Bingara

After a Macca's breakfast we headed to Bingara to our Muster, looking forward to catching up with our caravan friends and making new ones. There were 6 vans from our Sydney City Slickers group, which is almost half of the Club. We all headed to the local RSL Club for dinner on the first night and had lots to chat about.
Next day was fairly quiet, we went into town to check it out, bought a couple of items and walked around looking at the buildings etc.
We had our Official Opening Ceremony, then  a game of Boules, Rick and I made it to the semi-finals, but were beaten by better players.  Next day we drove up to the Lookout over the town of Bingara and could see the showground and all the caravans in a "wagon wheel" style.  We enjoyed a group bbq at Noelene's van before joining everyone for a game of Charades which our team won, what a fun night !
Debbie had asked us to help with the catering, so many of us assisted her by slicing tomatoes, lettuce, opening cans of beetroot and pineapple and preparing the buns and cooking the meat patties enjoyed by all on the Thursday night.  Next day we all helped in cutting and slicing vegetables for a variety of salads ready for Saturday night's meal and then enjoyed a Blue Ribbon afternoon tea with profits going to Cancer research.  It was a Trivia night after dinner, but we didn't do very well at all.
Saturday we spent at the lovely Roxy Theatre with talks, singing by a mens choir from Inverell, part of a movie and our AGM, then hurried back to get the evening meal organised, which went very well.  Sunday morning we were on deck again for a Farewell Breakfast and Raffle drawing.  In the afternoon we were invited to join  George and Sonja for afternoon tea and then to Noelene's for our last Happy Hour. We said our goodbyes to lots of new and old friends and really enjoyed our Bingara Muster.

Glen Innes

On our last night before arriving in Bingara, stopping on the way at Raspberry Lookout where we could see the views over the area,  we stayed at Glen Innes at the caravanpark just out of town.  As we just had everything connected, the skies opened up and we had a nasty storm with thunder and lightning. As soon as it had finished we went into town to get some groceries, and then drove out  to the edge of town to see the Celtic Standing Stones, then came back to town for coffee at Maccas.

Iluka

We stayed at Ballina a bit longer, then travelled to Iluka, only a short 100 kms further south where we booked in for four nights.
We had gone into "town"  for a few things and to look around,when we returned we saw several caravans with the ACC logo displayed, so we introduced ourselves and were invited to join their "Happy Hour" that afternoon and the followingevening,  they were ordering fish and chips and planning  to sit beside the Clarence River as a group to enjoy them, so we were also included.  The Club Chairman, Lionel, was there as well, so we introduced ourselves to him  Most of the group were continuing on to Bingara, as we were, but they had several stops on the way  there.
We met Jake and Yvonne from Appin, and she had the most gorgeous collection of bears that she had made all displayed on shelves in their caravan, we had some great times with them.
Dick and Gloria caught up with us on their way south, they had stayed a few nights at Hastings Point and were on their way to Valla Beach to stay with his sister, and spent an hour with us.
East Ballina was just over the bridge, so we drove around the area to have a look.

Ballina

Hail at Ballina

We said our goodbyes to Dick and Gloria, as they wanted to stay another week with Lynda at the Gold Coast and  we headed to Ballina were we had booked in for a week.  It was a nice  quite caravan park, we were at the western end and only a few vans there alongside several cabins and as the tenants of both were there for over a week as well, we joined in with some friendships made.
Our second day was a bit scary -the sky turned a dark shade of green and  we had a horrendous hail storm !  The golf tournament was "whited out" the whole course covered with golf ballsized hailstones and the matches had to be called off. As fast as it came, it went away, just leaving hail stones over the grass for the children to play with.
Rick and I drove to Lennox Head for lunch one day and enjoyed the trip there, the beach was quite rocky, not really a surfing beach and the road into the town was still being repaired after the bad storms earlier in the year.
Roger and Julie from Brisbane hosted a "sausage sizzle" for the caravanners and we all got together for a "Happy Hour" with them.
We haven't been to the movies for ages, and we were told that "Red Dog" was a good movie, so we went along to the theatre at Ballina Fair and really enjoyed it. We enjoyed lunch there at the Fair the next day and purchased "Amelia" on DVD - the story of Amelia Earhart and actually watched it.  We have quite a few DVDs in our collection in the caravan still waiting to be watched ......we actually watched "Charlie and Boots" on t.v. the next night.
There was a Country and Western Festival on over the Labour Day weekend in Ballina, so there were several Buskers in the street, as well as some Line Dancing and bands playing in the area.  Unfortunately Ballina had another hail storm, around the same intensity as the previous one, and luckily again we were on the edge of it - there was great excitement with the children as they built snowmen out of the ice - they took a while to melt.

Gold Coast

On the way from Bribie Island to the Gold Coast, we called in at Coomera Waters to see some "old" friends, Gay and Ian Macdonald.  They were leaving the next day on a 6 weeks cruise, so if we didn't see them at that time, we would miss seeing them again ( last year on our way to Maryborough they had gone away as well)  It was lovely to catch up.
We arrived at Southport at the Broadwater caravan Park and were invited to Dick and Gloria's daughter's home at Helensvale for dinner which was very nice.
Next evening we joined Lynda's family and some friends to celebrate their son, Joel's 18th birthday at a local Chinese Restaurant, it was good to catch up with them all.
Another night out was enjoyed at Robina at the "Salsa" restaurant chain where Joel has a part time job whilst studying at University.
Rick and I drove to Tambourine Mountain for a view of the Gold Coast, but it was rather cloudy, so there wasn't a great view, but we enjoyed the drive,then continued out to Hope Island before arriving back at Southport.

Bribie Island

I had heard of Bribie Island, and knew that it wasn't a long time ago that there was a bridge built across from the Caboolture area for access, but then found it was 1963, andI was quite surprised at this.
Dick and Gloria's friends, Bill and Dawn had left Wheeler Heights some years ago and settled on Bribie Island on the canals. We were invited over for a BBQ lunch and afterwards a trip in his boat around the canals, which was quite nice, but there was a nasty fire haze over the area which spoilt the views.

Rick and I drove out to Woorin and Red Beaches, very flat surf, but lots of nice houses around the area,but a little too remote for us to live in that area.

Sunshine Coast

Mayfair Lane, Buderim

                                      Cassowary at Australia Zoo

                                     Koalas at Australia Zoo

                                        Dean Francis

Jan Francis

Gympie was our morning tea stop after leaving Hervey Bay, and then at Nambour for lunch. We were invited to stay at Andrew Young's rented house in Buderim for a couple of nights as he was overseas, and we left our vans at Maroochydore in the gated property of theirs which was on the market. His daughter, Vanessa, invited us for dinner at their home, which was very nice.  We had known her since she was quite young.
Lunch was had at Mooloolaba near the beach, and a visit to Sunshine Plaza shopping centre was next. We were invited to Sandra's for dinner the next night, ( Andrew's sister).
Next day we drove down to Caloundra where we enjoyed a picnic lunch, and also visited Dicky Beach and Moffatt Beach where we had stayed many years ago in our caravan when the children were under school age. Pelican Waters is a huge complex with a golf course included where our friends, Jan and Dean have purchased a unit.  Dennis and Diane had invited us to come around about 3pm and to stay for dinner and have a catch up.  Dennis, I met when I was at school, and then he was another member of the Bank staff whom I worked with. Diane also worked in the Bank along the Peninsular and I had know her as well, it was a small world !  Diane and I chatted about the staff members we remembered from all thos years ago. Dennis' daughter, Fiona and husband, Kobi were due to stay with them in a couple of days ( Fiona is our god daughter)
Next day we travelled to Montville to visit Jan and Dean, Jan and I have been friends since our Banking days as well, and we have visited them many times over the years - in many different towns in Queensland !

Scarness Beach, Hervey Bay

It was only a short trip to Hervey Bay from Bundaberg and we set up camp in the caravan park - we didn't realise we were under a tree which held Bats and other birds which left nasty messages on the roof of the car and caravan which needed scrubbing off !
We called in to see my friend, Christa, at her hairdressing salon at Urganan, just along the beachfront from the van park, surprising her with our visit, and booking a haircut for later on in the afternoon.  When we came back, her husband, Fritz, was in the chair having a haircut !  They had only arrived home from Austria a couple of days before, so we were lucky to catch them.   Christa gave me a haircut,the shortest I'd ever had it since leaving school, but everyone liked it, so I was happy.  She invited us back to her home for coffee on Saturday afternoon, which we enjoyed.
It was too windy and the weather not so nice for Dick and Gloria to take their booked Whale Watching Cruise whilst we were at Hervey Bay, we had already had one in Sydney a couple of years ago, so hadn't booked as well.

Bargara Beach, Bundaberg

Rick and I had visited Bargara Beach last year whenwe stayed in Bundaberg, and thought it would be nice to stay there on this trip - it wasn't far out of Bundaberg and it was right near the beaches.
We rang Margaret Hayes to let her know we were in town and she invited us for lunch the next day, Margaret and her late husband, Dickie, had been friends of Mum's since meeting them at Teachers College in Sydney, back in 1955, and we had been corresponding and visiting them ever since.  They used to live on a sailing ship "Galatea 11" on Pittwater many years ago.
There was a house - Fairymead House - in the Botanical gardens at Bundaberg which housed the Sugar Cane history of the area, so we spent some time there.
Next day we drove out to Burnett Heads and took a picnic lunch and sat by the sea there, then went to the Turtle Rookery at  Mon Repos on the way back

Yeppoon

                                         Rockhampton

Singing Sails

Lorikeets

We left the windy Carmilla Beach and headed towards Yeppoon, stopping at Waverley Picnic ground where we were inundated with Lorikeets - we offered them some chopped apple, but they grabbed the whole apple from Dick's hand, he was still eating it !  They hung around for more and were sitting on our hands and heads before long - there  were dozens of them !
We arrived in Yeppoon and after unpacking drove to the nearest shopping centre - upon walking into Coles supermarket, we couldn't believe our eyes, walking in beside us was Ian Barnabas !  I had been reading on facebook that his deceased ex-wife, Louise's , ashes were buried a couple of days before beside the graves of her parents, and Ian was in Sydney to be with his 3 daughters, and also attend his grand daughter, Hannah's, first birthday party, then to see him  right near us was amazing.  He invited us for morning tea the next day at his home.

We drove into Rockhampton to have a look around and had a picnic lunch down by the Fitzroy River, and returned to the caravan park via Emu Park where we saw the "Singing Sails" and had coffee there. Yeppoon caravan park was very nice and the Managers were very helpful and courteous.

Carmilla Beach

Our caravan club friends, Mike and Debbie, had recommended that we stay at Carmilla Beach,about 100kms south of Mackay where there was a free camp right on the beach.
We ventured in with our vans, onto the sandy roads which had bogged Mike and Debbie's caravan earlier in the year and decided we'd be o.k.
It was a delightful spot, we parked parallel to the beach which had , to us,a most unusual tide,  Twice a day the water disappeared at least one and a half kilometres ( or it seemed that far) out to sea.

                                         At Carmilla Beach

                                         Storm brewing

                                          Carmilla Beach

                                          Where did the water go ?

                                          Rick riding along the beach

The sun shining on the sand after the tide went out

We stayed there two nights and on both nights suffered torrential rain storms which kept us awake with the noise of the rain on the roofs and the wind flapping our awnings, but there wasno damage when awoke each morning.

Mackay

We stopped in Ayr at the Information Centre and then headed to Bowen where we had lunch and arrived in Mackay and set up the caravans.
Next day was cold and windy and Rick ventured off to the Blood Bank to give a donation
Eungella National Park was very pretty,we climbed (by car) right to the top of the mountain from where we could look down on all the sugar cane farms surrounding the district whilst we enjoyed our picnic lunch.
Broken River area was where we sighted a couple of baby Platypus playing in the water,along with several turtles.  Back at the Eungella Chalet we enjoyed a Devonshire tea still looking out over the majestic view of the valley ( on a fine day, after rain, we were told that one could see the sand on the beaches at Mackay)

We enjoyed a tour of the Fairleigh Sugar Can Mill one drizzly morning, climbing up and down metal stairs to see the journey of the sugar cane from the actual canes to the end results of Molasses and white sugar.

Slade Point was a little disappointing, I think we expected to see some more expensive houses overlooking the Ocean, but it was a normal neighbourhood.  The Hotels, Motels, and other buildings around the Marina were quite brightly coloured painted tall buildings, and seemed mostly all tenanted.
The weather wasn't the nicest for us in Mackay, but then we had had about 4 months of lovely weather, so really shouldn't complain.

                                           View from Chalet at Eungella

                                           Giant Mango at Bowen

                                          View from Eungella Lookout

                                        Platypus at Broken River

                                            Inside Fairleigh Sugar Mill

Townsville

We left Tully, sore, but rewarded and drove towards Townsville, stopping at the recommended "Frosty Mango" shop where we enjoyed Mango, Rum and Raisin icecreams etc and purchased some ripe pineapples.  We have been seeing Mango Trees growing for weeks, but that was the first time we had tasted it - the season is over - wait until summer !

We arrived in Townsville and stayed at the Coral Coast vanpark outside of the town. Castle Hill lookout overlooked the whole town - a  Hill , as only 286 metres high, not high enough to be called a mountain !
We enjoyed a picnic lunch at Rowes Bay overlooking Magnetic Island and chatted with the owner of a coal mine in Emerald en route to a Conference at the Casino.

We met up with George Karsai, another member of our City Slickers van club from Sydney, attached to the Army there for a little while, we invited him around for "Happy Hour" and next day he took us for a drive around Townsville - via the Strand and the Casino , promising take us for dinner at the local Chinese that night - his wife , Sonja, was in Sydney and would be home the next day.

Dick and Gloria's son in law, Bob, has a brother living in Townsville, so we were invited for lunch at his home on Sunday.  We met his partner, Sasha, and daughters, Ruby and Jade.  As they both work at the local Aquarium, they arranged for us to have free entry for the next day, which we enjoyed.  We met up with Sonja at her caravan and then that evening had dinner at Sizzlers with them and chatted for hours.

Tully

We left Cairns and stopped at Babinda where we looked at the Babinda Boulders - the highest rainfall 8800 ml is rated for this town.  A Devonshire tea was enjoyed for morning tea.

We arrived in Tully and drove to the Showground where we had been advised they we gathering to assist the victims of the Yasi Cyclone which devestated the town in February.  We signed on to volunteer to help the people on their properties in return for accommodation at the showground and our meals...Eugene was in charge of Blaze Aid and was doing an excellent job
..

Sunday was a "day off" for the troops, so we all drove out to Tully Heads to see some of the devestation there, then onto Mission Beach .  We were told about Paranella Park, so had a look at that, but the entrance fee was far too high, so we just had a drink in the cafe and continued back to Tully.

Next day we had an early morning start at the home of Cecelia and Jim's home at Tully Heads, where we assisted them in clearing up their yard and were rewarded with freshly made cake for morning tea, then some home made spring rolls for lunch.

There was a  greater need for our help on a 3 acre property owned by Elaine, she had so many palm trees knocked down, and other trees left hanging,  There were also the corrugated iron roofs belonging to a neighbour two houses over which had been blown into her yard which we were able to remove onto a pile for the council to collect.   As she had such a huge yard, we were able to cut down the trees with a chain saw and drag them onto piles and burning them - we had a huge bonfire !   Next day we went back again, and this time there wasn't quite as much work to do, and we made 3 huge bonfires for her to light at another time, as she had to leave to be with a friend whose Mother had just passed away

Tully Beach

We all felt very rewarded for helping out, but our muscles told us a different story the next day.

Palm Cove - Port Douglas

                                         Palm Cove

                                        Port Douglas - Sheraton Hotel

Cairns

After leaving Lake Tinaroo we called in at Mareeba and had coffee at the hugely advertised "Coffeeworld" - a huge cavern of merchandise - as well as coffee- and crowded- the advertising works.

We booked into the Big 4 in Cairns - Crystal Cascades, a lovely park.

There were several shopping centres to choose from, we went firstly to Raintrees and then to Redlynch, but no a lot of shops were open on the Sunday in them

Port Douglas was only a short drive , so we went there, had a coffee,then drove back via Palm Cove.
Another day we had a picnic at Lake Placid where we saw a huge Goanna, then went along a bit further to Barron Gorge where we saw many youngsters getting into rubber rafts and travelling down the rapids under the guidance of their instructors.

We had dinner in the Camp Kitchen with 2 couples from our Sydney City Slickers caravan Club - we were quite surprised to see them - there must be 9 caravan parks in Cairns, and there was Helen and Colin Death and Bob and Carol Best, just a few caravan sites from each other and one next to Dick and Gloria ( they hadn't met before - so it wasn't until we saw them, that we recognised the coincidence)

                                         Gold Coin Breakfast

                                            Wild Turkey

                                           Barron Gorge

Crystal Cascade Cpark

Next morning we all had breakfast together - the caravan park put on a "gold coin" donation breakfast for all the campers - what a line up for the bacon and eggs !

After breakfast we drove down to the Crystal Cascades and then into town and walked along the beachfront and had lunch at "Muddies" there.