After a 4 day Roblox programming camp, we ste off again- taking advantage of Singapore National Day and Eid al-Adha holidays for a 9 day adventure in Queensland Australia. 1st day was mostly travel as we arrived at 7PM in Brisbane, a very cool city of 2.5 million follks. We found our retro apartment (in an old factory building) in a vey cool neighborhood and took a short walk around for burgers.
Saturday was Jay’s birthday- oddly he woke up with these odd things growing out of his ears- most be how we know he’s a teenager. we started with a visit to the Jan Powers Farmers Markets- walking from our apartment on a beautiful path near the Brisbane river – learning a a bit about Brisbane roll in WWII as base for US submarines to protect against the Japanese invasion of Australia. At the markets, Dad and Bee split one of the best sausage rolls they’d ever had. Then it was off to the Daisy Hill Koala Center- a rehabilitation center for Koalas- where we got to see 3 up close and personal as they napped through yet another lazy morning.
Our next stop (following a windy trip through the mountains) was the town of Mount Tamborine. Think ice cream and fudge along with some cool shops (including the Monkey Café- Jay and Bee should have patented it earlier). Then off the to the Glow Worm Caves of Tamborine Mountain. While waiting for our tour Mom and Dad enjoyed a few nice glasses of wine and Jay and Bee had fish and chips …. While getting their 1st encounters with the Australian Bush Turkey (we would see these guys everywhere). Then onto the only controlled environment for glow worms in the world- a man made cave where over 1500 glow worms take up residence. They light up to attract insects stuck in the cave – making them think in is a starry nigh sky – while they are getting stuck in the glow worms webs…The guides have to catch insects everyday to kep the colony alive. The roof of the cave definitely looked a like night sky…and as the jingle gos….I wish I was a glow worm, as a glow worm is never glum- as how could you be unhappy when the sun shines out your bum.
Last stop on the way back to Brisbane was Cedar Creek Falls in Mount Tamborine National Park- a 30 minute hike to a beautiful swimming hole and waterfall. Back in town, we saw some great views of the awesome skyline and colorful bridges and Jay picked out a great open kitchen pizza restaurant right next the Bristol cathedral. Delicious pizzas, good beer and most importantly great birthday brownie sundaes. After watching the new Get Smart movie we called it a day!
Sunday started with mass in a Polish WWII era church on a hill overlooking the city- even spotted the 1st of our rainbow lorikeets flying around. After mass, we hit up another set of markets (Riverside Markets in the City Botanical Gardens) for some crepes and purchased some honey . After a nice stroll through the gardens (with views of the cool rock climbing walls that bank one side of the river), we headed north. 1st stop was the Glass House Mountains. Dad picked the most challenge 1.5 km hike ever- Wild Horse Mountain- where the incline was at least 45 degrees (maybe closer to 60 J). We then drove over to the Sunshine cost- aptly named as we did not see a cloud for the 48 hrs we were there. First stop was a nice little café right near the beach in the town of Mooloolaba (Australian town names rock, don’t they). Afterwards, we took a great hike around the coast to Carter’s Lighthouse. Awesome beaches and coastal views and Ben even braved the cold ocean temperatures not to speak of having a blast wading through the river to allow for some really cool photos. Some of the rocks along the coast were awesome- flat with huge craters forming great tidal pools. We then headed north for Noosa and after a quick viewpoint at Point Perry near Coolum Beach, we arrived at our hotel – which had a great pool, hot tub and even a game room with ping pong and air hockey! For dinner we trekked into the town of Noosa Heads- a fancy beach town with tons of restaurants (we found a low key bar and grill with a 2nd story deck) and more importantly a Ben & Jerry’s.
Day 3 started with the huge buffet breakfast at the hotel and then we were off for our big hike in Noosa National Park. We tackled the ~7km Noosa Coastal Track. It was an absolutely gorgeous trail that took us to beaches, beautiful lookouts and some special wildlife. Bee and Dad came ready to swim today- even with the slightly cool water temperatures, the crystal clear water was too much to resist. Our 1st beach was Tea Tree Bay, where Bee and Jay added to the cool rock towers collection – and then Dad and Bee took their 1st swim of the day. Back on the trail, we managed to see a koala in the wild! Pretty high up in the tree, but we spend a good bit of time finding the best angles for the perfect photos (note- koalas are much easier to photograph than birds- they never move). Next stop was dolphin point lookout- no dolphins but gorgeous views. More swimming awaited us in granite bay – with gorgeous aquamarine waters. Up next was Hell’s Gate- an awesome sea cliff feature where water comes crashing into the rocks. Then about a 1km of a white sand beach- Alexandria Bay. We had one last hike up to a beautiful lookout – then the descent to exit the National Park to a beach that literally stretched for miles- Sunshine Beach. After some cool photos of our footprints in the sand, we caught a shuttle back to Noose Heads, rewarded ourselves with more Ben & Jerry’s and then took a short walk back to the National Park – where we caught sight of some more rainbow lorikeets! After a relaxing swim, Ben picked us a great restaurant right on the docks over the river in Noosaville. On a quick walk before dinner, we saw some giant Pelicans- wingspan must have been 6 feet! For dinner, Dad tried some great risotto, Bee had another great portion of fish and chips, Mom had great ribs and Jack tried some delicious gnocchi. After one more mini birthday celebration for Jay, we headed to sleep.
