Queensland!

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I feel Sunnybank needs an entry, even though technically we are in Sunnybank Hills, but that's not on the list.

So avid blog readers, I haven't written a blog in freakin ages (except for the moody insert about the farm) because, for the large part, we have been living the quiet life in a south Brisbane suburb with my sister Clare & her husband Tony. We hadn't anticipated staying this long but after backpacking for 4 months getting to live in a beautiful house with all the comforts of home + sunshine every day is proving too hard to leave. We had hoped to get jobs and earn a bit of money for the next part of the trip but we have had no luck with that. Mike has done a bit of work with a fencing contractor and I have done a total of nothing. I am signed up with heaps of agencies, I have applied to be a cleaner, a bar maid, a waitress, a factory worker, an office assistant and everything in between but am getting nowhere. Hopefully we will have more luck later in the trip! We have done a (shocking expensive) farm training course which 'guarantees' you a job but of course that job could be on the other side of the country for 6 months. We haven't tested them yet but hopefully they will find us a job when and (roughly) where we want it when the time comes.

After extensive searching, we have purchased a vehicle for our trip. Not exactly our first choice but it's a Ford Falcon Stationwagon. It was much harder than we expected finding a car. We didn't even want a Falcon because they are 6 cylinder automatics and so use a lot of fuel and are more expensive to register. But they are very common so hopefully easy to find parts if we need them. It is far from perfect and needed $1168 spending on it to pass it's Road Worthy and to be generally safe for us to drive around in. And it cost $745 to register in Queensland!! We also insured it and signed up with RACQ roadside assistance. We're ready to go!


Here are some of the highlights of the last 2 months:

• Seeing my lovely sister and brother-in-law again, obviously!

• New Year’s Eve. We had a quiet one camping at Lake Wyvenhoe. There were kangaroos hopping past at dusk, a koala in a tree and tree frogs in the bathroom. There was also the craziest lightning/wind storm that nearly brought our gazebo down. Tony brought his catamaran which, despite the lack of wind at the time, was heaps of fun!

• Going to the Brisbane International tennis tournament with Clare. Clare got to go to the actual Australian Open in Melbourne but I shan’t dwell on that.

• Australia Day - we spent in traditional style at a backyard barby of some friends of Tony’s. Drinking, playing sports, sweating and eating snags. Auzzie as mate.

• Various trips to the Gold Coast to swim/surf/body board/eat fish and chips from that awesome place outside the Versace hotel. I haven’t had a go at surfing yet as I can’t even get the hang of the body board but Mike’s had a few lessons off Tony and is getting there…

• Weekend trip to Noosa. Noosa is a lovely small-town coastal place up the coast a couple hours drive. We swam in the waves and drank at the surf club. On the down side Mike cut his foot open on a sneaky oyster clinging to a rock and missed a week of work.

• Lawn Bowls! Who knew it could be such fun?

• Day trips to Wet n Wild & White Water World parks on the Gold Coast.

• The trip to Mt Tamborine this weekend. There was waterfalls with pools at the bottom to swim in/jump in. And we had pub lunch overlooking the Gold Coast. Lovely!

So! The plan is to set off down the coast to Byron Bay, then to Yamba, continuing downwards to Melbourne then across the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide and to Perth then up the west coast and back across the north to Brisbane via. Alice Springs. So pretty much a big loop. We'll probably have to detour inland for work somewhere along the way. Easy eh?

We intend to camp for the most part. We have a big tent & a foam mattress, plus a camping stove and a whole heap of other crap that goes along with camping. Wish us luck!

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Photos

Me pretending to BBQ
Clare & Tone's Deck

Mike with our new car
You decide which one and keep that image in your head of us cruising around Australia in it

Comments

[mum and dad]

Oh yes
Looks like you have joined the Free Masons or is it the Free Mooseons in Auz. Lawn bowls just has to be the coolest activity going. You wouldn't know it until you try it. So you are joining the long list of explorers acroos the great outback. Burke and Wills, Bishop and Carpenter, Ned and Kelly and now Warner and Howson.

[CatBrook]

on the road
Sounds like you managed to squeeze in plenty of fun inbetween all that horrible job hunting! Hope you are enjoying life on the road! xx