Flashback: The Big Pineapple (Rachel's B-day)

Just to clarify, my birthday is in March, so this post has been a long time coming, but it was too wonderful to pass by without a post. During this time we were staying in Noosa, with Karen, Vernon and Tennille, and they graciously allowed us to stay a few days longer to celebrate my birthday and go sailing again. We had an tour packed day planned. The Big Pineapple, The Ginger Factory, a stop at the Emmundi Markets for Tai dumplings and we were trying to see how much we could fit in before sailing again and a dinner that Karen was making special. We begin at the Big Pineapple, a huge tourist destination in the 70's, and a working pineapple and macadamia nut farm. Now, not so much of either, when we first arrive in the morning, we are the ONLY people there, really, it's us and a few employees, we pay our $15 to take the train tour, the macadamia nut bus tour and the feeding/petting zoo of Australian animals and farm. We are the ONLY people on the train through the first tour. The train guys like us and answer our many questions, including ones about the downfall of the Big Pineapple itself. In it's heyday 5,000 people a day went through there, now they are happy if 30 come through a day. We learn about how pineapples are grown and harvested, and unfortunately see many rotting on the plants. They tell us they are sadly understaffed. They even used to have a chocolate factory there, now closed. But the train is wonderful and so are our tour guides. We hop off at the end and take our walk through the Australian petting zoo. Let me start by saying this is unlike any petting zoo our fellow Americans have ever been to I'm sure, not only because it is Australian animals, but there are no supervisors around, or guides, or zoo/vet/authoritative figures around. Absolutely amazing. You are responsible for your own behavior. We had bought two bags of food (grass like stuff) before our tour, and walk into a large pen of about thirty kangaroos. Now, we realize that since we are the only people here, we are the first to come through with bags of free food, we're not sure if we should be worried. We are excited, take lots of pictures, feed kangaroos, and a few of them when they stand up are as tall as we are, we try not to piss them off. It's really great and we spend a lot of time feeding and petting kangaroos, and a stray wallabie who wandered in to the area. They are cute, and both of us find our favorites, as well as a few we stay away from. The farm animals, are farm animals and we quickly feed and pet a cow, a donkey and a goat each. We are on a schedule, and we run to catch the nut bus tour and miss it. We have to come back another time. Which luckily the lady at the front desk allows us to do. We go back the next week. The tour guides think we're funny for coming back again, and we get more photos of the big pineapple itself which you can climb inside of. There is a life size diarama of how pineapples are canned and make it to your grocery store. The gift shop is AMAZING, they are selling the same souvenirs from the 70's and 80's and if we could afford it we would have bought something for everyone.