Confessions of a Robinson's Apple & Blackcurrant (No added sugar) Addict

We hired a car for our last week in Brisbane. We did our bit in supporting local businesses and hired from a local firm. Local and cheap, which was nice. Upon picking up the car, we discovered why it was so cheap - I don't know how old it was, but I think we can safely presume older than our cars back home, possibly both of them put together. The clutch was pretty poor and I wondered whether the distance restrictions were imposed for fear of the car breaking down, as opposed to the usual restrictions faced when hiring cars. Still, it was perfect for what we needed.

We decided to make the most of what little sun had appeared since our arrival in Queensland and headed off up the Sunshine Coast (North of Brisbane) to a lovely beach - Mooloolaba to be precise. Watching Chris dodge the waves was great fun. I don't think I can upload a video on here, but if I work out how to I will!

Chris, Sophie and I also took a little nostalgic tour to Cleveland Bay, about a half hour drive from Brisbane. Nostalgic, not because we'd been there before (well, Sophie had), but because it reminded us of a typical British seaside scene; Muddy/stony beach with dark browny/greeny sea and mud crabs scuttling about. Particularly uninviting, just like some of the south's beaches! The main difference was a lack of ice-cream van and a presence of sunshine. There were plenty of Brits around to make us feel at home though. And although there was no van, we stopped for a gelato (posher ice-cream from what I can make out).

As the day was taking a turn for British nostalgia, we decided to go all out and get proper British fish & chips. Those of you who have read mine or Chris' blogs before may well remember that whilst Fish & Chips is not short in supply down under, malt vinegar is. Not so today though! We went to a place called Britain on the Bayside, complete with a proper British Fish & Chip shop, a British import store AND a British style Indian restaurant... I know what you're thinking, what the heck is BRITISH style INDIAN? I've no idea either, but that's how it was advertised! Thinking about it, I think Indian is the only meal we've not eaten since we got here actually... perhaps I should investigate the finer points of the difference between British-based Indian cuisine compared to Australian-based Indian cuisine... but enough about that, I've digressed!

So, the fish & chip shop. Complete with Malt vinegar, cod, haddock and plaice, to name but a few. Amazing! Apparently it's owned by a couple of Brummy's who imported the chip fryers and have all the fish frozen and imported too. It was great. I also visited the import store, but alas, no Robinson's Special R Apple & Blackcurrant. I decided to invest in the non-sugar-free variety. When will I ever learn that this is definitely not for me?!? I understand from Auds that there is still a bottle of the stuff that I left at Skandia when I departed in September. Still, it was a lesson well learnt, this time at least.

After our trip to Cleveland, Chris and I took a couple of trips down the Gold coast beaches (south of Brisbane). These were slightly rougher than those up north. I couldn't go in the sea properly for fear of being swept out, or worse, losing my swimming costume as Sophie had warned me about! So I paddled into about shin-depth, which soon became chest-depth when the waves hit, but it was fun watching Chris play in the sea again. He looked like a big kid.

On Thursday, we bade farewell to Dan, Sophie and 'Bump' and returned our car before we ventured on our 16+ hour train-coach-train trip back to the big smoke (Sydney). Not before Dan had made us up a quick bottle of bourbon from his home-distillery (mmmm, thanks Dan!). We somehow found a train from the outskirts of Brisbane, into the city, before getting a coach to Casino (inland a bit), and then another train to Sydney. It was our longest journey yet I think, but we were going to meet up with Chris' old school friend, so at least we had something to look forward to...