We’re now staying at a place called the Noosa River Retreat which is about 120 kilometres north of Brisbane on the Sunshine Coast. Our drive back to Cairns via Townsville went according to plan. In Townsville I risked a dip in the sea inside one of the “stinger exclusion zones” and emerged unscathed! The car journeys were a bit of a drag because they’re upgrading the Bruce Highway (which runs from Brisbane to Cairns) and it’s littered with roadworks but the flight from Cairns to Brisbane was fine. We dropped off our Toyota Corolla at Cairns airport and picked up a Holden Astra at Brisbane airport. We then called at John’s place for our suitcase and stayed last night at the Paramount Motel, south of the river at Kangaroo Point (originality is not a major strength of Australian place names) in Brisbane.
Today we meandered northwards at a leisurely pace calling at some of the resorts on the way. This part of the Queensland coast is just one long beach fringed with palm trees and inundated with surfers of every level of ability. Judging from watching them, the essential quality required by a surfer is perseverance! We’re here until Monday then it’s back to Brisbane and a flight to Sydney on Tuesday. December weather in Lowestoft is getting uncomfortably close!
One thing that we have experienced repeatedly all the time we have been here is the friendliness and helpfulness of Australians. If you look slightly unsure of where you are (a failing that comes with age!) or where you are going, someone immediately volunteers their assistance without prompting. People strike up conversations with you on trains, planes and buses. It’s very similar to the States and very different from the UK!
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