Gold Coast Good-bye

As I start this post I want to acknowledge the comments I have received both directly to the posts and some by email. Although I may not reply I read and appreciate them all. Anyone can read the comments added to any posting. The remainder of the post includes a few more or less random thoughts and a few summary photos.

Our Apartment Entrance

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Easter weekend has been quite busy here in Burleigh Heads. If you plan to eat at any of the restaurants that have table seating you should make reservations early. They have all been full Friday and Saturday evenings. The swimming areas of the beach have been noticeably busier but there is so much beach it is easy to find unoccupied sand. We preferred the quieter days.

A Light Day At The Beach

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Our Saturday afternoon visit to the beach came to a sudden conclusion when Gail’s iPhone took an unplanned salt water bath. We have been taking it into the surf in a waterproof plastic sleeve on a lanyard. Gail began using a continuous glucose monitor just before we started the trip. The sensor transmits by bluetooth to her phone, thus the reason for keeping it close. Well, it was this day that the ziplock style seals on the sleeve decided to fail. When we came back to the beach the phone was quite dead. Perhaps it might have recovered from a fresh water bath but not salt water. Once the post mortem cause of death was confirmed, Gail’s first question, “Is there an Apple Store nearby?” There was!

When, after a 25 minute bus ride to the Robina Town Centre shopping mall, we arrived at the Apple Store there was only 90 minutes until closing time and we were told that an appointment at the Genius Bar was unlikely. We began talking phone upgrade with a sales rep when we were given an immediate appointment and offer of a reduced cost direct replacement. Fearing my explanations might be too clinical, Gail did all the talking to the Apple folks. Her heart rending explanation of why she needed the phone as a medical necessity seemed to work. I was there only to provide needed login credentials for her accounts. Less than 60 minutes later we left the store with a replacement phone. It wasn’t free but a reasonable alternative to a new phone at full cost. My evening was spent restoring the phone from an online backup using the very slooooooow internet service here at the apartment. Before bed time all was working again and the new phone was in its new Life Proof watertight home. Never a dull moment here.

Public Transit Trains

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Over the past few days we have used public transit quite a bit. Even though we are in a holiday weekend the longest wait at a transit stop has been less than 15 minutes. Most of the busses have been on a 15 minute schedule and for some destinations accessible on multiple bus routes wait times are only 5 minutes. The trains and trams seem to operate on 30 minute schedules and are within a minute of schedules. There is also an iPhone app that provides minute by minute information about schedules and transit vehicle locations. Colour us totally impressed.

Easter Monday began with rain. A second wave of rain showers moved in as we started walking along the beach but we took cover in one of the many picnic shelters along the beach walk. The beach was busy again as the Easter weekend came to a conclusion and we found our time on the Gold Coast coming to an end. That also means our visit to Australia is also nearly over.

Some ideas just turn out to be a lot better than others. We decided that when we arrived in Australia we would activate one of our cell phones on a local network. We had no specific reason to do so, it just seemed like a good idea. I had investigated Australian mobile offerings briefly before leaving home but the language was as obscure as every contract. We ended up talking to a young fellow in a JB HiFi store and asked for a package that included the ability to telephone to Canada. I was referred to Pay-as-you-go package from Telstra that offered international calling to Canada, USA and numerous countries along with unlimited texting and 50 Gb of data service for the magnificent price of $30, plus the $2 for the SIM card.

It is now four days before we depart Australia and there is still lots of data service available and the phone has been invaluable. The unlimited texting was worthless. I never did figure out how to text home but with Facebook Messenger available it was irrelevant. Although not strictly speaking essential, we have called friends and family back home with no need to consider the cost. We have called Canada for technical support with Gail’s continuous monitor, called Hawaii to arrange airport transportation, friends in Brisbane to organize our visit, the Apple store at Robina and numerous other calls. Years ago, before we had mobile phones or the internet how did we arrange things. I suppose many of these tasks were once accomplished by travel agents who could be reached by traditional telephone services. We still value the services of a travel agent who is now accessible by telephone and email. Some of the posts to this journal have been created and uploaded using the data services offered by this Telstra data service. The Telstra service expires in five days, we leave Australia in four days. I love it when a plan comes together.

Pretty Birds

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In earlier posts I have mentioned the Rainbow Lorikeets in the area. They are as noisy as they are pretty. Apparently they travel 30 kilometres or so morning and evening between feeding or nesting areas and nightly roosting areas. Burleigh Heads is clearly a roosting area. I am unsure how many birds use the Norfolk Pine grove near the beach but they are typically 10,000 birds and may be up to 50,000. The noise of their screeching is very loud indeed and, for those more technically inclined, I have measured the racket at 90 decibels 10 metres below their roost. Every evening we can see them pass our balcony in groups of up to several hundred.

Noisy Birds

Rainbow Lorikeet Murmuration

As great as this area and beach has been it is apparently not the best beach on the east coast. Although it seems unlikely we shall return here we know there would be more to see if we did. Bye-bye Gold Coast.

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New Friends and Brisbane

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. IMG 8683

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

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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.

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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.

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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

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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Continuing to explore the Gold Coast

Tuesday afternoon we began expanding our domain with a bus excursion to a nearby shopping centre. The motivation was a search for drip style coffee. We anticipated Gail’s dislike for Australian coffee by bringing filters and holder to make drip coffee but first purchased ground coffee in Honolulu after we discovered a kettle to be standard equipment in the Queen Elizabeth’s stateroom. We replenished our supply of coffee and filters while in Sydney as we also had a kettle in the hotel room. Here we are now in Burleigh Heads and ground coffee is not a standard item on the shelves of local grocery stores. Today we expanded the search to a nearby shopping centre and made our first use of Queensland Public Transportation.

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In Sydney we had something called an OPAL card. It was quite useful and easy to top up as needed with not complicated registration process. In fact, there was a daily maximum charge which we hit several times. In Queensland we have a TRANSLink Go Card. While it is just as easy to use on public vehicles that is where any comparison with the OPAL card ends. Before any attempt to top up the card with funds online a registration process is required where almost everything except one’s bathroom habits must be recorded. Even after that the online update process kept insisting my trusty credit card was invalid. Every other store finds it valid. Fortunately, updates can be done at some 7-Eleven stores and there is one nearby and they happily accepted the credit card.

Tonight we had our first restaurant meal since arriving. The place was called The Carvery and for $12.00 per plate we had a delicious roast beef dinner with potato and vegetables. Typical evening meals in Sydney were in the $50.00 range. 

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On our way back  to the apartment we could see birds flying toward a small grove of Norfolk Pine trees. We were told these were Rainbow Lorikeets and there were thousands of them and they are not a quiet bird. Apparently this grove is their night time nesting place. Interestingly, the beach is lined with Norfolk Pine but only this small grove of 20 to 30 trees seems to attract the birds. They are impossible to photograph because they fly so quickly and seem to vanish once in a tree, it is only the loud screeching that gives them away. 

Stock Photo of a Rainbow Lorikeet

Rainbow lorikeet

Wednesday morning began as the coolest day so far with an overcast sky. When I walked to the beach dark clouds met the horizon and a light mist partially obscured the high-rise buildings to the north. We first noticed the rain about 9 AM. Before long the rain was torrential but dissipated quickly. After a few minutes of calm the wind picked up, rain redeveloped and continued with some intensity until noon. We still managed to find our way to the pool.

Thursday promised more rain but our timing was good. We walked north along a beach path to an elevated lookout called “The Nobbies” by the locals, “South Nobby Headlands” by the gazetteer. We were able to identify a few of the trees along the path courtesy of small signs along the way. We returned to the apartment just as the next rain storm began.

Short Screw Pines with taller Norfolk Pine behind

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Seen from South Nobby Headlands

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Friday, more rain promised. It was fine after breakfast so off to the southern trail. Our plan was to walk the lower trail along the water but it had been closed because of some rock falls so if we wanted to walk we had to walk up the hill. The trails are within Burleigh Head National Park. The lookout was about a one kilometre walk with a rise of about 85 metres. The trail began with a number of stairs then continued as a narrow trail. We chatted with several other walkers and saw a Bush Turkey and a couple of Kookaburras along the path. There was a rumour of a koala sitting but we saw nothing. Having arrived at the Tumgun Lookout there is a great view to the south with Tallebudgera Creek at the bottom of the headland then a stretch of sandy beach extending forever.

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After lunch and another rain storm we visited the ocean again. Playing in the waves is great fun. Here’s the drill. You can be standing knee deep in the water when suddenly a wave whacks you in the back, side or face. You fall down and the wave carries you onto the sandy beach. So you get up, walk out toward the surf and wait for the next wave to knock you down. It is truly amazing where sand can get to. The fresh water showers along the beach help getting rid of some sand. We seem to have developed a routine visiting the waves breaking on the beach once a day. Today, Saturday, they were the biggest so far.

This is what they look like just before they turn you upside down.

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