A little less brief, from Coolum Beach

Well, we're whiling away our final days at Coolum Beach. Kev has not been feeling all that well (I had a day of it too) and so we've spent a lot of time hanging out in the car with all the doors open for a breeze. I have been through two books and we are sure that our neighbours are sick of seeing us tromp back and forth to the bathroom in bathing suits. I've got clothes on today.

Anyways, since we last left off, Kev and I booked a dive in the Town of 1770, southernmost access to the Great Barrier Reef. The day before Kev surfed while Rose took pictures and tried to dry a tent that was flapping its way along the beach, most definitely annoying anyone in the vicinity. The next day, the dive was cancelled but we jumped on a tour trip to a different spot, Lady Musgrave, a trip for which diving was an add on. It was a huge boat, quite well loaded and very well prepared for seasickness - with good reason. Kev spent his time at the back, while I stayed up top and made good use of their seasick preparedness plan. It was great, under the circumstances. On arrival, we had a little snack and were taken out onto the water. Just before our dive, the guide spotted a 9 foot tiger shark right by the boat, something she hadn't seen in her 4 years there. Great. She assured us we were going down elsewhere. The dive itself was quite good, we saw a little reef shark and 3 turtles which look so incredibly chilled out as they swim. The coral was good too.

We got back and I felt sick more or less immediately. After some recovery time and lunch, Kev had a tour on a glass bottomed boat then we both went snorkelling in the island's coral lagoon. It was pretty incredible - the highlight being Kev swimming over a turtle. All things considered it was a very cool day.

Turtles dominated those few days as we also visited a turtle rookery and got to watch a turtle lay her eggs, cover them and return to see. We later relocated them because apparently, she left them too low. They are very cool to watch and hopefully don't mind us too much, even as they cry salty tears.

We since drove down to Coolum Beach and have not been up to much. Just trying to stretch out our last few days before returning home. From sand to piles of snow from what I understand.

3 Second Post

We're camping in a caravan park on the beach. There's a giant lizard, a turkey and some funky bugs. Oh and ducks, but no wetlands. We are very confused.

More tomorrow.

Quick FYI

Since it's been six days I thought that I should let anyone who's still paying attention know that we're alive. We made it to Brisbane just fine. My friend Caroline and her boyfriend Ambor were able to pick us up, which was great. We had a very brief visit and were able to spend the night saving us money and another hostel - THANK YOU!

The next morning we took the train to a bus to a ferry to a bus on North Stradbroke Island. Our hostel was on a beautiful beach and we enjoyed the waves, sand and sunshine...I also enjoyed a monster nap. Too bad when I woke up to go and eat I stepped on what we now think was a jellyfish (didn't see it though the beach was later covered in them) and has taken about five days to recover from completely. I literally thought that my toe was going to rocket off at first. Between that and some mosquito bites I had a rough sleep or two but otherwise everything was good. We walked the next day around the gorge spotting surfers, manta rays, turtles, and a bunch of dolphins - a cool but unexpected highlight! We found it quite beautiful and it was a great way to spend a couple of days. We returned to Brisbane and stayed two nights there, walking, looking for places to live in Victoria, watching movies, and spending some time with my other friend, Matt, who proved to be a good tour guide.

Yesterday we got our 3rd and final rental car "Ponyboy" a Ford Falcon station wagon with beauty written all over it. We did NOT get lost on the way out of the city but were practically stopped for 1/2 hour for some roadwork. We spent the day at the Australia Zoo yesterday, home and brainchild of Steve Erwin, better known as the Crocodile Hunter. It was a pretty good zoo focussed on conservation. We got to pet koalas, kangaroos, and I fed an elephant.

Last night we found a beach town and slept in the parking lot (with a few other VW vans and other ugly station wagons). This morning we hit the beach waves which were the biggest I've ever played in and now we're on our way North, to we're not sure where yet. We're still trying to book a scuba dive in Australia, not sure what will come of that. Until soon.

The Great Ocean Road - not for the weary

Whew...I'm still trying to slow my breathing after our speed trip along the Great Ocean Road. A little like the Oregon Coast in places but with koalas and other creatures along the way, it's a beautiful and winding drive through the southernmost edge of the state of Victoria.

We picked up the car yesterday morning (me as sole driver because Kev's too expensive to insure with this company) and after taking the wrong turn once and making a cute loop through the city started on our way. There's plenty of places to stop for a view, a walk, a waterfall and so on. We stopped at a grocery store (in Anglesea) to pick up some food for lunch then at the next town (Lorne) we stopped at an information centre to speak with the most enthusiastic person ever. She listed enough for us to do to keep us busy for a month while scribbling away on a map the whole time. We did take her up on the Erskine falls and a caravan park where the owner lets you spot koalas. We saw a bunch, mostly just hanging out, hoping that if they got high enough the tourists would stop trying to take pictures of them I suspect.

We arrived where we were staying in Apollo Bay, a great homey (but breezy place) and had some dinner, then went for a walk in town. The next morning we drove out to the "12 apostles", of which there are currently only 9. They are remainders of cliff that have yet to be blown away by wind and sea - a pretty incredible sight. Unfortunately, we (Kev) miscalculated the length of our drive back and at 2:30 we realized we had to have the car back at 5:00 pm and were 2.5 hours from Melbourne (our destination). Panic and yelling ensued, all while Rose drove through windy roads (carefully I promise, I wasn't that angry) and swore at "tourists". After barely finding our way back to the rental place a full FIVE minutes before 5:00, I was feeling pretty strung out but all worked well.

Now we catch a plane to Brisbane - the hotter area. We'll spend the remainder of our time there and the surrounding area. My friend Caroline will be kind enough to pick us up at the airport tonight, a treat we haven't had to date!

Check in soon.

Tasmanian Speed Tour

We're now back on the mainland, in the city of Melbourne for a few days, trying to get organized today. We may have to start looking for a place to live in Victoria which dampens the fun briefly.

Tasmania was amazing. Beautiful, quiet, peaceful and fun. It was great to have our independence with the rental car. We spent some time at Port Arthur, arguably Australia's most famous penal colony where convicts were sent from England if there wasn't much hope for them: escapees, etc. It was one of the best tourist attractions I have ever been to. At first, Kev and I thought it was a bit expensive but when we realized how well put together everything was without being cheesy or over the top we were very impressed. There were many remaining buildings from when the colony shut down in 1877, we had a tour of the grounds, a harbour tour out to the "Isle of the Dead" the colony cemetary, and could spend as much time as we desired on the grounds. We also received playing cards representing specific convicts and were able to follow their stories. My convict faired better than Kev's - haha.

We then drove North up the East coast and did an 11KM hike to a beautiful spot called Wineglass Bay and another beach called Hazards. It was a great way to see some amazing stuff and we spotted a couple kangaroos up close and personal - mostly in the parking lot!

The last day we went even further North to see more incredible beaches including Binalong Bay and the Bay of Fires. We can't believe that the water is so green but so cold. It's very strange for us. Oh and we saw an Echidna, a funny looking guy we'll have to post a pictures of. Half turtle half porcupine, I swear.

A little time in the city now before we fly up to Brisbane and cap off our trip with some fun in the sun.

Happy December all.