Saturday, October 27, 2012

Vacationing with Kathy, part1/4- Noosa




My dear friend Kathy and her lovely daughter Nee have been visiting us from the US. Although I could not take enough time off to spend 2 full weeks with them, as I was sadly tied up with some work-related chores and travel, we managed to get away a couple of times and enjoy the beauty of Queensland.

I always enjoy having visitors, first because it’s fantastic to have your friends around, second because they provide a great excuse to drink  get active and visit places.



Our first trip, almost right off K&N’s plane, took us to mythic Noosa.  We’ve been to this famous beach before, and loved it. Located only 2hrs drive away from Brisbane, Noosa is a little corner of paradise. People judge it harshly around it; stating that it’s not a party town and it’s full of old-people, tourists, surfers, and quiet-nature lovers.



Well, guess what: Nic is a surfer, Kathy is a birder, kids love quiet beaches, and I’d rather spend my vacation in Cape Cod than in Miami.
So Noosa was the perfect destination for us.






























A lovely boardwalk takes you from the beach, almost in the center of the city, to Noosa National Park. Wandering in the park, you get nice views of the beach, deserted creeks, and can spot koalas in their natural habitat. The water was nice and warm, although we got stung by unidentified jellyfishes (one fellow swimmer, who admired Kathy's "bathers"suggested it may be a blue jellyfish). Fortunately enough, Nimrod resort where we stayed had a swimming pool and our flat had a jacuzzi on the roof, both stingers-free!



















On the way back, we stopped by the Australia Zoo. I’ve been warned before that it’s a mausoleum to Steve Irwin, AKA the Croc hunter. But Crikey! Nothing can prepare you to this level of adoration. His pictures or videos are at every corner.  The Zoo is also a commercial springboard for Bindi and her merchandizing.

The Zoo itself is OK, but you sometimes have to walk for 15 minutes between two areas, with nothing much to be seen in between. For the very high price paid at the door, it’s a little bit disappointing to “arrive in Africa” to see 3 zebras, 4 giraffes, and 1 rhino… The few kangaroos we tried to approach were really aggressive, most likely as a natural reaction against all the tourists chasing them all year round. On the other hand, the shows are AWESOME (yes I know, I’m a sucker for shows).


We saw magnificent birds that are so tamed they fly wherever they're asked to and crazy zookeepers entering the croc's water to demonstrate the ferocity and unexpected nature of crocodiles.
They pretty much make it an educational show: they teach you what not to do near water as a tourist, while demonstrating it to show you how fast the croc will get at you and bite/eat/kill you if you go back drunk to your hotel room at night and decide it's a good idea to take a shortcut through the swamp.
I was very impressed, and decided at this very time to try my best and never experience this first hand.














The Zoo is overall a nice park, and an agreeable place to be on a sunny day. They offer all kind of animal encounters that could be really cool (com'on, of course you want to take a cheetah for a walk or pet a tiger!)

So if you have kids, go ahead and support the Zoo by buying  Bindi's wildlife adventures (for little girls) or by subscribing to Crikey! a very cool kid's magazine.









Next destination: Far North Queensland! Mission: see more crocodiles, but this time in their natural habitat... (secret objective: see and not being eaten)