In australia!

After almost 24 hours of travel, we made it!

About a 13 hour flight to AKL (during which I found out Benedryl as a sleep aid isn't 100% effective for me), there was a 4 hour layover in the wee hours of morning (5-9), and then a three hour flight into BNE.

Brisbane kind of reminds me of typical coastal activity cities. And back to driving on the left side of the road, which was a little less jarring the second around.

After checking into the hotel, we grabbed a quick lunch at Vopiano, a pasta/pizza chain where you basically go to the counter to watch the chef make your pasta.

In continuing a tradition started in South Africa, it was time to go touch a local iconic animal. In Joburg, it was petting lion cubs, and in Brisbane, it was off to hold koalas at Lone Pine. The koala was soft, a but slightly heavier than expected (sorry, Barnacle, I'm sure you're a normal weight for koalas!), and had some sharp claws. I guess if you move too much, they grab on for fear of falling, so I tried to stay perfectly still. He seems to know to look at the camera, as he would always turn to face the camera. After the koala holding (which of course costs money), we went into a kangaroo and emu enclosure. They're all pretty docile, so I went and petted a few.

Then it was off to dinner at the Summit restaurant at the top of Mt Coot Tha, which had a nice view of the city. The food was ok (scallop with pork belly, followed by steak and Moreton Bay Bug), but not amazing. The steak was a bit tough, but the bug was good.

Just barely fought through jetlag to finish dinner, and now, early Monday morning, it's time to head to Gladstone airport, then the helicopter to Heron Island! Three nights on the Great Barrier Reef chock full of diving, snorkeling and beachbumming!

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