We made it to Noosa Heads and found a great place for lunch, Quenchers. There was a backpackers nearby, so we booked a room for the night. I hung out and worked some while Joe went to the beach to check out the surf. Unfortunately, the waves were tiny, but at least he got some time in the water.
The next morning, we asked about staying another night and they said they were all booked up. We left and headed back to Quenchers for breakfast. We started looking for someplace to stay, but everything Joe checked was completely booked. We started even looking at the possibility of renting a camper van, but the caravan sites he checked were booked.. .. . He even checked inland more. They were booked. Basically it was looking like, sleep on the beach or go back to Brisbane.
He ended up striking up a conversation with the owners of Quenchers (we shared a small breakfast, hung out, then had an early lunch) and they ended up offering for us to stay in their campervan. We took them up on it. I really wanted to check out Noosa National Park and maybe see a koala, so we headed there. They had a board with a koala sighting on it! :D It was close by even, so we got to see a koala up a tree. First koala sighting, not in a zoo.
We did a short, 1km hike around a nice loop, then Joe wanted to do a longer, coastal hike. He left me in the park to read and hang out some. We met back up again later, had dinner, then headed to their house.
We chatted for quite a bit before heading to sleep. It was quite comfortable. We'll be back there again tonight. Hopefully we'll find a place for Sunday night by looking today though.
I'm using Joe's computer, so I haven't uploaded any photos to the computer yet. I'll post any, if there are any good ones, later.
-Miranda
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We didn't do much while on the Gold Coast. Joe tried surfing a couple mornings and mostly got beat up. On the other mornings we went for a jog. That was a bit painful. Been a while.
We left Saturday morning to head back to Brisbane. I had looked up places where I could possibly see a koala (not in a zoo) and Noosa National Park was one place mentioned. Joe found a lady that was renting out a room south of there, so we booked a night.
There is a great vegetarian place in Brisbane where you get a lunch plate of yummy food, a drink and dessert all for $12. On our way back to the train station to start our trip north to the Sunshine Coast, I managed to misstep off the curb and sprain my ankle.. . . . Joe got to carry both packs while I hopped the 5 blocks or so to the station. We then road the train and bus for almost 4 hours to get to the place we're staying.
The apartment is great, the lady is really nice. She's already been super helpful. She has a pseudo ice pack and is letting me use her hiking stick to walk around. We have through Tuesday night paid, so I guess I'll just be getting work done. :p
-Miranda
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We decided to try and find someone that had a room for rent to stay with instead of staying in a hostel. We ended up finding one in Surfer's Paradise. It's not too far of a walk to the main area of the town and to the beach. The guy that owns the place is rarely here. He works in Brisbane, so leaves at 6am and doesn't get back until around 7pm. It basically feels like we have the place to ourselves.
This morning, we headed out so Joe could try some more surfing before the sun got too hot. It wasn't great, but he still was able to catch some waves and have some fun. Since then, we've basically been at the apartment getting some work done. Nothing too exciting.
-Miranda
Australian Coot and young with Iguana watching from the water in the Botanic Gardens in Brisbane.
Sunset view of the place we're staying (we're on the 11th floor).
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We ended up leaving Brisbane and talking the train south to the Gold Coast. We found a hostel here and are staying for maybe a few days.
This morning we walked to "Surfer's Paradise" to check it out. We rented a surf board so Joe could play in the waves some. Unfortunately, we picked a bad place to start. He was basically in a river and spent basically all the time paddling. When we moved to a different area, he was definitely more successful. I went out and played some, but I've mostly decided that surfing isn't for me. I really don't like getting beat up by the water.
-Miranda
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Yesterday, we left Katoomba and headed back towards Sydney. Unfortunately, as soon as we got off the train, Joe wondered where his jacket was... He had left it in the kitchen at the hostel. Whoops. At least it was the blue Columbia one instead of the nicer wind/rain jacket. Hopefully we'll be sticking to warmer areas so he shouldn't need it.
Anyway after finding lunch, we headed back to the train station to decide what to do next. Our general plan was to head to Brisbane, but we couldn't decide if we should do a hop-on hop-off bus or train. After looking at maps and prices and thinking about it more, we decided to just take the deal they were offering and take the train straight to Brisbane. We had no idea where a good place to stop would be, plus we just don't have enough time to see 'everything'. There looks like there's plenty to do around Brisbane. I'm sure we'll be kept busy.
The train left at 4:12 yesterday and arrived at 6:30 this morning. Since then, we've been wondering parks and trying to decide on a place to stay. Lots of parks around, so it should be fun.
-Miranda
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