Whoopee! We're in Woopi!

We departed Ocean Shores on November 30 and stopped in Ballina for morning tea and beside the river at Evans Head for lunch. The plan was to spend a few days (at least) in Yamba, but by the time we got there the heavens had opened and one night with the pouring rain was all we could handle. The following day we checked out the waves (through the fog) at Angourie Point, the tartan power poles at MacLean, then hung out at Grafton Shopping World for several hours (what a day!) It continued to pour down upon us at Corindi Beach but luckily the next stop was the luxury of Janice and Greg's place at Woolgoolga (called Woopi for short). Over the next 12 days we had an amazing time exploring all the beautiful beaches around Woopi and Coffs Harbour including Sapphire Beach, Emerald, Red Rock and Sawtell. We also took a drive up through Nana Glen and Coramba, and did a fabulous trip along the Waterfall Way. One day we visited Karen, Ken, Liamm and Connor in Lower Bucca and had a barbie. We had met these guys when we were in SW Victoria and caught up again in Wrights Bay, South Australia. On Janice and Greg's property was the 3 Bears House and several other miniature houses left over from when the place used to be a theme park. It was very cute. We also wrapped our scarves around us and visited the Guru Nanak Gurdwara which is the spectacular white Sikh temple in Woopi.

The Sunshine Coast to Byron

On Wednesday November 24 we left Mooloolabah, drove through Brisbane and down to Emalie and Gabriel's place in Palm Beach. With Em we had a delicious lunch (which Riley the parrot also enjoyed) and a brief catch-up before continuing over the border and on to Tony and Charm's place in Ocean Shores. And the luxuries commenced!!!!!! The girls kicked off with a big bubble bath and we all tucked into a baked dinner followed by ice cream and home made apple crumble for dessert. Over the next five days we explored Brunswick Heads, Byron Bay, Lennox Head, Nimbin and Bangalow. The beaches and the rolling countyside were just beautiful and even though we had a bit of rain, it was mostly early in the day and didn't stop us from getting out. One day we took Daisy up to Nerang on the Gold Coast for a service while Charm minded Hannah and Ashleigh and took them to the beach and made some Christmas craft, which they absolutely loved. Daisy's check-up went OK and upon replacing the air filter the mechanic found a family of mice and a few thousand locusts (all dead).

Hervey Bay to the Sunshine Coast

Our next stop was Hervey Bay with it's lovely beaches and views across to Fraser Island. We stayed right on the waterfront at Urangan and spent a few days swimming, walking, bike riding and eating seafood from the local fish market and the Boat Club across the road. Unfortunately a day trip to Fraser Island was a bit too pricey so we'll have to put it on the To Do list. We heard the Wards might be doing a trip up here next year..... Next camping stop was beautiful Rainbow Beach. The walls of colourful sand were amazing and we had two perfect sunny days before it started raining again. Sean and Stephany only had one rainy day on their 2006 around Australia adventure and we have hundreds (it seems)! On November 20 we drove south through huge pine plantations and on to very nice big roads to the Sunshine Coast (where there was no sunshine to be seen..) Ashleigh and Hannah were very excited as it was time to go to Australia Zoo!!! Poppy went to a kennel while we had a fabulous day at "Bindi's Zoo". There was so much to see and we were absolutely exhausted at the end of the day. Our favourites things were: feeding the elephants because it tickled your hand (Hannah), watching the tigers play with the keepers in the swimming pool (Ashleigh), the wombats (Simon) and the Jabirus (Sam). We stayed at Landsborough one night and then moved to Mooloolabah where we enjoyed the surf beach and the Thai and Indian restaurants!

Hello Luke and Poppy!

November 13th was a very exciting day as we picked up Luke and Poppy from Luke's place in North Isis, near Childers. After stocking up with some groceries then some ice creams from Mammino (delicious! - try the macadamia and ginger) we drove about 40km out to Woodgate Beach. Over the next 2 days we swam in the "semi" surf, fished at Theodolite Creek, had a couple of bbqs and caught up on things. Poppy was extremely well behaved and we don't think travelling with her will be too bad after all. Ashleigh tried out her Uno skills on Luke (who is apparently the world champion...) and didn't come off too badly. She is still rejoicing that she made him have to pick up 12 cards.

Bundaberg

The tropical fruit in North Queensland is fantastic and we are always stopping at roadside stalls to try more. Our favourites are papaya, pineapple, mangoes (of course) and mango melons that taste like a mixture between rockmelon and honeydew. Sugar cane and mango farms were everywhere along the rainy drive into Bundy. After having a quick look around we made our way out to the coast again and camped at the lazy seaside suburb of Elliot Heads. Over the next few days the sun came out and we had a fabulous time swimming and fishing at the river mouth. There were often people kite surfing in the inlet as the wind was always up.

The Discovery Coast

When we left Mackay on November 4th it was pouring with rain and it continued to rain for the 330km drive to Rockhampton. We checked in for one night at a caravan park beside the brown Fitzroy River and noted the signs that warned of crocodiles living on the banks. Glad we weren't in a tent! The next day we dropped into Gladstone for a look at Queensland's largest port and the huge mountains of coal waiting to be exported to Japan, South Korea and India. Gladstone also has a Rio Tinto alumina plant and the state's largest coal-fired power station. There are big massive trucks everywhere and it is going to get even busier here when the Santos liquefied natural gas project takes off. After lunch we continued south to the Discovery Coast and the beautiful village of 1770. We stayed 4 nights at Agnes Water and swam in the ocean for the first time since Broome. No crocodiles or stingers here! Yipee! Agnes Water is also Qld's most northerly surf beach so we had a lot of fun on the boogie boards.

On to Mackay

On October 27 we stopped in at beautiful Airlie Beach and spent the day swimming in the waterfront lagoon pool and admiring the sensational views of islands and sailing boats. In the late afternoon we continued south and camped at Halliday Bay, near Seaforth and the Cape Hillsborough National Park. The beaches were lined with paperbarks and coconut palms, and in the morning we saw the tracks of a nesting Sea Turtle along the sand. Our next stop was Mackay where we checked into a caravan park at Black's Beach that had been recommended to us. The "village life" at this park was quite busy with several families staying there and a number of permanent residents who worked on the coal mines. Mackay has become very expensive as there is a shortage of residential accommodation. Every day we walked along the beach several times, and Ashleigh and Hannah played with their new village friends. On Halloween the kids all dressed up and went 'trick or treating' around the park (many times). We are still ploughing through all the candy!