You may have noticed I haven’t been posting much on social media in the past couple of weeks, except for a few shared items (forwards) from other pages, and information about my latest DONE BEFORE DINNER PROJECT. (Be sure not to miss this one, we had lots of fun filming in the studio and this recycled grocery tote is cute and really useful!)
Some folks noticed my absence and I was tickled to receive notes and emails from those who told me they missed seeing the Roo videos. The truth is, Mr. Kim and I went on a holiday. For security reasons only a few people knew we were traveling out of town as we didn’t broadcast our trip in advance. This was a long-anticipated vacation, although it ended up not being the vacation we had planned. Months ago, we booked a two-week Australian cruise because we wanted to see as many Aussie coastal cities and sites as possible and this seemed like the ideal way to do it. But one week before we were to depart, we learned Princess Cruises had cancelled the cruise in July and neglected to inform us! So, with one week before our scheduled departure date, we scrambled to plan something else to do.
We spent one night in this city before catching a flight to Fiji. Do you recognize it?
We finally settled on a week in Fiji and a week in Brisbane because one of the highlights of the cruise was supposed to have been an excursion to the Australia Zoo, which has been a bucket list item for both of us.
Mr. Kim loved this small “hut” although we needed to stay covered up because it was so chilly!
We stayed at a beautiful resort in Fiji where the beach was pristine, and the entire area was restful and calm. But what we hadn’t counted on was the winter season and the temperatures being surprisingly cold. It was much too cold for water activities and even though we had planned to scuba dive, we just couldn’t bear the thought of those frigid water temps. Truly, we would have needed dry suits. So, we rested, slept late, dined on island time, and relaxed. But after several days of relaxation, we were both ready for sightseeing and activities! (If you know us, you know we don’t sit still for too long very well.) So, we cut our Fiji trip short and flew to Brisbane!
Inside our hotel, Hilton Brisbane.
Brisbane is absolutely one of our new, favorite cities. It is clean, vibrant, modern and there’s so much to see and do. Queensland itself is absolutely beautiful! There are amazing beaches that stretch for miles, and yet the “hinterland” is not far from the city and when you drive up into these higher elevations, the scenery while driving along the ridge is breathtaking on both sides — full of lakes, rainforests, and beautiful picture-perfect, pastoral land.
Driving near Montville, QLD
Walking in the Tamborine National Park, QLD
For this cosmopolitan gal, Brisbane was just what I needed after the remote location and isolation of Alice Springs. We shopped, we dined, we drove around sightseeing……we had choices. It was blissful!
We did fulfill that bucket list item of visiting the Australia Zoo and we enjoyed every moment! What an incredible legacy Steve Irwin left behind that his widow and children are nurturing today. While some might think this was “too touristy,” as animal lovers we were very impressed with the wildlife conservation efforts this zoo is making to preserve endangered animals here in Australia. If you ever have a chance to visit the Australia Zoo, we highly recommend it. It is a first-rate facility!
The zoo had an area with many gray kangaroos (coastal regions) which are different than the “red” kangaroos we have here in the outback.
We loved seeing the wombats! They are much larger than we imagined (shown here with a handler so you can get an idea of their size.) We had always thought they were small, similar to the size of ground hog.
Although it doesn’t look like it submerged in the water, this saltwater croc was over 14 feet long. It was huge!
We celebrated Mr. Kim’s birthday by spending the day at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary where I had arranged for two VIP discovery encounters: an up-close, behind the scenes tour to learn about the koalas and another to visit the elusive platypus; an animal neither of us have ever seen in person. It was an amazing day and we learned so much about Australia’s colorful and diverse wildlife. Plus, we got to hold koalas (and they are just as soft as you might imagine.) Mr. Kim said it was truly a memorable birthday!
Our lunch companions. They are so strikingly beautiful! Does anyone know what type of birds these are?
The Thinker, Koala version.
Tasmanian Devils are the world’s largest carnivorous marsupials. They sure are cute, but from what we learned, they can be quite ferocious!
This Koala mum had quite the load to carry!
The elusive platypus. It was difficult to get a good picture of these mysterious animals. They are lightning fast and the light in the enclosure was kept dark because they are nocturnal.
Picture perfect!
Mr. Kim’s birthday celebration was topped off with a fabulous dinner at a teppanyaki-style Japanese restaurant (his most favorite!)
As we finished up the week, on the spur of the moment we booked tickets to see Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at the QPAC Lyric Theatre in downtown Brisbane. It was such fun to see a Broadway style play again!
After two wonderful weeks filled with fun and relaxation, our souls were refreshed and we were ready to get back to our beloved kitties and Roos. Many thanks to Doug and Diane Ray for feeding the Roos while we were away!
Approaching Alice Springs after flying more than three hours over the vast Australian Outback, the MacDonnell range comes into view.
Thank you for spending time reading and viewing all the animal pictures!
Next post: more details of the wonderful new friends we met while on holiday!
So glad you had a great holiday, and had fun. Great photos.x
Looks like an amazing vacation. Perfect way to recharge!
Sounds like a wonderful vacation. I got to travel to Australia and see the Koala Bears. They are so cuddly. Enjoy your time there.
Wow, beautiful pictures and narration. I feel like I just had a mini vacation. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for taking us on this wonderful vacation with you. Almost like being on this once in a lifetime adventure.
Nice to have you back.
So happy you got to see some of the country. If only I had the time! I loved my trips to down under. Would love to go back to New Zealand as well. Keep us posted. Hugs.
What an awesome vacay! Thank you for sharing with us. I too am mesmerized by Gods amazing animals and their specific purposes in ecology. Among some of my favorites are the koalas and the red pandas,
I enjoyed your photos, and hearing about your trip. It is kind of hard to remember the southern hemisphere is in winter,,(tho it’s nearly spring) while we have been sweaty in a sweltering summer, that is slowly getting cooler as fall will be starting. I did miss your posts while you were gone , and even missed the roo food bag recycling project.. I was ill. Maybe you have a link so I can check it out later.
WOW! It looks like you guys had a fabulous time! Thank you for sharing it with us!
Thank you for sharing. I’ve heard from friends how wonderful Australia is. Living there, it’s great you are able to take advantage of seeing all you can while you are there. Cheers!
Thank you so much for sharing the pictures. Brings back fond memories of our trip to Australian many years ago, before the Australian zoo was there, I think. Glad you two had such a great trip.
I love participating in your adventures! Thanks for being so willing to share them with us! And for mentioning that the Roos were not going hungry in your absence!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful holiday!
Thank you so much for sharing your vacation in pictures with us. I’m so glad you two had a well deserved vacation. I too was wondering what happened to you guys. I look forward to seeing you on the internet soon. I do have a question. Did you ever do any more filming of your studio coming together? The only one I saw was the first one. I was hoping to get some organization ideas.
Thanks again for all you do.
Thank you for sharing. My daughter got the opportunity to study for several weeks in Australia
I would love to go but at my age I will have to view it vicariously and you know the perfect pictures to help me achieve that. So thanks again.
Welcome back and thank you for sharing. Happy Birthday Blessings. Gorgeous pictures.
It is great to hear that you are getting out to see some of the sights Australia has to offer. I marvelled at all the wonders the East and West McDonnell Ranges had to offer – although Alice Springs was in it scold snap when we visited.
Thanks for sharing! I love zoos and this sounds like my kind of vacation! I am sorry that your cruise was cancelled (why didn’t they notify you?!?!?!). But naturally, you bounced right up and did something about it! It’s so you to quickly pivot to find an alternative!! Yay!
Sounds like the perfect holiday!