Day 25: All that glisters might just be gold

Dropped the car off and early check in with Virgin Blue again, then at 10am we were off up to the Gold Coast, Coastal Queensland. The 2 hour flight went pretty swiftly as Dan was plugged in to the online entertainment system and I had my head stuck in a trashy novel.

Arrived at the airport for yet another complete change of climate. The south has been very much in Autumn, here it is strongly summer: blue skies, bright sunshine, 30deg C heat and 50% humidity.

We hadn't booked a car yet (our final itinerary was written on the back of a beer mat in the hotel bar last night) but working the desks at the airport got us a pretty good deal and an upgraded car. It also got a few incredulous looks at how far we are planning to drive this week.

We left and went through the Gold Coast, working north. The Gold Coast is really as it's described: basically Benidorm. Still, interesting to see.

It's quite out-doorsy here and everyone is either into sports or beach going which leads to some relaxed attitudes to attire. At the service station where we stopped to get lunch and gas (going native with the references there) one guy who came in to get fuel had his shorts so low, you could practically see his map of Tasmania.

Dan reading up on the map suggested we head as far north as a place on the coast called Caloundra, about 40K north of Brisbane. We both agreed that having just had quite a time in cities (Sydney and Melbourne) it would be good to see some other places and bypass Brisbane.

This was a very good call. We arrived at about 4 and drove around to find a place to stay, ending up with a very nice 2-bedroom apartment with views of the sea and an outside balcony. Wandering back along the beach, there was a great outdoor pool, long wooden sidewalks along the beach, outdoor showers, water fountains and communal barbeques. We were just in time for sunset and got some great views of the sunset behind the tower blocks, and with the Glasshouse Mountains (where we are going tomorrow) in the background.

It's still warm and humid in the evening, but quite a nice, refreshing breeze which makes a long walk along the beachfront and in to town relaxing and nice.

We had a nice dinner at the local surf club (think the British Legion!) and then back to the swanky apartment for a long game of scrabble where Dan helped me enormously but I still lost.

Everything in the apartment building is operated by key, including the lift and the big door to the underground parking. The lift opens directly into the parking lot, and I've seen way too many rubbish American thrillers to not scare myself stupid going down to get some things out of the car. Otherwise, using the lift feels like you are a secret service agent, turning the key first to gain special access to secret levels. But that may just be me.


Tomorrow: The Glasshouse Mountains and on to Hervey Bay (definitely NOT the Australian Zoo with Steve Irwin)