April 14^th - Day 16

Talk about a busy day. Poor Lane had to do a lot of driving, varying from jams on the motorway to miles and miles of twisting single track roads.

After breakfast at the unit, we headed off to the Gold Coast hinterland. The motorway traffic was busy, with queues of people heading for Brisbane. Fortunately, we were not going so far. We headed up into the hills.

Our first stop was Canungra where we stopped for coffee. Then we headed up to O'Reilly's. This is a luxury hotel at the top of a mountain in the Lamington Plateau. There is only one road in, which includes 25 km of road of road that felt like it never went in the same direction for more that 50 ft. OK, that may be an exaggeration, but the road was a series of blind bends, hairpins and stretches of single track. It made the road to Montville seem like a highway. And the bad thing from Lane's point if view was that she had to drive it both ways.

When we got to O'Reilly's, it was raining. However, after coffee and fruit toast, the sun was out, and we went to feed the birds. They sell seed, and the crimson rosellas will come and eat it from the bowl. They are about 6 to 8 inches long, with bright red plumage. They also have very sharp talons. They can be argumentative, but will perch on your hand, shoulder or head. They can be a bit intimidating, as some young children found out.

After the birds, we went to look at the trees. There was a path through the lower part of the rain forest. That was interesting, but, the canopy was much more interesting. The walkways were suspended, and moved underfoot. I let Lane go up to the high view platform, which were up ladders. I will look at them from the comfort of my armchair! I must confess that I was glad to get back on solid ground.

We headed back to Canungra for a pie for lunch, then went to Mt Tamborine. I was not sure what to expect, but what I found was a brewery. Fortitude Brewing had a better seating area than Sunshine Coast, with beers as good as the one I tried from Pickled Pig. My happiness was complete when I was able to buy a t-shirt as well. Then Lane picked me up, and she had bought me a t-shirt as well! Truly a good afternoon.

The evening though was a bit of a washout. We decide to go to Coolangatta Surf Club, as it had been recommended for its food. What was there was a room done up like a swish restaurant, with an atmosphere of a low club. It didn't help that they were broadcasting racing commentaries, which combined with the noise of the clientele left a lot to be desired. The food was passable, but not well served. Half way through the meal, the heavens opened, and we had to get the windows closed. The walk back was in the rain, to start with it was torrential, but it eased off a bit as we headed home.

Watched Parramatta Eels beat the Manly Sea Eagles, with a ref who seemed almost incapable of giving a try. I lost count of how many times he went to the bunker.

Without a doubt, the funniest part of the day was finding Wonglepong.