Brisbane

Sunday

After a 14 hour plane ride, we finally made it to Brisbane, Australia. It was a long flight but, surprisingly, we actually got some sleep. Mic picked us up from the airport at about 8:30 am. It was fun to see him again! We stopped at the grocery store on the way home to grab some breakfast and lunch items then headed back to freshen up before church.


During sacrament I was feeling a little sleepy so for the second hour of church we decided to roam the temple grounds. The chapel and the temple are on the same plot of land so it was pretty convenient. It was beautiful. We then crossed the street to overlook the river and the city of Brisbane. We took a couple pictures then headed back to church for the third hour.

In Relief Society the lesson was about testimony and conversion. The teacher related testimony and conversion to cucumbers and pickles. Only, in Australia, they're not pickles but gherkins. It was pretty funny. I'm learning a lot of Australian lingo. For example, instead of a trash can it's called the rubbish bin. And instead of green peppers, they are called capsicums.

Following church, we came back to Mic's house and he made us a lovely chicken, brown rice and vegetable dinner. We then headed out to see the city. He took us, and his sister Sarah, who is visiting to the South Bend Park. It was incredible! It had a small man-made beach, a kiddie pool with fountains, an adult pool, countless barbecue facilities, a huge Ferris wheel, and walkways and restaurants as far as the eye could see. We spent some time walking around until we were too tired to go any further. At this time, we decided to head back and call it a night. We went to bed early. We were exhausted!

Monday

We went to the Gold Coast...Surfers Paradise! We got a late start because we had to wait for the cable man to come and set up Mic's "news and sports" channels. But once we got going, we were "heaps" excited to see a little more of Brisbane. We drove about an hour south to the Gold Coast. It looked a little overcast and windy, but the sun ended up shining through and we had a couple hours to sun bathe....well, Sarah and I bathed in the sun while Mic and Conner caught some waves. We ate our packed lunches on the beach and hung out with all of the other tourist from around the world.

After getting a little sun, we explored a little bit. They had surf shops galore. It reminded Conner and I of Huntington Beach, only much bigger. One souvenir shop had a good deal on board shorts that looked a bit like the Australian flag so Conner and I each got a pair.

After shopping around, we headed back to Brisbane for a barbecue that a bunch of Mic's friends were having on Kangaroo Point. Kangaroo point is where the temple is....it's a peninsula that overlooks the river, and a across the river is the city. Is beautiful. On the way to the barbecue we picked up some kanga bangas- kangaroo sausages. We met up with friends down below the beautiful cliffs and barbecued up our kanga bangas. We wrapped them up in a piece of bread and put tomato sauce (ketchup) and barbecue ice on them. They were pretty darn good. Someone brought ginger beer for everyone so we thought we would give it a try. It was kind of like a super-concentrated ginger ale. It was pretty good! It kind of reminded me of what butter beer might taste like from Harry Potter.

 Mic's sister, Sarah, and me eating a kanga banga.

Following dinner, there were a bunch of people rock climbing the cliffs and we thought we would have a go. One of Mic's roommates as well as a couple die-hard rock climbing addicts were helping friends and strangers harness up and climb to the top. Conner and I got to go side by side. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it- it was super hard. Neither of us had climbed a REAL rock before!  But once we got off the ground and started to get the hang of it, we scrambled on up. Everyone was super nice to coach us from the bottom. We made it to the top! What a sense of accomplishment! It wasn't until we repelled to the bottom that I realized how sweaty I had become. It was quite the workout. We hung around socializing, watching, others climb, and getting eaten alive by Australian skeetas and fire ants.

 Repelling down.

Everyone was SO nice. Australians are proud of their country and lifestyle and accents...much of the conversation was friendly debates over who owns what lingo, who's accent is better-depending if you are from Perth, Queensland, or New Zealand, and what are the best things to do and see in Brisbane.  It was pretty entertaining.

Following climbing, we drove over to South Bend Park for a quick dip in the man-made beach. I was a little chilled by the time we got there, so I watched everyone's belongings while they jumped in. It was beautiful. By the time we got home, I had fallen asleep in the car. Not sure I'm quite adjusted to the time change quite yet...or I'm getting old for this kind of excitement. Either way, we are having loads of fun and can't wait to go exploring up North tomorrow!

Tuesday

We drove up North to do some exploring. First, we climbed a mountain...hardest hike I have ever been on. It was straight up! The mountains were called the Glass Mountains, and the one we climbed was called mount Tibrogaran.

 Neighboring mountains.

 View from the top.

 It was hot AND humid. We were sweaty!

Next we drove to a little place called Gardener Falls. We drove up some beautiful rolling hills to get there. The drive was all part of the experience! We then turned off the main road to get to the falls, walked a small distance, and found a river that led to a small waterfall. There was an awesome "water hole" at the bottom of the falls and quite a few people were jumping off the cliffs and rope swinging into the water. It was pretty cool. Even Conner went off the biggest rope swing. I was so proud!

 There was another smaller rope swing that Mic was brave enough to try a back flip!

After a long drive home, we took a quick shower (freshie) and headed out to dinner. We were starving! On the way to dinner we made a quick stop at the temple to snap a night shot. It was beautiful. For dinner, Mic took us to a place called Grill'd. They serve yummy hamburgers and chips a.k.a. french fries. To celebrate our last night in Brisbane, we also got dessert at a delicious ice cream place. We took one last walk through Southbank and headed home for bed.

Wednesday

We woke up, packed and headed to the airport. We stopped in downtown Brisbane for a quick look at the city. It was awesome! We wish we had more time to explore. We then rushed to the airport… We were off to Perth! We said some quick goodbyes and fifty thank-you's to Mic and boarded the plane.

It was fun to fly over the real Outback...lots of red sand and open space. After a five hour flight, we arrived in Perth. We picked up a rental car and tried out driving on the wrong side of the road. It was an adventure, to say the least.

After getting a bit lost, we found Terri's house. Conner was impressive driving those Australian roads....guess his mission started to come back to him a bit!