When I got back to Brisbane after NYE I was lucky to arrive back to my brother and his girlfriend who had been staying at my place for a few days already.
It was the strangest feeling being picked up in my own car by my brother at the airport. I’d never been in the passenger seat and Dan had only visited once about 6 years earlier.
The first day I took them to Lone Pine Koala Park so they could see all the Aussie wildlife then we drove out to Mt Tamborine. I had never been before and I can’t wait to go back, it is such a beautiful place. We stopped at Cedar Creek and paddled in the waterfall pools. That night we went to Kotobuku Izakaya in the city for dinner with Kim, Ka Lei & Kieran.
Friday we went to the gorgeous Tangalooma. We took the ferry from the Port of Brisbane and arrived on the white sand shores with crystal clear waters.
We passed what we thought was the hire centre and planned to go back at low tide to snorkel the wrecks.
We set up a blanket and lazed in the sunshine, going for swims in the sparkling water and smashing a picnic for lunch.
When we made our way back to the ‘hire place’ they were busy about to take a group out snorkelling and kayaking so we just waited for them to finish up and attend to us. But they didn’t. Turns out it was just a tour place and they wouldn’t hire us snorkels. Dan was devastated. Like, I think I saw his heart break. Determined to get over to the wrecks before we left he wandered the beach with $50 offering it in exchange for borrowing or buying a snorkel set with no luck. He tried and tried. There was no time to go to the resort and back to buy one. I felt so much sadness for him. All he wanted to do was swim out to those wrecks.
Eventually, deflated, he gave up and settled for a swim. I went to join him and whistled to him to get his attention that I was coming in. He turned and looked at me with a cheeky smile and I knew that the little buggar was going to try swim there and back without snorkels or flippers – a fair feat. I stood and watched as he swam and swam and swam and finally made it. Sat on the wreck, took some pics with his Go Pro and came back.
He got back and we had to walk straight back to the ferry to make boarding, he was pretty stoked with his efforts but still disappointed he couldn’t see anything.
Lesson: take your own snorkel and flippers to Tangalooma.
I took them to Harajuku Gyoza (my fave if you haven’t realised by now) for dinner with Ka Lei & Kieran and devoured all the Gyoza.
On their last day we took a ferry around the city and stopped at South Bank to do the markets, lagoon, Brisbane sign and finally GOMA. Back at home we had ‘prawns on the barbie’ before they had to be at the airport that arvo.
Hope they come back again soon. I know you’re reading this Dan. I sent it to you.
Wink wink.
