Well FINALLY we've got the pics up from our trip up to north Queensland. Mum and Dad came over, we grabbed a hire car and drove over 4000kms in 3 weeks checking out all the sites and country side (and beaches!). It was an awesome trip, despite some bad news regarding our car being written off by some bugger back on the Gold Coast!. Infact it was probably one of the best holidays i've done.

We saw so many amazing things - from the most awesome sunset i've ever seen (on our way up to O'Reillys) to the bloody snake that slithered across our path on one of our bush walks! Hopefully some of the photos below will give you some idea of our experience!!

And a big thank you to mum and dad for joining us on the trip! it wouldn't have been half as great if you guys werent there with us. Becky, Paul, John and Delle..... your up next!

By the way - WE'RE IN MELBOURNE!!!! And its taking abit to adjust to the climate given what we were getting on the Gold Coast - still we've been getting 22 degrees the last couple of days while Auckland has been getting 14 degrees!!!! (heh heh heh)

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Tiger Moth Flight

We arranged for George's dad to have a scenic flight in a tiger moth.  This was the first activity on our holiday, Les loved it, but us three left on the ground were a bit nervous after seeing the dirt runway (with a heap loads of pot holes along it). It was an awesome start to our trip.

Currumbin Wildlife Centre

After the flight and picking up the rental car we took Les and Lynne to Currumbin to introduce them to the Australian Wildlife.

Lamington National Park / O'Reillys

The following day our trip really started as we headed off inland from the Gold Coast to Lamington National Park. We timed our arrival perfectly, arriving just in time to see the most wonderful sunset.  We stayed the night at O'Reilly's (a mountain retreat)... enjoying a spa under the stars! The next day we did the activites that the day trippers do before they arrived, the tree top walk (and climb!) and tried to feed the lorrikeets (unsuccessfully).  We then headed for the Sunshine Coast via Brisbane, checking out the beautiful inland country as we went.

Sunshine Coast - Noosa 

We stayed 2 nights at Noosa in a cute little cottage beside Lake Webya, it had beautiful views and the local residents were very friendly! This included Pelicans and Kookaburras (as you can see in the photos).

Rainbow Beach

After leaving Noosa we headed for Tin Can Bay to feed the wild dolphin, but he didn't turn up (in fact he hadn't turned up for weeks, and his mother went missing a few months ago, hopefully hes still around somewhere!), so we went us down the road to see the coloured sands and Rainbow Beach. From here we carried on up north eventually reaching Harvey Bay, quite an awesome little tourist town, and gateway to Fraser Island. 

Fraser island

We went on a two day wilderness tour around Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world... there is no dirt anywhere, and only a couple of small rocky outcrops, everything (including huge trees, plants, etc) grows in sand.... quite crazy!.  It was well worth seeing as its quite different from anywhere else in aussie - we got to see dingos, a whale spout, untouched rainforest and beautiful lakes. It also has endless beaches, but you can't swim in the sea due to the dodgy-as rips everywhere and the man-eating sharks (no kidding).

Rockhampton

We spent one night in Rockhampton and stayed in a really old hotel which is being renovated.  We went to a seafood restaurant for dinner that had a cane toad and a great sign....

Mackey

The next day we headed a bit further north to Mackey and on the way we had to stop for back burning on the side of the road (theres a huge fire risk in Queensland at the moment).  While we were waiting we had morning tea and feed the lollipop sign lady.... meanwhile  Les took over traffic control duties! After having served refreshments to australian traffic control, we headed into Mackey where we watched the sunset while taking part in an australian favourite passtime (drinking piss!).

Eungella National Park

We heard that you could see Platypus just inland from Mackey so we set off for Eungella National Park, in the Mackey hinterland.  We did see one platypus, but George hasn't put the photo up cos it wasn't very good (typical!). By the way at this point in the trip we saw endless amounts of sugercane.... honestly there was SO much of it.

Peppers Palm Bay (Whitsundays)

We were lucky enough to be shouted three nights at the Peppers Resort in the Whitsundays.  The ferry dropped us off at the island's jetty, then we were rubber duckied to the resort.  The first day the staff showed us a gaint lizard, it was only a baby and it was 1.5 metres long.  The next day we went for a walk across the island to Sandy Bay, which by the way wasn't sandy at all!!  On the walk back, while walking through the bush, we walked into literally hundreds of butterflies, it was the most amazing sight... but then a snake crossed our path (literally).  On our last day we went on the trip to the reef and Whitehaven Beach, one of the top 10 beaches in the world, this included a trip in a yellow submarine, however it doesn't actually go completly under the water.

Peppers Resort was really amazing, it was extremely flash and you were treated like royalty... complete with having cocktails in the spa... ahhh what a life!

Townsville

After leaving the Whitsundays we stopped of at Townsville for lunch on our way to Mission beach.  This was George's favourite place on the trip.

Mission Beach

We stayed two nights at Mission Beach, where we stayed in at an Eco Resort, sleeping in huts with shade cloth as walls, so that you could be close to nature. George didn't enjoy this too much as he felt a little TOO close to nature.... i.e. its common for huntsman spiders to live in the rooms. I don't think he got much sleep at nights. 

Paronella Park

This is the ruins of a Spainish Castle and Gardens built in the 1930's.  It has been hit by several floods over the years and now they are restoring it.

Port Douglas

Called into Port Douglas a few times while we were up north.  It was a nice little place with a nice feel. 

Daintree/Cape Tribulation

After spending two weeks travelling up the coast we spent the last week staying at a house we hired near Daintree, 2 hours north of Cairns.  From here we went Horse Riding at Cape Tribulation (on the trip back les had the best seat in the taxi - see pics below), on a river cruise and saw wild crocodiles.  To get to the house where we stayed we had to cross the river on a cable ferry and the house was surrounded by 20 acres of tropical rainforest.

Kuranda

On the yukiest day on our whole trip we took the Skyrail (gondalas) up to Kuranda Village.  The Skyrail travels 7km over the rainforest, with two stops on the way, it was a unique way to view the rainforest.  We spent the day at the village, visiting the butterfly house and walking around before catching the scenic railway back down.  The weather got worse as we left, so the train trip wasn't so scenic...... but it would have been beautiful if it was a good day. 

Mossman

A local told us to go to the Mossman Gorge and check it out.  It was a picturesque gorge. 

Currumbin Wildlife Centre

George was given the flick at work so we decided to go to a wildlife park and get up close and personal with some of the Australian wildlife.  It was a great day.  We got to hang out with Kangaroos, Koalas, birds and snakes.  We went to shows which intorduced the Australian wildlife - snakes, dingos, possums, gliders etc and birds - big eagles, kites, magpies, cockatoos and many more.

Springbrook National Park

We once again headed into the Gold Coast Hinterland to see if we could spot some snakes...... we did see one.....one of the most deadliest in the world (black adder).... but luckily it was dead in a jar with an equally deadly cane toad in its mouth (a taste of its own medicine?!?!?).  We visited the Springbrook National Park at the southern end of the Gold Coast.  Went for an hour and a half walk around the Purlingbrook falls, a moderate walk from the top of the ridge to the bottom of the falls and back again.  We treated ourselves to some delicious fudge from a shop in Springbrook to refuel our energy for the next trek.  We headed across to the Natural Bridge where the stream has carved an arch which the stream now flows under.  On the way home at 3.30pm we stopped off at a lovely little cafe in the middle of the whops for lunch.

Dream World 

One morning while the flat mates were away we picked up the courage to go to Dreamworld.  I tried to get George to do the Giant Drop and Wipeout with me, but of course he was too scared!  The first ride we lined up for was the scariest ride we went on, it was in a dark tunnel and you were forced every which way.  We did the kids rollercoaster instead of the adults one.  Of course being country people we were more interested in the animals than the rides.  We patted Koalas, Kangaroos, baby chickens, piglets, baby alpaca and kid goats.  We watched the Tiger Island show and George turned himself upside down in the Vortex ride.  All in all it was a great day out.

The Sensational Sunshine Coast

Travelled to the Sunshine Coast via the Brisbane Botanical Gardens and Bribie Island.  Spent 3 hours walking around the gardens, chasing the wildlife to get good photos and viewing a childrens show at the plantrium.  Carrying on from the gardens we stopped off at Bribie Island for a picnic dinner on the beach.  After spending a couple of hours trying to find somewhere to stay on a long weekend, we found the second to last motel room available. On Sunday we walked around Noosa and then decided to go to Alexandria Beach in the Noosa National Park.  After the walk to the bush we reached the beach to find out that it was an informal nudist beach (suffice to say we didn't participate).  After having lunch and a swim (at the non-nudist end!), we headed off in the car and followed the coast south, stopping off at various beaches, before joining up with the Bruce highway and heading home.

Byron Bay - our first trip to New South Wales!

On a rainy gold coast day (rare!) we jumped in our newly purchased car and started heading south over the border to NSW.  We followed the coastal road from Kingscliffe, stopping off to have a look at the "Salt" developement (they are building an entire town from scratch, including a mall and two resorts). It took us 3 hours to get down to Byron Bay and only 1 hour to get home.  At every little town we stopped and had a look at the beach.  Byron Bay is an interesting town, it looks like an upmarket "hippyville".  The only thing we really did at Byron Bay was visit the lighthouse which is the most easterly point on the Australian mainland.

Gold Coast Hinterland

Our flat mate took us up to O'Reilly's guesthouse on a plateau 1 1/2 hours into the Goldcoast Hinterland.  We stopped off at an Alpaca farm and gift shop on the way up to stretch our legs and give our tummys time to settle from the endless twists in the drive up there.  We arrived at O'Reilly's at 1pm and missed the lunch time rush at the bristro.  After fueling our tummys on yummy home cooked meals we feed the birds, took the Tree Top walk and viewed the botanic gardens.  This place (and even the drive up to it) has awesome views and is a huge contrast to the mass development and beaches of the Goldcoast.... its refreshing to see somewhere more or less untouched by money-hungry developers... I wonder how loing it will stay that way as its definitly becoming much more of a tourist spot.

We have actually spent some time just in the Gold Coast itself!.... and here are some photos to prove it. I must admit that so far we've only spent a total of about 8 hours at Gold Coast beaches.... and Ange hasn't even been for a swim in the sea yet here...sad I know!

We've also been for a drive up Mt Tamborine, which was cool due to the views overlooking the Gold Coast.