DAY 15:
Today we all piled in the car for a scenic drive toward the more mountainous regions around Gympie. We were on a trip to visit Uncle Rod and Aunt Carmel in their home. It was really great to have a cuppa with them and get to know them better in their lovely home. Their home is so lovely and the chilly day made us really enjoy the amazing wood stove they have! while we were there we were given the great pleasure of seeing Uncle Rod’s amazing artwork! Uncle Rod is a genius artist with a pen. Some of his art is so perfect it look like it has been printed. While we were visiting with them we drove into the nearest town and lunched on the best fish and chips we have had since we arrived. It was a great day for relaxing and visiting with family. It was really special to see Mom interact with her older brother. Mom would rather shorten the long space of time between her reunions with family.
DAY 16:
After a restful day visiting with family on Thursday we were ready and raring to go visit the koalas at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. As the name suggests the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is home to over 100 koalas, however, the Sanctuary also provides a home for many other uniquely Australian animals. While we were there we were able to hold a koala and get our picture. We held the second biggest koala they had but the fuzzy ball of fur was not as heavy as I would have expected. Koalas have a very unique smell. They smell very strongly of Eucalyptus leaves and their pee. The two smells mixed together provide your nose with a sweet sickly smell that will forever remind me of Koalas. We also had the privilege of seeing our first kangaroo joey and a male platypus! ( The plweatypus were much smaller than I expected. I was expecting them to be the size of the American beaver, but they weren’t more than 18 inches long! )My favorite Australian animal is most definitely the kangaroo, but the dingo is a very close second. It was a great day for seeing uniquely Australian wildlife. We witnessed a sheep dog bringing in the sheep and took part in the very noisy act of feeding the Lorikeets.
P.S. I want to smuggle a kangaroo joey back to America.
The entrance
We enjoy the Lorikeet feeding!
Koalas are so cuddly!
Emily and I pose with the koalas.
Kangaroos are still my favorite!
This Mama had a tiny joey in her pouch.
He was so little he wasn’t even interested in the roo food.
This guy poses for a picture.
Posing is too hard!
This picture is rare. Tasmanian devils rarely stand still enough for a picture.
This bird has hair like Nanna!
Is that a platypus under the log.
This little koala joey is soooo cute.
DAY 17:
After visiting with the koalas we were ready to challenge ourselves physically with the rewarding sight of Australia from the top of Mt. Ngungun. With quick and eager steps to ward off the morning chill we climbed steadily on the shaded side of Mt. Ngungun. As we hiked we saw climbers rapelling. Halfway to the top we stopped to explore a volcano formed cave with pockmarked walls. The rewarding rays of warming sun, and the fantastic views from the top were amazing. Aunt Wendy had told me that she would beat me to the bottom of the mountain during our descent. We all knew that with her bad knees this would be a physical impossibility without a substantial head-start. With what she thought was a sneaky move she started down the mountain before the rest of us were ready to leave so as to giver herself a head-start. (She thought we didn’t know that she left early, but we did.) After allowing her at least a ten minute head-start by posing for more pictures at the top we began our descent after Aunt Wendy. Uncle Peter, Emily and I knew that we would not overtake her without running, so we started down the mountain at top speed. We jumped, we climbed, we careened, we shocked other hikers into silence, and just past the halfway point on the way down we saw Aunt Wendy a few switchbacks ahead of us. I saw her about the time she heard us. We were descending without great care and seeing our speeding figures she broke into a dead run to distance her lead. Unfortunately her knees gave out before her will to win and we caught up to her very quickly. We descended to almost the bottom at a leisurely pace by walking with Aunt Wendy. 150 meters or so from the bottom Peter blocked the path while Wendy sprinted for the finish. After giving her a few seconds I sprinted quickly after her and she reached the bottom a few steps ahead of me. This means that she won, even though she did it with a little underhandedness. After Mt. Ngungun we headed to the Emundi markets and walked through the numerous tents and sellers of wares. The Emundi market is massive and we bought some more wares we will have to fit in our suitcases somehow. Later, Mom and Dad went to dinner with Uncle Paul and Aunt Marie. The rest of us went to the Coffee Club for dinner and then called it a night. It was a great day, and I really enjoyed hiking Mt. Ngungun.
This is the cave halfway to the top of Mt. Ngungun.
Beautiful views from the top of Mt. Ngungun.
Mom and Dad pose at the top.
Emily and Aunt Wendy pose with goofy hats at the Emundi markets.
DAY 18:
Because today was Sunday we walked the Redcliffe morning markets and smelled the wares and viewed the sights. After the market we piled in the car to head over to Bethesda Baptist Church. The church was really sweet and all the church family were really kind and friendly. Bob Mcgee pastors the church and he sheperds his flock with lots of love and care. After church it was back to our house where we met up with Holly and Renton, John, Naomi, Miranda, and Lachlan, and Peter and Wendy for fish and chips on Sutton’s beach. The fish, calamari, and chips were delicious and the fellowship with family was even better. While we were on the beach Lachlan even convinced one of the nosy seagulls to eat a chip off of his head! It was good to be able to meet John and Naomi and their kids, they are such a sweet family. Sunday was a relaxing day and it was good to catch up with family and meet new faces.
Miranda really enjoyed playing and chasing the seagulls on Sutton’s beach.
DAY 19:
Today we had nothing planned but the delectable task of selecting mouth watering lollies at the famous confectionery warehouse. The warehouse is a massive conglomeration of more lollies, candies, chocolates and eatables of Australian origin than I have ever seen in my entire life. I do believe that my blood sugar reached a dangerous level by simply waling through the building. After many deliberate and heart wrenching decisions concerning what to get we headed to the checkout with a sinful amount of sweet items in our grocery cart. We also spent a good portion of time today packing for our return trip to the United States. We have deliberated and carefully packaged each item so that most of our suitcases come very near to the fifty pound limit allowed for each bag. For dinner we had some more delicious Australian sausages with fried eggs and salad. It is sad to think that as each day rushes by we are that much closer to the end of our stay. We just have to pack it all in! 
Look at the sinful amount of candy displayed upon the counter!
I tried this Fanta drink today. In order to drink it you have to shake it ten times! It has small liquid jello pieces in it and has the strangesttexture in you mouth. It was very unique.
The struggle to fit it all in begins!
The weird sink today was in a bathroom so tiny that the handle has to sit on the side. 😉
DAY 20:
Today started with a quick trip to the Redcliffe Botanical gardens. Mom told us that there was a surprise there for us to see, but kept silent concerning what it was. Once we arrived a deafening screeching and yammering greeted our ears. Above our heads, filling the highest branches of the highest tree were literally thousands of flying foxes. The massive bats hung in large groups of 50 or more on each tree and many of them never stopped moving. Hanging by their toes their furry bodies sway back and forwards as they scream and shove for the best hanging perch. I have never seen anything like thousands of bats hanging suspended from the boughs above. After visiting the bats we headed to the Osprey House. The Osprey House is a small wildlife conservation area where fish, fowl, and flora are protected from the expansion of civilization. The most important part piece of nature there are the mangrove trees. Our guide at the Osprey House said that the mangrove swamps are the “nursery” to over 70 percent of the seafood we eat. We were also able to see the Osprey perched high above us on its platform nest. After a quick bite for lunch we headed over to Uncle Peter’s work for a tour during his lunch break. It was really neat to see all of the moldings and bits they use in the saws and planers to mill the boards. Uncle Peter is very knowledgeable concerning the lumber trade and it was neat to see all of the unique finished products and the process that goes into creating each one. If I had to work in the lumber trade here, the biggest adjustment would be learning to work in centimeters and meters instead of feet and inches. At about 3 o’clock we picked up Noah and Thomas from school and spent the rest of the afternoon in high gear. We walked to get ice cream, played on the rocks during low tide, played on the playground, played tiggy, and had an all around awesome time. I really enjoyed spending time with the boys. After Holly got off work she came by our house and she and the boys went out to dinner with us at the ‘Rustic Olive’ where we dined sumptuously on delicious Italian food. Today was a beautiful day and we had a great time!
The flying foxes really preferred the taller trees.
How many bats can you spy?
Here is a shot of the ospreys nest. The osprey is the small black speck on the right.
Noah really enjoyed hopping from rock to rock during low tide.
Noah also enjoyed goofing off!
DAY 21:
Today was our last full day! 😦 Tomorrow we board a plane and head back to the swamps of Alabama. I started my day as I usually do; with a pre-sunrise trip to the gym with Uncle Peter. It has been really great to be able to work out with him at his gym. I even did the weekend morning boot camps with him. Really hard work but tons of fun! We picked up Aunt Wendy and Chris and then headed to my favorite breakfast shop: the King Street cafe called Kazza’s Corner. They sell the most amazing eggs, bacon, and toast!After breakfast we drove to Bribie Island to spend time with Tamara and the kids. It was fun spending time with kids at their house and at the beach. At the first beach we went to we saw a World War II bunker used by the Australians as a lookout and fighting post. At the second beach the tide was out for half a mile and the kids and I headed out on the muddy sand amidst millions of tiny holes. In each hole are small quarter sized crabs known as soldier crabs. We also saw a massive ancient tree that has burn scars on on side of it. History relates that the tree was used by Aboriginals to hang and burn those among themselves that had committed a crime. After our time on the beach and our last fish and chips we headed back to Tamara and Marshall’s to say our goodbyes. After all the goodbyes had been said to Tamara, Marshall, and the kids, we piled back in the van to head home. We spent the evening putting the last items to be packed in their proper places and searched every cupboard to be sure we had not left anything. Our flight leaves at 10 tomorrow morning and we will roll out by 7. I hope y’all enjoyed the blog and all it entailed. I’ll do a short post tomorrow with maybe a few pics of our journey.
Last morning at the gym! (This is post workout)
Family picture with Chris
This is the best picture of Chris and Nanna!
This was the World War II Australian bunker.
Even though you can’t go inside the bunker, I climbed on top of it and this was the view from the top.
This is Jack using the water spigot of the day.
Water spigot of the day: A watering hole for man and man’s best friend. 🙂
Australian Diary 