Mermaid Beach

How does it sound to you? The name is pretty exotic, isn't it? And if I tell you it is located at Surfers Paradise, it is even better! I landed at Brisbane this afternoon and headed straight south driving for around an hour before reaching the place where some friends are currently staying. I wish I could have more time to explore the area and to relax on the beach. Unfortunately, tomorrow will be a long day spent attending a business workshop.

Cairns

I left Papua this morning and I am back in Australia. My Port of entry is Cairns, only two hours by plane from Port Moresby. As there is no connection back to Darwin until 9 hours later I took a car to explore the coast up North. It is dotted with an incredible number of beautiful and 'wild' beaches. Dozens of them all the way up to Port Douglas and above. I ferried across the Daintree River to Cape Tribulation and came back to Cairns before the sunset. I did not stay long but I found the city to be pretty similar to Darwin but with a much more touristy feel, tons of backpackers (obviously using it as the gateway to the Great Coral Reef) and a funny but great idea - since it is virtually impossible to swim in the sea because of the usual box jellyfish, sharks and the rest - of having an open sea water pool in the middle of the city.

Sunshine Coast

After the small job I had to do, and since it was Saturday, I moved up the Coast, past the Moreton Peninsula - famous for its Moreton Bay Bugs as digested a few days ago - I first stopped at Bribie Island. A quiet spot, many boats and many fishoes. A bit too quiet to my liking. I then headed to Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast which is a nice sea resort and stopped at Alexandra Headland's Beach just south of Maroochydore. There are long stretches of fine sand and even though it is the weekend, and supposed to be crowded, many places are void of people. Being used to the overcrowded Mediterranean beaches it always surprises me to have all these empty beaches in Australia. But then again, it is true that the waters are not as inviting since they are populated by animals you'd better avoid and the coast is only a mere... 50,000 kilometres long!

Brissie

Today I had to go to Brisbane and to the exception of a stop over on my way to Papua New Guinea 17 years ago I had never visited the City. It is the third biggest in Australia and continues to grow fast. You easily understand why since the weather is always good. Never too hot, never too cold, the sun shines all year long, it is near the beach, tucked away in between the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. Wandering through the streets you can feel people are happy to live here. It makes me wonder why I would not make the move myself as well!