calling up from down under: shivering along the sunshine coast

Driving anywhere in rush hour traffic is difficult ...but you can ask my mumma all about what's involved in such a task when trying to get onto the highway to get out of Brisbane in rush hour traffic when we aren't even sure where we're going while on the wrong side of the road. Let's just say it took longer than the trip up the coast did and it involved getting on the wrong free-way, having to deal with a roundabout to get off, then it involved a series of awkward left turns to avoid the intimidating right turn situation.

So finally we got out and we were on the road up the Sunshine Coast with Noosa as our final destination. A luxurious villa complete with a pool and our own private facilities for the next three nights was waiting for us at the end. On our way, we figured we were now experts with the whole touring and site-seeing situation so we decided to take matters into our own hands. We took a nice scenic detour off the highway and drove along a twisting and windy country road, through farm fields and rural area until we came to a lookout area out across the Glasshouse Mountains!

"Craggy volcanic peaks that tower above the surrounding landscape are so significant that they are listed on the Queensland and National Heritage Register as a landscape of national significance"

So that was just a quick stop which was a nice break in our driving. We weren't far from Noosa now, the sun was setting and it was getting chilly so we just couldn't wait to get snug and settled in our temporary home. We finally arrived after a very, very long day... remember, this day started in my last blog post. We were on a plane from Cairns to Brisbane this morning, in Brisbane all day... and now we were in Noosa. Man, was I ever hungover and ready to crash at this point. We grabbed the best fish & chips either of us had ever had ever... mmm I had this fish called Barramundi (which are found in the Indo-West Pacific region from the Persian Gulf, through Southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea and Northern Australia) so you won't be getting this delicious fish up in our parts AND I had the option to get a crumbed batter, another delicious touch! Then we settled in to our apartment which seemed a bit chilly but we were so zonked at this point and had to be up early the next morning for our tour to Fraser Island!

Classic 6a.m wake-up.. and there is a huge 4WD vehicle that pretty much looks like a tank that is waiting to take us to first Rainbow Beach and then, yet another "World Heritage Site", Fraser Island!!

Rainbow Beach.

A glorious sight!! Although we were not suited for a swim on that chilly morning it was a beautiful place to catch some fresh air! Rainbow Beach gets it name because its a beach... oh yeah, AND they say that there are 70 different pigments saturating the tall sand dunes! It was just stunning! Beautiful! It was just... and I, I... you know how I feel about rainbows...

Fraser Island.

Just a short ferry ride and we were on the largest sand island in the world! We thought for a second that maybe we should have just driven our little rental car over and toured the island on our own... but boy oh boy would we have made a huge mistake. No roads. Just sand.... EVERYWHERE! So we started our island tour driving along 75 Mile Beach in that big 4WD vehicle, and yeah you read me... driving, on the BEACH. Sand! Everywhere! Wild. The reason for the name of 75 Mile Beach is quite obvious and knowing the Aussie's, I'm sure they claim it as being either the longest beach in the world and if not that, the longest beach in Australia. Anyways, at this time of the day there was plenty of beach to drive on and mozie along, whereas when we were driving along on our way home at the end of the day it turned into a race against the tide and the great beach of a road got narrower and narrower as we sped along. We came across some fresh water rivers that ran out across the beach into the ocean as well as plentiful deposits of pumice which is strange seeing as there are no volcanoes close by.

Once we pulled off the beach we went through the thick of the Fraser Island forest/rainforest/beach/greenery area. Driving on sand is no pleasant experience, let me tell you that. We were bumping, bouncing and rocking and rolling all over the place... I seriously thought our vehicle was going to tip right over! Fraser Island is also the only place in Australia, and I suppose the world with pure-bred dingoes! So you know what that means! Keep your children close... we don't want no dingoes eatin' no babies! Don't worry, mumma took good care of me... good thing there were signs reminding her to! So due to the dingo threat, we ate our lunch in a gated pen before we headed down to see the famous Lake McKenzie. We took a path and came upon some wooden dock-like steps that we took down to the lake...where the tide was in so we didn't get the full Google Images effect. Where are we again? Muskoka? We're in a fresh water lake surrounded by pine-looking trees... it looked an awful lot like home if you ask me, oh yeah except for the pure white silica sand that I polished my silver necklace with! Australia is a weird place.

We also saw some of the rainforest action on the island. This included a really super clear and fresh water creek, as well as some really neat white gym trees that look like they belonged in Rivendell being lived amongst by elves. Magical. There were also these really cool palm type plants that are unable to live on and grow out of the sandy ground (because the entire ground is sand! everywhere.) so they live and grow symbiotically out of the trees. Neat-o.

So that was pretty much it for the day. We headed back onto 75 Mile Beach in the 4WD and had to motor over to the ferry, racing the incoming tide! It was gaining on us when we spotted some dingoes on the beach! We had a quick minute to get out and take some pictures but then we had to get on our way again. The sun was setting and it was getting chilly. I mean, it never got super hot that day anyways and now without the sun we were left with a deep chill from being outside all day. We grabbed a delicious steak and mushroom pie on the way and couldn't wait to get back to our warm little villa house!

........TOO BAD IT WAS THE COLDEST PLACE ON EARTH WITH NO MEANS OF HEATING! We literally resorted to turning the shower on as hot as we could and kept running the kettle hoping the steam would provide some warmth while we also continually turned on the toaster on its highest heat AND we were already wearing every article of clothing we had and blankets. I know, I know.. we're from Canada right? That's what all the Aussies would say, but this cold was just different. Deep. Damp. Chill to the bone. Brrrrrrr.

Eumundi Markets

Finally, a bit of a sleep in! Today was going to be a fun day. We were lucky it was a Wednesday because that meant the Eumundi day market was open so we checked that out while we were on our way to our main attraction for the day... the Steve Irwin Australia Zoo!! It was pretty much just your average market, a scene that I've become all too familiar with in these past few months. The highlight of this one was probably the delicious sweet treat of Rocky Road that we came across and indulged in. Marshmellows, chewy candy bits, nuts, covered in chocolate...oohhhh my yummmm.

The Australia Zoo: The Home of the Crocodile Hunter

The Steve Irwin Zoo... which has now been taken over by paraphernalia inspired by his daughter Bindi... Bindi this, Bindi that, Bindi here, there, up, down, in, out, everywhere. Ugh. We were pretty sick of this friggen Bindi chick by the end of the day, I'll tell you that much haha. But this zoo was started by Steve Irwin for him to keep and help crocodiles that he captured from the wild and other animals that he would rescue as well. So we got to see heaps of crocodiles, we even saw a crocodile show where the zookeepers fed them and got them to jump out of the water and stuff! Crikey! There was also a Koala sanctuary, where we got to meet our best friend Frankie and some of the most active koalas you'll ever see a haven where we got to hang with some kangaroos!! I mean, it was a pretty cool zoo but the $60 entry fee was a littttttttttttttttttttttle overkill... I mean their African section consisted of a rhino, and a couple giraffes in the same cage... just chillin. Pretty lame. Nothin' on the Toronto Zoo that's all I gotta say but yolo, right?