the great australia trip - II

After gloomy, rainy Sydney, the Gold Coast was quite a change - hot and humid and left us gasping for water the minute we landed. Our destination was Aquarius Backpackers, a short walk from Australia Fair, which was where we would end up doing our shopping and eating. So this was (un)officially the first day of my Great Australia Trip. We were bursting with energy and raring to go. Which is why we were insane enough to walk, in the blistering heat, from our backpackers to Surfers Paradise. “A ten or twenty minute walk,” the guy at the reception told us. If you’re in the Fantastic Four maybe. It took us three girls about an hour and half. Then again, we were walking at our own tourist-y pace, taking pictures, ooh-ing and ah-ing over almost everything we saw (in our defense, everything WAS pretty marvellous, from jellyfish to whirlpools in the bluetiful ocean), and stopped for slurpies and bottles of water. Then we discovered that Main Beach was not in fact the ‘main’ beach and walked to a hazy spot in the horizon, which turned out to be the said paradise. Metre Maids, surfers (wind and water), women in non-existent bikinis and the shopping complex at Surfers Paradise awaited us.

We collected shells, booked ourselves tickets to the infamous Wet ‘n’ Wild water park, visited a sex store, lost a camera, ate a foot-long (my first foot-long sub!), hunted for a bikini for a friend, tired ourselves out completely and returned to the beach. The long walk back awaited us. Strangely enough, it was as we returned to Main Beach when we heard a bunch of young teenage men hooting at us on the road. Australians of Indian origin. And we wonder why Indians are being attacked down under. In all my three weeks of meeting strangers and running around Australia at strange hours of the night, this was the one time I felt uncomfortable. Ozzies were incredibly friendly, polite and helpful during our time there. Then again, I did skip Melbourne and we were three harmless, pretty and clueless girls from the other side of the globe. Who would be out for our blood? -bats eyelashes-

After a well-deserved, hot shower (every bone in my body was aching by then and I would only find out why tomorrow), we went in search of food. Authentic Chinese food was what we chanced upon first. As expected it was nothing like the 'Chinese' food we get in India. Fresh prawn in subtle ginger garlic sauce, fat pieces of broccoli, cold beer and chopsticks. We slept very well that night. And my Korean friend and I woke up the next morning to discover our sunburn. My Indian friend was sympathetic but she had warned us. My reaction to her warning was, hey my skin is already so dark; I've wandered around for hours in blistering Indian heat during elections and not gotten burnt, so fret not. The Korean friend had slathered sunscreen on herself the day before but got burnt nonetheless.

Day 2 in the Gold Coast was not Golden. But before the skies turned grey I discovered my love for hot, ridiculously soft cinnamon doughnuts. After brunch we headed for Wet 'n' Wild, a water park. And it started raining. We continued undeterred, hopping on rides and shrieking our lungs out, until we realised it was pouring madly. The park officials seemed to realise it too and shut down all rides for the day. And then, the freezing began. Ever been sopping wet, continued to stand in the rain in clothes you wore for a water park (read, not expansive, warm clothes) and waited to freeze to death? My hands turned blue and I thought of distant warm Chennai skies and things like humidity and hot sambar. And I felt like crying. Taxis came one by one, for people named Maria and John but never for us (yes, we called for one) and the buses got pretty packed pretty fast. I didn't mind behaving like a Chennaiite getting on to a 29C but rules forbade it. Finally, finally, we hopped on to a bus and I realised I would freeze for the hour-long drive - in the air-conditioned bus.

Ninety minutes and a hot shower and some warm clothes later, we were sipping on beer and being entertained by a noisy, talkative French girl who was sharing our room. I love backpackers - you meet the strangest of people from the most far-off places. This one called us grannies because we retired to our room early, completely spent. The next day was to be even more tiring. But less cold, thank the sunny lord.

Wet 'n' Wild was crazy the next day. Ride after ride in chlorinated water may not be most people's idea of fun but I love water and cannot swim. Safe Australian rides which will still give you plenty of those tummy-flip feelings (the kinds you get on rollercoasters) are my safest bet. After that we left for Brisbane, which was only an hour away by train.

Brisbane. Well, let's just say if I move to Australia, it would be to Brisbane. The place we stayed at was the best backpackers out of the ones we crashed in - Base Central. Air-conditioned, fancy bathrooms, and it even had its own bar. Aside from that, it was a short walk from everything we needed and wanted to see. Cafes called Pig 'n' Whistle, arty Louis Vuitton displays, cheap and chic stores, a giant ferris wheel, the gallery and museum.. which brings me to, the city doesn't lack culture and isn't as crowded as Sydney. Maybe it's Australia's very own Chennai. But I loved it. It even had a casino.

The Gallery of Modern Art was simply out of any world I have seen. I am not a person who easily appreciates or even knows about art when it's not performed before me. But GoMA was an exception. Enter the gallery and you'll find anyone, from school-kids to grandparents and people with mohawks making an aeroplane. Out of material provided by the gallery, like cellophane, ice-cream sticks, plastic sheets, thread etc etc etc. You'll see the most innovative aeroplanes suspended in and around the entrance. There's so much to see that an average Indian has never seen before and may never see again.

We spent half the day there and were forced to leave when the gallery closed at 5 pm. The museum is right next to it and is pretty fascinating too. Later we drove up to Mount Coot-tha, a scenic viewpoint above the city, froze in the strong breeze and checked out the bar above which we were sleeping in the city. An annoying emcee, free beer and a wet T shirt contest which completely scandalised even me. Ah well.. the things people do for 300 dollars.

The next day we did what I had been dying to do - visited koala bears. Lone Pine Sanctuary was where we headed. I got more than I asked for, in a good way I mean. Endless koala bears! I even got to scratch one's face, but we refused to pose for pictures with the traumatised koala being passed on from one stranger's sweaty grasp to another. (we respect animals, alright) Giant birds, owls awake during the day, infinite kangaroos, birds in all shapes and colours, some members of the reptilian family, and did I mention a giant number of kangaroos? My friends were nonchalant but I'd never seen kangaroos up close and personal before. Babies, mommas with a joey (that's what baby kangaroos are called), big ones, small ones, wallabies and whatnot. Bliss for nature and animal lovers.

Before heading to the airport, we visited Brisbane's beach. Sandgate doesn't have much of a shore, but is beautiful beyond belief. Two walkways led us almost right into the ocean, where the breeze nearly carried away my Korean friend. A bottle of beer, gorgeous sunset, the sound of waves lapping at the shore, and great company. It was heaven. Given we had a flight to catch, we wound up and sighing, left for the airport. Otherwise, chances are we would have camped there forever.

Next up: Cairns and Cape Tribulation. No, that isn't a fake name.
**pic: sanjana soman**