Excursions of a Wanderer: The Gold Rush

Arriving in the Gold Coast, I was reunited with my friend Susan, whom I had met 6 years ago, at good old Camp Shady Brook!

Susan, who is actually from Sweden, is studying Marketing at Bond University in the Gold Coast. Bond, one of the top private schools in Australia offers an accelerated degree program and a beautiful campus.

Bond University

Bond University campus at night

Mesha hanging out at Bond

Susan lived very close to campus, and her place offered a pool to cool off, ping pong, and was in proximity of a bottle shop, small shopping complex and the beach! (ok, well the beach was about 6km away, but thats close, right?)

Shelley another friend from camp, who lives in NZ flew out and hung out with us as well, which was an added bonus. Together the three of us reminisced about camp and spent time poolside, at the beach, shopping, and enjoying each other's company. It was great to see the girls again, and I look forward to visiting Shelley while I am in NZ.

Highlights with the girls included:

1. Our trips to the beach - the walk there may have tired us out, but to layout in the sun, splash in the waves and watch the locals boogie board, surf, and paddle surf was worth it.

Beginning of our "short" walk to the beach

Burleigh Waters Beach

We walked thru a national park to get to a secluded spot on the beach

Shelley & I resting at a lookout over the beach

L to R: Susan, Shelley, Mesha

2. Varsity Tavern - a local establishment that offered us the chance to play pool, dance, and have a good night out.

3. Shelley's and mine trip to the Cararra Markets - between getting lost and meeting Henk, the friendliest bus driver EVER, it was a fun adventure.

The Pool

4. The pool - lets just say everything is more fun at the pool when you have a underwater camera at your disposal.

Camera Fun

Trying to take underwater photos...I wasn't so good at it.

Apparently it has bene a while since I have uploaded my pictures to my computer. So here are a few more from my AMAZING time with Susan the Swedish one and Shelley the Kiwi.