Our flight got in to Brisbane late on Saturday 2 June. We didn't have any issues at customs so we got through the whole process pretty quickly. As the arrivals doors slid open it was so great to see Jan and Ian waiting for us on the other side - some familiar faces from home :-) Dave & Jan and kids are good family friends from Cape Town who emigrated to Australia a few years ago and they so kindly offered to host us for our time in Brisbane. Dave drove us home where we met Rocky, the family`s crazy boxer. We chatted for a short while over a coffee before heading off to bed.

Sunday we were woken up by swarms of noisy Aussie birds - crows, cockatoos, bush turkeys (a bigger, louder version of a guinea fowl) and cookaburras - and then all enjoyed a delicious cooked breakfast and a bit of catching up. It was cool to hear how well the family is settling in. After breakfast, Dave & Jan took us on a driving tour around the city. The weather was a bit cloudy and drizzly, but it cleared up soon enough. We had an awesome lunch outside at a local fish and chips shop at a small fishing harbour. We drove along the coast a bit more before heading home, stopping again at this cool little ice-cream place on the way. That night Dave cooked up some of his delicious home-made boerewors on the barbeque while Jan made a yummy roast for dinner - such a treat!

Monday we woke after a great nights sleep - by now we had recovered from our jetlag. After breakfast Jan drove us to a nearby Koala sanctuary called Lone Pine, where Monique got to hold a real live koala! And we all got to feed kangaroos - they were so tame and chilled that they would eat out of your hand and you could pat and stroke them. We saw a whole bunch of other Australian animals, including the most venomous land snake... in the wooorld. Afterwards we headed home for some coffee and chill time :-) That evening, Dave treated us all to a delicious dinner at this awesome steakhouse - one of the best in Brisbane. Emma and her husband James made the trip though and Ryan was down for a meeting, so he and a friend were also able to join us. So great to have everyone together at the same time! You could watch the chef's cook the meat from behind a huge window and, needless to say, it was done to perfection. We got ice-creams from Mackers on the way home and then, completely stuffed, went straight to bed.

An interesting sidenote - In Australia it is customary to abbreviate every word wherever possible. Some examples we picked up while we were there - there are probably hundreds more:

Servo - Service Station (ie. Petrol Station)
Yute - Utility Vehicle (ie. bakkie)
Footie - Aussie Rules football
Mackers - McDonalds
Salvo - Salvation Army Store
Breatho - Breathalizer test

Tuesday we did a bit of admin in the morning and then packed some lunch and Jan took us down the Gold Coast for a drive. Dave had to fly somewhere for work for a few nights, so we were able to use his car. We stopped for a bit at Surfers Paradise - very cool beach, wide, golden sand stretching both directions as far as the eye can see - and had a look at all the trendy bars & shops. Reminds me a bit of Camps Bay, just quite a bit bigger. We drove a bit further on and had a picnic with the bush-turkeys overlooking the beach. Afterwards, we drove to a lookout point that also acts as the boundry between Queensland and New South Wales. On the way back to Brisbane we stopped at the infamous Yatala Pie Shop for a snack and to get some dinner and then visited Emma & James's for some coffee on the way home. That night we just chilled in the lounge watching TV until bedtime.

Wednesday Jan dropped us in town as this was the day we needed to get our applications in for our Indian visas. We had all the documents so thought it would be a quick 15 minute job and then we could go see some sights... ha ha ha! Turns out if you are applying in Brisbane, you need to select Canberra on the online form, which means each of our applications were invalid :-/ So ya... long story short, we spent pretty much the whole day running between internet cafes and travel agents and the consulate. We got our final applications in just 10 minutes before they closed at 3pm! Phew. We sat in some nearby public gardens for a bite to eat and then strolled along Queen Street Mall (kinda like St Georges Mall back in CT.) We were in time to look around the local farmers market which had some pretty cool things - bought an enourmous pineapple! We walked down to the Botanical Gardens, which is right in a bend of the Brisbane River, so there is water on three sides. Its really cool - huge open lawns and pools and fountains and everything is spotless and perfectly trimmed. We caught a free city bus back to the main bus station and then another bus back to The Gap where the Ballantynes live. We got off at the right station, but then got hopelessly lost trying to walk to their house :-/ (We hadn't paid much attention since we've always been driven by Jan, and now it was also pitch dark which didn't help.) After about an hour we met a lady in her driveway who invited us in to look at a map - turns out her husband was a former South African now living in Aus! We exchanged some (bad) Afrikaans banter and then went on our way - we were pretty close to home. We walked past a car accident on the way and then decided to race up a hill, not realising that we had just run past the house! Anyway, we eventually made it home safe and sound and sheepishly explained ourselves :-/ What a day! It was so great to be able to grab some dinner and just chill by the fire - Jan, you really looked after us so well!

Thursday we woke up and, after breakfast, sat in the lounge for most of the day doing admin :-/ (Did some planning for Asia. Also, these blog posts don't write themselves people... and don't get me started on transferring, sorting through and backing up the thousands of photos!) That evening Jan drove us through to James & Emma's place where they spoilt us with a delicious noodle dinner. Afterwards, we took a quick drive down to the river and hopped on a CityCat (high-speed ferrys that run up and down the river) for a ride through to South Bank. We got ice-creams/coffee's and wandered around having a look - its a very cool place which, I can imagine, is completely jam packed in Summer. We cought a CityCat back to the car and drove back to Dave & Jan's to bed.

Friday we both weren't feeling 100% so spent the day at home resting and dosing ourseleves with meds. Ryan was back in the area for a meeting, so joined us for dinner which was cool.

Saturday we woke up to Dave making a yummy cooked breakfast, which we ate together while chatting about the old days back in Cape Town. Then we got on the computer and Dave really spoilt us by buying us a flight down to Sydney so we wouldn't have to take the train - what a blessing! That night, James and Emma and Ian`s girlfriend Ellen were comming round for dinner, so Jan and Monique were cooking up a storm :-) It was also Rocky's (the dog) birthday, for which he got a new blanky and a new rubber piggy! Later, when James and Emma arrived, they drove us to the top of a nearby hill where you can get a great view of the whole city. When we got home, Dave barbequed for us and we all sat down to enjoy a delicious roast beef meal :-)

Sunday Kevin woke up still feeling not great, so stayed in bed while Monique joined Jan going to church. While Jan was on tea duty, Monique just chatted with Emma and because there was a fund-raiser on, got to see first hand what a "snag in a bread" is! (Its kinda like a boerewors rolls, except with a highly processed sausage, cooked on a gas barbeque, in a folded slice of bread.) She came back saying that it`s just not the same! :( We had some delicious veggie soup and hamburgers for lunch back home, and then continued with some Asia planning. Later in the afternoon we joined Dave and James for a trip to the camera shop (to get James a birthday present) and then Dave patiently drove us around so that we could get some things done before we left the next day. That evening we ordered pizza and sat by the fire together watching TV. We then headed off to pack and get some sleep - it would be an early start tomorrow!

Monday we were up at 04:20 and packed our things into the car. There weren't too many other cars about, so the drive to the airport was relatively quick. We sadly said our goodbyes and soon we were boarding our 06:20 flight to Sydney.