Day Fourteen: An Old Friend & the Sunshine Coast

My last full day in Queensland was spent with my friend Deb. We graduated from high school together in 1985 and hadn't seen one another since. She moved to Oz ten years ago and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see her. 

I took the train from Brisbane to Burpengary where she picked me up. After screaming for a bit and both saying “you sound like me!!” we didn’t stop talking for fourteen hours!

We drove to the Sunshine Coast to Noosa National Park and had lunch on the beach. Beautiful!!

I don’t have many photos because we pretty much talked non-stop the entire day. So much so (along with a little too much wine) I ended up staying the night. 

It was so nice to see her and meet her funny Aussie husband Trevor. Again, the world feels so small. 

Day Thirteen: CityCat, Dinner and Stickers!

It rained a bit today. Gia, Jenny and I did a little shopping and then made our way to St. Lucia and jumped on a CityCat (boat) to SouthBank. Brisbane was host of the ‘88 World Expo where you still see remnants of the event. Beautiful area. 

We had some lunch where I reminisced about the days I would color with my girls at meals. 

I did some “crafting” with Valentina - well, she decorated my phone. I’m blinged out. 

We went out for dinner on SouthBank overlooking the river with a couple of Pete and Jenny’s friends Ross & Annie. It was lovely. The conversations are so similar wherever you live, which reminds me how small the world truly is. 

Day Twelve: Springbrook, Tamborine and Unicorns

I jumped on the bus from Jenny’s and landed in downtown Brisbane. I spent the day on a tour of the rainforests, west of the Gold Coast. 

Our first stop was Springbrook rainforest. Absolutely stunning! Very cool inside and surprisingly no bugs. I cannot recall being in another rainforest so I’m labeling this my first. 

Next we visited a glow worm cave. They aren’t worms but maggots - it would be hard to market a maggot tour. They are pretty cool and have an amazing life cycle. 

Next stop was the Tamborine rainforest where I swung from a vine like Jane (that is a complete lie). But the walk was very nice and the weather was perfect. Cool and no bugs! 

I ended the evening back at Jenny’s playing dress up with Valentina and Gia. They like unicorns because according to Valentina “everyone loves unicorns - who wouldn’t? They are so cute!”

Day Eleven: Brisbane and Beautiful Friends

I flew out of Uluru this morning. I stayed in hostels the last few days for two main reasons...the first is cost. Instead of renting an entire hotel room I can get a bed for around $30-45/night. The second reason is to connect with others. 

My favorite part of travel is making new friends. Yes, I love the landscape and the food and the history but it is the connections I make that make me yearn for my next adventure.  

As I prepared for this trip many friends and co-workers were surprised I was traveling solo. I admit I would love to have a smoking-hot-wealthy-intelligent-loving-well-traveled-adventurous companion by my side - but for now I travel alone. My urge for adventure does not wane while single (but if you know anyone that fits my description please send them my way). I do love traveling with my girls but to bring them triples my expense; I think they understand - or I hope it encourages them to work hard so they can do this themselves some day. 

I landed in Brisbane to sunny skies. My friend Jenny picked me up. Jenny is Deb’s niece and I met her as well in Minneapolis during a Prince event.

She has two beautiful little girls who remind me of my own when they were that age. It was fun to be around their energy, curiousity and sweetness. Valentina and I ended the evening watching a show together in bed. 

I am beyond grateful for their hospitality and makes me forget I’m traveling alone. 

Day Ten: Pool, a Friend and the Stars

It was wonderful to sleep until my body woke on its own. Inga and I had tea near the pool before she continued on her adventure. I so admire the young people I meet. Their passion for travel and learning about other cultures is admirable. I truly believe if everyone would travel to a different country and meet people unlike themselves we would become a more tolerable world. 

I wish I could tell her mum she is fine. More than fine. 

I took the free shuttle into town, grabbed breakfast, returned to my lodge and plopped my butt near the pool for the afternoon. I’ve had some kind of. cold/allergy/reaction-to-temps-above-0° thing going on and the simple day was nice. 

I made the mistake of trying to walk to the pool without flip flops. I burned my feet. Literally. They still hurt. I was in the sun for ten minutes and turned red so I moved to the i-am-a-white-person chair and had this view when I looked up. Gorgeous. 

I showered and went to Bev’s hotel where we caught up over drinks. Bev and I met at Squam (knitting camp) nearly six years ago and I can hardly believe we ended up in the Australian Outback at the same time. Despite the fact I look drunk I was sober. 

I ended my last night in the outback looking at the stars, and oh my it was amazing! The Astro Tour guide was so knowledgeable and the night couldn’t have been more perfect. The moon was not out making the stars very prominent. If you zoom in on the photo below you will faintly see some stars, but you’ll just have to trust me when I say the sky was lit up!

I must not have listened much in school because I didn’t realize all the constellations were upside down and reversed in the Southern Hemisphere from what I see in the northern. Blew my freaking mind, and reminded me how truly far I am from home. 

Day Nine: Uluru, Kata Tjuta, a Sunset and Friends

Another early morning as I caught a bus from Alice Springs to Uluru. The last person to board the bus must have bathed in perfume this morning. I’m sensitive to smells and so most of my six hour drive was spent coughing and sucking on lozenges to avoid the tickle in my throat. 

Our first stop was breakfast in Erldunda, the center of Australia. It was there I saw my first Emu. 

Next stop was at Lake Amadeus, which is not a “lake” as I know it but rather a salt bed. This photo does not do it justice. The contrast of blue sky, white salt and red sands was amazing. 

Kata Tjuta was our next stop. As we approached our tour guide gave us a safety talk. I’m far from athletic and do not participate in artificial exercise (e.g., ride a bike with no destination or walk without moving - aka treadmill) so I listen carefully to warnings. The nearest hospital with snake venom, of which costs $2,500, is five hours. Note to self: No selfies with the snakes. 

Kata Tjuta is a combination of many different rocks, unlike Uluru. 

It was 40°c at this point. Hot. Seriously hot. Pro-tip (I laugh I’m considering myself a pro): This ChillPad is amazing! Not only does it keep you cool but wards off the flies (which even love me half way around the world!). 

We came upon Uluru next. Uluru is the largest single monolithic rock in earth. It is massive. 

Next stop was the Aboriginal Cultural Center. The land was given back to the people in 1985. They make all decisions now regarding passage. This is a spiritual structure for them so the aborigines do not climb Uluru and would prefer others to abide. It will close to hikers October of this year. Many friends encouraged me to climb since it would be shut soon; however, out of respect I will not. It would be equal to scaling the stain-glass windows of a church. 

And I would probably die. It was 43.5°c (110°f) when we walked past the chain that leads up Uluru. 

We ended the evening with a dinner overlooking Uluru at sunset. It would have been a perfect way to end such a fabulous day. But wait...

Through the power of social media I found out my friend Bev was in Uluru as well and we were watching the sunset together!!! No lie. It is a crazy small world my friends when I can run into someone I know half way around the world. 

That could have ended the evening amazingly but it gets better. I met so many fabulous people during the 14 hour tour including a young woman from Germany, Inga, whom I ended up sharing a room with in Uluru. We spent the evening talking about life and travels - she is one wise young woman. 

The world is filled with so many kind people.