Day 8: The Drive

In less than 20 minutes, I'll find myself behind the wheel of a 2-door, sub-sub-sub-compact rental car with the driver's seat on the right, driving down the left side of the street. Oh, and did I mention it's a manual? I'm hoping that all those drives to high school with my brother will pay off for me. Paint this picture: him driving, eating sweetarts, and telling me when to shift gears from the passenger's seat. I'm really counting on that experience to get me from Surfers Paradise about 2 hours away to Lamington and Springbrook National Parks and back. Stay tuned for the nerve-shattering conclusion of this post.

And I lived!! Not only did I live, I thrived! I had a Hyundai Getz which is the size of a new hybrid Prius. Ok, so to complete the picture above, consider this: Wheel on the right, driving on the left, stick-shift on the left, turn signal on the right. Thank goodness the pedals were in the same place!! I was quite nervous when I started out. Michael (concierge) and Kelsey (Bond Univ, from MN) gave me a few pointers that came in handy. I approached the car to get in. Yes, I went to the left side of the car, so I played it off by dropping my stuff (maps, driving directions, travel book, nalgene, apple, etc.) into the passenger seat then walked around to the other side.

It was nerve-shattering at first, but once I realized that Gold Coast roads (and maybe Australian roads in general) are VERY well signed, I calmed down. Before too long, I was driving the speed limit (which is really saying something, see below), with the windows down, radio up, singing random music at the top of my lungs. For those from the GSO area, 98.7 Simon plays everything? NO! Gold Coast radio plays everything! As foreshadowed by the music video selection. I commented to Dr. Z that Gold Coast isn't the place that time forgot because they play new stuff, too. Instead, it's the place that never forgets! I heard Amy Grant followed by Beastie Boys followed by Willie Nelson with a couple of other local acts mixed in. Incredible!

Ok, so here comes the hard part... I decided to head for Lamington National Park and a place called O'Reilly's (hotel, outdoor retreat). Once off the Surfers Paradise spit, I went through a quaint little town called Nerang on a road that changed names at least a dozen times, but easily named for the towns on the road. Nerang-Beaudesert Road. I saw a turn-off for Mt. Tambourine with a "steep" warning sign and accepted the challenge. It was incredible how quickly I climbed. Forget WV switchbacks, this road went straight up! It was difficult to tell while I was white-knuckling the steering wheel, but I'm guessing that a few short distances were as much as 30%, with most others at least 20%. The view was spectacular but mostly crowded by tree growth. Not sure how good my photos are because I can't download my photos from my camera at this cafe.

Then back to the main road and down to Canunga, where I found a Ned Kelley motorcycle shop (but no t-shirts with the shop name and location). Took the long way round. Yes, I was a little lost, but using the road names I actually found my destination after being lost without any problems. In the meantime, I visited Beaudesert, which was almost as far into the Gold Coast Hinterland you can go before hitting the bush. I should mention that we you get out of town, you get out of town quickly!

The best part of the trip was the sometimes 2-lane, sometimes 1-lane road that changed with little or no notice, blind curves, no shoulder, 200-300ft drop-offs, speed limit 60km/h and people expect you to do it, too. I now know that the cattle racks on the front of Australian vehicles are not really for cattle. They are to push cars from behind when they are driving too slow on winding roads. And most Hinterland road wind sharply. I stopped for a late lunch, a latte, and a stretch at an alpacha (sp?) stud farm with a gorgeous view and lots of locally handmade merchandise! Of course, I had to buy a shawl. Then back on the road. Unfortunately, the first 5 kangaroo I saw were also the first 5 roadkill I saw. I started to wonder whether 'roo had some habits in common with deer or possum in the U.S. I was hoping that "come out at dusk" was among them. And I was right. I hadn't gotten more than a few km down the road when I spotted a 'roo in the road right in front of me. I screamed "moose!" then realized I wasn't in Alaska anymore. (For AK trip highlights, see www.explearn.blogspot.com). I fumbled for my camera and couldn't get the flash turned off before it hopped out of the way and over the hill. Maybe I'll see another one. Yeah, right. I saw at least 50 more before I got back to civilization. Great photos of a couple of them. Can't wait to show my nephew the video!

I watched the sunset from the McPherson Range (named for a brilliant coworker and friend of mine, just kidding but it is spelled correctly). I slowly made my way back to the hotel with crazy talk about seeing so many 'roos. I hit the sack early after watching a little Australian football--much more athletic and fast-paced that American football. I had full intentions of another drive the following morning before returning the car at noon.