Christmas and New Year's 2005
Only a few hours remain in 2005 and we have had an amazing 3 1/2 weeks so far. Our time in Sydney was taken up mostly by catching up with Rachel's friends, having bbq's, meeting the newborns, seeing some of the local sights and hanging out at the beach. Quality time with the family has also been key for us both.
With the onset of the summer/Christmas holidays in Australia, most people in New South Wales (NSW) pack up the kids and everything else you would need for a beachy holiday and head north up the Pacific Highway to Queensland. And notably the Gold Coast. Queensland is a massive state and there are so many places to camp or visit with family along the way and spend time at the beach. It really is not much different than Florida, save the fact that it's summertime and the beach goes on for kilometers and the sand is powder white and fine. People are tan and the clothing of choice is Billabong and Quiksilver rather than the multiple thermal layers to keep warm from the winter cold. No complaints here! And we look more local now, rather than like the snow bunnies when we arrived.
We left Sydney and New South Wales (NSW) on the Friday before Christmas (not a bank holiday, but hardly anybody works) and set off north (with every other man and his dog) for a long 12 hour journey to Queensland and the Gold Coast. The roads are good, but the traffic laws are harsh. And seeing that there is only one north/south motorway, you have no option as to route. Cops are everywhere with their speed guns, traffic cameras are on the roads and at stop lights, lighted signs and advertisments on the television warning you of double demerits over the holidays (which could cause you to lose your license). The max speed is only 110km/h and a lot of places you have to slow down to pass through some small towns as the motorway sqeezes from 4 lanes to two causing big bottlenecks trying to cope with the massive holiday volume of traffic. Basically, speeding really is not an option like on
I-95, I-10 or I-17. It's not a case of if, but when you get caught. You just don't do it.
The Gold Coast weather is very similar to Florida in terms of summer heat and humidity. Sticky and close all the time. Throw in a thunder and lightning storm and it's pretty much the same. That just keeps you in the pool or at the beach most of the time anyway.
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day were fantastic. Presents, food, families, pool time, cards, etc....a good time was had by all. On Boxing Day we headed 2 hours north to the Australia Zoo, Home of the Crocodile Hunter himself, Steve Irwin. A really cool zoo with all kinds of excellent shows, animals and information. We arrived just in time to sit down in the Animal Planet Crocoseum to see the snakes, birds, unbelievable Bengal tigers and finally the man himself came out and gave us a great crocodile interaction with a 12 footer called Murray. A really neat experiece to actually catch Steve-O himself at the zoo. He is exactly like you see him on television. A serious nut job, but entertaining nonetheless.
We saw cheetahs, birds, elephants, dingoes, camels, koalas, wombats, kangaroos, a skink and my personal favourite ~ a Tasmanian Devil. Not an animal you even remotely want to get tangled up with. They have jaws as powerful as the hyena and a mean streak to go with it. Our last critter was Harriet, the Galapagos Tortoise born in 1835 and brought to Australia by Charles Darwin himself. She is the oldest living Galapagos Tortoise in the world and looks it too.
We've driven through the world famous Surfer's Paradise, which closely resembles a cross between South Beach and Ft. Lauderdale and had a great seafood lunch in Coolangatta. The beaches on the Gold Coast are unreal. Powder white sands that stretch for miles. There is always some stretch of fine white sand where you can find a spot to camp out on. Whether it be Burleigh, Tallebudgera Creek or Currumbin Beach, they are all excellent beaches to hang out on.
Going to the beach here means being there first thing in the morning and gone by 1130am as the sun and sand get killer hot. Too hot to walk barefoot mind you!!
So with all that in mind, we are set tonight to go up to the observation deck of the Q1 Club at Surfers Paradise. This is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, towering some 80 storeys above the beach with the only viewing platform on the beach in all of Australia. And we are going to be there to watch the fireworks on the beach on top of it all. Looking forward to it.
And with that....2005 comes to a close and we move on to 2006 with so many exciting plans ahead of us. And so many excellent memories of 2005. Notably, our trip to South America, but you only need read my old journal entries to know how I felt about that trip. We've travelled to over 15 countries each of us plus a few, filled up and renewed another passport, hit 4 continents, shocked our families on different occasions and seen, experienced and visited some of the most amazing places on earth. Sounds like too much, but we know it has been great and are more than appreciative for having had the opportunity to spend it together. It has been worth every minute not working for someone else on a boat and worth every penny spent in many different currencies.
Happy New Year and see you in 2006!! It might be the best one ever!!
Cheers!!!
|
