Koalas, Ned, Puffing Billy.....

Thursday:
We set out on Thursday to hunt down some koalas. I had been constantly gazing up into the eucalyptus trees since we arrived hoping to spot one so James decided it was time to put me out of my misery. They are really hard to see up so high and nestled into all of the leaves.... but they are everywhere and the road signs remind you of this. So we visited a koala sanctuary and were able to see a few close up. And the icing on the cake was seeing our first kangaroo bounce by as we were leaving the sanctuary :) What a successful outing!!! LOL! I think I was more excited than Coral!

That evening we did Bikrams Capalaba while Coral hung out with Russell, Lidy, and Snowie. We had a great class and experienced a little thunder down under and lightning on the way home!















Fri, Sat, Sun......
On Friday morning we took an early flight to Melbourne. James had a work event to attend and we were put up at the Crown Tower. Ooohhh La La! We had a beautiful view of the city and river from our room way up high. We had a busy and fun visit in Melbourne. Monique cooked us a delicious Thai dinner the first night and on Saturday we met James's sister and fiance out for a delicious Italian dinner on Lygon St.

















































We spent Saturday afternoon touring downtown. The Melbourne Gaol was really intreresting due to the fact that this is where Ned Kelly was held after his arrest and later hung. We watched a very well done show in the jail that told of the story from his mothers point of view. They even used hand selected extras for the performance which they chose out of the audience. James was so happy to participate! They even gave him a fake gun as a prop! Sorry but no picture taking was allowed during the performance so his brief acting career was not recorded. Ned's original armor, valued at 7 million, was on display as well so this was an absolute plus to the experience! Later on Coral rode her first roller coaster at "Luna Park" A classic and well known board walk carnival where the rides have the potential to make you loose your lunch.
Monique and James planned a surprise trip for us on Sunday...... How sweet are they? They drove us to the mountains where we went on a fabulous vintage steam train ride. "Puffing Billy" was something that they both experienced as kids growing up in Melbourne so it was great heart warming fun for all of us.
Monique took such good care of us while we were there and I will always remember our visit fondly :) Hopefully we can return the favor soon.....

We also had a chance to visit the neighborhood where James grew up and make a few stops before we headed to the airport. Neddless to say.... this was a cozy end to a cozy day :)

Looking forward to Sydney next weekend!

Day 3 Beaches

We spent the afternoon yesterday touring the Southern Beaches or "Gold Coast."
Surfers Paradise is beautiful but a little Miami / Vegas..... - very touristy... So James took us farther south to a spot where the locals go. I am ashamed to admit that the name escapes me at the moment but this is where the Quick Silver pro is held every year.... (Snapper Rocks) if that tells you anything? Clear water, beautiful sand, and a breathtaking views of the half moon shaped coastline we had just driven. James is an excellent tour guide to say the least!

On the return trip, as is the tradition, we stopped for the famous "Yatala" pies! Just imagine the best potpie in the entire world.... Yum!! (dont be hatin barbie!)

Coral and I are loving Australia and James could not be taking better care of us :)

We are off to Melbourne for three days tomorrow so I will be looking forward to making my next entry from there!!

Day 2 "Shocking"

We were lucky enough to arrive the day before Australias unofficial gambling holiday.... the "Melbourne Cup" and the best part is that my horse, Shocking, came in first! Soooo much fun :) This experience was especially enriched when, during a pre-race interview, one of the jockeys was twirling his......... armpit hair.....

When we were finished gambling with coral, we went out for some sight seeing in Brisbane. We visited Mt Cootha (the highest point in Brisbane) which overlooks the city, river, and trees etc.... There are so many trees here! We also went into the city and walked around an area called South Bank. This is sort of a park area along the river right in the middle of downtown. We enjoyed the walkways covered with bouganvelia, rode the giant modern ferris wheel, and swam at a tropical lagoon sandy bottom pool called "Streets Beach." Not sure if the pictures do this pool and swimming experince justice.

We are heading down to the "Gold Coast" today for some beach time. Its getting really hot here so hopefully we will get a good storm tomorrow......

Day 1.... Crystal Clear!!

Day one began, at 6:30 am, as a layover in Auckland after a 12.5 hour flight from LAX. We arrived in Brisbane at 10 am and officially began our tour of Australia. James took us out for a relaxing afternoon at the shore. We saw armies of tiny crabs who were marching around on the low tide... hundreds and hundreds of them! It looked as if the mud was moving! I did my best to capture the scene but they sense you stomping up behind them and burrow down into the mud so quickly and all at once. Coral had a great time playing at an adorable park awhile I enjoyed watching wild cockatoos frolic. James

a delicious dinner for us which of course included "Shrimp on the barbie." His "Mum" and Dad joined us as well. We had a really nice visit accompanied by some delicious cab from the Margaret River wine region in Southern Australia.

Sooooooo the fact that the sun rises here at 4:45 was withheld from me. Being the morning person that I am..... the fact that this is announced by a variety of very loud birds is a definite plus! And the orchestra that the mix of breeds creates is fantastic! But seriously... what has stood out to me the most, so far, is the lack of smog. I mentioned to James how "bright" everything seemed to be. He pointed out that the air is so clean here. Especially compared to SC. The difference is amazing and disturbing!

Well... today is the Melbourne Cup!!!! So I better get busy on selecting my winner! Updates on the outcome tomorrow :)