Paddle Boats

30 September – Tuesday

A cold night followed by a beautiful day which warmed up nicely during the afternoon – and no wind.

Today we left the vineyards of Rutherglen behind, and most of the paddocks of Paterson’s Curse and capeweed, and headed west to Echuca. We followed the Murray River and, as the song says, went back to Yarrawonga! This town certainly seems to be progressing, with lots of new development taking place. The land in this part of Victoria is FLAT and the roads are straight. With the irrigation from the Murray, there is also plenty of agriculture – stone fruit and olive orchards, vineyards, wheat, canola and dairy cattle. Kraft has a large factory at Cobram which makes processed cheese. Murray Goulburn has their plant near Echuca and Uncle Toby is near Corowa.

We stopped at Echuca, along with lots of other people (school holidays in Victoria and New South Wales), and watched the paddle boats and houseboats on the river. The historic port area has been developed as a tourist area and was very pleasant to wander about. (The paddle boat in the photo is the one used in the television series All the Rivers Run.)

We eventually arrived at the Ascot Holiday Village, Bendigo, which is a very nice park with lots of Tasmanians heading south. A couple we spoke to are from Ulverstone and the man is the nephew of Les’ brother-in-law, Alan. Small world!

Big Reds

29 September – Monday

Received a telephone call from Diane last night to say that Michael has discovered that pretend superheroes can’t actually fly, or bounce. He should have the plaster off his broken arm before his birthday.

Woke to the sun rising over the dam – lovely reflections – then a sunny, cool and breezy day.

Wine tasting before 10.00am and the effects of a few sips was immediately apparent. Fortunately we had some bread rolls on hand to help soak up the alcohol and plenty of water to drink. We decided to limit our winery visits as one does feel rather uncomfortable not making a purchase after free tasting. Campbells was our first port of call and a very nice young lady tried her hardest to ply us with a large variety of reds. Then we stopped at Cofields, and although they specialise in sparkling wines, they also make the most beautiful chocolately durif (durif is only grown in this region). All Saints was the last stop of the morning and we didn’t taste any wines here, just had a look around the cellar and grounds of the oldest winery in the area.

After lunch we headed for Morris Winery – didn’t like their wine much and I couldn’t even get a bottle of sherry for the Christmas cake, only a cask. As we weren’t very far from Wodonga, Les decided he would like to revisit the Army Museum at the Bandiana Army Base. Then it was back to Campbells to sample their white wines and make another small purchase.

Rutherglen

28 September – Sunday

Another clear, sunny day, but a bit cooler than yesterday – only in the low 20s today.

We left Wagga Wagga and headed for Rutherglen, less than three hours travelling time, via Henty which is the header capital of Australia. Lots of wheat farms in this region, plus the never ending canola. We had a short distance to travel on the Hume Highway before heading east through Albury to Corowa, then on to Rutherglen.

Rutherglen is noted for its red wines, so we may stay here for a few nights! This town isn’t all that big and has a small caravan park on the edge of a dam – with compulsory ducks, of course. We just had a wander around the town and inspected all the pie shops (three of them, and award winning!) in the main street. We obtained our wine route map and are now ready to toss a coin in the morning and set out.

Wagga Wagga Wagga

27 September – Saturday

Don’t call Wagga Wagga Wagga!!!

Extremely hot today, well over 30 degrees and clear skies. In preparation for the afternoon’s viewing, we visited the Wagga Wagga Sporting Hall of Fame. It was surprising how many talented and well-known sportspeople have come from Wagga Wagga, not just Paul Kelly, Wayne Carey and Mark Taylor. A very interesting place, with memorabilia as well as story boards. It was interesting to see that Paul Kelly had a full size board devoted to him, while Carey shared a board with Terry Daniher.

This afternoon was spent watching the Grand Final and cheering on Hawthorn. It was a great result, especially for Shane Crawford – and despite a broken foot, the grin on Trent Coade’s face was definitely memorable. The AFL actually made the NSW television news tonight.

This caravan park is supposed to be a tourist park, but seems to have a very high proportion of permanents/long term residents in the cabins and caravans. Some of them have very “interesting” appearances and we were woken this morning by a young “lady” telling her partner he should leave – or words with a similar meaning. A couple of hours later we did notice a number of red, white and blue striped plastic bags outside the cabin. Perhaps the request had been reinforced! We certainly wouldn’t leave the barbecue outside the caravan overnight.

Flying Snake

26 September – Friday

A cold night and morning, but clear and sunny. We departed Bathurst, heading for Wagga Wagga and the day very quickly warmed up to be very hot (28 degrees) by the time we arrived at Wagga Wagga.

Our itinerary took us back to Cowra and large banners in the main street advertised the Cherry Blossom Festival currently happening at the Japanese Gardens. We saw these at the beginning of July, so made the detour to check them out in full bloom. A bit of false advertising, as the cherry blossom was a few weeks away but other prunus was flowering. We had a look through the door and decided to save our money.

Continued through Young, the Cherry Capital of Australia – lots of stone fruit orchards in this region – and Cootamundra – the wattles had finished flowering. We had a stop at the chocolate and liquorice factory at Junee (recommended by a fellow traveller) and wont need to call there again. The countryside today was mainly canola, in full flower, and wheat, with lots of sheep about as well. The country looks just beautiful at the moment, so green and lush.

We witnessed an amazing sight just after lunch, an actual live snake crossing the road. What made it amazing was that a car was approaching us and in order to avoid being run over, the snake flung itself up into the air before deciding the side of the road was a much safer place to be.

The caravan park at Wagga Wagga has very large, gravelled sites – nice clean gravel – but the water and power are very awkwardly placed. We actually had to move the caravan to the middle of the site in order for our cord and hoses to reach. Bit of muttering was heard.

Brrrooom Brrrooom

25 September – Thursday

Three months to Christmas!

Our first stop today, of course, was the Mt Panorama Race Circuit. We began with a visit to the museum, which was quite interesting, even for non-petrol heads. There were some old cars, lots of motor bikes and cars belonging to people I can remember. Cars driven by both Allan Moffatt and Dick Richards were there, as well as a special corner devoted to Peter Brock. Not only did this contain one of his 05 cars, but also a memorial car covered in fans’ signatures. Then it was time for the BIG EVENT – a lap of Mt Panorama! Unfortunately, Les had to hold the Pajero back as the speed limit was 60 km/h. We were surprised at how short the home straight is and how steep the mountain is, especially down through the esses. Work is currently in progress for the big race. Another surprise was the number of houses and vineyards around the circuit, which is an actual road. One would not want to run out of bread or milk on race day!

To lower the excitement levels, our next stop was at Machattie Park for a stroll around the fountain, rotunda and fern house – very pretty. Then it was a visit to the Art Gallery to view the 2008 Archibald Prize paintings which are currently in Bathurst – a nice coincidence. We selected our favourites, which were quite different from the judges’ choice – some paintings were very good (according to our view) and others were a little out there.

Lunch time at the caravan was rather exciting, for the man of the caravan, anyway. It happens to be mating/nesting season for magpies, which become very aggressive and territorial at this time of the year and it can be quite dangerous just walking in their region. However, we have a very friendly magpie living near the caravan and yesterday it tried to sit on my knee and take a piece of fruit cake I was eating. It was discouraged from this thought. Today, as it was a sunny day, we were eating our sandwiches outside and someone had placed his plate on the ground beside his chair. Next thing, the magpie comes in and removed the top slice of bread and tomato, depositing them on the ground in front of us. It proceeded to eat some of the bread and then make a number of trips back to its nest with pieces of bread, totally ignoring the tomato.

This afternoon we drove to the gold mining community of O’Connell and discovered there isn’t much there now apart from a pub and a couple of houses. It was a nice drive, anyway. Following this, we had a stop at Ben Chifley’s house but only had a look from the outside as it does not open on Friday.

To Bathurst

24 September – Wednesday

A beautiful, clear, crisp day for the drive to Bathurst. The road took us to Wellington and we would have stopped here for a break but there was absolutely no where we could pull up with the caravan. The streets were all reverse angle parking (the caravan would have stuck out a bit) and the Information Centre didn’t have a car park, which was most unusual.

The countryside between Gilgandra and Bathurst was just lovely – beautiful pastoral country with cattle, sheep, wheat/grains and canola. Of course, we were probably seeing it at its best in spring.

Bathurst is a delightful old city, probably the first we have come across that still retains it colonial heritage. The gaol (still in use) has a magnificent sandstone entrance complimenting the razor wire. We did get the impression that this city also has a car race happening soon. The caravan park has used the bush heritage as its theme – some of the cabins have corrugated iron walls and fake chimney, which look very effective, and the swimming pool has a windmill which forms part of the water slide.

First Fleet

23 September – Tuesday

The forecast thunderstorm most certainly arrived yesterday. However, we didn’t get the forecast hail and only a short burst of wind. We did get some very spectacular lightning and thunder, which lasted from about 4.00pm to 4.00am – and RAIN!!! By 5.00pm the park was filling up again with overnighters and the Tasmanians we had met at Yamba (my ex-workmate and his wife) pulled into the site next to us, so we ended up talking for most of the evening.

It was still raining when we packed up this morning and only stopped for a short while until after lunch. Unfortunately, the temperature also dropped. Yesterday at noon it was 31 degrees, today at noon it was 11 degrees. A big hard to take.

When we left Tamworth this morning, we headed for Wallabadah, a small town (about six houses) with a memorial garden to the First Fleet. This memorial is at Wallabadah because no where else in NSW was interested. Work is still in progress, but it was certainly worth a visit.

Then we headed to Gunnedah, driving past lots of canola fields in full flower – fluorescent yellow in the rain and gloom. We also spotted an emu among some trees near the Oxley Crossing (Oxley stopped here in 1818!). Our lunch stop was at Coonabarabran (in the rain) before travelling to Gilgandra for an overnight stop. We are in a lovely park beside the river, nice and grassy with huge drive-through sites and very friendly managers. It is also right beside the Newell Highway… It didn’t really take long to drive round the sites of Gilgandra, but we did spend some time at the Visitors’ Centre which had some very good exhibits, especially on the Coo-ee March in 1916 (Google it if necessary!).

Thunderstorms

22 September – Monday

Extremely hot day in Tamworth and after we both had haircuts this morning, set out to catch up on some more of Tamworth’s tourist attractions. Bicentennial Park (opened in 1988, strangely) had another display of country music, this time featuring bronze busts of some well known artists. The park also had a magnificent statue of a waler horse and a Lighthorseman. Over 40% of NSW horse population is within a radius of 130km of Tamworth, and the waler was a NSW horse. Of course, there was also the obligatory duck pond/lake. A drive up the hill to the Oxley Lookout gave us a panoramic view of the district.

The afternoon brought the promised thunderstorms – we have been receiving severe thunderstorm warnings since lunchtime and made sure the awning was secured and chairs stowed. We spent the afternoon playing cards waiting, and although it has been thundering all afternoon, there hasn’t really been a lot of rain. However, we have been told to wait, as it is coming!

Golden Guitars

21 September – Sunday

The promised thunderstorm arrived just after 10.00pm last night and while we didn’t get any rain, the light and sound show was quite spectacular for over an hour. More thunderstorms are forecast for tonight and tomorrow night.

We only had a short drive to Tamworth today, but did manage to stretch it out a bit with a stop at Bendemeer, the Grey Fergie Capital of Australia. This village of 250 people is holding a Grey Fergie Muster next year – just the place for a grey Fergie owning couple with a campervan to visit! There was also a very nice trout stream flowing through the town.

The Paradise Caravan Park at Tamworth doesn’t look much like the photos in their brochure and the dry and dusty sites are probably the result of the drought and water restrictions. It is a small park, the sites are a bit shallow, but otherwise is good.

Next door to the caravan park is the information centre, which we discovered later, is built in the shape of a guitar. They had a very good display on the history of Australian country music and a very friendly and helpful volunteer who loaded us up with brochures and told us how we could fill in our time in Tamworth.

First stop was the brand new Australian Equine and Livestock Event Centre which was having an open day so that the people of Tamworth could see how their $30 million was spent. The indoor arena was as big as Calgary, but only had about a quarter of the seating. The complex was very impressive and will be worth seeing in a few years. There were 478 stables in six large buildings, an indoor selling arena, outdoor campdraft area, warm-up arenas and plenty of camping space.

After this was the big excitement of the day – seeing the Golden Guitar and visiting the associated gift shop (a bit tongue in cheek here!).

Very hot again today.

To Armidale

20 September – Saturday

Very hot today, it was even 27 degrees when we left Coffs Harbour at 8.30am. We headed inland today, driving through the Bellinger Valley with its very lush dairy farms. Bellingen, home of George Negus, was a quaint little town in a lovely rainforest region, with lots of tourists and locals wandering about. This is where the road began the sharp climb to the tablelands, rising very quickly to 760 metres at Dorrigo. We had the mistaken impression that Dorrigo was at the top – not so. We eventually levelled out at 1350 metres, with a very impressive graph on the dashboard. Fuel consumption wasn’t too good, either.

We had a couple of stops at waterfalls, the first at Newall, the second at Ebor. This was at a rest stop and was a rather spectacular waterfall, with another one further down the hill if we had wanted to make the climb. We didn’t. There were about half a dozen very nice Aston Martins at this rest stop, and we met probably another dozen as we left. Figured they must have been having a gathering of Aston Martins.

Armidale is about the size of Devonport and is home to the New England University. The Pembroke Tourist Park is quite acceptable and the managers obviously aren’t aware that school holidays have commenced in Queensland.

Big Banana

19 September – Friday

Departed Yamba but had to change our plans to overnight at Glen Innes – the road was closed between 9.00am and 3.00pm for roadworks. Our next option was Armidale, via Coffs Harbour. We had another change of plan on the way and decided to stay at Coffs Harbour and visit the Big Banana, as we didn’t have the chance to stop at the Big Prawn in Ballina. We decided on the Emerald Beach Caravan Park, plenty of sites available for tonight but the question of cost kept being avoided. When we did get an answer, the girl wanted $37, as it was school holidays in Queensland. After many protests from us that the children were actually at school TODAY in Queensland, we considered it a rip off and would probably continue to Armidale. Surprise, surprise! The rate was immediately lowered to the off peak rate of $29, less our 10% Big 4 discount. Whilst it is a beachfront caravan park, there is plenty of wind shelter, the swimming pool is heated, a jumping pillow for kids of all ages, lovely camping area and plenty of play equipment. The amenities block is absolutely gorgeous – very recently refurbished, the best we have seen.

The Big Banana lived up to expectations and contained all the usual tacky souvenirs – and no bananas! Diesel was more expensive here than Queensland, $1.75 compared to $1.59 (something to do with state taxes). The price of unleaded petrol in Brisbane rises nearly $0.20 every Thursday, then drops again on Monday! After the Big Banana, we did a tour of the sites of Coffs Harbour and stopped at the wharf for the most delicious homemade icecream.

Today we left the sugar cane farms and macadamia plantations behind for the banana plantations of this area. It has been nice and warm today – 25 – but a thunderstorm is expected late afternoon.

Snakes and Whales

17 September – Wednesday

Much cooler today – only 22 degrees – and cloudy. We only had a short trip to Brisbane and stayed with friends, Brian and Jenny. We spent the whole day talking and looking at photos – Jenny had only returned the previous day after spending 13 days in Japan. We have decided that we will definitely meet up somewhere in the great outdoors next year.

18 September – Thursday

Similar weather to yesterday, but it did clear about lunch time. Today we left Queensland behind and headed south to Yamba, a small coastal fishing town at the mouth of the Clarence River.

Although we were allocated a site at the caravan park, we were told by the receptionist we could pick another one if we wanted to – we did, to a sunnier position. When I returned to tell her about our change, another lady walked through the office carrying a small green frog. She told us that she had rescued it from a snake which was trying to swallow the frog whole. Great, I really wanted to know there are snakes in the caravan park!

We went for a drive to look at the sights of Yamba, which has some really nice coastline and small, sandy coves between the rocky headlands, and ended up at the lookout on Point Angourie. Stepped out of the car to be greeted by a bloke I used to work with, he called me by name and, of course, I couldn’t think of his! After much thought, we decided he was Colin Saul, ex Allfoods. He and his wife were watching an upturned boat some distance out to sea and after some discussion, we decided we should ring the Coast Guard. It turned out that the boat was an abandoned trimaran, the occupants had been rescued yesterday and the boat left to drift. While we were watching it, two whales breached not far from shore – a mother and calf. They kept us enthralled for some time.

I think we will need something warmer than a shirt tonight.

Noosa

16 September – Tuesday

The visiting family members left bright and early this morning for Coolangatta Airport and home. After a quick telephone call to Ashmore Palms on the Gold Coast, they decided to make the small detour to collect a couple of items which had been left behind when they moved to Maroochydore.

Today was much hotter than previous days, definitely a day for sitting in the shade. We decided that we really should make the effort and drive to Noosa and see how the other half spend holidays. Very swish place, lots of upmarket shops, very posh looking accommodation places and absolutely no where we could park the car and not have to walk a couple of miles to buy an ice cream. So we drove up the main street, looked at the river heads and drove down the main street. Not long after we left Maroochydore, we did see a huge snake (dead fortunately) on the road – this made four dead snakes we have seen so far.

We drove back from Noosa to Maroochydore along the coast – there are some very nice houses in the area.

Today it was my turn to check out the medical facilities in the area, owing to a rather sore ear, and Emma gently explained to me the necessity of allowing the doctor to look in my ear. We made a deal that I would let the doctor look in my ear and she would let her doctor look in her injured ear when she returned home.

Whales

15 September – Monday

Ditto the weather, only warmer than yesterday and not as windy during the afternoon. We even had to resort to sitting in the shade. The man of the caravan suffered a migraine at 5.00am, so we ended up having a quiet day.

Di and Co had a wonderful day whale watching, managing to see nine whales and a large dolphin pod. The boys saw a whale leap out of the water, but the girls missed the spectacle as Emma needed to visit the little girls’ room. Michael and Diane thoroughly enjoyed the boat ride 15 km out to sea (fairly rough from their description), but Emma and Cam were glad to see the wharf.

Emma had a rather traumatic afternoon – she was a little slow reacting when hand feeding the eels and had her finger nipped. Blood and tears resulted. Not long after settling down and spending time in the playground, she managed to fall over on the road and skun her knees. The first aid kit has certainly been well used today.

We have decided to stay here for another day and only have one night in Brisbane with Brian and Jenny.

Air Hockey

14 September – Sunday

Another gorgeous morning which, unfortunately, did develop into a windy afternoon. The children have discovered an air hockey table in the games room and Michael considers himself to be pretty good! He eventually persuaded Nanny to play against him, thinking he would wipe Nanny off the floor. Michael received a BIG shock.

We haven’t done a great deal today – Les has washed the caravan at last, there being no water restrictions in this area and the site is very grassy. A couple of blokes (or rather, a bloke couple) just along from us told him he was very naughty to use washing up detergent in the bucket and he should have borrowed some truck wash from them. They were very nice and chatty, told us they have just bought a motel way out west and are negotiating to buy a caravan park in the same place. Must be the in thing for blokey couples nowadays (refer to our Emerald caravan park!).

With only two days remaining of their holiday, Diane decided that the children should have sunglasses, especially as they are going whale watching tomorrow. They boys are going to have another attempt tonight to catch a fish big enough to eat.

Market Day

13 September – Saturday

The most glorious weather today – about 27 degrees and sunny, even starting the day with breakfast outside in the sunshine.

We decided that this morning we would visit the Eumundie Markets – as did every other person within a 100 km radius! Very hot, very crowded and very large – makes Salamanca Market look rather small. However, it seemed to be made up of all the usual types of stalls – handmade soap, beaded jewellery, cheap clothing which is either imported or obviously hand made, painted tiles, fairy costumes, cloth handbags and food.

After we had worn out the males of the group, we decided to go to the Ginger Factory for lunch and a look. Even though Les and I had been there a few days ago, we had only visited the gift shop, not realising there was so much more to see out the back without having to pay for the tour. We ended up staying for over 2 ½ hours, with lots of interesting little shops and a lovely garden to wander about in. We even saw a very large water dragon and the children were very impressed with the mechanical models of the gingerbread man and the sailors at the entrance to one of the expensive rides.

After leaving the Ginger Factory we had a quick dash across the road to the macadamia outlet for the Spurr family to do a bit of nut shopping and Cameron to have a caffeine fix. Michael was a bit taken aback at the jars of “Kangaroo Poo!”

Eel Feeding

12 September – Friday

We were still worn out from yesterday, so had a reasonably quiet day. We had a couple of small visitors arrive at 7.00am with bread in hand to have breakfast with us before we fed the stale leftover bread to the eels. It was absolutely gross, the eels were even rising out of the water to take the bread. Emma was quite fearless and allowing the eels to take bread directly from her hand!

A trip to the supermarket before lunch, and I made the mistake of permitting a sales lady to demonstrate her mineral body scrub on my hands. It left my hands feeling very smooth, but the smell was absolutely awful (to me anyway). I think she very quickly realised a sale was out of the question.

The afternoon was spent with the kids playing table tennis and air hockey. Air hockey was a big favourite with Michael and Grandpa. An ice cream and a few games of bingo rounded out the afternoon nicely.

Crikey!

11 September – Thursday

Crikey, what a long day! As you may have guessed, today we “did” Australia Zoo – Michael was so excited!!! After seven hours, we were all very tired and footsore but very impressed with the zoo.

As soon as we walked through the entrance at 9.00am, it was full on activity, with a small alligator just waiting to be patted, water dragons running freely throughout the park and a very friendly tiger to give us all a cuddle. We waited anxiously for the enormous land tortoises to be fed – they actually did move! Then it was time to stand in line and feed the elephants and as we weren’t permitted to take our own close-up photos, there was a professional photographer on hand, of course. We were permitted to keep the proofs, but they did have ‘PROOF’ right across the photo. The moment we had all been waiting for actually arrived and we found seats in the Crocoseum for the big event – snakes, wonderful birds flying free and, of course, a crocodile.

A quick lunch (very impressed with the way the food court was set out, not over-priced and oodles of tables and chairs) before heading back outside to hear about the camel and foxes before another photo opportunity with a wedge tail eagle. Following this was the BIG happening of the day – two of the cheetahs were having a birthday and presents and cake were provided for Sheba (Cleopatra didn’t want to attend her party) to enjoy while the tourists used up the memory cards in their cameras. We had hoped that Bindi might make an appearance at such a special occasion, but no.

Instead of walking to the other end of the park to see the elephants (again) and the tigers, we took the shuttle train and Cam managed to leave his back pack on board. Quick walk back to the station sorted his problem out and the back was recovered. Michael took his first ever blurred photo of a tiger – very exciting event in his life, evidently. Walked back through the koala enclosure and spotted a baby koala hanging upside down from its mother’s pouch. Even the keeper was excited about this. The birds of prey were next, followed by the Australian snakes – none of us were aware that Tasmania was home to the red bellied black snake until today! Think they may have boo booed with this snake!

We staggered back to the car, through the obligatory gift shop exit, absolutely tuckered out!

Ginger

10 September – Wednesday

The fisherman did quite well yesterday – he made a pelican and crane very happy! Lots of bites, all the chicken was eaten, one small fish was caught (that is why the pelican was happy.

This morning we headed to the Ginger Factory at Yaldina, not that we like ginger at all, but they have a very nice gift shop – and LOTS of very mature aged tourists on bus tours! As a bonus, we discovered that across the road was a macadamia processing place, complete with shop, and also a coffee centre. A very enjoyable area. On the return journey, we called into what we thought was a small farm stall selling cheap strawberries. It turned out to be a large fruit and vegetable outlet – very large and very cheap. They even had red paw paws!

Diane, Cameron, Michael and Emma arrived shortly before we returned, so great excitement all round, especially from Michael when he discovered the eels. Cameron enjoyed his north Queensland coffee. They are still gross, as far as I am concerned. This afternoon the boys headed over the road to the river in an attempt to find the best fishing spot – and hopefully catch a fish big enough to keep.

Fishing

9 September – Tuesday

Awoke to a beautiful sunny morning and enjoyed breakfast on the patio! Very pleasant sitting in the sun with a cup of coffee and a book. Unfortunately, the afternoon did turn a bit cloudy and cool; had to resort to a windcheater even.

This morning we checked out the Maroochydore shopping centres and discovered a Banjos Bakery – same signs, same products! There was also a Bakers Delight, so it was just like being at home. Woolworths are the same in every town.

The fisherman of the caravan has removed some of the meat from tonight’s chicken breast fillet and is trying to convince some fish to eat the chicken, together with a hook. The chicken may have to wait until tomorrow night!

Eels

8 September – Monday

We have headed north again and settled into the Maroochy Palms Holiday Village at Maroochydore for the next eight nights. This park nearly meets all the criteria, except for the drive through site. However, the site is very large and we even have a back lawn! There is a large lagoon with ducks to feed, barbecues and walkways – the downside of the lagoon are the large amounts of very large eels which live in it. Just gross! They are obviously used to being fed by friendly tourists and come to the surface when they spot someone. It is absolutely gross to see a large eel’s head appear out of the week on the bottom, followed by the rest of it. Yuck!!! The swimming pool area (opposite end of the park) is very nice, with lots of barbecues and picnic tables on the lawn, as well as a shop/restaurant which will deliver meal orders (including breakfast!) to one’s caravan.

The Maroochy River is across the road, complete with fishermen and hopeful pelicans. Leslie has found his fishing rod, bought some plastic lures and getting ready for tomorrow’s high tide. I’m sure Cameron and Michael will join him as soon as they arrive.

The weather is glorious, warm and sunny. After the unpleasant site in Brisbane, it is a pleasure to sit outside in the sun.

Happy Fathers' Day

7 September – Sunday

Fathers’ Day – and a quiet day at home. The weather was clear and sunny, with a bit of a breeze, although the early morning was a bit on the fresh side. Diane seemed to think it was lovely and warm.

As we haven’t really done anything interesting today, I thought I would try to envisage the perfect caravan park. All sites would be drive through and grass, with a concrete slab, always facing the correct way to have sun all day if desired. Trees should be shady, but not too shady for winter travellers, and gum trees are a bit of a worry as they drop branches. Coconut palms are a definite no no. Sites should be large enough for the towing vehicle to fit either in front or behind the caravan, or beside the slab. Utilities should be in the back left hand corner for ease of use. Barbecues should be free to use and there should be a full size oven in the camp kitchen. There should be sufficient amenities for the size of the park, and these should be up to date and cleaned regularly. Needless to say, the grounds must be well maintained and rubbish bins easy to access and emptied regularly.

Of course, tents should be kept well away from caravans, as should campervans. Believe me, the noise of zips going up, then down, in the middle of the night, or sliding doors being opened then closed, can be most annoying. It always seems to happen that first one person will get up, open the door, depart, close the door, return, open the door, enter, close the door; then the other person decides they need to get up and repeat the procedure. As the people in the next tent/vehicle have now been woken, they repeat the procedure. It is very easy to work out which men are having prostate problems!

The newspaper should be available early each morning, free wireless internet, of course, lots of birdlife and no snakes.

Mt Tamborine

6 September – Saturday

The sun was shining this morning and we headed to the Gold Coast, stopping first at the Hyperdome Shopping Centre, another large centre which is quite close to the caravan park. Instead of heading for the coast, we turned inland for Mt Tamborine – perhaps we could call Mt Tamborine the Dandenong Ranges of the Gold Coast. It was a lovely area, with some stunning views over the Gold Coast and inland, with the road winding along the top of ridges 750 metres above sea level, with drops straight down in places. We stopped for lunch in a lovely village that seemed to have more restaurants than houses, together with an equal number of gift, craft and clothing shops. A most pleasant little place to sit in the sun on a terrace and have lunch.

After lunch, we continued our visits to army bases (have already visited Enoggera in Brisbane and Laverack in Townsville) with Canungra on the itinerary. The military area here is used for live firing, as large and frequent signs warned us of the dangers in stopping or leaving the roadway.

Then it was to Ashmore to meet the other members of the family who had travelled from Hobart that morning. Great excitement all round, especially when Michael discovered the macaws. How the children have grown in three months! We had a barbecue with them before travelling back to Brisbane and watching a great football match!

It's Raining

5 September – Friday

Last night it really rained and then it rained some more today, which really increased the humidity. Although the rain has been very heavy, we did seem to escape the severe weather that the Sunshine Coast received. The muddy creek has been flowing well during downpours, with lots of garbage. Not a nice sight out the window! Early this morning there was an accident on the exit from the motorway, about 200 metres from the caravan park. There was lots of noise for a while, with sirens from emergency vehicles and a helicopter circling overhead (television news).

We just had a quiet day at home today, catching up on some cooking and housework. A bright spot at lunchtime was a large lizard (about 75cm long), possibly a bearded dragon, sitting on the bank a short distance from our caravan. The rain didn’t seem to bother him at all.

Happy Cake

4 September – Thursday

Although it is 13 days early, today was designated Jack’s birthday so that all his grandparents could help him celebrate. After all, at his age, he isn’t really aware of the date – a “happy cake” (birthday cake) is all that is important to him. Jack’s father also suggested that Jack might like to receive his birthday presents early, rather than late.

We decided on a basic Thomas the Tank Engine set (almost compulsory for 2 year old boys!) and this proved to be a hit. Jack’s language is still at the very repetitive stage so there were lots of, “Nanny, train, toot toot.” A Chinese cake doubled as a perfect happy cake with two candles and Jack managed to blow out both on his own. This was followed by lunch – lots of prawns, chicken and fish. Very yummy.

Today it rained and the small creek beside the caravan is now a large creek.

Strawberries and Cream

3 September – Wednesday

A word of advice to all would-be caravanners – take a plumber with you on your travels! Last night while washing strawberries, one silly strawberry decided to disappear down the plug hole and get itself stuck where the sink drain pipe connects to the main drainage system underneath the caravan. Unfortunately, this meant that the water in the sink would not drain away and as it would probably take a number of days for the strawberry to rot, the resident handyman was forced to crawl under the caravan in the dark, dismantle the plumbing, remove the strawberry (which still looked good enough to eat) and then put it all back together. He was allowed an extra bit of cream on his dessert.

This morning the Deng and Connell families headed to the Gold Coast, with the first stop at the most fantastic children’s playground at Southport, opposite Australia Fair. A great time was had by all, even Jack enjoyed the equipment. A great favourite was the monorail, closely followed by the flying fox.

The playground was followed by a quick visit to Jupiters Casino before moving to Pacific Fair for lunch and a spot of shopping for some. This shopping centre is absolutely huge! I think there are definitely more high rise buildings at Surfers than there are in Honolulu – the area has unquestionably grown in the last 25 years.

The weather today was a little windy this morning, about 23 degrees and sunny. However, late this afternoon the wind has strengthened and we felt it advisable to lower the awning, just in case. Heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow.

Honours

2 September – Tuesday

We are definitely not used to this southern weather, with temperatures in the low 20s.

This morning we collected David, Shan, Jack and Linda and followed Shan to Southbank. This was our first visit to the area and we were very impressed with the gardens and pools. There is also a display for a couple of weeks featuring frogs and a stamp on the boardwalk beneath the individual signs resulted in the croak of that particular frog. Great fun.

Jack was very interested in the boats on the river and planes flying overhead (he is still very excited about his plane trip last Saturday!) but wasn’t all that keen on having a swim.

Griffith University has a campus next to Southbank, as does the Conservatorium, where Shan studied. We made a detour on the walk back to the cars to visit the Concert Halls area so that Shan could have a look at the new honour board with her name on it.

Special Person

1 September – Monday

A relaxed start to travelling this morning, we didn’t actually leave Coolum Beach until nearly 9.30am – very late for us, but we didn’t have far to drive. The most important event of the morning was Leslie discovering a couple of screws loose – in the toilet cassette! No leaks on the way to Brisbane (little joke there), so hopefully the problem has been solved.

The caravan park in Brisbane only has six tourist sites, the remainder are permanents. It would be quite nice except for the muddy creek (and HUGE mossies) beside the caravan. However, we probably wont be spending much time sitting about.

As soon as we were settled, it was off to find David, Shan and Jack. Jack was asleep when we arrived, however, when I went to pick him up after he woke, he knew me immediately and I got a big grin and cuddle, as did Grandpa. As Shan’s parents were having their daily siesta and David needed to do some shopping, we spent the afternoon wandering around a large shopping centre before returning to Shan’s parents for a very nice dinner. Consequently, we were rather late returning home.