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Published: February 20th 2017
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Our Home away from Home
Looking out onto 15th Fairway We have now settled into the house in Noosa Heads, Queensland. It is certainly up to our expectations, looks out onto the 15th hole of the golf course and is very comfortable. The golf course, club house and spa are also "top drawer" with great gym facilities, driving range, pools and other amenities, in which membership is included in our monthly house rental. We even have our own private golf cart to drive back and forth to the club house. So we feel very fortunate and look forward to enjoying our time here until mid-April.
The weather has been hot, ++ 30 C, but not to the level covered on the news. Parts of New South Wales (Sydney) and Victoria (Melbourne) have had extreme heat warnings and there has been sporadic power outages in those areas. When we arrived, in Noosa Heads, the area had gone quite a few days without rain, but for the past week, there has been some intermittent showers. The vegetation is now looking a little more lush. Humidity has been high most days which of course makes it seem hotter than the temperature indicates.
Debra's brother Roger and his friend Linda arrived and are
Kangaroo
On golf 6th hole of Noosa Golf Course. Just like Canada only Kangaroo instead of Deer! staying with us for 3 weeks. We're happy to have them visit has been to Australia and the experience should be memorable. In the 1st week, we've done some touring around the immediate area, played our first round of golf and enjoyed the use of the various facilities in the complex. Every Wednesday and Saturday the famous Eumundi market is held which is about 40 minute drive from Noosa Heads. It's a very large( 300 stalls) outdoor market with the usual participants ( multiple booths of the same merchandise), however, there were some unique products and we'll go back to and explore further. Off to the Australian Zoo, the next day in which, the now deceased, Steve Irwin(Crocodile Hunter) helped establish. The Zoo is about 1 hour north of Brisbane and features many native species.
Of course, the most iconic Australian animal is the Koalas which were in abundance at the Zoo. In the Queensland area, they are now an endangered species and are predicted to be extinct in the wild in this area by 2020. Most of the issue is loss of habitat and as always, encroachment of humans. Contrary to popular belief, Koalas are not members of
Eumundi Market
Roger and Linda at the start of their visit the bear species as they are marsupials (the young are developed in a pouch after a short gestation period) and are genetically closest to the Wombat. The name is aboriginal meaning "not drink" as they get about 90% of water from the eucalyptus leaves, the only thing they eat. Debra claims I'm as lazy as a Koala, however, they're not lazy. They sleep 18-20 hours/day because there is very little energy in the eucalyptus leaf. This of course helps my case that eating salad can make you appear lazy!!!!
The Zoo is worthwhile and well put together. They certainly make good use of Steve Irwins fame in promoting the facility. At $59/person entry it provides good value and is an interesting and educational day. On the way back, we took the scenic route starting at the Glass Mountains, which is a very beautiful area close to the Zoo and a popular tour for the Cruise ships that dock in Brisbane. Very pretty drive with great vistas that go through some interesting smaller towns.
We finished the week with an 3 hour early morning hike through Noosa Heads National Park. The trail meanders along the coast and includes some
Koala
Too many leaves of the best beaches in Australia (Sunshine Beach). The views were spectacular and the trail was reasonably easy, although with the heat of the day, we were quite happy to finish and spend a relaxing afternoon at one of the 3 salt water pools in the complex.
Debra and Linda are off to Sydney for a couple of days leaving Roger and I home to fend for ourselves. We will then all meet up in Melbourne and take the Great Coastal drive along the southern coast which is reputed to be one of the best in the country. It should make for some interesting driving, particularly on the left side of the road!!!!
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