Brisbane.

It's been a week since I posted - and two weeks since I arrived in Australia. I've now been to Sydney, then to Port Douglas (north of Cairns), Brisbane and now back to Sydney. Needless to say I'm a bit pooped and planning on staying in Sydney for the next week. I'm not complaining, because I mean I'm realistically pooped from exploring, reading, and eating/drinking - so life is pretty damn good.

Arrived in Brisbane last Friday to meet my friend Glen, who I've been staying with in Sydney. We hit the town Friday night in a newish neighborhood called Fortitude Valley on the edge of St. James St. It very much reminded me of my old hood, the North Loop in Minneapolis. Slept in Saturday and then bar-hopped all day through the city (with a few shopping stops to get Glen a hat so he didn't sunburn his head. Ha!) 

Brisbane is smaller than Sydney and a bit more chill, but I'll be honest I like Sydney better - mainly because they have beaches EVERYWHERE. Brisbane is similar to the Twin Cities with a big ole river snaking it's way through the middle. Although, they do it better - aka river taxis, TONS of riverside restaurants and just all-around accessibility. Could be the fact they don't really have winter? 

I signed Glen and I up for a last minute wine tour on Tamborine Mountain. We were picked up by a jolly fellow in the Vino Bus and off we headed to basically get drunk on wine with some folks from the UK, Denmark, Australia, Greece and Scotland. It was SO fun and potentially one of the most fun trips I've been on this far. Our first stop was this weird distillery that looked like a hobbit house. We tasted about ten different types of liqueur and headed to three more stops before ending at a brewery. That ALSO SOLD CHEESE. Fantastic trip - much recommended. 

While my friend worked and did real-life things, I enjoyed Monday and Tuesday in Brisbane walking miles and miles, stopping for a beer here and there and enjoying lunch and reading in the many parks. I've been here for two weeks and have finished five books (and none of which are work books - woo!) Tuesday I wandered to Streets Beach, basically a man-made beach in the middle of the city, alongside the river. Nestled in the Southbank Parklands, Streets Beach butts up against several "seaside" restaurants and bars, cafes and shops. Uber cool area to hang out. 

Yesterday, my last day in Brisbane, I took a chance on a day tour to Moreton Island and felt like I got scammed by a timeshare service. I had to wake my arse up at 6 AM (I know, I know, but if you know me, that's too early for holiday.) I took a 1.5-hour ferry to the island and was dropped off into what felt like Australia's version of Disneyland. Want to rent a kayak? $65. Want to snorkel? $55. Want to do anything other than walk and/or sit on the beach? That will be, oh wait I have no money left after I bought a sandwich from your ridiculously expensive cafe. I ended up hiking quite a ways to the National Park and ended up taking a nap (to get away from the Asian tourists and screaming children.) It wasn't all that bad in the grand scheme of things, but I paid a good chunk of moola to sit on a beach, which I could have done in the venter of Brisbane for free. Probably with a cheaper sandwich and cocktail. 

So here I am, back in Sydney and looking forward to Australia Day tomorrow - an Australian Federal holiday similar to our 4th of July (I think.) Saturday and Sunday are the Rugby Sevens and apparently we're dressing up as American Football players. Ironic eh?

Til next time!

Firs stop of our Tamborine Mountain Wine Tour (Witches Falls Winery)

Last Stop of our wine tour - a brewery WITH A CHEESE SHOP. Die.

Story Bridge in CBD Brisbane.

Stop along a river run.

'Nuff said. LOL.

Streets Beach :)

Entrance to South Parklands.

Port Douglas

An old coworker of mine recommended Port Douglas as a destination to see the Great Barrier Reef vs Cairns, the larger, more well-known area. I landed at the Cairns airport this past Monday and boarded a shuttle for Port Douglas - 1.5 hours north. Port Douglas is EXACTLY what I needed. There were like no people. Anywhere. 

Per my usual travel schedule, I spent the first day getting the lay of the land. There was 4-mile beach - where I learned stingers and crocs tend to populate during summer months. Hence the barren beach and streets. Apparently I landed in Port Douglas during their off season, also known as the rainy season. But as luck would have it, the first two days were rain-free. I went for a run on cliff/beach trails, hung out at the beach and finished two books. Wandered to a brewery, bar-hopped a bit and was in bed the first two nights by 8:30. 

The third day, I was supposed to go to the rainforest, but there weren't enough people signed up for the tour. Yes, I was bummed, but oh well. And it was raining like a mofo. So, I went to a wildlife sanctuary - where I was literally one of three people in the entire place. I hung out with some kangaroos, wallabies and a host of other weird foreign-looking animals. My favorite by far was the koala - which oddly enough reminded me of my dog. 

The fourth day, my favorite, was spent snorkeling over the Great Barrier Reef. I am kicking myself in the arse for not getting an underwater camera, however I don't think photos can quite explain the depth and beauty of the reef. Holy cats man - it's like hovering Mars.

There are hundreds of different species of coral reef - both hard and soft - but most are white due to coral bleaching. Our captain on the catamaran explained that 60% of the coral reef has died in the last two years (don't quote me on this piece) and most of it has bleached due to heat. See zooxanthellae for coral is similar to chlorophyll for a plant - chlorophyll is what makes a plant green. Zooxanthellae photosynthesize like most plants - causing the white coral to turn shades of brown, yellow, blue and red. Long story short, because of the higher-than-normal temperatures over the past two years, the coral has developed heat-stress and stops producing zooxanthellae - resulting in white, or bleached coral. I'm not a marine biologist, but if you'd like to read more on coral bleaching, you an here: http://www.reefteach.com.au/coral-bleaching/ 

The Great Barrier is reef is one of the seven natural wonders of the world - larger than than the Great Wall of China and the only living thing on earth visible from space (it's over 1800 miles!)

Oh and I saw several animals including a clam the size of a sofa, parrot fish, and a sea turtle - but still, nothing in comparison to the living, breathing beast that is the reef. 

Leaving for Brisbane today to meet my friend. Til the next post!

The nets you have to stay inside of to protect you from stingers and crocs!

Look at that pouch. Yeck.

Great Barrier Reef is right under that water...

Beaches and Stingers.

Well I heard I missed the most epic Vikings game ever. But I don't really care because I got a text message this morning saying there's a snow emergency in Minneapolis. Currently it's 80 degrees in Port Douglas. 

This is officially my first day solo with absolutely nothing to do. It's shockingly uncomfortable. It's my first day alone and I'm struggling with completely unplugging vs. stay-plugged-in. It's been such a habit for so long to check all forms of social media, email as well as keep up on current local/national news. So, this morning, I did just that. The one good/bad thing, is that once I leave my Airbnb, I have zero cell data so those shall be my quiet unplugged hours (aka if you're trying to get a hold of me, I probably won't answer.)

On that note, if you do want to get in touch, please add WHATSAPP to your phone for texting - it's easy and free internationally :)

Going to go to the beach and hopefully not get stung by stingers or eaten by a crocodile - apparently that's common here on 4-mile Beach. However, they do have this neat little net thingy that keeps them out. And if worst comes to worst, there are bottles of vinegar everywhere to pour on the sting. Crossin' my fingers! 

Birds here are weird.

Every bird here sounds human. I thought a child was practicing his vowels downstairs and it turns out it was an Australian raven - creeeeeeepy. Visited the Sydney harbor yesterday and took a ferry to Manly for a walk and some lunch - such a cool little beach area. Stopped for a wine slushee at Watson's Bay. Walked 19,000 steps and totally crashed after a delicious meal of Thai noodles, curry puffs and spring rolls. Almost made it through 15 minutes of a movie before falling asleep. Today took a bike ride south of Coogee and lost miserably in a game of lawn bowling. Off to Port Douglas tomorrow!

Having second thoughts...

Just kidding! Made it to Sydney this morning in one piece. I skipped over the dateline, jumped into the future and made it here by Friday morning (too bad my last paycheck doesn't come until Central Time Friday AM.)

It feels so dang good. So good to be able to breathe without my face hurting. If you’ve been living in or near Minneapolis lately, you know what I’m talking about. Sydney is a bit muggy and overcast, but beautiful and refreshing at the same time.

Took a nice little 8-mile stroll up the eastern coastway and managed to already sunburn my nose and start a blister on my foot. Also, I should probably figure out what and where all these infamous poisonous Australian snakes/spiders/etc. live (Just a side note.) But I’m not complaining! Wifi is being stodgy so I will upload more pics later. Hold tight.