Happy New Year. Here's hoping that 2014 is a good one for you.
Since our last blog we've been experiencing a bit more of what it's like to actually live in Oz by staying with 2 lots of friends.
We started off with Duck & Claire in Noosa, arriving on the 23rd Dec. They were house sitting & also had another couple staying with them called Andy & Claire. Our first night was pretty chilled with pizza & drinks (perhaps a few too many!) outside. The next morning Gary played golf with Duck, Andy & Andy's brother Matt. This involved getting up at 5am to be at the course for tee off at 6.20am, but as it was golf Gary was excited rather than displaying his usual morning grump. Evidently it seems that playing down under agrees with him as he had a great round & won!
Whilst the blokes were playing golf the two Claire's, plus Matt's girlfriend Sarah, & I went to enjoy Noosa beach. Felt slightly odd to be on a beach before 8am but it was already busy with joggers, surfers, families etc & it was actually a great time to enjoy it as it wasn't completely baking yet. We also had a little shop along Hastings Street & then met the guys for lunch at the golf club, which was really nice. Gary got lots of pictures of all the kangaroos that joined them on the course. Thank god he had a good round otherwise some of those kangaroos would be sporting golf ball size bruises!
Christmas morning started off on the beach, which I thought would feel weird but would actually be very easy to get used too, if someone could just have a word with whoever's in charge of UK weather please! The others had plans for Xmas afternoon so Gary & I had the house to ourselves & made a turkey roast dinner (a bit left field from what we'd have back home but close enough). Was so nice to cook in a kitchen with decent stuff & not be trying to manoeuvre around 30 other people. In the evening we walked the dog that Duck & Claire were looking after. He's called Raffa & was the sweetest thing. We also cycled down to the river, which burned off some of the roast & allowed room for the Xmas treats of chocolate & shortbread that we'd bought!
On the way back from our ride we stopped at an empty kids park near the house & Gary was made up to see that it had a roundabout. He decided to spin it & then jump on it as it was moving as he'd done when he was a kid. Not sure if it's just because he's older or because roundabouts in Oz are more hardcore but he ended up kind of slumped in the middle & complained that his hip had gone. He needed me to stop it, which was quite a challenge as I was pissing myself laughing. It was made even more amusing as he still had his bike helmet on (which you legally have to wear over here, when riding bikes obviously, not on kids roundabouts!!)
On Boxing Day Claire & Duck took us to a really quiet beach that you reach through a national park. That night we went out for a lush meal in town & had a few drinks. We learnt our favourite new Aussie phrase here, 'too easy', which we now use daily. It basically means no worries but sounds really funny in certain contexts like when you order a meal & the waiter says it as you wonder if you should pick something more challenging for the chef to cook! The next day was pretty chilled as we were catching the bus in the afternoon.
We were sad to leave Noosa, Duck, Claire & Raffa. Thanks so much for having us guys. Hope you got your next accommodation sorted.
Next stop was Aroona to stay with the Barden's, who lived next door to my family for about 5 years. This resulted in me feeling massively old as I babysat their son, who is now at Uni & driving! They have an amazing house, which has made it even harder to return to hostels. We had a yummy BBQ on night one & enjoyed the swimming pool & pool table (although I still can't play to save my life).
The next day they took us to the popular Emundi markets (which Gary wasn't thrilled about until I told him they had lots of food stalls). They were really nice to walk around although it was scorching. Jeff then took us on a tour of some of their local beaches. There are about 20 within a 10 min drive of their house. The ones we saw were stunning & yet again they all had spotlessly clean facilities. Jeff also showed Gary how to make his own beer, which he wants to do on his return (heaven help us).
That night we went to a local members club at the marina for dinner, with some of their friends. We also went to the rock & roll bar where their youngest son Josh works (he's only 16, but you can start working from 14 over here & don't need to be 18 to serve alcohol). Him & the owner guy got up on stage to play some tunes with Josh on the drums. He's never had a lesson in his life & just learnt by watching YouTube clips. He's only been playing a year & he's amazing. The other guy would play the opening lines of the song on the guitar & Josh would just pick up the beat. We felt very untalented!
We were gutted to be leaving the next day & could have quite happily stayed a few more days, if not forever! We decided to do Australia Zoo the next day as our bus was leaving from there late afternoon. Sam, who was also staying with the Barden's, came with us. On the way to the zoo Jeff took us to some cool places, including the house that they built a few years back in a rural area called Mooloolah (love that name) & an amazing look out point where you can see the glasshouse mountains.
Where to start with Australia Zoo. It was such a good day. I wouldn't have said I was much of a Steve Irwin fan beforehand but I developed a new respect for him & it was quite sad seeing the film footage of him. We got to see some cassowaries so Gary was happy (I still think they're the weirdest things). We also got to see some 4 month old tiger cubs & hand feed kangaroos. Terri, Bindi & Robert Irwin did a show at 12pm, which was really good, although before this Bindi came on stage with her group called the Jungle Girls & performed some of the cheesiest songs, which are still stuck in my head! The animals are all really well cared for & Jeff told us beforehand that when Steve was alive he'd frequently visit the zoo unannounced & if any keeper was feeding the animals food that wasn't fit for human consumption then he'd make the keeper eat it first & then fire him. The only downside of the day was that it was just shy of 40 degrees, so we were all sweaty Betty's!
It was then on to Brisbane. We were staying in a new YHA hostel there, which was pretty nice, although a lot of people. There was a hilarious guy on reception who used to randomly read poetry over the intercom. On the first day we did a bit of shopping at Queen Street Mall & then headed across to South Bank for some lunch & a wander. They had a big lagoon here, which was nice but not as good as the others we'd seen.
The next day was New Year's Eve. During the day we went to Lone Pine Koala sanctuary, which was great. We both got to hold a koala, who was called Byron. He was heavier than I thought at 7kg but luckily I didn't drop him. There were a couple of baby koalas who were adorable. They're born around 35 days old & are teeny, they basically look like a pink jellybean. They then stay in their mums pouches for about 6 months while they grow. Gary decided that he'd like to come back as a koala in another life as they sleep for 18-20 hours a day, only waking for food & mating! We also fed kangaroos & wallabies here & watched a sheepdog show including a shearing demonstration. They earn about $2.50 per sheep they shear & can do around 200 a day (although the record is 562) so no guesses what new career Gary is contemplating!
In the evening we went on a pub crawl that the hostel organised (I know, pretty wild for us!) The first pub had a roof terrace so we watched all the fireworks they do at 8.30pm. The second pub was also really nice, with a good band. The third one was heaving so we decided to head towards the river for midnight. We stopped off at the casino quickly first, which was massive. We went on a roulette machine & managed to lose $10 in about 2 seconds as we hadn't realised that was set as the minimum bet! Luckily we managed to win this back. We then got ourselves in a prime position opposite the Brisbane Wheel to welcome in the New Year (complete with a massive slice of pizza each!) The fireworks were amazing so I can't even imagine what the Sydney display must be like. We then trotted back to the hostel stopping at the 7-11 for $1 hot drinks - our best bargain discovery, along with 80 cents water in Woolies (the tap water in most places tastes of mud!)
Gary didn't rate Brisbane at all, I think mainly because he's not a city person. He compared it to the Tricorn in Portsmouth, which I think is a little harsh! Granted it had more grey concrete than Perth but it also had some nice areas I thought. We have been in beach places for a while though so that probably made it seem even more drab in comparison. He did perk up at the topless barbers though, which also serves boob pizza (I think this just means 2 pizzas!)
We're now in Surfers Paradise & will be moving on to Byron Bay tomorrow but we'll cover them in a separate post as this is far too long already. We just don't want to forget anything about the trip so it's helpful to record it here.
As always keep in touch & let us know what's happening with you.
G & C x
