Due to the ever changing weather in SEQ QLD, we decided to take a last minute mini camping vacation up north to Noosa Heads where we hadn’t been before. It was both the perfect and worst day for it.
Continue readingDue to the ever changing weather in SEQ QLD, we decided to take a last minute mini camping vacation up north to Noosa Heads where we hadn’t been before. It was both the perfect and worst day for it.
Continue readingA few weekends ago, on 2nd November, Mikael turned 30! In the spring, when it’s warm and light outside. That is so strange! My own normal spring birthday will now be in the fall. Land of upside-downs.
He was welcomed into his 30’s with two night’s spent in Byron Bay and some rain, but all in all by a very cosy weekend down south.
After the most incredible visit to Coombabah, we packed our car and drove down to another timezone. It is so weird that you right now travel one hour into the past, just across the border to New South Wales just south of Gold Coast.
The weekend was all about camping and just soaking in the Byronshire atmosphere with mother in law while celebrating Mikael’s 30 years on this planet as well as our first year as engaged.
His birthday started at The Farm in Byron Bay. Super busy even if it was raining a lot! Really good breakfast and cute place with animals.
We then drove up to the lighthouse and were so lucky the weather was not optimal, there were pretty much no people and we managed to get a parking spot. As with the whale season being over, there were no whales. But the views were still incredible! Up there, we took a fika break and Elise and I had a very funny encounter with a magpie friend. He was walking on the rail, right next to where we were sitting, Elise was filming it and it was cheeky enough to keep walking and then hide behind a pole, just for it to pop its head out around it as she just stopped filming. It was hilarious! 
This time, the most eastern point of Australia was accessible and we have now stood on one of four corners of this continent.
This poor guy had the biggest tick I have ever seen right under his eye. Also, these water dragons are everywhere now when it’s getting warmer outside.
Birthday dinner!
This blog is not as active as I was hoping. But so much stuff is happening all the time and while trying to find a routine, it’s hard to keep up with updates (we’re not even gonna discuss my Instagram).
Mother in law has now been here with us down under for a week and she is loving it! She was a bi anxious flying so far, but all went so well, she came down with so much energy and has had no jet lag at all. We have been more tired than her, haha!
On her third day all across the world, we took her to my (so far) favorite place, Coombabah Lake Conservation Park where we had the most wonderful day! The first time, Mikael and I went, we spotted 5 koalas, countless kangaroos, and several kookaburras. This time, we spotted 9 koalas, fewer kangaroos, and no kookaburras. Although we heard many of them laughing loudly. They have a very specific sound.
Spring is definitely here, the days are higher 20’s, 30’s even some days. Mostly sunny, and stormy in the evenings and nights. On Halloween, we had a massive storm right above us. BOM gave out warnings of severe storms with hail more inland. Crazy! But beautiful!
Friday, the day after the extreme thunderstorm, was beautiful, like nothing happened the night before! And we had a once in a lifetime experience ❤️
Here we had koala number one, by the first grass field, 5 minutes walking from the car park.
A kangaroo mom and her joey hiding from the sun.
Koala number two.
And this you guys, is koala number three. I spotted this one after Mikael and Elise had already walked past them. She was awake and started climbing down the tree. And as she was descending, I realized that koala number four was there as well.
She climbed all the way down to the ground, with her baby on her back.
She walked straight toward us to climb a tree right next to us. She was also one eyed.
She hopped up the tree, stopped every now and then and posed adorably for us spectators. Her joey also being super photogenic.
She climbed all the way up to the top where they most likely fell asleep again. Probably that day’s adventure for them since they sleep pretty much every hour of the day. This was the most incredible experience I have ever had and I might have shed a tear of joy or two.
Here is koala number five, clinging to the tree as if its life depended on it.
Kangaroos cooling down in the water.
Koala number six.
And these two guys! Number seven and eight. I wasn’t sure how this worked when I first spotted them because there was a leg hanging very low from the fluffy bum higher up on the right. Then I realized there were two of them sleeping together.
And last but definitely not least, number nine.
This lizard was spotted by Elise.
And we didn’t just see a baby koala, we also had another encounter with a roo mom with a joey poking its head out, eating with its mom. So adorable!!
This was definitely a unit of a kangaroo. The biggest and most muscular one I have seen!
Oh, I miscalculated. We actually spotted ten koalas this day. How could I have missed that?! Oh well, happy mistake 😄
Every day should be like this! Sun, warmth, nature and wildlife. Love it!
Today was all about whales and dolphins and shopping. Super spontaneous. I started the day with my morning coffee on the balcony with the short Brandon Sanderson novella The Emperor’s Soul. The sun was out, clear blue sky after a night of rain. I can definitely live with that.
We took a spontaneous stroll, had lunch at Coolangatta Hotel and walked further south to Rainbow Bay Lookout again. We were not disappointed. First, we saw a huge lizard! Then we saw beautiful beaches, followed by several whales breaching which inspired us to instantly google where the closest shop was where we could buy binoculars. On our way there, before we even left Rainbow Bay Lookout, we saw a big pod of dolphins swimming right behind the surfers and I instantly felt sad that we’ve been here more than a month, and I haven’t gone surfing yet! Another big lizard, some sleeping brush turkeys and we were back to the esplanade, taking a quick stop at Ripcurl. Which turned out to not be such a quick stop. I bought a bikini, a hooded beach towel, and a normal towel. I am ready to fully go in the sea now! Mikael bought a t-shirt, a flannel shirt, a pair of pants, socks, a hat, a wallet, a backpack, and a water bottle. Big time shopping! And that was not the end of our spree. Our last stop was Wade’s World, a photography shop where we bought two pairs of binoculars.
At the pier right below Kirra Hill, we saw two whales breaching, just minutes after we arrived. And they did it twice, before waiving their tails and just showing off their backs and eventually going back under. How unreal wasn’t that? So worth getting those Nikon binoculars. We also talked a bit with an American lady who walked past and asked us if we had seen anything. She said that later in the season, the whales come really close to shore. That will be exciting!
Bemm 