Week Two: Gold Coast

After renting a car, we found ourselves a lot more mobile and in a position to venture out a little further.  We explored Byron Bay which meant spending part of an afternoon at the beach.  With the most eastern point of Australia about five minutes up the road, we went to Byron Bay Lighthouse.  The views of the lighthouse, of the sea, of the beach - of everything - were beautiful.  It was a great day!

Byron Bay Beach - great beach for swimming, sandcastles & soccer!

Bryon Bay Lighthouse

Another surf beach below the road to Byron Bay Lighthouse

The next day was Mother's Day and it started off with coffee and breakfast at the local coffee shop!  We then went to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary to see native Australian wildlife.  We managed to get a deal which included a picture with a koala!  The sanctuary wasn't big, but we managed to spend the better part of a day there.  Sofia got to hold not only a koala but a snake so her day was complete!

My Mother's Day Flat White...

Petting a kangaroo!

Dingos!

During the week I was able to get the kids to Mount Tamberine for a walk in the forest.  The drive to the walk took longer than the actual walk, but it was still great to get out and see something new.  We stopped at Surfers Paradise to check out one of the local parks before going back home.

Skywalk @ Mount Tamberine

Fabulous park...

We took another day off to hit Wet'n'Wild water park!  What a great place this is.  Unfortunately some of the rides/attractions were closed, but the kids still had a great time in the massive wave pool, water slides and Sofia even talked me into going down some crazy 'drop' in a dingy with her.  I thought I was going to get tossed right out but we survived and Sofia admitted it was a little 'scarier' than expected.  Sorry - no photos!

Our last weekend in Burleigh Heads included a trip to the Australia Zoo.  It was a bit of a trek for us, but we figured we'd better make the effort as we may not get another chance to go, and the kids are at that perfect 'zoo' age.  The entrance of the zoo had a memorial for the late, and beloved, crocodile hunter Steve Irwin.  A zoo worker with a young alligator in hand greeted people as well.  We walked around, taking in what we could, until it was time to see the "Australia Zoo Show".  We were entertained mainly with an impressive bird show, followed by a croc feeding show.  It was amazing to see how big those crocs get!  After this we walked around the rest of the zoo, finishing up with the amazing laughing Kookaburras!  I had no idea what these birds looked like and was blown away... they are amazing, not so little, creatures!

Steve Irwin Tribute

Cassowary - very aggressive and very large bird...

Macaws

The exotic EMU...

Reticulated Python... creepy stuff...

Kookaburras!

We moved out of our holiday apartment last Sunday and stayed with Danny and Rosie until leaving for Sydney on Wednesday.  We had a few great nights with them, including one last meal at a Surf Club, which seemed fitting as surfing is a way of life for the folks of Queensland!

Dinner at Currumbin Surf Club!

So, yes, we are now in Sydney which after a day has proved another wonderful place... but that's for another day!

Ciao for now!