22nd February to 4th March 2012

22^rd February 2012

Today we had a trial run to Caboolture hospital to check the route and timing so that Merry can arrive there on time on Friday evening for her overnight stay for further sleep apnea studies.  In the evening it rain quite hard for a long period which eventually waterlogged the annex area in a few places but not completely, and it seems to drain away fairly quickly from this site.  Since coming back to the Brisbane area we have had more rain, some of it torrential, than we have ever experienced including during the cyclone season in the North West.  We are told it is not as bad as last year as they have not had a lot less flooding than last year, but are still getting more than they like.

23^rd February 2012

It rained in the night and has rained steadily and almost continuously all day.  The one slight break this morning was just long enough to do a few of our necessary outdoor chores and hasn’t stopped since, and looks like continuing through the night.  More rain is predicted for most of the next week so very little tourist activity will be happening here.

25^th February 2012

It has rained continuously for the last couple of days and especially hard last night along with a bit of wind which finally wrecked one corner of the tarp that we use to extend the annex.  We have now rotated the tarp 180 degrees so that the damaged corner is held by the annex anti flap clamp and some additional poles and guy ropes are now in use.  We now wait and see what happens in the next torrential downpour which might not be today as it is still very heavily overcast and threatening but not actually raining. 

We took the opportunity of this ‘no rain’ break to drive out to Glasshouse Mountain Lookout which provides great views of the other surrounding mountains which are the remaining solid core of ancient volcanoes.  Naturally there is an aboriginal tale to explain their existence but we’ll settle for the volcanic action.  It thought about raining whilst we were there but decided not to bother so we took the 800 metre circuit walk which only provided exercise as it descended below the tree line and obscured the view.  The visibility wasn’t good enough to photograph the surrounding scenery from the lookout so we are hoping for a clear dry day in the not too distant future.  Some of the so called ‘Sunshine Coast’ slightly north of us copped up to 300mm in the last 24 hour period so we must have been on the edge of it as we only got about 100mm.

26^th February 2012

The ‘no rain’ spell ended around midnight with more torrential rain for a couple of hours but the remodelled tarp arrangement stood up well this time.  We instigated the tarp extension in place of a shade cloth one that we had made in Tasmania so that we retain a dry area outside of the annex for Foxy to do her night time business without having to go back to bed in a wet state, and also provides shade, or rain protection, for us if we choose to sit outside to catch the breeze.  It also allows us to put the clothes line out there to dry in the breeze without being rinsed again by the rain. 

27^th February 2012

The rain in the night was short and sweet and all we got and the morning produced a day that was good enough to venture out, so we packed a picnic lunch and headed off to tour the Brackall Ranges and the townships on the way.  We took Foxy with us even though we knew this would probably stop us seeing some things due to being in National Parks but decided that we would see what there was to excite us today and come back on a genuinely good day.  Hopefully that will not be too far away. We passed through Lansborough without stopping as we had been there before and continued on to Maleny via an alternate route to a lookout that has views of the Glass Mountains, but it was very hazy and not at all good for photography.   Maleny is pleasant little township that has an interesting dog free park for next time.  

We parked in the shopping centre and walked along the riverside walk for a short distance and found a lizard that wanted to pose for us.  We then moved on through Witta and Conondale, both of which had nothing of interest other than the views on the way, to Kenilworth.    We also stopped alongside Little Yabba Creek for our lunch which showed the force of the water that had passed through during the recent heavy rain that had obviously risen several metres and damaged trees, etc.  This creek joins the Mary River which would have helped it swell and flood part of Gympie a few days ago.  Whilst here, we took a walk through the Fig Tree Walk which offered several huge fig trees with their amazing root formations, and also huge stinging trees with leaves the size of tea plates.  In these areas of the walk Barry carried Foxy to avoid her feet being stung by the fallen leaves.  The signage states that leaves collected in 1910 are still capable of stinging today, as are the dead fallen leaves. 

One fig tree had a boardwalk extension into its root structure for photo shots which we took advantage off, and then spotted the long tail end off a colourful snake (possibly a Diamond Python) passing under us to hide beneath the boardwalk. 

From here we moved through Kenilworth and on to Mapleton and into the national park to the car park and looked out over the Mapleton Falls, which unfortunately has a side on lookout so you only see the water come over the top but can’t see much of the actual drop.  However, if it were not for someone risking their all to build the lookout whilst suspended on a rope over a considerable drop, we wouldn’t get to anything.  There is a walk here but we couldn’t take Foxy and it was too hot to leave her in the car for 45 minutes so moved on to Montville.  This attractive township is similar to North Tamborine with its boutiques, art galleys, wineries and fine dining, etc and also has great views from the town and a lookout further down the road. 

There are views on both sides of the road during this trip as much of it is on narrow mountain ridges between the towns.  The circuit returned us to Maleny and then homeward with a slight detour near the end to check out Mount Tibrogargan, which overlooks the caravan park.  There is a dog free walk around it for a later date without Foxy.  We will be doing some of this trip again without Foxy to visit Kondalilla Falls, Gardner’s Falls and Lake Baroon which are in National Parks.

29^th February 2012

This proved to be another dry and warm day, so we packed another lunch and visited Bribie Island which is very much a retirement island for the wealthy.  There is some very serious real estate along the coastal strips with views of the mainland with the Glasshouse Mountains in the background. 

We stopped at the side of a pond alongside a new residential estate and watch some old timers controlling the rudders of their small racing yachts on the water.  We drove on to place called White Patch where Matthew Flinders landed and also beached his ship for repairs.  We had our lunch in the attached park, and then drove out some of the beaches on the side of the island facing the mainland.  These were nothing to rave about but if you happen to be the type that can laze around on a beach with a book for hours on end then here would be as good as anywhere.  We crossed to the seaward side of the island to the entrance to the beach track for 4WD vehicles to explore the top end of the island, but didn’t take the car onto the beach track as it is currently closed due to the recent excessive rains.  One also has to have a permit which is $39 dollars for a week which is not bad if you are on a camping trip for a week and can travel the length of the island at will, but for a one day visit is not on.  There is an old WW2 bunker at this point which was part of the Brisbane protection, but there is no entry into it for a look around and the associated beach looks just like all of the others, sand, and despite being seaward didn’t have any bigger waves.  We weren’t particularly impressed with the island from a tourist viewpoint but we can see the benefits of retiring there if you happen to have the bank balance to go with it.  Real estate will always hold a high price as only a very small area of the island is available for building on.    There is a bus station at the shopping centre that goes through to Caboolture where you can catch a train into Brisbane which is quite a cheap trip for pensioners.

1^st March 2012

Yesterday the weather was pretty good and today is better with really clear skies and good for photography so once again we packed a picnic lunch and drove to Beerwah and round to Mount Ngungun. 

The signage stated to allow 2 hours if you choose to climb to the summit.  Here we had the option of walking to the end of the relatively easy section of the track although it included about 60 steps within the uphill zigzag walk and stopped at a point with no view other than the surrounding trees. 

The other option was to look big and clamber up the next two much steeper sections over rocks and tree roots, which we chose to do.  After the first of the steep section was a flat area where there was a view in one direction which we took advantage of but didn’t rest as we had a rest just before the top of this section where a young guy was encouraging his girlfriend to do her first short abseil down the cliff face.  She didn’t manage it while we rested and left her to it without an audience.

The next even steeper section was tough but we did it and sat on the top and enjoyed the magnificent 320 degree views.  Whilst we rested here a much younger holidaying English couple arrived and had a chat and then pointed out that the actual summit was off to the left up a narrow ridge top track which then offered the complete 360 degree views, but meant standing fairly close to the sudden drop. 

The trip back down was less strenuous but more difficult as much of the steep stuff had to be done backwards but we did eventually arrive gratefully at the easy part of the track despite the steps. The abseilers had left so we will never know if the girl did manage to overcome the fear. 

After subtracting the approximate time spent watching abseilers, taking photos and chatting with other people near the summit, our climb took around 2 hours 10 minutes, so we nearly kept up with the rest of the world.  On arrival back at the car we drove to the Glasshouse Mountain Lookout where we visited a few days ago to use the table and seats for our lunch and take more photos on a clear day, or so we thought.  Someone had decided today was a good day to do a controlled burn off in the ground litter within the pine forest in the mountain area so visibility in one direction was still not so good. 

We returned to the caravan earlier than usual on our days out but we decided to take it easy for the rest of the day and attack some more of the walks, and climbs, in the future subject to weather conditions.

3^rd February 2012

This is supposed to be the last fine day so we drove north eastwards to the small township of Buderim perched on a small mountain inland from Mooloolaba and Caloundra.  The reason for this visit was the attraction of Buderim Forest Park and waterfall that we spotted in some of the literature that we collected from the Visitor Centre at Maleny.  The town itself is larger than we expected with a tree lined main street and 2 roundabouts which seems to be mandatory these days.  We found the Visitor Centre in the old renovated post office and gained the required directions to the Park and falls plus a heap more that the old chook insisted we have.  She must have been feeling lonely.  There are 2 ways to the falls with parking at each end with one near the top and walk down whilst the other is near the bottom and walk up with the addition of a meals facility.  We chose to walk down as that was the closest end and obviously had to walk back up as the car hasn’t worked out how to meet us at the other end.  On the way we were offered to paths which both  end at the falls so we chose the longer one which crosses over the stream a short distance upstream from the falls and then zigzags down to join the other path and final steps to the pool at the base of the falls. 

Walking around the right hand side of the pool takes you into a cave that allows you to get almost behind the falling water and looks out across the pool at the bridge that brings the alternate path across to the steps. 

Moving past the steps and away from the pool there is another rough track alongside the stream past several smaller pools, waterfalls and cascades until you have to cross the stream either by wading, or dubious rock hopping.

We chose to wade across and continued along the stream on the other side past more small falls until eventually joining a boardwalk that covered the last 300 metres to a grassy park and to what we thought would be a cafe for a cuppa.  It turned out to be a very expensive restaurant which we ignored as our picnic lunch was waiting in the car.  o get back across the stream which Merry found slightly difficult with her shorter legs but managed with a helping hand. From the main waterfall we took the bridge over the stream and up the other path to a totally pointless lookout platform that looks at nothing and continued up to the carpark. It was a 2.6km trip with some clambering and climbing but well worth the effort. 

After lunch we visited the Pioneer cottage that was once the only building on the mountain but has now buildings all round it blocking out its view to the coast.

We drove down to the coast at Mooloolaba and along the coast line to Caloundra which offered the choice of some sandy beach in amongst rock slabs. Both towns had the usual Cappuccino Strips along the beachfront and high rise apartments but not to the extent of the Gold Coast. 

On the way through, we called into the fishermans harbour more by chance than design, and picked up some some fresh fish and prawns. 

9th February to 20th February 2012

9^th February 2012

The weather has cleared and allowed us to pack up Richard’s tent in the dry and stored the airbeds and sleeping bags for future reference.  In the afternoon we drove through to the airport to drop Richard off to fly back to WA to check out a few job prospects on some mine sites.  Fortunately Merry had queried the flight time and as it turned out Richard had misinterpreted the 24 hour clock timing which would have meant missing his flight by 2 hours had we gone to the airport based on his original flight time.  We are getting many walk-by visits from at least 3 Bungarra that Foxy would love to have a go at, even though their claws would rip her to shreds.

10^th February 2012

We repacked the roof rack on the car as we now have a larger tent to carry and also an unused boogie board but fortunately the total height is still under 2.3 metres which lets us use 2.4 undercover parking at shops, etc but still have to approach cautiously as many are only 2.1 metres.  The annoying part is that the 2.4 metre sections are usually full of cars not much bigger than a shopping trolley because of the shade, so the height might be okay but no room left for the larger vehicles.

14^th February 2012

We had a day out in Ipswich which stared with a drive around the centre of town and noted that the place is saturated in parking meters and then drove out to Queens Park where the Visitors Centre is located.  We collected some literature and information and proceeded deeper into the park to the cafe for lunch via the Lion’s Lookout for an overview of the town.

After lunch we strolled round the Japanese Gardens and then the Nature Park which we had to do in turns so that one of us could look after Foxy who wasn’t allowed in.  We then did some necessary shopping before heading home

16^th February 2012

Foxy stayed at home alone for a few hours whilst we headed up to North Tamborine at the top of the mountain to take a look at Witches Falls that is within a National Park, hence on Foxy.  There is a circuit walk with the Falls Lookout almost half way round and we chose to go the slightly shorter way to the Falls in the first instance.  The downhill walk was through both open forest and then rainforest with several sets of stone steps with the final section of track to the lookout being a 200 metre offshoot from the circuit track. 

The side view of the falls is unfortunately partially obscured by a palm tree which also partially obscures the view of the bottom of the falls which is quite a drop.  Photos of the falls do not do it justice but neither does the side view lookout and there is no way down to the bottom for a good look other than using gravity only, which makes it hard to get back up.  We set off on the return leg of the circuit to find a completely flooded area that also covered the track with a sign indicating an alternative wet track.   We took the alternative track which also became flooded but we spotted a sign post across the water which we assumed to be the other end of the alternative track, so we walked around the water to meet up with the sign and the original track.  When we reached the top there was a sign stating that the track is closed to the public.  Pity they didn’t put one at the other end although it didn’t actually affect us and still let us get to see some of the distant views on the way out. 

 We are led to believe that the falls only happens after a decent amount of rain, which we have had, and assume it forms the small lake that feeds the falls until it empties, which may take a while as there was a small water course running across the downward track that we took initially.

18^th February 2012

We took Foxy with us this time up to Botanic Gardens but it is a No Dog garden so we parked and strolled with heaps of other tourists along Gallery Walk which is a single road dedicated to art, craft, wines, fine food, etc. 

Some of the buildings were impressive but the place that most impressed us was the Cuckoo Clock house which was built to look like a cuckoo clock and was filled with hundreds of both cuckoo and grandfather clocks, all of which were extremely expensive.  We left Foxy at home again in the afternoon and returned to the botanic gardens which were surprisingly large and well kept for such a small township. 

It was obviously the wrong time of year for this visit as there were no trees or flowers in bloom, with the odd exception, but was still a pleasant stroll through the various palm avenue, rainforest, magnolias, rose garden and Japanese sections all surrounding a lily pond.

19^th February 2012

In the morning we clambered along the edge of Cedar Creek where it flows through the campground so that we could get some photos of the rapids and rock pools.  On our return to camp we started the process of packing up ready to move on in the morning.

20^th February 2012

We fished the packing up and left northward for Beerburrum near Caboolture, and also not far from the Australia Zoo that we have visited twice and also close to the Glass House Mountain area which we will explore in the next week or so.  Unfortunately most of that area is National Park so Foxy will spend some time alone again.  The current caravan park is obviously an old park with mainly permanent residence with very little space reserved for short term visitors.  It doesn’t have concrete pads for the annex but does have a good cover of grass rather than bare earth but will have to wait and see what it is like if we have some heavy rain.

18th January to 4th February 2012

18^th January 2012

We drove up to Brisbane airport and collected Jack and Rory and returned to the camp where they immediately tried out the swimming pool and bouncing balloon.

19^th January 2012

We drove the 100 plus kilometres up to the Sunshine Coast to visit the Australia Zoo that we visited some time ago but they have introduced an African section since then although it is rather sparse at this point in time with just Rhinos, Zebra, Giraffes and a Cheetah.  We didn’t actually see the Cheetah this time whereas last time we saw it being taken for a walk through the Park on a leash, not in an enclosure.

20^th January 2012

We bought some more tent poles, a larger tarp and a long spreader to make the covered area in front of the annex into a substantial shade area when the sun is high, or a more effective rain cover when we sit outside. Whilst we did this, Richard and the kids went to Wet & Wild which is in walking distance from the caravan park

21^st January 2012

We drove to the Gold Coast to visit the CSI Experience and we all managed to solve the case based on the evidence that we collected from the murder scene. After lunch Richard and Jack went into the Haunted House but Rory opted to stay with us while that happened but Merry took her into a Light Show to pass the time.  Richard and Jack finished their disappointing visit and we went around to the Light Show area to wait for the others who were still in the queue waiting to go in so Jack got to do that as well.  On the way home we called in to a shopping centre to buy a cheap bogie board for the kids to use in the surf at some time. 

22^nd January 2012

The Tarp covered area outside the annex does keep the rain of the top of one’s body but the water flows in across the ground of this flood prone paddock.  When Richard booked it he wasn’t told that if it rains you paddle in water but still pay extortionate rates. He booked here because it is close to the entertainment strip and fortunately most of that involves getting wet so doing it in the rain doesn’t make much difference.

23^rd January 2012

Barry bought some new 150 mm poly pipe and made up a new longer pole carrier for the van whilst it was not raining,  but it  started a bit later and gradually got worse until the evening when it became torrential.

24^th January 2012

 The torrential rain continued for most of the night and then settled down to a more reasonable but continuous rain.  The weather forecast is for at least a week of this weather which defeats the attempt to get the kids around to places with less crowding as the Queensland kids have gone back to school.  It has become obvious that if you want to visit Queensland as a tourist you need to do it in the winter even though the place looks a lot drier and waterfalls are not as effective, etc.  If you come here in the summer you can expect a lot of rain apparently, and we have been told by locals that the places we really liked in the winter are not so great at this time of the year.  In general Queensland is low on our list of where we would like to live.  It is also quite expensive to live here and their roads leave a lot to be desired.  The river near the camp has risen by metres so the 2 drainage ditches through the camp can’t flow away any more and are spreading towards us.  That happens with 100mm of rain overnight so reception sent their man to help us move to higher ground which was a nice gesture but no fun with it still throwing it down.  The move took all day with extreme difficulty and multiple drenchings and cost a fair bit with drying everything.

25^th January 2012

We had another 100mm plus overnight and still going strong so water is flowing across annex floor despite now  having a concrete pad .  It is likely you will see Brisbane on TV in another flood situation like last year as they have done little, or nothing to avoid a repeat, other than talk about it. 

Barry took a stroll down to the low area where our campsite had originally been and the 2 drainage ditch were totally under water as was the whole camping area as the river had come to meet it all and was now about a metre deep with just power points and the odd tree showing above the water line.  Richard checked it later in the day and it was higher.  The bridge on the road leading out of here was also covered with 1.5 metres of water and well over the hand rail level so the road was closed, as was the road in the other direction.  After the oceans high tide at 11.00am the water receded as the tide went out allowing the river water to follow it and by 3.00pm the bridge was back in use to allow us to do some shopping which included a detour due to road conditions.  We didn’t hear it raining in the night so assume that if it did it was at least gentle.  The Gold Coast beaches have been closed to the public as they are covered in debris that has been washed out to sea so the boogie board will not get used for some time, if at all.

26^th January 2012

First thing in the morning and it wasn’t raining but threatening and everywhere is soggy to the extent that the car tyres look half flat but are simply sunken into the ground. The weather forecast is for an easing of the rain which will return with a vengeance again towards the weekend.

27^th January 2012

The rain hasn’t eased but there were only a few patches of torrential rain.  In the evening we had a meal out in the Gold Coast at Outback Jack’s which was good but very expensive.

28^th January 2012

We drove through to the Gold Coast again to visit Sea World as Richard had bought a 3 venue ticket for the kids and himself and this was the third venue.

 We went in to see the polar bears, penguins and dolphins and there was also a jetski demonstration from some of the world’s top riders.  

The riders here are very fast and wild and were not on our list of things to do as we preferred to retain our lunch, but virtually all of the more gentle rides and sideshows were closed. 

Considering the lousy weather there was still a huge attendance to this venue (mainly Asian) so we didn’t go to any of the animal feeding sessions as it was obvious you would need to get there half an hour early and wait around if you actually wanted to see anything.   The kids did most of the rides that were operating but Rory missed out on some due to minimum height restrictions.

29^th January 2012

Richard and the kids went across to Wet & Wild and also Movie World despite the rain as that reduced the number of people at the venues which gave them easier access to the rides.  The rain cleared in the afternoon which allowed us to pack our annex away in a dry condition as we had decided to leave the swamp that we were living in a day early and move to a more pleasant park.  Being much further from the beaches the Boogie board will not get used.

30^th January 2012

Despite heavy rain in the night it cleared to let us pack the tent up in a dry condition and we moved out by 10.00pm and headed inland to Tamborine Mountain Caravan Park which was not easy to find even with the Navman which attempted to send us up a ‘no through road’ to nowhere.  The park has obviously suffered some heavy rain over the last week like everywhere else but we are no long paddling on our concrete pad and paying a third of the price per night for the privilege.   We are a lot further away from the entertainment strip but that has been fairly well used despite the lousy weather but this park has no swimming pool.  However, it does have bush walks, 5 treetop assault courses, waterfalls, cascades and rock pools to explore.   Originally Jack and Rory should be flying home to Canberra today but Richard changed the flights to give them a few more days’ fun because of the real useless days due to torrential rain.  Unfortunately this will mean taking them to the airport at 3.00am for the 5.00am flight on Friday.

31^st January 2012

We drove up to the main road and then deviated off down the other side road to Cedar Creek Falls which has a series of cascading falls to complement the main fall which provided a long walk poking down into the falls and cascades.  On the way back into camp we called into the Thunder Bird fun park to check on the prices and then went for lunch.  In the afternoon we drove up to Tamborine Glow worm cave to introduce the kids to glow worms which went down very well with them as both love nature and what it has to offer. On the way back we parked and walked down to the base of Curtis Falls which we prefer to looking down from paths or lookout. 

Being at the base is more exciting as the ground vibrates with the power of the water landing and the noise is more engulfing.   We then headed back to the park prior to dinner and took Foxy for a walk alongside the creek near the park to look at the water holes and rapids.

1^st February 2012

It rained in the night but cleared to give us a pleasant day which Richard and the Kids enjoyed at the Adventure Park which is part of Thunder Bird Park.  This consists of 5 tree top type assault courses of varying degrees of difficulty. 

They both did the Green and red courses several times and Jack did the hardest Black course which Rory was not allowed to do due to her height being a bit too short and therefore not able to clip her safety straps onto the safety cables.  Her leg and arm stretch was probably a bit short also but when Jack finished the black course they both did the harder red course again.  They were between 4 and 8 metres off the ground but had a pulley attached to their harnesses for the flying fox parts and 2 clip on safety ropes so that there was always a safety rope clipped on as they moved from one challenge to the next.  No-one put the safety ropes to the test as both kids seem very capable at this type of activity loved every minute of it.  They had a long hard day and came out very weary but happy.  Much as they enjoyed the rides at Wet & Wild, Movie Land and Sea World they seemed to enjoy the assault courses more because of the genuine interaction rather than just strap yourself in and start screaming.  We provided some bought sandwiches for lunch as they don’t have a pass out system for them to come out and go back in but we could go in to give them their lunches, and then walked around underneath to watch them, which gave us and Foxy a good workout.  Merry and Rory have both developed  stomach problems which didn’t impress Merry on her birthday.  In the evening and night it rained again.

2^nd February 2012

Merry was not really any better this morning but Rory had improved but seemed to have passed it on to Jack, however, we still drove through to Currumbin, near Coolangatta, to a Wildlife Sanctuary which came as part of the Thunderbird tickets.  Shame it involved a 1.25 hour drive to get there but the kids enjoyed it, especially Rory who had recovered enough to do the tree top challenge at this venue which included some of the Black course stuff that she couldn’t do at Thunderbird.  Jack still wasn’t up to it so he sat out and watched.

3^rd January 2012

We unfortunately had to rise at 2.15am to get the kids ready to leave at 2.45am for the 1.5 hour trip to Brisbane airport to catch their flight to Canberra, in pouring rain.  Once we had got off the mountain there wasn’t any rain which made it easier at the airport and the return journey was better without rain, and in daylight.  Unfortunately the breakfast that we had at the airport didn’t sit too well with Merry’s stomach which she thought was better but it caused another uncomfortable day for her.

4^th February 2012

The stomach bug has now caught up with Barry but not as severely.  We had a visit from a couple of the local metre long Bungarra lizards which seem to like the two trees near our campsite.

8th December 2011 to 17th January 2012

8^th December 2011

It has rained for the last 4 days but today is showing some patches of blue sky so we have taken a chance to go for a look at Childers.  This meant stopping for fuel which happened at Maryborough where we also called in to the visitors centre for some local information. 

The information centre is in the very impressive City Hall, and along with what we saw whilst walking there, we decided to stay in Maryborough and explore it more thoroughly with a walk round their heritage walk. 

We had lunch in Queen’s Park whilst watching the local tourist steam train start its short trip through the park and duly noted the unusual vertical boiler.  The walk took us through part of the town alongside the City Hall which was closed off for the local market (unusual being a Thursday) along several other streets with many buildings with grand facades from the 1870 period.

There is a statue of Mary Poppins on one corner, outside the house that was home to the author of the story, which also gives the city the opportunity to have Mary Poppins festivals.  Around mid afternoon we headed for home as the weather appeared to be closing in again and just made it home before the rain started again.

9^th December 2011

Today is cloudy but not supposed to rain so we made another attempt at visiting Childers, which we did with a couple of deviations to Toogoom Beach and Burrum Heads.  Both of these had little to offer other than a boat ramp although Toogoom had a reasonable ocean view but Burrum had a beach full of seaweed and smelt accordingly. 

We headed on into Childers with a drive through look at Howard and stopped as we entered Childers at the Heritage Village which happens to close at noon, just before we got there but we used their park table and seats whilst we had lunch.

We moved on into the town centre which consists of a side road that runs parallel to each side of Bruce Highway with angle parking between the side roads and the highway.  Consequently there is an amazing amount of traffic including huge B double trucks moving through the town with one set of traffic lights for a pedestrian crossing on Queensland’s major road.  

There are a lot of old facades and a lot of history attached to the town but the deliberately lit fire at the Palace Hotel in 2000, in which 15 backpackers perished, is what most people remember about the town.  The Hotel has been rebuilt as the visitor centre with a motel behind it.  We did the Heritage walk around the town and then returned to the Heritage Village for photographs on the way out of town and turned off to Woodgate Beach.  This was a real beach that stretched as far as you could see in both directions with a small township, but offered little else so we headed home.

10^th December2011

It is raining again and is expected to continue for a few days so we will watch the second test match subject to the weather in Tasmania.  The rain which was steady but relatively light suddenly changed into a half hour torrential downpour which didn’t take too long to change the road cover from a good covering to about a 300mm river. 

 It rose high enough to come up to the concrete pad that our annex is on but the people opposite us must be slightly lower than us and had water run through their annex.  Once it stopped raining heavily the water drained away reasonably quickly but there is still ankle deep water on the actual road.  In the mid afternoon we also had a short thunderstorm but no excessive rain and the evening weather report claimed that Hervey Bay had 54mm of rain for the day.

12^th December 2011

The weather has stayed rainy for the last couple of days including another downpour creating a river through the park but not as severe as last time.

16^th December 2011

We were going to use some free camp areas in the next few days but as the weather is uncomfortably warm at night and we have been using the fan and occasionally the air-conditioning, so we decided to go to Gympie which would provide power and allow us to take a look at the Mary Valley via the Heritage railway.

17^th December 2011

We arrived in Gympie around mid day and set up camp with just the awning out but no annex as we are only stopping for 2 nights.  This allowed us to watch the Masters Golf tournament until we disconnected our antenna and connected the park antenna which proved to be a bad move as their antenna provided next to nothing and definitely no golf.  The end of our cable in the connector broke off as Barry disconnected our cable so now we have no golf at all.  The caravan’s wind-up antenna gave us some TV but not much so we settled for recorded material for the evening.

18^th December 2011

We arrived at the railway station at 9.30am to collect our tickets and realised it was the 3^rd Sunday of the month which meant they put on a heritage re-enactment. 

This was the second surprise from this railway as they also allow dogs to travel on board.  The re-enactment introduced the good guys and the bad guys (all in period costumes) and explained that the Gold being carried on board would be subject to a hold-up on arrival at Imbil, our destination for lunch.  We sat around the roped off area to watch as the bad guys held up the police escort to steal the gold using somewhat loud blanks in their shot gun and pistols.  That bit terrified Foxy as we were very close to the shot gun in particular, so Barry took Foxy away before the next outbreak of shots.  After the gold was taken along the ladies jewellery we broke off to have our lunch at the pub across the road.  After lunch and a walk around Ambil we watch the now captured bandits being punished along with some passengers who supposedly misbehaved in town.  They were put into the stocks and the small kids throw pretend rotten tomatoes at them (balloons with a small amount of water in them.  The main bad guy was given a dozen lashes with the cat-o’-nine tails which Barry didn’t see as he took Foxy away from any more gun shots and Merry looked away as she thought the tomato paste on the guys back was blood.  We then boarded the train for the return journey with a stop at Dagun Station for cheese and wine tasting, for those that were interested.

19^th December 2011

We moved on again to the Durack caravan park near Brisbane and found it to be an uninspiring park that is designed more for permanent residence than tourists and comes with a lot of do’s and don’ts in case it upsets the residence, so we may move again after Christmas rather than stay the originally planned 4 weeks.

20^th December 2011

We have now had an argument with the ignorant management so will definitely be moving on Boxing Day.  Barry mentioned the power lash-up with respect to the safety issues as it consisted of a 10metre cable from the power point connected to a 20 metre power cable with a double adaptor draped through 2 cabin carports.  As if by magic, in the late afternoon whilst Barry was outside talking to a neighbour, the neighbour noticed the double adaptor connection on fire.  Barry disconnected the power from the supply and dowsed the fire but the connecting cables plug and socket plus the double adaptor had completely melted and starting to set the carport paintwork alight.  People in caravans are expected to catch their sink water in a bucket and empty it in a sullage drain 20 metres away as there are no sullage drains by the vans.  Ours goes out onto the grass regardless and our water supply is via our drink quality hoses connected to a plastic garden hose but fortunately we can eliminate the plastic taste with our filters.

21^st December 2011

We drove out to look at 3 cheap campsites and whittled the choice down to the first and the last that we look at.  Both are the same price, both have water available plus ablution blocks which we don’t actually need, both allow generator use as there is no power provided and both are situated in scenic areas. We decided on the first one (Darlington Park) that we looked at despite having to travel further for major shopping as there is a small shop on site for bread/milk/ eggs, etc, and will be moving there on the 24^th December to have a Christmas with mother nature.   

23^rd November2011

We did the preparatory packing up including filling the water tanks ready to move out reasonably early in the morning even though it is raining cats and dogs as we have arranged to have the gas hot water heater serviced on the way out.

24^th December 2011

We finalised the packing up this morning in more rain and moved on to Darlington Park after the gas heater service was completed and set up camp alongside the river.  As we set up the camp the heavens decided to open up yet again but it didn’t affect us too much as we had already got the awning up which allowed us to collect four buckets (36 litres) of rain water to add to the 256 litres that we are carrying.  We normally use about 30 litres of water per day so it should last 8 days but we expect to catch a lot more rain water over the 3 weeks we will be here.  We are told that the river water is good enough for doing the clothes washing so we won’t have to waste our water on that.  On the way out here Amy returned Barry’s yesterday call although Merry had to do the talking as Barry was driving but the good news is she is 4.5 months pregnant.  Barry also made contact with Stu and Be who have now moved to the village of Richmond a bit further out of Hobart but a really  lovely area with a convict built bridge over the river with an attractive church in the background.  You just have to ignore the pathetic caravan park that is slightly out of the village as it doesn’t live up to the heritage standard.  This chat with Stu was short and difficult as there is virtually no phone signal where we are which is why our attempts to phone and/or text our Christmas messages didn’t happen. There is no Internet connection at all.

25^th December 2011

Two years ago we were staying with Garon and Sue for Christmas Day and last year we were in Hobart and had Christmas day with Stu and Be along with Be’s parents Michael and Jenny. This year are on our own (if you discount the numerous campers spread out over this campsite, who we don’t know from a bar of soap) with a beautiful view across a small river at the hillside with its trees, kookaburras, lorikeets, cockatoos, cows and calves.  We are actually surrounded by small hills which might account for our lack of internet signal and very poor phone signal along with being 27kms from the nearest town.  We did still manage to have our traditional Turkey dinner without the rain that had been predicted by the weather bureau.  Barry spent some time installing a second 12 volt socket so that we could use the 12v/240v inverter to power up our satellite TV receiver and dish and also plug in the TV as there is no other TV reception out here. This was in readiness for the Boxing Day test match

26^th December 2011

We watched the test match. 

We have two miner birds that seem to be very vain and love watching themselves in our car mirrors which conveniently have extension towing mirror frames to stand on whilst they admire themselves, and do other interesting things.

27^th December 2011

More test match cricket up until a storm came over us with hail, thunder and heavy rain for about 20 minutes during which time we collected about 60 litres of water and took the opportunity to stand in the rain and wash our hair.

29^th December 2011

Barry discovered that the fuse in the cable going from the second battery to the Anderson plug at the rear, which connects to the van fridge when travelling, had blown and tried to melt the fuse holder.  This had happen before and had been replaced when we were in Sarina on the northbound trip.  Barry has traced the wiring and found that it also feeds the power to charge the caravan battery whilst travelling as all of the plugs have been looped from the one cable.  We were under the impression that the fridge had its own cable, so never trust an Auto electrician.  The fridge alone draws 23 amps which exceeds the 20 amp fuse, plus there is the additional current draw to charge to the battery.  He has now purchased the requirements to replace the fuse holder and fuse with a lower rated fused to service the battery charging and run an additional heavier duty cable and 25 amps fuse to the Anderson plug to service the fridge only.  The other advantage of the Anderson plug is being able to connect our solar panels to the charge the secondary battery which runs the Engel fridge/freezer in the car(on its own cable and fuse) when we leave the van and go camping with the tent, or for extra supplies for the Christmas period.  The birds have entertained us regularly every day.

30^th December 2011

We packed up the camp and moved from our river side position to the other side of the park as another caravan was about to move out from what we considered to be a prime position as it placed us near the kiosk, toilets, dump point and the water supply although it this needs boiling as it comes from the river prior to the swimming area.  This didn’t matter to us as we have plenty of drinking water but it is useful for the washing machine and washing.  We now look out over almost all of the park and away from a noisy dog that was next to us.  We went into town in the afternoon (27kms) to do a bit of shopping, a few phone calls and to use the computer to catch up with the banking, etc.  From this we determined that our pension had not been paid into the account on the basis that we had not supplied required paperwork when requested, but when we immediately phoned Centrelink they suddenly discovered that we had submitted them in October whilst we were in Townsville.  The payments will now be payed in the New Year so chew on that without an apology.  Whilst in Town we filled the water tank in the car as it had been previously emptied to the van tanks and will be filled again tomorrow.

1^st January 2012

The noise from the other campers was not as bad as expected, just the usually countdown to midnight and much after that.  There was a kiddie’s cricket match in the middle of the park with a bit of adult help but in general very quiet.  The birds haven’t worked out where we have moved to so that entertainment has ended. We decided it was time to take a photo of the managers Queenslander houe at night when it is lit up.

2^nd January 2012

Barry attached a new cable to the caravan battery with a 10 amp fuse and an Anderson plug mounted under the edge of the van below the outside TV and then put an Anderson plug on a short cable to the TV so that we only need to unplug the cable and take the TV inside the van when we travel.  The park has now had an exodus which has thinned out the campers considerably to about a third.

3^rd January 2012

Today Barry replaced the burnt out 20 fuse holder with a new holder and 10 amp fuse and remade the connection from that holder to the cable going to the all of the plugs on the back of the car.  He then detached the Anderson plug from that cable so that it only feeds the usual trailer plugs.

 4^th January 2012

Another early start to beat the temperature and Barry installed a new heavier cable from the Anderson plug through to the front of the car and attached a new fuse holder to the battery.  He then stopped to watch the second test match.  All that remains to be done is connect the cable to the fuse holder and install a new fuse.

5^th January 2012

The final connection of the fuse holder to the Anderson plug has now been made and a temporary 20 amp fuse installed but will be changed to a 25 amp fuse after our next shopping trip.  This now allows many options along with running the van fridge whilst travelling, run the outside TV from the car, use the solar panels to charge that battery if and when necessary, and we have a cable to connect that battery to the van battery if required.

6^th January 2012

It got hot enough today to run the air conditioner for a few hours until it clouded over in the late afternoon and actually attempted to rain briefly. 

Barry walked up to kiosk to check out the managers beautifully restored 1950 Morris 8 utility (8 horsepower pick up) with removable top to the cabin and artwork on the wheel rims.  The doors are hinged at the rear so open from the front which was common in that era, and the seats are immaculately leather trimmed.  Neal is not a mechanically minded guy and couldn’t confirm, or not, whether Barry’s guess that the engine is a side valve unit as opposed to overhead valves, but either way it is a smooth running engine.  The only non-original parts are the added left/right turn indicators which need to be there to be legally roadworthy, but there are no seat belts as they are not required by law as the car came without them.

7^th January 2012

We drove along to the Darlington Connection road and over the hill to Lamington and Burgess Park which is managed by the couple that manage Darlington Park.  We had conjured up visions in our minds of another park similar to Darlington Park but Burgess Park is very small with enough room for about ten tents/campers/caravans alongside a creek that you can barely see, but it does have a toilet block. 

It doesn’t compare with Darlington Park in any way as it can accommodate up to 150 people, but is probably quieter but without the dump point and kiosk is probably used for short stays of a few days only.  On the way back we branched off into Lost Valley which has some lovely scenery but ends at a gate to a cattle property but the views were worth the effort.  Later we took Foxy for a short but energetic walk up the hill behind our camping ground but it is restricted to the campground property by fencing.

9^th January 2012

We had to drive back to a shopping centre near Durack to collect some ordered medication and then drove almost to Brisbane to a large shopping centre to check our situation with Medibank Health Fund.  Whilst there we had lunch in a British style pub but was disappointed with the meal. On the way back we did our grocery shopping in Beaudesert and also caught up with some emails and banking on the computer whilst we had some internet coverage.  We also had a gas bottle filled and bought some more fuses including the 25 amp one for the new cable on the car.

12^th January 2012

Kathy the manageress of the park has had to go to hospital for a couple of days due to an insect bite it is thought as she is prone to problems in that particular arm because of the removal of the lymph gland.  This left Neal with the problem of the daily duties such as mowing/money collection/toilet cleaning/etc plus looking after the kiosk which can’t be done with having to go to Burgess Park to perform the same duties, plus trips to town to collect bags of ice/wood/provisions/etc so we have been minding the kiosk for him when he is away elsewhere.  

12^th January 2012

Neal brought Kathy home from hospital today but she is not to lift anything and must take it easy, but their daughters have come out to stay with them for a while to help out.  Neal gave Barry a ride around the park in the Morris 8 while he did his evening check on camp fire sizes, etc.  

 15^th January 2012

We packed up the bulk of our camp ready to move on in the morning to meet up with Richard and Jack and Rory in a couple of days for another camping holiday and then visited Neal and Kathy to say our farewells in case we don’t see them in the morning.

16^th January 2012

 We moved over to Helensvale which is on the Gold Coast slightly north west of Surfers Paradise and are not too impressed with the caravan park especially at $50 a night (school holidays) as there is no concrete pad for the annex to sit over and is a flood prone area.  The ablution block is in keeping with a $50 a night price tag but at the moment the weather is worth a cracker.

17^th January 2012

It rained torrentially virtually all night to the point that water has covered the grass under the annex so we now step out into water and it also turns out that our 15 year old tent that Richard, Jack and Rory will be using for the next couple of weeks is not exactly waterproof anymore.   We went out and Richard bought a new bigger one and we cut out the waterproof base of the old one and are using it as a ground sheet in the annex.  It did ease off raining in the afternoon to set up the new tent which looks pretty good with a heap more room as the old one was designed for 7 people and this one is designed for 9.  We don’t think it would be much fun with that many people in either of them but that probably depends on who the others are.