19 – Sunshine Coast & Brisbane

And it poured and it poured.  So much for the Sunshine Coast!

Our apartment in Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast was on a street not too far from the beach. 

We had a sea view or would have if the low clouds and rain would disappear. 

We had booked the apartment for five days hoping to spend some time on the beach watching the surfers but it wasn’t to be.  The rain was constant and the forecast was for more to come.  They predicted monsoon rain which would lead to flooding.  They weren’t wrong.  We were stuck.  The roads throughout the Sunshine Coast were not advisable and the roads in the Gold Coast were flooded and impassable.

We went out for groceries and ended up soaked.  The supermarket car park was ankle deep in water and with the cars going through we got thoroughly drenched. 

One morning the rain reduced to a shower, so we decided to go to the Queensland Aviation Museum which was not far away. 

Most of it was undercover so at least we wouldn’t get too wet.  The museum was quite interesting.

Got our flights out of the flood zone sorted Sandy!

They have lots of different types of planes and other types of air craft.

There were so many planes in the hangers that it was difficult to see the details of each one, but it passed some time in an otherwise boring few days.

Thursday 26^th was Australia Day.  It was actually clear and bright when we got up. 

Crikey he ain't got any kegs on!

We decided to go to Australia Zoo.  The zoo was quite busy.  It is home to mainly Australian animals

 but it is gradually adding a new part which houses Asian and African animals. 

We saw some animals that we’d never seen in the flesh before, Tasmanian Devils, Echidna and some other Australian natives. 

They had a show in the Crocoseum.

The late Steve Irwin’s wife Terri, daughter Bindi and son Robert took part in the show because it was "Australia Day"  a special day. 

They explained about the crocodile and how it attacks. There was also a display from some of the native birds.

The zoo is very well laid out with plenty of space in the animal enclosures.

Yuck this Scot's meat's a bit chewy!

The dry weather didn’t last.  We decided that we would move on to Brisbane instead of the Gold Coast once our time at the apartment in Caloundra was up. 

We booked a motel just on the edge of the city centre in Brisbane. 

The journey there was okay, but we could see from the amount of water sitting at the sides of the road that it wouldn’t take much more rain for the road to be submerged.

Our motel was situated near to the museum and art galleries. 

On our first night we decided to drive to the water front and see what it had to offer.  We parked the car and had a walk about.  The rain came on again and we got drenched.  Then we had a shock when we went back to the car park.  The minimum charge for parking is $15 for up to three hours.  This increases to $35 for four – seven hours then $109 for up to twelve hours.  Needless to say that was the last time we took the car out in Brisbane.

We borrowed an umbrella from the motel and walked to the museums and galleries.  They were all located next to each other which meant we didn’t have to get too wet. 

The museum houses all types of artifacts from the age of the dinosaurs to last year’s floods in Queensland.  There was a lot to see. 

The Queensland Art Gallery is quite large with a wide variety of Art.  Something for everyone’s taste.

We then went to the Gallery of Modern Art.

  They have a section which is interactive.  There is a room which was painted white and furnished with white furnishings.  When you go in you are given a sheet of brightly coloured dot stickers.  The idea is to cover the room in the bright stickers to get rid of all the white.  It was good fun.  All the kids were having a great time. Emily and Douglas would have loved it. 

They also have an area where they have created fairytale lands. They are very brightly coloured and made out of sand and sugar. The children were enthralled.

It had stopped raining by the time we’d finished so we went for a walk along the waterfront where they have some street cafes, a lagoon for swimming and a parkland area. 

 There was a Sunday Market while we were there and open air pubs with live music.  We sat and had a beer and soaked up the atmosphere.

The city centre was just across the river from our motel.  We walked across to the shopping area.

 There is a mixture of old and new buildings.  Some of the streets are pedestrianized with street cafes where you can stop for a coffee and people watch.

We had intended to travel south to Sydney by car, but the roads are still unadvisable and more rain is forecast. News bulletins are full of film of the floods.  We have had to change our plans.  We’re returning the car and flying south.