End of this trip.

Tues 5 Dec – The weather has come right at last. We drove down to Noosa Heads along the main street and squeezed into a park near the beach. We walked thru to the beach and spent a couple of hours in the sun/shade and had a great swim. Decided to head north to a camp but found that it was a ferry trip to get there so went south and ended up at Coolum beach and booked into the busy holiday park (expensive!). Before we could walk to the beach the skies went dark and we had a scramble to save the awning in a sudden squall and more heavy rain.

Val contacted Judy and Frank and Jill and Bob (ChCh couples we used to camp with) and we will meet them for lunch tomorrow. In the evening, we walked to the headland along a board walk and watched the surfers.

Wed 6 Dec –  After a shop we drove down to Caloundra to Judy and Frank’s home where we met up with Jill and Bob and caught up on families and old times before going to the Pelican Waters restaurant overlooking a waterway for a long lunch. Back to Judy and Frank’s for a rest before heading down to the waterfront with a bottle of wine and fish and chips to watch the sun set. 

Judy and Frank were going on a motorhome rally the next day, and as we are members of the same club we decided to tag along. We spent the night up their drive.

Thurs 7 Dec – The rally is at the showgrounds in Maleny, a lovely town 28kms inland up in the Glass House Mountains. Before we left for the rally we decided to buy a ladies bike and a  bike carrier from Judy and Frank. At the rally (meet) we were made very welcome and introduced to many couples as they arrived. We walked thru a track to the shopping area and looked at the shops. Quite alternative. 4.00pm was happy hour and everyone ended up outside our van. A very relaxing day!

Fri 8 Dec – A long breakfast outside Judy and Frank’s before a walk to town for coffee and more shopping. In the afternoon, the ladies played cards while Frank and I and many visitors solved the problems of the world. After “Happy Hour” we looked at some old photos with much hilarity.

Sat 9 Dec – Another relaxing day at the rally doing very little. I made use of some tools and completed a couple of jobs. Jill and Bob came up to visit us.  Due to a cancellation, we have been able to go to the Christmas dinner held in the local hall. It was a great night with all the usual trimmings. A fantastic local band played all the old 50 - 80s classics and I even got up and dance a couple of times!!  

Sun 10 Dec – We packed everything away and said our farewells to Judy and Frank and the rest of the CMCA Sun Coaster members before a great 150km drive thru the Glass House Mts. and around a couple of big dams/reservoirs which supply Brisbane with water back to Ipswich. We checked out another storage place but will stick to our original plan. At K-Mart we bought a second bike and helmets, so the bikes are now sorted. The storage place we will use is at Lowood, so we spent our last night in the camper at the Lowood Showgrounds. A decision has been made and this Aussie camper has been christened “Andy”. Why you all ask! Here is the explanation. The camper is a Ford Transit but the model is “Swagman”.  In the song Waltzing Matilda, the swagman’s name was obviously “Andy”. Sing the song to yourself and you will realise why! (Thanks to Jill for the suggestion!)

Mon 11 Dec – Pack up day. After a cup of coffee, Val and I walked to the local laundromat with the bedding and clothes for a final wash up. When that was completed we cooked up the remaining eggs and sausages for brunch before cleaning and shutting “Andy” down. Our storage is just down the other end of the town and Keith (the storage guy) was very thorough with the paperwork etc. Made us feel very happy with our storage choice.  After parking and putting the bikes inside, the timing was great for Carolyn and Jessica to pick us up and drive us back to their place. Gary came home and we all went out for dinner at the local Sports Club. Great steaks!! Tomorrow Gary has drawn the short straw and will take us to the airport at around 5:45am for our flight back to NZ. A very successful trip, thanks to Gary and Carolyn’s hospitality.

On the Road!

Tues 28 Nov – Decided to get our house batteries checked out at a RV repair place recommended by the owner of the yesterday’s storage place. The electrician was not available until around midday so we walked up to the typical country town of Lowood where we were able to complete the ownership papers including the duty (sales tax 3%). We are now the official owners of the motorhome. The house batteries checked OK and I bought some heavier cable to change some wiring. On the road for a short drive to Atkinson Dam where we hoped to stay in a Scout Camp but the gate was locked so we went to the “B” plan, a small holiday park. Still cheap however. I spent a hot afternoon rewiring the fridge and changing some of the solar panel install. Val did some laundry as well as being my apprentice. The camp had a great pool which cooled us off. Everyone we have met has been very friendly and keen for a chat.

Wed 29 Nov – Woke to rain on the roof. Very soothing until we remembered we still had our togs and towels outside. We drove 135kms north and west thru lovely Aussie countryside. Gum trees, windmills, cattle and even some camels. The drizzle turned into torrential rain as we arrived at the

larger town of Nanango, our planned stop for the night (about 100kms inland from the Sunshine Coast). We walked thru the town and picked up a couple of things at the 2 Dollar Shop. Because our batteries were low (no sun) we went to the Nanango Showgrounds for a powered site. These showgrounds are great, lots of room, powered sites and cheap. It has rained all day, we watched the news and weather on TV and the forecast is the same for the next few days.

Thur 30 Nov – Another great drive thru typical Aussie country of 135kms to a rest area at Ban Ban Springs. Val drove part of the trip and managed to hit a large bird and a very near miss with a huge lizard. Neither were her fault!!  The rest area was off the main road and a caravan and a car joined us for the night. We sat outside until a squall came thru. A quiet night however.

 Fri Dec 1 – Everyone had left by the time we got up. As we neared the coast the country changed from gum trees and cattle to sugar and oranges. The camper is running very sweetly but still has no name!
We stopped at Bundaberg, a town famous for its Rum distillery. We shopped for shorts for me, a throw to cover our nice upholstery, and groceries. We drove into the town set either side of the Burnett River and decided to stay in a camp near the centre of town overlooking the river. We walked into town over the bridge. The old colonial buildings were great and the centre reminded us of Gisborne. It was dark (7:00pm) before we came inside. The maximum temperatures are between and 26 – 30C and humid.

Sat Dec 2 – More rain this morning. Val did the laundry before we set off for a 120km drive down the coastal road and the Bruce highway to Hervey Bay. On this highway (of all places) I had to brake suddenly to avoid a kangaroo. Dumb as sheep! We checked out the free parking at the visitor’s centre before heading to the beach for lunch. It is a beautiful bay and we drove the length of the bay before stopping near the surf club where we had a swim in the warm surf, sat in the sun/shade and read. Back to the free parking for the night.

Sun 3 Dec – A sunny morning so I made the best of the weather and climbed onto the roof and repaired some dodgy sealing around one vent. All good now. We were hot and sweaty so we went back to the beach for another great swim before continuing south on the back roads stopping for lunch at Poona, a seaside village overlooking a tidal estuary and Fraser Island. It started to rain just as we approached our planned overnight stop and got so heavy that we missed the parking area and eventually had to stop until it cleared a

bit. We carried on thru Gympie in torrential rain, lightning and thunder stopping for the night at another rest area 6 miles south. It was a large area and filled up with caravans and campers dodging the rain. It was a very good test for the sealing job I did on the roof! Watched the news to TV to find that the rain/flash flooding in Gympie lead the national news.

Mon 4 Dec – As it was still bucketing down we decided to flag paying big money for a beachside camp on the Sunshine Coast until the weather clears on Tuesday. We went back to Gympie and bought stuff to do some jobs. We camped at Eumundi RV Stopover at the sight of the famous Eumundi Markets. As it was still raining we spent the afternoon fixing some 12V wiring and making a door for the freezer box in the fridge. All very successful.