On 26/12, it's going to be 10 months since Rak and I got married. As I write this post, I'm dreaming of my next holiday to Sydney over Christmas holidays. Before I go on that one, I wanted to put down into words the memories of our first trip together.
Living in Australia and getting married in India meant that we had exhausted all annual leave and hence no long honeymoon. Just when I had convinced myself that we won't be going anywhere, Rak surprised me with a holiday in Sunshine Coast for 4 nights over Easter holidays (yes..we believe in utilizing long weekends and public holidays :-))!
In the run up to the holiday, we shopped for all possible beach stuff...beach towels, swimsuits , sunscreen et al.Packed our bags, toasted some sandwiches for breakfast and off we were to the airport for our 8am flight which got delayed and we finally reached Maroochydore airport at 2pm. The 2.5 hour flight seemed never ending.
On arrival, we picked up our hired car ( a Kia Rio). The Sunshine Coast maps given with the car were so outdated that we were convinced that we would never reach our hotel. Thanks to Nokia GPS, we finally reached our hotel "Crowne Plaza Pelican Waters" after nearly 2 hours. We checked in and almost immediately left for The Aquarium.
The Aquarium was in a suburb called Moololobaa. The highlight of the visit to the aquarium was the Seal Show. It's amazing to see how well trained these seals are. The seal managed to get a spectator into its little pond and ripped him of his shorts leaving him absolutely embarrassed! Though later we realised that it was actually a staged act and the guy pretending to be a spectator was really his trainer! It was a beautifully made aquarium with a huge variety of sea life. Post this visit, we headed off for a stroll near the beach in Moloolobaa and had our dinner.
Being a strict vegetarian, I always find it hard to find food that will suit my taste buds. We had our dinner at an Italian restaurant "Augellos" that boasts of being the winner of the Nation Pizza Competition! I so wanted to have a vegetarian pizza, but ended up having some pasta. Rak had a chicken pizza that looked absolutely marvellous! As for me, well all I can say is that I've never had such an overdose of tomato and sun dried tomato in a pasta that's been described as " Seasonal vegetables tossed in Napolitana sauce"! That was a disaster and I couldn't help staring that Rak's pizza wishing it was vegetarian! I was compensated with a Starbucks caramel Macchiato and a chocolate brownie! Since it was a public holiday, nothing was open till late. After we came back to our hotel,we headed for the pool and enjoyed a pleasant evening there.
The next day we went to Australia Zoo! I won't deny their claim - There's no other zoo like Australia zoo! After visiting this zoo, I would never want to visit any other zoo because I know they will have nothing more to offer. Australia zoo is the home of the crocodile hunter Steve Irwin who is now survived by his wife Terri Irwin, daughter Bindi Irwin and son Robert Irwin. This zoo is packed with action and promises to be a wonderful experience. The beginning of the excitement was when we got to feed the elephants and it reached its pinnacle in the crocodile show in the Crocoseum! The Irwin family exhibited the behaviour of Monty the crocodile. I was surprised and in awe of this family's adeptness at handling and taming such ferocious crocodiles. That day was apparently the first time that Bindi Irwin fed the crocodile.
One thing that kept getting cancelled on all days was the much awaited Sunset cruise. The weather just didn't allow us to cruise! Since our cruise scheduled for day 2 got cancelled, we picked up some dinner and headed towards our hotel after a long tiring day at Australia Zoo. Once again we found ourselves enjoying the waters under moonlight and stars!
We had no definitive plans for Day 3. We drove down to a place called Bribie Island hoping to find some opportunity to do something exciting but it just turned out to be a beach town. From there we went to the "Big Pineapple" to see pineapple plantations! It was such a waste! We came out of there in flat 15 minutes! And then we headed to the Buderim Ginger Factory! This is suppose to be the place where all of Australia's ginger gets processed! We picked up some absolutely fresh ginger - the kind we have probably never had before and it lasted months! Took a small train ride around the factory and once again headed to Moloolobaa for some coffee with wedges and sour cream and the straight to our hotel! No prizes for guessing where we went after that...the pool, of course!
We had finally woken up to the day we most dreaded! Our last day at Sunshine Coast. We just lazed around in the morning in the hotel. Despite the fact it was drizzling, we made a beeline towards the pool! I guess many people took hints from us and shed their inhibitions and decided to enjoy the rain and the pool at the same time. I mean how does it matter if its raining, when you are going to get wet anyway. A few minutes in the pool and it was time to get ready and head back to Melbourne!
For me, Sunshine coast was a perfect blend of sunshine, coast and countryside. It's a ideal place to relax and unwind! Once again the flight back did seem endless but not out of the excitement of reaching back. Rak had to go to work the next day. Loved that holiday! I think because of this holiday we both realised that in which ever hotel we stay, we have to have a pool in it and also that the more organized we are with planning our trip, the better it turns out to be! I simply enjoyed myself and the time I got with Rak!
Thanks Rak!
Life's Like that...when I least expected to go on a holiday, I got one..and now when I want to go..well I'm going again!
8 months ago
