16th May to 6th June 2011

16^th May 2011

We took Foxy for a walk alongside the creek that passes through the parkland across the road from the caravan park.  This is a concrete pathway with several bridges over the creek to allow for varying length walks as the total length is quite long.  We met a cyclist who stopped to tell us that at the second bridge there were lots of blue wrens and red wren plus sun-baking lizards, however, by the time we arrived there the sun had hidden behind cloud so the lizards had gone, and we only briefly saw one so-called red wren.  We have never previously heard of red wrens and suspect it was a robin, and checking in our bird book didn’t help as there is a red backed wren.  The bird we saw was black with a very bright red breast like a robin but was about the size of a wren. We bailed out of the track at the next opportunity to head home via the housing estate as the clouds were quite threatening but at the end of the day it still hadn’t rained.

17^th May 2011

We left Foxy at home again in the late afternoon and took the bus into Brisbane to take some night time photos. 

We walked to the Botanical Gardens and out to the river facing the iconic steel Story Bridge to get the lit up photo, and then walked along towards the point to look across the river at the rock wall that we passed on the boat trip as it is also lit up.



This rock wall is used for rock climbing, abseiling and by emergency services for their rescue training.  We continued around the Botanical Gardens and rossed the river on the Goodwill Bridge which is a pedestrian/cycle bridge only and leads onto the South Bank.  It passes the Maritime Museum which currently houses the boat ‘Ella’s Pink Lady’ that Jessica Simpson sailed solo around the world, and then passes the restaurants/cafes and entertainment venues. 

The walk along the south bank meanders through pleasantly laid out gardens with great views of the city which at night are enhanced by the lights reflected in the river. 

It also passes the huge Ferris wheel (not the world’s biggest, but big enough) which we indulged for the benefit of our second childhood, and the night time views.  We crossed back over the river via the Victoria Bridge, with views to the Kurilpa Bridge, which delivers you back by the lit up Casino and into the mall where we had a coffee break before descending into the bus station and heading home.

22^nd May 2011

We drove up to Mooloolah Valley on the Sunshine Coast to pay a visit to Mark and Jeane who had come down from Mackay to clean up one of their properties in order to put it on the market.  We originally met them in Karratha as members of the four wheel drive club and they later accompanied us on our Canning Stock Route trip.  Mark was busy with his neighbour replacing the tiles in the kitchen so we only saw him for short spells during drink and lunch breaks but Jeanne gave us a tour of the very large house and garden. She then spent the day chatting with us, which considering the amount of work they have got to get through, may have been a nice rest for Jeane or maybe a lot of lost time but we did enjoy and appreciate her company, and will catch up with both of them when we reach Mackay and stay with them for a few weeks on their other property.

23^rd May 2011

Today’s weather report claimed to produce storms in the afternoon so we used the morning to drive to Mount Cool-tha to check out the Botanical gardens and the lookout which is much closer than the Mount Gravatt lookout. 

We went to the summit lookout first to take the mandatory photos and then decided to have lunch at the summit cafe which was an excellent meal.  As we ate we could see the storm approaching and it struck just as we finished our alfresco meal and made it to the car as the sky opened up.  We drove down to the Botanic gardens but the rain was not letting up enough to walk and the drive through was closed off so we drove around the circuit passed the TV towers and eventually found the car park for Slaughter Falls.  The rain had eased considerably but not completely but we still walk to the falls which was little more than a trickle of water despite the deluge we had just driven through.   We continued on to see several aborigine art sites along the trail which eventually brought us back to the falls track and back to the carpark.  This is the only time we have walked through the bush using umbrellas.   The rain had cleared by the time we arrived home.

24^th May 2011

We caught the bus outside the caravan park whilst Foxy stayed at home again, and went into Brisbane to see the South bank in daylight.  We got off the bus at the South bank station and walk to the riverside and started our trip with a coffee break near the Memorial Gardens and then went into the Maritime Museum. 

This was somewhat different to the Fremantle Maritime Museum but still good in its own way, with the highlight being the HMAS Diamantina which is the ship on which the Japanese surrendered from Nauru and Ocean islands in 1945. The other attraction as mentioned before,  is Jessica Simpson’s lone voyage yatch. 
We then walked through the gardens to the beach area of the South bank which is currently being rebuilt as the January floods wrecked a lot of this area. 

Continuing on we stopped for lunch at one of the many options available in the area and then moved on to the Nepalese Temple and the Ferris wheel.  We didn’t want to cross the river via the Victoria Bridge so caught the City Cat boat to part way along the river were we travelled a few days ago and then caught another City Cat back to the next stop after our start point which delivered us to the casino. 

We then caught a City Loop bus and did a lap round the city finishing by the War Memorial, from which we walked back to the Queen Street bus station and home.

We had some of the late afternoon left which we used to pack up some of the chairs, tables, etc ready to move northwards to the relatively close proximity of the Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo.

25^th May 2011

We finished the packing up and moved on to Seaview Caravan Park near Lansborough, so called because it is fairly high with a view to the coast, and about 6kms from the zoo.

26^th May 2011

We visited the zoo which was rather expensive even with our concession cards and food and drink is an expensive exercise as well but it is privately own and therefore has to be self supporting.  It is the most pleasant zoo to walk around and didn’t expect it to be a better day out than the Perth Zoo, but it is as a result of the layout and the entertainment provided. 

There is the usual display of animals and the usual feeding times to attract attention such as the public feeding the elephants by hand, but a great show is put on in the 9 million dollar Crocoseum which has crocodile feeding, free flight bird displays, snakes and elephants. 

Later in the day the Tigers are brought out to play with their keepers, both in and out of their pool, and is a great show. 

In most zoos you are lucky to glimpse any of the cat family as they laze around out of view most of the time but we got to see the tigers and also a cheetah being led by its keeper for a walk through the park. 

We were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time just after the tiger show as we had to walk past the red panda enclosure and one of the two decided to come down out its tree and wander around for us to see properly. 

We spent 7 hours at the zoo and saw everything they had although the turtles only showed us their heads.  At the moment they are not displaying their African animals as they are building a new display area for them which will open in September.  This zoo is an experience we can recommend if you happen to be in the area.

27^th May 2011

We visited Mark and Jeane again to help them clean up their property as Mark has to return to work soon and they still have a lot to do in the garden and house and we had held Jeane up a few days ago.  We cleared the two flower beds outside the back door of weeds ready for mulching with pine bark and then moved into the palm trees at the front of the property to remove the fallen and hanging fronds.  We then joined Jeane on the other side of the driveway to thin out the jungle in that area and then in the late afternoon moved to palm fronds from around the small dam which is currently covered with some small leaved stuff on the surface which gives the appearance of grass which Foxy thought she could walk on.  It didn’t work for her but she proved that she can swim, but she hates water so wasn’t impressed, and then had to suffer the indignity of being washed to warm her back up, as well as clean her.  The day was finished off with a barbecue in the evening before heading home again.

28^th May 2011

We returned to Mark and Jeane’s for another attack on the garden and have arranged to move the caravan to their property tomorrow for a couple of days to help them get everything finished, including getting rid of 2 monstrous piles of garden material.  We eliminated a huge amount of the garden material with a bonfire as there was no wind and threat of rain, and well clear of all other trees and house, which has greatly reduced the required number of trips to the tip.  We also built a pine log wall around a garden bed ready to fill with mulch, and happily Foxy didn’t go anywhere near the dam.  We didn’t stay for a barbecue as we wanted to dismantle our annex in order to stow it whilst it is dry as we will not be using it again until we reach Jeanne and Mark’s place in Mackay in about a week time.

29^th May 2011

We made move to Jeane and Marks and after setting up the van continued with the onslaught of the garden.  At the end of the day the two piles of garden refuse were eliminated including what was added throughout the day and 60% of the 2 beds at the rear of the house now have a brick edge around them.

30^th May 2011

It rained with thunder last night and the garden is once again turned into a virtual bog as the heavy clay soil doesn’t allow the water to drain away but the weather cleared by morning and allowed progress. The remaining brick edging round the rear bed has been completed, all beds mulched with bark chips and the path to shed topped up with blue metal chips.

31^st May 2011

Finalised the gravel pathways and loaded the trailer with the recyclable material and took it to the tip which included a visit to exchange a bud battery that was still inside its warranty, and Bunnings.  The trailer has been refilled with genuine rubbish ready for another trip to the tip and then Barry joined Mark on the roof to replace all of the screws in the house roof.  Barry is taking out the old screws whilst Mark puts the new ones in, which has sped the proceedings up quite significantly. The concrete path around the house under the eaves has been painted and the huge shed has been partially cleaned out, as has one of the three car garages.  

1^st June 2011

Mark and Barry took the general rubbish to the tip and then continued with some more replacement of the roofing screws.  After lunch they fitted some lattice fencing to the rear of the chicken run and then piped the third water tank into the existing two tank system. 

Meanwhile, Merry and Jeane cleaned out the chicken run whilst Foxy had the time of her life with so much room and so many places to explore, and although she has met the chickens and has decided to just treat them with respect, and prefers them cooked.

2^nd June 2011

Mark and Barry hung some new doors in the house and garage and then had a final attack on the roofing screws whilst the neighbour from the back block cut through some old tyres to put around the fruit trees. Barry then modified some of the water piping to various points and started to spread a cubic metre of sand over the lawn where the tractor and vehicles had chewed it up a bit, and also on the boggy patches where the heavy clay soil will not let the water soak away. Among other jobs, Mark fitted a new battery to the ride-on lawn mower ready for use tomorrow and for his father to use in the future until the property is sold.  Merry cleaned the caravan both inside and outside whilst Jeanne cleaned the garages out and the pool area.

3^rd June 2011

Barry finished spreading the sand and then mowed the extensive lawn asrea with the ride-on mower whilst Merry cleaned Mark’s father’s barbeque ready for him to collect on the weekend.  After lunch we packed up the van and headed towards Mackay and stopped overnight at a large, well used, free camp site just north of Gin Gin.  Menwhile Mark and Jeane will have left soon after us to go to some friends in Gympie for a couple of nights.  We will meet them in their Mackay home, which is actually in Sarina slightly south of Mackay, in a couple of day’s time. 

4^th June 2011

We continued our journey after a bit of a lazy start at about 9.00am and stopped off at our next free camp site at Waverley Creek, about 130 south of Mackay, so tomorrow will probably have an even later start as Mark and Jeane will not get home from Gympie until late afternoon although they don’t have to be home before we get there. 

5^th June 2011

The morning turned out to be quite interesting as a couple and teenage son in a converted bus came into spend the night but arrived in the dark so we didn’t see anything odd about it.  However, the bus was pulling a trailer carrying a Suzuki Jiminy for driving around in when settled in an established destination, but apparently this had partially fallen off the back of the trailer due to a failed turnbuckle and dragged the rear wheels along behind them with the hand brake on.  This had completely worn through both rear tyres.  We stopped and help them jack the back of the car up and get it back onto the trailer wand added some useful advice about securing it more effectively.  If one failed turnbuckle is sufficient to let the vehicle fall off then it isn’t exactly secure.  We continued our journey through what is obviously sugar cane country, although it is also a coal area, and arrived at Mark and Jeane’s at about 1.00pm and they arrived at about 5.30pm, so our camp was fully set up when they arrived.

6^th June 2011

We drove through to Mackay, but not as a tourist trip, it was to visit the Nissan agents to arrange for the top of our dashboard to be replaced with a new one as ours has blistered which it is not supposed to do.