day 25. the worst day.

sigh. even writing about our last hours in australia makes me sad!

we woke up, checked out of the hostel, and hit the road with what we thought was plenty of time to get back to sydney airport. just like every other flight, we ended up being much later than anticipated. although the drive was fine, it took much longer than we planned for - and we got a bit sidetracked, even though we had a gps.

so, we pulled into the rental car return with only about 10 minutes to run to the counter and check in within the 2 hour deadline. unfortunately, the hertz return spaces were not very well marked, and the one hertz employee was not particularly helpful to us - making it a bit more frenzied as we tried to hurry the process. we finally got him to help us, and we ran off in search of the check-in counter.

there was a very long line to check in, and, unlike our other rushes to the airport, there was no customer service desk at the qantas international check-in. so we were stuck in line, with the minutes to check-in ticking down. 9... 8... we had hardly moved in the line. 7... 6... we were still 10 or 15 people away from the front of the line. i started to wander in search of someone to ask about skipping ahead in line. i finally ran into a woman who was clearly headed out on her break, but i stopped her anyways...
"excuse me, my friend and i are dreadfully late, and are just about to miss our check-in time for the flight to san francisco."
"where are you headed?"
"san francisco"
"oh, you still have another 30 minutes to check in."
"oh! i thought we had to check in 2 hours before the flight?"
"no, just 90 minutes."
it was another airport miracle! missing our flight home would have been fantastic in some ways (i would not have minded another few days in australia!), but also would have sucked in other ways (i don't even want to know how much it costs to buy a one-way ticket from sydney to SF just a day or two before the flight).

we were able to breathe a bit more normally after finding out we had more time. after checking our luggage (and watching the security dog train on the plain clothes officer pretending to check in next to us), making a quick bathroom stop, and passing through security, we headed straight for the duty free shop. we had planned for weeks to do some shopping in the airport. there were a few things that we knew we wanted that were either inconvenient to lug around with us (i.e., australian beer), or were better to purchase at the airport (i.e., cheesy souveniers). as we were shopping, we very quickly realized that there was no beer in the duty free! only wine and hard alcohol! this was really disappointing, as we both had planned to take some back with us, and we could have picked 6-packs up at any number of gas stations or stores we had stopped at or driven past. boo!

we also didn't have quite as much time as we had hoped (remember how we planned to be there with plenty of time before our 2-hour deadline?), so we didn't get to do as much shopping as we would have liked. but, we got a few last minute things, and headed to the gate. as much as i did NOT want to, it was time to board. we got onto the plane, settled into our seats, and said goodbye to the wonderful land of oz.  :'(

byron bay and big banana

we woke up a little early so that we could spend some time enjoying the sights of byron bay. first stop: the beach. the beach was just a couple of blocks from our hostel, and even though it was a bit overcast, it was great to be on the soft sand and see the rocks and waves. we walked along the beach a bit, and then hopped back in the car to head to the lookout point.

byron bay beach

(you can kind of see the lighthouse on the hill)

we drove up the windy single lane road, to the lighthouse. byron bay is the easternmost point of australia, and the lighthouse / lookout point is situated on a little peninsula that juts out into the south pacific. so from the lighthouse, we could look behind us and see the beaches on both sides of the peninsula - beautiful! the view the other direction was just as beautiful, and it was made even more spectacular by the dozen or so whales we saw playing in the water. the were mostly spouting water up out of their blowholes, but we saw a few whales breaching off in the distance. i started talking to the whales that were closer to us, and told them they should jump out of the water so that we could see them - and i counted down from 10. i promise you, i got to "one" and one of the whales breached! he was a second early, but i definitely forgave him! we stood at the lookout for a long time, enjoying the whales, and we even saw a few more as we walked back to our car - we couldn't stop staring at the ocean! it was absolutely incredible to be standing on the shore and still see so many whales!

byron bay lighthouse

sarah-mae pointing home

unfortunately, we did have to get on the road. and our drive was nice, and mostly uneventful. one of the highlights was seeing "the big banana" in coffs harbor. australia has a lot of "big" things - a big koala, a big mango (which we saw near airlie beach), a big boxing croc... and one of the most famous is the big banana. we hoped to try and see more, but it was hard to make it out to them, as a lot of them are a ways off the beaten path. BUT, the big banana is situated right on the freeway, so it was perfect for us.

we drove down to port macquarie, where we stopped at a delicious italian cafe for dinner - and it was "buy one get one free" pasta night - yay! then, we kept driving for another hour or so until we got to newcastle, where we found the local YHA. i went in, and not a moment too soon, because she said that they were about to close the office. but, we were able to get a room and we unloaded our bags (something we repeatedly referred to as "bag vomit") and re-packed them to be ready for our flight. it was hard to believe that our time in australia was coming to an end! we still had about two hours to drive in the morning, so we headed to bed as soon as our things were packed.

koalas and more

the next morning, we planned to visit lone pine koala sanctuary, a small animal park up the river from brisbane. we took a ferry up the river to lone pine, riding past a number of brisbane neighborhoods, and a colony of fruit bats. it was a great way to start our day!

once our ferry arrived at lone pine, we headed in with just enough time to see the koala talk, where the lone pine staff member told us more about koalas - and she had to break apart two males who were starting to fight. after the koala talk, we headed over to a bird talk, where we saw a lot of birds of prey (another instance when sarah-mae should be writing this!). the guides had a new barking owl that they were incorporating in the show, and it was hilarious because she was very uncooperative. they kept throwing a (dead) mouse in the air so that she would nab it mid-air, but she would just watch it hit the ground.

after the bird show, we walked around some of the koala spaces and watched the koalas munching on leaves, climbing trees, and generally hanging out (ha ha). then, we headed to the koala cuddling zone to hold a koala! there wasn't anyone in line, so we were able to scoot right up and take turns holding (and taking pictures with) vinnie. vinnie was a young girl koala, and was so soft! i thought her fur would be coarse, but it was very soft - thick, but soft and kind of squishy. she scratched my arm a bit, but it was worth it!

after our photoshoot with vinnie, we grabbed some lunch and tried to ignore the giant bush turkey and peacock who were begging for food from tables. then, we walked through the koala areas that had babies - they were SO adorable! it was starting to rain, so some of them looked a little wet and matted, but the babies were so cute clinging to the fronts and backs of their moms. so cute!

while at lone pine, we also got to see adorable dingo puppies, sombats, tasmanian devils (that were running around in circles chasing each other), a yellow possum (that was sticking its butt out), and a platypus. it was neat to see all of these aussie animals! we also got to wander through the kangaroo reserve, where we could feed the kangaroos, wallabies, and pademelons. well, the pademelons would just run (jump?) away after i got close to them. the kangaroos were very friendly, and so were the wallabies, although they ate incredibly slowly... just one. little. pellet. at. a. time.

on the negative side, the rain was really starting to come down, so it made it a little less pleasant to walk around with the roos and wallabies and chase down the pademelons. we got pretty wet! so, we finished feeding the animals and headed out to the bus. a little bit rain-soaked, we rode back into brisbane city centre, and picked up our last rental car. after heading back to the hostel to pick up our gear, we started our final drive down to sydney. it's a long drive from brisbane to sydney, so we drove just a couple of hours that night and stayed the night in byron bay.

seeing the sights in brisbane

after we miraculously were on time for the 4:30 flight, we realized that this tiny airport was, a) filled with children. filled.; and b) had absolutely no security. we just walked out to the plane when it was time to board. i will skip over the part where the plane had propellers, and the part where i couldn't change seats because i might throw off the balance of the plane, and will just say that we made it to brisbane in one piece.

we headed to the brisbane backpackers, where sarah-mae had lived for most of her time in brisbane, checked in, and then went to the west end to grab some dinner. it was saturday night, so there were lots of people out, enjoying the bars and restaurants down the main street. after dinner, we headed back to our room at the hostel and got a good night's sleep.

the next morning, we got up early and headed downtown. we walked past the museum, library, and performing arts centre, across the queen street bridge, through the queen street mall, and over to a bus stop to head out to mount coot-tha. mount coot-tha is a mountain just outside of the city, that offers an incredible lookout. it did not disappoint!

performing arts centre

brisbane river and central business district

brisbane, from mount coot-tha lookout

after enjoying the lookout, we headed downhill to the botanic gardens. we wandered around the gardens for about an hour, saw a wedding, a lot of plants and trees, and some bush turkeys, too. after leaving the gardens, we walked along the river, to the west end market, which is open on sundays. it was great to wander through the booths and enjoy something that sarah-mae got to do on a regular basis while she was there before.

after the market, we decided to hop on the ferry and ride up to the university of queensland. we wandered around the campus, which was pretty empty because it was a sunday, and the day before spring break. but it was great to see the sandstone buildings, open grassy spaces, and some of the student hang-out areas. it was also great to hear some of sarah-mae's stories from her time there almost 10 years ago.

UQ ferry stop

sarah-mae at her old stomping grounds

goodbye, heron island :(

for our last day on heron island, sarah-mae got up early to watch the sun rise, and she was rewarded with a sight that was unbelievably beautiful (or so i assume, based on the photos - i was enjoying my last morning on heron island sleeping in!).

after sarah returned, we had our last breakfast (yum!) and settled our account, and i made an appointment for a deluxe pedicure, which was pretty much right away, so i headed over to the spa. although i was just having a leg/foot treatment and pedicure, i got to put on a spa robe, and relax in the meditation room - a small rectangular open area with three walls of windows and chaise lounges. it was wonderful. then, i was escorted into the treatment room, where i relaxed on the heated table while joan gave me a luxurious leg and foot scrub, moisture mask, and then a fantastic pedicure. after my treatment, i got to relax in the meditation room for a few more minutes, and eventually had to make my way back to meet sarah-mae.

while i was being doted on at the spa, sarah-mae got to take a guided bird walk around the island. when we met up, she walked me back to where the island's resident greater frigate had landed in a tree. apparently, these are very rarely seen birds, as they spend so much time out on the ocean. (this is where sarah-mae should have been writing the entry!).

we decided to spend a little bit more time on the beach (one last hour!), and then just before it was time to head to the ferry, we sat on the patio, played scrabble, and had a snack. it was the perfect way to spend our last time on heron island!

eventually, we had to head to the ferry :(  it was time to leave the island. unfortunately, the ferry was about 40 minutes late, which made our timing to catch our 4:30 flight a bit closer than we would have preferred. on the ferry, we were about half way back, when the captain suddenly stopped the engine. he got on the loudspeaker and announced that there were some whales and dolphins just off the front of the boat! we grabbed our cameras and ran out on to the bow. and we were rewarded with a few dolphins (one of which jumped out of the water right next to the boat!), and a baby humpback with its mother. it was incredible!

dolphin!

you can't really tell, but this is a baby humpback breaching!

unfortunately, the whale stop, combined with the already delayed ferry, meant that we were going to be very late for our flight. very late. we were supposed to arrive at the marina at 3pm, and hop in the shuttle for a 10 minute drive to the airport, with plenty of time for our 4:30 flight. well, we arrived at the marina at about 4pm. there was nothing for us to do, but to head to the airport and see what our options were.

we arrived at tiny gladstone airport at 4:15 (for our 4:30 flight), grabbed our luggage, and headed to the check-in counter. we explained our situation, and the woman took a deep breath, and said, "well, your flight is delayed, so you are fine." we were in shock! it was another miracle!

my fake 30th birthday

we decided that friday would be my celebratory birthday, and even though i really prefer to sleep in on my birthday, i agreed to wake up early, walk out to the eastern point of the island, and watch the sun rise. how many times in my life will i get to see the sun rise over the pacific ocean? or be one of the first people on the planet to greet the new day?

what light from yonder ocean breaks?

needless to say, it was beautiful, and an incredible experience. we continued our walk around the perimeter of the island before signing up for the 11am snorkel and heading to breakfast. after breakfast, we headed back to our room to take a quick nap before snorkel time. morning snorkel was fantastic! the best by far! we saw a lot of fish, including an anenome fish, and a blow fish. and... we saw two turtles! one of them was very close to us, and we swam behind it for a while. it started to swim faster, and, even though the snorkel guides warned us not to "ride turtles or chase sharks," sarah-mae took off after the turtle and tried to chase it back towards my direction - she prefered to focus on the letter of the law, rather than the spirit of it. but the turtle was left unharmed, and it swam back toward me for a while, so everyone was happy. (especially me!) we definitely did not want to get out of the water when it was time to head back!

after a fantastic morning snorkel, we decided to spend the rest of the day on the beach, and maybe snorkel off the beach in the afternoon - we definitely weren't going to top our morning snorkel! so, we grabbed our stuff and hit the beach. it wasn't as hot as the day before, so at least it was pleasant to relax on the beach and read. every once in a while i waded out into the water and joined sarah-mae, but mostly i layed on the beach and read. that is a dream birthday to me!

eventually, we headed to the gantry (the original boat dock on the island, where now only the old wooden gantry sits) to snorkel a bit. we didn't head far off shore, but the tide was coming in, so we were still able to see a lot of fish. we even saw another turtle! it was fantastic!

after our self-snorkeling, we headed back to get ready for sunset happy hour and dinner. we had another beautiful sunset, and, as we walked down the path, sarah-mae noticed some turtles in the water, just a few feet from the walled edge! in fact, there were about half a dozen turtles swimming around, playing, and burrowing in the sand.

dinner on my birthday wasn't great - the vegetarian options left something to be desired. so instead, i'll focus on the redeeming factor: dessert. sarah-mae and i both had a delicious chocolate and strawberry torte - it was incredibly delicious, and the waiter even put a candle in mine! it was a great way to celebrate my birthday, and a great finish to our unbelievably fantastic day!

heaven, day 2

for our first full day on heron, we planned to sleep as late as possible, but still make breakfast before they closed (i.e., 9am). we enjoyed the breakfast buffet, and then headed over to the marine center to sign up for the 11am snorkel boat. we grabbed our gear and headed out to the dock. there was a full boat of divers, and an almost full boat of snorkelers, and both boats headed out to the edge of the reef off the north end of the island.

just before our first heron snorkel...

i was a little nervous to snorkel out to sea, but sarah-mae was a good snorkel buddy, and made sure i was safe and secure. we saw way more fish than we had seen at bali hai. we even saw a shark only a few minutes after being in the water! we took a ton of pictures with our underwater cameras (the film hasn't been developed yet, so you are out of luck for those pictures for now) - it was incredible to see an underwater world teeming with life!

eventually, our snorkeling hour was up, and we climbed back into the boat and headed back to the island. we made a quick stop by the marine center to sign up for the afternoon snorkel boat, and then headed to the beach. i knew that i wanted to spend at least an hour on the beach every day, so after a quick snack in our room (we had brought some supplies with us), we hit the beach. it was H-O-T, but beautiful and wonderful, and i loved every sun-baking minute of it. if i could, i would spend every day reading on such a gorgeous beach.

i'm pretty sure sarah-mae was ready to go long before i was, but eventually, we had to head in to make our afternoon snorkel boat. this time there were fewer people, so the divers and snorkelers shared one boat. we headed to a similar spot as the morning, and jumped out to join the fish. it's hard to believe, but we saw even more fish - and lots of different kinds! we even saw an octopus, which sarah-mae said snorkelers RARELY see, especially during the day! we also saw a giant clam and a sea star. it was another fantastic snorkel session!

we came back to land with a few more great stories, and after a quick shower, we headed to the bar (and patio) for our sunset happy hour. not surprisingly, it was again incredibly gorgeous and wonderful!

after our sunset, we headed to dinner, which again was not as tasty as it was fancy, although the waitress let me eat the kids meal (brocoli and pasta with red sauce) - which was wonderfully delicious! over dinner, we made our plans for the next day...

after spending the night in gladstone, we headed to the airport in the morning to return our rental car and catch the shuttle to the marina. once at the marina, we boarded the heron island ferry and started our journey to heron island.

heron island is a small island (it takes about 30 minutes to walk all the way around), about 2 hours off the coast of gladstone, out on the great barrier reef. heron island is a bird and turtle sanctuary, and is surrounded by a coral cay. on the island there is research station on one side, and a resort on the other. when sarah-mae was in australia before, she spent time on the island - at the research station. it was what sparked our plans to journey back down under when we turned 30, and was really planned to be the best part of the trip (spoiler alert: it was!)

the ferry ride out was fantastic, although sarah quickly had to move to the shade since she forgot to put sunscreen in her day bag. before we knew it, we were pulling up to dock at heron island!

our first look at heron island

we headed over to the resort, where we had an introduction (with tropical drinks!) to the resort, which was keyless and cashless... since the only people on the island are guests, staff, and researchers, they don't worry about locking doors (although they offered safes for any valuables). and, anything you purchase (snorkel rental, dinner, drinks) you charge to the room. it was actually wonderful not to have to worry about carrying a wallet or anything for our entire visit!

after our introduction, we went to lunch, where we ate at a table overlooking the water. then, we headed to our room, where our luggage had been deposited. our room was simple but nice, and just thirty yards from the beach. we headed over to the information center to join in the scheduled island walk. the woman leading our walk took us down to the beach and told us about the island as we walked along the shore. even from the shore we could see sting rays, and a LOT of sharks (mostly reef sharks). we walked down to the eastern point of the island, and headed inland to continue our walk. here is where it all went wrong. as soon as we headed into the trees, we were swarmed by monstrous, steriod-pumped, mosquitos (which the aussies call "mossies"). swarmed. sarah-mae and i were both wearing bug spray, but that did nothing to slow down these blood-sucking giants. our guide apologized and picked up the pace, and we tried to listen to her as we constantly kept swatting at each other to keep the mossies away. by the time we returned to the resort area, we were eaten alive. we had to have at least 40 bites between the two of us! the mossies continued to be a problem throughout our visit, although after the first day they weren't quite so bad. but let's not dwell on literally the worst part of our trip.

after our island walk, we headed to the "marine center" to rent snorkel gear, and we hit the beach. because heron is right in the center of the coral cay, you can snorkel right off the beach into the coral. we didn't go out very far, but still saw a bunch of sting rays and lots of fish! we snorkeled a while, and then headed over to the bar for a happy hour drink just before sunset. we took our drinks out on to the patio and sat down at a table with a great view of the western horizon. the sunset was gorgeous, and that became a heron island tradition for us.

after sunset, we headed back to the room to clean up and get ready for dinner. dinner was a bit fancier than i expected, and with limited veggie options, but overall the food was okay. there was definitely less stuff to do after dinner than there had been to do during the day, but we ended up reading and downloading the day's pictures and then hitting the sack a bit early. we wanted to get a good night's sleep so that we could enjoy our first full day on heron island!