Sunshine Coast

Well, we finally saw the ocean, the beach, the sand and the surfers. The tour book calls the Gold Coast, "the Las Vegas of Queensland" as you can see from the pictures there are miles of beautiful beach and then the high rise section. Gold Coast is the most visited spot in Queensland and most of those tall buildings are hotels and condos. We went to a part of the beach called Burleigh Heads and it was lovely. I thought Brisbane was on the ocean because a river runs through the city, but to get to the nice beaches it is an hour plus (depending on traffic) drive to the south from us. Ken and I went to the Gold Coast for a bit a few weeks ago, we were in that area for a zone conference. When Elder and Sister Miles wanted to go that way for Sister Miles birthday lunch we said great! She had heard about a restaurant there that is high up and revolves, it was expensive, the food was ok, but the view was beautiful. It was in the Crown Plaza Hotel, the name was Four Winds. Australia is a huge country with a lot of shore line. Most of the people live close to the Coast. The outback is desert and is not very populated. The Brisbane mission is really large. It includes all of Queensland. To compare, going south to North, it is a bit like going from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. We do have five couples who serve in the north, and young missionaries too. It would take four to five days driving to get to the north part. It is supposed to be warmer there. I don't know if we will ever get there, but it is possible. At the Gold Coast the sand was fine and the waves were numerous and large. This is the best time of year for surfing. There were surfers but we didn't see anyone really good. We did take our shoes off and wade in the water, yes, senior missionaries can be at the beach and wade in the water. I wish we could do that everyday, now that would be a vacation instead of a mission!