We returned back to Brisbane and on the way home from the coast stopped at Springbrook National Park for a day of hiking. We had wanted to hike down to Purling Brook Falls again so that they could experience the sight but it turned out to be a dreary, rainy day so everyone except for Kaden and I ended up only hiking down to Twin Falls (another circuit at Springbrook) that day. When they reached Twin Falls Stephanie spotted a unique creature . . . a Lamington Blue Crayfish. These are quite rare and only emerge when it rains - so they were pretty lucky to spot one!
That evening Steph, Justin, and Bryan went river kayaking on the Brisbane river. They were able to enjoy the night skyline of the city from the Brisbane river and kayaked for about 1.5 hours before returning to the Adventure Centre for beer and prawns following the trip.
On Friday, we all headed down to Mt. Tamborine to Thunderbird Park so we could complete the ropes course at Adventure Parc. Bryan and Justin went first while Steph took Evan digging for Thundereggs at the Thunderegg mine and I fed Kaden. The ropes course has three different courses - green, red, and black. Bryan and Justin made it through all three courses while Steph and I only made it through 2 1/2 courses (had to cut the black one short due to time.) It was very challenging but a fun time by all!
In the evening we headed into the city and Steph, Justin, and I completed the Story Bridge Adventure Climb. This climb is one of only three bridge climbs in the world. (Bryan did the Harbour Climb in Sydney and there is another one in Auckland, New Zealand.) It was a beautiful night as we did the twilight climb. We started up the bridge while it was still light outside and by the time we reached the top it was dark and we were able to see the city lights and get a great 360 degree view of Brisbane and the surrounds.
Here are some facts about the Story Bridge:
- The Story Bridge is the largest steel bridge designed, fabricated, and constructed in Australia by Australians.
- The summit is 74 metres (242 feet), similar to a 22-story building.
- The bridge is repainted every 7 years using 17,500 litres of paint.
- Approximately 70,000 cars cross teh bridge daily.
Over the weekend we took a quick trip to Lone Pine so Steph and Justin could have their turn at feeding the emus and kangaroos, and could cuddle a koala. We all also went abseiling (repelling) off of the Kangaroo Cliffs by the Brisbane River. Bryan and I had never been repelling before and going off the edge was scary at first but got easier. We celebrated Easter by going to downtown Brisbane to visit the cathedral, completed some souvenir shopping, and dyed Easter eggs with some Australian friends in the evening.
The last day of their trip we spent out at Tangalooma. We were able to snorkel "The Wrecks", old ship wrecks along the coast of Moreton Bay, and Bryan and Justin went sea kayaking. The snorkeling wasn't as good as Byron Bay earlier in the week but was still fun.
Australian Education: Here are some interesting foods and food items we have encountered lately . . .
Hot Cross Buns - all the grocery stores have these around Easter time. They come with fruit and fruitless.
The lychee - we discoverd this fruit at the Chinese New Year Party and Evan loved it. You had to peel away the outside and then eat the sweet part around the pit.
Some items used to make a cake . . . the Golden Buttercake is the closest I can find to a yellow cake mix and the icing mixture is . . . powdered sugar . . . took me awhile to find that one!
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Here is a picture of a common fruit that Bryan likes to put on ice cream . . . passion fruit. Interesting color, texture, and "look" to go on food!
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