Christmas 2022

We had the perfect Christmas Day. First up was a phone call from our Leyburn friends followed by coffee in bed and presents! I was lucky enough to receive some very thoughtful gift vouchers from my hubby that I am very much looking forward to redeeming.

After coffee we went for a lovely long walk around Palm Cove because we knew that we would probably be over indulging later on today!  By the time we arrived home we were very hungry so I cooked us Kylie Kwong fried eggs along side baked ham. It always goes down a treat.

After breakfast was cleared away it was time to start making the phone calls to family and friends. It took a good part of the morning to complete this task with Philip and I in different corners of the apartment and of course we then had to relate all the news back to each other!

We weren’t due at our friends place for lunch until 2pm so we had time to put “Love Actually” in the DVD player and kicked back to watch this classic Christmas movie. I love this movie so much and it always brings a tear to my eye. Love really does conquer all and Hugh Grant still makes my heart flutter……

We had to stop the movie half way to shower and make ourselves presentable for Christmas lunch at our friends place.

 The minute we pulled up in the carpark we could smell the delicious aromas of roast lamb wafting around us and we were not disappointed with the beautiful Christmas lunch that our friends had prepared. There were seven of us for lunch and we feasted on seafood followed by a traditional roast with all the trimmings.

My contribution to the lunch was a dessert. I found a recipe for a de- constructed truffle that was very easy to construct and seemed to be well received. It looked mighty pretty…..

Around 5pm Philip and I said our goodbyes to our friends who were all looking very tired as they had been “on the go”entertaining family since the previous day. 

When we arrived home we decided to stroll down to the Jetty to walk off some of our Christmas lunch. There were lots of people along the length of the Esplanade enjoying a variety of Christmas fare. The younger generation were enjoying burgers from the bbq while further along,  the Islanders were having a more traditional dinner. There was a group down on the beach playing some sort of skulling game (sore heads tomorrow) and all in all Palm Cove had a wonderful party feel.

It has been a lovely day and my hope is that all my wonderful friends out there enjoyed their Christmas Day as much as we did. 

I will try to keep my blog updated throughout 2023 as we have lots of travel planned and as my readers know, I do love to write!

Stay safe everyone.

Days 246, 247, 248, Home!!!

After 21,6558 kilometres, and just over eight months on the road, we are home.  The memories we have of the places we have visited will remain with us for the rest of our lives.  My blog has been my "virtual" diary and I refer back to it often to refresh the memory.  I will certainly be writing again when we do the east coast states starting in July next year.

After we left Hydeway Bay we drove through to Lucinda Point.  We had intentions of stopping in Townsville but I started feeling unwell with a gastro bug, and didn't want to pass it on to our friends, one of whom has a very compromised immune system.  Lucinda Point was a nice surprise.  The caravan park was well appointed with big spacious sites.  As we seen over the past month, there was hardly any other vans here.  I guess that will change when school holidays commence.  I was feeling well enough at to take the suggested walk to the fishing jetty.  To get to the jetty you have to cross over the huge conveyor belt and Philip reckoned he could feel it rumble under his feet.  The conveyor belt, carrying sugar, stretches  5.6km out to the waiting ships and in fact it is the longest jetty in the Southern Hemisphere.

The fishing jetty that sits in the shadow of Hinchinbrook Island is well utilised by the locals.  Many fisherman were lined up to try and hook their dinner.  The jetty is also where the car ferry leaves for Palm Island that surprised us.  There is also a passenger ferry that leaves from Townsville.

By the time we walked (very fast!) back to the van I was feeling very unwell and I haven't really come good as yet.  

I slept all the way from Lucinda to Port Douglas and was no company for my husband.  However we were parked up in the van park in Port Douglas by 1.00pm so it wasn't a long day.  As soon as we had set up the van I climbed up on the bed and went back to sleep while Philip went to the storage shed to put the battery back in my little Suzuki.  It didn't even need charging, that was a relief.  By the time Philip got back, I decided to go to the local chemist and see if I could get some medication.  The chemist said that it is now recommended that diarrhoea be just allowed to run its course.  She said to take Nurofen for the fever and to keep hydrated.  

So that brings us to today.  I still have the gastro and as this is the third day, if it persists tomorrow I will try and get appointment with the doctor. Don't like my chances though...

It is good to be home and the Coral Sea really turned it on for us today.  I wish I had taken photos 😩. We have seen some magnificent oceans, and I still say Western Australia has the best, but the Coral Sea runs a close second.....

Day 245 Hydeaway Bay, Qld

What an appropriate name for this little gem of a place - Hydeaway Bay.  It is almost 40km off the Bruce Highway and the turnoff is just after Proserpine.  I guess most people wouldn't detour this far off the highway but if you don't, you really miss out.  You get the feeling that everyone knows everybody in this little place and when you walk along the streets you get big waves from passing cars, mainly checking you out I feel.....

On advice from the owners of the Hydeaway Caravan Park we drove out to Cape Gloucester, around 5km,  where there is a resort right on the beach.  We didn't go inside the resort but there is a restaurant/bar/coffee shop attached to the resort that is open to the public.  I imagine it would be a great locals hangout and probably a beautiful spot to sit and watch the sun go down.

Dingo Beach is on the southern side of Hydeaway Bay and is within walking distance if you walk along the beach and did a bit of rock scrambling.  We chose to drive.  It's strange that there is not a road that would take you directly to Dingo Beach from Hydeaway but instead you have to do rather a large loop.  It is another lovely place and by the age of the houses here we would say that it was established before Hydeaway Bay.  Both Hydeway Bay and Dingo Beach are on the northern end of the stunning Whitsundays. 

I love the "stinger net" that the locals have erected.  It works, and that is all that matters.

When we arrived back at the van we put on our joggers and walked the short distance to Hydeaway Bay Beach.  It looked more inviting to walk south along the beach and even though we had to scramble over a few rocks it was a good choice.  Once we rounded the point, Dingo Beach was just a short distance further to the south and although we couldn't see it, Bowen is just to our north.

This is a place that we will return to and definitely stay a couple of days.  You need that time to explore the area in a little more detail.  The caravan park is lovely and green and the new owners are doing a fantastic job of bringing it up to date. There is a brand new swimming pool that has just been installed and the owners invited us to take a dip but we declined as the water was quite cold, party due to the large shade sail that they have installed over the top of the pool!  Unnecessary I think......

Tomorrow we don't really have a destination in mind.  We were thinking of Townsville but Philip said that he would like to go a little further. We will be winging it.

Day 244 Clareview, Qld

Another early morning wake-up for us, but this time, after we had finished our cup of coffee, we took ourselves for a lovely long walk along the Tannum Sands Esplanade.  It was a glorious morning with quite a brisk breeze blowing in off the ocean.  Even though it was early, there were lots of people walking along the pathway.  It is a lovely place to brush off sleep and breath in the fresh sea air.

We love Tannum Sands and even though our friends are moving away from here we will continue to make it a stopover on our way north or south.  Once we arrived back at the van we were hooked up and back on the road by 7.30.

It is just under 400km from Tannum to Clareview along the "horror stretch" between Rockhampton and Sarina.  The road hasn't improved much over the years and this year it seems to have even more potholes and humps.  It is a boring drive so we cranked up the music and went with the flow.  Even though it seemed to take forever to get to Clareview we were here by 12.30.  Philip suggested that we head to the bar/bistro for lunch rather than cooking something and I agreed wholeheartedly.  It is a great spot to eat as you have sweeping views out over the Pacific Ocean.  When we found out that Red Emperor was the fish they were using for the "Fish n Chips" on the menu, we both decided on it.  The fish was so incredibly fresh and was one of the best "fish n chips" I have had in a long time.  The chips were really crunchy and not oily at all. It was a simple meal of just fish, chips, tartare sauce and a slice of lemon. Oh, and there was one lettuce leaf that was really only a suggestion for salad.....

We washed our fish n chips down with a couple of ice cold Millers Chill Beer.  There is nothing I like better than a very cold beer on a hot day.  We are now back in shorts and t-shirts and the temperature has been sitting around 27 degrees for most of the day.  Gee I've missed the warm weather!

The tide was receding as we were eating lunch, so no sign of any dugongs. We decided to go for a walk late this afternoon and the tide was still out.  The manager of the caravan park met us as we were walking down to the waters edge and pointed to a pond where he said a large turtle was sunning itself.  When we reached the spot where the turtle was wallowing in the shallow water we started talking to a Parks & Wildlife Officer who was on holidays.  He pointed out the barnacles that were growing over the turtle and there was even one on the turtles head.  The turtle was clearly in distress and needed rescuing.  He assured us that he was going to call someone to come and collect the turtle as soon as possible. 

The beach at Clareview is not the prettiest we have seen on our journey, but it has its own special beauty. I really do look at things a lot differently now and see things that I have never noticed previously.  Funny that....

Christmas is in the air at Barracrab Caravan Park.  This giant Christmas tree is at the entrance to the park.  It's lovely to see that the owners are getting into the spirit of things.

 Tomorrow we are staying at Hideaway Bay that is just north of Airlie Beach.  It was a recommendation from someone in our "Can Do Camping-FIFO" Group so I'm looking forward to staying somewhere new.  It looks pretty darn good on the website and also comes highly recommended by Wikicamp users.

Day 243, Tannum Sands, Qld

After a great nights sleep we were ready to hit the road by 7.30 this morning. Marco filled our Engel with meat before we left so I’m looking forward to eating some good grass fed beef over the coming weeks.

It is around 300km from Gundiah to Tannum Sands that should have taken us around five hours, but there is so much stop and go roadworks along this stretch of road, that it took us a lot longer. The roads are full of potholes after the drenching this area has received so any repairs to the roads are welcome.

Arriving into Tannum Sands we are reminded of how lovely this stretch of the Queensland coast is, and Philip said that we should have booked two nights instead of one. To get to the caravan park we drive along the Esplanade, where there are dozens of stalls being erected for the markets that are being held tonight.

The check in at the caravan park is an easy process and we are directed to a site that is close to the amenities. It doesn't take us long to set up the van, devour salad sandwiches, wash all the bedding and then nanny nap for half an hour.  By the time we do all that, it is time for us to have our shower and go and meet our friends.

It's always great to catch up with friends and Lynn and Graham are no exception.  The conversation flows so easily as we both have lots to report on our independent travels.  They are in the process of selling some of their real estate and making the move to Townsville.  I am very excited that they will be a lot closer to us now.  I see lots of trips to Townsville in the coming years!

We had dinner reservations at the Tannum Sands Hotel and it is a lovely venue with sweeping views over the Pacific Ocean.  Our reserved table was inside the hotel but we elected to sit outside as the temperature was very mild. This is a very welcome change after all the rain and cold we have experienced.

The menu is extensive but my eyes immediately fell on the Arancini Balls, that I can never pass up.  They were delicious.  I followed it up with a Caesar Salad that was also enjoyable.  Philip chose the Seafood Basket and Lynn the Chicken Salad.  I forget what Graham ordered. Everyone enjoyed their meals.

We headed back to Lynn and Grahams place for Tea and Coffee after our dinner, and talked about our future plans.  Hopefully, we will all be able to celebrate New Year together in Palm Cove.  Nothing definite but it is on the table.

Today we will strive to get to the Barracrab Caravan Park at Clareview.  It is a good place to stay and we have stayed here many times.  It is a Dugong feeding area and hopefully, if the tides are right, we will get to see them frolicking in the shallow water.  I find them fascinating.

On another note, the 12 volt side of our three month old Akai TV has died.  I can't believe yet another thing has failed us.  Fortunately it still works on 240v but it's not the point really.  It came with a three year warranty but goodness me, you would expect it would last a bit longer than three months!  

Day 242 Gundiah, Qld

Even though we had no reason to wake early this morning, we were both wide awake around 5am.  The sun starts showing its first light around 4.30am and as much as I detest daylight saving, I can understand why the people in this south east corner would like it.  

Marco was taking us for a drive around "Evergreen" this morning but not until around 10am when the roads had dried out a little bit. There has been around four inches of rain in the two days since we have been here and on top of the previous rain that they have had, the ground is very wet.  Thankfully the sun was shining today.  Marco said that they have measured almost two metres of rain this year and the mighty Mary River has washed away his fences three times.  On the up side, the country has never looked greener and the stock are in very good condition.

The first thing we did, on our drive, was to feed the chooks and the Maremma's.  The big white guardian dogs protect the whole property and keep foxes away from the chooks and dingos away from the cattle.  They play a very important role in the property. The chooks are free range and take themselves inside the old caravan each night that is set up with a door that rises and shuts at sunset and sunrise.

Continuing our drive around Evergreen, the extent of the damage caused by the floods was very evident and none more so here.....

The rushing flood waters have carved a very deep gully out of seemingly nowhere.  Marco laid some geotex cloth to try and stop the water taking any more soil and it has stopped further erosion. This is how new rivers are formed.

After our drive we quickly showered and jumped back in the car to drive to Woolooga, around 30km from Gundiah.  The pub has recently re-opened and has become a popular eating and drinking hole and I was surprised at the number of people enjoying a meal and beverage.  Philip and I ordered the Turkish Rolls that were filled with strip loin, baby spinach, tomato, roast pumpkin, chimichurri and spicy mayo.  They could only be eaten with a knife and fork.  No way I was going to attempt to eat it like a sanga........

After we had all devoured our lunch we returned home via the Gundy Pub.  It was nice to catch up with a few familiar faces. We almost feel like locals!  We didn't stay long as we were just there to pick up scraps for the chooks, and were back home mid afternoon in time for a little nanny nap.  It's been great to catch up with the family and we are looking forward to July next year when we will have a month at "Evergreen" caretaking while Marco and Suzie take a well earned holiday to the Snowy's.

Tomorrow we head to Tannum Sands where we will meet up with Lynn and Graham.  I'm excited as we haven't seen each other for quite awhile and we will have a lot to catch up on.

Day 241 Gundiah, Qld

 We were awake very early this morning - 4.30am - and woke to a very wet day. It rained all day with no reprieve and it was cold. It is the first day of summer but apparently it broke the record for the coldest summer day. Time to go home to the warm tropics.

We were hooked up and ready to leave to get to the auto electrician in Gympie  by 7am. I’m glad we allowed plenty of time because Google Maps route took us under a 3m railway bridge that we would not clear, so we had to make a sharp right hand turn to avoid it. From here we were lost. We twisted and turned around the streets of Gympie that is never easy when you are towing a 7m fifth wheel. 

It was 8.30 when we arrived at the auto electrician and right on 9am they came to collect us from the waiting bay. They installed a DC to DC charger and now our problems are solved. We were back on the road by 10.30 and home at “Evergreen” by midday. 

When we arrived at Marco’s we backed the van into his workshop shed so that we could rotate the van tyres. The hydraulic levelling system made it a very quick and easy job! We tried to get a wheel alignment while we were in Toowoomba but the suspension system  that we have under the van can’t be aligned without sending a part to Brisbane. It’s a good solid suspension that can be used off road, but Philip said that he wants to swap it out when we get home. 

Suzi made up a huge grazing platter for dinner and it was the perfect thing to sit around while we chatted. It wasn’t a late night as Marco and Suzie look tired after their early start to get the cows in for peg testing today, and after our early start, we were sound asleep by 8.30. 

Marco is taking us for a drive tomorrow as we are promised by the BOM that we will have a sunshiny day!

Day 240, Gundiah, Qld

 The saying that things happen in three’s happened today. First the Power Management System, then the washing machine, and now the battery.  We are grateful, once again, that it happened in the best possible place. We are now at our sons place at Gundiah. 

Since we have had the new power management system installed, up until today, we haven’t really driven very far, and today we realised that the car wasn’t charging the caravan battery.  A few emails to the Projecta helpline and a couple of screenshots of our LCD panel, and they were able to tell us that our car battery is only putting in 13.5 volts to the caravans Lithium Battery that needs 14 volts to charge.

We contacted an auto electrician in Gympie who, although completely booked out, said that we could come to him (tomorrow) Thursday, and he will be able to fix the problem. It will most probably mean the installation of a DC to DC charger, that are not very expensive. We hope that it will be an easy fix.

It is raining heavily at Marco’s place. What did I say about rain following us ***sigh***….. However it didn’t stop us from having a lovely evening with Marco and Suzie. Suzie made a really delicious chicken salad with a very interesting avocado dressing for dinner, and it wasn’t long after dinner that we hit the sack.

We were both extremely tired after a somewhat stressful day trying to figure out what was wrong and were both asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow. We will have a couple of days here at Gundiah before we head north to our friends at Tannum Sands.