Travel Home Day

 I don't feel I have anything to write but I guess deep down I have something to say.

It is home ward travel day. Currently in Melbourne it is April 1, 2023 and 10am in the morning. Our first flight is to Auckland New Zealand with a three hour lay over and then at 8pm Auckland time we fly to Vancouver, still April 1 and when we arrive in Vancouver it is 1pm April 1.. Literally the longest day of travel.

It is bittersweet. Australia is a beautiful country and warm. Oh the warmth is so beautiful. I am amazed that I was able to be on vacation for three weeks. This is the longest vacation I have taken in my working career. I have enjoyed the places we have visited, the people we have met, and the journey we have embarked on and am sad to go, but I look forward to seeing my friends and family back home.

Take care of the memories, smile at the destinations, and remark upon the journeys.

Gold Coast - 3 day adventure

 Well... we did not do much here or see much here.

Upon arriving we dropped our bags and headed for groceries, as per usual on all our arrivals in new locations.

After carting the groceries back to the apartment, we ventured to the Ocean to see what all the surf hype was about. These waves are for the experts, the equipped, the locals, not us Canadian folk. Wave after wave pounding on the shore no reprieve for the weak, faint, or inexperienced swimmer as you got through one wave you were immediately hit with another! Thankfully there was a pool, hot tub, and sauna at the apartment. Now we're talking. The first and only hot tub of our trip. The weather here is cooler, highs of 30* during the day and lows of 22* but not a hot 22* more of a manageable temperature.

The weather turned ugly but very delighted we stumbled along a mall on our journey down the esplanade. Inside the mall we located a Timezone, which is a large indoor games center with bowling, laser tag, bumper cards, and games you play to win tickets (which you cash in at the end for prizes). I spent $60 for Erik to have fun playing games indoors while it rained outdoors. We also came across a Ripley's Believe it or Not and went for a stroll through the amazing artifacts that Ripley had located in his life, along with some optical illusions that he discovered. All in all we enjoyed our time spent hanging out doing kids stuff together.

Erik's big prize from Timezone which we need to package home is a Basketball...glad they had a deflated one I can tuck away in my suitcase.

Each morning we swam in the pool, each afternoon we swam in the pool. Blessed to have some relax time in before heading home to life and work.

And that it... we saw a mall, a swimming pool, and part of the esplanade!

Sunshine Coast Day 3- Noosa Heads

 

Today we ventured by city bus to Noosa Heads in the Noosa National Park. For $10 an adult and $5 a child we received a day pass to hop on and off the city bus as we wished. First stop, the Cotton Tree Market. One small city block and the market was over, but we did happen to find some nice rings to purchase for family members back home. The rings appear to be oil slick! We were under the impression the markets were a big deal on the Sunshine Coast, but we were wrong.

Back on the Bus we travelled about an hour through the suburbs, over some motorways (highway in Canada), and along some narrow streets before arriving at our destination. Noosa is filled with niche eateries and shops at the main bus junction station as well as shops all along the Noosa Heads section where we hopped off. Meandering our way past small stores and through eateries we found the main beach of Noosa which is lifeguard patrolled within the flags and the beach was filled with many families for a Sunday morning swim and surf.

We did not stop there, we turned around, decided we needed a gelato to start our soon to be hike through the National Park. MMM gelato is so yummy. Assimilated and ready to hike we found our way to the information booth to collect our map and be on our way. The path was a beautiful boardwalk with holes cutout for trees, handrails bent to go around trees, and benches along the path for resting. I love the natural preservation that took place in developing the access along the Ocean. The next part of the path was paved, where we came across fairy pools (small pools of water atop the rocks formed when the tide goes out), private beaches (for public access by foot only), and a boiling pot (the way the ocean crashed into the rocks from all directions made the white swirls of water appear like a boiling pot of water upon a cookstove).

After making it as far as we wished to walk, we turned back to access one of the private beaches along the pathway. Thinking this was going to be the best dip in the Ocean of the whole trip. Excitedly we’re trying to take off our socks and shoes and race to the water to be the first one in. Erik won! We ran in dove in the water splashed in a few waves and then kind of looked at each other and stated coincidently, “I feel like I’m being bit.” Now it was a race to get out of the water. So much for the best little beach around.

Back at the main beach we enjoyed a picnic lunch in the shade then made our way to the bus station. Once the bus halted at the station all passengers exited Grandpa decided we were close to a store called Silly Solly’s. So, on an adventure to find this place we went. We walked into a mall which appeared to be alongside a canal waterway, after taking a few more steps we could see that there were many bridges all along the canal that went over to the other side which was all part of the mall. After confirming from the directory that Silly Solly’s does exist in this mall we needed to find it! The mall was huge! At Silly Solly’s we purchased candy as this store is a dollar store and Erik’s eyes lit up for candy.

After having dinner at the apartment, we decided our bus day passes were still valid, so we hopped on a bus heading to the Sea Life aquarium/Marina area to experience some night life on the town!

Sunshine Coast Day 2

 Today was relaxing and enjoyable. After a full good nights sleep we were able to enjoy what the Sunshine Coast is know for to the locals, good surf! We were able to borrow some beach towels from the apartment manager and spend a few hours in the Ocean splashing in the waves, building sand monuments, and burring Erik from head to toe in the sand. Erik is definitely a water baby and enjoys the water for hours on end at any given time when you place him near water. As he splashed around with Grandpa excitedly and waved to me at shore, while I caught some downtime, the surf rescue team were a little concerned for his safety. Erik displayed the universal sign for help me, while trying to obtain my attention, waving both hands over his head! With their floatation devices strapped around their bodies the two lifeguards waded in the water a few meters to then realize that Erik was just waving ashore to someone...

After swimming in the Ocean we ventured back to the apartment rinsed the sand off our bodies, the Sunshine Coast sand is so fine, excellent at exfoliating, and sticks to every crevasse of your skin. We then jumped in the pool for another hour of splash time. The pool and the Ocean are roughly the same temperature sitting at a whopping 26*C, refreshing for me, I can last about an hour in that temperature of water!  Throw in a little mini golf and table tennis to call it a day. Thank you Australia.

Barbeque Lamb and Chicken for dinner fixed with baby potatoes, bok choy, and salad mmm, mmm, mmm. Finishing the evening with National Lampoons Vegas Vacation on the couch with popcorn, drinking tea, absolutely exhausted.

Sunshine Coast - Mooloolaba

 

We have safely arrived in Mooloolaba. This is the first picture I took. We were dropped off by the Greyhound on the side of the road and I thought, I better take a photo of where we are located so that we know how to get back here when we try to leave this town for the last portion of our holiday.

Due to riding the bus overnight and not getting much sleep, we have done zip so far. No other pictures have been taken thus far.

After walking 15minutes to locate the apartment which we will crash for the next four days, we unloaded our gear and travelled back to where we were dropped off to pick up our groceries for the stay.  Due to the weight of bottles and general grocers we hailed an Uber to get back to the flat.

Our apartment is equipped with a swimming pool, mini golf and table tennis, so we enjoyed these on premise activities in the afternoon. By 8pm we were all in bed and slept till 5:30am.

Well rested we are now ready for the Sunshine Coast Vacation!

The Great Australian Road

 Along the hidden path in Airlie Beach, we found our Greyhound bus location nestled among the marina with open fields of grass and walking paths for your comfort. Located at the Greyhound station was the Port of Airlie Beach which had a cute café and a tour ticket office inside. It was a bustling location this morning with many tourists who had signed up for local excursions along with many passengers taking the ferry over to Whitsunday and Hamilton Beach Islands. Among the tourists were jet ski excursions, flying excursions, and backpackers locating a taxi into the town. Erik decided to grab an ice cream from the cafe on his own dime! He enjoyed a chocolate chunk drumstick with peanuts on top. His face and hands were sticky with evidence of deliciousness gobbled up.

After cleaning up his face and hands we grabbed our belongings and headed for the 29* humid weather to sit in the Greyhound holding area for our 57-passenger bus to arrive. Upon the arrival of the passenger coach, we stored our bags underneath the bus and boarded seats 6A and 6B. Erik enjoyed a lovely window seat next to his mother in the aisle. Departure from the station was quick as the bus driver was behind schedule and needed to make up time on the Great Australian Road.

The highway roads in Australia are full of bumps and potholes… good luck getting decent sleep on the tour. Another interesting note about the road down the west coast of Australia is that it does not follow the Ocean scenery line. The highway road is almost all inland, and some of the roads are straight for miles on end like we are driving in the prairies, in Canada. The bus ride from Airlie Beach to Makay was supposed to be approximately two hours where we were to have a meal break and stretch our legs but the bus driver was even more behind, so we had ten minutes tops to gather food from the gas station and take a quick pee. Fortunately for us, he decided we would stop in Rockhampton at 6:00pm to have a 20-minute dinner break!

Along with the driver choosing to stop in Rockhampton, it happened to be the end of his shift so we can see why he wanted to push through to the end of his day. But, luckily for us there happened to be a KFC at this Greyhound station for our enjoyment and fulfillment along with a gas station for necessary snacks to continue on any given road trip. KFC was delicious and filled our bellies. It has been about eight years since we last consumed this treat.

Back on the road headed to Agnes Water.

Agnes Water

 The acquainted small town of Agnes Waters is located one hour off the beaten path with only one way in and one way out. Originally, prior to COVID-19, the town had approximately 2500 residents, since the world realized employees could work from home Agnes Waters's population grew to 10,000 people. Located in town along the main beach is one motel, which we stayed in, The Mango Tree Motel, and down each of the other two roads in town there are two hostels! The entire town shuts down at 7pm. So, if you are looking for a happening entertaining eat out 5-star kind of stay, I do not recommend going here but if you are a low-maintenance chill person who may like to catch some waves this is the place for you. The main beach is equipped with a lifeguard for your safety as all the kids in town hang at this beach and surf. The groceries are over-priced due to the transportation costs to bring the food in and there is not a hospital in the vicinity. Another noticeable difference from my Canadian hometown is that there was nowhere to get your hair cut or even get your nails done, not that I get my nails done but I do know this is a common Kelownafornia thing to do!

In the Motel we were provided with a small map of the town, which made everything look close together, like within walking distance so we rented bikes and thought this will be a nice relaxing stroll... it was not. The distance from A to B was far, hilly and hot! Thankfully, we knew some locals so before our bike ride Crystal and Margaret took us for a lovely drive around town to see the paperback forest, out to the town of 1770 where captain cooks monument was located, and to the lookout point which is suppose to be famous for sunrises and sunsets! Unfortunately we did not get to see a spectacular sunrise or sunset due to the weather. Oh the rain here is ridiculous, torrential downpours. It woke us from a dead sleep thinking it was a major windstorm. But the other really cool element to the rain in Australia that we have noticed is that if you wait fifteen minutes the rain passes and the day is sunny and nice again for you to enjoy.

We rode the bikes to Workman's Beach where we enjoyed the waves all to ourselves. Splashing in the Salty Ocean with sandy undertows pulling you back in. Having the waves crash against your body as they break from their curl and push you to shore riding each Ocean charge we stirred about for an hour before making our way back to town on our pedal bikes. Upon arrival at the motel we all needed to rinse off. The salt makes your skin so sticky and then the sand sticks into every crevasse of your body that you need to have a good soak to clean yourself up!

And that sums up what we did in Agnes Waters! Splashed in the waves and rode bikes.