4 September 2017
Pressed on time we had to choose only one of the many museums in the downtown area. The South Australian Museum is well done. It concentrates on natural sciences including the first inhabitants, animals, and geology of the region. The museum boasts the largest collection of Australian Aboriginal artifacts. The kids found it especially interesting and could have spent more than the 90 minutes we allowed. Another plus, the museum is free!
4 September 2017
The Adelaide Botanical Gardens was TripAdvisor’s top attraction listed for Adelaide. I must admit when I saw that, I had two thoughts: one, this must be an absolutely amazing garden; or two, there might not be much to see here. I might have been correct on both accounts.
We were impressed with the Adelaide Botanical Gardens despite battling the wind and cold rain at the end of winter. To be fair, how much could we expect? The park is a special place. We look forward to seeing in its full glory during a return trip in late spring or summer.
3 – 6 September 2017
We are starting our next Australian adventure in Adelaide. On this trip we plan to drive from Adelaide to the unofficial capital of Outback country, Alice Springs, and to the country’s most iconic land formation, Uluru, otherwise known as Ayer’s Rock.
The timing of the trip was based on anticipating moderate weather in the Outback, if you can ever classify it as moderate. As a result, our first trip to Adelaide is in early Spring which we found can be cold and rainy. By far this is the coldest weather we have experienced in Oz to date, but it’s still not that bad.
Adelaide is the capital of South Australia. At 1.3 million residents it is the fifth most populated city in the country, which is roughly equal to U.S.A.’s 43rd largest metro area, Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, the place we call home. Adelaide is a study in urban planning. The layout of the city and its parklands is superb.
We got a hotel in the northwest corner of downtown and walked extensively throughout. We have a lot left to see in our next visit but we covered a lot of ground in a few days. Based on my research in preparation for our move to Australia, it seemed Adelaide was a fantastic place to raise a family but might lack some of the glamour and excitement of other cities. Our first impression is in line. It’s a fantastic city with a great balance of size, scale and livability. It just lacks that marquee place or event needed to draw tourists that other communities in Australia have. In that way, we see another parallel with our hometown of Raleigh.
Adelaide City
The Oval
Adelaide, the “City of Churches”
Rundle Street Mall
Central Market
27 August 2017
Choosing Coolum Beach as our first home-away-from-home has turned out to be a fantastic choice. We still have 3 1/2 months here and we are already sad we must eventually leave. This afternoon we took another walk on the beach while the kids climbed over the rocks from one bay to another.
26 August 2017
As part of my daughter’s birthday weekend, we returned to the Australia Zoo. What’s cuter than koalas? Little koalas –the females recently gave birth to a new group of joeys. Here are just a few pictures of some of our favorite residents.
20 August 2017
Today we completed the Blackall Range scenic drive between Landsborough and Nambour on Route 23. We did the northern half a few weeks ago, highlighted by Kondalilla National Park. We made several stops along the way including Mary Cairncross Park, Gardner’s Falls, Lake Baroon, Gerrads Lookout, and Mapleton Falls. Cairnscross Park provided the best single view of the Glass House Mountains. The towns of Montville and Maleny would make nice stops but we opted for a picnic lunch at Gardner’s Falls. On the drive back to Coolum Beach, we happened upon Yandina’s Street Fair where there was live music, street vendors, and amusement rides.
View of the Glass House Mountains from Mary Cairncross Park
Gardner’s Falls
Mapleton Falls NP and Lake Baroon
19 August 2017
Mt. Ninderry is located near Valdora, a small rural community about 16 km west of Coolum Beach. From the car park, it is a moderate 30-minute hike to the top where there are two overlooks with views of the coastline and the Glass Mountains to the southwest.
View of Coolum Beach (left) and Mount Coolum (right)
View of Mudjimba and Maroochydore (top) and the Maroochy River (bottom)
View of Mt. Ninderry earlier this week
Windy day at the top of Mt. Ninderry
11 & 12 August 2017
Before and after games we walked around Brisbane, mostly in areas we had not been. Here are a few pictures.
11 & 12 August 2017
We completed our first road trip with a weekend in Brisbane. Our hotel was on the South Bank within walking distance of SunCorp Stadium and The Gabba. Friday night we saw the Brisbane Broncos defeat the Cronulla Sharks 32-10. Both teams are near the top of the rankings (ladder) this season. Saturday evening we saw the Brisbane Lions beat the Gold Coast Suns 142-83 at The Gabba. Both of these teams are near the bottom, actually the Suns are the worst team in the league. We have watched several National Rugby League (NRL) matches and Australian Football League (AFL) games on TV but these were are first live events. We enjoyed both but I must say the whole family better understood and had more fun watching NRL.
Before coming to Australia, I had assumed we would be most interested in the AFL. Maybe starting our experience in Queensland during the State of Origin series has tainted our opinion but we have gravitated to League over Rugby (Union) and Aussie Rules Football. We now have a basic understanding of each but when a country calls four different sports, including soccer, football, it can be confusing. Ironically American football is not called football, it’s “gridiron”.
In October, we have plans to see Australia’s Wallabies take on New Zealand’s All Blacks – the most famous rugby team in the world. We are looking forward to that.
Suncorp Stadium – Home of the Brisbane Broncos
The Gabba – Home of the Brisbane Lions
11 August 2017
Toowoomba was intended to be a place to lay our head on our way to Brisbane. Before leaving we took the opportunity to look around a bit. It seems to be the last large town heading west, a dividing line between the populated coastal region and the vast rural land. We visited downtown, Queens Park Gardens, and Picnic Point Park. We especially enjoyed Picnic Point.
Picnic Point Park
American Family Travels 
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