Down the Sunshine and Gold Coasts

We finally caught a koala awake! They sleep 20 out of 24 hours daily.

Ross with his buddy "Zorro", the gay cockatoo. Apparently he much prefers males, and stalked Ross the whole time we were in the centre in Cairns.

Lorikeets on South Molle Island. They are nature's alarm clocks, as they swarm and hout every day at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. We saw this happen throughout Queensland.

Daydream Island, one of the Whitsunday Islands. Can you think of a more perfect name?

Byron Bay, one of the few places people could actually swim (although that day sharks were seen a bit north of here, and that beach was closed). Note the lighthouse on the hill - another climb!

One beach looks like another in pictures. This one is Manly Beach, where we spent part of our last day in Sydney. It and Bondi Beach are the two favourites in that area.

The Last Week

It is a long way from Cairns to Sydney. We thought we had lots of time to make the 2000 km journey by train, but it took longer than expected as the train does not run every day until you get to Brisbane. In all, we spent three full days and one night getting to Sydney, but stopped at Airlie Beach, in order to see the Whitsunday Islands, and Brisbane, before our final journey.

The Whitsunday Islands

Once again, nature provided us with an absolutely perfect day for a sail in this area. Of the 74 islands, we saw two only! This would definitely be a place worth exploring for a week or so.

Waters were calm, the resorts on Daydream and South Molle Islands were beautiful, so we were forced to eat a delicious lunch, shop a bit, swim in the pools, and relax even more than we already were. Daydream appeared to be a popular place for weddings. The chapel had floor to ceiling glass overlooking the water, and if you didn't want to use the chapel, Lovers' Cove or the regular beach were options. We saw several young couples getting the "tour" and making decisions.

Speaking of young, Ross and I definitely raised the average age in Airlie Beach. It is a young people's haven, with several backpacker places on the main street. Ironically, the more expensive hotels are up very steep slopes. If you have the money to stay in them, you probably don't have the legs to make the climb!

Reluctantly we said goodbye to this paradise, and climbed on the train for Brisbane. We saw very little of the city itself, as we opted to take a day trip to Byron Bay. Unfortunately, it was Labour Day in Queensland (where Brisbane is) but not in New South Wales ( where Byron Bay is). Traffic consisted either of commuters, or holidayers returning after a long weekend. It was a long trip, but worth it for the scenery (dolphins - at least 30), and the swim in the ocean without crocodiles, jelly fish, or rip tides. ( We didn't hear about the sharks until we were back on the bus).

Sydney again

All of a sudden, there we were, back in Sydney where we began. Six weeks had gone by so quickly! A last trip to Manly Beach, $15.00 glasses of wine at the top of Sydney Tower, a magnificent 360 degree view of Sydney in all its nighttime splendour, and then May 10th arrived. We go home with countless memories, about 1500 pictures, many stories. The mastercard add is true - dreams down under ...priceless!