Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Australia part 1 - 'Finally down under'!
Bed count = 36/37/38/39
Firstly my apologies for not keeping things up to date here…it has been quite a long time since my last instalment.As per usual, lots of things have happened and I'm going to have to use some serious powers of reflection to bring back the memories here.Here goes nothing…!
So after our 'raw' adventures in Fiji we jumped on a plane and headed further westward to the glistening sandy beaches of eastern Australia.We had been really looking forward to this leg of the journey and it all felt pretty surreal when we finally touched down in Brisbane.Despite the pre-warning of a potential over-frisking at immigration, our route into the country was actually surprisingly quick and uneventful.We thought it would be much easier with nothing to declare and with regret Melissa bid a teary farewell to some English Breakfast teabags she had been religiously carrying over the last few months!Carrying the heavy thought that we might not get a cup of tea later that evening, we decided to grab a cab to our accommodation in the 'Paddington' suburbs of the city.Our taxi driver was a man of few words, but he soon let his driving do the talking with some prior training from the 'fast and furious' cabbies of New York!Thankfully we arrived at our accommodation safely on 'Collingwood Road' and this warranted a small tip to acknowledge the fact that I would live one day longer!Ahead of our visit we had managed to secure a spot in a trendy B&B called 'The Collingwood' and despite its uninventive name, the room certainly lived up to our expectations and we had a few moments chill time on arrival!After gathering our thoughts, we found some time to wander the streets of Paddington but sadly no bears sighted looking for marmalade but plenty of chic French furniture shops and many a café to enjoy!In fact, upon fully scoping the area I actually believe that there's the greatest concentration of coffee cafés on the planet here.I knew that there was supposed to be a big coffee culture in Australia, but having at least a shop for every other person might be a little overkill guys!Anyhow, if you can't beat them join them and we decided to take refuge in a lovely little café for coffee and a spot of lunch on the terrace overlooking the city.At the end of the day, we popped round the corner to a recommended Thai restaurant which turned out to have an interesting vibe at it posed as part shop/ part tent!We opted for the pseudo outside area, which turned out to be a bad choice when a thunder storm hit that evening and we nearly got washed away.In line with the pouring rain outside, it was also proving to be wet inside as I consumed several litres of water to cool the burning flames in my mouth.It's always a lottery when visiting a Thai (or Indian) restaurant on what the level of spice might be, but in this case it did exactly what it said on the tin…'hot' was indeed 'hot'!
After a windy night in more ways than one, we awoke to a very pleasant breakfast at our B&B the next day.The weather had completely changed and we enjoyed some glorious rays of morning sunlight whilst devouring one of our best breakfasts' on tour.To be honest I would have been happy with anything really after the 'Fiji experience'….anything other than watermelon and pineapple would be a complete God send!After lining our stomachs we caught the number 33 bus into town, but jumped off at the city's 'cultural centre' following a recommendation from our landlady.It proved to be a good tip, as the Southbank side of Brisbane is very pleasant and the riverside walk alongside numerous art galleries and extremely well kept gardens made this a real pleasure.We even walked the wrong way for the first half a mile, but still returned back along the same tracks with a smile on our face…it must have been good!
Unbeknown to us, this area was completely devastated by the floods a year or so back.There are a few reminders on where the water line rose, but to be honest you really wouldn't know and the grounds men deserve a knighthood for the job they have done in restoring it. After gracing the river bank, we skirted the botanical gardens before arriving in central Brisbane.Unfortunately that's where my estimations of the city slowly diminished.That said, we did find a nice trendy café for a late morning coffee, before catching the bus back to Paddington for a spot of lunch and to collect our bags for our onward travel.Back on the bus again, we changed in the city centre and headed out to the Nathan University campus to meet some of my old Pfizer friends -Laura and Ville.These guys had lived with me for a short duration, before moving over to Queensland some five years ago.However, it was great to meet up again and they had kindly offered a roof over our head(s) for our stay (most kind people!).We were now out in the true suburbs of Brisbane (Brookwater) and on our way to a house that they had constructed from their plans.Upon arrival, we were shown around the very spacious surroundings, which included a huge open plan kitchen, swimming pool and sauna!This was the first time that Melissa had met these guys, but it wasn't long after a delightful home cooked meal that we all stripped off and became properly familiarised in the heat of the sauna!Ville is certainly a man who enjoys a nice warm sauna and after my nose hairs had burnt from my nostrils I knew it was time to get out!However, it would seem that 'getting out' would involve jumping into a near freezing swimming pool to 'close the pores'!Quite refreshing actually and this prompted several rounds of the same routine later that evening.Fully exfoliated and nasal hair free, I slept well that night!
Before coming out to Australia, we both became hooked on a television series called 'Pom's in Paradise' which is all about the relocation life stories of several UK folk who made the decision to move down under.One particular story revolved around an eccentric Midlands native called Michael, who had moved over 20 years ago and decided to distil his own liqueurs to pass the time!It turned out that he was actually quite good at this pastime and despite being constantly sozzled he came up with many weird and wonderful taste sensations.All of this was done using homemade paraphernalia at the top of the 'Mount Tambourine' national park.It also turned out that his Russian wife liked to hand paint the bottles and he used to fill these to sell/trade to friends in the area.Despite being an eccentric version of Uncle Albert (Only Fools and Horses) he actually made some damn fine liqueurs.One thing led to another and in recent years such liquors as his 'wattle toffee' and 'Limoncello' have earned him world acclaim by blowing some of the best Italian versions out of the water!This has made quite a little success story and after seeing all of this on film, we counted Michael as a minor celebrity!Therefore you can only imagine our excitement when Laura and Ville announced that we would be travelling up to his distillery the very next day!!After the hour or so scenic drive, we arrived at his remote establishment and were greeted by quite a buzz of other people who had obviously seen the programme!Then low and behold, as we entered the tasting room who happened to be washing the glasses in the corner? None other than Uncle Michael himself!!Now to say that he hasn't ever worn long trousers since coming to Australia and donned the same pair of shorts ever since, should be enough to solidify his eccentricity but I can confirm that he's just as mad when you see him in person!A lovely chap though and he made the time to speak to us personally and try and persuade us to move over!Check out the festive photographic evidence on the blog, but this was certainly a highlight of the trip for me!The Mount Tambourine area is quite quaint and at the top there is nice array of art/craft shops that managed to draw the attention of Laura and Melissa!There is also a few foody places and in particular the 'Lick' ice cream parlour.They boast some condensed milk ice cream, but had unfortunately sold out however their standard chocolate was certainly more than palatable.Continuing the food theme, we crossed the road to the Tambourine Mountain Brewery (where Laura and Ville tied the knot earlier in the year!) for some mighty fine micro brews and quite exquisite chips!All this in the pleasant sunny heat and I was starting to appreciate why folk have decided to move here!Enough excitement for one day, we retuned back home to enjoy the delights of more fine dining and new liquors acquired from 'Uncle Michael'!
The next day was baking hot and I decided to devote the time to blogging and washing!Melissa and Laura hit the shops and were gone most of the day, but clearly had fun when Melissa returned with several new purchases!Ville and I had the sole job to venture out to the local fishmonger to get some seafood for consumption later in the evening.It would seem that along with coffee, eating seafood is a ritual over here…especially on Christmas day!!We returned with some nice oysters, plenty of prawns and an interesting delicacy called 'bugs''!As far as I can work out, it's a big crayfish and just about as expensive, however the tails are pretty tasty I have to admit.That evening Laura's friends Pauline and Simon came over to join in the extravaganza and we all ate well followed by another round of the pool/sauna later that evening.The next day, we bid a teary farewell to our friends as they kindly dropped us to the train station so we could embark on our next leg of the adventure to 'Surfer's Paradise'on the Gold Coast.After a train/bus combination we checked into the 'Mantra on Cavill' hotel for a three night stay in the area.We had managed to get a bargain scoop on the hotel, after a nice tip-off from Laura and we were not disappointed by the apartment's size or location!The only negative was the weather, which was a bit grey and windy but you can't have everything.Another positive was that we had just about managed to miss 'schoolies' week, which apparently involves all exam free teenagers within a 200 mile radius descending on the area to go absolutely crazy for a week or so!Now I have done a few mad things in my time….joy riding my Dad's car round the local village is about as extreme as it gets, but these guys are on another level.So much in fact, that it's not uncommon for a hotel to ask for a $3000 bond from the parents ahead of the stay to cover any damages!!However, we missed all these fun and games and the place actually felt a little quiet.I would describe Surfer's Paradise as the Blackpool of the east coast, although the hotels are a little higher (& trendier!) than the Lancashire Paradise (no offence)!We spent the day taking in the sights and enjoying a spot to eat at the local 'life savers' club, although no David Hasslehoff in sight.The next few days here can be eloquently described as sleeping and shopping!After Fiji, both these luxuries were most welcome and Melissa soon settled into the shopping zone once again! Joking aside, it was a nice place to have some quality downtime and despite the indifferent weather, we really enjoyed our time at the apartment.After three nights R&R, we hired a car to continue our next leg of the journey into the Queensland Hinterland to a quiet country town called Boonah.Being predominantly in Australian suburbia for most of our time, it was nice to get out into the sticks and see some of the inland country towns.We travelled through some stunning scenery and tackled a fair few challenging roads along the way!Lots of 'unsealed roads' which basically means a gravel track and I must admit this was a new experience for me! You can be happily travelling along a pristine 'A-class' road when all of a sudden you're bumping along what appears to be a farmers track with a few strategically placed pot holes to keep you guessing!It always made me smile how you hit a few meters of tarmac (or bitumen in Oz) just to provide that false sense of security before you bounced back to reality on the unmaintained gravel track…even the sheep found this funny!
We decided to take a bit of a dog-leg to get out to the Lamington National Park, which is one of the best rainforest areas around there.Now, I have navigated some tricky tracks during this trip, but this one pretty much took the biscuit!As we drew deeper into the forest, the track narrowed significantly until I was actually driving around the trees trunks!Not for the faint hearted, but certainly rewarding as you were actually in the heart of the forest!We headed to O'Neil's Retreat and parked up, only to be instantly greeted by a parrot perched on our wing mirror!These feathered friends are in abundance and especially common to this area…as were about to find out!As we left the car, we followed some directions for a forest board walk, only to rein act a scene from the TV series 'Gladiator' by 'running the gauntlet'!It so turns out that the parrots are frequently fed by passers-by and now they are so used to it, that a morsel of food is no longer a treat…it is expected! A lack of food offerings basically means you're in for a sure fire dive bomb attack and swift peck to the torso to remind you that you should have stopped at Tesco!I saw this first hand as an ill-tempered parrot landed on the head of a girl (without food) and latched onto her hair with vicious intent.It then proceeded to basically peck her into submission as she ran up the road screaming helplessly!Luckily we narrowly avoided such beak bashing, but the threat was most definitely there!!As we had made it to the forest walk, we followed the raised wooden trail around the canopy line of the trees.Some great views along the way and I even climbed a tree for a quite amazing view from the very top.This was encouraged as part of the trail, although it's not the sort of thing that your mother would deem as safe!!Rainforest walk complete, we sprinted through the parrot gauntlet once again to the refuge of our car and continued onward into the Australian hinterland.
I should explain that there was method to the madness as we were heading to a beautiful B&B in the heart of the hinterland.We have been using 'Trip Advisor' relatively frequently and it has served us pretty well up to this point and has unearthed some true gems along our travel.This time unfortunately it unearthed something that really should have remained buried!!If you read the reviews, the 'Zengarra B&B' is an experience you won't forget.It most certainly is an experience that we won't forget however for all the wrong reasons!As we travelled through the countryside our hopes were high, as the landscape was just stunning.In hindsight, alarm bells should have been ringing when we stopped in the nearby village of Boonah.I'm afraid I'm not up to date on the 'hill billy' dress sense these days and this really showed when we pulled up in the village centre for a coffee!Unfortunately it didn't take long for the first slack John local to notice my designer T-shirt and brisk Northern walk…I had been immediately rumbled….'I was not from round there'!Our coffee was drunk at high pace and we were back on the road again, but that should have prompted a subliminal message that things might be a little different in these parts!
Using the trusty sat nav, we arrived at the entrance to the Zangarra B&B to be greeted by a 1 in 3 gravel hill to thrust our compact automatic car up!After some impressive wheel spins we made the summit and trundled along to an opening which included an impressive house and a smiling man knelt at the doorway holding onto a pair of hounds!We had read about the dogs on the review and knew that they ruled the roost, but we were about to experience this first hand.After parking nearby, we started walking over to the chap who was still knelt restraining the pair of dogs.As we neared to about 25 metres he released the beasts, who bound over with some seriously zealous over-excitement.I'm going to be honest here, it was a bit like a scene out of the Simpsons, where Monty Burns 'releases the hounds' and the fact that they jumped up and scraped the hell out of us didn't help matters!Slightly mauled, we introduced ourselves to the owner and were promptly shown round the premises.In fairness, it was a lovely spot although certain aspects looked a little dated (none more than the room we had for the night), it was a beautiful house!After reading the reviews, we had been pleasantly surprised that the owner's wife cooked a three course meal (at your expense!) in the beautiful surrounds and would even play you a piano serenade as part of the ambiance.All very interesting we thought, so we took the liberty of booking this option ahead of time.However, when were shown around 'the wife' was playing a full scale Xylophone in a converted music room at the side of the room.As she was 'in the zone' we never had the pleasure of an introduction, but we certainly got one later when she sniffed at our mere existence in the vicinity.God forbid that we had paid to stay the night, but it was clear that she didn't want us there!! So here lay an interesting dynamic for the evening ahead, as we awkwardly made our way out for the meal later on in the night.After a quick conflab, we decided that only way to get through the ordeal was to get drunk!Therefore we promptly ordered a bottle of wine and after a glass or two, things seemed a little more comical!With respect, the husband did make an effort with us, but to say he was 'bumbling' along is probably an understatement!I lost count of the number of times he came out to take our order only to forget what was on the menu!He would then walk what seemed like miles to the kitchen to get a royal ear bashing from his wife before retuning again!The most comical scene involved him bringing two bowls of soup to our table from the far away kitchen.He set off on his conquest in full view to us after receiving a parting shot from his angry wife.He then proceeded to walk in quarter/half steps to our table, which must have taken him at least ten minutes.Keeping a straight face whilst watching this ungraceful delivery of a starter was certainly a challenge and I'm not sure if we succeeded!That said, despite all the quirks the food was actually quite good and we would live to laugh another day!
After a restless sleep we woke the next day, with the sole aim to get the hell out as soon as possible.Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is the lack of any fresh water in these parts…it's all rain water or 'bore' water.This means that whilst fresh, it generally stinks and this must be the first shower I have ever had where I actually felt dirtier after the experience than before!We settled the bill and bid a thankful farewell and hoped that out next stop would be less eventful!After jumping in the car and hitting the road we cruised northwards to our next stop.However, I'm going to stop there before I go on too long.Lots to get caught up on, but I think I will do Australia in three instalments over the next few weeks.Hopefully this should quench your appetite for now, keep your eyes open for more soon!
- comments