Part 3: Katoomba to the Gold Coast

Me and Sally: (eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!)

After the National Training Camp ended on Sunday we had a week to work our way up the New South Wales coast to Queensland, headed for Brisbane on Friday night to play in Halibut. We started out only an hour west of Sydney in Katoomba and that was one of the highlights of the trip.

Katoomba is a cool little town. An easy, 60 minute train from Sydney, it is quiet and feels like it’s in the middle of nowhere. There are views of the Blue Mountains and the Three Sisters that rival the grand canyon. Hiking in the area is filled with strange fauna that seems a bit like the set of Jurassic Park.

The Three Sisters
Blue Mountains
More Blue Mountains
Waterfall in Katoomba
The only Koala I had seen at this point...

There are a number of hostels and cute B&Bs. The town is full of adorable, art deco little places to eat and galleries that are all a manageable walk from the cliffs. Like when I was at Wilson’s prom (part 1) I got the idea that I could spend another week or another year in Katoomba.

The only really bad bit you need to avoid is ScenicWorld! Which has attempted to make a theme park out of the hikes where you buy tickets and ride along in a cable car or train, which is easier on the obese masses who queue up here in the only parking lot for miles around. The theme is: “All this nature confuses and confounds me. I need something that feels familiar like a mall.” We went in just to laugh at the gift show which is full of ScenicWorld! gear. I almost bought some, except that ironic shopping sends the wrong market signals and we should all be thinking about how we vote with our dollars.

After hiking in Katoombah for most of the way we drove a bit more and then stayed at a pretty charmless Quality inn on the pacific highway in Singleton.

On Tuesday we got an early start and drove to yet another gorgeous national park and wildlife preserve in Myall Shores. Here we had to take a ferry to a super cute eco village with cabins and a restaurant. The beach near here was gorgeous and empty and we collected coral and read on the beach. Our cabin was cold and smelled like distilled intense moth balls which gave me a bit of a headache. The mosquitoes on Myall Shores lake were Pterodactyl size and bit me several times. On the plus side, the lake was gorgeous and we went out on the lake in a canoe where we saw huge pelicans and a really distinctive musk duck .

Myall Shores Lake
Myall Shores Lake
Beach Near Myall Shores

Wednesday was Koala day and definitely the high point of the entire trip. We started at the Billabong Koala & Wildlife Park. Here we saw and fed Wallabies and Kangaroos and saw joeys with little heads poking out of the original Baby Bjorns. The Koala enclosure held 12 or so big, active health Koalas, including a youngster that was partially in the pouch. There are several Koala shows a day, in which you can actually pet the Koala. Sally was soft and fuzzy and much more adorable this photo demonstrates.

See the Joey?

Koala looks up.

See the Baby?

Sally and Jesse

You might think that would be enough Koalas for most people. After all these slothlike, giant tailless squirrels have chosen an exclusive diet of gum tree leaves which is so low in nutrients they only have the energy to be away about 4 hours a day, which they devote almost entirely to eating. They don’t have the accomplishments of termites or bees, the power of sharks or the speed of gazelles. In an ecosystem with ANY predators they never would have evolved. They have big furry ears though. I’m sold.

Our next stop was to see some ‘wild’ koalas at the Koala rescue Hospital. This entirely volunteer operation cares for Koala’s that are reported to wildlife assistance. They have been burned in bush fires, mauled by dogs, hit by cars and nearly drowned in swimming pools. The ‘hospital’ gives each patient its own enclosure that resembles a natural habitat and treats the various wounds and ailments. Eye problems are common. Wounds are dressed. Nutritional supplements are administered. Antibiotic courses treat infection. Once the Koalas are healthy enough to climb again they are moved into ‘dehumanization’* enclosures that are further removed from the people where the Koalas must entirely feed and care for themselves. (Not to be confused with the dehumanization enclosures the United States government is running in Gitmo where we torture essentially innocent people that we bought with reward money. Please listen to Habeas Schmabeas But I digress…) If they are successful at that, the Koalas are retuned to the wild, near where they were released. Koalas spend their entire lives in just a few acres. The hospital was great. These recovering Koalas were smaller and less active than the one’s we’d seen that were raised in captivity. I did my best not to make the happy “eeeeeeeeeeeeee” noise the entire time.

The Patient Board at the Koala Hospital

After the glorious double Koala experience, we drove on to Nambucca Heads. This was a fine little beach community. There are lengthy wooden waterfront walks that are like a pleasant ocean boardwalk without any shops or commercial elements.

Thursday after some really good French toast we hit the road. We had lunch and a short beach walk in the ocean community of Evans Head. From there we drove on to Lenox Head, which was a gorgeous little beach community, also known as the 7 mile beach. We stayed in a youth hostel with cold rooms and annoying community bathrooms. The beach was great and the giant pelicans were used to being fed and not at all afraid of humans, making me a bit afraid of them. In something of a theme for me, I decided to try some Mexican food here. You know how good that was. When will I learn?

Friday we got up and drove a short way to Byron Bay. In Byron Bay we hung out on the beach a bit and watched the surfers. There is a cool whale watching point on land there. (This is the eastern most point of Australia and a lot of whales come pretty close into shore here to avoid going too far around.) We did some ocean kayaking looking for dolphins. This is exhausting. My arms were sore for days. I was a bit scared of the rather rough waves and a bit cold. After all that fun, we had some lunch and wine and then did a bit of touristy site seeing. Then we drove the last leg to Brisbane to get some rest for the tournament.