Fraser Island Four Wheel Bus Tour

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Fraser Island is a sand island and is a World Heritage-listed island. So the island is full of sandy roads, and we, like our tour group, have to take this kind of four-wheel drive bus to go to different scenic spots. And it’s very wobbly, so be sure to fasten your seat belt the entire time. If you have children, you must bring your own car seat.

Fraser Island
During the Christmas period, I went to Fraser Island. But we chose to live in Hervey bay and just joined the one-day tour of Fraser Island. Because the island is full of mountain roads and dirt roads, not paved roads, you must drive a four-wheel drive, and I think it is safer to go with a tour group. Secondly, the choice of accommodation and restaurants on the island is very limited, and three meals a day should be done in the hotel where you live. In Hervey bay, you can choose high-end and mid-level hotels, or backpacker hostels. Food is also available, if you want to be more economical, you can choose McDonald’s and KFC

Big Pineapple Sunshine Coast


Australia likes to build some giant fruit landmarks, such as big mangoes, big bananas, and big pineapples. I recently traveled through the Sunshine coast, where there is also a big pineapple. It has decades of history, and many travel books have introduced it. More than ten years ago, if any friends came to visit us, we would take them to this big Pineapple. There is also a pineapple farm and a small train, as I remember.
Big Pineapple Closed

Big Pineapple Closed


But this time I went there and found that it was closed, and the pineapple farm and the small train were gone. Some signages said there will be some redevelopment plans. Fortunately, that giant Pineapple is still there. In fact, it is not too sad to see everything closed. I also entered the interior of Big Pineapple more than ten years ago, but there are some exhibition boards that introduce the history of the juice brand. It’s just a two or three stories high man-made fiberglass big pineapple. Taking a few photos outside is enough. If you pass by here, you can take a few pictures and spend more than 10 minutes.

Of course, there are also other scenic spots, such as a tree top Adventure Park, and a small zoo. Of course, we have to pay for it, but we didn’t enter it either.
We ended up spending ten minutes there taking a few photos and leaving.

Address;
76 Nambour Connection Rd, Woombye

QLD, 4559,
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Stop over
The last time I drove to Hervey Bay, it was almost four hours of driving. For such a long-distance vehicle, it is very important to take a break halfway, and lack of concentration will affect driving safety. So, I took a break every hour and a half. There are rest spots like this on the side of the main highway. There are gas stations, fast food restaurants, and even slides for children to play. You can take a break there, eat something like a pie or a sandwich, and drink coffee.

Sunshine Plaza


Although the Sunshine coast is not as commercialized as the gold coast, Sunshine coast is a tourist area, and there are also some high-end residential areas, so there are large shopping malls. Sunshine Plaza is the largest in this area, it is comparable to the Pacific fair. Also myer and David, two big department stores, and there is h&m. Also, it’s comfortable to walk around, I think that is because the expansion was completed in 2019, so I think it’s new. On the day of the visit, I had a stop over during the trip to Hervey Bay, there will be aerial acrobatics.
Sunshine Plaza

Sunshine Plaza


Finally, there is a ropes course.
ropes course
 154/164 Horton Parade, Maroochydore QLD 4558
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Clean up for my garden

Garden Clean up
Minor projects needed to be done in the garden before, so the workers removed some small trees before they started the work. In fact, it took half an hour every week for 6 months, I was trying to clean them out, but there was little progress. Finally, the workers used a soil piler for half an hour, and even the roots were completely removed. There is something that need to be done by professional labor. Without them, even if the miscellaneous trees are cleared away, they will regenerate, and the roots must always be cleared away, or the tree will be killed with poison.

Howard Smith Wharves
I finally went to Howard smith wharves for a walk earlier. In my memory, when I was working in the valley more than ten years ago, there were some old warehouses there. However, in 2018, this protected historical building was revitalised and became an entertainment district with a Boutique Hotel and mid-to-high-end restaurants. That day, I had lunch at the gecra Greek restaurant in the afternoon. The food was good. The blue sky and the river view, and the food scenery were already good. However, at more than 30 degrees at noon, it was muggy.
Brisbane Riverside
We ate lunch until dusk, then moved to felons for drinks. This is another riverside bar under the Story bridge.
felons
While watching the bridge at sunset, I have another espresso martini, which sounds cool.
espresso martini
When I left, I saw a restaurant called “Stanley”. A few special ones.


I was talking with my colleagues today that technology has changed now. I recall using Java in college. Now that C# and TypeScript have been used, we have used Server/Clients. Now, everything is in the cloud. However, I suddenly remembered the classic textbook Design Patterns, from my college days (more than 20 years ago). Technology has really changed, and it has changed a lot, but it is basically based on the same theory, and the Design Patterns in the book are used today.

I have been doing programming for about 20 years. Whether technology changes or signs of progress, I can adapt to it because the basic has not changed. If the basic has changed, and I have reached middle age, I really don’t know what to do to respond the changes


When I was a child in Hong Kong, I saw other friends having birthday parties at McDonald’s. I believe that friends of our generation who grew up in Hong Kong in their forties, this is our childhood dream.

In Brisbane, of course, there are many children cafes, children’s indoor playgrounds where can hold birthday parties . However, you can go to the park to celebrate a birthday is also a very popular choice. When the children are playing in the playground in the park, the host will find a gazebo for the guests to sit in, and prepare snacks and drinks to entertain their guests. Of course there will be party bags for the guest, and birthday cakes. There are all must-have elements for a birthday party. Now, Brisbane people are getting rich, and some people will hire people to do some face painting and rent some animal-shaped balloons, all of which are quite grand. However, if you want to choose a popular park, you go to there very early for getting a spot

JW Marriott Buffet

JW Marriott
During the epidemic, the buffet was stopped, and then it was reopened after a few months. They are all just distributed by the staff to the guests, not self-serve, not a real buffet, and a friend once said that it would take time to queue up to get the food, so there is no interest in eating. Later, of course, with the gradual acceptance of the epidemic, the buffet also returned to being entirely self-service, but we always felt it was not too safe. I felt confident recently, and there was on school vacation, so I took this opportunity to eat a buffet. as one of the holiday activities.
I also went to the Gold Coast Marriott for a buffet a few years ago, and I wasn’t impressed. Now, visit again to see if the level can be maintained.
JW Marriott

Marriott is also one of the top luxury hotels on Gold Coast, so the lobby is all stylish, and it seems that it has just been renovated.
(The last visit was a few years ago). Now, the lobby has been renovated very modern retro style, very extravagant. As for the restaurant, it is also newly renovated and has a very high-end feel. The seats are pretty spacious and comfortable. And it’s quite peaceful.

Of course, I want to talk about the food there, there are a lot of rich, mainly for the seafood area, cooked food, bread, fruit area, and dessert area.


First of all, I have to say my favorite seafood area, there are shrimp, raw fish, Bugs and oysters, as well as sushi. In fact, in terms of the Australian level, this level is already good, and we also see employees refilling from time to time, so they are all good. The family ate several prawns, they looked big and fresh, and the family said they tasted good. I have to save the empty stomach for my favorite sashimi and oysters. The sashimi only has salmon, although it is not thickly cut or has any special knife skills, but it is still fresh. I also like oysters, not super plump, but the oysters are always in morgan seafood, I always prefer this kind of sea flavor. 

Also, there is sushi there too, but only a few and the standard is just average. Of course, other cooked foods, such as roasted pork, are also very popular. I saw that almost every customer has them. I have tried some of them, and they are all good.


The crispy skin is more enjoyable. There are Noodles, chips, fried rice, steamed fish, etc. This area has also everything.
I just like their spaghetti, very “creamy” and springy. Of course, kids are addicted to fries.

Of course, there are other areas, such as the bread and fruit area, although nothing special, the area is not very large. Mayb,e I am not a bread person, I felt the bread area is not attractive, and the fruit area is fresh.


Another highlight is the dessert area and of course the ice cream area, and you can put all kinds of candies on it. Other desserts are very attractive, there are many cakes, and tiramisu all attractive, and the coffee aroma is strong.

Speaking of coffee, does the buffet also include coffee? However, if the coffee machine brews it, you can ask a waiter to bring it to you. This kind of coffee is already included.

As for service, Marriott certainly has good service. The waiters are polite, and an average waiter serves about three people.

As for the price, it is $119 for adults/$59 for children for an hour and a half. There are seafood and five-star hotels buffet. The price is very fair
Address:158 Ferny Ave, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217
Every Friday and Saturday 5:30pm
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