Queensland - Take 2

Hey Everybody!

Yesterday was a travel day - much more of a travel day than I had planned, but in the end it worked out just fine. But I was not a happy traveller in Brisbane yesterday...maybe it was the $30/hr parking. Maybe it was the outrageous overnight parking. Maybe it was the parking pay station machine that eagerly took my $30 & then broke as if it wouldn't give me my receipt exit ticket. Of course, these parking stations are automated.... nobody around to help. No point in throwing a tantrum! Plus, it did spit out my receipt eventually...

Oh yeah....and....when I picked up the rental car and hit the blinker lever the wipers went on! It's is a Ford..apparently when they moved the steering wheel they didn't reverse the levers! You cannot imagine how that messed with my brain! I hit the wiper lever 3 more times before i stopped last night. Now it's ok again.....wonder what the next rental will be?

Anyway, I cancelled my two nights in Brisbane - and hit the road for a four hour drive. In Brisbane's defense, the riverfront is appealing. Beyond that, it is the first stop in Australia that I wouldn't recommend. Maybe it's better without the car, but I needed the car for distant activities. Of course, the first activity - a 2hr drive (round-trip) to a rainforest -wasn't worth it. Mostly, it seemed a bit of a scam to me... First such experience in all of Australia so far. In fact, one more thing in defense of Brisbane....the rainforest along the river was far more interesting. However, the drive was made worthwhile when I found THE sign. I have seen several since this one. :-)

That means the animal that remains to be seen is the elusive Platypus! I'm still trying to figure out a way to see one...just because!

It's been 24hrs since all this dumb travel stuff & I've played with several Humpbacks so all is well tonight. In fact, had yesterday not been frustrating I'm pretty sure that my three days in Hervey Bay (pronounced Harvey) would not have worked out as well as they are simply because today would have been the travel day.

The next two days should be good & since the plan turned out to be a bit of a surprise to me, they have to be for you too. That oughta keep all my readers interested :-). I hope to be able to post each night from the hotel.

A few pics from today:

 

Anytime I go whale watching I am reminded of how lucky I've been with whales. These whales are migrating to Antarctica. Naturally, I had to stop and see them...who knows if I'll get to see them again. We spent about an hour being "mugged" by 3 whales as soon as we got in the bay. It is said that this is a behavior not seen anywhere else in the world. They stay close to the boat and seem to be "playing" with us. The coolest part of that was the amount of talking the whales did. As usual, the most frustrating part.... other people! I went on a vessel with low passenger numbers & still couldn't get photos much of the time. None of the above were taken when the whales were right beside us. Next times I think I'll rent me a boat and go sit out there with them!

 

Guess I better wrap this up for tonight. More soon...thanks for stopping by!

 

 

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