Aussie Travels- Day 3

June 18th-

We woke up at 6am and had coffee, showers, and toast again. We were on the road by 7:15am.
We had a nice morning of driving. We drove North through Brisbane and out toward the countryside. There were mountains everywhere! It was breath taking. It was a little overcast, but we didn't mind. The fog over the mountaintop was something straight out of a novel. I felt as though life was imitating art, but the truth is, this is where our beautiful art is born! I cannot express it's full beauty through words. It would be like trying to describe the depth of love from a parent to their child...nearly impossible! So I will leave with you with what I have shared and pray you can gain a tiny taste of what I have seen.

What's cool is it runs for miles and miles. I am writing to you today(June 19th) as I watch these mountains continue to pass one after another... And sometimes a whole display of them at once. It is like they are all posing for a portrait. Very still and proper. All the mountains look their best and smile for us to see their beauty as they hope we will stop long enough to look. Ah, so nice!

It is WILD! They surround us 360 degrees. This Great Divide I speak of runs all the way up the coastline.

We arrived at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo at 9:30am. We were able to see a Tazmanian Devil, a Koala, a woombat, and these HUGE tortoises that were in their 30's. I wanted to compare life notes with one of them to see how I've faired, but the zoo keeper didn't really care for that too much, so I refrained.

We also saw a show in "The Crocoseum" that had birds and crocodiles performing tricks. It was fun. Last, but not least, we held a koala!!! YAY!! What an Australian treat!

We "departed", as my uncle would say, at noon and pressed on toward our destination. We stopped through a few beach towns along the way. It was nice. These towns remind me a lot of our beach towns. Laid back, nothing too grand. People were hangin' loose...with "No worries, mate."

The last stop to mention before closing out of first day of our excursion up the South Pacific coastline...

We made a stop at a place called Ettamogah Pub. (Pronounced EttamaGOO). This was a little stop off the highway. It didn't look like much at first, but once we pulled in, we saw what all the fuss was about. It was a HUGE barn-like building. There were funny expressions written all over the sides and front of the building. Example..."Don't be a dink, Stop for a drink! Tanks!" It was written on the side of a giant tank that was next to the entrance. It was funny.

Well, it was a beautiful wooden cabin-like bar on the inside. The pool table, bar, doors, and walls were all made of this gorgeous wood. My uncle says its Spotted Gum Wood. (Whatever that looks like!) Hehe. Anywho, it is was really nice. The staff was cool. They let us get behind the bar and pretend to pour a drink for a picture.

I tried a "Shandy." This is half beer and half lemonade. I think this must be the Aussie's secret to being able to drink so much! They are only drinking half what we do as we try to keep up! I've got it now! Ha! I only had a sip,though, because I didn't care too much for it. Plus, I've had so much grog since I've been here, I'm going to rehab straight from the plane!!! Hahaha (just kidding, yall!)

It was a neat place. Before we left, we had a "mince pie" (pronounced Men-see). This is an Aussie favorite. It's made in a small, flakey, pastry crust. It's like a pot pie in America. But it is filled with beef stew (for lack of a better description) and is topped with a mashed potato, then baked!!! Woo wee!!!! I'm ready for anotha-one-a those!!!!!
Bridget...are you taking notes? Good!

We arrived in Gladstone around 7:45pm. Nothing to tell here. Just a sleepy town...and we were a few sleepy travelers. So we had some supper and were off to sleep around 10pm. This day's drive was nice, but long. It would be about an 7 or 8 hour ride if we were to drive straight
through. Our stops were many, but well worth it.

Until next time....

Love as always,

Priscilla