We received an e-mail at work on Friday saying that a huge storm was coming and to stay inside unless you really needed to go out. I thought--it's just rain, how bad can it be?! I had plans and I was going to stick to them, this was my last weekend before I go on vacation (which they call holiday).
Woke up early on Saturday and drove up north to the Eumandi Markets. It was raining cats and dogs so I walked around with my umbrella and checked out the vendors. Over 200 of them had cancelled due to the weather so I didn't get the full experience and plan on going back sometime.
Wanted to check out this cool store I saw in the Weekend Notes that I get e-mailed to me with things to go and see called Nut Works, but due to the storm it was closed because they lost power-ugh. Saw something across the street and drove over there and it was the Ginger Factory. Went inside to check it out and ended up going on a tour of their ginger factory (which I found out one of their customers is Starbucks) - wow! Their ginger is bought all over the world. At the end we got to try lots of different products that had ginger in them. Then I went to the bee presentation they had and got to hear a beekeeper talk about her job and the importance of bees. They had beehives there and she put on her suit and showed us the inside of hive and boy oh boy did I learn a lot about bees and their importance. She said that it would take 500 men to do the job of 1 bee (in regards to pollinating). At the end we got to try lots of different honey's. I had a day of learning, that's for sure. I really enjoyed all of the stuff I learned.
Decided that since I was so close, I was going to drive another 30 minutes to Noosa. Found a cool cafe to eat lunch at and even though it was pouring down rain I wanted to get a picture of the beach that's up here since I've heard it's so nice.
Saw this cute little bird trying to stay dry (as you can see all of the rain behind him)!
Here's the beach on a dreary day. It didn't keep the surfers away, there were a ton of them out surfing!
On the way home stopped at the theater since I love doing that on a rainy day. Saw Money Monster with George Clooney and Julia Roberts. It kept my attention, nothing to write home about though--you can wait for it on Redbox. Not something you need to see on the big screen. I will however tell you that I went to a different theater and there were more food options. They had sliders, fries, onion rings, wings and a few other things. So it appears my local theater is just smaller and that's why they have less options.
Sunday I decided to head over to Tangalooma Island and spend the day there. It was supposed to be cloudy and windy but no rain. Took the ferry over at 7:00 and were greeted by these guys;
Tons of birds and pelicans. When I left at 2:00 they were still there, interesting...
It was a chilly day so not much was happening so went for a nice hike (they call bushwalks).
No idea why this teepee was in the woods but thought I'd take a picture. There was a little fire pit next to it, so not sure if all of it was for decoration or what. The teepee wasn't big enough for a person really, but maybe it had some meaning for the resort that was on the island, I never went and asked.
Saw this snake and I have no idea if it was alive, so I took a picture and ran by as fast as I could in case he wanted to have me as a snack, ha.
On the beach I saw this starfish. I should have put my foot by it, but it was HUGE! We had been told all of the animals on the island are protected, so....I couldn't take him and dry him out--but I really wanted to.
*NO NOT CONTINUE READING IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH* Decided to head back to Brisbane so I got my ticket and the guy said it was windy so the ride back would be bumpy. I do get motion sickness, but I figured if I made it over ok I should be fine going back. Boy was I wrong!!!!
Ok.....this wasn't me, but it was close. Our boat was small and the waves were big and I felt like I was going to die. We went down and then back up and the boat was covered in water--felt like you were on a roller coaster. The deck hands walked around passing out barf bags and I made sure to take one. I was doing pretty good, but then I started to get hot so I fanned myself with the bag. I kept saying, you can do this Tiffany. Then the guy in front of me got sick and and the minute the smell hit my nose I lost it. The lady next to me was so sweet and wasn't effected so she kept passing me barf bags and opening them for me. I went to pick up my bag and there was a leak so barf was going all over me, it was DISGUSTING. The deck hand came over with a trash bag to put it in, but I was already all nasty. At least it was my barf and not somebody else's, if that was the case not sure I would have survived. This was 10 min. into the 75 min. ride too. About 30 min. later I looked over and saw someone's barf bag on the floor and it was running out and onto the floor and I lost it again. By this time I am dry heaving and tears are coming out of my eyes because I have nothing left in my stomach and I was shaking. You can imagine the smell of the boat by this time. After this I was able to doze a little bit and then we were back in Brisbane. I got home and immediately threw everything I had in the washer and jumped in the shower. I then took a little nap and when I woke up I was starving, wonder why-ha! I ate dinner and then went to bed around 8:00. This was by far the worst day I've had in Australia and possibly in my life since I was seriously scared to death on that boat. Note to self--if it is windy outside DO NOT GET ON A BOAT. Thinking back, if I had known this was going to happen I would have gotten a room on the island and came back today. No way would I ever wish that experience on anyone!
When I came into work today and told my team what had happened they said, did you not read the e-mail we received and the advice we gave you about staying in?!?! I said...well obviously not. They found my experience hilarious to say the least.
