Today we did some rainforest walks.  We started at Noosa Parks. My husband mistakenly thought we could see koalas there, but they moved on years ago.  Instead we walked by the water and then in the forest.  We heard some amazing birdsong. One sounded electronic.  We found out later it was an Eastern whipbird. 

Next we stopped at a Ginger Factory.  We wandered around the grounds and bought a few ginger products before we left.  They are so strong!  On the other side of the road is a macadamia nut factory.  We could watch the machine sorting the nuts.  They had a free tasting and it gets us to buy something every single time.  We bough maple pancake macadamia nuts.  It’s beyond delicious! 

We stopped to take pictures of amazing views including these yellow flowers that look like giant daisies.  In Kondalila National Park we walked down to see a small waterfall and an amazing view.  We also saw a kookaburra bird and several scrub turkeys. 

Our last walk of the day was through Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve. It was around 3:30pm when we started our walk.  The birdsong was amazing.  We even heard what we think was a powerful owl who-ing a mating call.  The trees and vines there were unreal.  As we turned the corner, I thought I saw something in the brush and it was three wallabies!  We saw at least 10 total.  We made sure to walk quietly and I had my eyes trained around the trail, which was tough to see in the dusky light.  We saw two chasing each other and making noises.  It was a really neat experience!

Our first stop this morning was at Brisbane Botanical Gardens at Mt Coot-tha. My favorite area was the bonsai trees in the Japanese garden. I love how these tiny trees mimic the large ones and we were amazed how old they were. 

We traveled to this park that someone suggested to us to look for koalas. There are all kinds of signs as you drive near the park warning you to watch for koalas, so we were hopeful. We walked with our heads titled searching the trees for any hint of fur. We found this beautiful lookout view of the city of Brisbane.  Then, finally I spotted one! My husband didn’t believe me, but I could see his arm clutching the tree trunk. Then, as we watched, he turned his face to us. It was awesome. It made our trip to Australia complete.