2WD drive around oz

It’s been a long time since our first instalment & I haven’t quite felt up to writing for a while.  It is amazing how quickly you can get back to Sydney from any part of the country and I am glad I was with Mum for her last few days. She has now been released from her suffering and it was good to be with family at that time.

Thank you to everyone who sent messages.  I hope I have responded to all, but can’t be sure. This travelling computer connection stuff is a bit iffy. I leave it up to Rolf to sort out and he gets pretty frustrated with it at times.

Before I flew back to Sydney, we had reached Gympie. Prior to that we had spent three very pleasant nights in Margaret Hemmila’s garden, where we were able to catch our breath, clean our water tank, relax and take a short trip to Tamborine Mountain (Berrima on steroids) where lives Rolf’s favourite clock shop.

After picking up our spare keys from Garth, who had kindly transported them from Sydney, and saying a quick hello to Merelyn and Merfyn, who had arrived at Garth’s just five minutes after we had had our cup of tea, we headed north, eschewing Brisbane and The Gold Coast and heading for the Sunshine Coast. This too was far too populated for us. Gone are the quaint fishing villages of the 60’s, and everywhere is Westfield, tall blocks of units, resorts and lots of traffic.

We headed for the Sunshine Coast hinterland and found Evelyn and Peter peacefully settled in their gorgeous home on a ridge top, looking down on a storybook landscape… cows in the meadow, lush landscape and the hill of Buderim mid distance, with the towers of Maroochydore and the ocean near the horizon. Their house is called Eagles Nest after the two Wedge-Tailed eagles that fly down the valley below their lounge-room window each day. The pair has fledged two young each season for many years and is well known to the locals.

Peter gave us his car to explore the area and we spent a very pleasant afternoon in Montville. The town itself is spread out along a ridge top, an even bigger tourist Mecca than Tamborine, but it has managed to maintain the quaint appeal of cottage industry without replicating goods in shop after shop. Again a perch with fabulous views back to the coast and over to Glass House Mountains. We spent a most enjoyable evening with Peter, Evelyn and Walter. (Sylvia was in Sydney) Thought we would also visit Fran and Josh, but they were in Melbourne visiting Ollie. So many Kenthurst ex pats up this way.

Rolf spent six days in Yandina while I was in Sydney. I think he was almost a local by the time I got back. We took the tour of the Ginger Factory before we left. A mighty lot of ginger sloshing around in enormous vats and we were coerced into buying some ginger products which I must admit have spiced up a few meals very nicely.

Note the photo of Rolf with the gingerbread –man. Notice anything unusual?

Tuesday night 22June found us camping on Inskip Peninsula opposite Fraser Island. I couldn’t help thinking how my Dad would have adored this place; a narrow finger of land, sand under foot, twenty metres east to the ocean with fish a plenty and twenty metres west to the bay with more fish and dolphins to watch for entertainment. We took a one-day tour of Fraser Island, and although we didn’t see much of the promised wildlife, it was a mighty impressive experience.

We travelled along the eastern beach for about 40 km before heading inland to Central Station and the magnificent Lake McKenzie, (see photo) a perched lake above 30 year old reforested country. White sands and crystal clear water, but not warm enough to tempt yours truly to take a dip. There is an untouched forest area on the island called The Valley of the Giants (Kauris) which of course we would all love to see, but it has remained untouched because it was just too difficult country for the loggers to penetrate, so we should all be grateful that it just exists even if we can’t get to see it.   

We spent Wednesday night in Tin Can Bay and were out early next morning to see the two dolphins come in to be fed. They are the third generation from the same pod to come in each day to be fed. The grandfather of the present male was cared for by the people when in came into the bay badly injured by shark attack back in the 1950’s, and animals from the same pod have been coming in ever since. What marvellous animals!

We are relaxing now at Hervey Bay. I had hoped to see whales here, but apparently they go right past at this time of year, then do a U-turn and come back to this bay with their new calves around august. Nevertheless we are in another three star caravan park with a six star location. It seems caravan parks have even exceed the Catholic Church in acquiring the location, location, location spot in most coastal towns. We’ll sit on the shoreline again tonight with dinner while we watch the sun go down and shout to each other that we may be heard above the cacophony of the thousands of rainbow lorikeets in the branches above the van. One wee feathered treasure scored a direct hit on my head last night. I’m told it brings good luck. I wonder what that might be!

Hello Emily, James, Zali, Lachie and Koby

Do you like this picture of Byron Bay Lighthouse? This Lighthouse is on the most easterly point in Australia and it also has the biggest light of all the lighthouses built along the coastline. The lighthouses were built so that ships out at sea could tell where they were at night and would not end up on the rocks in the dark. This light can be seen 50 kilometres out to sea. When we looked over the edge of these craggy rocks we could see dolphins playing in the surf and out further in the ocean we could see whale spouts and whales breaching as they migrated north to have their babies in warmer waters.

            Do you like the photo of Grandpa with the big gingerbread man?