Month end Odo reading: 25,726

May 2010

Km's for the Month: 1,558

Odo reading at month start : 24,168

Southport. Staying at Broadwater Tourist Park (Top Tourist). We stayed here last year on 2 occasions. Only criticism is they pack the place like sardines at peak times, but still it's a neat place to stay.

 

The weather has been great and we had a relaxing weekend in a camp that became bursting to the seams over this long weekend. On Thursday when we checked in there were only a handful of us, on Friday and Saturday morning it filled to capacity and now Monday afternoon 3pm (AET) it's back to the few motorhomes, caravans and tents we saw on Thursday.

 

What of our trip?, we left here a year ago, 24,000kms later, with very few hassles our trusty Paradise Liberty motorhome got us back to the Gold Coast. It's being a very comfortable trip, in a very comfortable motorhome and wherever we travel we get admiring glances. Besides a few very minor issues we are very happy with her - she has served us well.  When we return in 2 weeks time we plan to hang around Brisbane for a short while to catch up with friends, then head north, hopefully as far north as Cooktown. Thereafter, who knows!

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Southport to Brisbane. Staying at Newlands Gardens caravan Park. We stayed here last year for a few days, it's close to downtown Brisbane on a bus route, so it's very handy & convenient.

 

Once again it poured cats & dogs in Southport, always lousy when one has to pack up to move on (typically, the first 2 days were stunning weather).  We returned the rental unit to PML and collected ours, all work completed - very satisfactorily! They did a super job!

 

We had a great time in Brisbane catching up with friends, first with Melvin & Fran, then the next night with Noela & Kevin. A Mediterranean meal one night and a Nepalese meal the next - both were excellent!

 

Southport to Arundel.

 

Dropped off our motorhome at Paradise for a few things to be fitted.

 

 

15 - 19 Flew to NZ today, until 19 May. We were both very happy to see the family again - it was especially pleasing to see just how excited the grandchildren were to see us again.

Gold Coast, viewed from Broadwater Camp

Marooned catamaran on Caloundra Bar. Update, to this photo - this yacht wreck was featured on TV news, the couple were on their maiden sail from Brisbane to Darwin and ran aground on Bribie Island, at the entrance to Caloundra. The yacht has now been reduced to only small pieces.

Fantastic Tiaro butchery

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Maroochydore to Tewantin (Noosa). Staying at Noosa Bougainvillea Holiday Park (Big4)

 

We had super home-made peri-peri chicken at John & Debbie's house last night, a great meal.

 

Unfortunately it started raining yesterday and has continued all day today - this has not helped our sight seeing on the Sunshine Coast, thankfully we have been here on a number of occasions.

Bundaberg distillery

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Brisbane to Maroochydore, via Caloundra. Staying at Cotton Tree Caravan Park, Stayed here last year for a few days.

 

We stopped at Caloundra for morning tea and saw the most distressing sight for yachties. A 40ft or so cat had run aground at the entrance to Caloundra and was almost broken in half. The starboard hull was broken in half and debris was strewn all over the beach - a sad sight to see! There were a number of people trying desperately to salvage whatever was left of the yacht. 

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Tewantin (Noosa) to Southport, via Arundel. Staying at Broadwater Tourist Park (again)

 

We had some unexpected & unplanned business on the Gold Coast, so we decided to do it before we headed any further north, which meant we had to drive all the way back here (damn). Got our first puncture today, a nail in the left rear inside tyre, repaired at Tyrepower ($35)

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Southport to Tiaro (rest area # 155). Nice spot, even with welcoming sign for RV's

 

We left Southport around 9am, travelled directly to a rest area in the very small town of Tiaro.  On the way we drove through Gympie, but other than one street there wasn't much to see, so we didn't hang around.

 

Once we had parked our RV in the rest area, which is part of Memorial Park in Tiaro we walked to the local butcher who we had read about. True to what we read his butchery was stocked with the most amazing selection of meats, poultry and smoked meats, sausages and bacon.  As smoked bacon is extremely  difficult to find in OZ, we bought some. As soon as I got back to the RV I cut a piece to taste it, it was good - certainly far better then the rubbish & tasteless bacon one buys in all the supermarkets and butchers elsewhere. The last place we bought decent bacon was from a small butcher in Coober Pedy, where there are many European immigrants.

 

Tiaro is really a neat place, one feels welcome as there are many signs welcoming travellers and even a sign welcoming caravans (and motorhomes) to spend the night in Memorial Park  - many other towns could learn from this.

That's what we like to see!!

Tiaro rest area

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Tiaro  to Hervey Bay, via Maryborough. Staying at Fraser Lodge Holiday Park (Big4)

 

On the way to Hervey Bay we stopped and spent a few hours in Maryborough. We visited a old trading store, Brennan & Geraghty's, that opened in 1871 and was owned by the same family until 1972, when the current owner, one of the Brennan sons (aged 92), closed the doors and walked out - he left  behind all the stock on the shelves, including a packet of tea from China, the packet is dated 1888. It certainly was a walk through the past, all the stock on the shelves is original, depending on the time is was bought to be sold. A fascinating place and well worth a visit! It is now owned by the National Trust.

 

Hervey Bay is the gateway to Fraser Island (still undecided whether we will visit it, maybe when we come back down this way). From August to November it is a whale watching town, I can imagine this sleepy resort really comes alive during the whale-watching season.

Brennan & Geraghty's store in Maryborough

Craters near Gin Gin

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Hervey Bay to Boyne River Rest Area #125, via Bundaberg

 

Stopped at Bundaberg to do a tour of the rum distillery - besides the tour being totally forgettable, the free tasting of 2 rum samples reinforced my view of Bundaberg rum - I tried the Special Reserve and it was only slightly better than paint stripper. Not worth the $25pp entrance fee.

 

Just before Gin Gin we visited a site where there are unexplained craters of weird and wonderful shapes, see photo above the Bundaberg photo..

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#125 Rest Area to Rest area #89 Clairview Rest Area, via Gladstone & Rockhampton.  S22^o  06' 20  E149^o 31' 35

 

A very boring trip today - it's one of the most boring drives we have done in OZ so far.