Friday morning came too quickly and we had to pack up, leave O'Reillys, and head down the mountain. Half way down we ran into a flock of Llamas in the road which had made a prison escape while being transferred to a different pasture. The Llama person was rather frantic as she waved her arms and shouted at us. "I need some help. They have never done this before." The young bartender from the lodge had followed us down the mountain, and together we became llama herders. I was thinking, "Aren't these the ones that spit at you?" Oh well, what's a little llama spit. In no time, the situation was under control and we were headed back down the mountain.
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| Something new to add to our resumes |
After breakfast and shopping in Canungra, we drove into Brisbane for our final campground, Newmarket Gardens Caravan Park, which was the closest to downtown and also the airport. We had two more days left in Australia and the negotiations began. Edie wanted to visit Brisbane while I wanted one more shot at the rainforest. The compromise was rather easy. The first day would be spent in Brisbane, while the last day would be a drive up into the rainforest west of town.
We caught a bus at a stop close to the park and within 30 minutes were in the middle of downtown. The most defining feature of Brisbane is the Brisbane River which meanders through the city with many twists and turns before emptying into Moreton Bay 9 miles downstream. Along the river banks is an extensive riverwalk which is every outdoor lover's dream. With a sub tropical climate, bicyclists, joggers, swimmers, and fitness buffs can get their workouts all year long, and take in a little culture at the same time. There is even a rock face for climbing that is well used.
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| A section of Brisbane's river walk |
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| An entire man-made beach and lake was constructed next to the river walk |
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| A Nepalese Peace Pagoda built by craftsman of Kathmandu for Brisbane's Expo 88 |
Transportation is easy as CityHoppers and CityCats will take you to different areas of the river.
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| The city has 21 CityCats that will take you to any one of 25 terminals along the river |
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| There are 9 monohull boats including these CityHoppers to ferry passengers. |
The only downside I could see to living here is a tendency for the city to flood during cyclones. The last flood in 2011 inundated 20,000 homes. Well, maybe I could add a second downside, since about 500-1000 Bull Sharks live in the river and they have a tendency to jump out of the water and twist in the air violently during warm weather. But you have to have a little excitement in life! You could always live in a house above the flood plain and keep small children and dogs out of the water since there have been reports of shark attacks.
The following morning we left on our last Australian Road Trip. Our destination was Mt Glorious, a tiny town less than an hour northwest of Brisbane. Mt Glorious is next to D'Aguilar National Park, a beautiful native rainforest. A popular location in the D'Aguilar NP is Maiala, or "quiet place" in the native tongue. The Mount Glorious Cafe is next to the park and I had read that they serve a great breakfast and have feeders which attract the rainforest birds.
The road up the mountain is quite twisty and therefore a favorite of motorcyclists. When we reached the cafe, bikers and cyclist had already taken up most of the seating outside but the inside was empty.
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| Mount Glorious Cafe |
The biker population seemed typical of the United States, mostly white-collar males with a few females thrown in. The only difference I could see was a lot less Harley Davidsons and more European and Japanese bikes.
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| Interior of the Mount Glorious Cafe |
After we had ordered, the owner came over to chat. He was a recent transplant from Europe and had recently toured the U.S. in an R.V. similar to what we were doing. He thought that American drivers were much more courteous than Australian because they would let you in when lane changing. "Australian drivers, especially the women, won't budge an inch." He also said Australia is too tightly regulated-a fact he attributed to being a penal colony in the beginning. "The police here will ticket you for 1 kilometer over the limit". I asked him about the bird feeders but he said he had gotten rid of them. He left when the meal came but not before leaving us with directions to the best birding area.
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| Typical Aussie breakfast-a lot of meat with a tomato to balance things out. |
The Maiala rainforest was spectacular but not so productive for bird photography. Birds were heard everywhere and glimpsed occasionally but most remained high in the canopy. Wompoo Fruit-Doves, Brown Cuckoo-Doves, and Australian Figbirds played in the canopy giving only partial or obscured body shots. A Noisy Pitta, a colorful bird I wanted to photograph badly, called down low but I never located him. Only a Golden Whistler cooperated enough for a couple of frames. It would turn out to be the last bird photographed for the day and the trip.
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| Golden Whistler |
We spent the rest of the day visiting other potential birding locations and eventually ended up at the coast north of Brisbane. All that remained the next morning was to pack the suitcases, return our van, and get psyched up for the journey home. On our journey to Australia, we left on Wednesday afternoon and arrived on Friday morning. On the return trip we will leave in the morning and have our evening meal the same day in Michigan. Sounds much better. Only our biological clocks will be confused.
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