Currumbin Rock Pools & Springbrook National Park

After our excursion to the farmer's market this morning, Maddy, Anna, and I decided to forgo the shopping mall and drive up into the hills instead for a walk. No complaints here. We first went to the Currumbin Rock Pools which is just a little spot where you can swim and have a BBQ with a beautiful view of the hilltops covered in fog. We only stayed there briefly to get a couple pics and then drove further into the hills.

CURRUMBIN ROCK POOLS
THE HILLS BY THE ROCK POOLS
DRIVING INTO THE HILLS

We parked the car and walked along a pathway in the Springbrook National Park. The path was halfway up a hill covered in humongous trees and ferns with the water down below. A few people were swimming around the first waterfall we found. There are steps set up on the hill so you can walk down to the water and as we were walking down a girl tumbled down the rocks she was climbing with a friend but luckily landed in the water. Maddy and I both thought we had witnessed a death seeing as she fell on what looked like her head but she surfaced with a grin on her face. Scary! I was at least expecting some blood or something but she seemed to have been fine. I was highly amused when Maddy later said, "I wonder if her mother knows what she's up to".

SPRINGBROOK NATIONAL PARK

STANDING ABOVE A WATERFALL

THE ROCKS WHERE THE GIRL FELL!
SOME COOL TREE ROOTS

After overcoming the shock of this girl's gymnastics we continued up the pathway and deeper into the rainforest. It started raining lightly and being amongst the foliage, away from buildings/roads, and feeling the sprinkles on my head was incredible and a little surreal. We weren't able to see much wildlife but the trees alone are phenomenal. Just such a different type of nature that what I'm used to.

MADDY AND ANNA WALKING THROUGH THE RAINFOREST
HUMONGOUS TREES

The pathway follows the water all the way up so we were hoping to see a platypus but apparently they are ridiculously difficult to see in the wild. Back down at the carpark they have used massive tree trunks as dividers and there's a little cafe where we stopped for a coffee and snack. Will definately be going on many more rainforest walks. The Hinterland (Australian rainforest) is just so incredible and to now have seen it I'm just in awe that a 3 minute walk east of my house I have the beach and a 10 minute drive west I have rainforest. I'll be seeing more of the Hinterland in March as I recently found out I've been accepted for a long weekend eco conservation trip just west of Brisbane!

POSSIBLY A FUTURE SWIMMING SPOT :)

LOOKING UP OUT OF THE CANOPY

The Australian Open

No, I am not physically going to any matches, but Maddy and I have been avidly watching the Men's Singles competition. Nadal is in the Semis as we speak and it's so close. Both guys are playing their hardest and are neck and neck. Federer easily beat Roddick last night so we'll see who he plays on Sunday night. Screams at the TV and fidgiting on the couch occur during every game and it's quite a laugh at how intense Maddy and I both get about it all. Don't mind watching at home though seeing as Melbourne is currently going through a massive heat wave.

A Typical Day

WADING INTO THE WAVES

I wake up between 9am and 10am and open my door to two lazy kitties who become thoroughly interested by my room and why the door has been closed all night. Jonah then becomes fascinated by the toilet flushing and always comes to take a peek at the water. Very amusing. Most days I then work out on Wii Fit (not always though, as sometimes a big bowl of cereal and TV seem much more interesting). My favorites on Wii Fit are the Table Top Balance Game and the Warrior Yoga pose. The Boxing Aerobics is rather amusing as the TV encourages you with such comments as, "This is you fighting your fat" (not that that's a concern for me) and "Nice moves!" (I happily take this compliment though). Oh the encouragement to get in shape, too bad I just see it as a more interactive video game than typical ones.

JONAH CHECKING OUT THE TOILET

After playing with the kitties and Wii Fit, I usually spend 45mins to and hour on the balcony sun baking. I can't handle any more time than that as it's an oven out there and the added humidity takes the enjoyment out of it slightly. I found some soy cheese at the grocery store yesterday so I was quick to use it for a cheese and Branston Pickle sandwich...very nostaligic to my England days. Then a trip (across the street) to the beach for a swim and some more sun baking. I like going to the ocean beach so I can jump in the waves but then I often find myself walking into the nearby estuary to get away from the wind and walk through the trees. There are so many cicadas in the trees they all sort of sound like a low pitch fire alarm.

THE WALK TO THE ESTUARY
THE ESTUARY (LOOKING TOWARDS THE OCEAN)
UNDERWATER FUN (THE WATER IS MURKY BECAUSE THE RAIN WASHES THE TEATREE POLLEN INTO THE WATER AND WE HAD A HUGE STORM THE OTHER NIGHT)
SUN BAKING

After the sun and swim festivities I usually head back home to shower off all of the sand and then head to the nearby shops, The Pines. It's only a ten minute walk and there are a ton of stores, food places, and even a KMart. If I don't go to the Pines, I walk in the opposite direction from home and wander up the Gold Coast Highway (not a highway at all, just a four lane road) and people watch, look at boutiques, and just take in all the small differences.

Maddy and Dimo get home around 3pm and they take an hour just to wind down from the day. Today Maddy and I took an awesome hour long walk along the canal and then up a huge hill. At the top we had a great view of the ocean and estuary as well as marveled at the beautiful houses hidden among the trees. Back down the hill and across the bridge to the beach and walked along the water back home. I forgot my camera but I'm sure we'll do the walk again very soon, tomorrow maybe, and I'll take some snaps.

Then dinner time and reading or TV ends the night. Maddy and Dimo head to bed early to get to work but I usually stay up and try and overlap internet time with friends/family scattered all over the planet. Til next time :)

SITTING ON THE SAND BAR

First Week

A VIEW OF THE ROCKIES AS I FLEW TO LA

THE PLANE THAT TOOK ME TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD

From now on I'll try to post blogs more often but here's what's been going on during my first week on the Gold Coast. I arrived last Saturday very early in the morning. Flew from LA to Auckland to Brisbane. The flights went well, managed to get a few hours of sleep on the way to Auckland and then just doze on the short trip over to Brisbane. The food was pretty good, I had vegan meals which actually looked more appetizing than the usual fare. Watched Bottle Shock and part of Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Maddy picked me up at Brisbane airport and we drove the 45 minute journey south to the Gold Coast.

ON THE BEACH WITHIN 3 HOURS OF LANDING

I was feeling pretty awake and knew I would have to stay up all day to avoid worse jet lag so we just dropped my stuff off at Maddy's place and went out again. Went to a cute little farmer's market near by and bought some dips, avocados, trail mix, and maddy found some ointment for her knee pain. Then we walked over to the beach (hooray!!) and I waded through the surf and watched some people swimming and surfing. We went for a drive along the coast and Maddy showed me where the Quicksilver and Roxy surf comps will be held next month and where the good beaches are. Later went to the grocery store to get me some tofu, yogurt, fruit, veggies etc. and took all our yummy food home and then I just unpacked and we chilled at home for the rest of the day.

THE FARMER'S MARKET

DRIVING ALONG THE COAST

Luckily it seems that my cat allergy no longer exists so living with Jonah and Millie has been nothing but fun. They are both great kitties. Jonah thinks he's the coolest thing ever (which he is) and Millie is a huge mommy's girl...she only cares about Maddy and get very excited and chatty when Maddy gets home from work. They spend most of their days sleeping on the bathroom floor or under my bed and are always up for a cuddle. There is also Willis, the turtle, who likes to swim up and down his tank with his head out of the water. He's pretty amusing but carries salmonella so I haven't held him...yet.

JONAH
MILLIE
WILLIS

Last Sunday we went up to "the boys' house" and I met everyone. It was pretty amusing for me, completely stereotypical view of Australia...boys in surf gear, eating bbq food, watching cricket, and drinking beer. They're all really nice and loads of fun. We also went up to Surfer's where I'll be at school and walked around the shops and grabbed some lunch. We also went up to the top of the Q1 Building (the tallest residential building in the world...until the one in Dubai is totally finished) and got a great view up and down the coast. Up in Surfer's it's a younger scene and where I'll be on the weekends most likely whereas down in Palm Beach where Maddy and Dimo live it's a little more relaxed. So I basically get to choose where to go based on my mood. :)MADDY AND DIMO ON THE TOP LEVEL OF THE Q BUILDING

A VIEW OF THE MAN-MADE CANALS OF THE GOLD COAST (SO MORE WATERFRONT PROPERTY IS AVAILABLE) FROM THE Q1 BUIDLING
THE COAST OF THE GOLD COAST/SURFER'S

During the week I had a similar series of events each day. Wake up around 9, do some Wii fit (I'm getting toned which is pretty cool), lie out sun baking on the patio or down at the beach and just listen to my iPod and read my book, eat some fruit and light stuff for lunch (the heat/humidity is still something I'm getting used to), sun bake some more or hide inside watching TV, Maddy and Dimo both get home around 3, some more beach time or a walk in the afternoon, and then dinner and a movie at night. Hard life I know. :)

TANNING ON THE BEACH...AM MUCH BROWNER NOW :)

A GOOD SURF SPOT

I have a few weeks until all the other students get here and we start classes on March 2nd. I'll also get a job in late Feb. (have to wait until then due to Student Visa stipulations) for some extra spending money.

Friday I went to work with Maddy and met all her colleagues and saw her busy at work. After work Maddy and I went to a cafe for lunch and visited the local pet shops just to see all the cuddly kittens and awesome tropical fish for sale. Then Maddy, Val and I went to Burleigh to look around the shops and then headed over to Sonja's for some beers and look at her new designs. Sonja's a clothes designer and she has a show on Thursday night so she's busy putting stuff together. Luckily we were able to distract her for a few hours and she took a break, we all just sat outside and chatted. There was a bush turkey in the backyard which I found completely intriguing. They're all black but with bright red feet and heads. Apparently vermin but the wildlife here is so different. Parrots and cockatoos just chillin' in the trees and the cackle/monkey-noise of a kookaburra bird wakes me up briefly around 5am. Geckos and frogs sit in the trees talking to each other all day and as soon as you walk into the ocean little fishies are swimming around your ankles. So beautiful!

Friday night a group of us went down to Cooley to the Cooley Hotel/Bar and had a great time. Met some more people and just dancing and laughing til about 5am. Everyone's been so welcoming and nice. Lots of friendly banter about my accent and the different cultural stuff. Very quality people.

Maddy needed a quiet day at home yesterday due to the antics of Friday night. I managed to get to the beach first thing though and took a swim. Walked along the beach for a bit and then swam out to a sand bank. There were these huge dogs out there (Mastiff's I think) just trotting back and forth on the bank amused/bewildered by there ability to suddenly be "on land" again even though they were out in the ocean. (Don't worry mom, I'm being safe and there were lots of people there, won't get swept away or anything). Also wearing sun screen everyday and have managed to avoid burning except for one day when I forgot to put cream all the way down my arms and my wrists burned...oops!

Tomorrow (Monday) is Australia Day...celebrations very similar to 4th of July (bbq, beach cricket, swimming, fireworks, etc.) so that should be interesting and everyone keeps telling me it's great that I'm here for it so I'm excited for all the silliness that I'm sure will ensue.

So yep, that's a brief overview of my first week. I love it and it's great being with Maddy, living literally across the street from the beach, and meeting all these new and different people. So yes, as you can see from the pics and stories I've left one vacation "hotspot" for another. Miss my friends and family but I have skype so if anyone wants my username just let me know. Smiles and giggles to all.