Day 12 - Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Burleigh Heads

I awoke in Byron Bay to something amazing...the SUN! So I continued my journey north through a region called the Gold Coast. My first stop was at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary where I finally got my wish to hold a koala. The one I held actually was an older one (I wouldn't have been able to tell you that.) And they have some serious claws. Mine was getting a little antsy and almost clawed my face off. I still love them though. In another part of the park there is a large kangaroo area which was probably the most popular spot in the park since you can feed and pet the kangaroos here. It was pretty awesome. Speaking of kangaroos, did you know there is such thing as a tree kangaroo? I didn't, until I saw one. Very interesting. Who knew?!

After spending some more time there I figured with it being early afternoon that it was time to move up the coast to the beach to enjoy the returning sun. I went to the town of Burleigh Heads and lounged out on Burleigh Beach for a few hours. Now I've never been to California, but I figure this place is what you would expect to see at a California beach. Surfers and bodyboarders, young and old, all donning wetsuits dominated the area. You could almost sense that surfer culture surrounding you. Anyways it was great to finally get some sun again and get my feet wet and lay back on the beach for a while.

From there I was off to my final destination, Brisbane, Australia's third largest city. I arrived later in the evening and headed to a Belgian Beer Cafe in the center of town and watched some rugby on the TV. It was Australia taking on New Zealand, so basically everyone in the city was watching it. After that I just headed back to my place which was about a 20-minute walk away and called it a night.

A tree kangaroo...I kid you not.

A view of the city of Surfers Paradise from Burleigh Beach

Surfers galore at this beach

Mission accomplished. Holding one of those irresistable koalas.

A wombat. I'm pretty sure I've seen a few of these guys on the side of the road.

You can actually feed and pet the roos here. Sweet!

This one has a joey

Those tree kangaroos eating