Mt. Coolum

So far over break we have spent most of our days at Mooloolaba Beach or relaxing by our pools in our apartment complex.  Although this has been a great way to spend relaxing over Spring Break, we wanted to do something different today.  So we decided to go hiking.  We set our sights on Mt. Coolum, a mountain just a few miles north of Sippy Downs.  This mountain is 208 meters tall and is very close to the coast line.  You can see the mountain in the distance along the coast from Mooloolaba Beach, so we’ve always planned to one day hike up and see the beautiful coastal view.

When we arrived at the foot of the mountain, we were disappointed to see a sign saying that the path up the mountain was closed for construction.  The sign said that only authorized personnel were allowed to enter through the gate keeping out the public.  We weren’t sure if we should turn around or not.  Then we saw some people come down the path and they said they got up to the top with no problem.  So we decided to trek on and climb the under-construction mountain.  The path started off well-formed but it quickly turned steeper and rough.  We had to climb up rocky and pretty steep paths, but eventually we made it to the top.

The view from the top was so beautiful.  When we looked to the east we could see the ocean, beaches, and boats.  To the west we saw the Glass House Mountains.  The ocean looked so pretty and blue and the atmosphere seemed so peaceful.  From the top of Mt. Coolum we could follow the coast line and find our local beach, Mooloolaba Beach.  It was really cool to be able to look down at Australia’s magnificent coast, the sandy beaches and beautiful blue oceans painted a wonderful picture from above.



No stopping us!




Climbing up!




The path up!




Beautiful view of the beaches!



Eumundi Markets

The past few weeks have been full of school and school work.  I had an overload of assignments to do and not a lot of free time.  I had to take a break from exploring Australia and concentrate on school.  It was quite a bummer to have to stay put and do work, but I had to remind myself of the true reason I’m here and that is school. But now I’m on Spring Break and don’t have to worry about school until October 3^rd, so the adventuring has begun again.

Today, five of my friends and I took a two hour bus ride north to Eumundi where they have a huge market place on Saturdays.  The markets are full of jewelry, clothes, crafts, food, produce, Aboriginal items, Australia souvenirs, and so many more creative things.  Most of the items are handmade which made the shopping even more exciting.  The vendors were so nice and would always strike up a cheerful conversation with us.  They would tell us about their work and ask about our lives.  We would always be so intrigued with each other’s stories. 

At one of the tents they were selling and playing didgeridoos, so we stopped by and listened to the beautiful music and looked at the amazing handmade Aboriginal musical instruments.    After playing some songs, the vendor asked us if we wanted to try playing.  Of course we couldn’t resist.  So we sat down and had a lesson on how to play a didgeridoo.   Both of the vendor’s were so nice, explaining how to play the instrument and make different sounds.  They cheered us on even though the sounds we were making sounded more like a dying cow than beautiful music.  We did get a little better after practicing for a while and Holly even decided to buy one of the beautiful instruments, so we will continue practicing and hopefully get better.

My first big buy of the day was a boomerang.  It is also a handmade Aboriginal piece of work.  It is beautifully carved and painted and has a kangaroo on it, so I couldn’t resist buying it.  Although boomerangs are made for throwing and hunting, I think my boomerang will just a piece of artwork just for looks.  It’s too pretty to mess up.  My next big buy of the day was a pair of Australian made Uggs.  I love Uggs and ever since I decided that I was coming to Australia I knew I would have to buy a pair of real Australian made Uggs.  Just knowing that they are made and from Australia makes the boots so much better!  The Uggs are so cool, they have a picture of Australia on the heel and have AUS with the Australia flag designed for the tread of the boot.  I bought a pair of bright pink ones because I figured they were different than just the ones you can buy back home in the USA.  Today was a great day and a fantastic beginning to a well-deserved break from school.



Markets!




Didgeridoo!




We're starting a band...




My Australian Souvenirs



Australian Uggs!