Scarborough - Caloundra - Alexandra Headland

We took the short (17 mile) ride to our next host in the coast town of Scarborough. The hosts name was Andrew, a fellow cycle tourist who had travelled a lot of Asia and New Zealand. His apartment was above a remedy cafe and right on the beach front. Once we settled in and freshened up we all sat and chatted about travelling. New Zealand and South Korea seem more and more appealing to me with each person I talk to. Andrew had cycled both and said nothing but good things. Later on this trip I will sit down and work out the how's and ifs and see if I can get these locations ticked off and extend this current trip.

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We bid farewell to Andrew and Paul and set off for Caloundra. We were invited back if we loop back around to Brisbane which we will need to do now as by accident we kept Andrew's spare house key. The ride to our host in Caloundra was a 50 mile all day journey along a few back roads until we joined the famous Steve Irwin Highway. This took us past his Australian Zoo, one of the coasts major tourist attractions. It had been cloudy and overcast all day but for the final 15 miles the sun came out which coupled with a hill named "little mountain" made the back end of the route pretty hard going. Still, we both completed it and it was a big moment for Angela as it was her first 50+ plus day. Our hosts in Caloundra were Brodie, his wife Koko and their super energetic daughter Katie. It's the first time on all my travels that I have turned up to a hosts home to find out its a top beach front hotel. Young Katie quickly told me to try the "Finland" pool. This was actually 2 pools, an ice cold one followed by a hot one. Ah man its good. Brodie is Australian and lived in Tokyo for ten years with Koko who is from Japan. They since moved back to Australia to run the hotel. Their daughter is speaking both English and Japanese. At 2 and a half years old she can have a conversation in both language's and confidently switch between the two. Incredible......

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Our third ride was a short one to the coastal haven of Alexandra Headland. It was a nice ride along a beautiful river with houses backing on to the cycle path running along the river bank. Our hosts were Jim and his partner Megan. Jim is a native of California who emigrated to Australia 11 years ago. I enjoyed chatting about my USA trip as Jim knew the places well. We had a dip in their pool and a BBQ dinner before a run through of possible future routes to take on the loop north then back down to Brisbane. Due to the amazing food we have been given by our hosts it has become possible to remember them all not just by names or towns but by the food served. Andrew/Paul - Turkey roast dinner and fruit sponge pudding. Brodie/Koko - 3 homemade pizzas and passion fruit ice cream. Jim/Megan - Cucumber soup stater, BBQ seasoned steak and pumpkin pie dessert. I think there may be a potential cook book in the offing.