Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Sojourn in Queensland

Aargh...it's been almost a week since I've posted an entry. Missed me, people? har har har... Well, the entire family has been travelling. Despite our sophisticated handheld gadgets, no updating could be done as the Aussie government are still dilly dallying on the nationwide broadband project. Notwithstanding one objection after another by the Opposition. Politicians!

Anyway, we spent most of last week in Queensland. It was about one and a half hours' flight from Sydney to Gold Coast and then another three-hour drive to our first destination - Gympie. Mama and Dad were on their annual abattoir duty while the felines were on escort duty. Merrier this year as we have grumpy Pingu and cheeky Ginger in the party as well.

Interestingly, Brad didn't do much of his "Are we there yet?" routine. Threats to feed him to the cows did it this time. har har har...he doesn't know the difference between omnivore and carnivore yet. And I'm not going to teach him otherwise. Pingu and Ginger? Equally clueless. Boys!

Day 1: Gympie and Sunshine Coast

Now, let's talk about the places we visited. First off - Gympie.

Gympie is a former gold mining town in country Queensland, about 260km northwest of Gold Coast. Now, the place relies heavily on agricultural produce, notably beef. It's where an abattoir called Nolan Meats is located.

We reached Gympie at around 1pm, slightly more than three hours after we started the journey from Coolangatta. Didn't take too many photographs of the town as Mama and Dad were trying to determine the exact location of the abattoir. It's a small town but unfamiliar territory definitely. Although equipped with a map, we managed to go round and round and lost our way a few times.

A very welcoming sign - that the people of Gympie care for their animals.
We had this nicely presented seafood lunch....yummm....
The suburb leading to the abattoir....looks very peaceful and serene. 
Cattle before the slaughter...what would they be thinking, eh? Sorry folks, I'm a carnivore.
OK, I skipped showing the slaughter pix here but this is quite gory too - the worker is taking out the internal organs of the slaughtered cow.
Mama inspecting the boxes of meat that were going into storage before shipping.
This is how meat going to local butcher shops is packed.
We left Gympie around 4pm and went to Sunshine Coast to look for the hotel that Mama booked us all in. It didn't look far in the map. About halfway, we left Bruce Highway (M1) and took the coastal road that links all the places in Sunshine Coast.

The north-most town is Noosa (famous for its beaches and the Ironman series), and then on to Noosaville, Peregian, Coolum, Yaroomba, Marcoola, Mudjimba, Bli Bli and by mistake, Maroochydore, before making a U-turn to Twin Waters where the hotel is located.

Downtown Coolum where we stopped to stretch our legs and bought some food stuff.
Hmmm...interesting art installations in downtown Coolum.
The only highrise in Coolum.
We stayed here, a luxury resort at Twin Waters, near Maroochy river. Our room faces the lagoon. Everyone snored coz everyone was dead tired.
No, Mama didn't take me cycling though those cute girls invited us. The hotel has a host of activities skewed towards families and small groups. Unfortunately we stayed for just one night.
Day 2: Sunshine Coast & Brisbane

We had a lazy morning at the hotel. Everyone was reluctant to leave such a peaceful place. Wish we had stayed longer but Mama had other plans, as usual. We passed by small towns like Mooloolaba and Buderim before hitting Bruce Highway again. Then we took the Landsborough exit as Mama wanted to take us to an adventure of a lifetime, she said. Hmm....I was thinking perhaps Australia Zoo?

Yummy mangoes...of course we stopped to buy heaps when we saw the sign. The good chap also sells lychees, strawberries and watermelons. Mama and Dad argues how many mangoes we can buy as we're supposed to travel light.
I was right! We made the detour coz Mama wanted to take us here - the Australia Zoo at Beerwah.
And saw this invitation. So, anyone happens to be in the 'hood on Dec 1....
But then this sign changed everything. Mama was mad as she won't be able to take us all in so all animal visiting plans were abandoned, including plans to feed Brad to the crocodiles.
We buried our sorrows by eating tons of nuts sold at a petrol station....and ice cream too...
This bridge at the Gateway Highway just before we took the exit to Brisbane reminds me of the movie Wars of the World. Don't ask me why.

We had rice and rendang at this small restaurant off Logan Rd in Mt Gravatt.
Then prayers at the Al Farooq mosque in Kuraby....hmmm...interesting architecture.
Interesting shop on Logan Rd....does it really sell what's written there?

Next stop: Gold Coast. 
Will continue when I have the energy, OK? Gold Coast is my kind of place. purrr....meow!

34 comments:

Cheqna said...

Wowww..I love the photos and almost at every paragraphs I want to add my comments, but by the end of it I just want to say, I like this post..hehehe..

merrier, grumpy,cheeky, clueless team?

:-)

Madam Tai Tai Again said...

The bridge at Gateway Highway seems strange in the picture. It looks as though an earthquake is currently in motion and the bridge is swaying. Aussies' architects design good homes but not bridges, huh? :-)

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Cheqna,
Yeah...everyone who was grumpy and cheeky came home safely to tell the story....purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Gina,
As I said, somehow the bridge reminds me of the aliens in the film War of the Worlds. The design is weird indeed. purrr....meow!

i amsterdam said...

Angelina... you are so witty!!! The boys being clueless and feeding Brad to the crocodile!!!

Like your adventure...

TK said...

Seronoknya jalan2. I love all your photos too. There are so much I wanna say too but in the end (ayat Cheqna), I just wanna say.....
No photo of cats??? Lembu je ada??

Monyet King said...

The monyets like your post and the photos. We went to the Australian Zoo 2 years ago.... very nice but could do with more monyets

meowwmania said...

wahh bestnya bercoti-coti luar malaysia, bila lah MM nak sampai sana ekk =)

Wan Sharif said...

Love your entry on abattoir thingy.. as always beautiful pictures to start Ayoh Wang's day..
Merci beaucoup..

mokja said...

Mok:yeooow.....My kakak is there in QUT.Say hi for me will ye if you meet her.
She's coming back for good this 2nd Dec.So no more Aussie visit for kak o.

Unknown said...

..read this post whilst drooling..hey ole tom cats drool, too..how I wished..

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Mother of Ilham,
I hope my dear darling Ilham doesn't fall into the clueless category too....these boys around me...sigh.... purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

TK Sensei,
The cats were operating the cameras....and we were all drooling when looking at so much meat...yummy beef.... purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Your Royal Monyetness,
I don't know why Aussie zoos don't have monyets but maybe it's for the better as they're not confined to a small space. I'd rather have my monyet brethrens roam free in the jungle. purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Meoww,
Ours is Cuti-cuti Australia as we live here...har har har...But it wasn't a holiday per se as Mama and Dad were on abattoir duty. purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Ayoh Wang,
Hey...why don't you come here and we'll take you visit the abattoirs? purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Papamok,
If we had known where your kakak lives, we may seek her out and treat her to rice and rendang. purrr.....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Abe Mat,
You were drooling for mangoes or beef? I think you'd like to visit that masjid. purrr....meow!

~CovertOperations78~ said...

What a lovely trip you had! I love the public art installations, the RSPCA Bargain Barn, the fruit market, the macadamia selection and the friendly neighbourhood with the anklebiters on bikes. I just didn't like the pictures of the poor slaughter cows :(
Happy Aidiladha, Kitties!

Iman's Mum said...

Am so jealous to see the nice sights you people and felines get to see... sob .. sob.. sob... I wanna go there too!!

Sandy said...

Woww ! Indonesian Tucker ? :D interesting... there's even RCTI station playing on the background too haha.. I hope the food is authentic :D Looks like a fun trip, Angelina !

Cat-from-Sydney said...

CO78,
On behalf of all carnivores, thousand apologies! We have to slaughter the cows for the beef.....sob sob sob... but if you were with us, we would just let you wait for us at the RSPCA Bargain Barn, OK? purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Aimy,
Eat your heart out! har har har.... purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Tante Sandy,
The restaurateur tried his authentic best, I guess. But we had daun singkong and dendeng too, as well as gule nangka. Not bad, eh? Oh yeah...the RCTV was via some humongous satellite dish in the backyard. purrr....meow!

Sandy said...

lol ! They can't live without their daily intakes of Sinetron (indonesian tv soap dramas) >.<. I hope all their workers are legals

Maz said...

Angelina,

I love the photos... I guess that you enjoyed the visit very much. I had been to Gold Coast once with a group tour. So, we don't have the chance to visit many places...

Now, I understand that your Mama and Dad were there for the Qurban for Life that you mentioned in your earlier post... Thanks for the info about that Angie.

Al-Manar said...

For once I am all at sea! I keep asking myself how those places were so named. I like that one called Coolangatta - cool and gatta!?

Then, pardon for my ignorance, I wonder what the 'annual abattoir duty' is.

Nontheles, the journey sounds exciting, tiring no doubt.

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Tante Sandy,
Actually there's quite a large population of Indonesian expats in Brisbane. This particular restaurant is a family business so I'm sure there's no one illegal there. purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Maz,
Mama and Dad are adventurous people, so no group tours for them ever. Sometimes the decision to travel is made at just the drop of a hat. purrr....meow!

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Dear Pakcik,
Mama and Dad have been running the Qurban for Life programme for years. So, every year they send a team to observe the slaughtering process at the abattoirs. Hard work, yes, but has to be done. purrr....meow!

Anonymous said...

Just reading through this post and I feel so tired already...

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Andrea dear,
Why tired? You were not in that adventure...or were you? purrrr.....meow!

Maz said...

Angelina,

The holiday in Gold Coast had been the first (and may be the last) time we followed a group tour. FYI, my hubby and I had been to Sydney 3 times. Just like your Mama and Dad, both of our like to visit places on our own leisure...

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Maz,
Yeah...free and easy is the way to go. Anywhere. purrr....meow!