Gold Coast – Steps to Anywhere

Wrapping up the Journey

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Ted Thorpe

Our last dinner in Honolulu was at Tony Roma’s and it brought back memories of a birthday dinner in Burlington more than 20 years ago. Some of you may remember. For those who weren’t present here’s the short version. Dinner plans began with four celebrating my birthday and one other. It ended with a group of more than 20 in attendance as a result of contacts made throughout the day with friends who shared Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) as a hobby.

Our flight from Honolulu to Vancouver was delayed more than an hour because of a needed tire change on the Boeing 737 that was transportation. A task that should have taken half an hour, according to the initial announcement, took much longer. They seemed to have difficulty finding a suitable replacement. By the time the replacement wheel had been installed there were three wheels under the airplane, the original and two potential wheels that didn’t fit. After that, the trip was uneventful but we arrived in Vancouver about two hours later than scheduled.

The Culprit Tire

Honolulu Tire Change IMG 3189

After a night of sleep we returned to the airport for our flight to Toronto. There were no delays with this airplane, in fact we arrived in Vancouver 30 minutes earlier than scheduled. It turned out to be irrelevant as did our quick clearance through Canada Border Security thanks to NEXUS. The luggage handlers didn’t get suitcases onto the carousel for nearly 30 minutes. We did get lucky and our bags were among the first group to arrive. Kevin picked us up promptly and we started the drive back to Burlington.

We picked up our car from Kevin’s home, transferred our baggage and collected groceries for our next breakfast, however, we still needed to have dinner. A quick call to friends Chris and Marie found them ready to share a late evening table at Kelsey’s. The trip home continued after an enjoyable meal and once home the suitcases were virtually abandoned until the following morning.

We have no plans for another trip although I am nearly certain there will be another and when plans are made the journal will again become active.

Thanks to all of you who followed our 2018 journey we, Gail and I, hope you found something of interest in the commentary and posted photos. Another thank you for the comments made on many posts. I have now added the nearly 1000 trip photos and videos to the gallery which can be accessed directly at the link Australia 2018. You will also find the Photo Gallery menu item above and link to the photos from there. There is also an Australia 2018 link on the sidebar of this page. Not all of the photos are captioned but that should cause no trouble.

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Good-bye Australia

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Ted Thorpe

We spent a very leisurely final full day in Burleigh Heads. After arranging transportation to the Gold Coast airport for Wednesday April 4, we grabbed a bus to Burleigh Waters, a nearby area. We had a quick lunch, picked up something for dinner then returned. My TRANSLink GO card had a balance of $5.23 and the fare was $2.60 each way. The plan was to end up with a 3 cent balance but they fooled me and counted our return trip as a transfer so I end up with a fine balance of $2.63. We spent some of the afternoon walking in the sand as the tide went out. The waves are quite unpredictable. One moment we were walking on wet sand. The next moment the wave can bring the water knee high then try to drag our feet back seaward.

Wednesday morning found us packing the final bits for the flight back to Sydney then collected the remainder of our groceries to leave with our hosts John and Ubon Thomas. By 10:45 all was ready for John to take us to the Gold Coast airport. John very graciously drove us to the airport where checkin at this pleasant little airport was quick and efficient. After a quick hamburger lunch we awaited our airplane.

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We were to board about 12:30 but were delayed until 1:30 PM because one of the cabin crew had become ill and required paramedic services. Of course a replacement had to be found. Our departure was about 2:00 pm and our flight was uneventful and we landed about 3:30.

There were plenty of taxis at Kingsford Smith airport so there was almost no wait. Unfortunately, the delay resulted in the trip being made during the beginning of rush hour traffic thus raising the cost slightly. After checkin at the hotel we ate at the hotel, not our favourite restaurant but the meal was adequate.

We recovered the large suitcase left in storage at the hotel and began repacking for the next leg of the journey. Packing was completed, more or less, on Thursday morning. The large suitcase now weighs half a kilogram less than the 23 kilogram maximum but will not need to be opened until we arrive home. The three smaller bags were packed for expected activities in Honolulu and, fortunately, we are able to check four bags at no cost on our Qantas flight.

We made another stop at a nearby pharmacy to replenish Gail’s diabetic supplies then zipped down to the opera house and found a t-shirt that interested Gail. After lunch at Circular Quay we returned to the hotel for a while then started our last excursion. The plan was to travel once again to Watson Bay by train and bus then walk another part of the cliffs. We expected to take a ferry back to Cockle Bay for dinner but our plans changed when we discovered that the Government Ferries stopped just after 4 pm and we missed it. There is always an alternative so we found a bus that brought us back to our hotel.

After dinner I checked in with Qantas and printed our boarding passes. Earlier we became somewhat confused about our departure time. One document had our departure time at 10 pm while another indicated 7:15. The boarding passes say 7:15 and that’s good enough for us.

Ready to go!!

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New Friends and Brisbane

Posted on March 30, 2018 by Ted Thorpe

Thursday, March 29, began with the arrival of a couple of welcome but uninvited guests. A pair of Rainbow Lorikeets landed on our balcony and posed for pictures. This was actually the second time I had seen them but I guess the first pair were camera shy and left before I could record their presence. Today’s pair posed repeatedly before flying off to the west.

Around 10 AM we set out on a TRANSLink bus bound for a transfer point called Varsity Lakes Station. The bus trip took about 15 minutes and we found the Airport Train waiting for us to board. The trip northbound to Altandi Station took another 40 minutes. When we left the train we found Noel waiting for us on the platform. After a 15 minute drive we arrived at Noel’s home where Sarah was waiting for our arrival.

We met Sarah and Noel on the Queen Elizabeth sailing from San Francisco to Sydney, in fact, they were two of our table companions. At least once a day for 22 days we shared a meal and conversation. When we were to disembark the ship in Sydney we exchanged email addresses. They remained on the ship for two more ports, disembarking in Brisbane which is their home. Once we were settled in Sydney and we knew they would be home I sent them the promised email advising them of the timing of our planned visit to Burleigh Heads and the Gold Coast and my Australian phone number.

On Wednesday, March 21, we were sitting in the apartment when my cell phone rang unexpectedly. It was Noel inviting us to visit them in Brisbane. After a couple more phone calls and email exchanges the date for our visit was confirmed as March 29 with an overnight visit.

Sarah had tea and cakes ready for our arrival, a snack far greater than we really needed but a wonderful, tasty surprise. After a bit of conversation, we went to a nearby pub for a lunch special. We are just starting to get accustomed to the Aussie pub system. Table service as we know it in Canada is rare. More commonly orders are placed and paid for at the bar or other kiosk. Orders are subsequently delivered to the table. Some places use numbered tables, some provide a numbered flag to take to a table and others figure it out without table numbers. The amount of food delivered for a $10 lunch was once again more than adequate.

Later in the afternoon Sarah and Noel took us for a drive to see some of the district and we found ourselves surrounded by kangaroos in the wild. It was an area of bushland near two of Queensland’s prisons. The fields outside the prison walls were fenced but were no challenge for the kangaroos. They really didn’t seem bothered by our presence or passing cars and bounded across the roadways pretty much as they pleased.

We were able to see some of the country side which was very lush and green. We had experienced frequent rain while in Australia which is apparently unusual for the early autumn. We returned to their home as the sun was setting.

Noel and Sarah are from Ireland and immigrated to Australia some years ago and have children and grandchildren nearby. They have traveled extensively and particularly in North America where they spent a year touring by motor home. For hours, until bed time, we enjoyed hearing of their travels and talked about places we knew and that they too had visited.

After breakfast Friday morning the four of us took public transportation into Brisbane. It was merely a three block walk to the bus stop. The 22 kilometre ride into Brisbane took about 45 minutes at a cost of $3.17. The bus circulated through the residential area then took and express route on a roadway that paralleled a major highway but was for the exclusive use of TRANSLink busses.

We emerged from this road near the Brisbane River at a bus terminal, our destination. We walked through a lovely park area known as Southbank. We expected it to be packed with people since it was the Good Friday holiday but were surprised to find it just the opposite.

The park extends along the Brisbane River and hosts several facilities. There is a large ferris wheel and an extensive network of wading and swimming pools one of which includes a stretch of sandy beach. Of course there are a bunch of fast food services and souvenir shops throughout.

It’s Me, with Sarah, Gail and Noel over my right shoulder

The park is sandwiched between the river and commercial buildings which include part of a university campus. We continued our walk across the Victoria Bridge into Brisbane’s Central Business District which was nearly deserted.

Gail did find a couple of items of interest in a souvenir shop along along Brisbane’s Queen Street pedestrian mall then we went below ground to the bus terminal. After a return bus trip Sarah prepared another lovely lunch and Noel returned us to the Altandi train station. An hour and a half later we were back at the apartment having completed the 80 kilometre trip at a cost of $8.37.

We had a truly enjoyable couple of days with a couple of very special friends we didn’t even know two months ago. It just points out that strangers are just friends you haven’t yet met.

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Waves, Traffic and Aussie-isms

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Ted Thorpe

We have been enjoying a much more relaxing time here on the Gold Coast than during the previous weeks of the trip. We have no plans to get on a surf board but the water is so warm and surf so mesmerizing it is almost impossible to resist. There are many kilometres of beach but only small sections, 100 to 200 metres wide at various locations, are protected by life guards. The hard core surfer dudes pretty much ignore the life guard stations but those of us who just play in the surf and sand observe them completely. The water currents that can be felt only a few metres from shore are quite impressive.

Gail Just got Covered by a Wave,
you can see her head in the middle of the frame.

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What you see just before you go for a ride.

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There is the very obvious wave that rises and curls with the foamy cap. They are fun to just jump into and let them carry you to shore like a pretend surfer. They are often not as violent as other waves that lack the foamy crest. Some of the waves that appear as innocent rollers hit with freight train-like impact. As the ocean recedes after one of these swells it feels like you are about to be dragged out to sea or, in some cases, down the beach parallel to the shoreline. The biggest impact seems to occur when a swell that has gone high on the sand recedes and meets another wave just as it breaks. If you happen to be at the point where they meet and the wave crest is rising you get tossed and twisted like wet clothes in a washing machine then spit out nearer the shore.

Traffic here is, in some ways, more civilized than in Canada. When traffic is heavy enough they stay in their lane when two lanes turn but in lighter traffic conditions, like us, lane markers are often ignored. It is generally safer for pedestrians to cross streets here. Perhaps part of the reason is the $400 fines for not giving way at controlled pedestrian crossings and only slightly less for other marked crossings. Our problem is checking the right direction for approaching traffic. Occasionally during the evening when traffic is lighter, we can hear vehicles that sound and sometimes look like leftovers from a Road Warrior movie. In general, vehicles here tend to be smaller. The few larger vehicles seem to be Land Rover style off road machines with unmistakeable snorkel air intakes.

Bus IMG 2954

The Aussies we have met have been friendly and willing to chat informally whether on the beach, in restaurants or in grocery stores. It takes a while to become accustomed to the language similarities shared with the British but they also have a whole series of Aussie-isms. Here is an abbreviated list from my observation.

Aussie-isms

Sunnies : sun glasses
Maccas (sometimes Mackers): McDonalds Restaurant
Woolies: Woolworths, a grocery store
Barbie: BBQ Grill
Boggy: poor quality
Pozzy: position
Dunny: toilet
Mozzies: mosquitos
Trackies: track pants
Sickie: “mental health” day
Cockie: cockatoo

To say the dress code in Burleigh Heads is informal is no exaggeration. Smart casual means shirt and shoes. Beach wear, that’s something else indeed. A swim suit and a surfboard is pretty common. I am not permitted to even photograph most of the swimsuits. I can only say that having seen them in the surf they are much stronger than they appear.

On Sunday’s walk about we discovered quite a large market in the park along the beach. There were vendors selling a variety of goods from bamboo clothing to candy. One of the clothing vendors brought their own portable dressing room for customers to try on merchandise, first time we have seen such a thing. Sunday and Monday were surf days. When we’re on the beach resting there are lots of Aussies willing to engage in conversation and it is quite remarkable how many have a Canadian connection of some kind.

Tuesday we returned to the public transportation system first to head south to Currumbin. The beach was like many others except for this lookout.

We passed through the community of Palm Beach on the way and we took a look at the wildlife centre but elected not to drop another $100 to look at austalian animals seen many times before. In the afternoon we headed north to Surfers Paradise. We remember one high rise building when we were here 10 years ago, today the skyline is filled with skyscrapers.

Our trip to Surfers was by bus and tram, a vehicle built in Canada by Bombardier Aerospace.

G Link Tram made by Bombardier IMG 7931

The tram travels along the highway between opposing traffic lanes. It is not the fastest but it is quite effective. The tram is essentially a street car that is about one block long with very comfortable seating. While walking to the beach we encountered a city workman who reacted to my Toronto Blue Jays t-shirt. As it turned out, he had been in LA when Wayne Gretzky played one of his last games and also saw the Jays play in LA. I’m not sure how long ago that was. When we visited Surfers Paradise 10 years ago there was only one sky scraper today, it looks like the photo below. We counted a dozen buildings more than 30 stories.

While walking the main street of Surfers Gail’s Canada t-shirt got a reaction from a young woman whose father had spent years in Manitoba. Once again, we ducked a rain shower while riding the bus back to Burleigh Heads. However, our luck missing rain ended this evening. We needed the umbrella on the walk to The Surf Club for dinner and after dinner the umbrella was not quite enough. We didn’t get soaked but it ended our dry streak.

Here is a video clip from various beach visits. It may take some time to download.

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