Thanks to Mr. Ham, the cooperative became the leading exporter of ginger
Factory operationsDIARY/PHOTO JOURNAL - Page 17
Week 22 - August 13, 2018 - August 19, 2018
Although we had gone a bit southwest to get to my friend, Chris's house, we still had a few things we wanted to do and see up north. We drove back through the country and we could not resist a stop at the Buderim Ginger Factory in Yandina. This place was all things sweet ginger and we probably spent more time in the 'shop' than on the factory tour. Discovering ways to incorporate ginger into cooking has got us excited to try some of our new found goodies.
Thanks to Mr. Ham, the cooperative became the leading exporter of ginger
Factory operations
Gerson having fun with the ginger mascot
So much deliciousness
This 'ginger' was happy with her ginger purchases
After our ginger immersion, we were off to our stop for the night, Coolum Beach,
south of Noosa Heads. We had initially intended to stay in Noosa; however,
difficulty in finding a camping spot and that we wanted to be on, what is called
here, absolute waterfront, we opted for Coolum Beach. We are so happy we
did as our quick run through Noosa Heads found it anything but quaint and very
difficult to park and access the beach. Whereas Coolum Beach was still a
bit 'resorty', it was a tad more cozy and the beach just a few meters from
Cinderoo.
Noosa Head Main Beach views
Coolum Beach cliff walk was spectacular
A couple of days along the beach and we were heading south again. And, seeing as we were in the neighborhood of an Australian icon, we had to visit Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo. Although Steve Irwin was known for his education about and preservation of crocodiles, his legacy is the preservation of so much more.
I like snakes - Eastern Brown, Taipan and Green Python
Cool Veiled Chameleon
This Water Dragon escaped an enclosure and enjoying his freedom
Wombats, usually nocturnal
but this one wanted a daylight snack
We had intended to spend a
few hours at the Zoo and it was not long before we realized we would spend all
day enjoying the special place. We were able to walk the entire reserve,
watch a few shows and hang with a few of the residents.
Gerson having fun with a mock-up of a real crocodile
"Who you looking at" - stunning owl
Just hanging with a mom and her Joey and Gerson made a friend
Echidna - no tyres are safe with them around
Asian Otters - comical
This green parrot likes to have a different perspective of things
Why we enjoyed this zoo so much was that it was laid
out more like a reserve or park and animals were not in 'cages' per se.
Many of the animals are rescues of some sort and there even was a
state-of-the-art animal hospital on site for care of the zoo's animals and for
any injured animals brought in from the surrounding areas. The Irwins
practice what they preach.
Tasmanian Devil looking rather cute sleeping
Rare Red Panda - endangered and beautiful
Rescued tigers (second one was blind)
Cheetah out for a walkabout
Lemurs - love the way they sit and those bloomers and that tail!
Binturong (bearcat) - listed as vulnerable
I even got to hold a Koala and although being rather cute, they are stinky
buggars. As they mature, so do their 'glands' and the smell is a
combination of wet-dirty socks, wet dog and well, shit. It's rather bad
and a smell that lingers. But they are cute though.
Cuddly koala, if you could hold your nose
Koala family and adorable youngster
Beautiful Dingo
Now, this is a python!
White rhinoceros
Quite the crocdile
Jabirus are the only 'storks' in Australia
Kite zipping past
Never saw this bird before - Black Red-tailed Black Cockatoo - gorgeous bird
Giraffes being nosy and finding their food
Meercats provided the comedy
After the zoo, it was off to settle near Brisbane for a couple of days. Again, we intended to stay closer to Brisbane, however, with no place available, we stayed about an hour away in a little ocean enclave called Thorneside. We decided to take the train into town and do a bit of an urban hike around the city.
Brisbane did not disappoint
Brisbane created its own 'beach' in the middle of the city
Several different views of Brisbane taken from its river boardwalk and a river
taxi
We probably walked about 10k for the day and opted to
jump on a water taxi and a car taxi to get to some of the outer reaches that we
wanted to visit. Brisbane is a pleasant mix of hills, parks, river
boardwalks, small old and new neighborhoods, modern architecture and is enhanced
by its preservation of its historical buildings. We wandered around the
old and the new and found a couple of museums (as the museums are free in
Brisbane) and just soaked up the beauty of this city.
Lots of parks
Just a few of the grand old buildings around Brisbane
Playing the Digeridoo
Walked into a small festival celebrating Indonesia
Gerson being used for size comparison of this Killer Whale skull and Giant Squid
Found a brewery and a cold beer
Visiting Brisbane would not have been complete without
meandering up to its highest mountain, Mount Coot-tha. Fortunately,
Cinderoo had no problem scaling the steep road up to the lookout and with her
petite size, we fit right into a parking space amongst the less versatile
vehicles. The views from the lookout were breathtaking and let us
appreciate Brisbane even more.
Cinderoo nestled in her spot
Views from Mount Coot-tha over Brisbane
Still having a bit of time
left on the day, we decided to take a rambling drive back to our caravan park
and found a wonderful little corner called Wellington Point. Taking a walk
around its point, we came across a number of people enjoying various water
sports and were especially amazed by the kiteboarders taking advantage of the
wind.
Some amazing talent and some amazing view
Like the rest of the world, we mostly hear about Sydney
or Melbourne when Australia is talked about, yet here is Brisbane, quietly
stunning, easily livable and quite a jewel in Queensland's crown.