THE NEXT NINE DAYS

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Now on day 20 of the trip - reverting back to day 5 in Charleville.

Another nothing (but relaxing) day followed by a great Thai meal. Phil did a few jobs for Julie - hung mirror and put shelves into laundry cupboard - just cannot keep a good man down when there is handyman work to be done! During our time in Charleville managed to come to grips with Skype so able to catch up and see the grandchildren (as well as Maria - great talking to/seeing you.) Was great to see Bill catch up with his daughter via Skype. Phil topped up the petrol in preparation for our drive out the next day to Bundaberg ($69.31 - 48.90l @141.9cpl). Have I mentioned the great meal I made for sister, Julie........a family favourite which no one likes preparing - brains- and now I know why!

Thursday 1 April was spent driving to Bundaberg/Bargara - ten hours and 850 kms. Stopped off in Mitchell for their famous lamington - also bought hot cross buns from the Bakers (which when we got to eat the next day we gave 10 out 10!)

We drove through a fairy land - watching out closely for kangaroos - a lot of dead ones and a few live ones which gave us a scare or two as they bounded out in from of us.......so much for the story that they are off the roads when the sun is up - we had a beauty bound out on us just before lunch - had let our guard down by then but quickly went up again. The emus were out again but they have become quite Ho Hum! Back to the fairyland - simply cobwebs drapped over bushes and between branches of trees - including from branch to ground - glistening with morning dew shining in the rising sun..........magical!

Another petrol stop at Wondai - $50 - 38.79l@128.9 cpl - another first for us as we used the self-service machine! Stocked up with food at Childers - along with the Easter hoardes - a wise decision as when we passed the shopping centres in Bundaberg and Barbara later in the day they were equally packed.

Settled ourselved into our cabin at Bargara Beach Caravan Park...........all the comforts of home! Surrounded by tent city and masses of children on their bikes and scooters. Cabin was right opposite the beach and the skating rink where I learnt to skate as a child growing up in Bundaberg.

First day went off for a swim in the ocean - some 50 years since I last braved these waves - don't seen as big as they were back then..........quite emotional as I could hear my (deceased) father's voice telling me to take the wave and kick, kick, kick! This old bod cannot catch a wave like it used to!!!!!!! Spent the rest of the morning sitting in our camp chairs in the shade outside our cabin watching the army of campers arrive waiting for the Lovering clan to arrive. It was fun watching everyone set up - what happened to roughing it - full size fridge and TV under the canvas is the norm!

The Loverings and their extras (in Bundaberg for Carrie and Jason's wedding) arrived enmasse mid afternoon - all chairs and tables relocated to under the trees and they partied! We had decided that today was going to be a car-free day - after so many days sitting in it felt like we were permanently attached to it.

Easter Saturday - overcast and even rainy at times - a trip into Bundaberg to get ourselves set up for instant communication - the Caravan Park charges $20 for 15 minutes of wireless access so decided to get ourselves a wireless thingie so we were not dependent on others for email etc access. A most helpful person at the Bundaberg Telstra shop - not only did we have wireless (to be yet installed - watch this space!) but Next G telephone access which hopefully keep us in touch with kith and kin for the rest of our travels - was frustrating to be out of touch so often to date.

Wedding went off very well - Reception ditto. Pam and Rodney put an incredible amount of effort into refurbishing "The Castle" - they are to be commended for pulling off the day.

Easter Sunday - even on the road Phil can be counted on to provide bacon and eggs in bed! Spent some time installing the wireless thingie - got to a point where I needed to contact Telstra (and in spite of their 24 hour service!!! was advised to ring back on Tuesday) - no wireless but confident that early on Tuesday all would be sorted out. Back to the Castle later in the afternoon for post-wedding BBQ. An opportunity to catch up with the Lovering family and others in a less frantic setting.

Easter Monday - plan was to have breakfast at the RSL (an early 80th celebration for John Henry for those who will not be able to make it to Canberra in August)..........unfortunately, only available on Sundays so moved to Plan B..........BBQ bacon and eggs at Caravan Park that JH and Barbara were staying at. Well fed. On way back to Bargara did a quick drive to Burnett Heads and Mon Repose (no turtles). Amazed at number of yachts moored at BH - there must be some money in this part of oz. I think that between our latest trips we have now covered this part of Qld. Obligatory Fish and Chips for dinner.

Easter Tuesday - the wireless challenge! After two phone calls and a couple of hours being passed between people in India no luck - eventually told to wait a further 24 hours for installation to kick in - not happy! Accelerated up the line but fortunately this time connected to someone in oz - Gold Coast - all terribly sympathetic about previous service but in the end after trying all things she tells me that she will have to uninstall me as there appears to be some error in my initial installation and I will have to go through the whole process again. Not happy! She then proceeded to check all the data I had inputted but could not find an error. Her final advice was ditto and that I may need to wait a further 24 hours to see if the re- installation worked....................told her I was going for a cup of coffee and would do as she had advised on my return.........but would be contacting Telstra Ombudsman re the matter.....................................off for a lovely cup of coffee and on our return all geared up to do the reinstallation found that we were up and running! The O word is an amazing impetus for getting things done!!!!!!!!!! Skyped Cassie in Exmouth and Tanja in Albany.................great to catch up with them.

Washing Wednesday - back to the Castle to organise clean clothes for the next part of our journey...............a last swim in the ocean! More petrol $77.49 - 61.07l @ 122.9 cpl (with Woolies voucher).

]Today - packed up Cabin and moved to the Castle - to get organised for the train trip to Cairns. All packed up and ready to go. Train leaves at 7.30 tonight. Filled in a couple of hours people watching at Sugar land (with a coffee and lunch). It is at times like this I wonder how I would have ended up if we had stayed in Bundaberg and not moved on to PNG exposing us to other cultures and opportunities.

I should add here that Phil is now on Book 4 - I can't keep up with him! It is great to see him so relaxed.

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