Monday 23^rd July

We have been staying with friends and rellies as we wind our way home. We hope you have enjoyed our journey. We certainly have and can’t wait to set off again!

Take care until we travel again.

Friday 6^th July

We have been staying with friends so the blog is behind. So a little catch up. Steve and Denise are working, so we borrowed their car and explored. They live at the top of the Somerset dam that is connected to the Wivenhoe Dam, west of Brisbane. Beautiful country and we enjoyed our drive and exploring little villages. Had a lovely evening with their friends who had fish and crabs they had caught in the gulf. Interesting people who have tried their hand at many occupations - building, restaurants, B&Bs etc.

Denise and Steve have some chooks and lots of fruit trees and a large vegie garden.

We had a lovely visit with them.

Saturday 7^th July

We headed off early to the coast. We ended up in Burleigh Heads at a park at the south end of the beach. It was a great spot as we could walk into town and to the beach. We settled in and went for a walk and discovered Mass was at 6.15. Then we went for a long bike ride. There is a bike track that virtually goes all the way into Surfers and is mainly along the beach. We headed north and went as far as Miami Beach. This has only low rise buildings and no trees along the waterfront so we had a beautiful view as we rode. Much busier back near our beach and we had to get off the bikes- too many people. We were able to walk to Mass as it was very close. The church is in the basement of a large apartment building, circular in shape. A large crowd with a cross section of ages. Then we opted for fish and chips- always necessary at the beach! Lovely weather all day!

Sunday 8^th July

We headed to Lismore. We were amazed at the amount of traffic on the freeway in and out of Brisbane. Too much civilization! We headed to the beautiful country behind Lismore where among other things macadamias are grown. There our friends from Canberra live. We met up with them at the local boat and caravan show which was being held in the showground. Had a lovely afternoon and headed home. They have a beautiful view all around and can see trees, valleys and more trees. This is sub tropical rainforest area and very beautiful. We were given a crash course in growing and harvesting macadamias so now we are experts! Had a yummy baked dinner (we have no oven in Fanda) which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Monday 9^th July

We spent the day exploring around Ballina, Byron Bay and Lennox Head as our friends had to work. We especially enjoyed Lennox Head where we walked around the headland and had lunch overlooking the ocean. We noticed board riders going in over rocks which we thought odd but apparently the current takes them back to the surf beach. At Ballina we did a very long walk along the breakwater. We could see dolphins. Apparently there a few groups live there. Another man pointed out a whale to us but we couldn’t really see it. We headed back to Lismore for another delightful evening. They were very hospitable and it was great to catch up.

Tuesday 10^th July

Not a great day weather wise so we spent some time at the shops and then in the van reading. We were able to buy some presents as we have lots of birthdays on our return! We caught up with my friend Judy who had been my bridesmaid. Another lovely evening and home cooked food

Wednesday 11^th July

Back down the coast and we have ended up at Emerald beach- not sure if it part of the emerald city! We are about half an hour north of Coffs Harbour. We are in a very child friendly park close to the beach. There is a heated pool, sauna, jumping pillow, games room, playground to keep kids amused. We walked thru bush onto the beach and then walked along the beach. There is a headland that I,{Fay] walked up. There were kangaroos at the top of the headland just grazing. A beautiful view out to the sea and up the coast and down the coast. Another wonderful day in sun and sand.

Sunday 1^st July – 1770

We continued to drive south to start the social 2 or 3 weeks of the trip home. 1770 is off the highway and a coastal visited by Captain Cook in, yes, you guessed it, 1770.

It is a quiet little town where the river enters the sea, where the sun shone brightly and breeze was gentle and we walked along the sands around the headland and back again. We didn’t want to go back to the park too early, so we found a little spot near the inlet and set up our chairs and had a read and a cuppa for an hour or so. A very pretty place well set up for day trippers. As always the best caravan park is the council one on the beach. Our park was a bit further out and completely surrounded by trees. You could walk thru the bush to the beach. There was a cycle track across from the park and I did a bike ride back towards Agnes Waters. The area looks to be doing okay but there was a building that had been stopped before completion.

Tomorrow we have a reasonably short drive to Bargara, 15km south of Bundaberg, where our friends from the Canadian trip of 2006 live. The Heads, Lynn and Brian have visited us in Canberra a few years ago and this was our chance to reciprocate.

Monday 2^nd July

We got away reasonable early, but we took our time and had some lunch before we arrived in Bagara. It was great to see our friends again. No rest for us, as they whisked us away and we did some sight seeing around town. They had an evening engagement with Rotary, so they left about 5.15, and we had an early tea of soup which Lynn had already made for us. It was a bit of a treat to sleep in a bed and we looked forward to it.

Tuesday 3^rd July

It was an all day sightseeing trip with visits to the marina area, sugar factory, the Bundy factory, the Ginger Beer area, then on to the Bert Hinkler Museum (a Bundy hero and early aviation pioneer), botanic gardens and a beautiful late 1880s house redone as a museum to the area.

It was a long day and we had a very nice meal with them at home and we played Ricketty Kate until about 10pm. It was a very relaxing night and great fun.

Wednesday 4^th July

After a fantastic visit with Brian and Lyn we headed off to the Sunshine coast. True to its name the weather was [and is] beautiful. Once again we are right behind the beach at Mooloolaba. We went for a walk along beach. Wooden walkway one way and path the other. Lovely spot. The boardwalk was covered all the way so would a lovely cool walk in summer.

It was origin night so we watched the game in the camp kitchen. A lot of fun with surprisingly lots of blues supporters. We won’t mention the result!

Thursday 5^th July

Headed off to a place called Kilcoy about 1 hour north of Brisbane, to stay with friends Steve and Denise. Way back when, Adrian lived and trained with Steve in Melbourne. They have a lovely home with a 360 deg around to lovely hills just north of the Wivenhoe Dam. They overwhelmed us with their welcome and we had a great night as well. Tomorrow they are having friends in for a barbecue so we also get tp meet some of the locals