Unbelievably after pulling in at 4.50am not only were we due to stay as guests at the house of people we'd never met nor spoken to prior to a week before, they picked us up to!! Pulling up in a 4x4 we guessed each other easily enough with there being very few others around, and so arriving at our home for the next few days we had some coffee, toast, a good chat and promptly went back to bed. Our hosts have welcomed over 150 other strangers to their home and were accustomed to all sorts. They themselves had met through the website so whether it was a form of thanks or just a love of its positive sociability I wouldn't care to guess, but after we were all back up and more coffee they were raring to get out and show us something - had the weather been better we may have gone surfing that morning, however the perpetual rain had followed us there. We all headed out in the car about an hour North toward some forest owned by their family, and it was a lovely patch. A small stream ran to the rear and with a caravan and tent in situ there was provisions for tea and lunch whenever you'd arrive. From here we headed out into the National Park adjacent and went 'off-road' which meant powering up a steep rain drenched hill at some speed and when we got the top having been well shaken by the ride took in the view from on top - which extended to about 100 yards of grey rain. A shame as it was obvious it would have looked fantastic but fun none the less. We headed back down and on our way stopped by a seperate river where we headed downstream to their 'secret' waterfall. This was nice of them to divulge and good to see, all adding in to the fact we were all soaked by this time it made a good day of otherwise adverse conditions.
Next morning and time off plus the downpour meant an extra day off work for both our hosts and they took us up to the Rockhampton Zoo & Botanical Gardens right the way across town. This seems to be a top visit with their previous guests as apparently they'd been there about 50 times.. They popped in with us and saw the dingos and apes before leaving us to it. Fortunately this was a free admission zoo and it was really good considering. We saw wallabys, emus, cassowarys, a wild kookaburra, lorrakeets, other birds and parrots, a small croc and koalas, then as we finished the animal demonstrations started so we went round again - seeing the apes get yoghurt and a carton of drink, then getting to visit the koalas inside their pen and stroke them - not to hold though as they only have a few and there's time restrictions on the amount they should be handled to avoid stress.. Anyway, considering this alone could cost $16 we had saved a fair few cents.. We started walking back and though I'd known it was a fairly long distance back I didn't expect it to take the two hours it did. Exhausting!!
We'd been planning to visit the Dreamtime Cultural Centre while in town as well as it was a good opportunity to learn more about traditional Aboriginal life and activities in and around Australia. This was again a lot cheaper than elsewhere and with our YHA cards we also got a discount - the first time they'd been of use!! We took a walk round while we waited for a tour to start and managed to walk round most of the site, not really seeing much significance but as the tour got underway a lot more became apparent. Ochre wall painting, Dreamtime and their significance to daily life pre-colonization and the changes in structure post. We then moved to another area where the Torres Straight was explained, along with various items which before we'd simply seen as pretty and curious - from the tortoise shell adulthood/war mask to drum blocks. Overall these were really good explanations - not to all peoples taste but we weren't expecting a multi-media presentation with university lecture detail, it was a laid back 'any questions' tour that satisfied a basic understanding.. And from there it was time for the fun bits, didgeridoo playing and boomerang throwing, both again interesting and definitely entertaining. We caught a dvd that we'd missed before leaving and having learnt our lesson the day before caught a bus back to the house after a small wait.. In the rain I might add, which still hadn't properly let up.
This was our last night in town so after another good meal we settled down for the night having arranged our train and hostel for our next night in Brisbane, a stop-gap on our way to Byron Bay - the same day train leaving forty minutes before we arrived.. This gave us half a day to investigate the City though so after catching the train around 7 in the morning we pulled in round the early afternoon, our hostel being just over the road. This meant we could dump our bags and head straight out, so we strolled over the bridge to the Southbank, giving us a good view of the City and after a short walk made it into the Botanical Gardens. Starting with a wooden temple it was like a small slice of Asia, beautifully ornate it was built in the early 90's by craftsmen from Nepal. Carrying on down the weaving paths led us around and out to two swimming lagoons and then past various cafes and a small waterpark. It was a nice break from the usual city-scape, breathing space in the usual urban charge - plus cycle lanes along the river providing great access without the threat of the roads. We crossed back over on the Goodwill Bridge and headed up to Queen Street to look around the shops and pick up a bit more food for our journey the next morning. It was a fun way to see Brisbane, and though we might have enjoyed another day maybe it was enough for us and meant we had more time at the beach.. We got up and out to the station early, our train only going so far as Casino before we changed to a bus. It was a beautiful journey, through rolling hills and valleys before curving down towards the bay with a wonderful panorama before us. We arrived and lugged our bags to a hostel fairly near to the beach, dumping them off and heading out to see the town and beach. It still wasn't great weather so we spent more time in the town which was a real mixture of tourist garbage, surf brands and arts and fashion stores. Overall it was overpriced except one charity shop!! Next day we headed to the Main Beach, our hostel provided body-boards free which was great, the sun had returned so we set off into the surf to battle the tide and waves. Only thing we forgot was to put sunscreen on.. Four to five hours later we headed back, hungry, worn out and slightly burnt. It was a great day anyway and was a beautiful night with the setting sun illuminating the array of colours in the bay.
We'd only arranged to stay here for two nights so next day we packed up and left our bags in reception while we headed back to the beach to wait for our bus later in the day. The cloud cover had returned but it was still nice to spend time there, the atmosphere being completely relaxed, families, surfers and hippies all under the spell of the surf, sand and scenery, unwilling to have it broken.
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