Brisbane has the best Aussies ;)

Another rainy day in Byron bay.. Time To hit the road..onward and upward
Since we left early in the morning we had time to take a scenic detour and stopped to picnic and leisurely walk to the ocean in tweeds head.
Surfers paradise !

 A unique place...a nice strip of beach in front of a whack load of high risers. Unfortunately it was a windy cloudy day, so layin the beach wasn't really an option. We found the heart of surfers which is pretty much a low key Vegas. High rises, bars, clubs, restaurants, and tourist attractions. We could have kept busy but at a great price. Attractions here included.. Sea world, 7D cinemas, jet simulators, helicopter rides, sea do rentals, sky walk. Etc.. Pretty much overpriced touristy attractions that we can do at home, or any other place in the world. We soon discovered that Surfers is party central for 19 yr olds and Asians. Therefore we opted out of the walking pub crawls. Seems that backpackers either bypass surfers paradise or pay an expensive rate to stay in hostels and party at the clubs. Even the caravan site was overpriced. To much glitz and glam in this place. We ended up driving inland 20 minutes to a relaxing campsite on a creek,
We woke up to yet another cloudy day. Headed back into surfers .. stopping along the way at outlet stores. Brand name clothing half price. Seeing how Ashton's and I both overpacked, we have no room to buy more clothes. Ashton bought a pair of flip flops .
We headed into the central area and parked our van on a side street, then walked back to the "Vegas strip " to eat lunch and people watch.

Found an inland campsite at Jacobs well. A quant fisherman town. Our site was near the boat launch where all types of boats launched into the still water . We BBQ d up a feast and met our first possum. (Or according to the 3 yr old chasing it, it was a squirrel) ha ha.. A big squirrel
The next morning we treated ourselves to bacon and eegs for breaky. (After three weeks of muesli for breaky, it was a delicious change)

We hung out near the boat launch picnic tables and ended up visiting with a lady who's mom and dad lived in Moose Jaw. We traded stories and found out her phillipino husband lived in one oft he towns that we explored while in the phillipines. We had lots to talk about.

In the meantime Ashton was in contact with Anne and Sandy, Winnipeg friends. Anne is a nurse who is best friends with Marcella, Ashton's aunt. Anne is originally from Brisbane Australia so her and Sandy were here visiting her parents.

They graciously offered for us to come for a visit and a place to stay for the night.
We arrived at 2, perfect time for a visit and a swim. Then the neighbours came over and within no time, we had spent the day and evening visiting int he backyard,enjoying drinks and a delicious supper of steak,potatoes and salad. Good company. By night we had learned a lot about Brisbane,and Australia In General. From plants to fruits to animals and everything in between. We also heard many stories from the neighbours who had lived and worked in Dubai.

The next day we woke early to join Anne and Sandy on a walk through the are, then Sandy took us on a boat tour on the Brisbane river.really awesome day. Such nice people. If your reading this, thanks again. We are glad we met up with you and your parents. Great people.so generous and kind

.