one more sleep

After 12,000 kilometres and 86 days, we are nearly home. It's been an excellent holiday and we've seen so many fantastic places in Australia. There are too many favourites and while we were talking over tea tonight, we thought about the best of...the worst...the surprises...the unexpected and there are too many.

We both enjoyed the whale watch cruise and Hervey Bay; I loved all things to do with rainforests and the Daintree has to be one of my highlights. We've had lots of laughs and very few disagreements after being with each other 24/7 for 86 days.

I'm glad that digital cameras are part of our lives because I love taking photos and to have them all printed would have been costly if we were using our previous camera. One thing we want to do when we get home is buy a better digital camera with a view finder so we can see what we're taking.

The caravan and car have travelled well. After living in the van for this length of time, there are just a couple of things on the to do list.

I wish we had a van like this when we were first married and lived in a van for almost a year when Robert was in National Service. Not being flush with cash, we bought a caravan for $50 in 1971 (a few months before we were married). Luckily, Bert (Robert's dad) and Reg (my dad) had the skills and the patience to renovate the van. The annexe was $300 and it didn't leak. Sadly, even with a new roof, the old van rained inside over the bed. Good memories.

We leave Renmark tomorrow morning for Largs Bay and I don't think it will be long before we get back into the routine of being home. I am really looking forward to catching up with family and friends.

So are we there yet? Not quite!

Warrumbungles

Heading for home, we stopped overnight at Warrumbungle National Park (west of Coonabarabran NSW). Another special place with very fast-flowing creeks, beautiful trees, kangaroos, birds and emus.

With the floods and heavy rainfall over the past couple of weeks, everything was green or yellow - the wattle trees in flower peppered the sides of the roads and the bush. Spectacular!

Warrumbungle means crooked.

Hastings Point

This is a lovely place just south of Tweed Heads. Lots of little coves and beaches with that gorgeous aquamarine, turquoise ocean. A favourite with the surfers too!

Caravan park was very swish with heated floors in shower alcoves, on-site hairdresser, gym, pools, 3 spas with different temperatures, lap pool, games room, free viewing of current releases of DVDs, excellent facilities for kids, close to beach and roomy sites. First time we've stayed in a 5 star caravan park and it was only $34 per night.

Man's best friend dared the waves while his owner searched for the perfect wave. After a drenching, the dog retreated to the beach to wait patiently for his mate.

Our main reason for staying here was to catch up with a student whom Robert taught at Croydon when she was in Year 8/9. Face Book was the catalyst for this reunion and it was lovely to meet Michelle. Over a meal, memories were shared with much laughter.

I had to take a photo of this t-shirt in Bryon Bay.

How clever is this? Bobby needed something to keep the eggs on the table. Beer bottle tops aren't just to keep the beer from falling out!

Glasshouse Mountains and Lamington National Park

We've wanted to check out these mountains for years and finally we were there.

They are unusual and were named by James Cook as they reminded him of the glass houses chimneys from his home in England.

The climb to the lookout is very, very steep. Favourite spot for tourists.


















Mt Coonowrin








Lamington National Park has also been on the to do list for many years. I had a cassette tape with birdsong from this park. I loved it and used it with my junior primary classes for relaxation exercises. Robert hated it!

A different rainforest - another special place.

On entering the park, Robert spotted a paddymelon. That made his day although his Skippy impersonations leave much to be desired. He's starting to understand that not all animals or birds are going to jump, hop or fly to him when he makes funny noises.

Run Run as fast as you can...

Buderim is synonymous with ginger and as we both enjoy most things ginger, we had to visit the ginger factory.




Expecting to see a few plants and a shop selling ginger products, we were really surprised by the size of this complex with shops, cafe, tours, gardens and a train.








Didn't know there were so many varieties of ginger. A good spot to visit.

There was even a rainforest walk!

Bogged not Blogged!

Bob's first time writing on the blog:
Well! Yesterday injected some excitement in to our otherwise dull lives! We (I) decided to have a look at the barge that takes cars/cargo/people to Fraser Island from a place called Inskip Point. A 4WD track leads to the beach where the barge pulls up at the water's edge. From the end of the track the only access to the barge is a 1km stretch of powder-like beach sand, which we easily ploughed through, and got to the barge (in high range 4WD... diffs locked).

I spoke to the barge skipper who had watched us come towards him. He suggested that we do a U turn on the barge, as turning on the soft sand would invite trouble. He also suggested that I stick on the same known route on the return journey, but perhaps use low 2nd and "gun it". All went well for about the first 900m, but we started to lose momentum, due to our slow road speed, finally coming to a halt not far from the hard stuff.
 

I got out and had a look before I made any further attempts to drive out and let the tyres down to about 15psi. Alas, we had "bellied" out, with the floor pan resting on the sand and the 2 diffs pushing sand like a road grader!

I started digging, but stopped as I heard the sound of another vehicle approaching. It was a Toyota troupy ute, which became bogged right next to us! A local pro fisherman and his deckie, who use the same track every day!. Anyway, we helped him get out, and then he got us moving with a short tow, and I was able to drive with him, so we didn't tangle the rope. All worked out well, with no damage. He told me he normally drives much faster, but was going slow because of his load of fish. He also said that people often roll their vehicles from going too fast, and the lesser problem is to get bogged.Good lessons learned. Not going to Fraser Is this trip, although the sand there is apparently firmer! Numerous people stopped to help, and lots also went racing past at unstable speeds!
Shaz writing now:
It was an anxious time although we were above the high tide mark and had plenty of provisions in the car fridge. Before anyone came to help, we were scavenging in the bush to find branches, rocks, anything to provide some traction. Not easy through very soft sand with a walking stick and a crook knee with the other one complaining as well.

There are some very kind, thoughtful people in our country - we had about 8 who were willing to help. One lovely man, Ning, actually came back to help us with some grab planks.

He was very enthusiastic and confident that they would work and if we had remembered to remove the rocks from the front of the car, they would have worked first time. It was comforting to get back on to the harder surface. I don't think we should play in sand for a while. We're too old for this shit!

Old Le Fevre Students at Maryborough (inland from Hervey Bay)

An invitation for dinner was quickly taken up when Shae Kennewell and her twin sister Kodie Axelson (nee Kennewell) asked us to join them. Kodie and her husband Mark live in Maryborough and have a 15 week old daughter, Lily (who is just gorgeous). Shae lives in Maryborough too and her partner Shaun joined us as well.

We had a very relaxing night and lots of stories and memories were shared as well as new ones made. Matt and Shaun were very patient and let the conversation revolve around Le Fevre teachers and students. It's a bit easier listening to some of this, now that we're no longer teaching and the girls were tactful most of the time. These girls are very funny and always smiling.

Lily is surrounded by love. Her dad dotes on her, her mum loves her and her aunty adores her. She's a very lucky baby.

Shae and Shaun (below)

Matt's not a bad cook - my steak was done to perfection. The chocolate dipped strawberries were very nice and the salad was excellent! (I made the salad - couldn't burn it so it was OK)

Shae with Lily

Lily has a wild bedroom with palm trees (painted by Kodie) on the wall and a great swinging square box-hammock that is suspended from the ceiling.

Matt and Kodie are clearly animal lovers - they have a python in a vivarium, Pineapple the parrot that walks around the house (I even let it climb onto my shoulder - a biggie for me because I'm not partial to flapping, flying birds) and tropical fish in a huge aquarium.

Next time we come this way, we'll be back!

Whale of a Time at Hervey Bay

After our last venture on a boat, we were a tad reluctant to go on the water so we checked a few things this time (especially the distance from shore to whale spotting point and how protected the boat would be from high seas). Feeling reassured, we booked our cruise and what a great experience it was. If you haven't done this, we thoroughly recommend it.

Leaving at a civilised 8:30 a.m. we boarded the catamaran Spirit of Hervey Bay. The captain has done this trip many times and he and his crew are experts at spotting whales that appear like small dots on the horizon.




Bob on board the purpose-built whale watch vessel. Excellent viewing areas inside and out, upstairs and downstairs with views from below the surface as well.

After the first whale sighting, it wasn't long before we saw 2 more. The captain slows the boat so that he can approach as close as allowed without threatening the humpback whales. August is the best time to see humpbacks from Hervey Bay. It has a world-wide reputation and deservedly so.

2 adult humpback whales floating on the surface. Even though the flash of the tail is exciting, it's also a sign that a whale is going to dive.
The commentary by the captain was very informative and we both learnt more than what we already knew about whales.




The catamaran stays in the protected waters of Fraser Island which is always visible. This means that the sea won't get rough. We had perfect conditions! Calm seas, little wind, excellent visibility under the surface of the water.

Several more whales were spotted and we edged closely towards them. Most of them don't seem too fussed by the whale watch boats and as this is an annual stop-over for them, it's understandable. When you see how curious they can be and how close they come to the boats, it's even more infuriating when you consider the slaughter of whales by the Japanese. One of the crew told us that many Japanese tourists are unaware of the slaughter and the controversy caused by it.

We were so lucky for almost an hour when a yearling whale (not very old but still an incredible size) swam so close to our boat. An amazing experience! It's hard to describe the feelings when one of these graceful mammals provides  up close and personal moments. Magical! The photos will be more powerful than words. Check them out.

We were on the top deck and the yellow bit poking out is the lower deck. People down there were so close but it was easier for me to walk about on the top. It's an interactive experience as the captain lets everyone know where the whale is; it swam alongside, under the boat, at the bow, the stern.

The whale almost seemed to pose for photos as it hovered in the water. Humpback whales' eyes are at the side of the head and look down so the whale came quite close many times and lifted its head sideways out of the water to check out the boat and the passengers. We were enncouraged by the captain to clap and make noise as whales are curious and will explore their surroundings. They really are a soft target for whalers.
As we reluctantly left this whale, it started to follow us. The captain told everyone that it would have jumped on board if it could.

A pod of 3 whales joined us after we left the yearling and they swam around for a while. To the left of the photo there is a flat circle shape - this is called a footprint and it is left by the whale as it dives.

The captain was very generous with his time and the boat arrived back at the dock almost 30 mins late with another cruise set to leave shortly after.

 

Rum, ginger beer and old friends

Bargara is a lovely spot on the coast about 15kms from Bundaberg. It's a place we'd probably visit again. Being close to Bundaberg meant a few trips in to check out some of the tourist spots with Bundaberg Ginger Beer and Bundaberg Rum Distillery being near the top of the list.

The Big Barrel at Bundaberg Ginger Beer Factory.
We tasted some different products that we don't see in SA. Bought some ginger beer and chocolate-coated ginger.

Bargara Beach at sunset.

Main street in Bundaberg. Stainless steel palm tree sculpture standing along side the real thing.

Public art is everywhere in Queensland and it's great to see.







Bundaberg Rum Distillery was excellent especially as neither of us are rum drinkers. We did the tour and it was so informative, interesting and entertaining. Molasses is stored in an enormous concrete shed. It looks luscious, like rich and creamy toffee.

The tour guides, Donna and Di, were great. The aromas from the vats is almost intoxicating. Jokingly, Donna offered her microphone to an Italian tourist to do a bit of kareoke and to everyone's surprise, he sang to us. He was a handsome man with a lovely voice. A bonus for eveyone!

We posed with THE BEAR and tasted some of the products on sale.  Rum drinkers were in heaven. Part of the tour entitles each person 2 drinks (and they are a normal size drink).

A friend told us about an excellent liqueur so went along with his recommendation. Fantastic!!!! It's available at cellar door so we have enough to last us for a while unless we share with Jennifer, Heafy, Lynda and Trev.

In Bargara Beach Caravan Park, I didn't expect to bump into an old friend from high school days. Pam and I went through Port Adelaide Girls' High School and we were good friends. Pam, Hartley, Robert and I used to go out socially and once we had kids, we saw each other a few times and have always exchanged Christmas cards.

Chatting for a couple of hours over a cuppa with Pam's mum and dad, we found out that Eunice was in the same class as my dad in primary school at Alberton Primary! What a small world!

We extended our stay so that we could have a really good catch-up. The only changes were our appearances - other than that, we were still the same. Listening to stories of other trips, we discovered that in March we'd missed each other by one day at Tidal River in Wilson's Promontory; in ACT in April, we missed each other by a week. Eunice said that it was bound to happen that we connect sooner or later somewhere in Australia.

Shaz and Pam

We're looking forward to catching up when we both return to Adelaide. I think this made Bargara Beach a special place.

From left: Hartley, Vern, Eunice and Pam

Rockhampton Zoo

This zoo might not be as big as Adelaide's zoo but it's free! The animal exhibits are being renovated to be more spacious and as like the natural habitat as they can be given it's a zoo.

We got up close and personal with a 36 year old chimpanzee that looked lonely. He and another male (38 years old) had a large enclosure with sections of glass windows. The chimp didn't seem to bother about people; he ambled from one end to squat where we were waiting. I took a lot of photos but the reflection from the glass can be seen.

Look at those eyes!











The Zoo is situated in The Botanical Gardens with a golf club as part of the complex. The fern garden is great. With the Fitzroy River running on one side, this is a very peaceful place (until the dingos start howling). The koalas sleep, move a limb and continue sleeping; Snappy, the small crocodile, sits in some water watching; it looks like its in training for its adult life. Another highlight was watching a wombat waddling in its large enclosure in the middle of the afternoon. We've only seen them at night. A lone cassowary was spotted after a long search - they hide themselves very well - no wonder they're hard to find in their habitat.

Checking out the fern garden is a must if you visit Rockhampton. There are some very different ferns from Australia and other countries growing here.