Wild Koalas on Raymond Island

Even after getting to cuddle Malaku at the Billabong Sanctuary Nick, Michele and I still hadn't gotten enough of Koalas. In Queensland we had gotten a tip from a fellow traveling family about Raymond island where you are guaranteed a wild koala spotting. As we went farther and farther south we kept that in mind and made a detour to check it out.The climate had changed dramatically. In just a few days drive we had gone from insanely hot to crazy hot and humid to comfy and now we were under dressed in cold rain. However, the ability to see your breath wasn't going to get in the way of our koalas!

Beautiful Shoreline

The ferry from the small town of Paynesville to the island was 5 minutes and free for pedestrians.  The island has almost 500 residents on it's 12 square kilometers. We started on the well marked Koala Trail but veered off half way. Because the weather was so bad all the koalas were curled up in their trees. We saw a few awake, eating or shifting positions. I bet we saw another 2 dozen sleeping. Even when the tall eucalyptus trees shook in the wind they would snooze some more. At one point Justin led us down to the ocean. Lots of mussel shells were tangled in the overgrown coast. While we were walking around we also saw some other wild life, an Enchidna and a Crimson Rosella to name a few.

A striking Crimson Rosella 

They kind of remind me of sloths

A Day Trip to the Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is one of the iconic landmarks of Australia so of course we had to go! A friend from Thailand had friends in the greater Sydney area so we stayed there and had a welcomed break from hotels and tents.

A simple train ride took us from the suburb of Saint Mary’s right into the heart of Australia’s largest city. The whole day revolved around Sydney Harbor, more specifically the Sydney Opera House. When we had done research about things to do on a day trip all we could find was a hand full of museums and a zoo.

So, from ten in the morning until seven at night we admired the unique architecture from all perspectives. We looked at it up close and realized that it is in fact multiple buildings and has a patterned exterior. From the Circular Quay Train Stop where we got off we could spy it from above and behind, while strolling through the botanical gardens we could see the creamy curves as well, and we also got some of the best views from Mrs. Maquire's chair.

Mrs. Maquire's chair is actually a large stone carved in the spot where Governor Maquire's wife used to sit for the best view of the harbor when the colony was young. My favorite view was from the Sydney Harbor bridge. We were happy to get out of the chilly rain for a nice lunch. After being in steamy tropical locations for months 68 degrees was a shock! You can see that I wasn't joking when I said our day was all about the iconic landmark of Sydney! Unfortunately we didn't get to see a show but by the time it was dark and we hung around to see it illuminated everyone was pretty sick of the Sydney Opera House.

The attractive Sydney Harbor

Tiled Surface of the Opera House

Exploring The Rocks

We managed to spot this hungry kookaburra in the Botanical Gardens

A visual of the harbor

A nice view from the bridge

Sunshine and Gold Coasts

Views from the Byron Bay Light House

Australia is an enormous island so naturally beaches are abundant. Let's not assume that high quantity means low quality though, this country has some of our favorite combinations of sand and surf.

Nick, Michele and Anika after a swim on Mermaid Beach, you can see the high rises of Surfer's Paradise in the background

Mermaid Beach

This little beach community is strapped on the edge of Surfer's Paradise which is one of the big names with it's wide coast and high rises. Mermaid beach is quiet and residential and more our style.

After a long day in Brisbane we crashed here and lounged around the next day. Michele and I found a local book store and got some new reading material. On the way back to the hotel we walked on the beach. Currents and riptides can be dangerous on the East Coast so manageable sections of the coast are overseen by life guards. Later in the afternoon we got the Nick and Justin to join us for a swim. There were lots of little jellyfish on the shore but we dove in and hoped for the best. Surf Clubs were originally for life guard recreation but are open to the public and one of "the Australian experiences." At Mermaid beach we had an awesome dinner at one. Justin won 50$ worth of club credits in a game and ended up becoming a member.

Byron Bay Light House

Byron Bay

Byron Bay is your typical tourist beach town. Boutiques, expensive restaurants and lot's of souvenir shops. Two of us wanted to explore the town and the other half did not so we split up. Nicholas and Justin found a nice spot to have lunch while Michele and I walked around more. The beach was relatively crowded but the water was so clear! You could see right through it!

Later we drove up the twisty roads to the lighthouse. Steep cliffs dropped off on all sides but the views of the ocean below were something else!

Enjoying the waves at Rainbow Beach

Some spectacular colors at sunset

Giving Kayaking a try

Morning Breakfast picture on Rainbow Beach

Taekwondo practice

Rainbow Beach

This sweet spot was actually north of Brisbane putting it on the Sunshine Coast. We had planned to go to Fraser Island (Largest sand island in the world) but after being eaten alive by midgies (teeny tiny bugs known on the east coast as noseeums) the last thing we wanted was sand fleas. Instead we stayed on the mainland just across the channel. The beach was nice and a friendly neighbor lent us her kayak. It was also fun to watch the skydivers that would land on the beach periodically. Rainbow Beach was actually the nearest town and the public beach there which was also very nice.  

Paradise on Yarawanga Point

Cutting up corned beef

Yarawanga Point

This is actually where we spent St. Patrick's Da y! Justin cooked up some corned beef and potatoes on the top of this breezy hill surrounded by colorful water. The tide changes were also very apparent with the bay morphing into mudflats during part of the day. Unfortunately the beauty of the spot was ruined by the thousands of midgies that crawled through the mesh of our tent and prevented us from sleeping and covered us with bites. Nick counted over 300 on him alone. And we didn't dare swim in the tantalizing blue water for all the crocodile warnings everywhere. 

A Fun Day in Brisbane

Over the 8 moths we've spent abroad we have seen a lot of citys. Bejiing, Tokyo, Seoul, Kathmadu, Bangkok, Phenom Penh, Ho Chi Minh, Darwin. Plus all the cities we have visited before, New York, Chicago, Montreal, Quebec, Cusco, LA, Bogata. I have to say in my opinion Brisbane has been the nicest and cleanest so far. The parks were neat and large and there are many opportunities for walkers and joggers. There was a very modern feel too.

Driving wasn't too bad and finding parking downtown wasn't hard. We walked through the beautiful parks to the public pools with sand and everything. Justin walked around the neighborhood while the rest of us swam. When I floated on my back there was a great view of the skyline. After Nick and I were satisfied with our swimming we went out to a fancy lunch. Munching on salmon and burgers surrounded by flowers was a big step up from canned meat in the bush!



We walked around the park some more and rode the Ferris Wheel for panoramic views of the city.

Then we saw the iconic Brisbane sign.

And spent a few hours at an art museum. Nick was bored and made the museum staff a little nervous. There was modern art as well as a Picasso.

Everyone was tired by the time the museum closed and we were dismissed. Traffic was a little heavier exiting the city because it was rush hour but Justin was a good driver and got us out of it. We spent the night in Mermaid Beach a few miles out of town.

Bowen

We drove quickly through this coastal vacation town on our way south and stopped to see the Worlds Largest Statue of a Mango. The area is a large producer of the tasty fruit and we had some good sorbet at the visitors center. The green ant was the artists touch, we think the statue is made of fiber glass

Billabong Sanctuary

Holding a baby croc!

Nick and I were very excited. We were going to hold one of the cutest animals on the planet- a koala!

We were the only car in the Billabong Sanctuary parking lot two hours before opening time. We waited impatiently, checking if the gates had opened yet. Through the fence we could see the shape of dogs- dingoes being taken for a morning walk. Finally it was 9 am and we were the first through the door.

All kinds of Australian critters from the smallest bilby to the biggest croc call Billabong Sanctuary home. But we were most excited for the most famous tenant- the Koala.

Through out the day we went to all the exhibits and a good number of shows and feedings. The first was the cassowary. Smaller than an ostrich but heavier than an emu this jungle bird is a "key stone" species that is vital to it's ecosystem and can not be replaced. The cassowary is native to Northern Australia and Papua New Guinea and does it's part by eating large fruit and passing it so that the plant can spread. The fruit is too large for anything else to eat so you can see why this prehistoric looking bird is so important. We learned that the large lump on it's head is a built in air conditioner that draws heat away from the cassowary's body. The males incubate and raise the chicks.

Next we fed turtles. This wasn't too special but there sure were a lot of them.

During the wombat show we learned all about this intriguing creatures. Weighing up to 80 pounds wombats are prolific diggers and can excavate cubic feet in a single night. They can run 42 miles an hour for short distances and when a predator follows them into their burrow they use a bony plate on their backside to crush the intruders skull against the roof of the tunnel. Nick and I got to hold a wombat named Ruben. He was pretty heavy and more like a stuffed animal than a living one.

Koalas are a wombat's closest relative. They have a bony plate too except they use it to sit on so they don't get pins and needles. The eucalyptus that makes up their diet provides very little excess energy which is why they sleep 23 hours of the day. The leaves give them all the water they need so they never need to come down, talk about lazy! It doesn't help that their brains have a diameter of less than an inch. I guess it just floats around in that big skull..... We got to hold Malaku the koala who was soft and smelled like- yep, eucalyptus. Legally a koala can only "work" (that means being touched) 30 minutes a day and every 2 days get a day off. Can I be a koala? That sounds like the life!

Nick with a Bilby statue

Nick was excited to see the bilby and managed to get a peek at one before it went to sleep. Bilbys are a small species of marsupial that has rabbit ears and a mouse body.
On our way out we saw a crocodile show and got to here the blood chilling sound of their jaws coming together. We also saw cassowary's less attractive cousin the emu and as we left picked up a photo of us holding the animals. We won't forget the koalas and wombats of Billabong Sanctuary any time soon!

Emu alert!

Snakes!

Other than a platypus the echidna is the only mammal that lays eggs

Dingoes on an afternoon walk

Hungry turtles