Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Hi All!Since I haven't updated our journal for ages, I thought it about time!And as we've done so many fun and exciting things lately, I have a bit of news!Before you start reading this one, make sure you've got at least half an hour!Only kidding, shouldn't take that long, unless I keep rambling on?.
So having been on the Gold Coast pretty much since arriving in Oz back in late June we have had the opportunity with most weekends off to explore the local area.I have picked up a job working as an accommodation reservations consultant for RCI - a global holiday company well known for time share, but I don't sell that, Pete does!HA HA HA!.He is the irritating sales person that rings you up at the most inconvenient moment trying to tell you how great it would be to attend a presentation for 90 minutes and get a free dvd player, camera or some holiday vouchers.The people who don't call him to go and procreate with himself, and actually go to the presentation will receive something free.If they opt for the holiday vouchers, then they call me to book, and instead of me phoning them for abuse, they call me and give me some abuse instead, whilst paying for the phone call!Its great fun, Pete says especially the way you clock watch the whole day!Anyway, we'll only be doing this for less than another month, then moving on.The upside is that it pays really well - Just under $18 per hour, double time if you work Saturdays, and you don't have that many responsibilities with this job, it feels like a real working holiday now!
On our days off we have enjoyed BBQ's in the neighboring parks - the council have put in free BBQ's (and they keep them clean too!) for anyone to use.Its so much fun to go along to the park with a couple of snags (sausages), a bit of rump and a prawn or two for the barbie, and sit there watching the world go by whilst enjoying a tall boy (beer) or glass of wine (cause you are allowed alchol in public parks, just not on the beach!). Plenty of people watching to do this way!
We've opted for not getting a car out here as the public transport is relatively cheap, but really good. You can get a bus, boat or train practically anywhere. We took a bus down to Burleigh Heads back in July, and had a great day. We walked around the national park area and saw some really pretty birds (the birds out here are so colourful - Mum & Emma, you guys would be in awe!). We saw rainbow lorikeets, brush turkeys (they look a bit like turkeys, but have a bigger bottom and don't gobble), and some white ibis (they look they have stuck their heads and feet in a bowl of black ink!) We enjoyed a lunch of fish and chips on the beach after doing all that walking, very yummy! After being out in the sticks in NZ for so long it's so good to have a bit of an urban injection into our systems. Being able to nip to the shop when you've run out of milk is something that you take for granted, until you realize that if you run out of milk you have to drive 1.5 hours to the nearest shop or pay an absolute fortune to have the water taxi bring it over for you! Small things like that really mean a lot when you don't have them anymore.
The Gold Coast is full of cheap and nasty shops selling all kinds of weird and wonderful things. Luckily, we can only carry what we have on our backs, so aren't tempted to buy too much tat! Surfers Paradise is the area we are currently living in, and is the main hub of the Gold Coast as far a tacky beach side bars, clubs and the place to be seen wearing a skimpy bikini if your trying to pull the lads! There is probably more flesh on show than there is in a butcher! It really is a bit of a meat market out at night and so far we have managed to avoid it at all costs. I suppose that's what happens when you grow up a bit. We see ourselves as the more "sophisticated" travelers now!
Surfers Paradise is lovely during the day, but come sunset along with giant bats (the biggest you have ever seen!) flying in looking for food, you get all types of weirdo's - I really think it's a bit of hedonistic place that can eat you up and spit you out at the end if you are not careful. But apart from that it's been a really awesome experience living here. Apparently there are 21 tourists for each resident on the Gold Coast! That's an interesting fact for you. We've been told that we should not judge Australia on what we have seen on the Gold Coast, so are staying open minded for the next move.We've explored up through Southport, down through Mermaid Beach, Palm Beach, Broadbeach, Carrarra (which has the best market I have ever, ever been too!) We have yet to discover the delights of Coolangatta and Tweed Heads though. Most weekends are spent with us having a jab at the local map and making it our mission to walk out to these places. Some of them take a good couple of hours to walk out to, and we are mostly knackered by the time we get home! Its good fun though and one to get a bit of exercise.
Pete and I were lucky enough to go whale watching in early August. As we had missed the opportunity in New Zealand cause of the strong winds, we couldn't resist! The humpback whales are currently on their annual migration back to Antarctica and this was a magical and very humbling experience. These gentle giants so elegant in the water, and boy did they show off to our boat!! We saw plenty of whale bellies, almost as if they were rolling over for a belly tickle. I couldn't believe how close to boat they came. At one stage a whale launched itself out the water and came crashing back so close to the boat that we all got a bit wet, you could have almost touched it! I think they really enjoyed the crowd enthusiasm when they launched themselves out of the water and got great cheers and claps in return. It amazed me just how quickly people lost all inhibitions as soon as the whales had been spotted! We were lucky enough to appear on an ozzie TV travel show last weekend, as there had been a film crew on the boat doing a "piece" on the annual whale migration. So that was our 15 seconds of fame!!
Last week, Peter turned 28 (only 2 years to go until he's 30 now)!! We both managed to get the Friday, Saturday and Sunday off work, so a well planned out birthday weekend was in order. Ironically, the Gold Coast enjoyed 95% sunshine throughout the year, and it had to be the Friday and Saturday that it decided to chuck it down with the heaviest rain I have ever seen! We later learned that a tropical cyclone had hit the coast and brought with it winds of 120 - 150km per hour. Now that is windy! There was only minimal local damage and we were all fine, all be it a bit wet! We had to scrap the idea of going to Dream world theme park as the rides all had to close, and instead go for a fun filled and very wet day out at SeaWorld. Well, the dolphins, seals and polar bears didn't seem to mind! It was an amazing day out, as most of the crowds stayed at home (yay) so we had the pick of shows! Firstly we saw seals doing tricks in and out of the water, then we went to see "water-ski wipe-out" - a show about amazing acrobatics whilst waterskiing! It was pretty cool. Lastly we saw the new "Imagine Dolphin Show" based around how the first humans would have reacted to sighting dolphins and what may have happened if we had encountered dolphins in the ocean for the first time. It involved a lot of dolphin WOW type of acrobatics, and people stood on top of dolphins while they swim at the top of the water. Definitely worth a visit if you're ever in the area. We got up close and personal with polar bears, sharks (not too close though!) and all sorts of tropical reef fish. Went on a couple of rides in the afternoon when the wind died down a little and got extra wet! Although we were wearing our waterproofs, we were entirely soaked through by the end of the day! In the evening, I treated Pete to a special birthday dinner at Sage Restaurant down in Broadbeach. We had a very yummy fishy tasting plate for starters. Yes, you read right. Pete ate fish - smoked salmon, fish cakes, muscles, calamari and even an oyster - and he even enjoyed it! WOW I hear you say. Indeed! He's giving me evil glares as I write this, haa haa! We splashed out a bit on cocktails, steak and even had a tad bit of room left for a shared cr? brulee. Needless to say we rolled home that night, but it was most enjoyable.
On the Saturday we hired a small car for the day, and took a leisurely drive up into the Gold Coast Hinterland (the bit inland, away from the coast). It was still pouring with rain, so we didn't spend too much time outside. It was a fabulous day and drove through Mount Tambourine village, which is lovely quaint village full of art galleries and locally produced wine. We decided to skip the wine tasting this time as we were driving (very sensible!) and rather go on an organized tour another time. We went to the Best of all lookout point - that's what it's called! We were so high up in the clouds that all we could see was white. It was very freaky! Apparently if you stick your hand out over the side of the lookout point, your hand is in New South Wales, while your body remains in Queensland. Pretty cool huh! After that we drove round to spring brook national park and had a fantastic homemade sandwich with roast chicken and loads of fresh salad. It was delicious. We bought them from a lovely little caf?n top of the mountain, it was completely surrounded by natural forest and had loads more wildlife to see. It was here we saw our first wild kangaroo and a couple of wallabies. They are just so cute you want to cuddle them! We didn't though.
Drove home that evening and had a very yummy indoor BBQ for dinner. After all that activity we had a chilled out Sunday. Oh, I forgot to mention I bought Pete a pair of flip flops as a joke present, and he loves them. I can't believe how chilled out he has become since being out of the hospitality industry for only 2 months! Growing his hair long, wearing flip flops or sandals!Now we are planning our next big weekend away to Byron Bay. So watch this space for loads more stories! P.S. heaps of photos to follow didn't have time to do them today after all this typing!
- comments