With the beach right out the back door then what else might entertain the grandies. After a 6:00am start we were on the beach at 9:00. There was lots of splashing about and diging of holes and plenty of yacht races and surf ski races going passed. And if that wasn't enough the neverending whale show was right there.
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| Mermaid |
We have managed the first full grandie beach day. The beaches here are wide with hard hitting surf. Out the back door there is a flag patrol setup so there is no problemo in the water. There is also a small park we walked to just break it up a bit and then to finish off it was back to the beach for some wave running ie get as close to the water then run back before your feet get wet.
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| Blueys sideways crab walk |
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| Mermaids |
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| Charlie in the hole |
We had to eat out on the last night here so squeezed our way into the LifeSavers Club at North Burleigh. This has a large eating hall similar to any other rugger club or RSL you might try. Not to forget the pokies, the upstairs restuarant and every sport known shown on large screens. The food was average but at least the swimming club has a million dollar business backing them. We witnessed a full on rescue in front of us with a quad buggie tearing thru sand amid screaming from the waves. The Saver got on his board and picked up two teenage girls. My meal payment at work.
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| pool walk |
We took the bikes as far as Broad Beach where we found some good shade under casuarinas. The bikes worked ok however the oncoming bike traffic on the narrow lane was scary. These were massive electric bikes indistinguishable from motor bikes and just as fast. A boy was killed last week in Tallebudgera having come off one of these. I am typing this here on the 10th floor balcony. There have been at least four whale breachings and numerous tail slappings. On our way back we called into the Mermaid house. It just so happened that the grandies arrived there just as we were passing. We will move into this house tomorrow.
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| Surfers has lost it's sand but it is being pumped |
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| Towards Burleigh |
We have switched bikes to the Fixies and rode back to the National Park this morning..This time we walked the circuit around to Echo Beach far away in time and also Tallebudgera. The lizards and bush turkeys are rife here. The Fixies ride ok, however with foot breaks and a weighed down front basket, I have to slowly navigate the crowds. Here the path is 95% beautiful people while back home the seaview walk is 95% dog walkers. We have taken the views and the whales. Whales are everywhere.
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| Beautiful People |
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| A Lizardous area |
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| Tallebudgera |
We had geared up for lunch on the beach, a few cans, sandwiches, potatoe chips and 20 questions. It was all crammed in to my back pack. We only had 1500m to walk North to a rock outcrop which was blocking the Northern breeze. There were Lime help yourself bikes on the pavement. So Debbie installed the app, scanned our bikes and we were off after 15 minutes. It was about the same time to get to the beach spot. The app said no you can't stop here, even though there were other bikes. We moved three times to where other bikes were waiting. This has doubled the ride time and the clock is still ticking. We got to the right parking zone however the ride continued to tick even when we were not moving. We found a phone number where eventually the bikes were powered down but now out to an hours usage times 2. The bill said $27 but they switched it to negative. Hooray. After lunch on the beach we walked to Mikes bikes where we got two bikes for $50 for 24 hours. I think we were limed and slimed.
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| Limey |
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| below Schamburg Rock |
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| tomorrow's ride |
We are a 15 minute walk from the Burleigh Village. There is a national park with walks on the bluff above the town. We ambled up to the first lookout with a view all the way back to Surfers. The bike track is busy and we will keep on the lookout for hire bikes. There is always the Lime bikes. The beach is also busy around the lifesavers area, given school holidays. We will pick a spot less busy.
We are on the 10th floor here and the view is forever. I can see scrapers all the way to Coolangatta and the other way to Surfers. We found the local bottleo and super market as well as the bike hire place. Travel days are hard days so we are eating in tonight as there is a full on kitchen apartment up here. The last time we saw this view was for the Gold Coast 600 car race in 2011 and we were 20 stories up that time. There is one higher level to us here and that is the roof where we had the best view.
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| balcony view |
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| roof top art |
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| beach balance |
It was a travel day for us and it wasn't that far but it took all day. Started with a ferry ride back across to Brisbane and again we missed out on getting the whooly dhooly boat. They kept stopping because whales were getting in the way. How in convenient.
We tried in vane to get someone from the car hire place to pick us up from the jetty. The car place is 2km from the jetty. We rang up twice. I was told once upon a time that if a customer asked for something then you bent over backwards to try to do it. That must have been a fairy tale. So we got the ferry crew to stow our bags, emphasising that on no circumstance are they to end up back on the island. Then we walked the 2km to get the car and drive it back to the ferry. It was 30° while all this was happening. The drive to Burleigh Heads was slow with traffic but got there for a late lunch at the Bakery in a Paddock.
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| not really a paddock |
A free afternoon with pencils, paper, a four pack and potatoe chips. We did not go as far as the water world of wrecks but instead sat under a tree. We observed the many different photo sessions being had at the next tree. The next tree was more popular than our tree. Our tree just had shade but the next tree had panache. We did go a cross there for our own photo but waited until the queue died down.
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| The photo tree |
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| the mighty pencil |
After our egg and bacon roll we started out on the Desert Walk, which also included the high point lookout. Good views could be seen along the beach to the wrecking yard. It seems these hulks are grouped into a curve when you see them from above. Although the hordes have gone from the resort, the wreck beach is still busy with boats and cars. We continued onto the desert dunes where board riders were attempting to slide. From our room and back it was a 5km circuit with stops and a swim on the return leg.
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| wreck beach |
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| Dune Riders |
Debbie is trying a different skin treatment on this trip. She has been hanging out too much with youngsters like Molly. I applied the fuzzy spray with a cloth glove and let it set overnight. We did not do it in the morning, as the effect with sun block may have been distorted. Anyway, the embalming shell has cracked open this morning revealing a slightly browner look. How long will this last?
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Not really feast but really fast. The eateries here remind us of the Disney approach. There are cafeteria style tables stretching for at least 300 metres, both inside and out, among five named locations, including one sit down restuarant, which we will try tonight. It also seems to be a sprawling place with an Asian menu. It has to be this way as everyone gets a flashing disk to speed the self collection of meals and keep the queues down. There are 300 staff here, attentive and like an army of bees, keeping it all working.
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| evening view from the Grill |
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Snorkling wrecks is not an easy thing. We walked a bit over 1km with our gear. There are numerous hazards like fast cars and trucks. Most cars were giant gas guzzlers with KickAss on the side. Once in the water there were similar jetskis and speedy boats. Also I had new mask and fins not tried yet, which was an issue getting me anxious part way, due to an ill fit. We sorted most of it out. Despite the issues, the fish were huge and teeming. The hulls open up so deeply out of nowhere. We sidled passed three wrecks in a line of eight. There was a bit of chop. A young couple turned back due to sharks but they were just reefers. If you can handle the issues then these wrecks are worth it.
We had a reasonable sleep but awoke to find a cruise ship hanging around off shore. Now the foot is using the other shoe. Not to be a two faced cruiser but those hoards of cruisers are crowding us. This place seems to be a mini seaside Disney. If its not the jet skis, four wheel drivers, heli riders, para riders, beach segways then the quad bikes will run you down. Nevertheless it is warm, it is swimming. WE know our way around now. Where the lunch sandwich is, the bottle shop and the cheaper breakfast. This arvo it is snorkel or bust.
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| not our cruiser |
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| pelican city |
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| long day |
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| not ours |
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| night dolphins |
It was a small birthday gathering this time but I guess you only turn 70 once, although we are now spreading the rumour about being 60 again. James could not make it last week so we doubled up with Great Grandma and Grandpa for a home lunch. Estelle had cake, ice cream, jelly and a butterfly cookie to take home. Whose birthday is it? I also received the hand decorated mug which was initiated straight away and yes the handle accommodates at least two fingers. Now I need an afternoon nap.
We are back at Tulla tomorrow and one of the changes lately is not to use a credit card for access but you get a code to scan at the gate instead. We did this for the first time earlier in the year but it was printed in a large format on an A4 sheet. So I was crumpling and folding and shaping this thing to try to get it near the scanner. After five minutes and cars banking up it let us thru. This time I have the code on my phone haha, for easy access to the scanner. I checked it and all images have been taken out of the message. I fiddled with it and got the images restored except the coded image is now the only one that is still missing. OK back to the paper copy. These are 1st world problems. I do prefer the credit card swiping and they still do that at Avalon.
Is it just me or is this the coldest September yet. We have been packing our bags today to try and find somewhere warmer further North. Nothing is guaranteed, as we have been caught out by crap weather previously. Some final garden bed time has been spent mulching and fertilising as well as the front courtyard trees getting a Spring haircut. Not sure if this is a good thing cutting back budding branches on the weeping cherry but it does look tidy and with no more trip hazards. We will have a day in Willie to get closer to the airport but holidays start tomorrow. Did someone say retirees were always on holiday.
The veggie bed has been under attack from minor birds since we cleared away the old strawberries. It seems a signal to them that you can now come and dig over the resulting fresh ground and grab any worms that may surface. It would be ok if they took the scarab grubs that we are finding now. Some beetle or other has layed eggs and these fat white grubs are chewing thru what they can find, so they are being tossed. As for the minors, there is now a mini fence running along the edge which will hopefully contain their foraging from spilling down to the path. Will this work bear fruit?
I thought I would get across earlier today before any rain comes in which seems to be a pattern during the afternoon lately. The tide was lower and left clear tide lines to be walked. I chose one to follow and got a half bag of stuff including cans, plastic tops, bags, lollipop sticks and one dinosaur. Not to forget two more golf balls. The coast care group must have been along recently as there were mounds of cut brush piled in places. Not sure if it is a good idea to leave the cuttings that way to dry out for this Summer.
Rather a dramatic title which does not quite get to that level of drama in the book. I know this author from the Vera TV shows so I gave this book a try. It is one of those isolated group murders, this time we are on an island cut off by the sea. Actually it is just the tide coming in and its still fairly shallow and yes you can get off soon, just wait six hours. Anyway the deed gets done while they are bird watching. These bird watchers are a nasty lot. ( Go watch the movie "The Big Year". It is good.) Eventually the sleuth gets them back to the island for the big reveal. I found it a bit slow but still worth a read. I also get the seaside dramas of wind, rain and Sun. Got all of those here.
Estelle still had some beans but not too many left this morning. We used up any remaining energy by going to the park and then a cafe. The sky was overcast but we got away with any weather issues the whole weekend. There was a lot of action like sitting at the long table and getting a platter of grills, followed by a big indoor bouncing session and more cake later. I even got my own picture with Debbie's drawing skills coming out. With all of this it seemed the simple helium balloon was one of the favourites and they had the tightest grip on them to make sure they were not floating off. Not to mention my own bigger balloon ride experience that has to be slotted in now.
We made it out to the Armstrong Grill which is a rustic cookup in an old shed that was either previously a hangar because a crashed plane is hanging from the roof or an ex hay shed. I tried the pork ribs this time but in future I think I will stick to the beef ribs. Then it was onto the Bounce centre where they also had climbing walls where an auto belay system was in use. Just clip in and start climbing. These grandies were like spiders.
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| who likes corn chips |
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| bouncing not running |
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| the circles |
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| the plates |
