Advertisement
Ginger factory
This was very commercial and very expensive. Wished we had waited to buy our chocolates until we reached the macadamia factory across the road. This was much better value.Even though we had a decent sleep we were very slow to move today, but we managed to get the caravan set up as we liked it, go shopping for some essentials, find a 1st Choice liquor store to replenish our wine supplies and generally make ourselves at home in Rob and Jan's home.
We cooked a curry for the evening meal and after a few drinks with this all of us retired for an early night.
Tuesday 28th June 2011 Today, although we still felt a little tired, we made the effort to go sightseeing, driving to Yandina where we toured around the ginger factory there as well as touring through a factory which processed macadamia nuts. These, we were told, were native to Queensland, they being developed to the nut they are today. The oil, fruit and by-products are one of the most valuable exports of Queensland.
We had the 'compulsory' pie from the local bakery for lunch before continuing on to the next town, Kenilworth. This pretty, small town boasts a cheese factory and a decent tourist office. Just before reaching the town we heard a loud
Beautiful Queensland scenery.
This was taken from a road named Obi Obi Road. collision behind us, someone running into a car who had waited for us to pass before they turned right. As there were several cars with them they had assistance, so we continued on, a little shaken.
By now tiredness had started returning, so we took the shortest route back, through Mapleton. This involved climbing though some extremely steep roads and even though the Jeep handled it well, Rags felt that the repair we had just had was not done properly and that the problem would re-occur if we had the van in tow.
Dinner was a quiet affair, Rob's hip having given him problems during the day and he deciding that a hip replacement was his only acceptable option. On that note we all retired early, we starting to do a few things in the van but hitting the sack just after 8pm!
Wednesday 29th June 2011 We were up very early after going to bed as we did, finishing our breakfast before 7am. We joined Rob & Jan on the verandah at about 8am as they had their breakfast. Rags rang the Jeep dealer and told them he was not happy with the repair,
and as the first mutually acceptable time for it to be looked at was Monday we have extended our stay here until after that. Rob & Jan have made it clear we are welcome, even though we are well and truly breaking their, and our, '3 day rule'.
The Australian Zoo was our destination for the day even though there was a likelihood of a few showers. This zoo was set up by Steve Irwin's parents in the 1970s, he expanding it until his untimely death a few years ago. The preservation of the land and its animals is the strong theme which runs through the park, this sometimes coming across a little too commercialised. There were several shows during the day featuring elephants, raptors, snakes etc with the main event the show with the crocodiles. This was Irwin's forte, from which he gained his title 'the crocodile hunter' and this show was very glib, including his wife, Terri, and their two children. We found the whole experience one 'we had to do' but not one we are likely to repeat in a hurry.
We continued on to Elimbah, down the Bruce Highway, to catch up with a
computing colleague we have known for quite a few years, Judy more so in her position as president of ECAWA. After swapping what each of us had been up to over the last few years over a cup of coffee, we set off for the drive back getting to Woombye just on time for after 5's !
Rob had booked in for the hip replacement during the day, a space appearing for him next Wednesday. Both he and Jan had spent the day reorganising their plans such as trips to Darwin and Vietnam, their lives now affected by this decision. A delicious dinner of home-made pie, prepared by Jan preceded an early night back in the van.
Thursday 30th June 2011 Today we were off to the suburb of Kenmore Hills where our friend Julie lives. We have known her for over 13 years through her being involved in the computing world and us in ECAWA. She invited us to dinner at her home and we are staying there overnight to allow us to enjoy a drink or two.
On our arrival we were put into the main bedroom, she taking her daughter's room as
it was more 'convenient'. That's what we call being spoilt! After settling in she then took us on a bit of a sightseeing tour which included re-visiting Mt Coot-tha and then on for a walk around the Botanical Gardens situated down the hill from there. Unfortunately the main buildings were already closed but we did see many of the trees and gardens around them.
Dinner was a delicious Moroccan lamb stew, slow cooked all day so that the flavours really came out. Will need to repeat that when we get home! The meal, with a few bottles of good wine, was complemented with much discussion on what she was doing and our plans, making it a most enjoyable evening.
Friday 1st July 2011 After breakfast we said our farewells to Julie, T-bone the dog, and the two cats and set off on a round-a-bout route to Cashmere, where we were to have dinner and stay with another couple. We met Helen and David on our Danube Christmas Market cruise in 2007. They had since retired and have only fairly recently moved into their house on property there.
As we had plenty of time we took
a scenic route up to Eske, where we had lunch at the same bakery when we came into Queensland, (and vowed no more pies this trip!). On the way to Eske we stopped and took some photos of the damaged trees in the Brisbane River near Fernvale, this attesting to the height the water level reached in the floods in March this year. It was hard to imagine the water was 4-5 metres higher than it was at present, just a wall of water which caused so much damage and loss of life.
At Lake Wivenhoe we stopped at a picnic area and hiked along a 3 kilometre walk trail for some exercise and to enjoy the scenery. This was a very small part of the 462 kilometere shoreline of this very huge dam. We could not imagine it overflowing in our wildest dreams!
After we left Eske we continued down the other side of the lake until we entered D'Aguilar National Park. Here we went for a short walk through the rainforest but our hearts weren't really in it. We were both tired, so instead of arriving at our hosts early, we lay back our seats and
had a short 'nanny nap'. 20 minutes was enough and we were refreshed when we arrived at the house.
We felt completely at home with Helen and David and within a short time it felt as if we had been together for some time and knew them well. Judy and Helen were soon in conversation about Education, mutual friends, renovations etc.
David and Rags, out in the shed looked at an EH Holden that David has had for 21 years and is about to sell. This has been extensively modified over the years but has engineering certificates for its motor, front end and gearbox. David used it originally in a 'Bash' then it became his son's for a while. He now has no further use for it and will sell it.
A tour of the property followed. he having done much tidying already, and has many plans for future development.
Dinner was a tasty, bbq and vegetables, that included imbibing a few wines before relaxing in front of the fire with a coffee and a port. Sleep came very easily in our comfortable bed.
Saturday 2nd July 2011 A delicious breakfast of bubble and
squeak set the tone of the day. After saying goodbye to Helen and David, (and confirming they will be staying with us from the 17th September, in Perth) we headed back to Woombye via Mooloolaba on the coast. Here we walked along the promenade next to the beach until we came to a gallery which had some of Pro Hart's work as well as that of David, his grandson's. We took some photos of pictures we would like similar ones of in our new kitchen, (take note Tanya), and bought a set of coffee mugs with the designs on them.
Back in Woombye we had the place to ourselves as Rob and Jan were away until this evening. This gave us the opportunity to do some washing, catch up with uni work and this blog, plus a quick nap for the older member of this partnership.
Jan was quite excited when she and Rob returned, she having been asked to officiate at two funerals and a wedding since she left home. Her little celebrant business seems to be booming!
As we had prepared a chilli bean and rice dish for dinner we supplied dinner for all.
Sunday 3rd July 2011 Bit of an easy day today, as at a respectable hour we drove towards Noosa Heads stopping at Noosaville where there was a very busy food market at a local football field. We wandered around but only purchased a couple of items. We thought all of Noosa was here until we arrived at Noosa heads. this was teeming with people and cars were stopped in odd places waiting for a parking spot. Needless to say, we couldn't find a parking spot there even after driving along the main street a couple of times and going through several parking areas. Very 'yupeeish" and not overly inviting.
We continued on to Sunshine Beach (no sun here either!) and had a stroll down to the water. Moving down the coast we came to another market at Peregrian Beach where we found a park and eventually found a place to have a bite to eat for lunch. All in all the area was disappointing in that you couldn't see the coast from the roadway because of the high vegetation, or if that wasn't there, by the houses which had absolute beach frontages blocking the view.
We stopped
at the Sunshine Plaza in Maroochydore and bought some groceries for the meal we were to provide this evening.
Jan had organised for another couple, John & Maria, to join us for afternoon tea, they intending to go to the USA shortly and buying a 5th wheeler to tour around. Judy baked some ginger scones to go with the afternoon tea, these enjoyed by all with our cups of tea, but we then got down to a serious conversation over a bottle of red.
John & Maria had previously spent time in the US but next month are about to embark on a 2 year tour, including Canada. They intend to buy a 5th wheeler and truck in Portland, Oregon, (no sales tax here) and then tour around. Their research has shown that they should be able to buy a unit for around $30K, hopefully being able to recoup most of this when they sell at the end of their trip. They have a 5 year multiple entry visa, this costing only a bit more than a 1 year visa, allowing them to return to Australia and in and out of Canada whenever they wish. Gave us a
few things to think about.
They stayed quite late so we quickly prepared the chicken/apricot dish which we had promised to prepare tonight as Jan was out working. Jan returned home at about 7pm, after which we had our meal and discussed all the things we could do in the future. As Rob and Jan retired early, we continued in the van catching up with work and the blog as usual.
Monday,4th July 2011 Jan lent us her car and Judy drove the Jeep into Maroochydore so that we could have it checked out further, Rags is still not confident that it had been repaired properly. Rather than returning to Woombye we waited until the check was done, they saying they couldn't find anything wrong, even after admitting they could smell fumes in the car when it was at stationary. We left rather disgruntled and and we can still smell fumes.
An easy afternoon was had, checking and preparing for us to leave tomorrow. Jan was hosting a Quota Club dinner that evening and we were invited as guests.
We returned to the Sunshine Plaza shopping centre in the afternoon to buy a few
groceries for us and for the evening.
A great meal was had, the visitors also enjoying their meal, we did the washing up whilst the others continued with a meeting. One of the husbands attending joined Rob and Rags in a few drinks before Rags and Judy called it a night.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.107s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 12; qc: 29; dbt: 0.0374s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
