The Natural Bridge

G'day, mates!

This weekend we decided to hire a car, yet again, and try to hit both the Gold and Sunshine Coasts for some 'much deserved' R and R. My driving capability has progressed rapidly to the point where I can confidently drive in city, highway, day and night conditions. Not too sure about cyclone rain, but then again no one should probably be driving through that!

Saturday on the Sunshine Coast was really nice. The wind was quite strong so the breaks were perfect for surfing and body boarding. So I took out the old boogie board and tried my luck in the waves. When we first got here, Uncle Errik took us to the beach basically the first day and we were shocked at how strong the current is in the ocean. Now it's not as big of a deal for me, but Andrea is still concerned she'll be swept out to sea. Between us, I'm pretty sure she's more concerned that she'll lose her swimsuit top or bottom in the current, but I digress.

Sunday we ventured down to Coolangatta for some beach time, which was terrific despite the clouds, and afterwards we took a short trip into the hinterland at Springbrook National Park and went to see the Natural Arch, or Natural Bridge. Basically a river carved a hole in the rock in such a way that it seems like there's a naturally occurring rock bridge over a waterway.  

The vegetation in these hinterland national parks is the same kind seem in the time of the dinosaurs. As stated in the park, only 0.3% of these forests remain in Australia since the dinos tramped around here, so walking through the dense foliage really takes you back in time to when great beasts roamed this country. I love this kind of environment. Surprisingly, you don't see too many snakes or spiders, but you can really hear the birds chirping away. At sunset we were treated to a massive shower of sound as thousands  some kind of tropical bird started singing before bedtime.






Underneath the arch, even in daylight, is quite dark and dank. Obviously the roar of the waterfall is emphasized in that close space, and even during the day we could see the odd glow worm in the cave.



We bought a really nice portable, travel tripod for Andrea's DSLR and it's great for taking just the right photos. Here Andrea's practicing some long exposure shots to try and get the wispy effect of the water falling into the arch.

Since we stayed at the park for nearly an hour and a half, it started to get really dark and the tour groups started pouring in to see the glow worms at night. We had purchased a flashlight, I mean torch, earlier that day and figured what the heck, let's go back down. We went the quicker way to beat the tourists and were treated to quite a site. Thousands of little lights all over the cave ceiling and wall. Little blue dots were everywhere...but so were the bats! Andrea was a little hesitant to explore the now pitch black cavern with little bats flying at a million miles an hour out of the cave, but since I'm hella brave, Andrea followed me in. We tried to get the best photos we could, but it is pitch black. The worms aren't really that squiggly, that's just the artifacts of a shaky hand, but they are tiny little cylinders of light, which is pretty cool. Hopefully we'll see even better glow worm caves on our trip to New Zealand! Sorry, Andrea, but I think there will be lots of bats there as well. :)

Sunrise

This morning I woke up at 4:30 for some reason. In my groggy state, I stumbled into the kitchen to pour a glass of water, and outside was a beautiful sunrise. The camera was conveniently sitting on the counter in the kitchen, so I snapped a couple pictures before I went back to bed.

Travels

This past weekend we had planned on a long weekend in Mooloolaba, but unfortunately the rains decided to fall, so we had to cancel. So, in the spirit of making lemonade, we decided to rent a car and drive up to Eumundi to take in the amazing markets they have on Saturdays. We were told to get there early, so we left at 6:30 to start our 90 minute drive to this wonderfully quaint town about 20 minutes inland from the coast. The markets are absolutely amazing. With more than 600 stalls selling everything from local produce, art, clothing, jewelry, there's something for everything. The markets have a strong focus on homemade goods, so almost everything you see if grown or made locally, which makes this experience even more enjoyable. Even though the rain was coming down, we really enjoyed walking through the stalls and eyeing all the goodies. We ended up buying some muffins, bread, and a few postcards from a local Aboriginal artist. I'm sure we'll make an effort to go back to these markets and the wonderfully artsy and quaint town. Unfortunately, we didn't snap any pictures of the markets because we were too busy trying to stay dry. But, on the way home, we took a scenic drive through the Glass House Mountains, where I managed to snap a picture of Chris in front of Mt. Coonowrin. I think he looks very handsome.

If you're ever along the Sunshine Coast, make sure to head to Eumundi to take in the markets. We guarantee you won't be disappointed...or go home hungry!

Mangoes

Mango season is in full swing here, and I am in heaven. Growing up with an Aussie mum, I am no stranger to this delicious fruit. But I now fully understand what my mum meant when she said "they taste so much sweeter in Australia". That couldn't be more true. The mangoes here are incredibly sweet, juicy, and the size of a small child's head (no jokes). Every time you go to the fruit market or grocery store, you can smell the mangoes before you walk in the door. And there are so many different kinds to choose from: Kensington, Bowen, R2E2...the list goes on. I think the R2E2 are our favourites. They are huge, sweet, juicy, and sound like a name from Star Wars! We are trying to eat as many as we can before we head back to Canada - a challenge I eagerly accept!

Jacarandas

A few weeks ago, Chris went out with the camera and snapped some lovely photos of the Jacaranda trees in our neighbourhood. I loved traveling through the city and getting these beautiful bursts of purple colour wherever you went. Most of the purple flowers have fallen off the trees by now, but it was sure a beautiful few weeks while the flowers were blooming. Enjoy the pictures!

Life as a kept man

Well it's been a while since we've last had an update, so it is definitely overdue! Things have definitely started to heat up here in Brisbane, and the rather mild and wet winter is behind us. We were pretty jealous of some of the hot weather back at home in the past months, but now it's our turn for the heat. While neverending summer does sound like paradise, and it probably is, everyday of 27, for now, takes getting used too. It's nice to never need a coat, but we're not quite at the point where we're just in flip flops all the time. If you are not a fan of sweating, I'm not sure if an Australian summer is for you...

Since my birthday I've been enjoying a little vacation from working, so Andrea and I have switched roles and now I'm the one at home cooking and cleaning. I am really enjoying the role reversal and it does allow me a lot of time to catch up on video games, relaxing, working out, and cooking. The day is pretty relaxing, but still things need to get done, and get done they sure do, the Chris Miller way. Andrea just commented the other day that my bed making efforts as of late have been the best she`s ever seen. Funny how spending all day at home makes you feel more proud of your daily chore accomplishments. 
 
I was very lucky to spend a week fishing and sailing with Uncle Errik and we even spent a weekend at Stradbroke Island, which is a large island off the coast of Brisbane that is largely nature reserve. We were very kind fishermen and didn`t bother the fish too much, spent our evenings at the pub and toured the island. It was really pretty there and it was a great vacation.

 One night on our way to the jetty for fishing we saw a Koala chillin`in the middle of the road and then during our late night fishing expedition we saw two dolphins swimming and playing in the shallows not more than 5m away from us for over two hours! It was really a great time. The beaches aren't crowded at all, in fact, from these photos you can see that we were the only people there! They renovated one of the biggest pubs, it may in fact be the only pub, and there's a shot of me enjoying a nice schooner of Blue Tongue.

I`ve also been spending some time watching the Oiler games and chatting with the folks via skype. Let`s just say that I`ll keep chatting with the folks...not sure about the Oiler games. Kidding asside, they have a lot of problems but they are fairly fun to watch most of the time.

We`re planning a little trip back to Mooloolaba for Andrea`s birthday next weekend and it should be another great time. School kids are out here and each year their graduation celebration is called `Schoolies`. This celebration usually consists of thousands of kids flocking to the Gold Coast, having rented apartments or accommodation a year in advance, and drinking and driving and generally causing mayhem which usually results in several arrest, injuries, and deaths. Let`s just say we won`t be heading to the Gold Coast in the next two weeks!

Right now I`m spending some time trying to plan our our big two month New Zealand/Australia tour starting in February, which should be a great time! As of now the plan is to come home in Early April, exactly one year since we left. Time seems to be flying by and we'll be home in no time.