Australia: Queensland

On Saturday 7th April we drove to Brisbane. We stayed at the well located Swiss Belhotel on the South Bank for 3 nights. It's a great, reasonably priced hotel with free parking. Brisbane is a nice small city. I am sure it's an ideal place to bring up kids with good weather and nothing edgy. Southbank has been well developed with gardens, parks and a man - made beach. We spent the evening in the young people's party haven, Fortitude Valley. On Sunday we pub crawled through West End watching rugby sevens and the Commonwealth Games on TV. We met up with Nikki and Robin at The Bearded Lady where he found the finest hand-pulled beer of his trip and we loved the live jazz band.

On Monday we explored the CBD and rode the city hopper ferry up and down the river. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday we traveled through the hinterland visiting places like Canungra and Mt. Tambourine. We spent the night at O'Reillys Mountain Retreat in the Lamington National Park which is part of the Gondwana Rainforest World Heritage Site. We enjoyed the birdwatching but I felt a bit homesick for a trip to the real African bush.

I have become pretty good at finding the right accommodation in the right place at the right price and we were glad to be right in the middle of the Broadbeach action at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Live bands and entertainment every day and late into the night.

We attended Hockey and Athletics. India came from behind to beat England in the hockey in the last 5 minutes of the game, with the dramatic move of swopping their goalie for an 11th field player. South Africa didn't do too badly overall at the games with stars like Caster Samenya and Akani Simbine.

We caught the 24hr "Spirit of Queensland" train from Brisbane to Cairns on 14th April. The sleeper cabins were more like beds on first class flights, with meals served on trays but it was a fun and easy wasy to travel. We spent a couple of days in Cairns visiting Port Douglas and Palm Cove. The sub-tropical jungle is great around there and we did some wonderful bird watching. Many species, especially all the parrot types are very colourful.We had to visit a zoo to see the Cassowary and the Koala but we did see Emus and plenty of wallaby and kangaroo species in the wild.

 

We rented a car to drive back down to Brisbane. Farming dominates the central Queensland area with sugar cane further north and cattle further south. The beaches of the Sunhine Coast are lovely and Noosa is a great beach town, just a bit too trendy and very expensive. This Queensland route is very popular with campers and caravaners; students or retirees and free camping in parks along the highway or at the beaches is very common.

The Great Barrier Reef stretches for 2300kms along this North Eastern coast of Australia and very sadly 50% of it was destroyed in 2016 and 2017 due to bleaching caused by increases in water tempretures, especially in the north. We didn't dive this time but we realised how lucky we are to have dived here in the past.

Our final few days were spent in a rather rainy Brisbane but we are planning on being back sometime...life in easy in Aussie if you aren't on a budget!

Australia : Northern NSW

We landed in Brisbane, met Nikki and Robin and drove 4 hours south for a night in Coffs Harbour. Next day, a spot of Marlin fishing was followed by a drive back up to Byron Bay. It's a laid back beach town that's been invaded by hipsters and celebrities but it still seems to have a cool vibe. We loved Arcadia Guesthouse and enjoyed the beer and music at the Friendly Railway Bar.

On Thursday 28th March we moved to Magnolia House in Ewingsdale with Dave and friends. Nice digs! Good for hanging out after the fest with cheese and wine at 2am. Like a school midnight feast for the foodie 50 somethings. The Byron Bay Blues Festival runs for 5 days each Easter. It was one of the best organised festivals we have ever been to, with an amazing international line-up. We went every day. Thursday and Monday were quieter and therefore more enjoyable; Sunday pretty busy.

Seal, Jackson Browne, Lionel Richie, Robert Plant, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Rag n Bone Man, the Wailers, Chic, Walter Trout, California Honey Drops, Michael Franti, Hussy Hicks to name our favourites. The variety of food trucks and the quality of the food was great but the price of drinks and food was eye-wateringly expensive! It was still good to meet up with the Ewingsdale bunch as well as Nikki and Robin, Colin and Jenni, Richard and Shaz inbetween shows for a beer or a glass of wine in Neil's favourite craft beer tent.

We spent 4 days with Colin and Jenni at their country home in Fernleigh.We visited a lot of good spots like Bangalow, Mullumbimby, Brunswick Heads, Lennox Heads and Ballina. Nice beaches, good restaurants and funky shops. Not to mention the fun company and excellent wines and whiskey.