Down Under, part two

Again, on the cusp of another journey, I catch up on my blog.  Procrastinate much?  It's been over two months since I've returned to Australia, and that time has seen me go many places, with many ideas of potential itineraries.

First, it was Sydney, where we spent the better part of a week organizing and exploring.

Bondi Beach.

Sydney Harbor.

Everyone knows what this is.  Surprised me how shiny it was.

Palm Beach.

Lighthouse above Palm Beach.

Dancing or yoga?

Sunset behind the lighthouse.

Next, Brisbane (which is, by the way, a lot cooler than Sydney), the start of our east coast adventure.

Roma Street Parkland.

View of the CBD from the parklands.

Nepal Peace Pagoda in Southbank, Brisbane - a remnant of the '88 World Expo.

Old and new.

Beautifully carved.

The city from a ferry on the Brisbane River.

Brisbane's Chinatown.

More of the riverbank.

Pathway through the Southbank Parklands.

Concrete jungle?

And then, a (brief) road trip north from Brisbane.

Glass House Mountains.

Cory and Elsa (road trip buddy from France), on a hike around the Glass House Mountains.

Another view (terrible photo quality but the rock formations are cool).

Swimming hole (freezing cold) at a waterfall I can't remember the name of.

Lookout on the hike down to Kondalilla Falls.

Picnic Spot slash great swimming hole (not as freezing, but still cold).

Forest.

Noosaahhhh.

Beach = mandatory sunset watching.

Nice fairy lights on Noosa's fancy street.

And then, our road trip was interrupted by a compelling job offer, and so...to tiny Cobar (Outback mining town) we went, to work at the Grand Hotel.

Walking to check out an open-cut gold mine.

The open-cut.  P.S.: That little truck is actually big.

Devil Rock, out by the Old Reservoir.  Local Aboriginals considered this place evil.  I didn't believe them.

But then the devil rock BROKE my Nalgene (um, isn't it supposed to be unbreakable?).

Outback.

It's red.

Pretty flowers on a bike ride.

The Grand, home of (one of) the largest beer can around, holding up to 22,000 liters (over 5,800 gallons).  Thirsty?

Our domain for the past two months.

So, remember how I said I was on the cusp of another journey?  Well, tomorrow Cory and I will be leaving Cobar to meet up with Cory's friend Olivier (they traveled together through the Red Center while I was visiting home) in Darwin, and from there we'll commence a (hopefully) epic four-wheeling road trip through Western Australia.  Places like The Kimberley, Broome, the West Coast, and Perth.  It promises to be a real adventure, full of canyons and swimming and heat and national parks and hikes and surfing and campfires and good stories.  I. Can't. Wait.