A day on the Gold Coast

After figuring out the best way to get to the Gold Coast, we figured out what train to take. That was the easy part. We had a few little issues with the bus to the actual beach, but eventually got on the right one (or at least one that took us to a beach) with the help of a few drivers and the guy at the train/bus station. We're at a real disadvantage with never having to take public transportation ever.

We ended up at Burleigh Head beach which is on the Gold Coast. It's a bit farther south than the more touristy beaches (Surfers Paradise) but it was well worth the trip. The air temperature was probably in the 70's today but the breeze made it a bit cold. Laurie and I went for a swim--the waves were great but the current was a bit too strong for my liking. The water was also cold but not unbearable. There were many surfers along the shoreline and we just enjoyed an afternoon of lying on the beach and soaking it all in. Yes, mom, we wore sunscreen.

We also came across a little state park area which had a couple of kilometers of hiking trails along the shore and up into a rainforest-like area. We had some great views of the Pacific and coastline.

The bus and trainride back were uneventful except for a massive amount of soccer or rugby fans that had just left the stadium and flooded our train. Both teams were well represented--seas of orange for the Queensland team and gold for the Gold Coast team. I'm not really sure who won but the gold fans seemed a bit happier. There were several groups of people bursting out in their team's songs. Funny, I don't ever experience that after leaving an Orioles game...

We have one more day in Brisbane tomorrow but our flight out to Cairns leaves around 6pm. We'll finally meet up with Roberta and I'm looking forward to our next stop in Australia.