Hello everybody, it’s been a while since the last blog entry. Sorry about that! Yes, we are still alive and well, although these past two weeks have been spent agonizing over the car repairs (and trying on our nerves…). One day turned into two that turned into a week and then into two and a half. But eventually we got the car back! Halleluja! In the mean time we spent time getting rained on in Coolum Beach (small town about 110 km north of Brisbane), Brisbane and Surfer’s Paradise. We did the “real” backpacker “thingy” and loaded ourselves with the backpacks and spent hours and hours in busses that traveled in the most remote locations on EVERY road until reaching the destinations we were going to. No wonder other people spend half a year covering the same distance we are doing in two months!
We spent a weekend in Brisbane trying out some excellent restaurants and doing the nightclubs. The “it” places to be at, we were told, were “Family” in the Fortitude Valley and “Friday’s”.( http://www.thefamily.com.au/ ) Luckily, I didn’t go on the super heels and frocks as it was a very laid-back attitude in all the places (my sisters would both LOVE the UK inspired fashion here! Very entertaining 60’s looks…). Pouring rain and excellent air-cons in the clubs made for actually not too sweaty an experience to our big surprise, Europe has something to learn from all this! Music-wise…well…it wasn’t “Hallmark”, more “Highlight” with a younger crowd than I’ve seen for the last five years. We had fun though, and stayed at the Best Western in the City (which even had a rooftop pool! Oh, the luxury of it all!)
...not forgetting Henkka
Henkka exhausted after walking for hours on the hills of Brisbane looking for accommodation..
We spent a weekend in Brisbane trying out some excellent restaurants and doing the nightclubs. The “it” places to be at, we were told, were “Family” in the Fortitude Valley and “Friday’s”.( http://www.thefamily.com.au/ ) Luckily, I didn’t go on the super heels and frocks as it was a very laid-back attitude in all the places (my sisters would both LOVE the UK inspired fashion here! Very entertaining 60’s looks…). Pouring rain and excellent air-cons in the clubs made for actually not too sweaty an experience to our big surprise, Europe has something to learn from all this! Music-wise…well…it wasn’t “Hallmark”, more “Highlight” with a younger crowd than I’ve seen for the last five years. We had fun though, and stayed at the Best Western in the City (which even had a rooftop pool! Oh, the luxury of it all!)
Linda on a river "bus" in Brisbane...
...not forgetting Henkka
Eating Japanese before going out...
Starting to embark on a new trip out of Brisbane...
Surfer’s Paradise was wonderful after the little remote Coolum (where everything closes before 5 pm…they are adamant about not having people hanging around in lounges and cafés after-work which seems a bit strange business-sense so get your daily intake of caffeine well in advance…dinner restaurants also only serve food from 5.30 pm-8 pm…around 7 pm we were always the only ones left eating!) In “Surfer’s” we ate some really tasty chili-Barramundi (it’s a BIG white fish resident to Australia) and tried the beaches in between rain showers. It’s been raining a lot by the way, so my tan is still a work in progress… :(
They actually have drive in liquor stores here...hmm not for Finland!
Surfer’s Paradise (90 km south of Brisbane) is basically a long stretch of land with a beach (Gold Coast) running along it with high-rises casting dark shadows over sunbathers in the afternoon. Talk about great city-planning…!? But around the town there is everything in the way of theme parks wanted; Dreamland, Wet n’ Wild, Warner Brothers Movie world, etc. etc. We spent the day in Dreamland which was a big amusement park with the best rides I’ve seen in years. Linnanmäki eat your heart out! The big 4 were The Giant Drop, The Tower of Terror, The Cyclone and The Claw. Check out the rides on http://www.dreamworld.com.au/
The happiest person ever to sit in stocks...
Henkka behind bars...
Me behind bars...
On the road again! We got the car and drove over about 800km to Home Hill (about 150 km south of Townsville) where our friend Nicole lives. The rain continued during the long drive and met us in the small sugar-cane farming town of 4000 inhabitants. Nic had arranged a wonderful welcome with care-packages and we had fun watching old tapes from when she was in Finland working as a hairdresser. And here we are right now, hanging out in her cool Salon/home and regaining strength for the next leg of the trip, up towards Cairns next week if the weather improves and shines that sunshine on us :)
Nicole setting up the video camera and Linda with Lily the friendly chihuahua...
Me, Nic and Renee during a tradional "pub crawl" in Home Hill
By the way, thank you for all the comments we’ve received from you, it is great to hear something from all of our wonderful friends and family members back home! Although we’ve heard it can be a bit tricky posting comments if you register, but you can also leave messages with ease and speed… by leaving a comment under anonymous, just leave your name in the end of the message so we know who it’s from!
The notorious Finnish....
......horse thieves....
The must go on log ride about to start...
Linda conquering her past fears...
Henkka giving it a go as well!
Its... The Claw!
Linda preparing herself for the ride
Linda screaming on the ride!
Linda screaming on the ride!
The 4 G 119m drop uber ride, The Drop.
Linda waiting for the ride to begin...
...and yes, it was a drop from high above!
On the road again! We got the car and drove over about 800km to Home Hill (about 150 km south of Townsville) where our friend Nicole lives. The rain continued during the long drive and met us in the small sugar-cane farming town of 4000 inhabitants. Nic had arranged a wonderful welcome with care-packages and we had fun watching old tapes from when she was in Finland working as a hairdresser. And here we are right now, hanging out in her cool Salon/home and regaining strength for the next leg of the trip, up towards Cairns next week if the weather improves and shines that sunshine on us :)
Nicole's prepared bedroom for us among carepackages!
Nicole setting up the video camera and Linda with Lily the friendly chihuahua...
On Friday we went for all the pubs in Home Hill...all three of them! Had a lot of beer, vodka and laughs...here are some pictures to amuse yourselves with.
Me, Nic and Renee during a tradional "pub crawl" in Home Hill
Scaring the locals with our musical abilities...
Nic, Henkka and Sy striking a pose in the pub...
The Home Hill gang and me...
Our pretty hostess...Nic striking a pose after a long night...
The crazy dance styles of Home Hill...
By the way, thank you for all the comments we’ve received from you, it is great to hear something from all of our wonderful friends and family members back home! Although we’ve heard it can be a bit tricky posting comments if you register, but you can also leave messages with ease and speed… by leaving a comment under anonymous, just leave your name in the end of the message so we know who it’s from!
WOW,
ReplyDeleteHi Henkka and Linda
To do all the bad makes people free and happy?
Why people are not happy? Why families are not happy? Why people does not have joy and peace? and also next day?
with love in Lord Jesus
vesa
Hi everyone! You can leave comments also by first choosing other under identity, then you can write your name and it won't be published anonymous!
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