Slip, Slop, Slap

Sorry it's been a while since our last entry but things have gotten very crowded and expensive since arriving at the Sunshine and Gold Coasts of Queensland. "Slip, slop, slap" is their saying for putting on sunscreen, clothing, and hats for the sun. Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world!

Ryan bought another surfboard the day we left Noosa Heads and couldn't wait to get into the warm water. We spent the next two nights about 20km inland from Maroochydore, in Yandina, because of the peak rates and swarms of families that invade the Gold Coast during the kids summer holiday. During the day, however, we explored and surfed some of the numerous beaches up and down the Sunshine Coast. Peregian Beach was a notable little beach town with some great cafes.

Our next must-do was the Australia Zoo, home of the late crocodile hunter Steve Irwin. Crikey! We were able to pet the 'roos and saw a great croc and bird show, complete with Terri, Bindi, and little Robert Irwin. We were surprised they actually showed up!

The weather was quite hot and you can only spend so much time at the beach here until you get fried to a crisp, so we beat the heat and took in a movie..."The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."
We free camped another dreadfully hot night in Landsborough and in the morning drove to Brisbane to celebrate Anna's birthday and ring in the New Year. Ryan suprised Anna with a sushi dinner downtown and the next thing we knew it was 2009! Happy New Year!
The heat in Brisbane was starting to get to us so we decided, enough of this for now, let's go inland and up in elevation, so we ended up in Mt. Tamborine. They call this area "The Green Behind the Gold" due to it's western proximity to the Gold Coast and for good reason. It was about 10 degrees cooler here and the quaint town was lined with fudge shops, boutique wineries, and cafes. We bought some excellent triple cream brie and Italian herbed gouda from the Witches Chase Cheese Co. and sampled some tasty beers at the Mt. Tamborine Brewery. We also picked up a bunch of 20 cent avocados. The area was surrounded by Nationakl Parks, so we also got to hear the whip-crack call of the male Eastern Whipbird and the Cookaburra laugh.

With our bellies full after a day splurging on gourmet foods, we drove south to the Binna Burra campgrounds in Lamington National Park where we took a pleasant 3.6km hike. The beach was calling our names again, so we drove back to the coast and down to Fingal Head right in time for a new swell to arrive. Ryan surfed right out front of our holiday park at the reef, which he soon learned was very close to a shark breeding ground. Luckily, no sight of any.
The next day, the waves were on, so after a quick morning surf at the local beach break, we headed a little north to Kirra Beach. The waves were about as good as they get in the 5-7' range and Kirra did not disappoint. These were by far some of the best waves Ryan has seen in his life!
After Kirra, Byron Bay was our next destination, with more surf, sand, and sun. We enjoyed the Byron Bay beaches, and Anna even got into the surfing action. However, the amount of people in town was completely overwhelming and after two days it was time to move on.

Now we have only 3 more nights until we say goodbye to the Jucy campervan, good riddance. It's frustrating living out of a van for almost 3 months. After that we have a few nights in a beachside hostel in Collaroy and then...Singapore!