Australia, Day 5 (David & Joe edition)

Today was our second optional adventure. Rachel went heavy on the optional while me and Joe decided on the adventure. It was another 4WD tour, but this one focused more on the tropical locations on the Gold Coast. This tour definitely had more of a touristy vibe, but was still worth it. On the drive up to our first stop, the driver informed us that the Gold Coast was home to a newly booming movie industry. He mentioned a few movies that were filmed/filming here: Unbroken, the new Pirates of the Caribbean, Thor, and Aquaman... I'll need to check those out when I get home and see if I can recognize anything.

We started off with a quick walk through an area known for its heavy kangaroo population. Sure enough there were plenty. It was good because prior to today we really didnt get any good looks. We had seen a few small blobs on the side of the road while traveling but none up close. We also got to see our first koalas in the wild. There were a couple resting up in the trees.

 

After the quick walk, we headed into the rainforest to see a waterfall. It wasn't too strenuous of a hike and the view was pretty good. Unfortunately my cell phone camera doesn't really do it justice. 

 

Then we hopped back onto the bus and headed to lunch. After a less than stellar hotel dinner and breakfast, it was a pleasant surprise to walk up to a "barbeque" which is what they call "grilling out." Me and Joe both had the steak which was awesome. We also got to try some kangaroo. It was prepared like sausage and tasted ok... nothing too weird, nothing too good.

After lunch we got to try out throwing a boomerang. It was a little tricky, but after a few turns, me and Joe both had a few throws start to come back. No one was able to throw it perfectly and catch it, but one of our girls had the best throw of the day, so that was cool.

 

For the last stop of the tour we went on a swinging bridge "tree top" walk. The swinging bridges were kind of a bust, but there was a ladder on one of the trees that took you up to the very top of the trees for a pretty unique view. 

 

 

We got back around 5:30 (already dark due to it being the shortest day of the year today) and met up with Rachel for dinner. We walked around the shops of Surfer's Paradise and then settled on Hard Rock Cafe again. Our tour guide was encouraging us to check out an apparently very important Rugby game (NSW vs. QLD) to take in some of the local culture. After dinner, we stopped in a local pub to check out the action. The people were definitely excited. Can't say the same for us! We're tired. Looking forward to heading to Sydney tomorrow and hopefully getting some good wifi. Blogging has been a struggle these last two days.