Brissy

We finally got to Brissy (that's what Aussie's call Brisbane - they don't like using full words much) at about 6 in the morning. We were picking up our campervan (finally!) so we had to hang around until 9:30 when Jucy, our rental car company, opened. We hung out, had some breakfast at Micky D's, and wrote some blogs. Around 9, I was walking to the ladies room and I heard, "Virginia?". Who do I know in Brisbane? It was our friend Alan who we met on the Taka dive trip! He had gone away for a few days to Surfer's Paradise and Byron Bay and was just on his way back to Brissy. He and Jigar and I all caught up for a few minutes until we had to leave to go pick up our campervan. Alan went back to where he was staying and we agreed to catch up later.
We picked up our Jucy campervan and it was like home, sweet home. We were pretty sick of greyhound buses and staying in hostels. It was nice to have our own space and to have our own transportation so we could get off the beaten track a bit. But before we set out, we wanted to spend a few days in Brissy with Alan.

We didn't do much the first day. Just called our parents, sent some emails, and explored the city a bit. At nightfall, we decided to find a place to sleep. We found a spot on the Q.U.T. Campus. It was quiet and safe. Just as we were getting ready to set up our bed for the first time, Jigar heard some music in the distance. I was exhausted but he convinced me to go with him to investigate. It turns out that it was Navratri which is an Indian festival. There was a celebration going on on the campus. There were tons of people. They were all dressed up and they were dancing. It was fun to watch.

The next day, we picked up Alan and we all headed out to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. It is the biggest and oldest koala sanctuary in Australia. They had lots of shows going on like the birds of prey show. The birds would fly right in front of us! We also got to feed the kangaroos. One of them tried to mug me. He came up and stuck his nose right into my food bag and started eating. They were really cute. I also got to hold a koala. They are heavy and they have sharp claws, but he was really cute and cuddly nonetheless. We got to see all of the native Australian animals (even the wombats) except for the Tassy Devil.

We spent a few more days in Brissy. Mostly just hanging out with Alan and enjoying the delicious food there. At the Wok On Inn noodle bar, they have the best chicken satay I have ever tasted! We enjoyed our time in Brissy, but we were ready to head out and visit our friends Mark & Jo whom we met on Whitehaven Beach at the Whitsunday Islands.