From Manly Beach to Brisbane....

Sadly, we left Manly Beach (loved it there!) and headed north for Brisbane. As we drove the air grew warmer and much more tropical. We were heading to the land of surfing, yoga, banana's, dolphins and cockroaches. First stop was Port Stephens, a nice little beach town.

After walking the beach we headed into town for some Indian food. At dinner, Dean sweetly asked "Can I take your picture?" After taking the photo he then told me to look over my shoulder..and there was the cockroach. Luckily a man from another table (he called himself the Great White Hunter) came over and disposed of the large man eating roach. The owner's of the restaurant didn't even blink an eye.

Next day we drove on to Coff's Harbour where Russel Crowe has a ranch (would have dropped in..but no time). We made our way down to the harbour for some delicious seafood (Paella to be exact...Mom yours is better!)

Coff's has been growing banana's since the 1880's..they even have a theme park (that we skipped!)

Next stop Byron Bay...a town with a hippy vibe. You surf AND do yoga. We went out to Cape Byron where after two months of traveling along various coasts I FINALLY saw some dolphins! A pod of bottlenose were riding a wave....too quick for me to take a photo.

We wandered down to the beach and poked around the tidepools. Very picturesque.

Wish we could stay another day!

That evening we went out on the town to celebrate St. Paddy's Day!!! Australian style. They even brought in the Guinness. In fact we introduced some young Aussie girls (drinking age is 18) to their first sips of Guinness. They bought one of their own and stated, "his (Dean's) tasted better!

Next morning we hit the road for Brisbane. We passed along the Gold Coast....the Vegas of beaches. Luckily for us we managed to take the wrong road...so skipped most of the glitzy stuff. We did stop in beautiful Tweed Heads...above is a famous surf beach. Interestingly enough all the action was happening on the other side of the point, where the Cyclone waves were coming in.

We found a spot in the shade and watched the surfers hit it hard! Note the Brisbane city skyline in the background....

The waves were HUGE. We saw some impressive moves. It was actually more fun to watch then the surf competition we saw on Bondi Beach.

Made it to Brisbane for dinner and our late night flight to Cairns. In Cairns we are meeting Paula and Rick, Dean's sister and bro-in-law. Ten more days of beach and rainforest...and hopefully some diving on the Great Barrier Reef if the cyclone allows....! Cross your fingers!!!