Australian Adventure, Week 9: September 18-24

This week we went on a hike to a waterfall, spent some time at Southbank, and started our week long vacation!

On Sunday, we spent the day at Kondalilla National Park exploring the trails and waterfalls. We did the most well travelled loop from the bottom of the falls, all the way to the top. It was a beautiful trail, and very well kept park. Our highlight was Webster swimming in the rock ponds at the top of the waterfall - so much fun!

On our drive back into town we stopped at Choquette Bakery for their famous croissants! We also stopped in a small mountain town to explore the little shops.

On Monday, we had our first training shift at the Brisbane FoodBank. We worked in a team of eight to sort incoming mixed donations from large grocery stores. The sorted bins will be used in distribution for smaller, more regional, food banks. It was a really fun morning and a great way to get to know local Australian food brands. That night, stayed in and had breakfast for dinner watching the Queen’s funeral.

On Tuesday we went for a coffee date at Bellissimo Coffee, a local coffee roaster. It was absolutely delicious! Australians really do coffee well.

That night, we met a fellow Canadian (from Burlington) for trivia at a brewery owned by a Canadian! It was a really hard pub quiz and we came in last place! It wasn’t the worst because we won a single beer for free!

On Wednesday, we had a quiet day getting school work and laundry done. That night, we went to see Ticket to Paradise in theatres. It has been a while since we have been to the movies, so it was a real treat! Australian movie theatres are so small, we were in the theatre with ten others and it seemed full.

Thursday morning, we went for breakfast at our favourite local spot, Ninebar Kitchen. We had delicious coffee and great food. We spent the afternoon packing for our upcoming adventure and getting some work done.

On Friday we spent the day at Southbank! Southbank is a riverside parkland with restaurants and activities. We started our adventure at the Wheel of Brisbane, an observation wheel overlooking the river. It was the perfect day, we had great weather and visibility so we could see for kilometres around us. It wasn’t too busy so we had an extra long time on the Wheel!

Then, we walked over to the public pools and Webster jumped in for a dip! It is school holidays here right now (spring break) so the pools were full of little ones, splashing around and having fun.

On Saturday, we packed up all of our things and left Brisbane for the Sunshine Coast! We drove three hours North to Noosa Heads where we are going to spend a few days this week! On our way to Noosa we stopped at the Eumundi markets to look at the stalls - most things were craft-like, so we didn't end up buying anything but it was neat to see. Then, we hiked to a lookout point overlooking the Noosa area.

Later in the day, we walked up and down Hastings Street exploring the shops and main beach. Then, we found a more secluded beach a few kilometres down the coast. It was a great afternoon of beaching, relaxing, napping, and swimming.

This week we are beaching! We are spending some time in Noosa Heads and Byron Bay for Reading Week. We have some fun activities planned: scuba diving, kayaking, hiking, and lots of beach time! Thanks for following along. See you next week!