Queensland... the land of wild turkeys.

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Hello all,

So we returned from Queensland last weekend, to a wonderful blast of coldness after enjoying lovely sun and beaches for 9 days. Melbourne is seriously cold. (ok ok.. not like Canada cold, but cold after chasing the sun all year, and then suddenly not hitting a temperature above 12 for a week straight!) Anyways, Queensland was amazing, and we are so happy that we had the opportunity to go.
We stayed with my cousin Zack, and his wife Jenny.. and of course the unforgettable puppy Miley, who stole our hearts. They live on the end of the Gold Coast near the New South Wales border. We spent the first couple of days lazing around, surfing, sunning on the beach, and checking out the more "popular" areas known to the area ( ie: Surfers Paradise.. basically a big commercial build up and way to overcrowded in the summer apparently) We happened to be in town over the long weekend (here in Australia the Queen celebrates her birthday in June...) and over this particular long weekend there was a festival called winter sun taking place. Basically a big old rock n' roll festival. Tons of old hot rods were lying around, as well as lots of poodle skirts and leather jackets. So cool! We partied with this crowd over the weekend a bit, and enjoyed the excitement of it all. On the monday Kevin and I headed to Byron Bay, which is a bit of a hippie haven. It was apparently really scarcely known in the 70's but as all good things happen it too has been hit with the commercialism and tourism as well. Lucky for us, we were visiting in off season, so we happened to be some of the only travelers there, besides some locals, and other backpackers escaping the cold of Melbourne.
Byron Bay happens to sit on the most eastern part of Australia, and I will be the first (and likely not the last) to tell you that it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Probably one of the most gorgeous places I've seen on this trip. Dolphins off the coast playing, sun setting over mountains and ocean, and good energy all around. Kevin and I were both blown away by the magic of this place. Every night at sunset there was random drummers and fire dancers playing along the beach, and every morning people making coffee and smiling. Truly a wonderful experience.

After we left Byron Bay we went back to Zack and Jenny's for a couple of nights, where they showed us some lovely look out points, and we had great evenings of drinks, dinner and conversation. Overall a lovely trip!!!

We returned home to our lovely housemates, and workmates, who welcomed us with cheers and hugs! What a wonderful thing to come home too. We had a fantastic wine and cheese party the following night, where over 20 people came to our home, and each brought a bottle (or 2) of wine, plus a piece of cheese. by the end of it we had over 50 empty bottles, and 3 or 4 goon gone ( for those of you not familiar with goon.. it's cheap boxed wine, that students, and travelers drink... more bang for your buck type thing... gives you a killer hangover, but tastes good after a night of drinking) We had an absolute blast, and everyone was still talking about it well into the following week! We'll have to recreate the magic once I'm back in C-da!

We are now just over 4 weeks from returning, and emotions for me are starting to run high. As excited as I am to see each of you soon, I'm starting to feel panicked that I'm leaving my home, friends, and life here, with that said however, I'm beyond excited to see everyone, and have drinks/dinners the weekend I return! and the weekend after that... and after that as well likely!!!

Alright, on that note, I'm going to wrap this up, and go have an after work converstation with some work friends. Until next time...

xoxoxo
Shan

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