Down Under this Summer/Winter!

Visiting DD and DSIL thanks to a great fare sale on VAustralia. The prolific Virgin group has started routes from the West Coast to the 3 major Aussie cities. Fare wars!

Flew from LAX to BNE (Brisbane) in 12.5 hrs. 4 movies, 2 meals and you’re there…..Had to give up my raw almonds at Customs, but roasted almonds would have been ok to bring in the country. Will remember that next time….. Just remember to declare on the form whatever you're bringing in so the Customs people will be nice to you.

Winter in Brisbane is 70-75 degrees during the day, 50s at night. One could get used to that!

Happened to arrive during the Ekka-the Exposition or the Royal Queensland Show. Think State Fair! We took the train right to the show grounds on Thursday, and joined the crowds going from pavilion to show barn. It is much like the livestock and agriculture shows in the States, with lots of food booths (similar food-mostly bad for you) and demos of all kinds. There is also judging of animals, skills, products, displays, etc. The main differences I found were the Showbag Hall, and the sheer number of entries displayed in arts, crafts, and food skills.

Showbags are promotional souvenir gift bags. They come in many sizes from $1 to $35, with corresponding quantities of items in them. Candy showbags are very popular, as are kids’ TV shows and pop culture icons. Perfume, makeup, and other companies also sold gift packs of products, at the higher dollar values….The majority of the Ekka daily newspaper is given over to listing the items in each show bag, and the Showbag hall is the biggest pavilion there. It was fascinating!

The weekend found us heading north to explore Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. The beaches are beautiful here, about 3.5 hours north of Brisbane. This is a national park and one needs permits for camping.

Driving is permitted on the beach, and there was a lot of traffic while we were there, especially on the southern end, close to the ferry barges.

We took a 4WD tour and spent the day zooming along sandy roads and beaches seeing a shipwreck, coloured sands, inland sub-tropical rainforests, and beautiful freshwater lakes.

We stayed in the small town of Rainbow Beach and had a good meal at the Rainbow Beach Hotel Restaurant. Upscale food ordered and picked up at the counter is an interesting restaurant concept. No tipping necessary!

Our stay at the Plantation Resort was very nice: we had a 2-bedroom apt. with balcony and rooftop terrace.

On the way back to Brisbane we stopped in at the Ginger Factory to see how ginger is grown and brought to market, and the Nut Factory-all about macadamias-the only naturally-occuring food in Australia that is commercially grown. This is where Hawaii got all its macademia plants.... Stay tuned for more adventures during my winter stay in Brisbane!