This morning we awoke to the unusual sound of rain on the roof of the caravan, but it was just a very brief shower.

Carrara Markets is advertised as "the biggest permanent weekend marketplace in Australia with over 400 stalls covering 10 acres and is a treasure trove of the curious and the unusual." After visiting there this morning we're not sure that it lives up to that billing, but the couple of cream cakes we had at the Market Bakery couldn't be faulted.

The only other thing of note was a couple of sculptures made from recycled wood sourced from a demolished shed at the market plus old wooden pallets. Created by Danish sculptor and self-proclaimed recycling activist Thomas Dambo, "Roo" and "Python" are two of a set of three, but we didn't come across "Jaws".

Making our way back South we took in some of the sights of Surfers Paradise, but while the water provides a great aspect for some of the houses, the hustle bustle isn't really our scene. 

However we did drop into the Pacific Fair and in what is an incredibly large shopping centre, the most interesting shop was Salt & Co. Dry Aged Gourmet Meats.

This is no ordinary butcher, specialising as it does in Australian and Japanese Wagyu. It is Himalayan Salt Dry Age Room we could see meat which has already been purchased by customers and is being left there to age. Not sure of the cost of that service, but we did see a couple of pieces of beef packages ready for sale at $199/kg!

From there we continued down the coast to Point Danger which is the location of the Captain Cook memorial and lighthouse. In 1970, on the 200th anniversary of Cook's naming of Point Danger a memorial was placed here and the New South Wales, Queensland and Federal governments combined to erect the Point Danger Captain Cook Memorial Lighthouse. This happened despite the continuing debate as to whether this is the actual point referred to in Cook's log as Point Danger. Interestingly the lighthouse straddles the New South Wales / Queensland border.

Looking out to the Pacific Ocean from here Lucinda noticed some splashing and to our surprise we saw several whales blowing and breaching. They were quite some distance off shore, but the breaching was probably more spectacular than what we'd seen from the boat in Hervey Bay.

On our way back to the van we stopped to take a closer look at a few sculptures along the Kirra Beach foreshore, which we'd been unable to do when we passed there earlier in the day because the car parks were packed. Installed in 2012 by Brad Jackson, "Nailing the Coast" looks like several over-sized hand forged copper nails. It is said that the sculpture "plays with the idea of attempting to secure in place something that is transitional by nature. The evolving coastline cannot be tamed or limited, but worked with and appreciated"

 

Sculptures "Kimmy" and "Camo" are part of the Animals with Attitude Gold Coast Sculpture Trail, with both created by Midge Johansen.

Dinner was scotch fillet steak on the Weber with steamed carrots and broccoli and baked potatoes in the microwave.