Rain, rain, go away.

The weather in our state of Queensland I am told is about as predictable as a bi-polar Bengal tiger. Up to now the reports have been pretty accurate for each day (ie. rain) but today, they got it wrong. We normally leave our big expeditions for the weekend, and we were glad to see that today was supposed to be the only sunny day of this week. But unfortunately, the skies have opened and sporadic bouts of rain have arrived to dampen not only our spirits, but our clothing too.

The Sunshine Coast up north was our destination this time. With a name like that, rain should surely be a rare commodity right? Wishful thinking. It seemed to follow us everywhere. But a little precipitation was not going to stop us. First stop was a 700 meter trek up a hill (which would not look out of place, were it in the Amazon jungle) to a lookout spot. After venturing approximately 20 meters and being attacked by hoards of killer mosquitoes, we made a hasty retreat back to the car and decided to try the next spot - yet another lookout gazing upon the legendary Glass House Mountains. Looking at it from the summit reminded me of a scene from Jurassic Park and I would not have been surprised to see herds of velociraptors, bounding about in the forests below. Didn't manage to see any glass houses though, so we moved on.

It was now almost 1pm and my system warned me that food levels were dangerously low. The closest provider of lunch happened to be a place called Aussie World... which kinda baffled me. Surely ANY place in Australia could be granted this title couldn't it? It was here that I stumbled upon one of the biggest and coolest looking pubs I have ever come across. One beer and steak sandwich later and we were ready to continue. After visiting a curios shop (we are such tourists) we hit the road again. More rain. This wasn't good. Every dirt road on our route worth following or exploring was becoming waterlogged. We came, we saw, we bought souvenirs. It was time to call it a day.

The trip back home was lengthy and one by one (excepting the driver fortunately) each of the occupants of our car started falling asleep. There is something strangely hypnotic about long drives in that vehicle that affects us more than washing down a dozen sleeping pills with a litre of warm milk. We needed caffeine. Stopping at a fuel station, I entered, paid the guy behind the counter for three cappuccinos and expected him to serve me. This I soon learnt was a self service coffee shop. Pay in the front, make your own coffee at the machine in the back. After making two successful coffees, the milk ran out. I could have asked them to refill the machine but that would have taken too long. I needed coffee and I needed it now. Pressing the appropriate button once more, I topped the paper cup up with a few more doses of high level caffeine and no milk. I liked my coffee strong anyways. After dumping two sachets of sugar into the dark liquid to take the edge off, I left the store. A few sips later and the entire car was buzzing. Not one eye was shut. Conversation was flowing quickly and constantly. Our liquid energy injections were working just fine. Three hours down the line and I'm unsure if my caffeine rush has worn off yet. I'm guessing probably not. After all, it only took me 11 and a half seconds to type this entire article...

Dinosaurs: Scarce

 

Pubs: Unpronouncable

Australia: Fast and fun. Apparently.

Aussie beer: Vital