So we made it to Mari and Grant Ring's house just outside of Brisbane having now driven a total of 1200 km since Sydney (equivalent of 745 miles). They have an awesome 5 bedroom house complete with one baby, a cat named Baxter, Vegemite, and Air Conditioning (oh how we miss air conditioning). First off, they are some of the most hospitable people we've ever met. They immediately came out to greet us, showed us our rooms, and then while we we're getting unpacked and showered from our long drive, she cooked home-made Lasagna. It was good catching up because we hadn't seen Mari in 5 years and only had the chance to meet Grant once. We took to Grant fast as his generosity, humor, and willingness to help with our travel plans greatly helped out in our adventures.
Grant and Mari had suggested we go to the Koala Sanctuary close to their house. They even were kind enough to take off work and bring along their beautiful new 3 month old baby to help play tour guides. The Koala park didn't disappoint with hundred's of Koala's to see from the young ones in the "Kindergarten" or the older ones in the "Retirement Home". The park also had Tasmanian Devils, Dingo's Kangaroos, Wallabies, Emus, Crocodiles, Monitor Lizards, Falcons, Owls, and Duckbill Platypus' . The Kangaroos were awesome as we could literally lay with them as we fed them. We also were able to hold Koala's and we managed to hunt down a pretty good size lizard that was on the property as well. All in all, it was a great day and truly unique!
The next day we went down to the Gold Coast and laid out on the beach, or at least tried to. The winds were so heavy that we couldn't stay long because not only was our stuff blowing away but it was basically a sand storm rivaling the Sahara. From there we went and shopped, ate, and got ice cream in Surfer's Paradise in downtown Gold Coast. After dinner, Brandon took a night swim where the water temp had cooled from 75 to a chilly 73.
Unfortunately, the next morning we had to say goodbye to the Ring's as we ventured once more North. We'll never forget their graciousness and we hope to see them soon! And Grant, if you ever read this, have a Scotch for us and make sure to stay away from Subway! Next stop, Rainbow Beach and Fraser Island!
Trying Vegemite for the first and ONLY time :)
No, this isn't photo-shopped lol
Ultra tiny Gecko
A massive two foot lizard that I later picked up
Lizard Hunter
Erica and her new best friend
Cassowarrie
Erica's second new best friend
Wallabie
Lounging around
Erica getting jealous :)
Dangerous surf and jelly advisory
Erica with Sadie, Mari & Grant's 3-month old
Mari, Grant, & Sadie
Gold Coast Panorama
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