The Gold Coast

Yesterday we went to the Gold Coast - south of Brisbane. We actually go there frequently - but never venture further south than our son's place. Why not? That is where our two wonderful grandchildren live - they are of course the major attraction, though seeing our son and his wife is also high up on the agenda.

But we have recognized that it is so long since we have really seen any of the rest of this amazing place which has grown into one of Australia's most popular holiday venue.

And so it was that yesterday we bypassed the route to our son's place and went further ending up at Pacific Fair Shopping centre. We had lunch - a simple lamb kebab at the food court, before wandering around "just looking". Not plans to spend. And we didn't until we bought two chickens which we'd promised to bring to the family for dinner.

So much has changed since we'd been there. Pacific Fair seems to have doubled in size and is clearly a popular tourist and local shopping precinct. It was funny as one of the local store owners thought we were "tourists" and they did not mean Queenslanders. Why? We were hats. As both MM and I have had cancers cut from our faces, we tend to wear hats whenever we go outdoors. Probably a bit late as most of the damage has been done, but still we continue to try.

Then we drove right through the centre of Surfer's Paradise - just wishing we had the time to walk around, so that is on the agenda for next time.

As we got to Ashmore I spied the shop Anaconda. It is an outdoor/adventure retail outlet and I'd seen some trekking poles on special. The advertisement said $29 each - so I figured a $56 investment might be worthwhile, but was thrilled to learn that it was $29 for the pair.

The assistant was very helpful - as I am really a novice when it comes to trekking poles, and I like the idea of using them, and was not keen to spend a lot of money on my first poles. Just testing.

So, now I have my very own pair of trekking poles, so I'm keen to really try them out. I note that in Korea in particular they are very often used by folk going trekking, so I may find them useful if I take them with me. I'm thrilled that they concertina and could actually fit in my suitcase. We will see. I'll try them first.