Last few lazy days

January 4

We had a slow start this morning. Had breakie and decided to go for a quick swim. Brad decided to take the Sunshine Motorway, that passed by al, the beaches. The first beach we stopped at was First Bay in Coolum. We sat and watched as families.... dads, moms, and children all surfing.

Stopped at Lions Park

Finally made our way to Mooloolaba....

We drove through Newport. Newport is know for its water-side housing with artificial canal waterways. The houses in this area are beautiful and the boats are expensive. Then made our way to our campsite...lucky that we were able to find one.....in Scarborough. Once we settled in, we walked to the beach.

Brad said that the beach in Scarborough has to be Australia’s ugliest beach!

Now we know why the area is called Red Cliff

January 5 what an amazing day!!
With all of the must sees on Brad’s list crossed off and with juggling places and excursions around, we were able to add a few fun spots for the last two days.

Grabbed breakfast at the Salt & Vine, a little beachfront cafe right outside the campgrounds. Turned on google map and headed out to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane. The drive was effortless thanks to google map. I can’t velieve that I never used it on my last trip here.....no wonder I got lost all the time!!!

We arrived at Lone Pine at 8:30 am that gave us plenty of time to take some pictures....

Once we got into the park, we headed straight to the General Store to purchase our photo tickets. With an hour to wait, brad and I visited the koala area. They are just adorable...I wish I could take a few home! All of the koalas were sleeping or lounging, we saw mommas with their babies, koalas hugging their best buds, balancing and sleeping on branches....

Here are some of the things we saw....
Kookaburra.....

Platypus

A Tasmanian Devil...a lazy one for sure

A wombat

A Perentie, Australia’s largest lizard

A dingo

A barn owl

An emu

Kangaroos, lots of them. If you look close there a few momma’s with joeys in their pouches......a few feet and heads sticking out

It was time to go cuddle our koalas...his name is Rumble, a 2-year old male.

Surfers Paradise has many high-rise apartment buildings and a wide surf beach.

Made our way to our final hotspot.....
Byron Bay is a coastal town in New South Wales. It’s a popular holiday destination, known for its beaches, surfing and scuba diving sites. Cape Byron State Conservation Park is on a headland with a lighthouse.

We walked to the point....well almost to the point. Brad refused to walk to the very end!

On the walk back, we saw sting rays and dolphins.

Brad and I were able to be at the most easterly point of the Australian mainland

and South Point, the southernmost point of the Big Island of Hawaii and of the 50 United States all in one trip!!

We ventured to the beach and this is what we found.....

.....miles and miles of beautiful white sand and warm surf. Decided around 7 pm it was time for dinner.

After dinner, we headed to our campground about 45 mins away. We thought google was taking us through the coastal road to Kings Cliff, however, we landed up on a gravel road in the dark. We finally got turned around and arrived safely.

Tomorrow we make our way back to Brisbane where Brad will board his plane for home.