Monday Feb 1
We flew SYD-BNE on VA at mid-day - off on our Queensland break just 2 days late due to the border being closed. We landed at 12:15 due to Qld not being on daylight saving time. We took the shuttle to Ace (the budget arm of Hertz) which is about 15 minutes away - worth it as we got a brand new SUV for $45 per day (see pix below). When we found out that ACE charge a $38 service for each toll you incur we re-jigged our route to Surfers Paradise to avoid the toll road - this caused some delay due to confusion with the navigation vs road signage so we arrived at Soul Peppers around 3pm. We checked in and found our 2-br unit on the 58th floor had been upgraded to a 3 bedroom corner unit with views up and down the coast and all the way to NZ.
We dropped our bags and headed over to Woolies, a 2 minute walk away, to get some initial provisions. The selection and quality at this Woolies was a bit disappointing; however, we got fruit and yoghurt as well as pasta for dinner. Back at the unit - we finally could relax on our balcony with five'es - it was a beautiful warm day (high of 28℃) and mostly sunny afternoon. We had pasta and salad for dinner - pasta was an Italian brand of ravioli which was a 10 out of 10 - will definitely try it again.
Tuesday Feb 2
As forecast we woke to a very dreary day - cloud and rain but still warm. As planned, after breakfast we drove to Springbrook and did Purling Brook Falls hike - it was very cloudy with everything from drizzle to heavy rain - but we soldiered on - arriving back in the picnic area pretty wet and a bit muddy. For the first time ever we used our gators - thank goodness there was a leech on mine - saved !! We ate our pre-packed sambos in the picnic area - a couple of tables and a BBQ were undercover.
We stopped at a Coles on the way home and bought a rack of lamb and accompaniments. We arrived home with bags of wet hiking boots, jackets, caps, etc etc . . . . muddy gaiters - when does the fun start.
After showers etc we decided it was not worth the effort of going out - so had a really nice dinner of (surprise) rack of lamb and all the trimmings.
Wednesday Feb 3
Another partly cloudy day - but warm and only the odd shower - high of 28C. We drove to Springbrook again and this time did the Twin Falls walk and after a quick samba we did the Natural Bridge walk (30 minutes drive away) - both excellent - just got a little bit wet and muddy but no leaches today. On the way home we stopped at Marina Mirage to check out the restaurant scene - there are really only 2 open - Glass and Omeros - we made a booked for this evening at Omeros at 7:30pm, the only time available - we had already booked Glass for Saturday evening (with V&J) but still had no booking for Friday evening - as we were getting concerned about availability we booked Glass for 7pm Friday as well - with a plan to change one of these bookings to somewhere else (Omeros was only available at 7:45pm each evening).
We had a nice seafood dinner at Omeros - Dieter was driving (it’s about 10 minutes from Soul) so it wasn’t a blow-out.
Thursday Feb 4
Ah - a beautiful sunny morning. A Covid case in a hotel worker in Melbourne had cast a cloud over the OZ Open due to start Monday - here’s hoping no community spread - 600 people associated with the AO in lockdown - bet they’re not impressed.
Vaia and John (V&J) arrived today - we collected them from the Gold Coast Airport; then back at the unit after they settled in then we all did a beach walk before heading home for happy hour. French Champagne on the balcony accompanied by yummy snacks provided by V&J. We all had dinner at Seascape, right next door to Soul - very nice dinner - we all had the grilled bugs and prawns.
Friday Feb 5
Ah another amazing day in paradise - sunny and warm - far away from all the worries of Covid (around the world and in Melbourne and Perth). The news said the tennis was back on after being suspended for one day with the AO starting next Monday.
We all enjoyed a resort brekkie (fruit salad and yoghurt) on the terrace.
We went off to visit Merrilyn and Geoff (M&G) who were staying at Geoff’s mother’s unit in Paradise Point. (She recently passed away at the ripe old age of 99 - this is the first time M&G have been able to get to Queensland (due to border closures) to collect her ashes.
We checked out Geoff’s mother’s unit then took a drive around the Sanctuary Island housing complex - talk about McMansions - WOW !!! We all then picked up take-away salad sambos and sat in the park for lunch. We left M&G to continue their clean-out / cleanup of the unit and headed home for an afternoon of pool and beach time. By 6pm we all ready for happy hour - more FC - perfect then it was dinner at Glass at Marina Mirage - an excellent evening by the water and excellent food and wine.
Saturday Feb 6
Ah!! another amazing day in paradise - sunny and warm again - after brekkie we took off for Mt Tambourine - first stop was the Artist’s Walk - a street of cafes, boutiques, arts&crafts shops etc - all a bit underwhelming - lots crystals, tarrot cards reading, psychic healing and assorted BS. We then did 2 walks of about 1 hour each - nice but a bit muddy and the first one was extremely busy.
We then drove to the St Bernard Hotel with the idea of having lunch - alas it was so busy we just had a quick drink and left - based on the meals we saw being served we probably dodged a bullet - it was pub food on steroids. We arrived back at the unit at 3pm and after checking out local options for a late afternoon snack settled on cheese and biscuits at home.
We went to Ms Moneypenny in Broadbeach for dinner - while not waterfront it was excellent.
Sunday Feb 7
Another sunny and even warmer day - 32℃ high. It was V&J’s last day. After brekkie we all went on a long beach walk - 2 hours - 9 K’s. We had sambos for lunch then relaxed until V&J left at 3:30pm. Then as planned M&G came over at 5:30pm for happy hour and an early dinner. It was an early night - off to bed early and off to Noosa in the morning.