We got into the little Gold Coast airport at noon on Sunday. The sun was shining and it was - thankfully - warmer than Sydney. I was beginning to regret my decision to only bring one pair of pants. I was so excited to head through the gates to see my cousin Taryn, finally meet her husband Karl, and tickle the little toes of their six month old daughter Alice. We immediately headed out for lunch at a favourite restaurant of theirs, Montezumas. It was at a different location of that restaurant that they had first met, and Cole and I got to meet Karl's mom and sister before digging into some deliciously cheesy Mexican food.
After lunch we went for a walk by the ocean and Taryn told me to pick out the tallest building on the Surfer's Paradise skyline. I did, and she said that Karl had arranged for us to stay there that night! A short drive later we made our way up to the 42nd floor of Q1, our enormous suite, and some incredible views. It was a pretty awesome surprise. We planned on watching the sunset from the observation deck so as the sun sank we headed for the elevators. Or course, everyone else had the same idea and the lineup was huge. We went back to our suite to catch the last of the amazing evening rays.
The next morning, we woke up pretty early, found coffee, and went for a walk on the beach. We chatted, collected shells, and collectively itched for a swim in the ocean. Instead, we went back to Taryn and Karl's lovely home in Coomera for our first lazy afternoon in weeks.
I woke up incredibly excited on Tuesday morning. Today was the day. The day I'd get to hold a koala. I had literally waiting for this day since the first time I saw a koala when I was 8 years old. We arrived at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary pretty early in the day. There weren't a lot of people there and entry was fast because we'd purchased our tickets online in advance (saving 10% off an already inexpensive gate pass compared to the zoos in the area).
After a few hours in the park (you can read my post on the Koala Sanctuary here), we ate lunch in the parking lot picnic area and headed for Southbank Parklands in Brisbane for a riverside stroll and some ice cream. The exciting bunch that we are, we all got the same flavour - white chocolate raspberry - and set off down the river. Taryn pointed out her favourite building, Gotham Tower. It's not it's real name, but lots of people call it that because it totally looks like a place that Batman would stay in. See if you can spot it in the picture above.
On Wednesday we took a day trip out to Byron Bay. While getting ready in the morning Cole and I both realized we left our swimsuits at Q1 because we're losers. Thankfully it was on the way to Byron Beach and Taryn is awesome and didn't mind stopping for us to pick them up. Before long we were on the beach! It was Alice's first beach day and we were all excited to see how she would react to the water. Sand was definitely eaten and she seemed to really like the waves. Cole and I swam a bit and he lost his sun glasses in the surf because we are bad at hanging on to our stuff.
After removing the pound of sand poor Alice had trapped in her swim diaper (baby powder was miraculously helpful) Taryn took Alice for a walk around the surfside town and Cole and I lay in the sun and read our books. He almost escaped without a sunburn but I am bad at my job and missed a patch on his back. Whoops.
After we had lunch we headed up to the Byron Bay lighthouse, which is at the Easternmost point of Australia. We got to the top and found out parking was $7. We almost didn't pay it but changed our minds at the last minute and decided to stay. Boy are we glad we did! The views were lovely, but just as we were about to leave Taryn thought she saw a whale. We decided to stay a minute to see if she was right and she was! We saw at least six different humpback whales out in the water, and a bunch of dolphins leaping out of the water hearding a school of glittering fish into the bay. It was something else and the best $7 I've spent so far.
That night we went out for dinner with some of Taryn and Karl's closest friends. It was really nice getting to know them and we had a lot of fun, but all 6 of us were yawning by 10:00. Apparently parents of young children and jetlagged travellers turn into pumpkins at 10:00pm.
The next day was another relaxing morning before it was time to catch a flight back to Sydney. Despite being very excited for Bre and Brendan's wedding and the next adventures, I was really sad to leave. It was so great to get to spend time with Taryn, and getting to know her and her family. We had an amazing visit and I can't wait to see them all again, hopefully soon... at least before Alice is a teenager! We're already planning our next trip back...
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