Circles in the Sand

Organic Byron

Another Health Food Store

Politically correct.

The Pass lookout

The organic locals playing music at sunset shortly to be joined by swan dancers

Clarckys Beach

A Place to Stay-Byron Bay

 Byron Bay is probably one of Australia's best unkept secret.  Packed year round with zillions of backpackers, schoolies,and Sydneyites, it still manages to have a local quaintness  intacked.  It is a place one plan on stopping into for a few days. More often then not....days turn to a week and a week turned into weeks, and I could see us living here. It is that good.   Perfect warm waters,warm temperatures, beautiful endless beaches, gorgeous fringing national parks and...blah..blah...blah. not unlike all the other amazing beaches we have visited on our trip.
What sets Byron apart from the others, the real draw card, is the town's hippy dippy, laid back, all about the beach and surf vibe.
 Surfing is life and surfing is king. On any given day you can paddle out and be surrounded by local,tourists,young, old, women, men, beginners,and experts. You can also expect reasonable to great surf (especially for beginners) and several good places to do it.
 Dreadlocks and long boards are all the rage and incense wafts drift in front of the organic cotton clothing shops. There are dozens of surf shops and the eateries along the main road front offer an array of inexpensive, delicious, ethnic food and you can expect it will be homemade, healthy and fresh.

Surfing is life and if you add a bit of Yoga and Yoghurt's you have a taste of Byron.

 Grommet is surfer slang for hot young surfer. C shreds the wave at The Pass and earns the title from some of the locals.

J waves to the camera.

M on the longboard

Grommet with a new found passion.

New South Wales

Like yet another unwanted middle aged birthday, the NSW border crept up on us and unsuspectingly passed. The landscape was farmy, lush, green, spanning and stunning. It is spring and the green was glowing.

What noticeably changed after the border was the driver behavior. Queensland wins our vote for the worst drivers in all of the OZ with the truck drivers being at the fore front. Once across the border, the drivers mellowed and the laid back attitude on the road prevailed.

After two days at Tweed Head we headed for the laid back coastal surf spot at Wooyoung to stylize our newly acquired surfing skills.

Hippies, Gypseys, Surfers, Travellers and Farmers make up the populace of Wooyoung, Pottsville, Cabrita, and Kingscliff. Lovely places in the shadow of the Gold Coast.

Surfs Up

Wooyong Beach

Australia's Gold Coast- Surfer's Paradise

The name says it all...the Gold Coast is a seaside city that screams luxury and decadence. Far from quaint and beachy, it is bigger then life and full of itself. Huge high-rise franchised hotels fringe the endless esplanade and young twenty somethings flock here for the singles game. The older tend to tout the high end with flash, bling, and a marvelous suntan.  A holiday paradise for tourists that don't want to leave the city.
 After a stop in at Surfers' Paradise, we continued on to  Broad beach with it's many surf shops and purchased a long board. Finally we headed South to the quieter seaside town. 

Tourist!

Friends from the past.

J and E
Some of the kids fondest memories of Tasmania were with two childhood friends that moved away a distant four years ago. With a promise to reunite we met with them at their home in Brisbane. We shared a nice dinner, wine, a chat, and the next day it was off to the Wet and Wild and Dreamworld to tackle the adrenaline pumping theme parks of Brisbane. Amazing how quickly kids grow up:) Thanks Anne and Family for the wonderful time. Hope we see you again sometime.

C and his friend taking on the Cyclone

Looking like they are ready to get off of this ride eh?

Australia Zoo on Steve Irwin Day

What are the chances of being at the Australia Zoo on Steve Irwin day? We just happen to be the lucky zoo goers and the prize was getting a glimpse of the Irwin Family. Bindi had grown into a budding teen and not at all the smiley little mini Steve that we knew from the previous years.

Australian animals in the wild pack a much bigger punch then the same animals behind a fence in zoo. Our clan has been fortunate enough to see many of these oz creatures in the wild so we were a pretty hard sell. The Australia Zoo would be perfect for foreigners to be wooed by feeding kangaroos and watching crocodiles feed but our clan was ready to leave after the early afternoon temperatures soared.
We headed on to Brisbane for a long overdue visit with some childhood friends from the past early days in Tasmania. All too exciting!

How amusing is this?

Best photo of the day:)

Glass House Mountains

Tin Can Bay and the Dolphins

Similar to Monkey Mia, Tin Can Bay QLD has dolphins that return to the local bay each morning. It is a much smaller and less scripted presentation then Monkey Mia and here everyone gets a turn to feed these wonderful animals.  Entrance is free and for gold coin donation you are given two fish to feed to the dolphins.

A popular hang out for cormorants. They were looking for handouts too.

Jaws in OZ

At first glance Hervey Bay is a
 sprawling urban nightmare with a limitless array of superstore mania.  Further exploration will lead you  to the quaint to-die-for waterfront.  It boast a marvey esplanade lined with green space, bike path, small cafes, surf shops and beautiful people who model fine tan bodies along the endless kilometres of spectacular sparkling beach.

Hervey Bay is also home to The shark hunter. Internationally aclaimed Vic Hislop has spent years catching and studying killer sharks. His collection of memorabilia, movies, and shark stuff is impressive and on view at a small shop with shark jaw entrance.

After a visit it will makes one think about going into the water.

The big one.

Three walls full of a collection of news articles of shark attacks.