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After Sydney we flew to Brisbane. Brisbane also seemed quite lively with similar deals with the ferries buses and trains. We took a bus out to Lonely Pine, the koala sanctuary. We had no sooner paid when we heard the rumbling of thunder in the distance. We had been wandering around looking at various marsupials, some we had never heard of, when the thunder seemed to be getting nearer and we felt the spots of rain. Taking shelter in a gazebo we were soon joined by a kangaroo and an emu. ( John seemed somewhat nervous, I think he was remembering Rod Hulls companion on Parky's show). The rest of the kangaroos filed in a bouncy line to the shelter of some trees. We finished our visit as the rain eventually eased and caught our bus back to the centre of Brisbane, well not quite, the traffic was diabolical and our bus driver encouraged us to transfer to the river cat, on the same ticket, especially if you were in a hurry. We weren't really in a hurry but it was a bit boring on the bus. The river cat was splendid and had the advantage of allowing us to stand out in a refreshing breeze as it sped along.
Brisbane had its share of places to eat, either in the pedestrianised Queen Street or on the water front.
We had the joy of a fire alarm going off at 4am on the Sunday morning. Strangely enough it was also one of the few hotels I had done a recci on the fire escape. It was of course a false alarm.
Moving further up the coast by car we arrived at the playground of the rich and famous "Noosa". There was a very pleasant atmosphere there with a beautiful sandy beach and a system of waterways to their everglades. A good place to chill out. It also was adjacent to the national park.
Next stop after another car journey and ferry ride was Fraser Island. This was an ecotourism resort. The accommodation being surrounded by a dingo fence. There are about 150 - 200 of these nocturnal animals on the island and as they have not interbred with domestic dogs, are the purist of the species in Australia. Needless to say we never saw one!
Fraser Island is made completely of sand and is all part of the national park. Lake Mackenzie, one of about a hundred lakes on the island and one of only a few perched lakes(not full of fish, a geological term) in the world. I was lucky enough to swim in this fresh water lake of crystal clear azure blue water. This trip was followed by a drive along the beach which is about 75Km long.
After Fraser Island we had a change of transport and got a train to Proserpine where we then transferred for the rest of the night to the Coral Sea Resort hotel at Airlie beach, transferring by ferry later that day to Hamilton Island, where we are now staying for three nights.
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