spends her days. The building is called G40, which is the Health Center. We leave her there to do some studying and M, Murray and I drive to Bundle to see where M works for the City of Gold Coast. We visit the floor where he works and his coworkers are thrilled to meet us. We visit for a few minutes and say bye so we can go on a short walk around the park housing the Arts Center and Counsel Chambers. The rain has abated and the sun is shining on our easy day.

Morning destination, The Spit. This spit extends north from Main Beach/Surfer’s Paradise. The land has been claimed for what was in the 1970’s a narrow penninsula of sand. It is now built on, although not extensively and is somwhat manicured to keep a channel for boat access to the interior water ways. There is a lot of action at the end near the boat channel. A nice beach draws the swimmers and surfers, a causeway draws the walkers and fishers and a park draws the folks out for a day of relaxation.

Surf lessons at The Spit

On the return trip we pull the car into the fishermen’s co-op and buy fresh prawns right from the boat. Dinner tonite has now been confirmed.

This afternoon Debbie and I tram it to the iconic Surfer’s Paradise. If you have heard anything about the beach life in Australia you have heard of Surfer’s Paradise. The beach is amazing. 50M wide and kilometers long. The waves just keep rolling in and the people  swim even in the middle of winter.

Surfer’s Paradise

It is not far from M & D’s place and we need a little exercise so we decide to walk back. This takes us off the beach and along the main drag. This is where the action is. Funny though, it is not overly crowded, more like the downtown of a city. Lots of shops and hubbub but not elbow to elbow as Noosa is. Pretty touristy with shops such as the ‘Condom Kingdom’ front and center. The walk is along the ‘highway’ so not idillic but interesting enough.

After a bit of rest M and Debbie tackle cleaning the prawns. Heads, tails, shells and legs and then entrails. They cook up Chorizo and Prawn Pasta with a large green salad. We enjoy this delicious supper after another day touring.

The Gold Coast Marathon starts at 7:20 this morning. Murray and I calculate when they will run past the 30 km mark near M&D’s condo building. We walk out to the bridge at about 8:30. We can see the runners getting closer and closer by the helicopter hovering in the air above the lead group.

The Pace Runner

The lead group is small, they are following a pace runner. Mostly Japanese and Africans. The Africans legs would measure up to my shoulders they are so tall and lean and they are so graceful in their movements, and appear to run effortlessly.

The pack at the 30 km mark

We walk down closer to the finish line as we have time before the lead group gets there. We line up along the fence right at the corner where the runners go off the main road towards the finish line. We wait patiently and then we see the lights on the lead police vehicle. Two runners have broken away from the pack, Mungara from Kenya and Kawauchi from Japan.

As they round the corner, Mungara shows no expression on his face while the Japanese fellow looks to be in pain. They sprint to the finish, which is amazing since they just ran 42 kms. Mungara wins by one second at 2:09!

Now many of the faster age groupers are passing by, on the opposite side of the road, heading to the turn around before coming back to the finish line. An amazing 6,200 runners registered for the marathon. These ones are the speedsters, almost as fast as the elite athetes.

One of the marathon wheelchair athletes spins by. She looks like she has been working hard. I clap for her and her effort.

Shortly after, the first woman races by. A Japanese going hard for the finish line to finish in 2:26.

We watch for a little while longer, cheering for more and more runners coming to the home stretch. It is great to watch and cheer on these athletes, no matter what their time or ability is. Everyone of them is an inspiration.

We have a lazy morning. M&D are worn out. They need down time, so we hang out, watching and listening to Southport wake up. This weekend is the Gold Coast Marathon. Today is the 10 km, 5.7 km and two kid races. The loudspeaker wakes up at about 6:30 and we listen from our cocoon on the 18th floor. Tomorrow are the half and full marathon, and two wheelchair events, which we will go out to watch and cheer the runners on.

After lunch we four pile in the car and drive to Kirra Beach. It is about 40 minutes south of Southport, past Main Beach, Surfer’s Paradise, Broadbeach and Burleigh. Although the thermometer says 20 C, the wind is chilly. The lifeguard notice board says the water temperature is 19 C.

Murray and M brave the water and go for a swim, catching some of the 1 foot rollers that are coming in. D and I sit on the beach, reading and trying to hide from the wind. The water does look inviting and I want to go in, but I know how cold it is going to be, especially when I get out. I was going to bring a wetsuit hoodie to wear in the water, but I forgot it at the condo. RATS!

View of Surfer’s Paradise from Kirra Beach

Murray and M come out of the water to warm up. We watch a couple of surfer girls on long boards, kids playing at the water’s edge and families walking the beach. Only the hardier locals, and northern climate tourists, brave the water at this time of year.

Murray starts to go into the water for a second quick dip. I cannot resist the call of the ocean, and dive in after him. The cold water washes over me and my arms feel like they are in ice. I swim hard out from shore trying to warm up. The waves are breaking too far out for me to go body surfing, so I swim and frolic in the water and then make my way back to shore. Murray is right behind me. We quickly dry off, pack up and go to the bathrooms to doff our wet swim suits. Even after putting dry clothes on and a sweater, I am chilly. A hot shower will solve that.

One view from M&D’s condo.

We relax and swim and see more of the Gold Coast today. A good day.

Australians and ditch camping. Oh ya there are caravan parks (campgrounds) and some of them occupy some prime real estate. Right on the ocean’s edge with a beach below but it seems it is acceptable to camp just about anywhere. We mentioned the camping around the tourist info buildings or at least on the adjacents streets. OK as long as it is no longer than 48 hours. There is also the true ditch campers. A small pull off on the side of the highway or onto a flat piece of unfenced land and it makes a dandy place to hunker down for time. Quite free form for us anal retentive North Americans.

Road surfaces – Most of the highways we travel are what I think Aussies call ‘sealed’. I would call it chipped. Asphalt with rock chips embedded in it to make for a hard, more durable surface. Boy is it noisy. We had to raise our voices just to be heard. The concrete stretches were less noisy but still loud and then there is the unsealed or asphalt sections that are absolutely noiseless.

The allotment of space for vehicles is much less then in NA. It is bad enough we have to learn to drive on the wrong side of the road, the Aussies allow us less space to learn. The lane widths are smaller, probably not much but it is noticeable and we have to really concentrate with the passenger giving verbal coaching when we drift too far to the edge of the lane. Parking stalls are significantly narrower. We don’t have room to be crocked so if we are not centered we back out and try again.

The speed limits are higher for the quality of road. We are ripping along at 100km/hr on a road that would be labeled 80 in Alberta and a new sign appears allowing us to do 110. No change to the road just the speed limit. They also have many changes to the limits. The allowable speed changes for many things, built up areas, schools, constuction whatever and they always put the ‘slow too’ sign on a downhill forcing the driver to use the brake instead of just taking one’s foot off the gas.

The traffic safety people have a fixation with driver fatique. There are so many signs saying, take a break. Numerous strategies are employed. There are signs with triva questions, mostly Queensland trivia that we did not have a chance in hell of knowing the answers too but we did learn the highest mountain is Queensland is Bartel Frere. There are ‘driver revivier’ stations, rest areas with free coffee when the booth is open. Every few kilometers there is another rest stop, not fancy but a pull over area to grab a snooze. The signs employ little rhymes or sayings to catch one’s attention. One particular piece of good advice is ‘Don’t sleep and drive’.

The signage is quite poor. At every corner there may be a street sign telling you what street you are on, and what street you are crossing or there may not be a sign. Who decides where and when they are installed is a mystery. The direction signs showing what way out of a traffic circle (and there are many) you need to go are placed 3M from the circle forcing the decision to be instanteous and only maybe correct. Other highway type signage may or may not be there making driving a bit of a game for those that do not know the way.

The people are truly friendly. People on the street, cashiers in the corner store, the desk clerks at the hotel or the fellow renting cars are all friendly and have the gift of gab. Everyone wants to know where we are from, what we are doing here and how long we intend to be here.

The skyline near Southport

Our trip today is back to Southport. South on M1 into Brisbane and through the city to avoid the toll road. As I said above the signage is a little sparse and we did get lost a couple of times which can be stressful when the map you have is as much outline as it accurate guide but we eventually found our way and arrived exactly where we are suppose to be, at D & M’s condo. No ditch camping for us tonight.

Once again we arrive at dusk. It is not for lack of trying but the darkness is upon us. Hervey Bay is a complete surprise. I expected another small sea side town and holy cow it is a city, and quite a big one at that. It reminds us of Kelowna in Canada. The long avenue in is lined with all sorts of commercial buildings and it goes on for ever. We don’t have a real map just one photocopied from the Lonely Planet. We enter civilization and have no idea where we are. The map only covers the portion of the city by the water and we don’t even know where the water is. Eventually we get our bearings and find our way to the esplanade. We arrive at the furthest point along the seaside walk and since it is an area less traveled we find a cheap room again after dark. Still can’t seem to get that part right.

This morning is crisp but not quite jacket weather. A walk to the end of the 1100 M pier serves to wake us up. Into the car and we drive the length of the esplanade we missed last night. It is a really nice street. Mostly residential but there are a few small scale commercial areas and the occasional motel/hotel/resort.

It takes a few tries to get out of the city but once in the right direction it doesn’t take us long and we are on the highway south.  It is about 150 kms to Noosa our destination for today.

Right off the bat we encounter road works. This long section is not just a slow down in speed but three different sets of flagmen delaying our onward progress. Arriving in Gympie, a mere 75 kms away, 2 hours after we leave the hotel. Our goal today is to arrive in Noosa and find a hotel before it gets dark and already that looks in danger.

From Gympie on the traffic increases greatly. Finally about 12.30 we get to Noosa. It is not a big place but first glance it is quite crowded. The entire place looks like it has been built in the last 2o years. Very modern and upscale. As we drive further the traffic gets worse, both on the road and on the sidewalks. This isn’t looking good. We cannot even find a place to park and get our bearings. This is not our kind of place. A traffic jam from one end of town to the other and not an inch of sidewalk to spare. Have at ‘er if you enjoy that kind of holiday but the executive decision is made and we move on.

Frankly I would not recommend Noosa to anyone. It is off the map with overcrowding and pricing. The hotel we asked at was OK for the hotel, nice place for $130/night but wifi was $5/hour/device. Not that we want to spend our whole time on the computer but strickly on princple I would not stay there.

So on we go. The road continues along the ocean front and we head farther south, destination unknown. Debbie finds a possible destination, and to Mooloolaba we head. Our goal is still to be settled before sunset. The maps we have are a little sketchy and the trip is a bit stressful but the sign on the highway says Mooloolaba 12 km and we are feeling better. This town feels and looks way better than Noosa. Within 10 minutes we sight a couple of motels and the first one we stop at is good. The motel is 3 blocks from the beach and the wifi is included. Welcome to the 21st century. It is 3 pm and the sun is no where near the horizon. We even have time for our first swim in the ocean since diving.

Hervey Bay from the pier

We wake up in Yeppoon and hope to make it to Noosa today. It is about a 6 1/2 hour drive. Off we go.

Beach at Yeppoon

Our first stop isn’t too far down the road. We hike up a path to a lookout to see the Keppel Bay Islands. The view is beautiful with the sun reflecting on the water.

We also spy a couple of lengthy sandy beaches that would be great for swimming (if it wasn’t soooo cold and if it wasn’t low tide!).

I drive first today, so I am at the navigator’s (Murray) whimsy. As we drive through Rockhampton, he navigates us to the Rockhampton Zoo, which happens to be free. We spend an hour reacquainting ourselves with kangaroos, koalas, wombats, chimpanzees, crocodiles and the other zoo inhabitants.

Koala

We had been in Australia many years ago when our kids were younger, and seeing these animals brought back memories of when we were here last.

Wombat

We drive south through Gladstone, which has a huge coal fired power plant. We see conveyor belts running under the highway, over and highway and in the distance, most likely carrying coal to the plant.

As we drive south from Gladstone, we realize that we are not going to make it to Noosa before dark. We do not want to drive in the dark for two reasons. First, the kangaroos are a danger and second, it is hard to find a hotel to stay in in the dark. The street lighting is not as good here as back home, so we have driven by hotels not realizing they are there.

We make an alternate plan to stay the night in Hervey Bay. As the sun slowly sinks to the horizon, we, once again, arrive at our destination at dusk. Our timing is not very good.  Find another small motel to spend the night in and indulge in fish and chips from a popular take out shop two doors down.

Hopefully tomorrow we make Noosa!

Quiet night in Bowen. It was as if we were in the wilderness. No noise what so ever. Strange small town but if you want to get away from it all this seems like the place.

Bowen mural

Our first goal for the day is Airlie Beach just a few miles down the road. This is an upscale, modern and very busy corner of Queensland. It is busy today and this is mid winter. I don’t think I would want to visit in the summer but today we are able to park close to the beach and walk the esplanade without too much problem.

Airlie Beach

The town keeps the place in very good shape. The grounds near the beach are landscaped to rival an English garden. The maintance crew keeps the place looking great. The tide is out and we are unable to swim as the sand ends far above the waters’ edge but for those unable to hold themselves back there is a pool with a sand beach they call the Lagoon within sight of the water. Really nice place and totally worth a visit.

The road is much the same as yesterday. There are fewer cane fields. Mostly we pass ranches or farms and every now and then wilderness. Every few kilometers another outcropping of civilization appears and we have to slow down.

Art Deco building in Mackay

Next stop Mackay. Really nice small city. Everyone is friendly and no one is in a rush. We drive to the center of town and back out with no trouble what so ever. In town we wander the streets viewing the historic buildings and find the Cool Mango sandwich shop for lunch. I don’t know if it would be worth spending many days here but I would definately make a stop and see what is there.

The road continues south. There is not much between Mackay and Rockhampton. It is a lot of fast travel and rough country side. There is one long streatch where for some odd reason the speed limit jumps to 110 km/hr.

Does this look like a 110 km/her speed limit road?

The road it self is not appreciably different from any other part of the road but we up our speed to match what is posted and fly along with rest of the traffic. Now this should help us arrive at our goal sooner but the Australian road crews are out in full force and literally every 2 km there is another road works sign attached to a speed limit sign slowing us to 60 or 80 klicks.

The highway carnage continues and I am able to absolutely identify some of the road kill. Definately 3 kangaroos, I think one koala, several birds and an assortment of small mammals. One weird thing about travel here is we are not getting any bug splatter on the wind screen (shield). You would think in the tropical and semi tropical regions there would be a tremendous number of bugs to mess up the windows but there seems to be significantly less then there is at home. Maybe they are just smarter bugs????

One of the highlights of the day was seeing several herds??? of kangaroos. Once I spot one group I am able to find a few more. It is like finding creatures diving, once you have seen the critter the first time you seem to be able to pick them out easier. I think the Aussies consider the ‘roos’ pests but for us they are a novelty and we scare one group and get to watch them hop away. Almost out of some fantasy movie.

We want desperately to arrive in Yeppoon before it getsdark and we squeak in. The last vestigages of light were still apparent when we round the corner onto the beach front drive, spot a small motel and are able to register before dark. By the traffic noise I hear outside our door at 8pm I don’t think it will be anywhere near as quiet as last night.