Beaches beaches beaches...

Sunday morning we all had a lazy start enjoyed one last catch up then farewelled them as they set off.  James had been asked to work Monday so we had booked into a park in Moruya Heads so we packed and headed there. After doing a quick set up because we could see the rain coming we sat and had a late lunch and let the rain pass.  We did some washing then pottered around camp for the evening.

Monday was a catch up day.  We woke a bit earlier then needed so we could fit in a walk along the beach before James had to work.  We made our very first Nespresso coffee and took them with us for the walk. James worked from 9am-5.30pm. I did 2 more loads of washing, cleaned and sorted in the van, grocery shopped and generally just did things that needed attending to. We Skyped Mum and Dad in the evening it was nice to see them and catch up after not really much contact since we left.

MMMM Nespresso on the beach.

 Tuesday we had a slow start but packed and left the park about 10.30am. We were not sure where tonights camp would be but had plenty of options.  We stopped and looked a Brou Lake but decided it was too shady and cold for us so we kept going, we then stopped at Mystery bay which though beautiful was very very very windy and not very flat so we kept going. We then pulled into Gillards beach which is where we camped in our previous trailer for the very first time and found almost the exact same spot and set up camp.  We saw another echidna on our way in and there are heaps and heaps of roo's and wallabies around camp. We had a late lunch snack then went walking and exploring the area and beach.  We cooked our first pork roast on the BBQ and enjoyed a small fire late into the evening.  I said to James I don't think it gets much better sitting around the fire listening to the waves of the beach crash in the back ground, the only thing to make it better would be to have all the people we love sitting here with us.

 Looking across Brou Lake

 Looking out the window from inside Qu Pea

Camp 

Wednesday was a day planned to do not very much. We woke early as the sun is up early when you are camped virtually on the beach.  Then James decided to have a little more of a sleep so he laid back in bed and crashed out till mid morning.  I had a lazy start just enjoying the quiet and then started to catch up on this blog.  It is now nearly 12.30 and we are still in bed James is reading a magazine and I have been here typing for nearly 2hrs. The camper is cool with all the windows and curtains open.  We are going to look at a few things on the trailer as the fridge while running on gas is giving us grief and just make sure all the nuts and bolts are tight and have a day of chilling.  I was even considering a swim but the clouds have come over a bit so maybe tomorrow.  We tinkered on the car and trailer and luckily for us nothing much to report.  Then we went and ate lunch at the beach then walked to the furthest end, on our way back we spotted Dolphins and Whales all just out enjoying themselves. We went and collected fire wood for the nights fire and we saw another Echidna just walking across the path and that was about all we did for the day, very enjoyable.

Thursday we decide to move south and see where we made it to.  Oh were we in for a big day we had not expected.  We pushed on across the boarder and then the weather changed.  Gale force winds and rain by the bucket loads. We were getting smashed.  We decided to have a look at the national park spot near Mallacoota and after arriving and setting up we ate then packed up again and bailed out of there.  It was too windy and dangerous with so many trees around.  On our way out we had to drive over 3 fallen trees that were not there on the way in. It was getting late so we pulled into a free grassy camping area off the highway for the night.  We froze till 7.30pm when we just gave up and hopped into bed with long pjs and sock on with all the covers pulled right up.

Friday we woke and the weather was better but not great.  We were back on the road looking for our next few nights spot.  We took the tourist route as much as we could just staying off the highway so we could enjoy it more.  Just before we were about to pull off the highway I looked in the mirror and noticed a stick/small log hanging out of the front of the penguin. We pulled over and ahhhhh crap it was only about 30cm long but 5cm thick and had punctured a hole in the front wall. On with some duct tape and we were off again.  We pulled through many spots but nothing much felt right till we pulled into Corringle Slips.  We had a nice spot not under any trees right beside the river and close enough to the bathrooms and it wasn't too expensive unlike the park we had just been to and decided that $34 a night was too expensive for a national park. We set up camp and about 5pm the wind just stopped. We knew there was a storm front crossing Melbourne at some point but it was very very eerie.  We tied everything down and put everything away and just hoped for the best.  Luckily for us we only had strong winds from 1-2am and then 5min of rain.

 Ahhhh CRAP!!!

 Stunning sunset.

Saturday the wind blew and blew and blew and it was COLD,  it also rained on and off most the day. We decided to be tourists in Orbost so we drove to town and pottered up and down the main street for a few hours enjoying the atmosphere.  Back at camp we played Yahtzee and went for a walk to the beach. Well we got a huge shock when we got there it was so so so super windy.  We had expected it to be windy but not like this.  The kind of wind where it is hard to stay standing!!! We spent the night inside and enjoyed a movie.

 

After yesterday we had to get out.  We decided to stay camping at this location for another night and just go out driving and see what we see.  We pick a nice drive out to Buchan. It took us over an hour to get out there on the very very windy roads.  We went and saw the snowy river and James got to drive his remote control boat. I paddled my feet but it was so super cold it hurt.  We then kept going and decided to see the local caves. We bought tickets for a tour which stated virtually straight away. We did the 45min tour and thoroughly enjoyed it. We made our way back to camp via Nowa Nowa where we stopped for a quick pie at the cafe for lunch.

 Buchan Bluff

 Stalactites and Stalagmites

 Blanket Stalactites

 Popcorn (Coral) forms on really old dry Stalactites

 Ancient bones of a Kangaroo like animal before human time.

A map of where we went.

A week of wild - weather and animals...

Monday morning came around so very quickly. A week had passed and we were SHATTERED. Doing so much seeing so many people in such a short time was exhausting.  I woke early to see Rhys and Effie off then went back to bed to get a little more sleep.  Well we were both so tired that the next thing we know it was nearly 11am we had slept in.  It was very overcast outside but not yet raining.  We did consider not leaving and just hanging around and having a quiet day but we knew we were not going far so we set off.  The closer we got to the trailer the more the rain grew heavier.  It seemed each time we went to hook on or do something we would be poured on.  Was this is sign to stay?? We persisted and after a few breaks and lunch with Leah we hooked up and hit the road at 1pm.  The plan was to head to Kangaroo Valley.  As we were heading out I phoned my uncle who lives in Bundanoon.  We arranged a visit then reset our plans to stay in the national park in Bundanoon for the night.  We enjoyed a visit to Uncle John and Aunty Jane's new house then set off down to camp.  We had a really nice spot to camp which would have been even better if the rain had at all stopped.  Fortunately there was a big camp kitchen with BBQ's, sinks, lighting and power.  We cooked dinner then I enjoyed a hot shower before we climbed into bed to listen to the rain pour down almost all night.  I don't think we have ever camped in such continuous heavy rain, we were both very thankful we were high and dry with a solid roof over our head.

Tuesday the rain had stopped as the sun came up but it was still overcast and threatening.  We packed up while it was dry and headed for Kangaroo Valley.  We were at camp and set up at Bendeela reserve by noon.  For the afternoon we went and visited Tallowa Dam and Cambewerra lookout and looked through the township of Kangaroo Valley. The rain continued to be sporadic but we dodged it and enjoyed the area.  After dark the wombats came out to play.  At one point I could count 9 within 50mtrs of the van.  They grunted and grumbled and at one point James and I crapped ourselves when one ran into the step on the van and decided to scratch its back on it. Throughout the night the van would rock then we would hear it grumbling as it scratched its back on sections of the underneath.

Wednesday we had to choose to drive up the narrow but not so steep climb out of the valley or the steep but much wider road.  We chose the wider road and to our surprise the car did well climbing out of the valley.  Down into Nowra we went and then out to Jervis Bay.  We booked in for 2 nights and set up camp.  We were again in by 12 noon so we then set off back into Nowra to do some shopping we had not shopped since we left QLD and we were in need of fresh everything. After picking up supplies at Woolies and Bunnings we went back to camp.  We walked to the beach and watched the dolphins play in the crystal clear waters.  It was nice that the sun had come out and the rain seemed to be gone.  We lit a wood fire place to cook dinner and enjoyed keeping warm. Then the rain hit and we ran for cover.  After warm showers we were in bed and listening again to rain on the roof.  Possums and Kangaroos were everywhere around camp just lazing and watching and not at all worried by humans.

Ilka Beach (one at camp)

Thursday morning as James returned from the bathroom he called out look the bird is following me.  A beautiful Green and Orange parrot had "chased" him down the road and when he sat to enjoy his coffee the bird flew onto the chair next to him.  When James went inside to get something the bird then flew onto the top step to watch him.  James was just a little freaked out by the bird and was thankful when it left him alone. We set off mid morning to explore the park, we went to the historic ruins of the lighthouse, then to Moe's rock, then did the 5km return walk to Steamers Beach.  We looked at Jervis Bay Village and Wreck Bay Village which is an aboriginal community so we got to the edge and turned around as the signs ask you to.  We went walking and exploring along Hyams beach then Murry's beach. On our way back to camp a Echidna walked across the road in front of us. We again lit a fire and enjoyed the evening with the possums, tonight one was so brazen that while we were eating dinner it climbed on top of the table.

 James's buddy

 Hyams Beach

Steamers Beach

 Beautiful friends

 Our Camp

Historic Lighthouse

Friday we packed up and headed for Pebbly beach. We were not sure how busy it would be or get as its the start of the school holidays.  We were at camp and found a nice level spot by 12 noon again.  For the afternoon it rained on and off a few times and when we thought it was safe we did the walk down to Depot beach and back.  We discovered why its called Pebbly Beach (see photos) and then as the sun dropped so did the temperature.  We went and lit a fire and invited our neighbours Leah and Jon to join us.  We spent a really enjoyable evening talking with them.

 Pebbly Beach

 My First ever rock tower.

 Beach at camp.

  Saturday we woke early with excitement as Rhys and Effie were coming to play :) we pottered around camp and to and from the beach.  They arrived about noon and settled into camp.  We showed off Qu Pea then sat and caught up.  We decided to do the walk to Snake bay in the afternoon but after getting half way to Clear View Point we all decided that was enough and we would  return to camp to then walk down to Pebbly beach.  We then sat around the fire cooked dinner and thoroughly enjoyed our last night camping with them for a while.

 Rhys trying to get Crap book to find him

 All 4 of us in a selfie @ Clearview Point

 

 My second rock tower

This week we have seen many animals we had not seen in a long time especially many Wombats and Echidnas. We feel so lucky to see these animals in their natural surroundings and not only in zoo's we have even had a Penguin following us all week it just keeps attaching onto Randy and won't budge, well I guess its now here to stay.

Encore Visiting

We had returned to NSW almost exactly 4 months after leaving with a new trailer and very different plans to when we left.  We had decided to unhook and leave Qu Pea out the front of the Steele's house as it was easy to access and there was plenty of room.  After unhooking and leaving behind a few things we wouldn't need for the week we enjoyed lunch a Dee Why with Leah.  We then set off to spend the night with Chris and Linda.  Now this is going to be a VERY long post if I type about all the things we did so I will apologise now to anyone who wanted to have a star feature in this blog but Im going to put in a very shortened version of our week.  We stayed with Chis and Linda, the Palmers, the Vellas, we had lunch with Julie then dinner with the Robsons, stayed in a hotel in the city, then Rhys and Effies's, the Steeles then back to Rhys and Effies.  We had lots of late nights, early mornings and talked and talked and talked.  Sunday we had a picnic at Parramatta Lake where we got to see the Pryors, the McLaren's, the Vella's the Hiltons, Rhys and Effie and Connie.  

I have to make a short side note here to mention that the Robson's gave me a very unexpected surprise birthday present.  Belinda was very unsure as to whether it was going to be a great or not so great gift but on opening it I don't think she could have purchased a better present.  She bought me a Nespresso machine and 150 pods to enjoy.  So much thought had gone into the gift that I just couldn't verbalise how grateful I truly was and still am.  To all my beautiful Robson's THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart it will be used an loved and just incase you were wondering I found the perfect spot for it to live it fits in like it was made for the spot.
 
Our FIRST of many...

Saying goodbye and a fresh start

With Randy LOADED in and on top of the car we hit the road out of Katherine and towards home, or as we referred to it as Return To Base (RTB). We travelled 1300km from Katherine to Mt Isa and stayed with Ben and Bonnie for the night.  It was so very very nice to see family and receive a welcoming hug.  Day 2 was Mt Isa to Emerald we set off after getting some Gage love and had a relatively easy run into Emerald arriving nearly 11hrs after we left, that was another 1100km done on our RTB.  From Emerald RTB was another 900km and a roast dinner was waiting so without delay we were up and on the road by 8am to meet the family before dinner. We arrived around 5pm plugged the fridge and freezer in and went inside to collapse.  It was only 1 week since the accident and what a roller coaster week it had been.  1 week earlier we were in Katherine the fate of the trailer was unknown but we figured it was a repair/replace parts job then we would be heading north again.  We had not even considered that we would be back on the Sunny coast having purchased a new trailer and our plans had definitely changed for us.

We had purchased a Jayco Penguin from Sydney.  We had decided that after christmas we were going to look at selling our then current trailer and buy one of these trailers.  So when ours was written off we knew what we wanted to do. We had been looking at the market for a few weeks so we knew what they were going for. We had a budget in mind and after Grant looked at this trailer and Dad had looked at another one we knew which one was for us. We talked a deal with the previous owner and only 4 days after the accident we made our new purchase. The trailer we bought was going to be traded in only 3 days later if we didn't purchase it so there was no time to hang around it was buy now or miss out on a good deal.  We nicknamed her Princess as to us she was the ultimate in comfort and that's what all Princess's should be about. 

We spent our first week at home unpacking, cleaning, catching up with family and organising for whats next. We decided to hang around on the coast for 3 weeks in total so we could get our new home, set it up, James could then do his weeks work, I could spend by birthday with family then we could head off.

Grant and Amanada Vella aka Puppa Smurf and Mumma Vella had kindly picked up Princess (our new trailer) and stored her they then so very kindly offered to meet us in Coffs harbour so we could pick her up and take her home to get to know her a lot better.  We met them at midday on Saturday.  She was bigger then we had thought but yep she was ours.  We enjoyed lunch with them then farewelled them and turned our now slower and heaver nose north to get her into QLD and home.  Mum and Dad welcomed us home and we showed her off. Attached to Randy the trailer was backed up the driveway and yup it was longer then our last one we only just fit with Randy's nose only just off the road.  Sunday we had a really enjoyable day out at Booloumba creek for my nephew Brandon's 5th birthday.  The rest of the week we washed every single part of Princess we went and had her registered and her new plates then gave her a new name.  Her plates end in QWN so she is now named Queen Penguin or as we like to refer to her Qu Pea.  Mum helped us put blackout on most the curtains, Allison and Scarlett helped clean and scrub her and Brandon help James wire up new LED lights. Maggie was always keen to get in and help out she did lots of odd jobs and we taught her many things about tools. 

Monday I started to put in all the kitchen and extra things to start to see how it would all fit.  Tascha came to visit for dinner and we showed off Qu Pea to her. Tuesday was my birthday.  We had a lazy start to the day.  James, Mum and Dad had bought me a BBQ to fit in the trailer and it was perfect. I then had a really enjoyable lunch with James, Mum, Karen, Allison, Scarlett, Belinda, Emma and Tascha at the Yandina pub.  The afternoon was spent with dad and James fitting the new shock absorbers to the trailer the trying out the BBQ.  After cleaning, sizing up buying boxes, hoses and all sorts of things to make our stuff fit and be comfortable we were ready to pack.  Wednesday and Thursday were the big packing days. Would it all fit??? we didn't want to have to tetris pack every time we opened it up.  We were conscious about weight and because the trailer is so very different we had a really sort things so very differently.  We made a list of what was NOT going with us this time.  We managed to sell a few things and left some more stuff with mum and dad to store. (THANKS mum and dad). 

Friday was leaving day. It was also the Noosa show holiday so Dad didn't have to go to work.  Alli and Neil were able to come for breakfast also.  We were up with Maggie, Emma and Brandon early to say goodbye before the girls went to school.  We then packed the last few things.  Enjoyed another yummy BBQ cooked breakfast with everyone then casually set about packing Qu Pea up to head south.

We had decided to head south and now clockwise around Australia as the wet season was not far off hitting the north and we didn't want to rush our time up there.

Our first stop was in Byron bay, as a couple we had never been to the Easterly most point of Australia so we parked and set off on the walk.  After reaching the point taking photos and stopping to enjoy the view we continued south.  I had looked at a map and decided that a camp ground called Red Cliff Rest Area near Brooms Head was the place for us that night.  What a fantastic place this turned out to be.  We arrived just on dark found a great little flat spot and set up. It was windy and much colder then we had been used to so after setting up we disappeared inside enjoyed dinner and then not long later headed to bed.  At one point I did point out to James that OH NO we had just turned into those "older" people who show up set up disappear into their van and not be see again…YIKES. The next day we woke to a stunning day.  We walked along the beach and up onto the headland.  Had a quick breakfast, packed up and were on the road by 9am.  We headed down to a camp ground called Delicate Nobby's beach just south of Cresent Head.  It was also right on the beach but the dunes blocked the view this time.  We set up had lunch then spent the afternoon walking along the beach climbing the rocks and exploring. Sunday we set off to Belmont. We had booked into a park to freshen up before getting to Sydney and we were meeting someone there who bought our batteries off us.  It was an easy run and we were in and set up by 2pm.

 Brooms Head

 Cresent head

 First use of my BBQ