Our last stop in Queensland is at Kirra where we have a chance to catch up with family and friends before heading south for the next few months. This area has always felt like home as its where my Dad grew up and where many weekends were spent enjoying the sand, surf and sun. It’s changed a lot since we were kids but I never fail to smile when I come back to Kirra and Coolie for a swim.

A morning walk along Kirra Beach also uncovers some interesting items like the art installation named “Kimmy”. It’s great but I can’t help thinking the albino koala lost a paintball game.

The weather is catching up with us again as a couple of storms blow through the area while we are there. Thankfully nothing is damaged but we did get an excellent lightning show during the first storm and enjoyed watching it from an apartment balcony in Coolangatta where my cousin was staying for the week.

It was also great to see whales playing off the coastline near Kirra and Coolangatta. They seemed at ease with being in close to the shore and put on a great display of fin slapping and the occasional back slap.

For us the closest we came to marine life other than a few very small fish we caught in Currumbin Creek was when we visited Fingal Beach and Lighthouse and watched a pod of dolphins slowly moving about in the water. There was no frenzied feeding so we think that one of the dolphins may have been calving and the others were providing protection from predators.

The headland delivers a great vantage point for viewing the coastline and the efforts of the waves showing off their power.

Next move is into New South Wales and further south.