Australia 2019

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Outside our house in Noosa Springs there is an abundance of birds, some of which provide a melodic symphony of songs in the morning (around 5:30 am) and in the evening at sunset. One species in particular has a very unique sound. The Kookaburra sounds like a tree full of laughing monkies! If you go to Wikipedia ( website attached) you can hear the sound. Australia has such a broad array of birds that are unique, colourful and interesting so it’s understandable the attraction by amateur birders and professional ornithologists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kookaburra

Also in the ponds around the golf course there is a family of Black Swans. These are a rare species (i.e therefore the meaning of a Black Swan event). At the Dragon Fire Golf Course in Carlisle (just north of Burlington, Ontario), they imported a pair of Australian Black Swans to help keep away the Canada Geese. They must be quite effective as we haven’t seen any Canada Geese in Australia, yet!!

We took a couple of days break from golf etc. and set out on a road trip to Tamborine Mountain. It’s about 1 hour drive west from the Gold Coast which is about 1 hour south of Brisbane. This is our first time in this area. The Gold Coast reminded us very much of Miami Beach, lots of high rises apartments and condos clustered around many bars, restaurants and tourist shops etc. On Surfers Paradise, one of the beaches that make up the Gold Coast, there was a sand sculpting competition that included very intricate creations based on the theme of “Treasures of the Sea”. One of the entrants, Karen Farlich is from Ontario!! Obviously the climate for sand sculpting is more appealing than ice sculpting!!!

The two day stay in Tamborine Mountain was much quieter than the afternoon we spent on the youthful and dynamic Gold Coast. Our lodging, at the perfectly located Avacado Sunset B&B, provided a couple of beautiful sunsets framed by tall Eucalyptus trees and an active bird population flitting between the Avacado trees below the deck. We had a full day of hiking 4 out of the 6 rain forest trails in the area, one of which included a ramp on top of the tree canopy. There are a few wineries on the mountain but after a full day of hiking, fatigue drew us back to the B&B for a much needed shower and rest, so we took a pass on wine tasting!!

The 2 1/2 hour drive back to Noosa Springs included the obligatory stop at Costco to replenish our golf ball supply and stock up on water, cookies etc.

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Photos

Black Swans at Noosa Springs Golf Course.
2 parents with 2 chicks

Sunset at Avacado Sunset B&B
This was from the deck outside our room.

Another Sand Sculpture entry
There were at least a dozen very elaborate sculptures

Comments

[Dody]

Sand castles
Wow! Those sand castle sculptures are amazing! Enjoy your adventures!