Coochie Island

Don't laugh at the name unless you're under 15...

For the first time since leaving the good ole US of A, we repacked our beastly backpacks and relocated. It didn't take us long to realize we needed to prioritize our belongings and get rid of a couple things. The gravitational force of a 26 kilo bag drug our feet on the ground as we crouched over huffing and puffing for air...with a little hope the pain in our lower back and shoulders would eventually go numb.

The Hamptons have a beach house on Coochiemudlo Island just southeast of Brisbane where we vacationed for a couple days to have a rest from the bustling city life. It sits in Moreton Bay, sheltered from the Pacific Ocean by a much larger, Stradbrooke Island. Only 5k in circumference, Coochie (for short because Aussies abbreviate everything) gave us the perfect distance to walk around in preparation for Kilimanjaro. We strapped on our boots again and took the island twice by storm in less than 1.5 hours. Tea and crumpets in the morning on the back veranda with absolutely no schedule or list of things to do...we were on island time. We kayaked a bit and bounced around in their 1960s "mini moke"--a beach buggy with no doors--to pick up firewood. A crackling fire and Bill Bryson's hilarious book, Down Under (about Oz of course) did the trick at night. Here, the stars are extra bright and the water is often motionless. Only a ferry connects the island to the mainland so it served as the perfect escape...

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It's not what you think...

Fourex is the drop of choice for Queenslanders, who have taken pride in their local successful beer industry. We decided to drive into Brisbane to take the mid-day brewery tour and thought it would only be appropriate to bring along BJ's younger sister, Tayte, who has an exam on Wednesday. We've already forgotten the concept of studying, clearly. We wandered through the brewery watching the fermenting, labeling, and bottling processes (mass production-style) eager to drink our 4 pots included in the entry ticket. Their machines were interwoven in a myriad of conveyer belts carrying bottles that they called the river of beer. They had a version of their old 3x recipe from the 1800s, which was our favorite brew. With a nice buzz in tow, we stopped at the nearby Macca's (shortened Aussie lingo for McDonald's) to have a decadent double cheeseburger meal. We then decided to continue appreciating XXXX beer by stopping at Paddo Tavern (3 pm) to have a jug. Katie got kicked out because she didn't have sufficient identification (the drinking age here is 18...really?) On to the bottle-o as they call it to enjoy free wine tastings without making a purchase. so tacky of us. We did, however, buy a slab of beer at the neighborhood liquor store. No one wanted to carry it a block uphill to the Hampton's house so we opted to borrow a shopping trolley from Woolworth's to drive it home. Lazy Brady had to catch a ride in the cart, which Katie promptly crashed into the curb, spilling it's precious cargo into the middle of the road. Thanks to the last reamining bits of sunlight, we made it home safely...only to enjoy some more Fourex Bitter on the back veranda overlooking the skyline.

Sunshine Coast

Saturday we decided to venture North (without Fee, whew) where the weather would be warmer. We stopped in Noosa Heads to walk through the national park. We decided to break in our Kilimanjaro boots for the 2 hour "hike", but got funny looks from people because the path could easily be managed in sandals. BJ bought a nice pair of sunnies (sunglasses), which was a big deal because he cringes every time he has to spend money. It was such a tough sale (literally about 45 minutes) that the entire Sunglass Hut staff got their picture taken with us. Brady got a free bar of soap out of the deal and Katie walked away with a sweet beach ball. Oh the perks of tagging along...
We got up early Sunday morning to drive on the beach, which is the thing to do in this area. Drove in the sand for about 30 miles, stopping along the way to see the colored sands. Not a very eventful weekend (which was a good thing), but the scenery was gorgeous. The highlight (not really) of the trip was stopping at Steve Irwin's famous Australia Zoo to get our picture at the entrance but not pay the $60 to go in...true backpacker style, of course.

You really just have to be here...

Ode to Fee

Fee is BJ's bright blue 1977 Volkswagen Cabriolet. It's an understatement to say this car merely has a personality. Fee's windshield wipers go constantly, rain or shine. A short circuit means his headlights don't work. Luckily when we found ourselves driving in the dark, the brights would turn on only if BJ held them down. Because the car is manual; holding the lights, steering, and changing gears isn't possible to do at the same time so more times than not Brady and I are cringing as we see absolutely nothing in front of us--the joys of a poorly lit Aussie back road. The push start often needs a good pep talk and constant attention since the engine turns off randomly. It's quite common we have to re-start the car at a round-about, but it's normal now. The convertible top literally pops off--there are snaps that keep it in place and the gas meter works on its own time. BJ guessed he was out of gas and luckily when we stopped, he was 4 liters shy of empty. If you don't slam Fee's door, it'll pop open. The sound system, which was an added luxury, has a loose speaker that sits and rattles on the passenger floor. The horn, which can only be sung by connecting a protruding wire to a remnant metal base on the steering wheel, sounds like a muffled dying animal. Sounds complicated, but it's only used for embarassment. Don't for a second question whether or not there's AC or heat. In this car, the inside is the outside. The muffler is loose, so naturally there is a constant rattle underneath Fee. The start is so loud, BJ pushed Fee out of the trailer park at 3 am before climbing Mt. Warning so that we didn't wake the whole campground. There is no power steering, but the brakes and blinkers work! This morning Fee died briefly from overheating, but no worries...he's back in action. A robust, 2-door, 4-seater Golf; Fee turns heads wherever he goes. We thought it was only appropriate to paint a picture of Fee so you get a little feel for what its like to journey with this car. Brady compared the experience to Disney's Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. I'm at a loss for words. Regardless, we've decided we love Fee. It definitely adds some humor and spice to our trip. No doubt there's more to come...

The Golden Triangle

This weekend the pair decided to venture south of Brisbane for the Queen's Birthday weekend before it gets too cold (the 60s is their winter). Their chariot for this event packed weekend was a 1977 Volkswagen named Fee. Their first stop was Bond Uni on the Gold Coast, BJ's alma mater, to stay with his mate Billy. We were reluctant to walk the campus at night in the "cold" but nonetheless enjoyed it, despite its seeming sterility (compared to the beauty and tradition of Chapel Hill). Our therm-arests were put to the test on the dorm floor- an unpleasant flashback to college road trips. The next morning we ate brekky, aka breakfast, on the Gold Coast and then ventured into the Springbrook rain forest. We took Fee's top down, only to drive through the cold, into a rain storm. You would think the term rainforest would have given us a clue. We hiked a brisk 4km to a waterfall and then another 2km to a natural bridge. It was splendid, moving on...we then stopped in Murwillumbah for another meat pie(#3) and then drove through the countryside to Nimbin.

Picture this: a blast from the 60s, a one block, psychedelic-painted town full of dirty hippies, and heaps of legalize marijuana propaganda. The second we reached the city limits the famous 3-legged dog raved about by every travel guide book ran across the street in front of Fee. We toured the Nimbin museum of cannabis and were approached to buy the local crop no less than 5 times, we kindly declined. Even though it is illegal to smoke in Australia, the police turn a blind eye to Nimbin because it is too widespread to enforce. What an interesting town- they have a festival called Mardi Grass...need we say more?

We then drove Fee to Byron Bay, the most eastern mainland point in Australia. It reminded us of a California surfer town with a mix of yuppies and its original hippy inhabitants. At the hostel, a creepy, brain-fried traveler with a t-shirt that said "Energie" and a crystal hanging around his neck told us his profession was to "inhale, and then exhale, and work on his tan" and thought it was important to mention that he loves baths with rocks and crystals around him. Turns out, he was just looking for a wife. We used a climb to the lighthouse as an excuse to escape. The lighthouse sits on top of a cliff on the bay peninsula where we had a great view of surfers, a large dolphin pod, and a few whales. We vegged out on the beach for the rest of the day and watched the sunset before heading out to Mt. Warning (1157m), where we camped in a trailer park, despite BJ's desire to pitch the 6-man, 2-bedroom tent on the side of the road.

We woke up at 3:30 and were on the trail by 4am to make the beast of a summit by sunrise. Katie soon realized she was morbidly out of shape, humorously commenting that she was "panting like a 400lb diabetic". Nonetheless we all made it to the top before the sun rose at 6:30am. The last 200m is a vertical rock scramble up the volcanic plug. We reached the summit exhausted, only to find people smoking cigarettes and chugging rum and coke-EW! It was neat to walk up in the dark when you could only see 1m ahead of you with a flashlight and the glow worms in the leaves and then back down in the daylight where the canopy of the rain forest housed vibrant wildlife that kept us company on our descent. After a glorious shower and a divine meat pie(#4) we drove to Coochiemudlo Island to pass out.

Koalas, Wombats, and Kangaroos...oh my!

G'day ya'll
Yesterday we ventured off to see some Aussie animals (post eating our 2nd meat pies of trip). Little did we know, it'd be a bit more exciting than merely looking at them. We got to hold a Koala named Fitzroy and watch kangaroos go at it...more than once. It was a live version of Animal Planet and quite entertaining. We poked fun at koalas getting high on eucalyptus and caught a laughing kookaburra giggling at us...silly Americans. Quite a successful first adventure in Oz. We now feel right at home.

More pictures on shutterfly link!

Correction: The day we arrived was the first day of rain in over 595 days- the drought has limited us to 4 minute showers and team work when brushing our teeth and washing our faces to minimize water waste. You should all try it too...makes you feel good about doing your part for the environment.

In the Land of Oz

We made it. Of course Katie's flight was delayed into LA so Brady waits patiently while Katie cuts into the required check-in time for international flights. It's 10:30 when Katie gets her bag for an 11:20 international departure. Waiting at the Qantas desk, Brady curiously asks why there's no line for the Brisbane flight. Politely, the woman responds--because everyone else checked in 2 hours ago. Ha. So our bags got a special delivery to the plane by a nice man Brady befriended; She called him CALOP...he laughed...then she realized it was an acronym for California something or other and not a nametag. Smooth. We then proceed to run what seemed like a mile to Gate 103 (so maybe it was) to catch boarding in time. Katie bought a $4 Gatorade (so much for being on a budget) because she was out of breath. Upon boarding the 8 seat deep, two story monster of a plane, we sat at the gate for an hour while the crew took their time preparing for take-off. 15 hours later we land in Cairns, our re-routed destination because Brisbane is experiencing heavy rain for the first time in months. BJ, Brady's better half, kindly picked us up from the airport...after of course, Katie got searched for her 6 months worth of prescription medication. (thanks, mom) The momentous occasion of the day came when Brady was reunited with her Kiwi delight, meat pies, and Katie tried her first. Divine indeed...won't be missing American food too much with these around. "It's like an amazing foreign cheeseburger" -Katie
Rick, Diet Coke...no Coke Light. crucial.
We're taking it easy today, enjoying the rain on their tin roof and the open windows and no humidity. planning a road trip for this weekend...cheers from down under