Yamba to Brisbane

I am writing this after being back in Canada in BC as Australian access to internet is much more limited than here. Several nights without access makes it very difficult to write this blog in a cohesive manner. So, this is hampered by lousy memory and intervening experiences.
But, to pick up...yes we did get up and watch the sunrise in Yamba. It was a beautiful one and I took many pictures. One of the other benefits of being up early in the morning was the birds...magnificent singing and cacaphony before the sun came up and so different in sound from home. We explored some of the beaches in the area and drove out to the famous point where surfers "catch the break" but no surfers to be found. Must have been at work I guess. There were some lovely pools there in holes left behind by a quarry. Called the blue and green pools...apt names for sure!
We next dropped in to Bellina the start of a lovely drive to Byron Bay the most easterly point of Australia. Did the usual- checked out the harbour, climbed the high point, drove by the beaches and saw the tourist marker...The Big Prawn. On top of a gas station it was...and the gas station was closed. Followed the tourist drive past beaches to Byron Bay, another old hippie location being tranformed into expensive real estate. There is an old lighthouse there, well maintained in a great park with trails out to the point. We took the high road and could see a few dolphins and a lot of kayakers and gawkers. It was beautiful to see up and down the coast and the cliffs, beaches and birds.
It was getting late in the day and we still had the Gold Coast to cover before finding a place to sleep. This long stretch of sand south of Brisbane is famous and over run with people. But, it is a beautiful beach...the most magnificent we had seen. The place called Surfers Paradise is a huge high rise conglomeration, seen from the southly end of the beach 15 km away. Looks like a mini Manhatten. The traffic thru the area was spread across 6 lanes and was difficult to negotiate. After a few pictures from just north of the paradise we decided we would head for the hills, which a relatively close by.
We headed toward Mt Tambourine and it was a beautiful drive along a ridge as the sun set. And it got dark. Very hard to find a place to stay in the dark..so the first one we came across we took. Eagle Heights...had a great view across the hills to the twinkling lights on the coast of the famous paradise. But, they had substituted huge room for any sense of good functional decorating. Sparse, big chairs under the TV so you couldn't sit in them to watch, few hooks for towels in the bathroom and it was a gambling place to boot. Our only real disappointment in accommodation given the optimistic name. But, in the morning we took off for our drive to Brisbane. Mt Tambourine was a beautiful area with a few quaint towns full of shopping places, marvellous windy drives through the mountains and a great alternative to the coast.
Brisbane...we spent the time with friends- Rene and Ursula and son Michael. Wonderful hospitable hosts in a lovely home close to downtown. We enjoyed a great homecooked meal, terrific conversation (some in Swiss German) and awakening to the sound of the marvellous Australian birds. A great end to a marvellous trip.