Heading Home

On Thursday 16th December the fabulous sunny weather at Bonny Hills started to deteriorate so we packed up camp and continued to trek south toward Sydney. We planned to set up camp around the Foster area but we were having trouble finding a caravan park that would take dogs. Many parks that accept dogs all year, ban them at peak holiday times because they are so full. One park said that they would take dogs OR children..... but not both! So we kept driving and before we knew it we were in the driveway of our very good friends The Claydons at Hornsby Hts. Hello Sydney!! Hello chaos!! The traffic and the crowds were almost overwhelming. Over the next 5 or so days we caught up with our friends and took a trip out to Ebenezer to visit Great Grandfather Donald and Virginia. Then it was on to the Northern Beaches to celebrate Christmas with Grandparents, Great Grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins. We all had a ball and it really felt wonderful (and slightly un-real) to be home again.

Bonny Hills

On December 14 we headed south, stopping at Nambucca Heads for lunch and continuing on to Port Macquarie and Bonny Hills. We checked into a caravan park perched high up on a headland with spectacular views over the ocean and Rainbow Beach. It was a magnificant spot and the park was virtually empty so the girls could ride their bikes and run around on the grassy slopes. Rainbow Beach was another amazing northern NSW beach with golden sand and clean clear water. Just what we love.

The Waterfall Way

This winding and very scenic stretch of road goes from Urunga on the coast over to Armidale, and is apparently the 3rd most popular tourist drive in Australia. We left Daisy at home in Woopi and borrowed a zippy little Mazda for the drive along the Waterfall Way. The road followed the Bellinger River and meandered through the bustling little arty town of Bellingen and past rolling pastures and happy cows. Then it climbed steeply through world heritage rainforest, past several waterfalls and up to the town of Dorrigo on the edge of a magnificent escarpment. The weather was fine and sunny so we could see across the valley for miles. At the National Parks Centre we walked out amongst the tree tops on the "skywalk" and had an incredible view down toward the sea. We also stopped at the beautiful Dangar Falls on the Bielsdown River and had a walk around the sleepy town of Dorrigo. It was a really great day.

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.