Brisbane

I haven't been very inspired to write lately.

This is my last night in Brisbane. Brisbane is a pleasant city. Not as crowded as Sydney. Not as many tall, shiny highrise buildings. It's proximity to many gorgeous beaches is a plus.

I visited Frazer Island, Noosa Heads on the Sunshine Coast, and Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast. Pristine white sand beaches and clean blue Pacific Ocean water are what they all have in common. Absolutely gorgeous beaches.

Frazer Island is the world's largest sand island. It's white sandy beach on the eastern coast with rainforest on the rest of the island. There's not a lot of activity on the island. I spent only a day on the island, so I saw only a portion of the place. The drive along the beach coast line was amazing: white, white sand, blue water with huge crashing waves. Spent some time on a calmer portion of the beach. It was so beautiful.

On the way back to Brisbane, we stopped at a koala and kangaroo park. There were all sorts of native Australian animals there. Koalas are so damn cute! They sleep even more than cats! It was feeding time when we arrived, so the koalas were lively with anticipation of the day's eucalyptus leaves. By lively I mean, awake. They don't do tricks or cartwheels, although a couple of koalas DID pace back and forth awaiting their dinner.

There was a section of the park where you could walk among the kangaroos. It was an expansive space, and the kangaroos roamed freely. They didn't seem upset by the presence of humans, and you could get very close.

Also saw a tasmanian devil and a wombat. The tasmanian devil seemed a bit neurotic. He circled his habitat non-stop. As for the wombats... they are huge!

But the highlight of this visit was a white parrot, about 12 inches in length. He/She perched on the cage in front of me and said "Ello, ello, ello, ello, ello, ello" for quite a while, and nothing more. When I turned to leave, I say "bye-bye", to which the white parrot replied "bye-bye" with perfect timing! It was hilarious!

There's not much to say about Noosa Beach on the Sunshine Coast. It's a beach town, with gorgeous white sand beaches. There are shops, restaurants and homes. It's a quiet, relaxing place.

Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast, on the other hand... beautiful beach bordered by many tall condominiums, shops and restaurants. And it was raining when I visited, which meant that hanging out on the beach was not an option. That left the shops and restaurants. I suppose this is a great place if you are 20-something and interested in drinking and hanging out on the beach. I was very disappointed.

Tomorrow I fly to Cairns, located on/near the Great Barrier Reef. This should be cool.

By the way, I don't recall if I mentionned this, but Australia is suffering from a draught that has lasted for 5 years! One community near Brisbane has run out of drinking water. Lawns are brown. People are urged to to take 4 minute showers, and to minimize laundry. They can't use their garden hoses. The local reservoir managed to provide water to the area for 5 years, but is almost dry. It's a concerning situation to observe.

cheers,
Stacey