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My first travel hiccup! I was planning to train the 40 minutes up the coast to see Paul Shillito near Noosa, but the trains were held up. I figured I must have missed it so tried my luck hitching. Pretty soon (after about 5 minutes) I got a lift from a young, single male (why this pattern?), who took me as far as Landsborough where there is a bus connection. However, as the busses connect with trains that were delayed, they too were delayed, backing up and awaiting the arrival of their trains or direction from above. Thankfully I could communicate with the people involved and therefore understood the situation. Now I am on track and only one and a half hours later than expected. Poor devils stuck in the trains at Petrie.
Today I ventured 10k up the road to Australia Zoo, the home of Mr Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter. A nice collection of animals in a very commercialized environment. It’s nicely interactive, with opportunities to touch koalas, kangaroos, snakes and birds. One of the ‘main attractions’ is the crocoseum (at first I thought museum but then I realized it was like coliseum). They drag out all these animals, then with a radio microphone and big screen, they provide and educational and exciting performance. Needles to say, Steve was nowhere (except on the big screen) to be seen. His voice and catch phrase, 'crikey', were to be heard issuing from loud speakers at important times.
Also drove into the small town of Maleny, a kind of hippy place where there was an alternative school (kind of like Steiner) where Keith’s son goes. Got caught in my first downpour. One minute I was exploring the zoo, checking out the lizards in the sticky heat. The next the sky opens up and lets loose a torrent of wetness. I would have enjoyed it except I had a camera and phone to be concerned about. I made it, finally, to Maroochydoor where I met Paul. We jumped in his wagon and headed off for the beach town of Mudjimba. We sat outdoors under the stars drinking local boutique beers and going over the past. It was great to catch up again after all these years.
March 2
The three of us piled into a car and headed off inland in search of Kondalilla falls. We stopped at Paul’s friend Nicks place to collect sunglasses and invite him along on the daytrip. The road winds its way high into the hills, the coast lying in the distance out behind us. The hills and roadsides blanketed in leafy green climbing vines. Sort of like a lush periwinkle, the large blue / purple flowers hanging in lush abundance. We pass through Montville, a gimmicky tourist town and on to the park. As we walked the track, we came across a large goanna and a small black snake (the first I’d seen in the wild). Having walked just over a kilometer, we arrived at the falls. Water cascaded several meters from a rocky outcrop and into a murky pool. Paul and I jumped in and swam across to scale the rock face. Chrisel stayed behind to photograph our antics. Our first jump tested the water and then, feeling brave, we progressed to a 5-6 meter drop. A difficult moment, poised above a deep, dark, foreign swimming hole in the land of the crocodile but fully worth the adrenaline and psychological rewards for having done it. We sat in the sun, looking out over the valley before returning to Montville for a hearty, well-priced breakfast at one of the small cafes.