The month of March

 We are only half way into the month but boy we have been very busy socialising.  Lots of great food at some favourite (and new) restaurants has been the highlight so far this month.  Our first outing was at an old favourite - C'est Bon.  It just never fails to please.  Philip and I shared both entree (duck liver pate) and dessert (creme brûlée) and both chose the duck dishes.  I went for the confit duck leg and Philip chose the roasted duck.

Pub grub is always on the menu for us and this month we tried the Red Beret Hotel at Redlynch.  The meals are huge as is the way with pub menus.  I decided on a mouth watering seafood selection.  The grilled prawn skewers were cooked to perfection and the oysters were super fresh.  A very enjoyable meal.

Every few weeks my friends and I go for coffee at different cafes on the northern beaches.  Ellis Beach is a favourite but this month we tried the Trinity Beach Tavern.  I must admit that I am not a coffee connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination but I do enjoy a nice strong Macchiato.  Kate and I laughed at the absurdity of our different size coffee mugs…..

I have been dabbling again with sourdough (god help me!) but I think I have finally found the perfect no fuss recipe courtesy of a cookbook - Miss Chardy's Baking.  She is a station cook (that I can relate to) and she certainly doesn't have time for mucking around in the kitchen so her recipes are fail safe.  I have also been making sourdough biscuits that I am still perfecting.  Tuscan Seasoning seems to be the answer to these savoury morsels.

A couple of weeks ago we loaded up the Winnebago and headed to Tinaroo Dam for a few days. It is not a long journey and we were there in time for lunch.  We decided to stay at the Caravan Park as it is still warm and airconditioning is a necessity in this weather.  Other choices at Tinaroo at one of the numerous campsites that give you a lot of privacy but don't offer water or electricity.  

They say a change is as good as a holiday and good for the soul. It really was a lovely relaxing time for us.  We took the inflatable kayak with us as we thought we would do a spot of paddling but unfortunately the floor was full of holes.  We are now debating as to whether to buy a new floor (around $500) or just consider our kayaking days are over.  Still deciding!

There are some great walks around Tinaroo village and I think we walked most of them.  The views of the dam are spectacular and of course it helped to have gorgeous sunny skies!

The sun didn't last long when we arrived home from Tinaroo with the wet season once again setting in.  But I never complain about the rain, in fact I love rainy days.  It might throw some plans into chaos but you just have to go with the flow when it comes to weather.

Early in the week we, along with our friends, booked tickets for Frankland Island, for Sunday departure.  On Saturday we knew the weather was going to be bleak but we decided to forge ahead with our plans.  Was it a good idea, probably not, but the day ended up being much more enjoyable than we anticipated.  Activities for the day included snorkelling, glass bottom boat, kayaking, SUP and nature walks.  Philip did the glass bottom boat but with the weather being so miserable the fish had disappeared presumably to deeper water.  No turtles either.  Snorkelling was not on the agenda for any of us after Philips review of the glass bottom boat.  We did all decide to do the island nature walk but Kate and I turned around and went back to the camp after ten minutes.  The wind and rain was blowing us backward!

I think I would like to return to the island in whale season when, according to the staff members, the whales come in quite close to the island and a bonus would be not having to wear the (very unattractive) stinger suits.

On a plus, the meal that was provided was very good and the staff (so many staff!) are incredibly helpful and very safety conscious.

The last thing I want to mention is Friday nights Crab Chaos at NuNu Restaurant right here in Palm Cove.  I LOVE shell fish and the menu was, as always, outstanding.  I made an absolute pig of myself with the chilli crab.  There is only one way to eat crab and that is with your hands.  Just dig in and forget about the messy hands.  Our table was absolutely disgusting after the meal but as it was a paper tablecloth (for that reason) they were quickly taken away leaving us with a clean area.

Well that's a wrap my friends.  I hope wherever you are you enjoying goods times and living the dream.

A catch-up

The saying that time flies when you are having fun is most appropriate for us.  We certainly keep ourselves busy.  

Christmas and New Year has come and gone but I thought I would start there.  Our son had reminded us that we haven't had Christmas together for quite a few years so that is where we decided to spend Christmas 2024.  It would not be "us" if we didn't decide to tack a bit onto this trip to make it more memorable so we decided to have a week in Hervey Bay and then after Christmas we would spend New Year with my youngest sister at their new home hear Tamborine.  And after that we would make our way home via Cania Gorge.  In between all of that we would go to Toowoomba to have a private memorial for mum where her ashes have been placed in the Garden of Remembrance.

So after bringing the Winnebago out of storage and parking her at the Palm Cove Caravan Park for packing, we were on our way. Our first stop, on our trip south, was a favourite place - the Big 4 Eco Resort that is just south of Townsville.  The park has huge grassed drive thru sites that were perfect for us towing my little yellow Suzuki.  The place also has an on site restaurant that serves up decent meals but we happened to be there for pizza night so that was our one and only choice.  However, they were pretty darn good!

After a bit of a restless night getting used to the different bed, we hit the road the next day with Cape Palmerston our next stop.  It was unsurprisingly empty at the caravan park, as most of the grey nomads have headed home for Christmas and also avoid being in the tropics for summer.  When we arrived we headed straight to the beach for a long walk to stretch out our legs after many hours of sitting and then sat outside for nibbles and drinks with only the numerous kangaroos as company.

From Cape Palmerston it is 400k to our next stop, and another favourite, Tannum Sands.  This park was also devoid of caravans so it was a very enjoyable two night stay with lots of long walks along the esplanade.  It did rain quite heavily on the second day but that did not worry us in the least.  

Back on the Bruce Highway to Hervey Bay we were faced with a lot more traffic as many holiday makers were enjoying a pre Christmas break.  I have to say that the Bruce Highway, from north of Gympie to Townsville, is in a very bad state of disrepair and needs a huge amount of money spent to bring it up to a reasonable condition.  It's little wonder there are so many fatalities along this stretch of road.

Hervey Bay was a lot quieter than it was in August when we last visited.  But this is their low season so it is the perfect time to stay.  There are many bikeways/pathways around Hervey Bay so Philip cycled most days while I preferred to walk.  The only "touristy" thing we did was a tour to K'Gari (Fraser Island).  We have been to Fraser previously but Philip became quite sick on that stay so we didn't get to see or do too much.  This tour covered all the bases on Fraser and it was very enjoyable to sit back and let someone else do the driving.

After a week in Hervey Bay we were ready to head to Marco and Suzie's place for Christmas.  We arrived on Christmas Eve to help with any preparations, but my daughter-in-law is very organised and had almost everything pre-prepared.  Christmas Day at "Evergreen" is a brunch and it is an "orphans" Christmas where anyone that does not have family to enjoy Christmas with, is invited.  We started the day with "Passion & Pain" cocktails (champagne & vodka passionfruit) that whacks us with a fair punch!  But it gets the day going and we all sit down to a magnificent brunch around 11pm.  By about 3pm we were ready to call it a day. The rest of the crowd migrated to a neighbours place where they partied into the wee small hours of Boxing Day.

Boxing Day is a sausage sizzle on the banks of the Mary River.  It is a much quieter day for obvious reasons but nevertheless still enjoyable.  There were only eight of us for lunch, plus all the puppies, and we spent our time going from the water to the shade as it was quite a warm day.  The puppies were completely worn out with all the excitement!

Everybody left the river by mid-afternoon and we spent the rest of the day on the Evergreen veranda, shooting the breeze with Philips step-brother and his wife and later that evening we all sat around playing board games that was lots of fun!  

We stayed five days with our son before hitting the road again to Toowoomba.  This will probably be the last time we will travel this road with mum no longer with us and probably the last time we will stay in Toowoomba.  We stayed in Toowoomba for two nights and on the second day my two sisters and their husbands joined us for the private memorial to celebrate mums life.  We invited Father Malcolm and his wife to join us that made it very special.  Each of us spoke about our favourite memories of mum and it was truly a wonderful way to say our very last goodbye to mum.

The next day we drove to my sister's place near Tamborine where we stayed for four nights including New Year.  They live on the most beautiful acreage and it is a family affair with three homes that house my nephew and niece and their respective children.  The minute you drive through the security gates and along the long paved driveway you get this feeling of peacefulness and beauty. It is very similar to what we experienced when we were living at Julatten.  We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and are already looking forward to the next time.

Our journey home from Tamborine took us via the M1 to the Esk/Brisbane Valley turnoff where we enjoyed a beautiful scenic drive across Wivenhoe dam.  I don't think we have driven this road before but it certainly won't be the last.  The stop tonight was at the Goomeri Showgrounds.  It is a basic campground but enough for our needs that include drive-thru sites for when you are towing a vehicle.

The next day was only 300km to Cania Gorge that is just north of Monto.  We were very pleasantly when we arrived at the Cania Gorge Tourist Retreat. Wow!  This place is amazing with gorgeous large grassed sites and birdlife is beyond amazing.  Each evening the owners feed the birds and you are invited to join them for the feeding.  Philip was in seventh heaven as he does love his birds.

Our second day we woke nice and early and prepared ourselves for some hiking around Cania Gorge.  It is not a large gorge by any stretch of the imagination but the small area has a very diverse landscape.  We walked three of the walks that took us around three hours and covered more than 10kms.  

Our trip after Cania was a bit of "same old, same old" but it was without incident and for that we can be grateful.  The overnight stops were Clareview, Alva Beach and Mission Beach before parking the van right back where we started at Palm Cove Caravan Park.  It is so much easier to unpack and clean the van when it is close by and after two days the Winnebago made its final journey back to the storage shed at Craiglea (Port Douglas).

January has passed us by in a whirl.  We sadly came home to the news of the passing of one of our  friend's brother in a tragic jet-ski accident.  The family had numerous wakes to farewell their brother and it will take them all some time to get over the shock of losing someone they loved.  

Philip celebrated 69 orbits of the sun this month and rather than going out somewhere we elected to stay home and I cooked my beloved a three course lunch of Focaccia with Buratta & roasted cherry tomatoes, Beef Wellington with Potato Pave',  Chocolate Brownie and Berries.  It was pretty delicious even if I do say so myself and Philip seemed to enjoy his day very much.

Some of our favourite restaurants have also been on the calendar in January with the very best meal at Salsa in Port Douglas that never fails to please and deserves all the accolades that it gets.  The food presentation is always on point…….

The only unexpected thing that has happened to us lately is our shower screen shattering.  We were not home when it happened but our neighbour told us it went off with a very large bang and as the glass put a hole in the toilet seat we can only be grateful we were not having a shower or using the toilet when it happened!

I will leave you with this final photograph of a magnificent rainbow that stretched from one side of the ocean to the other.  This photo was taken by my friend from our balcony.

No excuse......

No excuse for not keeping my blog updated.  I have simply lost my mojo and procrastination plays a role!

We have been keeping busy these past couple of months but as is so typical of us as we "make our own busy".  Exercise has been playing a big role in our lives.  Philip has been cycling with his friends in Port and the Mount Molloy Dash (Mount Molloy to Port Douglas) was a great achievement for him.  The ride was familiar to him as we lived close to Mt. Molloy when we were living at Julatten, and the ride took in Euluma Creek Road that was Philips "circuit".  There were two teams competing in the ride, one was mountain bike that went down the Bump Track and the other was the road bikers. The ride finished at Teamsters Park in Port where a delicious breakfast of bacon and egg rolls awaited them.

I continue walking but on advice from my doctor I have added in some hill climbing.  Earl Hill has been a favourite but it is certainly a steep walk up the side of the hill and I am always relieved when I reach the top but also with a feeling of satisfaction of completing the walk.

I still go to yoga classes twice a week (Philip joins me for one) and we have added Reformer Pilates to our exercise regime.  Again, on advice from my doctor, to do some weight bearing exercise for Osteoporosis.  Surprisingly I am enjoying it very much.  I detest "huffy puffy" exercise classes and reformer pilates gives me the exercise without all the sweat.  I love that you feel supported on the machines and the instructors at Studio Pilates go above and beyond to guide you through the challenges.  Philip says that he is enjoying the classes as well and even though we have to drive into Cairns city (around 20km) for the classes, it is no hardship.

Food.  It seems like I am constantly thinking about it!  I just love trying different food that I would not normally cook for myself and we have really loved trying some of the food at different restaurants over the past couple of months.  By far and away the best was the degustation at Miguels in Palm Cove.  The owner of Miguels is a friend of ours and it is great to see the success they are having with the Tapas bar, that they opened less than a year ago.  The degustation was very enjoyable and there were many delicious dishes to excite me.  I hope it becomes a regular event for Miguels.

Other places we have visited included Hogs Breath for their Lobster special (we all know how much I love lobster!) and Coco Mojos at Clifton Beach never fails to impress us with there menu.

We have also made an effort to get out and about in Palm Cove on the weekends.  We have quite the reputation for being evening recluses so we are endeavouring to change that.  Miguels (again) make a fantastic Margherita and together with a couple of Tapas has been a favourite,

A drive to Townsville in the Winnebago to have a levelling system fitted and a flight to Brisbane to catch up with my sister and our financial advisor took up a week in early November.  It was great to catch up with family and we ate some delicious food while we were there, notably middle eastern cuisine at Mecca Bah at Newstead.  I could kick myself that I didn't get any photos but the food was just too enticing!

In Townsville we caught up with all the old Julia Creek crew and it really was a talkfest over delicious home cooked meals.  One night we had pizza and wine where way too much wine was consumed but it was so much fun.  I love the way we just pick up where we left off with these friends.

Back in Palm Cove our very good friends joined us for a game of Finska on the beach.  It is a fun game that we hope to get back into now that we are home, for the time being at least.  Our apartment block is right behind this photo of us.  It has been newly painted and looks a million dollars!

Last week our travel agent invited us along to an inspection of Silverseas latest ship the Silver Nova.  The Silver Nova is staying in Australian waters for the next twelve months and she really is a beautiful ship with lots of light streaming in to all corners of the ship from the use of glass instead of the standard solid walls.  We have a couple of Silversea cruises lined up over the coming years and now we are really excited to be joining the Silversea family.

Well that brings me to today.  We have finally woken to a wet day.  The tropics have certainly been missing out on the rain that people in the south have been receiving and the drive to Townsville from Cairns looked very parched in places.  They say to be careful what you wish for, but can you really ever have too much rain?  No for me anyway.

Until next time xx

 

Home, sweet home.

After 23 weeks, we are finally home and oh how I have missed this......

This is the view we wake to each and every morning.  How extremely blessed and lucky are we!

The trip home took us five nights with stays at Miles, Mount Morgan, Cape Palmerston, Alva Beach and finally Cowley Beach before arriving back at Palm Cove.  We always aim to arrive around 1-2 pm at our destination and try not to drive anymore than 400-450 kms in a day.  As Philip is the designated driver and I am the designated trip planner, five to six hours of driving (at around 90kph) is plenty.  We are usually sick of it by them.  Cowley Beach is a favourite.  Not much to do here except watch the sunset over the Coral Sea.  Drinks and Nibblies are a given of course....

Before we finally left Toowoomba we had a farewell lunch at Rosalie House with my Aunty, Uncle and cousins.  The meal once again was exceptional quality and I would gladly recommend it.  I chatted to the owner of Rosalie House and mentioned to her that the winery was recommended to us by a mutual friend.  We chatted for a little while about Jess but she was run off her feet on a busy Sunday so I left her to it.

Our final few days in the South East were spent with our friends at Leyburn.  They have a huge backyard well set up for caravaners with both water and electricity points. They have been our friends forever (or so it seems) but it is almost 50 years!  We have been through a lot of ups and downs together and although we don't see a lot of each other these days, when we do get together it is like time has not passed at all.  I was able to spend a little time with their gorgeous grand-daughter and her daddy so that was extra special.

 

 

We also paid a visit to Shane Webcke's farm outside Leyburn where he has set up a fantastic venue inside an old renovated shearing shed, to cater for any occasions from weddings to birthdays.  Indeed he was to celebrate his own birthday (50th) there the weekend after we left.  That would have been quite the party.

We don't have a lot planned for the next couple of months as we will be heading south again in December for Christmas with our son and daughter-in-law.  It will be a time to just sit back and relax and enjoy our beautiful home that we haven't spent much time in over the past few years.