On the Gold Coast in Queensland.

Did I mention that I was in Queensland - maybe I did, the memory gets a bit vague these days. I liken my memory to a computer, in that it over the years it collects all this data and like a computer you need to either delete data to allow for more data to be installed. Being a bit of a Bower Bird (collector of shiny things) I'm reluctant to delete data. Maybe I just need a bigger hard drive.

Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, yes - why am I here?
Well, I have family here, Jack my father, Faye my sister and my daughter Carly. My daughter is returning to Melbourne and I'm here to see the family and help with driving the 4000 km trip to pick up belongings and help Carly settle back in Melbourne.

Brought my bike with me so I could explore my surroundings so here's a few photos with captions.

We arrive after a 20 hour drive and 2000 kms from Melbourne to Surfers Paradise.
Except for the last few hundred kms the highway is pretty much a multi-lane divided highway. Many of the small to large towns are now by-passed making the trip faster but less interesting.
Note that my hat came along.

I may or may not be aware that I am a man of many hats.  My Brooklyn cycling cap joined Carly and I for a ride to Robbie McEwan's cafe on the Gold Coast. Piccolo is a cyclists stop off point for many local cyclists.
Robbie won the Tour de France green points jersey on three occasions in his international career and has a home in Belgium as well as here on the Gold Coast.

It's a long way to come to have a beer with my Father Jack but well worth it.

On one of my rides, I encountered this interesting restored building from 1896 which sits on the slopes of a huge lake.

Living in Melbourne by the bay, the terrain is mostly flat so when I uncounted inclines of  12% and 13% I found myself confronted with a challenge. The challenge was well worth the sights.

There's not many of the true Queenslander homes left as new modern estates take over the hilly terrain out the back of the Gold Coast. I spied a few in my rides and this one only slightly out of the path of the Gold Coast to Brisbane freeway. 

Grand gates to the side of a main road that lead to the modern estates made me do a u-tune to see where the dirt driveway went. There up on the hill at the end of the dirt track was one of the area's original farm homesteads. I wish I could have been bold enough to knock on their door for a closer look.

All along the modern roads there was much road kill, snakes being the most prevalent. There were also several lizards, frogs and the occasional kangaroo, but the suburbs are quickly encroaching upon their natural habitat.

Our stay comes to an end when we repack the car tonight and take off for Melbourne early tomorrow (Friday) morning. I expect I'll need to get Sue out of bed in the early hours as I left my keys at home.

Happy New Year to all and have safe and healthy 2014