Brisbane

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We arrived in Brisbane from SIngapore and were kindly put up first by My (Laura) cousin Alex and Shirley. The weather was a bit of a shock as it was pretty cold compared to Asia. However the sun was shining so we couldnt complain. The first thing we did was went to the famous Breakfast Creek and had steak which we had not eaten for ages so was a real treat. We spent some time pottering around Brisbane and also visited the Ekka (exhibition) which was an agricultural fair so we were able to potter around with the cows and sheep etc. It was fairly similar to the Great Yorkshire Show and looked a bit like it as the weather was miserable but it was a good day out. We went on to stay with My uncle Bob and Auntie Lyn but before we left we cooked a traditional Sunday roast dinner for everyone at Alex and Shirleys. Whilst staying with Bob and Lyn we took in the views of Bribane up Mount Coutha. Lower down in the City we attended am orchesteral concert at the conservatorium. We also went on a walk in the rainforest where i managed to get bitten by a cheeky tick which Andy delighted in pulling out. As i was desparate to see a Koala we went to Lone Pine Sanctuary where we met the locals, including a dingo, wombats, cockatoos, kangaroos and Koalas.

We had another taste of the local wildlife on a trip to North Stradbroke Island or "Straddie". We took the catamaran over to the island and drove to point lookout where we walked along the cliffs and luckily spotted mantarays, dolphins, turtles and also whales. we caught a beautiful sunset at Amity Point before paying a visit to the brown lake which is coloured from the tea plants around it. The day was great and we were really lucky with the weather.

Before leaving Bob and Lyns we also got to meet some Greek friends of theirs over a great dinner at the greek club which was delicious and also went over to Ipswitch to visit more family.

We returned briefly to Alex and Shirleys where we also did a days work for the Australian election!

After alot of planning, we left Brisbane for Carins and hopefully some warmer weather!!!

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