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!