Australia: Brisbane

Our final week in Australia was spent in Brisbane.  I love this city and especially the wonderful Heindorff family that took me in as an exchange student way back in 1994!  I'm so glad I could visit them again and finally get to meet my host sisters kids.  Corinne has 5 girls and Leah has 3 boys!  I also got to see my host brother Matt who came down to Brisbane just to say hi (he works about 2 hours north of Brisbane).  I also got together with almost all of my friends from high school.  It was so nice that out of our whole group just one friend wasn't able to join us (she was pregnant and was due to have her baby any day).  Some friends came all the way from Melbourne!  It made me feel so loved to see that everyone took time out of their busy lives to get together!  Brisbane didn't have any "must see" sights so we just took it easy, relaxed and spent time with my wonderful host family!

Funny story about this photo.  The entire time we were in Australia Oma had been wanting to see wild kangaroos jumping around.  I told her many times it was unlikely to see any kangaroos in a city as big as Sydney and I had never seen kangaroos just jumping down the streets of Brisbane so I told her she might be out of luck.  She said she had talked with friends who had visited Australia and they had told her kangaroos and koalas were just everywhere so she was disappointed that we hadn't seen any.  So, while we were driving from the airport after our trip to the Great Barrier Reef the sun was just going down and I happened to look out my window and there, in a big field off the side of the road, were about 30 kangaroos!  Of course we pulled over and watched them for a few minutes until our presence scared them off and they all bounded away into the bush.  So Oma got her wild kangaroo adventure after all!  She was so happy:)

Enjoying a nice little nature stroll in Alex Hills with my host Mum

Annika, Tracy and Niki...3 of my good friends from high school

Me with my friend Linda

Me with Ceri.  I'm so bummed I didn't think to get a group photo.  There were 12 friends that were able to come and I wish so much I would have taken 2 minutes to get a photo with everyone!  My host Mum and Dad were so nice to open their house up for this party.  We were up chatting and being silly until well past midnight!

We hiked up a fun trail through the bush on Mt. Coot-tha to get this fabulous view of Brisbane!

Emerson and Julian on Mt. Coot-tha

We went to the wonderful Eumundi market with all my host family.  It was a fabulous market to walk around but I didn't find any Australian nativities...that was my goal

I drove up to the market with Corinne and Mike and their gorgeous girls...such a cute family!  Love them all!!!

The Heindorffs and the Durtschi's at Eumundi markets:)

After wandering around the market for a while we headed to Noosa for a great lunch and a walk along the beach.  I love this host dad of mine:)

Walking along Noosa Heads beach

That evening my host Mum, Corinne and Michael and I went to the fabulous Eat Street in Brisbane.  It was like food trucks on steroids!  So many choices and wonderful food to try...I was stuffed afterwards but it was so fun!!

There were tons of people everywhere but the live music and atmosphere were pretty fun.

Spiral potato deep fried and salted on a stick?  Don't mind if I do:)

On Sunday Corinne took me to visit the grave of her precious little Lily.  I love how it says "born sleeping" on the stone.  I can't imagine the sadness and loss you must feel to loose a child.  I was glad I could come and visit little Lily and I think it made Corinne happy that I was interested in sharing this with her.

Julian and Emerson took advantage of the pool at the house we rented right on the canals in Raby Bay.  It was a wonderful place to spend our last week in Australia.  Such a gorgeous location right on the water.

My host Mum made my most favorite dessert...dumplings with golden syrup!  She spoils me!

Me with my wonderful host family.  Corinne, Dad, Me, Matt, Mum and Leah.  They have another son, Adam, that lives with his family in Utah.  I love this family so much.  I can't believe how much they welcomed me into their home and their lives when I was a punk, emotional, snotty 16 year old girl.  I will be forever grateful to them and how much they helped me grow up into the person I am today.

 

On our last day in Australia we drove up to the "Australia Zoo-home of the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin!"  It was a real fun experience and we got to see lots of native animals up close!

Yeah, ummm...these guys are crazy!  They showed us how crocodiles jaws snap shut when they feed. No thanks, glad I was on the other side of this fence!

The man, the legend...Steve Irwin:)

Definite highlight is being able to pet these awesome kangaroos:)

Everyone loved the kangaroos

I like this photo, looks like the kangaroo and Julian are just hanging out having a chat:)

We watched this red panda for quite a while.  It was so active and kept wandering around its enclosure and we tried to guess what trail it would explore

You couldn't pet the lemurs but it was fun to get right up next to them and see them wandering, free range, around the park

Love the sleepy little koalas.  We couldn't hold them but we could pet them...their fur is so thick and soft

A rare sighting indeed...Townsend smiling:)

This poor mommy koala had twins.  One baby was hanging onto her back and another baby was tucked up hanging onto her belly...she could barely move around the tree!

Saying goodbye to our lovely canal on our last morning in Australia

koala and kangaroo crossing signs...only in Australia:)

I had to get one last sausage roll at the airport... I love these things!!

And just like that our amazing trip Down Under was finished.  I am so very happy I convinced Hyrum I wanted a trip to Australia for my 20th wedding anniversary.  And even though traveling with kids is a pain sometimes and you wonder how much they appreciate it, I'm very glad I got to enjoy this trip with my whole family.  I love this country so much!!