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!