Surfer's Paradise and Brisbane

March 15
Wow up today to beautiful sunshine! Got packed up and headed to the Gold Coast. I took the Coastal Highway so that I could drive through the whole area.... Palm Beach, Miami, Mermaid Beach, Surfers Paradise, Main Beach.... busy place! Got settled in at the Holiday Park. Headed out to the grocery store.... I couldn't do my dishes last night because I left my dish soap in the kitchen and some one stole it! The grocery store (Woolworth, that's the name) was in an outlet mall. So it was retail therapy time. Up until now I have stayed away from the malls, but today.... there were so many nice things. I didn't buy too much because I really don't have a lot of space in my suitcase. Then I headed off to the beach. This was the first beach that has disappointed me. It was really a lagoon, the water was warm and dirty, the sand was white but had garbage on it, and there were so many people, boats, and ski dos. Not my kind of beach for sure. I did find some Pelicans. Now these birds look good while flying but where you get close up they look really goofy. I walked over to where someone was feeding them fish bones.

March16
Up early and headed out to Springbrook National Park. It's 32 km from the Gold Coast. What a different world....a beautiful rainforest. I did a 1 km walk around to find the Natural Bridge. It's a rock formation that over the years water has witteled away the rock, making it a natural bridge. I was impressed. There was a cave beside the bridge that housed glow worms. I actually walked into the cave.... heart pounding, hands sweaty....didn't find any because it probably daytime.

Kept driving as I was looking for "The Best Ever Lookout" (that's it's real name) But as usual.... I got lost. Turning around in Casa Mighty isn't as easy as Chateau Jucy. I landed up on a hill on the boarder of New South Wales and Queensland. I backed up and found my way back to Springbrook and voila! I found the mother load of lookouts!!! I stopped at Canyon Lookout first... it looked out to a beautiful canyon and a waterfall. I did the 4 km walk to the Pushling Waterfall. It took me right down the canyon by the waterfall..... beautiful. I found the Best Ever Lookout and you what?? It was the Best Ever Lookout. It gave views of the Gold Coast, Byron Bay and many of the mountains.

Heading back to the coast, I decided to stop at Surfer's Paradise and enjoy the beach. It's one long stretch of white sand beach.. goes from Palm Beach, Miami, Surfer's Paradise, Main beach.... The surf was rough and the wind was blowing, this meant the sand was swirling al over...in my mouth, my ears, my eyes. It really wasn't enjoyable. So I decided to walk the beach instead. The water was warm and the sun was shinning. I walked for miles.

March 17
Today is my mother-in-law's birthday. I know she's partying up in heaven. Woke up and took my time getting ready to head off to Brisbane. Brisbane is only approximately 45 minutes away. Got into Brisbane and WOW!!! Another big city... I drove around trying to find a Holiday Park, but I couldn't. So I found a hotel room in Hamilton (close to Brisbane) for the night. Didn't get to see much of the city. Had lunch then went for a walk by Brisbane River. They are building a cruise ship terminal, beautiful condos and upscale stores around the area.