Friday Jan 28-Saturday Jan 29
I spent most of Friday packing and getting ready for our Queensland getaway. We got up early on Saturday and were on the road at 8:40am. It took just over 6 hours to get to Sawtell with a couple of short stops and driver changes - we pulled into the Sawtell Motor Inn (henceforth referred to as SMI) about 2:45pm. Sawtell is a small seaside town near Coffs Harbour recommended by my friends Merrilyn and Geoff as was the SMI. Sawtell itself is quite scenic with a nice touristy main street - the SMI is smack dab in the middle of town - which is it’s main attraction.
We had arranged to meet Geoff and his son Michael for dinner at Lime Mexican; by total coincidence Geoff and Michael were also overnighting in Sawtell. As it turned out Lime had a happy hour from 3pm so D&I popped over for a quick drink to test our their famous Margaritas (made famous by Geoff and Merrilyn as well as Helen and Garry who had also stopped in another time). After happy hour we went back to the SMI for showers and a rest before meeting G&M for dinner. The dinner was, as expected, cheap and cheerful. Back at the SMI we watched Barty win the Aussie Open then sacked out.
Sunday Jan 30
We both had a restless night - we got up around 7:20pm - had our brekkie (brought from home) of fruit and yoghurt and Nespresso coffees sitting on our room’s balcony overlooking the street. Off to the Gold Coast (GC), Broadbeach in particular staying at Peppers serviced apartments It was a smooth drive with very heavy traffic along the final stretch along the GC highway. We arrived at Peppers around 12:30pm Queensland time (one hour earlier than Sydney due to the Banana Benders giving short shrift to daylight saving time).
Fortunately we were able to check-in to our upgraded Premium 2-Bedroom Ocean View unit straight away. So we dumped our bags and baggage and headed over to the Surf Club for a shared pizza and beer/cider. The surf club was checking vac certificates - good on them.
Back at home we did a bit of grocery shopping then showered and got ready for our dinner at Miss Moneypenny, one of our favourites - we went a bit early as we wanted to catch some of the Nadal vs Medvedev AO final. Dinner was excellent - slipper lobster linguine for me and line-caught barramundi for Dieter.
We finished the evening watching the tennis - of course the match will go down as one of best in history - Nadal looked like a goner but he scraped victory from the jaws of defeat (down 2 sets to 0). I faded after the third and Dieter after the fourth set.
Monday Jan 31
After a good night’s sleep (for me at least), we kicked off the day with brekkie on the balcony overlooking the ocean - a beautiful sunny day.
After brekkie we did a big shop at the local Pacific Fare shopping center - stocking up for the siege of Lenningrad - you never know, the Ruskies may invade after Medvedev was booed by the most un-sportsman-like crowd at Melbourne Park.
After a quick lunch at home we drove to the Gold Coast Botanical Gardens for a walk - the gardens are lovely with lots of wild life - water dragons all over the place, turtles galore, swans, ducks, … We had a quick break at home then did a 1-hour beach walk (on the footpath). We had dinner at home (pasta and salad) then very early to bed.
Tuesday Feb 1
Up a bit earlier with breakfast on the terrace - it was another hot and sunny day. It was a really hot day so we drove to the Hinze Dam where there is a water recreation area with many walks. It was interesting but the walks were a bit of a “fog dam”; so after tramping around for an hour in the blistering sun we headed home for the Surf Club for a pizza for lunch. After a bit of rest we planned a beach walk but an afternoon storm moved in so I decided to colour my hair instead.
We had dinner at home - steak.
Wednesday Feb 2
It was another hot and humid day with the threat of storms later in the day. We did a long 2+ hour beach walk and returned home for a break and lunch. After lunch with showers moving in, we drove to Mirage Marina for a bit of retail therapy - jeans, a shirt, polo and belt for Dieter and slides and a blouse for me - all on sale of course. The retail was less than 50% open and did not seem very busy.
Back at home the restaurant we had booked (for 6pm) rang us to see if we could come earlier as they were juggling their outside seating around due to pending storm - we elected move our reservation to Thursday and had pot luck at home - salad and sambas. The big storm never moved in.
Thursday Feb 3
Up early - already 26C with heavy cloud - heavy rain predicted. Let’s see what transpires.
It was our last full day in Broadbeach - moving to Maroochydore tomorrow for 3 nights. Rain was forecast so we headed out for a walk in a wetland conservation area (near a small wildlife zoo where the crocodiles were on holiday - no surprises there) - we saw herons, a Brahmin kite, and a blue-winged kingfisher. Since it was close by we dropped into The Tropic beach bar at the Burleigh Pavilion (also visited on our previous trip to the GC) - see https://burleighpavilion.com/the-tropic/
Back at home we stayed put for the afternoon as the drizzle had move in - a bit surprising it was only drizzle as other areas close by has 1-2 inches of rain (on the old scale). We went to Social Restaurant & Bar (right next to Peppers) for dinner - we were a bit concerned due to the lingering drizzle with most tables outside - we snared a good outside table and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of both the food and service - excellent value.
Friday Feb 4
Last day at Broadbeach - got up to an amazing sunny and warm day. After a pack-up frenzy we set out for Maroochydore. Some 2+ hours later we arrive at Beach on Sixth - a holiday unit - it our pleasant surprise is was quite amazing - very tastefully decorated - a far cry from Peppers' “Ikea modern” - and very clean.
After settling in we went to Coles for some grocery shopping then back at home relaxed on our balcony watching the surf and the surfers roll in. It was sunny and warm - no sign of the forecast rain.
After showers we walked to The Boat House, about 10 minutes away for an early dinner. We totally loved the setting - outdoors but undercover right on the water’s edge - we were fortunately protected from the howling winds - it had peaked at 80 K’s during the day. The dinner was very good.