Gold Coast and Brisbane

The Gold Coast was included in our trip so that we could meet Mark and Rachel who I met last year on a tour of Costa Rica. We flew to Brisbane and got the airtrain to the Gold Coast. They brought us to Gold Coast's famous fresh fish and chips shop for dinner which looks out over the Gold Coasts coastline and the fish and chips was very tasty. The following morning we went to Burleigh Beach to swim in the sea before heading into the mountains for camping. The water was quite choppy as cyclone Iris', which didn't make landfall over the Gold Coast, caused big waves to develop in the sea. This made it more fun though as there was plenty of waves to jump over.

The campsite was located in Lamington National Park beside a river creek. I had to show Rob how to assemble a tent as this was his first time camping. There were a couple of possums climbing the trees around us as we set the camp up which distracted us a few times from our tasks. That night we had our own barbeque and played cards beside the campfire. It was nice to relax, turn off our phones and sleep under the stars. We were woken the next morning by the birds chirping away. Before heading back to the Gold Coast the next morning Mark brought us through the mountains to another creek called Christmas Creek and walked up the fresh water stream. It was really beautiful. If we had more time we would have loved to have attended a Commonwealth Games event which was on at the same time as we were there but camping was a great alternative.

We headed back on the train to Brisbane to explore our final Australian city of our trip. We walked through Queen Street Mall and purchased some extra clothing supplies to replace some of our worn clothes. Then we hire bikes and cycled along the river bank. This cycle was really nice as there was cycle lanes all along south bank of the city from Kangaroo point and into the Botanic Gardens. We came across a festival area in the city that was showing the Commonwealth Games so found a bench and watched the athletics on the big screen. It was a very relaxing day and lovely to sit and enjoy the sun before heading to a colder New Zealand.

I enjoyed my time spent in Australia, there was a lot of scenic things to see and do. The cities were quite busy but I think that we spent enough time exploring each of them. I enjoyed exploring the Australian countryside even more. I loved driving the Great Ocean Road and camping in Lamington National Park. Although apart from having to come back to see the Great Barrier Reef I am not sure if I would come back to see the other parts that we've explored because I think we spent enough time in these areas. Australia is also so big that I feel that there are other cities and countryside areas that I would prefer to visit and explore in the future. Next is the country that I was looking forward to the most before starting this trip, New Zealand. Let's see what adventures it will bring.Baca lagi