G'Day Mates!

Part of the garden at our first AirBnB in Australia - gorgeous!

I'm so excited - it seems like everyone I know has been to Australia except me.  That's probably not true, but I've wanted to come here for a long time.   And here we are finally!  

We left New Zealand and have landed at the Coolangatta Airport, Gold Coast.  Arriving at smaller airports is so much nicer.  We disembarked from the plane straight outside and onto the tarmac and were hit with a wall of hot, muggy air - yep, I'm gonna like it here alright!  Customs was quick, and we were into our rental car within the hour.  First stop is an overnight in a suburb of Surfers Paradise called Robina - about a half hour drive from the airport.  Loved this quirky couch!  By the time we got ourselves organized, went out and got some groceries, it was dinner time, so I didn't take advantage of the beautiful pool.  It was nice to look at and know it was there though!

Loved the living area in this house.  This couch pulls apart into
various sections.  Huge projection tv,  and a pool just outside the door.

From the living room looking into the kitchen and back garden

All ready for breakfast - so pretty!

In the morning, we went out for a walk to get some exercise before our drive up the coast to Noosa and to get me some antihistamines - the allergies have gone into overdrive.  Must be some weird pollens here.

Vividly purple flowering tree - stunning!

Frilly-edged monster leaves.  

Flowering shrub - love these delicate
little purple stars.

Another flowering shrub - unusual flowers

I think these are magpies.  Not sure.

Saw a few of these guys pecking the ground around the park

They have these giant tarps over playgrounds, skate bowls
and even in the parking lot of the shopping malls for the cars!

I guess if you want your kids to play outside here, you need
to keep them out of direct sunlight

Australia is going to be different from most of the rest of this year.  We decided we have had enough of driving for awhile, so we've divided our stay here into two places only.  We'll spend 3 weeks in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast and the next 3 weeks in Robina on the Gold Coast.  It's going to be like a vacation from travelling.  Besides, Australia is just so big, it will be impossible to see it all, and it will be nice to get to know a place a little better.

Very exotic.  Just growing by the sidewalk.

Similar to the one above, but slightly different

Close-up of the bush.  Love this!

Similar to the Pohutukawa flower we saw in New Zealand.
Delicate little fluff-balls!

Our drive to Noosa took us through Brisbane, and being the cheapskates that we are, we set the GPS to avoid toll roads and bridges.  So that meant driving through the middle of the city and the attendant quick decisions that need to be made on what lane to be driving in etc.  Of course we missed a couple of turns, and had to readjust . . . and just as we were getting a bit cranky about that, we came across this:  Carroll's Corner!  It was just a block down the road from Ann Street (they forgot the 'e'!) So we stopped to take a picture of course, and then carried on.  It took about 4 hours to get to Noosa - it was a fairly uneventful and not particularly scenic trip - likely because we were on the freeway most of the time.

Carroll's Corner in Brisbane!

Home in Noosa is a 2-bedroom, 2-level townhouse in a small complex of 6 units.  The owners are away in Indonesia on holiday, and put their place on AirBnB for while they are away.  One of our criteria for a place here was a swimming pool, and this was advertised as having one.  What they didn't say was that it's very small and set very non-appealingly at the side of the parking lot!  So my vision of sitting by the pool and getting to know the neighbours was quickly shattered - there is room here for two plastic garden chairs and that's it.  We never saw anyone in it.  I went in one day and managed 4 breaststrokes from one end to the other!

The pool in the parking lot!

Pretty pathway to our unit

We got the key from a decidedly-unfriendly neighbour - let's see
what's inside!

Looks like a comfy living room and deck

Believe it or not, that's water - not beer!  It was a long hot drive!

One of the bedrooms has a little deck as well

This will do!

Bali-themed deck.  They have a sailcloth above it to keep out
the sun.  Keeps the indoors reasonably cool as well.

However, the home itself is perfect for us, and it's nice to have lots of room to spread out.  The beaches are a 5 minute drive away, and we can do a 10-minute walk down to the Noosa River where there are shops, restaurants, and boat rentals.  It's hot, the plant life is spectacular and the constant bird songs are a beautiful musical background all day and evening.  Life is good!

It's impossible to dislike a country that grows trees like this.