Getting to Noosa Heads

Brisbane by the river.

Well, we probably made our first tactical error of the trip - we mis-timed our departure from Brisbane and, hence, delayed our time in Noosa Heads.  Let me explain.

Banyan fig trees are cool.  

This morning we woke up to hot sunshine in Brisbane so we walked to a river-side bistro and had a tidy little breakfast.  Breakfasts have been, far and away, the best meals we have had in this country.  I had read prior to coming that Australians like their breakfast.  I had expected a super sized version of American breakfasts, but, instead, what I have found is a more elegant version.  Lots of poached eggs.  Lots of yogurts.  Lots of berries.  And the eggs here have never had even the hint of a sulfur taste to them.  The granola is always unique to each restaurant/bistro/cafe and always fresh.  The fruit is fresh too.  There is always something unique on the menu that will catch your eye too - some kind of pancake or muffin or egg bake.  Breakfast has yet to disappoint.

We strolled down the river farther until we felt it was time to head back to the hotel.  For some reason we felt like we needed to kill some time in Brisbane due to a 2pm check-in in Noosa Heads.  Brisbane has a different vibe then Melbourne.  If Melbourne is San Francisco, then Brisbane is Epcot.  It seems fake - almost like it is too well planned or was created instead of evolved.  As you walk down the city streets one building will look like it belongs in the New Orleans Square at Disneyland while the next building is Tomorrowland.  Even the trees seem too perfectly grown and tidy to be anything but part of a manufactured, fake place.  It is not fake, of course, but it just has that feel.  I am not complaining, just making an observation.  It is a nice, clean city - it just lacks charm.

Surely this must be the inspiration for the "Go Dog Go" party tree.

Finally got Aubrey to interact with the animals.

Anyway we hopped in our rental car and headed South - the opposite direction of Noosa - to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary to hold Koalas.  By the way, driving is kinda crazy here.  Left side of the road, obviously.  But the hardest part has more to do with where in the lane one places their car while driving.  You see, with years of driving on the right side of the street while in the left side of my car, I tend to hug the left side of the lane (probably because I see better and can gage the left side of the lane better).  I assume most Americans do the same.  What has got me all out of whack down here is not the driving on the opposite side of the street (while sitting on the opposite side of the car), but that, even tho I am sitting on the right side of the car, my brain still favors the left side of the lane.  What this means is that the car is often over the lane on the left.  Whoa.  Not good when you are up against a guard rail or something.

Anyway, the Sanctuary was nice, but somewhat similar to what we had done previously on Philip Island, with one big benefit - holding Koalas.  We snapped some good photos, enjoyed the animals and the warm sun, and headed North to Noosa Heads.

Traffic was terrible.  Not sure why, maybe everyone leaving on Christmas Eve (remember, we are a day ahead)?

Anyway, we didn't get into Noosa until 3:30, even tho we left the Koala park around 12:30.  And now that we are here in Noosa Heads, we kinda wish we had just bailed on the Koala joint and headed up here right away - this place is beautiful.

I plan on learning more about this place tomorrow, but it has a Maui feel to it.  And the sand is as fine as I have every seen or felt.  Somewhere between sugar and powdered sugar.  It is so fine that it squeaks when you walk on it.

We decided to quickly slip into more of a typical beach-vacation mode.  We put on our trunks, went to the pool, walked the little town, ate takeout (delicious, by the way), scored some gelato, walked the beach, and looked up at the stars once the sky darkened.

It's Christmas Eve.  Tomorrow is Christmas here.  It doesn't feel like it.  In Minnesota, as evening approaches, the radios slowly change over to almost all Christmas music with little-to-no interruptions.  The streets empty.  It gets quiet.  Peacefully quiet.

Here it is hot.  There are some Christmas lights, but not many.  The radios have little but their normal menu to offer.  Some stores closed early tonight and a couple restaurants had closed their doors.  But what was open was packed.  People were out and about - eating, laughing, playing on the beach.  It felt like any other night out there.

It probably doesn't help that I am watching "The Godfather".

But I sure do miss Minnesota Christmases - they are special.

Merry Jesusmas, everyone!