Parked Up

HOUSE SITTING We are lucky enough to be house sitting whilst we are home on the Gold Coast over Christmas/New Year. Feel like we are rattling around after living comfortably in 21 foot, might even lose weight with all the walking. In the van I can check what's cooking from my seat. Lovely having the pool and of course to have family and friends over for Christmas.

We envisage being back on the road by the 10th January and I look forward to sharing our amazing journey with you. Have a great Christmas and we wish you good health and happiness for 2010!

Far East

CAPE BYRON This is the most eastern point of Australia. The area sure does know how to take your money, caravan parks seem to charge per person, first time we have struck this and nearly every bit of beachfront, national parks and the lighthouse charge for car parking. It certainly does not deter visitors and the streets are bustling with a lot of young people and a variety of them, we feel like old fossils.
BYRON BEACH It was a bit overcast yesterday morning, but later on the sun burnt off the cloud to a lovely day. The back drop of the hinterland is really nice.

CARPET PYTHON about 2 metres long on the road at Nightcap National Park, thank goodness for a good zoom lens. We visited the Minyon falls, a lush valley but alas no water, would be very spectacular when there is.

The snake was not at all concerned about us and made no effort to move, who were we to argue?

Oh Yes, we do like to be beside the seaside

YAMBA Yesterday we arrived here, it is on the southern side of the Clarence River, a really nice seaside town, again a lot of waterways, new homes and famous for it's prawns. ILUKA BLUFF Iluka is across from Yamba and on the northern side of the Clarence River, more sleepy than Yamba but still some nice beaches and the coast north of here is National Park abutting the southern side of Evans Head.

Today we followed the Clarence River through Maclean and on to Grafton, the area has a lot of sugar cane and a few cows. Maclean looks like a really nice town with great views of the river.
YAMBA GOLF COURSE home to kangaroos once the sun starts to set.

Coasting Along

BALLINA Visited here today and surprised at the amount of waterways in the area with the Richmond River, estuaries and several creeks, a lot of new homes and a highway bypass under construction to save traffic going through the city. CHINAMANS BEACH, EVANS HEAD We have been here the last few days, the weather has been warm enough to feel like swimming but the wind has not made the sea very appealing. Yesterday there was a pod of about a dozen dolphins frolicking only 30 metres off shore.
HASTINGS POINT, TWEED COAST this is where we stayed prior to Evans Head.

Border Ranges National Park

TWEED VALLEY Today we drove through some lush countryside to the National Park, once there we enjoyed spectacular views with lookouts across the valley at a similar height to Mt Warning. A quiet spot and only came across two other vehicles, presume it is busier at the weekend. Can't get over how lovely and green everything is after the drought stricken areas we have been through. Saw lot's of wood pigeons, rosellas and willy wagtails. BRINDLE CREEK and some water!

SPIDER WEB just loved the way it glistened with the dew.

CARPET PYTHON? no, we didn't run it over.

Green, green, grass

MURWULLIMBAH inland from the Tweed Coast, how nice was it to see the green countryside after all the drought stricken ground we have travelled over. Today has been overcast, we are staying at the coastal town of Hastings Point, so not quite beach weather.
TWEED VALLEY lovely rolling hills and the area has cattle, tea, bananas and sugar cane.

Bustling Brisbane

BRISBANE CITY you can just make it out through the heat haze, yesterday it was 34 degrees, really muggy after being on the coast. The city is so busy; could not handle that traffic every day, we are definitely not big city people, really like small towns. This is the view from Mt Cootha where all the TV channels are based. ST MARYS CATHOLIC CHURCH in Ipswich which is about 40kms west of Brisbane. The city has some magnificent buildings and was established around coal mines in the area. We were surprised at just how hilly Brisbane and Ipswich are.

Inside St Mary's Catholic Church which was built in 1904.

Former residence of the Christian Brothers and now St Edmunds College, Ipswich.

Update

MARY VALLEY RATTLER We have had the last few days at Tewantin on the Sunshine Coast, had a relaxing few days. Got some odd jobs done on the van, one was the air-conditioning, had it re-gassed and a capacitor replaced, boy oh boy do they know how to charge. One day we went for a drive through the Mary Valley, this is where the Traveston Dam was due to go.

We caught up with our caravan friends Don and Barbara one night so that was good. Had a swim at Noosa beach, have never swum in such clear water, you could even see fish.

Yesterday we came through to Brisbane, ended up having the afternoon in as threat of a storm and thought we had better stay home in case we had to batten down the hatches.

BIG BOYS TOYS working on the Bruce Highway where it is being realigned to go around the now cancelled Traveston Dam, it sure does need duplicating.

More Coloured Sand

RAINBOW BEACH This morning we were up at 5am so had a walk along the beach and to below the Carlo Sand Blow that we visited yesterday. The colours were just beautiful so had to jump on line and share the photos.
Check out the sand falling like a waterfall. No wonder they tell you stay away from edge when you are up the top.

Aren't the layers of colour just great. When you touch what looks like rock it is just compacted sand and crumbles in your hands.

Back to the Seaside

RAINBOW BEACH Another really lovely coastal town, great atmosphere and not too touristy. The caravan park filled up yesterday with families coming here for the weekend, nice to see people making the most of the great outdoors. Have had a few swims in the sea, divine!
COLOURED SANDS Further along from Rainbow Beach is this section of coloured sand, similar to what we saw in North Queensland near Hopevale. You can drive along the beach, one of the few spots where vehicles are permitted on the beach. This photo was taken from the top of Carlo Sand Blow.

CARLO SAND BLOW above the beach, it seemed a shame to walk on the sand and leave our footprints. In the distance is Double Island Point, this sand blow is similar to what you see on the east coast of Fraser Island which is just north of here. Para and hang gliders take off from here, they must be pooped just getting the gear to the top ready for take off.

Stepping back in time

MARYBOROUGH what a lovely city which was at one stage destined to be the capital city of Queensland. There are magnificently restored buildings and homes, it would have to have the most restored properties we have seen, a real credit to them. Hervey Bay 30km's away is a real contrast with modern homes and the gateway to Fraser Island.
SHIP BOLLARDS down by the river, spot the ring in. The Mary River snakes through the city, one of the few rivers at the moment with a lot of water in it, not attractive as very muddy, doubt if you would be able to spot a Mary River Turtle or lung fish. MARY POPPINS the author of the novel was raised in the area. When we got to this statue she looked a bit different as she had on a Maryborough high school shirt and skirt - we saw some others take a photo and we wonder if they didn't realise that was not how she was meant to look.

Vegetable capital

BUNDABERG it is just incredible how red the soil is in this volcanic area. There sure are a variety of vegetables grown in the area, tomato's, watermelons, sweet potato's, chilli's and of course sugar cane. There are also a lot of macadamia nut orchids.

WOODGATE BEACH how pristine is this area? A really nice strip of coast with a mixture of old and new homes on the esplanade, then only about two streets back with the rest being national park. Nice to be south of where there are stingers and sharks as your swimming companions. Called into a new development there where a friend, Kathryn and I used to work with at the Professionals Bonifant Group is now working.

CHILDERS is a really tidy town along the Bruce highway with the main street being Heritage Listed, so some great old buildings. Childers has a lot of stone fruit grown here so a busy time with the picking.

Nothing like a wedding

SHANE MORGAN AND SARA SKINNER We have been back on the Gold Coast for a few days to attend Sara and Shane's wedding on Friday the 13th; they had their first date four years ago on that date. What a lovely day we had sharing this special occasion and Sara, Shane and Billie's speech was very emotional, sure did need a good sized hanky. Sara and I used to work together at MJ Real Estate so have known each other for the last 12 years.
US as you can see we have not lost any weight with all our walking, must be my good cooking and Paul's bar skills! Good to know that a couple of gypsies can scrub up alright when required, makes a change from shorts and a t-shirt.
It was a bonus to have some time with Mum and Dad and we are now back at Bargara Beach, the coastal suburb of Bundaberg.

Gladstone - Pollutant city?

TANNUM SANDS what a lovely spot, just 20km's south of Gladstone, the beachside town has a really nice feel to it. We spent the last three nights at the caravan park there, it adjoined bush so kangaroos were there in the late afternoon and lot's of birdlife.
GLADSTONE a very high industry town with coal departing the city, a power plant and alumina factory. The port is due to double in the next few years. Despite the so called polluted air there are a lot of new homes being built. Personally I would rather travel 20kms and live at Tannum Sands.

GREEN TREE SNAKE spooky; he was thin and long, seemed that he went on forever coming out of the leafy undergrowth and into the orchid house at the Gladstone gardens.

TOWN OF 1770 this is where have arrived today, named after the date that Captain Cook landed here. It was overcast this morning with some rain out at sea, the day cleared, good for us tourists but not good for the area which is tinder dry.

TOWN OF 1770 BEACH later today and accessed from the caravan park.

Capricorn Coast

VIEW OF ROCKHAMPTON from Mt Archer. As you can see the trees in the forefront are charred from the recent fires in the area. It is just amazing how close the fire was to homes in the area and how lucky the home owners were to not suffer any damage. The Fitzroy river runs through the city of Rockhampton and is the second largest river to the Murray river.
YEPPOON has a lovely bay with aqua water and views across to Great Keppel Island, alas today when we were there, the tide was out and there was the most shocking salty/fishy smell. I spoke to a lady later and she thought it might of been from the coral spawning, so not the usual - thank goodness as you would need to wear a peg on your nose. EMU PARK statue in tribute to Captain Cook naming the area in 1770.

ROCKHAMPTON ZOO is this what you call a sitting duck? Just love the colours.

FRANGIPANI Rockhampton Botanic Gardens

JELLYFISH floating in the Fitzroy River, there were thousands of them; creepy.

Mackay Highland

SUGAR CANE as far as the eye can see as you head out into the Pioneer Valley and you are surrounded on three sides by the Clarke Ranges. Mackay has the largest sugar cane terminal in Australia.
PIONEER VALLEY from Eungella which is at the top of the ranges.
PIONEER RIVER meanders through the valley.

MONITOR LIZARD which is about 2 foot long, we saw three of these in the Finch Hatton Gorge which is part of the Eungella National Park but at the base of the range. It was lovely to walk through the rainforest which had green ground cover, lush vegetation and to breath in the odour of damp undergrowth.

MACKAY MARINA we were surprised at the number of new apartment buildings overlooking the marina. This photo was taken from a rock retaining wall that is the length of the marina. Out in the port there were at least 17 boats waiting to enter the harbour.