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.