East Coast: Odds and ends (and reposts)

Part 7: Brisbane and surrounds

Day 13: Australia Zoo

Another busy day! I started with another sunrise walk, though I couldn’t find a great vantage point. The valley sure makes for a more strenuous walk than flat(ter) Melbourne! I was then off to Beerwah to see the Irwins’ pride and joy: The Australia Zoo. They had a lot of critters! I saw what I think was my first ever Komodo Dragon and allll the crocs. Some of Steve’s favourites are still kicking, and nearing four decades of age. It was quite the zoo, albeit a little shrine-y. Though I’d argue that it’s for good reason, Steve is a national treasure. 

I took the train back into the city, had a little break, then went for a walk along the XYZ river with a girl I was sharing the hostel room with. We ended up going out for dinner at the hostel’s affiliate bar (pub? Still not totally acclimated to Australian lingo), and getting nachos. I will die on the hill that restaurant nachos are better than homemade. They had some live music on too, which was nice! I was early to bed again, because Moreton Island was the next thing on my agenda. Something about having early mornings is that I feel the need to have everything packed/laid out the night before, so not to be that person who is making a ruckus at some ungodly hour. 

Day 14: Moreton Island

The downside of Brisbane’s geography, at least as a tourist, is that the CBD is located far from the coast, so to get there for a day trip requires dealing with rush hour traffic. But not a problem, and I was on the ferry soon enough. It was a 75 minute ride, which gave me a nice pause from the hustle of my trip. 

Once we arrived, my cohort of the day tour was off to go sand boarding. We took the 4×4 bus inland to the XYZ dunes, then were each given a piece of fibreboard to carry to the top of the dune. I was the keener (or sucker?) who volunteered to go first, and I rode down on my belly, with my elbows tucked in and mouth closed. You pick up some serious speed! And the sand really hammers you when you get to the more wavy spots. But it was exhilarating! After the humbling trek back up the dune, it was time for round two. This time, it was time to try going down on my back. I think going on my back was smoother, and maybe even more fun, partly because I couldn’t see where I was going. For round three, I was back to my belly to confirm that hypothesis. This time, I goofed somehow, and ended up absolutely covered in sand. But it was so much fun, I don’t even think I was that upset. If I really hated sand, I should have stopped before I started. The only downside was I did not come prepared with enough water, so I was [withering] away on the bus ride back to the beach where we had lunch before moving onto our afternoon activities. Lunch was build-a-wrap, which is a common theme on group tours I’ve noticed. No harm though, you get what you like, and don’t need any utensils. All the better for the environment!

First up for me after lunch: snorkelling! We got suited up, then I got suited up again, because I put my wetsuit on backwards the first time. Oops! But after that, then we got towed out behind the jet ski to the Tangalooms shipwrecks. It was neat to see how the wrecks have become part of the ecosystem and home to all kinds of marine life, including a wobbegong (AKA a carpet shark). We floated down the wrecks with the current watching all the fish do their fish things, before it was time to go back. 

After snorkelling, we were going clear-bottom kayaking. No towing this time! My partner and I made it back out to the wrecks and had all the fish coming to see what was up (and probably hoping for handouts). The clear bottom was so cool to see all that was going on below the surface! Then it was time to go back to Brisbane, so we all boarded the ferry- salty, sandy, and sunned. It was a relatively quiet ride back, everyone being pretty pooped out from the day. That is, until we spotted a submarine that had surfaced beside us – so cool! Definitely was not expecting to see that. 

Once back at the port, we had our bus to the CBD, right in rush hour, again. But oh well, I’m on vacation! I got back to the hostel, had dinner, showered, and packed because I was on the move again, off to Byron Bay in the morning. I had originally booked the 9:00 am bus, but revceived notification when I was in Noosa that they cancelled that one and moved me up to the 7:00 am one. Which, really, was a blessing in disguise. When I booked the trip, I wasn’t sure how tired (or not) I would be, and I’d definitely been favouring the early bird side of the spectrum. Plus, I was meeting my friend Sydney in Byron Bay, and we were going to paint the town red, so all the better to get cracking!