Gold Coast – Sunshine Coast

I wrote out this whole goddamn blog post - a full week and a half or so of content – and it didn’t save. Wahhh. So I’ll try to remember the highlights, but she was a BEEFY one.

It turns out that the beeping and flashing light in the van was a broken fuse (an easy fix!), so I took a few days to myself and booked into a campground to replenish the depleted battery. But it’s school holidays in Queensland, and the nearest available-at-the-last-second site was in Byron Bay…. So, south I went! I’m starting to feel a bit like a yo-yo, going up and down the same stretch of road that I feel like I’ve been on a dozen times already, but it feels nice to have nothing on my agenda other than this. There is a lot more to this story, mostly involving lots of tears in the auto electricians shop because I was afraid I needed a new battery and that I wouldn’t have time to complete the online modules for NSW registration that were due that afternoon... but I honestly can’t be bothered writing it all out again. Let’s just say it like it is, I’m a stress-head. Luckily enough, the tradies weren’t afraid of my tears, and they let me set up work in their office, hotspotting from my phone, so I could finish all the required modules online. Cheers!

Work set up while the fuse gets fixed.

With a freshly fixed fuse, fully charged battery, and now-functional solar panel, I could set myself up in the library to finish some NEW 13-hours worth of modules for NSW (honestly, I cannot recommend not getting registration in NSW enough). To be honest though, these days were pretty relaxing. The library didn’t open until 10am, and had a lunch break from 12-1, so I had the morning to eat bagels by the beach and go for a swim, and a little time in the arvo to wander around the streets and maybe squeeze in another swim if I felt like it. I’d been spending a lot of time with my friends recently, so I tried to soak up the hermit lifestyle for these few days.

Feeling more rejuvenated, I was excited to learn that my cousin, Fossil, was going to be in the Gold Coast for a few days reviewing the AFL stadium for her new website. We quickly teed up a couple of days together, driving to Springbrook National Park to go for a swim in the fresh water pools, eating some delicious pub food, and giving her poor Melbournian vitamin-D deprived skin some sunshine at the beach.

The afternoon at Twin Peak Falls was really special - the drive was long and windy, and the walking track was a bit crowded but once we shook off a big group of people and arrived at the pool, there was almost no one else around. It felt like we had the entire place to ourselves, and the walk was so beautiful that it didn’t matter that it poured with rain on the way back to the car.

Twin Peak Falls in Springbrook National Park.

After Fossil left, the school holidays in Queensland had come to a close, so I was hoping to get some work in the local area before heading up to Brisbane. Unfortunately, all the teachers must have been feeling well and lively, because no one was calling in sick for the first few days (rude). But finally, after really stretching out all the admin I could possibly do and going koala watching with Josh, I was called in to a school just outside of Brisbane for the last few days of the week. Since I was heading up there on the weekend anyway, I took the job and headed straight for the early morning traffic.

Teaching at the school was cool - it was nice to be back in a classroom and even more fun to be teaching kids how to build wall frames (lol, who did they think I was to believe I was qualified for that one…?) I was reminded of how much I love doing the relief side of this adventure. Jumping right in to a brand new place, meeting new people, being thrown in the deep end - it’s a weird feeling because usually I have to be so prepared and organised, but when it comes to teaching it feels a bit more fun than stressful.

When the weekend rolled around, it was time for my friends’ wedding! I was grossly underprepared for this one, and didn’t have a single nice piece of clothing in the van with me, so I had quickly jumped on marketplace a few days beforehand and poked my head in an op-shop or two to cobble together an appropriate outfit. Right in the CBD of Brisbane, the wedding was a really beautiful event. Knowing Sam and Elora, I could tell it would be a little untraditional but it was really cool to see them walking each other down the aisle and to see Elora absolutely rocking a mini wedding dress.

This was a really sweet opportunity to catch up with some of my friends from back home, have a dance, and a few too many champagnes. I was having so much fun that I didn’t even take a single photo (except for the ones in the photo booth). Truly, it was a beautiful evening and so wonderful to see all the love in one room.

Happy wedding snaps.

If that wasn’t enough social activity for one week, I had one final pit stop to make. My other cousin, Elisha, and her family were in the Sunshine Coast for a surf life saving competition, so I dragged my sorry, hung-over arse out of bed and drove further north for a catch up. The finals were on today, but it was so horrifically rainy that we decided to watch them from inside the campervan on a tablet. All afternoon we were stuck inside (I cannot stress enough how rainy it was - I think I read 50-60mL) so we tried to make games for my baby niece (second-niece? Second cousin? I don’t know….. She’s a baby and she’s adorable) and read some books together.

Overall, it’s been a very hectic few days, but I’ve really valued the time that I got to spend with everyone. Some friends that I saw at the wedding I haven’t seen in a very long time, and my cousins I generally only see at big family events, so finding space and time to see each other for something totally unrelated felt very special. My heart is full!