Sunday 18th July - Thursday 22nd July

After the easy life in the Cooks and the relative hustle and bustle of Sydney we made the most of the the Gold Coast beaches. Sand the quality of silk and quiet winter beach crowds left us with plenty more fun on our hands. Plus we left the restauranting behind for a while and got our fill of some home cooked food - Sunday roast and Cottage Pie to name a few.

We wandered the beaches at Byron Bay, Burleigh Heads, Palm Beach and Broadbeach where at the latter all the local surf clubs where competing against each other in swimmer rescue. The surf was pounding and the rescue dinghies where racing out like greased lightning, fantastic to watch, yet I couldn't help but snigger a little at the lifeguard hats the Aussies wear. Necessary against the suns rays but all they needed was the comic spinner on the top to complete the laugh.

The lifeguard skills on the other hand were second to none and kept the kids enthralled. The four of them - Molly, Amelia, Rosie and Alfie - made a point of copying them fortunately without actually getting in the water.

While out at Byron Bay we spotted dolphins in the shallows having a bite and chancing their arm at the blocks of shark bait set out. We didn't spot a shark unfortuately, although the kids were glad, and the dolphins tucked in every now and again flipping out of the water for fun.

We ignored the more in your face, Costa Del Sol parts of the Gold Coast, where everything seems to that much more expensive, and picked the quieter and more kid friendly places to have days out. We also headed into the hills to Springbrook National Park and gazed out at the high rises on the Gold Coast skyline. Even in the winter we spotted a couple of decent sized spiders and wandered through the low cut grass to stay away from any of the deadly snakes potentially waiting for a quick bite.

We managed to grab a photo opportunity while at Currumbina Wildlife Sanctuary where the kids held a young crocodile - jaws taped shut for safety - and bought Alfie a toy lizard seen as he had to go to daycare.

We had plenty of chance to catch up and have a good laugh in the evening when the kids went to bed with bottles of both red and white being sunk faster than the General Belgrano. Terence and Louise ended up having much later nights than they normally would and as much as we enjoyed staying they seemed to get the same amount of pleasure out of the stay as we did. A great time

all around with plenty of good football talk all the way through.

Before we knew it, it was time to pack our things and be on our way again. Getting back to Brisbane airport a lot closer to the wire than we wanted left us grabbing a quick lunchtime snack before boarding the plane to Cairns. All we then needed to do was catch our shuttle transfer. For a 45 mile trip the coach struggled along and left us wondering why the flight was quicker than the blooming transport. Even Rodney the manager at the Lychee Tree was surprised to hear how long it took and made a point of giving them some jip.