Weekend Overview

On Saturday, we drove north, to Bundaberg, and returned on Sunday.

On Saturday, we stopped to look at the Glass House Mountains, and the Australia Zoo, the place made famous by Steve Irwin on the television show 'Animal Planet.'

We stopped and ate fish and chips at Neptune's Restaurant, in Gympie. We passed through Maryborough and Childers, passing sugar cane and pineapple fields, before arriving late at Bundaberg. We had no time, so we went straight away to watch the nesting loggerhead turtles at Mon Repos Conservation Area near Bargara, on the beach.

Despite the fact our turtle was polite enough to stay on our timetable, we barely made it back in time to Bundaberg in time to check in. Andrew used fuzzy recollections, dead reckoning and deductive insight to find our hotel, the Quality Inn, arriving exactly at 10 p.m., the hotel's closing time. (Australia, in general, doesn't allow late check-ins, so if you are too late in arriving, you get to sleep in the car instead).

The Quality Inn (same motel chain I had stayed in in Roma) was situated on the mangrove-lined banks of the Burnett River - really a fine view! In the morning, we watched Bronze Man, and other colorful locals, preparing their boats for cruises on the sea, as the Bundaberg foundry across the river made incredibly loud scraping noises, for a quiet Sunday morning.

On Sunday, we drove back, stopping again at the same place in Gympie for lunch.

We stopped at the fashionable beach community of Noosa, and took a hike around the Noosa Headlands. Beautiful spot! We also went and looked at the shops in trendy, fashionable Noosa.

After driving down the beach to Coolum Beach, we headed inland and drove back to Mt. Glorious.