PJCM Trip 2012

Before we get in to this stage of our travels, we missed a bit that should have been covered in our previous blog.. so here it is.

We found great humour when interpreting some road signs of suburbs next to each other..... if you dont get it, ask us...

So we were travelling back to the Gold Coast and Jo remembered from when we were travelling some of this road on the way up, that there was a big Kangaroo sitting behind a petrol station. It wasnt marked as a "Big" on our list of things to see, and we weren't in a position to stop and turn around when Jo caught a glimpse of it on the way up. She remembered thinking it looked really pretty (as far as Kangaroo's go that is), so we kept our eye out for it... Spotted! We pulled over and had a little look see.

Now some of you might think that this one looks familiar? Well, we were suprised to learn that this Matildia was the mascot for the 1982 Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane. You might recall she travelled around the stadium during the opening/closing ceremony. Apparently after the games, she was located at Wet'n'Wild Water World where she was found in 2007 out the back and in peices and was then purchased by the Matilda petrol company (who infact, named their chain of petrol stations after Matilda in 1982) who restored her to her former glory and now use her as their mascot. Well, she was a delight to see and her eyes, head and ears still move. This one was a real buzz to see.

Also, before we left the Gold Coast caravan park, I noticed the tyre on the caravan was completly flat. Obviously this was now more than just a slow leak and I would probably need to change it rather than nursing it through to Adelaide for a repair (because we have rellies there who own a Tyre Power). As we had been in this spot though for three days, I decided to pump it up and see if she held pressure... it did, so we headed off with the plan to monitor it very regularly before changing it. As it went, it stayed up pretty good for the day... so no problems it seemed other than a slow leak.

And as for the Gold Coast....

So, back to the topic of this blog.
Our travels today are pretty uneventful as we journey in to Tamworth, the Country Music capital of Australia. So much so, that this was our highlight....

By the time we get into Tamworth, it's almost dark and we dont have much time to do anything. We did have a little drive around the town though. Not much going on as there is no music festival that weekend. We did however come across this...and went back to get this picture the next morning on the way out.

Before we departed our caravan park though, I again checked the tyre on the caravan. Flat as again. Ok, I decided that we had too far to go to Adelaide to be able to manage it before a repair. I would have to change it. After a little mucking around off it came and I inspected it for any nail or object stuck in it that is causing the leak. I was somewhat suprised at what I found......

WOW. For those of you who have been following our blogs, you might recall when we were in Bathurst that a big hole in the road jumped out and bit the caravan... While I checked then that no damage had been done to the suspension of the van, I clearly didnt check the inside of the wheel rim.. I now conclude that this hole did inflict some damage. Over time it seems that the pressures of travel had worked on the weak point of the rim and part of it has broken off. I think we were really lucky that the tyre didn't burst off the rim beading.

Hmm, obviously I will need to get a new rim. As we were on our way through the outbacks of NSW etc to Adelaide, I contacted Jayco in Adelaide
to organise a new rim to pick up so that I could take it to get the tyre put on it at Tyrepower St. Agnes. As it turns out, they didnt have any of our model rims in stock and wouldn't be able to get one in before we had to leave Adelaide.... oh. A problem to be solved still and I would have to see what our rellies could help us with in due course.

Off we went with our next main destination being Broken Hill, but that was two days away and we planned to free camp somewhere along the way.

We passed through a few towns,including Cobar, which had this enticing Big on display....

A couple of the local girls sitting on a bench near by quite proudly announced that the can was the biggest in Australia.. if not the world... before seeing a Police car driving up the steet and then running off rather quickly.

That night we free camped in the middle of whoop whoop. We don't have a generator, so using power points or the air conditioning is out of the question. We put the fridge and the hot water system to run off gas, the TV is already running on 12 volt and that is all run along with the lights that are all 12 volt too from the on board battery system. So we can't boil the kettle, but we can boil water on the stove and use a flask for those late night cuppas. All sorted! This way we can live in relative luxury and still get the beautiful views of the bush and really be away from the rat race. We used our Camp 6 book for all of our free camp nights and probably saved around $300.00 in caravan park fees.

We head off pretty early the next day and before too long find our way into Broken Hill. We are only here for one night, but there are a few things we want to see.

Broken Hill is where the film Max Max II was filmed and there is a museum in Silverton, just 20 odd kms out of town. Being a fan of that movie, it is a must see.

We called in to the local Tourist information centre to get the low down, and pretty much straight away head out to Silverton. It's not too long before we are there.. interestingly, during the trip we notice that there are a lot of "dips" in the road...

So we get to Silverton... there really isn't a lot there other than some historic building there and a couple, and I mean a couple of little tourist type museums/cafe's. We find the Mad Max II Museum. Its only $7 for Adults and $3 for kids to get in. Problem is though, that because they are so far out in the middle of nowhere, they dont have any telecommunication and therefore no EFTPOS facilities. As it turns out, we only have $17 cash on us. Jo volunteers not to go in... (she is not a fan of Mad Max anyway) so she waits in the car while us three boys go in. It would have been good for the Information Centre to have told us this.. oh well.

The museum building is pretty small but punches above it's weight in the amount of information and things on display. A lot of the old cars are there that were in the movie, outfits, original scripts and development instructions. Heaps of pictures and other bits and pieces... including the boomerang... (Fans out there will know about that).

Chris and Mitch, even though they havent seen the movie, were, to my suprise, quite interested in all on display. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the building where the pictures and scripts etc were, but we could take some pictures outside where the cars were... so we did.

This last picture shows some railing that was on the truck in the scene where it rolled over (seen in the pictures within). It had broken off from the truck and was found out in the bush only a few years ago.

We left the museum and met up again with Jo in the car.. after hearing about what we had seen in there, she was devastated that she also didn't go in.... NOT!

We took a quick 4km drive out to the hill where all the filming was done that overlooks the plains that feature in the movie. There is nothing out there, but I am inspired to get the movies out when we get home and watch them with the view of observing the country side where we have now been.

So heading out of Silverton back to Broken Hill we pass by a little souvenir store called, "Beyond 39 dips". On reflection we remember all the dips in the road we went over on the way in. We decided to count them all on the way back in... we only counted 37... so they must have moved two since naming the shop......

The wild life must have got wind that we were in the area and they came out to say hello..

Back in Broken Hill, we went up to the top of the hill that over looks the town centre. We couldn't see where the broken bit was, so we just sat there for a while and admired the view....

We had heard that there is a bit of an Ant problem in Broken Hill, so we went to have a look....

Also in Broken Hill, is, apparently, the biggest painting in the world. As we love our Big things (had you guessed?), we paid our money at the museum and went in to have a look see. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures in there. Basically though, it is a big round room that you go out in to the middle of and the wall is a painted suspended canvas that circles you.The painting goes up over your head onto the ceiling. The picture is of many australian landscapes (bush) blended in to one and depicting numerous weather patterns. They have placed bushes, stuffed animals, including snakes and lizards etc, on the ground to complete the bush setting. Well we accepted that technically it probably was the largest "Painting" but I am not sure it lived up to expectations.. still, it is what it is.

So Broken Hill was somewhat of an interesting place. There are many museums there and things to see, of a historical nature, but we didnt have time to do much else, nor the real interest in that sort of thing. The place is not disimilar to Kalgoorlie in its feel. Just smaller, and not as nice (if you can describe Kalgoorlie as nice). I think that if you are travelling out that way, it is worth a visit, particularly if you are into the history of the place, but I wouldnt go out of your way to visit.

The next day we have a short run in to Mildura. I am keen to see this place, especially all the house boats. Also, I remember nearly being run down by a paddle steamer when I was there (at 8 years old) and out on the water in a little pedal boat. Hopefully I can have a go on them again .....

The road from Broken Hill to Mildura is quite deserted, yet reasonable good to travel on. Jo decides to pluck up a great deal of courage and give towing the caravan a go. This is something that she has been toying with for sometime, but due to the heavy traffic etc hasnt been comfortable to do.... but given the non existent traffic, she says she wants to give it a go.

So I pull over and we swap places. I am expecting that she will probably travel for about 10 kms or so, depending on how she feels. She was a bit nervous, but didn't hesitate and we took off. I think much to her suprise, more than mine, she handled it very well and before we knew it belting down the road at 80 kph. Much faster than we both thought she would do. Suddenly a truck came up over the hill. I could see the white in her knuckles show as she tensed her grip on the steering wheel. It passed. She relaxed, and from there on I think she enjoyed it.

Some 80 kms down the road (yes, 80) it's time for lunch and we pull in to a road side stop to eat..... of which she manouvers the van in to place with ease. As I was in the car when travelling, I couldnt take a picture to prove this, but we did get one once we pulled in for lunch...

As it turns out, Jo didn't quite get 100 kms of towing the van under her belt, and while comfortable driving where she did, wouldn't be so if in a built up area or where there were lots of road trains passing by on skinny roads. She did well though for her first go and all of us boys are very proud of her.

Well, Mildura is quite a decent sized place with lots on offer. The views of the river with all it's house boats was lovely... and we decided to have hamburgers down on the river foreshore for dinner that night.

Unfortunately, there were no pedal boats for the boys to play on, so we just had to settle for the views.

The next morning, we identified something that we wanted to see, which was just out of town. Once we had hooked up the van and got out of the caravan park, we went and found it....

Heading back through town, we needed to fill up with fuel before getting out on the open road. With the Mothership behind us, getting into petrol stations in built up areas can often be difficult (as you just can't get into them). This proved to be the case in Mildura and it took us about 20 minutes to find a station that we could get into.. oh well, good thing we're on holidays... Off we head.

Berri is our destination. This place brings a really strong memory for me in being able to climb up to the top of the "Big Orange". It is one of the big three (banana - done, pineapple - closed, and orange) that is a must see for the boys in replicating what I did when I was 8. I was heart broken when we drove up the road and saw it. While it was still there, all orange like, it was closed and we couldn't get to it, to climb. Ah, oh well, still a picture opportunity.

As there was really not much to do now, we hit the road again and headed for the Barrossa valley. Our overnight stop before an easy run in to Adelaide the next day. With the exception of Kakadu National Park (which we wont be able to get to on this trip), the Barossa Valley is the last place for us to cross off our list of all the places listed on the Australian version of the Monopoly Board. Clearly, a must do.

We visit a couple of wineries, (two of my favourtise, Wolf Blass and Penfolds), buy some product and settle into the caravan park for the night.

Before dinner, we took the boys down to the local skate park for some energy release. Mitch stacked it good. Lucky he was wearing his helmet as that now bears a battle scar that looks much better on his helmet than it would have on his head (funnily enough, he made comment before that he didn't know why he had to wear his helmet, I reminded him of the time we were at the skate park near home when a boy fell and split his head open good, an ambulance was called and he went off in that but not before the ambulance driver made comment as to how many kids were there without one, when we were leaving he said he now knows why he should wear a helmet, lesson learnt)..... he was slow to bounce back, but after not too long, we were dragging him away to head back for dinner.

Tomorrow we head back to Adelaide to spend some more time with Jann, Terry and Scott before we head back across the Nullarbor. We have Mothership booked in to get the rim replaced and Lucy booked for a service as they own the local Tyre Power in St Agnes - where you can also get a service done, how fortunate that we can kill two birds with one stone

So off we take from the Barossa. Our journey in to Adelaide seems to take forever given the relatively short distance we have to cover. We are reminded our the great sense of humour the South Aussies have though when we again see one of the safe driving adverts..

So we get in to Adelaide and go straight to Tyrepower St Agnes... we say hello to the rellies and drop off the broken rim, where a stunned face was evident upon seeing it in that condition. I explain that we are not able to get an original rim replacement from Jayco in time and ask that they find me any suitable rim to use as a spare just for the journey home. Apparently it wouldnt be wise to cross the Nullabor without a spare....

We check in to our caravan park for the next few nights, the kids have a play with some other kids for a while and then we head back to Jann and Terry's for dinner. Yummy home made Lasagne, with salad and some lovely fresh rolls.... mmmmm. very nice. Jann opens the bottle of wine we took - Terrys favourite - and Phil is very happy he got himself a bottle too. He loves it.

We get back to the caravan just in time to watch the last half of the Basketball.. you know the final game of the semi finals. The Wildcats win and we are very excited about them making the grandfinal. While we are watching the game, Jos phone is beeping away with a couple of messages, but we have learnt our lesson over the years and there's no way we're looking at a mobile whilst watching a game that isn't live. As soon as the game is over Jo reads the messages on her phone from her brother and sister in law (who are also both wildcat fans) about our travel dates as the second game of the grand final series was due to be played on the Friday night...the night before we were due to arrive back in Perth. The thing is, we had already changed our plans to double back to the Gold Coast to watch a game there, this then got us home a day earlier anyway, so they arrange for tickets to be bought for us.

The next day is planned that we will drop our car off for its service and then spend the day with Jo's Aunty Jan. This was a great day, especially for me as I didnt have to drive... woohooo.

Our first stop was at Tyrepower St Agnes (It's a really good shop, great people to deal with, great new premises, and ....Have I plugged that place enough yet? Well, if you are ever in Adelaide and need tyres or a car service, do yourself a favour and give them a call).

Now Scott, Jo's cousin, has a racing car (a few actually).. apparently he is quite good if the trophies are anything to go by... So we had a little look at the one that's in the service centre and Chris got to sit in it.

Later we stopped by someones house and the boys loved what they saw there... including

Our next stop was Beerenburg for some supplies of stuff we got last time and really liked. From there it was back to Handorf for lunch at The German Arms... wow, those burgers were huge, but ever so good....

With full bellies, Jann then took us to Mt Lofty where we had magnificent views over Adelaide (although for some reason we didn't take any pictures of the sceneray as such). Mitchell was his normal comical self though as I took some pictures of Jo and Jan (with a glimpse of Adelaide in the background).

We spent that night (our last in Adelaide) at Jann and Terry's house again. We had another lovely dinner and really enjoyed our chats. We were glad that we were able to change our travel plans that enabled us to visit again. And Jo was very sad to leave them behind. With the promise of them coming to Perth later in the year we say goodbye once again.

On the way home, the big day we had taken its toll on the boys.... (which given all we have done, was quite surprising, as this next scene was very rare).

Well. This is really it. The final stage of our journey home. From here on, it's all about pointing the nose home and getting the kms under the belt.
2770 kms to our driveway. It's a little sad leaving Adelaide, but we are excited now about getting home. I whack our new spare tyre on the back of the van (Thanks Terry and Scott for helping us with this - it would be irresponsible to cross the nullarbor without a spare....apparently) and hook up.
Its not long before we are well down the road and out on the country highway... Our aim is to get to Ceduna, but we are not really sure where we will end up. As it turns out, we are smack in the middle of the school holidays so when we ring around to get into a caravan park, we can't find a spot anywhere. So much for stopping by at Streaky Bay. So, we decide to pull in to a free camp spot about 40 kms East of Ceduna. It had gotten dark and we had all had enough of being in the car for the day. We had travelled about 700 kms.

A noisy truck also pulled in a little while later and his compressor made a bit of an annoyance. But to be honest, we are all pretty tired and it doesn't prevent us getting a good night sleep.

Leaving MeadowGlen, we hit the road with the full intention of getting as far as we could (basically, as far as I felt ok to drive). Ideally we would get to the WA Border and see how we feel. Once again the road is good and the volume of traffic is pretty light.

As we get to where the Great Australian Bight is, we decide to visit the Head of Bight, which we hadn't stopped at during the trip over. It was about 12 kms in, but well worth doing. At the Head of Bight you are able to get out a bit further to look back onto the cliffs and are below the top of it... a different perspective.

When we got to the SA/WA border, we were elated to be back in our home State.

We ring/sms our families and let them know we are back in the state.... sort of like a warning, but they took it as good news.

I am not sure if it's just me or all of us that fall in to a coma, um, no slumber, um, no... the zone... that's it... a zone as before we know it we have knocked off over 1000 km. Our biggest day of this trip (I think we once did a bigger day some years ago, but that was just a once off journey to a specific destination). Anyway, it's pretty dark by now and I am sure I am knocking off half the bug population with the van. (This is confirmed the next morning as the van is that bug yellow colour. It will take some cleaning). We pull in to a free camp spot, (Dumble door) find a spot and make good for the night. There is a few more like minded vanners at this one, so Jo feels a little more relaxed at being out in the scrub. It's pretty cool tonight. We have dinner and crash in to our bunks.

Well this morning we wake up really early as we are still operating on Eastern Standard time. We are greated with a great sunrise.

Today's travels are about 700 odd Kms as we are aiming for Southern Cross. Still a biggish day, but we are more than in the rhythm, so no big deal. This will then leave us with about 400 Kms on our last day and a midday arrival back at home - our preferred arrival time.

Fortunately, there was once again very little head wind to slow us down. Even so, I tuck us in behind a road train for a while and take advantage of his drag.
He even noticed this and over the UHF suggests that I go halves in this fuel bill. Jo reads her book, the boys do some maths work and play on their DS and iPods. A pretty uneventful trip, which is what you want really. We pull into Southern Cross about 2.30 in the afternoon. Doing the calculations, we could push on and get to Perth today. But that would probably be about 6.30 or 7.00pm, depending on Peak hour traffic. Not something that I am particularly keen on given the big day we had yesterday as well. To be honest, I was a little tired, we had planned on pulling up stumps at Southern Cross and there was little benefit in pushin on. So we didn't.

Southern Cross provided us with a warm arvo. We didn't really do anything (I washed the front of the van to clean off all the bugs from the night before). It was surreal realising that this was our last night in the Mothership for this trip. We had dinner and an early night.

So today is our last day. As Chris put it, bitter sweet (it's a new saying he has latched onto). So about 4 hours in the car today before we pull in to our drive way. We leave about 7.30 am. The drive is again pretty uneventful, although it is odd realising that seeing so many WA number plates on cars is just that... odd.

We are all very excited about getting home. We are eager to see family and friends, and especially to seeing our dog, Missy.

Being on the road these last weeks has been a blast. We have done so much, but with less than a handful of days where we havent been doing something, I think it fair to say that we are worn out. I think we need a rest.

Readers of our blogs would know that whenever we passed a "Big" thing, we took the opportunity to take a picture with it. During our travels, we also came across two other Bigs of which we havent yet shown you. They are...

We only saw one of these, but there are 43 million places in the Eastern States where you can get one from.

There are countless numbers of these.

During our PJCM 2012 Trip, we have travelled many hours and many Kilometers, yet it seems like it went by in a flash. We have climbed the heights of Mount Kosciuszko, floated the waters of the Tasman Sea, flew the sights of Sydney and swam the depths of the Great Barrier Reef. We have driven the bends of the Great Ocean Road and the straight of the Nullarbor. We've played with our families pets, and marvelled at tigers, devils and toads. We've visited Big things beside the road, and seen dead things on the road. We've eaten fine food, and scoffed concoctions. We've laughed at much, and been dissappointed at some. We've been scared, we've been joyed, we've been tired out.

There is one thing we all agree on though. No matter where we roam, there is no place like home.

We hope you have enjoyed reading our blogs and having a snap shot into our 2012 Trip.

So today we leave Townsville. We pack up the van and head off for a final cuppa with Tina and Warren.

Unfortunately Kathleen didn't make it before we had to leave. We couldn't wait any longer though as we had to get to the shop to see about a new under water camera and then get to Airlie Beach by 5pm. The clock was ticking.

Tina and Warren lead the way to the shops. We looked at our options and decide on a new under water camera. It was a quite a bit more than we had originally planned on spending (Given we were originally just going to get a $25.00 throw away option) but we decide to bite the bullet as we will get plenty of use out of it no doubt. This one is a beauty.

We get back to the car, say our final good byes, and get back on the road. The journey back to Airlie Beach was pretty uneventful and we arrive by about 3.30. We call in to the Camera shop where we purchased the first under water camera (I insisted that Phil try it out last night in Townsville in the pool and it took 1 photo and died) and returned it for a full refund. If you're in the market for an underwater camera, I can tell you which one not to get....

After setting up at the caravan park, a different one than we stayed at for our previous visit here, afterall, we need a different stamp for our Big 4 passport, we test the camera in water....firstly in the kitchen sink, and then in the pool. Heaps of pictures are taken and all looks well. We are happy with our purchase and very excited about tomorrow morning. But still a little worried that something will stop it from happening again, as this really is our last chance to get out on the reef for this trip.

Tonight we are really looking forward to watching TV. The Perth Wildcats play the Gold Coast Blaze in the first of three semi final games. Being big fans of the Wildcats, as you may have guessed from us changing our trvel plans. We have really been missing not going to the games. Throughout the trip we have only been able to watch one game on telly. The rest we have had to either listen to on the radio, or watch a static score on the net. Tonight, it's telecast and we are in a town that received OneHD. Yay.

I set the TV up and tune it in....ummm... not getting any reception. I go outside to have a look around and notice that the caravan site we are in is actually sitting within a semi ring of large hills... Clearly our van aerial is not high enough to pick up any signal. Hmmm. I then notice a TV aerial that is mounted very high on a pole. I investigate further and notice that on each van power pole there is a TV aerial connect point.. Phew!. I get out our lead, plug it in and set the TV off to tune for channels. Searching.... searching.... searching... BA BOOM! 12 Digital channels received.. YAY. The system finishes and I grab the remote to switch it over to One HD. Guess what .. ARRRGHHHHHHHHHHHH... One HD is not listed. COME ON PEOPLE!.

Jo checks the internet for what channels are received in Airlie Beach.. One HD is listed. What is going on?. I go for a wander around the park and pop in to the TV room to see if it is being picked up there. Nope. Very frustrated I come across someone who works in the park and I ask him. Apparently there was a big storm a couple of weeks ago. Since then a couple of channels, including One HD drop in and out.... Until it gets fixed, they can't do anything.... Just our luck. Back to watching a static score on the PC.. feeling very deflated right now. Fortunately, the Wildcats win. yippeee.

It's not long before we are in bed full of anticipation for our day on the reef tomorrow..... again.

GREAT BARRIER REEF.
So we experience a whole load of deja vu as we once again get down to FantaSea and set ourself up on the boat and have breakfast and take some kwells. So far there has been no talk whatsoever of us not going but we're still not getting our hopes up too much, I guess we are secretly worried the trip might be cancelled again. We go straight to Hamilton Island and do the drop off and pick up and now the boat is full of people all hoping to get out to the reef today. The water is a little choppy but nothing like last time and we are so relieved and excited when we know for sure that we are going out to the pontoon. We are given so much information on the way over and we book for a helicopter flight over heart reef and a guided tour of the reef.

We arrive at the reef and it's all go (our full day actually only equates to 3.5 hours at the pontoon so we have to fit everything in). Our first stop is the semi submersible submarine. This goes along the reef wall and is great to give you a look at quite a few different coral formations, clams and fish etc without getting even one toe wet. An interesting start.

We then have to head straight for our helicopter flight. This was a nice smooth ride out and over the reef, taking in the famous Heart Reef, which is really quite stunning and back again, around 15 minutes in the air, well worth it though as it's the only way to see the heart reef.

If you look very carefully at this last picture, you can see the heart reef in the middle.

We get back to the pontoon in time to rush down and get into our very gorgeous stinger suits, get ourselves organised with our flippers, goggles, life jackets and snorkels and get down to the meeting point for our guided reef tour. This consists of us holding on to life rings and our tour guide swims and drags you to where he wants you, talks about what you're seeing and if needed he dives down and points to things (tickles the anenomes so we could see clown fish etc). It's very relaxing, as all you need to do is let yourself float and look in the water, the tour guide does the rest. It went for almost an hour and was well worth it (this, the same as the helicopter flight needs to be paid for as an extra).

After our guided reef tour, we go and help ourselves to lunch, this is a buffet lunch and is available for 2 hours, you can eat as much or as little as you like and as often as you like. The food is all lovely and can't be faulted, but we don't eat a lot as this is wasting our reef time. Immediately following lunch the water slide is open (it only opens for 1 hour) so the kids make use of this and then take another snorkel with Phil around the reef. Only coming back onto the pontoon in time to quickly get changed back into dry clothes and jump on the boat for our trip back. We are one of the last to get back on the boat, so unfortunately we have to sit at the top of the boat where there are no tables but once we're on the move all is well.
We have lovely fruit platters served to us and the chatter on the boat is all full of praise to the staff at FantaSea and the wonderful day that everyone had a Reef World.

Well we now have one full day and up to about 4pm the next day to travel from Airlie Beach to the Gold Coast so that we can get to the second semi final basketball game for our Perth Wildcats. It's about 1200 kms. As we know from the journey up, there is a great deal of road works along that stretch and we expect that will cost us at least an hour in slowed traffic conditions.

We are on the road at 8.15am, but need fuel and have to pump one of the tyres up on the van. It seems that it has a slow leak. I will need to monitor that one. It's not until about 8.45 that we start heading out of Airlie Beach.....one of my favourite places to have visited.

We are on the road for most of the day and travelling really well. Jo and I confirm our previous thoughts that we will get as many kilometeres under our belt today to take the pressure off tommorow so that we get in to the Gold Coast early enough to comfortably get to the Basketball game. Game Two of the semi finals. Having changed our travel plans earlier so that we could get back, we certainly don't want any time issues preventing us getting there. So basically, we will drive until we have had enough.. or I can't drive any further. Which ever comes first and whereever that may be. If we need to, we will free camp.

At about 4pm, we have only gone about half way.. not nearly far enough if we want to get into the Gold Coast tomorrow. While travelling throughout Queensland and NSW, we have seen many signs on the side of the road, one of which is about taking a 'power nap' if you are tired. I am feeling a little tired, but not overly. So, we decide to pull in to a large petrol station. Jo takes the boys over to the shop and buys them an icecream. Me.. I laid my seat back and closed my eyes. I am woken up by Jo and the boys hopping back in the car. They have finished their icecreams and stuff. It's about 20 minutes later. Wow.. what a world of good that did... a second wind you could say. We get back on the road and travel for another 3 hours. I wouldn't have been able to do that without the power nap, and could have gone longer if we wanted.

That last stretch of travel was pretty heavy going though. It had gotten dark and the traffic was very heavy and VERY slow. On one occasion we got stuck behind a ute doing about 70 kph. This was very frustrating, but listening to the chatter of the truckies on the 2-way provided for good listening entertainment as they whinged and moaned.

At about 7pm we decided that we would stop at the next town. Jo rang one of the caravan parks up there to see if we could still get in. Yes it was all good and to just ring the night bell when we arrived. Jo said we would be there at about 7.30. After arriving, I rang the night bell and waited for the door to open. When greeted by the man at the door, he looked me in the eye and said quite pointedly "it's 7.27". A little stunned, I said, "Hope we haven't ruined your night" to which he replied, "Not at all, you are 3 minutes early, that's 3 minutes I wasn't expecting to have to myself later". He was a lovely chap and only too helpful to get us checked in.

Pulling in to the caravan bay was all well and good. Nothing like being in the company of natures pets.. a 4 weeks old puppy in the van next door that came and said hello.. and a Cane Toad..... Jo was delighted.

Later that night us three boys went Cane Toad hunting... (we invited Jo, but she said something about washing her hair that night.... pffft.) So off us three boys went, torch in hand. Within a 5 min walk, we spotted no less than 14 toads...nice. It's a pity we didnt have a spray bottle filled with phenyl.

The next morning we rise early and get back on the black top, at about 3pm we are booked into our caravan park on the Gold Coast for the next three nights. Plenty of time to settle down and get ready for the big game. We are all really looking forward to see the Wildcats again, and experiencing it in a different Stadium.

We arrive at the Gold Coast Convention Centre with plenty of time to orient ourselves, work out what dinner would be and still stand around waiting to be let in. We notice a distinct lack of the team colour for the Gold Coast. We are very used to being in the Jungle and surrounded by red, although the Gold Coast colour of blue is almost non existant. There are also not very many people around at all. The doors finally open.

We watch the pregame entertainment in an almost entirely empty stadium. The local crowd didnt realy turn up untill the game had already started. Wow... what sort of supports are they? We watched the teams warm up and Jo catches Rob Beveridges eye (the coach) who waves back to her. The game was great. We did our best to support our team amongst a crowd of opposition. Unfortunately the Wildcats lost. They had thier chances but just didnt get the luck. Oh well, back to Perth for game three. We enjoyed our night.

Besides the Wildcats, we were keen to have a last minute visit to the theme parks seeing as our tickets were still valid. We also desperately wanted to find some Meter Maids and were committed to do just that for a photo opportunity that we missed when here a couple of weeks ago.

So the next morning we head off again to DreamWorld. This was almost entirely for the boys to have one last go on the FloRider. It's amazing how kids get the hang of those things and improve thier skills. They had a ball.

That afternoon, we went in to the Gold Coast to find that elusive Meter Maid, It didnt take long, of course, for me to spot some walking down the road. They were walking in the opposite direction however and, given our previous experiences, we were worried that we would lose them out of our sight and again miss our chance. How bizarre was it that my lovely wife was encouraging me to chase after two bikini clad women down the street with my two sons in tow. As it was, they stopped with some other people and we, including Jo, caught up to them. We caught their attention, had a little chat, purchased some merchandise and the boys had their pictures taken with them.

Well, now that we have this done, the boys have fallen in love with the Meter Maids.. the Calender that we purchased sits next to Chris' bed for the rest of the trip.

The next day its time to head off. I notice that the tyre on the caravan is a little flat again.. so I give it a little air at the petrol station and the next stop is Tamworth. We say good bye to the East Coast as we more properly commence our journey back to Perth. This really brings home the realisation that our holiday is very near the end.

So with the Gold Coast behind us, we leave there under a sunny sky. How typical. Our next destination however promises some showers.... ah, Sunny Hervey Bay.
We were supposed to get to Bundaberg that night, but travelling was a lot slower than normal that day and we decided (basically because the caravan park office would have been closed by the time we got there), to pull up a little early and take the pressure off that afternoon to get there. Hervey Bay has a nice park so we stopped there for the night. We had plenty of scope to add the extra hour to the next day’s driving without any problems. Along the way, we spotted some interesting things....

'
This one, well this was both exciting to see and disappointing. It was exciting because it was one of the main "Bigs" that was a must see for the boys. It is a clear favourite memory for me. The disappointing bit is that, although the Pinapple itself has recently been refurbished, the "place" itself is not open. So no walking through a pineapple planation etc. Oh well.

Did you ever wonder where Mr Percival went to?

We crossed a flooded road.

The next day we set off pretty early. We stopped in at Bundaberg to do some of the things we had originally planned for when we were to stay there overnight. Basically we wanted to get drunk on rum. Not really, it’s just another good photo opportunity.... and a chance to see the famous factory. Unfortunately we didn’t have the time to wait for when the next tour of the factory started combined with how long the tour took. We did have a little look in the entrance and gift shop though.
We are not sure if the Bundy Bear moon lights as the famous Aussie Drop Bear, but this one didn't take it's eyes of Jo.

Further down the road, we hunted down the Big Barrel.

As it turns out, this is the Ginger Beer factory. We did stop here for a little tour as it is self guided and so didn’t take very long.

We also did some tasting of all their different soft drinks. .
It was somewhat interesting and we purchased a few of our favourites. I don’t think there is any chance any of them will make it back to Perth!

So back on the road and we get to Rockhampton. While the park is nice, we think this park goes down as the most unhelpful of all we have come across. (Note: when we have finished this trip, we will be publishing a page that lists all things such as the best of, the worst of, the funniest thing, etc... so stay tuned for that.) Fortunately, Rockhampton was only ever a stop over, but we were not able to find the Big Dugong that is there. Oh well.

Next stop is Airlie Beach. On our way, we drove through a place called Sarena. We noticed that they had tours of a minature Sugar Cane Factory... so we stopped for that. It was very interesting and we got to see them actually make sugar from the raw cane. Um... according to what was said, we very much misunderstood exactly what Brown Sugar was and how it compares to white sugar.

The boys also got to taste some Sugar Cane...

A Couple of hundred metres down the road, we came across a Cane Toad... A big one too.

Now Airlie Beach is nice. It’s still quite under developed, but clearly has enough to make it more than a sleepy town. There are plenty of businesses here, places to eat and shop at, a lovely water front area and of course home to one of the best places to see the Great Barrier Reef from. Being in the Whitsundays, you can see a number of the key holiday islands from the beach. It’s lovely.
The only real downside to our visit to Airlie Beach is, of course... rain!. The place is water logged and there is some stagnant water around the caravan bays..... a bit smelly.

The caravan park has a lovely swimming pool though and we all end up wet. Was nice.

For dinner tonight we decide to eat out. There is a lovely strip of shops, with some of them restaurants that have a limited, but lovely view out over the water. We choose Hogs Breath Cafe and pick a spot out on the veranda. We all had a great dinner. The boys tried a great Mocktail and Joanne had a cocktail. I just had a sip of each.

So tomorrow we are due to head out to the Reef. We have chosen to go with FantaSea who have a huge pontoon out there. It looks great and as this is one of the key things we have planned for this whole holiday, we are really excited now that the day has come.
Late in the afternoon, I get a phone call from the FantaSea office. They are advising that the weather forecast is suggesting seas above 3 metres and that this puts a possible risk that the Captain of the Boat might turn the boat around if it gets too rough, but that will be the call of the Captain once out past the Islands. They ask if we want to change to another day but as we are moving on from Airlie Beach the next day, we confirm that we will see how it goes tomorrow and if it gets cancelled then that is life. They advise that if the trip is cancelled we can get a refund, so we can’t really lose out. Apparently the Reef is still calm and visibility is around 8 to 10 meters, even though the trip out might be rough. So as long as you get there, it is always a good day.

Arriving at the Boat Harbour just after 7 am required an early morning start. Much earlier I think than any other day we have gotten up on the trip... but we are all excited and the weather doesn’t look too bad. We take our Kwell sea sickness tablets .... just to be sure.
We were the first on the Boat and picked a great spot to sit... right in the middle of the boat next to the window. My theory was it is less likely to rock in the middle of the boat than right at the front or back....
While we are waiting for others to board, we enjoy a complimentary breakfast (a variety of toasts and tea/coffee. They advise that the bar isn’t open until 10 am....
Finally a few more people hop on board (mostly staff though and quite a few that must work at Hamilton Island) and we head off for Hamilton Island to pick others up. At this stage it looks as though there is only three small groups heading out to the reef today, maybe the others have been scared off, all the more reef for us.
We learn a little about the pontoon and what to expect and we are getting even more excited. The safety features that they talk us through gives Jo more confidence in the boys (and her) being out in the open waters – after trying to swim with the manta rays in Coral Bay she is not looking forward to being in the middle of the ocean with a snorkel. The trip over to Hamilton Island is a little rough,but not too bad. Certainly the boat isn’t struggling or anything, so everything is looking ok.
At Hamilton Island, a whole bunch of people hop on and it isn’t long before we are powering off out to the reef. About 15 minutes later we are out in to the open waters... hmmm.. yup, it’s pretty rough, but not tooooooooooo bad... surely...?? There are a few people who clearly did not take Kwells this morning, keeping the staff busy. Morning tea comes out and we all enjoy some cake etc. Quite yummy. But we are mindful not to eat too much in case we get sick.
Pretty soon the Captain speaks again advising that they had reached the point where he needed to make a decision given the seas and swell. His apologies were sincere, but the look on the boy’s faces was heart breaking. It was just too rough and by then we could feel the boat struggling a little as it surfed up and down the waves. We had to turn back.
Sombre was the mood on the boat for the trip back to the harbour. There were at least two people who donate their breakfasts back. We all did really well though.
The journey back seemed to take forever as we had to go via Hamilton Island again. At about Midday, we arrive back at Shute harbour to get off...
They organise for the refund. “Oh well” Jo says. “There’s not many people who get to cruise around the Whitsunday islands on a big boat for 4 hours enjoying breakfast and morning tea all for free now is there”. Typical of Jo to see that side of it. And yes, in that light it was still an interesting morning. It still doesn’t quite take the disappointment away though.
As our changed travel plans take us to Townsville tomorrow, we hop on the internet to look desperately to see if there is a reef tour from there. We know this won’t be the same though, as the Heart Reef is out of Airlie Beach and we were thinking of doing a helicopter flight to see it.. (see, I can be a romantic....)
Jo flicks the kettle on for a calming cuppa tea.

All of a sudden, there was a click and the kettle turned off. For some reason there was no longer any power getting to the kettle. I checked around and everything else seemed to be ok. The trip switch hadnt tripped, the lights were still working, the TV was on. Just the kettle. A little more investigation identified that the the whole front half of the caravans power points had stopped working. Nothing else, just those power points. This affected the Kitchen bench (kettle etc), the hot water system, the washing machine and the other spare points used mostly for charging things. Given the oddness, I rang Jayco to see what they suggested. They were, unusually, of little help. Mostly because all of the techinical people were apparently not in the office. It was 3.30. The lady told me that they have an agent in Airlie Beach that does work for them so I contacted them. They advised that they were not licenced to do 240 volt work and that I should call and electrician. So we did and he promises to come around the next morning first thing.

Now that that is sorted, we get back to the internet. As it turns out, there aren’t any snorkelling tours from Townsville. Scuba Divers are catered for, but nothing for us. Wow, our hearts really sink now as it seems we are going to have to miss out on the Reef. After the planned four nights in Townsville we head back to the Gold Coast and won’t have any days to wriggle in an alternative. This is really disappointing.

The electrician turns up the next morning pretty early as promised. He and his partner in crime look over the van and to cut a long story short, are stumped at what the problem is. They basically admit that they have no idea what the problem is. Great. Any event, we had to get back on the road and clearly they weren't going to be able to fix it then. He did ring Jayco to discuss the problem, but there was no one available so he left a message, some $170.00 later, we still don't have power at those points... I manage to route an extension cord from another point for the hot water and the kettle. The electricians leave with a promise to let us know as soon as they hear back from Jayco.

Back on the road – next stop is Townsville... home of the Townsville Crocs, oh and Jo’s Rellies :o). They are not one and the same.

We pull in to our camp base. Wow, I knew Townsville was a major Regional Centre, but it sure is a great deal bigger than I thought.
As we pull in to the Caravan Park we notice that the Slide at the pool is closed down. Disappointment comes over the boys faces, as this was the single reason why we chose this park over the others, because of the pool (lol, the little things that matter). Fortunately, they open it back up the next day, so it’s ok folks.
We set up, have a little swim as yes, it’s hot here (and dry) and head off to see the relies, it’s the first time that I’ve seen them in quite a while, and the last two times I’ve seen them have been for Nan and Grandads funerals, so not happy times. So off to see my Mums sister and her family. Aunty Tina, Uncle Warren and 2 of their 3 children and their respective families. Kathleen, her husband John and their 4 kids, Brett and his partner Toni and another 3 kids which with my 2 kids equates to a lot of kids!! It was lovely to catch up for a BBQ dinner and for it not to be under sad circumstances. I now break the news of the decision that we came to this afternoon, we are cutting Townsville short to go back to Airlie Beach to try our luck again. We cannot come all this way and not see the reef, or at least try again!
We leave and I say goodbye to Brett as he is off on holiday tomorrow but I will be seeing Kathleen again on Saturday night and Tina and Warren both tomorrow night and Saturday night.
The following morning we head off for a day trip to Mission Beach. We had planned on staying there for two nights on the way up to Cairns, but that was one of the key changes to our travel plans. Townsville is the highest we will be going with the van. As Jo’s Grandies had spent many, many years travelling over from the West to holiday at Mission Beach, it was really important to us that we visit it and see what it is all about. It is a three hour drive but we were committed. We packed our bathers and headed off to see for ourselves.

Our travel this day took us past something that caught out eye....

When driving we discussed the local inhabitant bird, the Cassowary. Jo was particularly looking forward to patting one. NOT! Apparently their habitat has been severely knocked about from the last couple of cyclones that impacted around that area. So we are not sure if we will see one in the wild. We hope so.
The drive was quite nice and we arrive at midday (We left a little later than what we were hoping). On the way in, I saw a Cassowary behind the scrub on the other side of the road. I only got a quick look and it was just a small one, but nonetheless I quickly turned the car around to get back for another look, as the others didn’t see it. As is usually the case, it was long gone.
We have a little look around and find the places that Norm and Joyce stayed at in South Mission Beach. Even though the weather has made the beach a little choppy and the water is a murky colour from being churned up, we can quickly see why they had fallen in love with the place. At the right time of the year (when they used to go there) it would be a pristine, quiet little haven. But we won’t tell anyone.
Oh, and guess what they have there?

As it was lunch time, we head off to find somewhere for a bite to eat. Driving around back at Mission Beach (as in not South Mission Beach), there are a number of little diner places along the main strip through the little town. As is sometimes the case, it is not always best to jump at the first nice place you see and on this occasion it paid off. We walked down a little street closer to the beach and around the corner we come upon a lovely little cafe type establishment that overlooked the ocean. Perfect!

Lunch was great; we mostly had the place to ourselves (just a couple of other people having a coffee). We were even treated to some entertainment by parachutists (is that a word) landing on the beach in front of us.
Unfortunately, the weather although lovely, just didn’t produce a swimming opportunity so we purchase the obligatory post cards for the boys for their journals and a stubby holder and head off.

On the way back, we take a very small detour.. something about a boot. This one is a little interesting, the boot is there to commemorate the record rainfall for Tully in 1950 - the height of the boot represents the height of the rainfall for that year.

We also stop off at the Frozen Mango and enjoy an ice-cream, yummy.

We get back in to Townsville about six o’clock. Dinner is organised back at Tina and Warren’s house, pizza night!

We spend the next day exploring a bit around Townsville. We go up to the lookout at the top of Castle Hill. Some nice views over to Magnetic Island.

Tommorow, we head South.

The saying "Queensland, beautiful one day, perfect the next" doesn't ring true with us at all so far, and we have a new one "Queensland, beautiful one hour, peeing down the next"......this sums up a lot of our time spent on the Gold Coast.

Having said that, the only thing we really haven't done because of the weather is go to the Beach for the day.. so no biggy.

Saturday, arrive in Queensland, straight to the Gold Coast and a big set up here as we are staying for 15 nights ..... but as this trip has been going we actually change our plans and ended up with a 14 night stay......will explain that one later.

On a seperate note, it is now day 15 in the saga of THE DUNE JUMPER. I went to speak to the people in the caravan park about a package that we are expecting. No problems they will give us a call when it arrives. I spoke to the Hobby shop and confirmed the address for it to be sent to. All good. He would contact the supplier and get them to send it direct (I thought it had already been sent to the hobbie shop??? HMM!. I didnt say anything).

Sunday 11th Wet' n'Wild......our first theme park day out. We packed a lovely lunch and headed off with bathers, towels and sunscreen, all the things you need for a day in the sun at a water park. We arrive right on time and of course so does everybody else, so we join the queue (we only have the computer print outs for entry so need to get our tickets sorted out - these tickets will also give us entry to Seaworld and Moveworld). When we were waiting at the booth for the lady to finish the people in front of us there is a lot of noise coming from behind us, which after blocking for a while I finally turn to see what's going on........the crowd is parting and making a lot of noise due to a snake that has decided to spend the day with us, lol...it was probably about a meter long and dark but no idea what sort......the security guards used the advertising sandwich boards to direct it to an alcove to the side and kept an eye on it there while waiting for some sort of back up, looking back, we have no idea what happened, didn't ask anyone and we completely forgot until we were writing this, too much to do at Wet'N'Wild to worry about a snake!

We did have lovely weather this day (I actually ended up getting a bit of sunburn). The boys went on all the rides that they could. Mitch was getting a bit moody about not being tall for quite a few, so we ended up having quite a long time in the wave pool, which we both enjoyed, while the Big Boys were off on yet another ride that Mitch wasn't big enough for. They got very excited when they realised they were tall enough for the Aqualoop, much to my horror. I find a lovely vantage point in the shade whilst my boys go and join the queue. So the ride......well, you get into a cylinder, about 50 metres up, there's a door that closes and seals you in the tube, you stand with your legs crossed and your arms crossed over your chest, then you wait (there are four tubes all in a row) for some random time, I guess when your adrenalin has started to scream, for the floor to open up and you freefall down the tube that eventually turns into a loop and you come out the other end. Some don't make it all the way around the loop, these appear to be the ones that uncross their legs and put their arms out, an automatic reaction I imagine to try and stop yourself from falling. Thankfully my baby boys come back to me, they are tall enough, 110cm is the minimum and Mitch is 136cm, but not heavy enough, 40kgs minimum. Well, not sure that you would want to be 110cm tall and 40kg, not even sure it's possible, but secretly I'm glad they're not allowed on it and it wasn't me that told them no.

So Phil is on his own, apparently he spent a long time second guessing how he was standing, trying to work out if he had his arms and legs in the right spots but was too scared to move incase that was the moment that the trap door opened up, lol. I think it's safe to say that with the 17 meter near vertical drop at 60kmh, he shat himself, he never went on it again and every time it's mentioned he shudders.

There was a ride that was a four person one (a couple actually, but one that was "mellow" in the words of my family) so I decided that I would go on this one........big mistake! We leave all our stuff at the bottom and head off up the hill, you don't need to carry anything up for this one, the tube goes up it's own conveyorbelt. I'm chatting away - how unusual - taking no notice of my surroundings until we have climbed up a flight of stairs, just the kind I hate most, open metal stairs. Then, there's another flight of stairs, Phil, why did you in your remotest dreams imagine it would be ok for me to be here right now.....there are a lot of people behind so I can't go back (I need 1 hand on each rail to move around on these stairs) the only way is up and I can't move my head to look up to see how many more of these stairs there are. Anyhow, by the time we reach the top I am just about hyperventilating and have tears in my eyes, it's a nightmare.......finally it's our turn, I manoevre myself so that I'm facing forwards and the girl promptly spins the thing around so I'm back wards and off we go! ARGH!! The ride itself was fine really, but needless to say, there's no way in hell you're getting me back on "those" stairs!!

Movieworld on Monday 12th, was actually a really nice day, this "theme park" is all about the shows for me. So we excitedly arrive and get our program of what's on when for the day and I, much to the kids disgust, plan our day around the shows. We watched Batman save the day, Scooby Doo catch the producer that was dressed up as something really weird and save the day, Hollywood Stunt Driver where Marty the "new and a little bit dim guy" saves the day, haha, the Looney Tunes show but that was really for younger kids, the Marilyn tribute which was really for older "kids", Western Town showdown which was for both but with some naughty innuendos that went straight over the kids heads and my absolute favourite, the All Star Parade. We ended up watching the parade 3 times during our time in Queensland and I didn't tire of it at all. In between all these shows there were rides to be ridden......the main one at Movieworld for us and the one most ridden by all of us was the Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster. Of all the rides ridden in the Gold Coast, this one was voted the best by all...and so it is. But thrill seeker Chris had to go on them all, and so he did. He was a little upset that the Lethal Weapon ride wasn't open, our luck being what it is, brings us to Queensland and the one ride that Chris spoke about wanting to ride on the way over, you know, the one that's been running for 17 years, well, it's closed down, forever!! Well, you can't win them all, there's still plenty of others.......

Batman
Wonderwoman - oh sorry Phil, I didn't notice the kids standing in front of Wonder Woman! and who is that other character anyway?
Marilyn and Austin
Catwoman
Scooby
Stunt Show
Shufflin
Mitch and Batman
Wild West Falls, getting wet!
Wildwest
I don't know why but I took a liking to this Headstone, I think it's the simplistic tone of, "cause she dead"!!

DAY 16 of THE DUNE JUMPER. Nothing arrived.

Tuesday 13th Australian Outback Spectacular. This was going to be a quiet day according to the big plans. We did however get a good deal yesterday while at Movie World for tickets to the Australian Outback Spectacular show. This is basically a story told with Horses and similar. It comes with dinner in a big theatre. So that is Tuesday night planned. The day, well that was pretty quiet for all of us. A little shopping (food), some washing and just mucking around the caravan park. Phil worked a little at getting some more of the Tar off the side of the van. (yup, this was the same tar that we got when coming over across the Nullarbor some Months ago now... hmm.. yes, he is either that slack, we have been that busy or there is that much of it.. you guess. (leave your comments at the end of the blog as to what you think). The van is starting to look good though with that being cleaned off.
So the Outback Australia show was really good. The dinner (three course with drinks) was really nice. We werent going to go to this initially, but we are all glad we did. We weren't allowed to take any photos in the theatre, but here are some taken during the pre show entertainment.. which was also great in itself.

Day 17 of THE DUNE JUMPER. I check with the office.. still nothing.

Wednesday 14th Seaworld.

Seaworld was a great day out. We once again planned our day around the shows that were on, the seals were very similar to the ones at Taronga Zoo but a bit more in depth and the show went for longer. The dolphins were simply wonderful. Some lucky people got to go down and feed the dolphins and talk to the keepers whilst stroking the dolphins, all in all they were down with the dolphins, knee deep in water for a good 5 minutes, unfortunately it wasn't any of us.
We also got a tub of food so as to feed the rays......there was an experience, we ended up going back for another tub of food just before they ran out, obviously there is a limit to how much they sell, as they can't over feed the rays. The boys dropped more than they fed but they tried
Feeding the rays.

Boys infront of fish tank Jo with Penguins

There were also some rides there that the boys went on... one roller coaster (the seats were jetskis) was really fast.. The Boys absolutely loved this one and at the end of the day, when there werent very many people there, they and about 10 others ran bog laps around and around on the ride.

Stuff we do at night.......not what you're thinking!
Chris talking to Alex
Mitch practising his Tai Kwon Do

Thursday 15th Dreamworld,

Had Q4U booked (something that Phil found when we were ordering our tickets online back in October last year, you basically put in the ride you want and the time and it allows you to go though a different entrance and "jump" the queue, only 1 ride at a time though) day started out as a lot in Queensland has for us, wet. We brought ourselves some very attractively coloured garbage bags to wear and got on with it. I mean, you can't whine about the weather, it doesn't change anything and it wasn't cold, so all good. We went to the counter to get our Q4U and I spoke to the girl about whether or not it would be worthwhile having one, since the queues were almost non existant. The girl had a look at her computer screen and the longest wait at that time was 10 minutes, not really worthwhile paying the $50 for the gadget, but after a quick consult with our trusty iPhone weather apps we decided to rebook it for Saturday. We rode around on the train and got our bearings while the rain was doing its thing. We went and watched the Tiger Show with a couple of rides in between. By now the rain has calmed down to an occasional shower and pretty much all the rides are open. The absolute best (and worst) thing about Dreamworld is that Mitch is tall enough for ALL of the rides. Happy Mitchy, sad Mummy. So the day was filled with thrill rides and the kids (and Phil of course) are proud to say that "They have done the 7 big thrill rides at Dreamworld", ummmmmm, countless times!! I spent the day being a movable locker, it was good to see them all having so much fun though!

Day 19 of THE DUNE JUMPER. After still not hearing anything form the office about the package arriving, again contact the Hobbie Shop. Bu this time, my patience is really wearing thin... I ask the hobby shop for the suppliers number so that I can give them a call direct, which he gives me somewhat sheepishly.
I ring the supplier and ask what is going on. The guy I am speaking with acknowledges that he knows about this one, but isnt the guy dealing with it. ... and of course the guy that is is not in. He does however put me on hold for a while. By this time, while still be quite calm, I think he well and truely gets my message about the service levels. When he comes back on the phone, he confirms, as if he has done good, that indeed "... the replacement machine is recorded as being sent by post in todays mail. So it should be to us by Tuesday next week at the latest".WHAT??? it was supposed to have been sent two weeks ago, then one week ago and now its only been sent today??.... well, people say that I can hold my breath for quite a while.. but strewth... lets see. I am now looking at our travel plans to see how I can weave in a little visit back to a warehouse in Melbourne!

Friday 16th Gold Coast and out for dinner at a place called Toscani's

Well this afternoon we decided to go into the Gold Coast itself to have a look around. We went down to the beach, just for a look see etc. They were setting up for their markets on the coast strip... not much on offer though when we were walking past. The Meter Maids were something that we were hoping to get our pictures taken with, but not really sure where to find them. When we were walking further down the street, Phil spotted two of them sitting at a bus stop (we have since decided that Phil has a Meter Maid detector magnet built in as he is always the first to spot them, from way down the street). They were talking to some other people and we were on the other side of the road. Tried to get the boys to agree to going over to them for a photo.. but I think they were a little intimidated by them and there was no way they wanted anything to do with having a photo with girls wearing gold bikinis - are they Phils kids?????
We walked around for ages looking for somewhere appropriate to get something for our tummies, we wanted somewhere that was on the main strip but a place that had a menu that appealed to all, it took a little while but we eventually chose a place calls Toscani's. We didnt know we had a fish connoisseur until Chris ask the waitress " ... and what is the fish of the day?" of which he ordered and loved. As we all did our meals. It was a nice night out. We discuss why the boys didn't want their photos with the meter maids and explain what they are and what they do and that they are iconic on the Gold Coast, they now decide that they would like a pic, but the only trouble now is where to find one??

Saturday 17th Dreamworld for the boys again, this is the day that we are now to be using the Q4U. There is plenty to be done around the caravan at the moment, so I had a day off from being a locker and spent the day working at the caravan, well, if you call sitting back and reading a book whilst drinking countless cups of tea work. I did do some washing and cook a nice dinner for the boys, I also drove them into Dreamworld so that I could have the car for the day. I was to go to Harbour Town and shop but the reading and quiet time was too appealing. I spoke to the boys at lunch time and they were just having a blast running from ride to ride. When it was almost time for Dreamworld to close I set out to pick them up, about halfway there it started to pelt down with rain, by the time I got to the carpark it was almost torrential, the boys ran down to the car looking like they'd spent the day at White Water World with no towel but laughing all the way, they had a blast!

DAY 23 of the DUNE JUMPER.

We had a litle bit of a sleep in this moring and when Jo checks her phone it shows a missing call from a number we dont know. We dont really think much of it. A little later though, I walked past the office and see our surname on their notice board. I go in to see what that is about and .... wait for it... "yes sir, we have a package for you". Yes, that's right.. they have package for us.

I sign for it and almost run back to the caravan.

By this time, everyone is up and Mitchell is sitting at the caravan table. I catch Chris and Jo's eye and together we burst into song... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU... etc etc... Young Mitchell sees a big box and his face lights up even more than it did when it was his birthday because this time he knows what's in the box, and he likes it already!!

Rip rip, etc and a shiney new Dune Jumper sits on the table... a grin from ear to ear sits on Mitch's face..

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT... we have to charge the batteries first.. :o(

Some time later, he was outside ripping the pavement up with his second new toy. Hurray...

Monday 19th today we ventured back to MovieWorld (after a nice day yesterday, kids doing kids club stuff, a bit of shopping at Harbour Town and generally just relaxing). This time just for half a day because of course this morning all thoughts were with the Dune Jumper. We wanted to get a better picture of Wonderwoman, see the stunt show again, and of course, hit the rides. Jo just wanted to see the all star parade again, she has it all sorted out where is the best place to sit and I have instructions on when to start videoing the Party Rock Anthem dance.

Boys with Batman
Catwoman performing for Phil

Tuesday 20th White Water World is our aim for today, we had a cabana called Fremantle booked. This was a great little shelter type thing that comes with very comfortable chairs, a fridge with some free drinks in, a safe and service delivery for a private food selection. Basically a great place for me to read my book whilst the thrill seekers do their thing. Also, a great meeting point for us all if we get separated.
The rides, well, they offerred yet another range of new things to try. Allhough a few of them were the same as at Went N Wild. The best thing about this place though, like in Dreamworld, is that Mitchell is tall enough to go on EVERY ride... AND HE DID! The day was fantastic and we topped it off with dinner at the caravan park where the on site restaurant were having a pizza and pasta night. Unfortunately it was all very bland and we felt like everything tasted exactly the same, not the best meal out but hey, I didn't have to cook, so it's all good.

Wednesday 21st is back to Dreamworld for Koala photos and the boys to try out Flowrider. They loved it!

Chris and Koala
Mitch and Koala
Jo and Roo
Cassowary, yes, I'm very wary!

Thursday 22nd March marks the auspicious occasion that is the release of The Hunger Games movie. Phil, Chris and I have all read the books and can't wait to see how it is on film. We went to the cinema to make sure that Chris and Mitch were allowed in to see it before we booked and ended up booking to go and see it tomorrow lunchtime (as we had the pick of the cinema for this session). The boys then returned to Dreamworld to do a couple of sessions on Flowrider (even Phil had a go this time) once again they loved it and I wish we had something similar in Perth. It's so much fun for them and I don't have the worry of them being out in the ocean.

Day 25 of the DUNE JUMPER. Bet you thought this story line had finished... well... it has. Into the third day now and all is going as it should. Lots of play, no burnt out motor... all is well.

Well today is the day before we leave the Gold Coast. We have decided to pull up stumps a day early. We have pretty much done all the key things we wanted to do on the Gold Coast and to be honest, have all but exhausted ourselves on the rides. Well, at least that is how it feels when you hop on the scary ones and it isnt scary any more.... (although I wouldn't say it wasn't still fun). We think though that we could make better use of an extra day further up the coast. But before we think too much about packing up, we have a movie to watch. We thought it might be a nice treat to go to the Gold Class session and have lunch there, this is our first time in the Gold Class and our first time in three months in arm chairs, I'm just praying that I don't just fall straight to sleep! Luckily for us the movie is fantastic and certainly rings true to the book, the food we ordered for lunch wasn't bad, although I wouldn't do that again, it detracts from the movie a bit trying to sort out and eat the food, it's much easier to just shove your hand in a tub of popcorn at a movie!! We all loved the movie and hopefully we will get Mitch reading the book pretty soon.

As we had a pretty full set up here, it is going to take a couple of hours to pack up, hence doing it today rather than just in the morning when it is time to leave. The boys had fun playing around the park, including hiring a peddle car and mucking around with some new friends. After we are all packed up we decide to have a quick run into the Gold Coast, to see if we can spot some meter maids for the kids to have pictures with. Well, as soon as we've parked the car, Phils 6th sense - you know, his meter maid one - kicks in and he finds a couple of meter maids but they're on the other side of the road and down a bit, we wait at the pedestrian crossing watching them get further and further away, I'm not actually sure that they're on duty, they aren't wearing their hats and they seem to be walking with a couple of guys. Anyhow, as soon as we can we follow behind and try to catch up, we are closing the gap when we see them go into a pub. Phil follows in when we get there and sees that they are having a drink, so we wait out side. We go and get coffee but when we come back they're gone. Well, we leave the Gold Coast tomorrow so we've missed our chance. Never mind! Back at the park the kids really want to go and watch some karaoke (they had a bit of a sing last Friday night) so off they go whilst I start cooking dinner. When it's almost ready I head over to get the boys, but pretty soon I'm texting Phil to turn dinner off as I want to watch too, the boys are booked in to sing so can't leave yet!! We ended up staying until the karaoke finished, the boys sang American Pie beautifully, well, I think it was! We had a late dinner but it was worth it!

The next morning we leave.... thanks Gold Coast, for a two week ride of a life time....

So we leave Sydney, and hopefully the wet weather behind us. Next stop is Port Macquarie.

Along the way, we see some interesting stuff, such as these two big things (we know you like these big things too...)

Seeing these things and getting these award winning snaps (yes, I know you think so too...) took us over an hour out of our way today.... but wasn’t it worth it? (PS, you can provide comments at the bottom of this page .....!)

Arriving in to Port Macquarie basically saw the end of a day on the road. Backing the van into our bay was a little tricky on this occassion, mostly because of a large palm tree and a car parked close by. Plenty of help was on hand though, as it usually is in caravan parks. Everyone wants a sticky beak at the new van coming in and how well the driver can back a rig.... especially if you have a big one. Our new neighbours did very well watching me. Thank heavens for that help. We set up just in time for the rain to start. It then didn’t stop until the middle of the night.

By now, we have had numerous conversations with family and friends about the weather and how it is affecting us. Especially the floods that are going through Victoria and NSW. The news tonight comments on mass evacuations and the possibility of a Tropical Cyclone developing off the Qld coast. The kids ears prick when they hear the names of some towns on the news that we have recently been through. It really brings it home when the boys look really concerned about the floods. Thankfully for us, but not those residents, that we have already been to those places, albeit by days.

So our full day in Port Macquarie started with the boys testing their skills on a skate park just up the ways.

They tried some new stuff, including Chris developing a new way to fall. Thankfully he didn’t hurt himself beyond a graze and bruised pride. I resisted any attempt to bruise mine also.

We then left to have a drive around the town. We found these:

We then found our new house.. (didnt actaully know we were in the market, until we saw the bonus - it comes with its own water plane.)

Actually, I think that if you buy the Sea Plane, you get a free house to keep it at. I wonder what the neighbours think when the owner cranks her up to take her for a spin and he has to drive it out (do you drive a sea plane around the canals to get to the airport? Is it called an airport?)

There were lots of things on offer at Port Macquarie, but we decided to take the boys to Gravity World – it was basically a huge indoor wall climbing centre. They loved it. Despite nearly giving up on a number of areas, they stuck with it and made it to the top many times. A great activity on a rainy day!

I had a go too (Jo was never going to leave the ground). There are no pictures of me though.... and boy, those harnesses really cut you off!!!!!

The boys also had a go on the “Leap of Faith”. Both Jo and I didn’t for one minute think they would actually do it. Basically, you have to climb up to a platform about 8 metres high, and then jump out to grab a trapeze. Well, after MUCH encouragement from all around, Jo and I were just stunned.

Chris led the way and did it. He actually jumped. Very “un” Chris like.

Little brother followed. We didn’t really think that Mitch would have any problems. He is much more a get in there and do it sort of kid. But NO. Wasnt having nothing with it, once he got to the top that is.

Finally, again after considerable encouragement from the people running it, he jumped.

We liked the look of Port Macquarie. I can see why people are attracted to it. One of the interesting things was the painted rocks along the port inlet.

So the next morning it was Bye Bye Port Macquarie and here we come Coffs Harbour (and it was raining.... and raining.. and raining...).

So Coffs Harbour is one of the key places that we wanted to come to outside of the major Cities. Why? Because it is home of the BIG BANANA.

You may see that I am well to the right of Jo Chris and Mitch.... sort of running. I didn't quite make it back from setting the timer on the camera....am puffed!

This is a really special one for me, as it is one I remember well from the trip I did when I was 8. Now as always, your child hood memories tend to be a little different to reality of when you see something again later in life. But this one not so much. The owners have added a few interactive things to the place, but the Big Banana itself, is as I remembered it.

I think the boys enjoyed the Big Banana, and the other activities we did there, except Chris doesn’t like bananas, so he didn’t really enjoy the free one he got...

You should see the video of Mitchell dancing under the tropical fruit hat.... very funny...

All the boys also had a go on the toboggan....

We took a little drive around Coffs Harbour. For a change, it wasn't raining that day. Probably not as "nice" as Port Macquarie, but still a lovely place to live. A nice beach to play on too.

When the boys were playing up in the dunes, Jo and I jumped in the car and took off down the beach ..... the look on the kids faces was funny as they tried to catch us..... lol. We did stop... eventually.

The caravan park we stayed at, had a very interesting entry point... somewhat of a nervous feeling when you drive over it....

We left Coffs Harbour with no location booked for us to stay at. We planned to experience our first “free camp”. As we travelled we detoured through Byron Bay. Clearly this is a surfers dream country town. What we mostly noticed was an ignorance to traffic by pedestrians. We constantly had people walking in front of us without even looking to see if there was traffic coming. And this wasn’t just 2 or 3 times. And all within about ten minutes of driving around, We did stop for a swim though. The boys took their boogey boards down and had a great time. The waves were probably the biggest they have experienced and they handled them well, even the couple of times they got dumped.

Further down the road, somewhere.. guess what we saw?

After trundling down the road a little further, we come to our first freecamp spot, which is very clean, open and there are a few people around. Unfortuantely it is a bit clinical and basically just a big carpark with a playground for kids and some toilets. Not really what we were looking for. So we head off again in search of a new location. A little ways back along the road, we come to a local sports club that has a community camping ground. It is located right in the river side. We pay our $25 and settle in for the night. A drink over at the little local club rooms, some frizbee with the boys and a kick of the soccer ball sees the rest of the afternoon out before a little bbq dinner and off to bed.

AM comes around and off we head, all VERY excited about the next two weeks on the Gold Coast.
Little do we know of the adrenalin junky lurking in our mix.

SYDNEY (now say it as in the way the OIC President said it) ....

So you might recall in earlier blogs that young Mitchell’s Birthday present, his remote controlled Dune Jumper, had gone on the blink after only a few goes. We have been waiting to get in to Sydney to take it to a Hobby shop to get it looked at, as suggested by the wholesaler warranty bloke. So on our way in to Sydney, we detoured via Parramatta. Now I know that Parramatta is a major area, but we were not prepared for just how busy it was. Or, OK, maybe we were a little naive. Keeping in mind that we are towing a caravan that easily covers 10 metres behind us, it was near impossible to find a place to park. And we had plenty of strange looks.- havent people seen a caravan before? We eventually did find a spot however, in a 30 minute bay. What we didn’t realise, is how far we had actually travelled away from where the Hobby shop was. It took us a full 15 mins to walk to the shop.

Dropping the car off and sorting out what they wanted to do was taking a little time, so Jo and the boys took off to get back to the car ASAP (don’t want to get a ticket now do we ??). I finished up at the shop after about 5 mintues and made a bee line to try and catch up. I did that just before the car, but we were all about 10 mins late. Phew, no ticket. We got out of Parramatta pronto and headed for the Caravan Park.

As for the Dune Jumper, the guy at the shop took it and said he would contact me when he spoke to the manufacturers as to what to do about it. But basically, the little motor on it had burnt itself out. Keeping in mind that today is Thursday (day 1), stay tuned for the next instalment of “The DUNE JUMPER!”

First day in Sydney was lovely and sunny for our big set up. In Sydney, as in Melbourne, with it being a longer stay, we set up the annexe. Did I say we? I actually did mean Phil, haha. It was a warm day and we enjoyed a Bourbon soon after.

We decided that as rain was forecast for a lot of the next week that it might be nice to just kick back in the caravan park for the whole day the next day. Get some washing done and on the line and just enjoy our wonderful site. We are right in the corner bay, which is really very big, overlooking Narrabeen Lagoon. This is a lovely lagoon, which has a sandbank island just opposite us. Ankle deep water gets you across to it, so we were very comfortable with the kids playing on it for most of the day, as they did. And , that’s exactly what we did for the next day too. It was most enjoyable to have a couple of days of doing not a lot really, after the last little while of running around so much.

THE DUNE JUMPER – Day 2. We got a call from the Hobby Shop. He has advised that the manufacturer has decided to replace the whole car rather than fix it. So we are now waiting for a new one to be sent up from Melbourne. No problems, we are in Sydney for another 10 nights. It should be in on Tuesday, he says. Yay for Mitch.

Saturday, a sunny and lovely day is upon us and we decide to go and have our first look at the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. So, into the city we go, of course, to get there we need to, drum roll – dum dadum, Cross The Bridge!

After finding some parking, our first destination is the Bridge. The photos that you see do not prepare you for how this looks up close. I can liken the feeling to the first sighting we had of Ayers Rock (2007 trip, not this one).

From this place under the bridge, we look back at the Opera House.

These things that you see on TV constantly are just as big and wonderful in real life but with icing on.

Lunch was Subway (we know what we’re getting there) and a walk into the City to the Sydney Tower. Entry includes a 4D 10 minute movie and entry to the observation deck. The 4Dmovie was a very funny experience, what’s 4D you say? That’s what we said, we soon found out that the 4th dimension is feeling, as in, you see a kite blowing in the sky and you feel wind on your face, you see someone surfing and you get the salt water spray, etc. Thank God no-one farted!!
We go up in a tiny little triangle shaped lift and before we know it, infact in only 40 seconds we have 360 degree views over Sydney from a height of around 820 feet. I personally didn’t go near any of the edges. The views are magnificent, as I’ve come to realise with the Eastern States, there are hills and water everywhere, which really make for some pretty stunning views (which probably dont show in these pictures). So much to see, a wonderful and beautiful city!

Walk back down to Circular Quay for our first close up look at the Opera House. The thing I noticed about the Opera House first was of course, how big and wonderful it is. Second, was that the roof is made of shiny bathroom tiles. It just doesn’t look like that in pictures, or, could be my eyes! It is however a very impressive building.

We also take a quick snap looking back to the Bridge... for good measure.

We didn’t do the tour of the Opera House, we just cut through the lobby and now we can say “we’ve been in there”.

We were hot and thirsty by now, so we decide to have a quick drink at the Opera Bar. The bar is right in front of the Opera House and down a flight of stairs. In full view of the Harbour Bridge, we sat with a lively Saturday afternoon crowd being entertained by a group singing in a very nice bar, Phil heads off to get our drinks. He comes back with a shandy, a beer, a coke and a lift, with an order for a bowl of fries and a bowl of wedges, this was $46.00 so we made the most of that drink and didn’t order another. But really, the view was “Priceless”.

Sunday we set out straight after an early lunch to go and visit Phils’ cousin Fiona who we had seen in Canberra. She lives in Penrith, so we had a nice drive out that way and had a lovely afternoon with Fiona (who made a batch of the BEST pikelets we’ve ever had), Stephen, Aimee and Josh. The rest of the afternoon tea was also very nice, but the pikelets were a stand out! We left there and drove home via Manly Beach. We only had a drive by though as it was raining a little. Manly Beach looks like a great spot... maybe as nice as Perth Beaches.....

Monday 27th February, was the day of our long awaited helicopter flight. Booked through Blue Sky Helicopters. Mark, our pilot, came and introduced himself and then went to get the helicopter ready before coming back with life jackets and giving us our safety talk. He wasn’t as glamorous as some Stewardesses I’ve seen but I surely took more notice, as you know, helicopters are scary little things and we were about to DIE! I purposefully didn’t tell my Mum about the flight today as I knew she would be ringing me every 5 minutes to make sure I was still alive. Yes, now you see where I get it from!

OK so after very little discussion we decide that Phil will take the front seat (I don’t want a birds eye view of the crash site) and I will sit in between the boys in the back – mainly for fairness’ sake. So now we’re all in and buckled up and I frantically start looking around for something to vomit in. Sick is how I’m feeling right now. I now question myself as to why I didn’t bring a hand bag, because if it came to it, I could use that, right?

Well, it does take a while for the helicopter to warm up and Mark is talking to the control tower, I relax a little as I finally spot the vomit bags and all of a sudden we’re moving........ARGH....... actually no, this isn’t too bad. Hmmm, this is actually really great. And before I know it, it’s bloody fantastic. I am so glad that Phil decided that Sydney was the place to do a helicopter flight at. Mark was very informative , the helicopter was very comfortable and we didn’t DIE.... well, not that I recall anyway. Although there were times that I thought we were in heaven, it was so amazing. We first flew up the coast over Bondi, up past Manly and further.

This Cemetary (Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium) just has the best views, atleast enjoyed by those visiting. Apparenlty there are a number of very famous people buried here.... Banjo Patterson and Michael Hutchence being the ones that we remember Mark saying.

We got to see our caravan as we flew over the caravan park (van at the most bottom left).

We went all the way up to Palm Beach which of course to some is Summer Bay (and they were filming that day too, so more pictures)

We then doubled back and weaved our way over the suburbs heading to one of the best sights ever......Sydney Harbour, the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, the city, etc.

We then turned inland heading to another airport where the helicopter was to be left for some routine maintenance (this little side trip is not normally in the package, but it saved the pilot time from dropping us back at the normal airport. We basically got an additional 30 minutes flight time – normally $600 worth, for the cost of a taxi fare back to our car - $95). We flew over the Olympic City before landing.

The list of sights we saw is absolutely endless and it was a bit of a sensory overload. Much to Phils amazement I was pretty much speechless for the whole hour and a half. Not sure if there is such a thing as too many pictures but if there is then too bad really. We just couldn’t stop, there was so much that we needed photos of, haha. All too soon it was over, I’m certain that Mark has landed too early, but a look at my watch tells me that he actually is a little late, thanks Mark!!! What a fantastic way to experience such a beautiful city, I would recommend it to everyone, even those who are scared of heights like me, it’s wonderful. Blue Sky Helicopters were really a great help with booking and keeping us informed and of course, giving us extra time in the air.

A drive down to Bondi for a very late lunch is now in our sights. Bondi Beach is surprisingly small, or not if you watch the TV show I guess. We happened to see it that night and really looked and yes, you can see how small it is. Phil found it a disappointment. For one it wasn’t hot enough to bring out too many bikini clad lovelies (and some that did come out made our eyes bleed). Although it’s width isn’t big it’s depth is (the Beach I am talking about), so in that short space there is plenty of room on the sand for a lot of people, and there were certainly a lot there considering it wasn’t hot. My view? The sand is lovely, like WA sand (most sand we’ve been on lately is a little gritty) and it’s close to the city, that’s what makes it popular, it’s also a really well patrolled beach, the life savers there, as documented on TV, were all over the place. There were no TV cameras there the day we were, but the life savers certainly were. If you don’t look around at the scenery, you could be on Scarborough Beach, it has the same kind of vibe about it, and look how popular that one is. The boys spent a pleasurable couple of hours on the beach with their boogie boards. It was their first time and Phil was helping them catch the waves so they could ride back to shore. They caught on pretty quick for their first time. They loved it, and all they need to do now is to learn how to get on the waves themselves.

They didn’t want to leave but it was getting too cold. Parking is quite expensive if you park right on the beach, we were there for about 3 hours and it cost $21.00, I don’t think that this is where you would park if you went there all the time..............

Taronga Zoo is our activity for the next day. We were very much looking forward to spending some time at “the Best Zoo in Aus” (apparently). Straight in and straight on the cable car for a look all around the zoo, it’s just a round trip down to the ferry terminal and back again (this is how the people gain entry to the zoo that have caught the ferry over from the CBD). We planned our day around the feeding times and talks etc that the zoo has set up and start out. We watched a number of shows that the Zoo puts on, including a Bird show. This is a Condor. A clumsy bird, but impressive to see when it flew in.

We also watched the Elephants for quite a while, they were playing in the water, charging each other, rolling around and generally having fun. They then put on a show where all the elephants with their trainers showed off a bit by kicking balls and moving logs around, it was also quite informative about the elephants and of course the fact that there aren’t many left in the world now.

We watched a show that stars the Seals, this was the first time that the kids had seen something like this and they loved it, as did I.

It was quite a warm day so the animals seemed to be just lazing around a bit, we certainly weren’t. We all found the Mountain Goats very entertaining, we watched them for quite a while as they agiley climbed their way up and around their little “mountain” and back down again. It really is quite amazing how they do it.

We got our first look at a Cassowary, ewww, that’s the stuff nightmare are made of. I really don’t want to come face to face with one of those when there’s not a fence between us!

When we came to the tiger enclosure, this made for our funny moment of the day. The weather has cooled down a bit and the tiger is on the move as we round the corner. There's no one around so we are front row as we watch the tiger come along the side of it's enclosure heading towards us........closer and closer as he climbs right up to the glass where we were watching from.. well, when I say climb, it's sort of a little jump for the tiger. For us, it was a BIG jump... or at least that is what Jo did when she saw it jump up next to her and being only centimetres from her face ... not withstanding the glass wall separating them. Needless to say, she didn't get close to the glass again, and constantly kept an eye on where he was!

The Chimps were funny too. A couple of young ones were wrestling each other on a rope and making themselves fall to the netting below. Ah, to be a young monkey again.... We didnt take any photos, but lots of video..

We missed the hippopotamus (Pigmies) and it was getting a little late in the day, so last port of call was to double back around and find it.

The Zoo was good, and we obviously saw lots more animals than we have commented on here, but I still reckon the Perth Zoo is better. It was a long day, and we headed off back to the van for dinner and rest.

Wednesday – Palm Beach. This was just a quick drive up the coast from where we were staying. There was no filming for the Home and Away that day, so we had the set to ourselves. A quick look around, some happy snaps and we head off again for lazy time around the river.

THE DUNE JUMPER – Day 6. We hadn’t heard anything from the Hobby shop, so I gave them a ring. It hadn’t arrived yet, hopefully tomorrow. But it had been sent. Ok, no probs. I was just planning the next couple of days and a trip to Paramatta will take a while, so I want to be able to fit it in without taking away from other good things.

Thursday – me and the boys spent the day at the caravan park whilst Phil spent the day shopping. He got the new towing mirrors for the car that he had ordered. The ones we had were starting to rust and marking the door. No more attatching mirrors for towing, we now have “Clear View” mirrors.

THE DUNE JUMPER – Day 7. As I was out and about, and not that far from the hobby shops, I thought I would give them a ring just to see if it had come in and they had forgotten to ring us. Nope, sorry, still not in yet. He said that he would give them a ring, but otherwise confirmed that he would ring us as soon as it is in. I mentioned again (as a reminder) that we are travelling around and we were due to leave Sydney on Monday.

Friday saw us head off to see the Sydney Aquarium. One of the things we were really looking forward to seeing was a dugong. Of course, given our luck, we see a sign when we are in the line to get in... “no Dugong on display today”. ARGHHHH. Oh well, in we go... some interesting stuff, but really, not mind blowing.

After the Aquarium, we hop on the monorail, mostly just to give the boys a ride on it and to see the CBD a little. During this, we see signs about a Harry Potter Exhibition. Looking in to this a little more (Because we all love Harry Potter), it is quite reasonably priced (sort of) and the Exhibition is only being shown in Sydney at the Powerhouse Museum. We get lucky and are able to get tickets for the next day.

The Harry Potter Exhibition is quite good. We loved the way the set up is to get you into the exhibition, you have times that you can enter on your tickets, once in, you can stay as long as you want but they need to let people in a group at a time. Unfortunately, you can't take photos or video in there. You go into the first room and there are about 8 screens around the room that start to show snippets of the movies, all 8 of them, until they go really fast and you hear a train and it's like looking out of train windows....when, a door opens to the side and it's just like Hogwarts train station, dark and hazy with a big guy and a lantern, "Come along now, move along". You walk the length of the Hogwarts Express, through a door, and you're greeted by a load of pictures, the largest and loudest being the one of "The Fat Lady" playing the scene where she tried to sing really high to break the glass......Heaps of the costumes that were worn in the making of the movies and such things as the actual wands (each wand is completely different) Quidditch balls, Marauders Map, the boys beds, the Gryffindor Sword. We saw the sorting hat at work, unfortunately it only sorted 3 kids and ours weren't in that 3. We also got to pull up some "Mandrakes" and heard the screaming, ugly little things they were. Most importantly the boys loved it and that is all that mattered. They spent some of their Christmas present money on a wand each. Mitchell got Dumbledores’ and Chris got the one that belonged to “He who must not be named” ... much to his Mums horror. We had a look around the Power House Museum, but to be honest were not that impressed. The next few days result in numerous spells being cast at people.. “Avada Kedavra”! I think I was killed 14 times in one day!

THE DUNE JUMPER – Day 9. Still no phone call. I rang them. He said that he had rung them on Thursday, but they had not sent it yet, but were now going to. ARGHH!!. I explained to him again about us leaving on Monday morning. He said, “ Oh yeah. Um well I can just forward it on to where ever you are going and I will send them the bill". I said, well that will have to be the case unless it comes in over the weekend... AS IF! I advised that I would call back early next week to give him the address of where to send it. HMMM! By this stage, I think young Mitchell has completely forgotten about this present. I am not sure if that is good or bad, but when he does get it back, it will be like a whole new present again... hopefully.

Sunday was mostly about packing up. It took Phil a few hours to dismantle the annexe and pack the big bits away. Jo and the boys went off down the river with people from the Coastal Environment Centre on an educational talk. The first part saw them working in the shallows of the lagoon. They found lots of interesting creatures, including a Pipe Fish, shrimp and hermit crabs. They then tested the water to see how the water was that was in the lagoon and what the water was like that was coming in from the stormwater run offs. Once all the “good time” people had left, Jo and the boys help clean up. Then sort through 4 bags of rubbish that were collected from around the area that morning (it was "Clean up Australia Day) and hearing how it impacts on the environment. Unfortunately for them, the locals who should be hearing all this had already left. Our boys are already very big on keeping Australia beautiful and wouldn't dream of throwing rubbish on the ground. Not sure if this is taught as well in the East as in the West, but there is a lot more rubbish around over here for sure. By the time that finished, Phil had the annexe and most of the stuff dismantled and packed away ready for a getaway the next morning.

Monday we said bye bye to Sydney, being very wary of the flood warnings being issued for many areas around NSW. We don’t expect to be impacted by them, but it is raining where we are going.

So after some discussions with rellies in the know, we have changed our travel plans. We are going to now go straight to Gundaghai. Our new plans see us bring forward our stay in Sydney and the Gold Coast by two days - of which we will use to have extra time on the Queensland Coast. Where, however, is still to be decided.

Gundaghai is our first destination, just for a look see and a trip “...along the road to Gundaghai...” Why? Haven’t you heard the song? Then Google it.

When driving through we came across some historical bridges... the history was worth a read... we stopped and had lunch in front of the Dog on the Tucker Box.. (again, Google it!)...

(note: we later hear that Gundagai is impacted by severe flooding. We hope these bridges survived).

Next stop is expected to be somewhere... :o) ... we just don’t know where... Mostly likely a place called Cowra.

Along the way, we travelled through a place called Young. My Dad says that he remembers it... I think he was confused with age, rather than a place though. Apparently, Young is Big with Cherries.

As it turns out we drove on and ended up staying the night in Bathurst. There was a couple of reasons for that, one being we wanted to stay at the Big4 Caravan Park to get their stamp in our Big4 Passport Book. Why? Each Big4 Park has their own special picture in the stamp and we were guessing Bathurst would have an interesting one. Turns out it was a racing track..... well duh.

Before Bathurst however, we drive through Cowra and we were really impressed. It is amazing to see what a place can look like when there is water around. The expanses of green grass and the plentiful blooming flowers through the main streets, was a very pleasant treat to the eyes. Gone are the days in Perth where you see that. What a shame. It’s a pity we don’t have an abundance of water in WA that could be piped to Perth for use. It would make such a difference to the feel of the place... much like it used to be I think...

Bathurst was nice. We didn’t really spend any time there as it was just another stop over. As we didn’t get in to the park until about 6pm ish, we just lazed around after the day on the road. A nice "mature" couple a few bays down provided for some interesting chit chat and the boys braved a swim in the pool (it was a little cool at the time).


This caravan park was lovely and some steak on the BBQ with veggies was in order for dinner that night.

I had organised with the Park for a late check out the next morning as we only had a little over 100 kms to travel the next day and there was potentially a little thing to see before we left . Apparently Mount Panarama has some sort of race track on it that is halo to rev heads.
We headed off to have a look at the place where the Great V8 Supercar race is held.

Much to my surprise, you can actually drive the track. So we did. (You will note that I was in Pole Position....)

STATS –
average lap time during race – something like 2 minutes.
Our time. About 4.... OK.. about 7!.
Average Lap speed during race, a little over 200 kph
Our speed, about 60 kmh – top speed about ..... well, lets just say that there is actually a speed limit posted and I am always one to stick to the limit!!!!!
I did however have to use all my skills to get Lucy around a corner without going in to the safety sand.....she is a big heavy 4wd loaded with camping gear etc and set up for off road stuff, not chicanes... I think she did good. Jo doesnt, and apparently has some video for proof!

So we leave Bathurst and head off to Katoomba... home of the three sisters.

Well!. Along the way we hit a pot hole. Actually, I think it was the local excavation training pit. I managed to swerve and miss it with Lucy, but with the extra width of the van, unfortunately this evasive action lined the wheels of the Mothership up. BANG the two drivers side wheels hit the great hole of NSW. We felt the shock through the car as the van pulled back. In hind sight I probably should have pulled over and checked everything. But I didn’t. I can’t now see any damage to the undercarriage of the van and I didn’t notice any lack of towing performance ... so hopefully all is ok.
However, ..............

When we did get to Katoomba and we opened the door to get inside we were faced with an interesting scene.
There was water everywhere. All over the benches, it had flooded the top of the cooker and ran down the side of the oven. There was water all over the floor, which had obviously sloshed its way back and forward as we went up and down hills... The kitchen cupboards were open and stuff spilled out. These were all wet inside (floor level) but fortunately it was limited to that.... (fortunately?). The cupboards etc needed to be emptied and dried however. Also, the Microwave glass dish was on the floor (the microwave door was closed, so obviously that swung around a bit too). The Microwave oven is up on a shelf, head height (remember Jo’s arm??) so how the glass plate didn’t smash is a wonder. We have since noticed a small indent on the bench top, where I suspect the dish hit it. How the water got everywhere is also a wonder and we still don’t know. The tap wasn’t running when we had stopped. We think that the jarring of the pot hole may have somehow resulted in the water pump (which I had on – doesn’t normally result in a problem) to burst through some water of the otherwise closed tap. Strange, but we just can’t see any other reason. Oh well. All cleaned up and ready to rock and roll.

Umm, nope! No power. Nothing. Dead as a door nail. Ok, let’s go through the process of elimination to see what is going on.
• Check the power cord... swapped it with a new one to make sure it is not the cord. All OK.
• Check the trip switch. does it’s job and kicks off again.. Ok, so I know that there is power actually to the van.
• Check the 12V system. That is working fine.
• Unplug all 240V appliances. everything. Nope, still tripping.
HMMMM.... thinking... am lost.

Ring Jayco. Van is still under warranty and they have experts that might be able to steer me in the right direction.
Got on to a bloke called Peter and he went through a whole bunch of things. We managed to find another power point that I didn’t know existed. It was for the hot water system. Unplugged it and tested. Nope, the power is still tripping.

Short story... had to call an Electrician. Oh dear. We are in Katoomba, how many Electricians work up here that are available at short notice. I toddled off to the Park office and asked for their assistance to find an electrician. One of the ladies there was extremely helpful and told me about a friend of hers who she went to school with. She gave him a call and then I spoke to him. After packing up the job that he was working on at the time, him and his offsider were at our van within about 20 minutes. I couldn’t believe it. 1 and a half hours later, after he proceeded to dismantle each power plug (series) to find where the fault was, we had power again. PHEW. Jo can finally boil the kettle for a cuppa!
(You know what they say, happy wife.... A Cuppa makes Jo a happy girl!)

Jo gave many thanks to the electrician, who replied "You haven't seen the bill yet", oh crap.............$88 later (and we think the electrician kicked himself all the way out the park when we said "is that all") and we were back to normal. Oh, what was the problem?? Water in two of the power points. Damned pot hole!

The next morning we woke to a down pour. Hmmm, sleep in. The forecast said that the day after was better, so the 3 sisters can probably wait until the next day and today we will just check out the local area etc. Oh guess what. No power! AGAIN! Fortunately (sort of) it’s the park and not our van. Ergh!

Went for a drive and just down the road, actually, across the road, is where the look outs are for the Three sisters.

Having a little drive around Katoomba that afternoon, we came across the weirdest thing. Our DOG, Missy. Jo and I looked at each other. We rang Jo's Mum who is looking after Missy just to make sure she hadnt escaped and tracked us down.... Nope, must be a twin though.

SO, The Three Sisters. I’m looking at them and trying to figure out why the hell they’re called that. I mean, who looked out and said, oh, those rocks look just like three sisters??

Well, we organise a day at Scenic World. We really want to try the 52° Railway. There is also a cable car and skyway there. We decide that we will get the unlimited family pass. This is the most economical way, and if the boys like the rides they can keep going (the other pass only allows you to do one return ride each) even if I don’t do the rides this is still the best. Of course, I (Jo) have been very brave so far on this trip, I haven’t conquered any fears but I’ve managed to suppress them at times.

Apparently the first ride we are doing today is the Skyway, oh and guess what? The middle section of it has a glass floor!!! It’s very big and smooth and we ride past the Katoomba Falls, which, after all the rain we’ve been subjected to are flowing wonderfully, the view is spectacular and I quickly forget that I’m scared to death. Although, not completely comfortable, I don’t want to miss out, so I did do the ride, there and back, twice that day. The last time coming back across I even stood on the glass!

Now for the one I’ve been looking forward to the most, the 52° Railway, the steepest one in the world. Well you get into the seats and you’re sort of really leaning back, it’s very weird. We have the very back seats. Anyhow, the music starts, yes, Indianna Jones music and over the hill we go, and now our seats aren’t leaning back at all, we’re sort of sitting/standing up now, it’s dark and fast and steep. And now it’s not my favourite thing anymore!

We walk around the Scenic Walkway which is 2.8kms of Jurassic Rainforest. Mitchy, my “eagle eyes” boy calls out for us to come quickly and quietly. He’s spotted a Lyrebird, well done Mitchy. We watched it for a little while, got a couple of not so great photos, and then it hopped over the hill and was out of our sight! Wow! It didnt sing us any songs though.

Going back up the train was worse than coming down. We sat in the very front seats, thanks boys, these seats aren’t covered so as well as being dark, fast and steep, we now get wet! The boys all loved it and did this ride 2 more times. I did the right thing and went for a coffee and a muffin!

The Cable Car, is a huge carriage that goes up and over the side of the hill it’s quite fast and a little scarey, although, being the brave Jo, I actually ended up doing this twice too.

While waiting for their last turn to plummet, um descend, down the rail track, the staff gave the boys some seed to feed the local hang abouts...

The boys got their obligatory postcards, and what do you know. There is a very interesting old aboriginal story about how the Three Sisters came to be called that (which also explains the naked aboriginal statues of 3 girls and a man out the front of Scenic World).

Long story short, it makes sense and Mitchy will tell you that story if you ask nicely 

That night, Chris and Mitch disappear for a while. On search we find them chatting up three girls who are travelling around in a camper van. The girls would have been in their early 20's and Chris tells us that they were teaching them to ride thier big skate boards. A likely story, but in any event, THAT'S MY BOYS!

The next morning Mitch gets up early (well, about 8) to go see the girls again. He comes back very sad as they had already left for the day. As we did soon after... off to Sydney.

We later hear that most of this area we have just gone through is subject to severe flooding and mass evacuations. It’s just so hard to appreciate that sort of change when it was just a couple of weeks ago.

So Canberra, a place to catch up with family, give Lucy a little love and learn a bit about what makes our wonderful Country tick.

Unfortunately for us after leaving the very picturesque caravan park at Jindabyne we arrive at our new accommodation in Canberra (well not officially in Canberra, we actually entered the ACT and then left again to get to our caravan park, which was just backover the border.So technically we stayed in NSW for our Canberra stint). I say unfortunately, as we were very spoilt in Jindabyne and not so much in our new home for the next 8 nights. Although the park is equipped with mini golf, a tennis court, a jumping pillow, playground and pool, everything is a little outdated but quite nicely presented. The caravan bays although serviceable enough are not the most attractive but the major let down here is the amenities. Don’t get me wrong, they are very clean, which is wonderful, but just very old. There is no ceiling, just exposed beams and the tiles on the roof, full of cobwebs and whatever else I have no idea as I didn’t look up again after the first time. Luckily for us we have much to see and do whilst in Canberra, so our accommodation is not a big deal here.

The afternoon of our arrival ended up with us visiting Phil’s Uncle Ainsley. We travelled to his house via the lodge (well, driving past it anyway). We explained to Chris and Mitch that the Lodge is the residence of the Prime Minister, when in town. Instantly Chris wound down his window and started yelling out (in a polite way), ” Juuuliiiiaaaaaaaaaaaa, JulliiiiiiiiaaaaAAAaaaaaaaaaaa!” He did this every time we drove past the lodge over the next 10 days. Mitch was some what miffed that not once did she ever wave or answer back.

That night we had dinner with Uncle Ainsley, cousins Andrew and Heather. Heather’s husband Ian and their daughter Laura were also there.
The boys loved playing with Uncle Ainsley dog Charlie.

Charlie is the same breed as our dog Missy, who we all miss. It wasn’t too long before Charlie was worn out.
Soon, Uncle invited the boys to see his train set. This was a real set laid out under his house. To get to it you need to get down on your hands and knees and crawl through a small door... past the wine cellar.. hmmmm! Interestingly, Mitchell sneezed and developed a runny nose over the course of the afternoon and evening, to which I commented that I hadn't seen him like this since we left home. Which brings us (after a visit to Heathers house who has a labrador and another visit to Uncle Ainsleys house) to the conclusion that Mitchell is allergic to dogs! Very strange as Missy is supposed to be a low allergenic dog, hmpf! This is something that we will need to look into further upon our arrival home as it won't be nice to make Mitchy sleep outside!!

Our first tourist adventure in Canberra was a visit to the Australian War memorial. If you ever speak to anyone who has been to the War Memorial recently, they will probably have said that you can easily spend a whole day there, if not more. I read some days later in a book that John Howard (previous Prime Minister, not the actor) said something to the effect that of all his travels, the Australian War Memorial was probably the best anywhere in the world. Well, I have only seen a few, but impressive it is. It was very interactive in showing (as best a set up environment could) what it might have been like, including interactive scenes, real uniforms, dioramas, aircraft, weapons, medals, Hall of Valour and much more.

The tour Guide (a volunteer, as most of the staff are) we had was just born for the job. His passion added to the experience.

Our next door neighbour is a Vietnam Vetran. He told us about two of his best mates in the Army who were killed. We found their names on the Roll of Honour and left a poppy for each of them, as many people do.

While it is hard to explain to a 10 and 8 year old the sacrifices these men made, I think this helped them understand..... maybe.

The Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier is something else. Very moving and the actual tomb is a piece of art. Its indepth design and reference to historical points is quite remarkable. Did you know that the walls covered in tiles, one for every Australian person who was alive at the end of World War One?

Outside the front of the Memorial building you look down Anzac Parade on to Old Parliament House and then Parliament House. It is a wonderful, and inspiring view.

(We will show you the reverse view from Parliament House later...)

If ever in Canberra, do yourself a favour, and visit this memorial. You could easily spend a day there, or more. Oh,and just for the record, lunch here was a very nice one and reasonably priced, a rarity we're finding!

We had a lovely BBQ dinner at Heather and Ian’s house that night. Thanks, it was very enjoyable. The boys loved playing with Stanley, a Labrador who is still learning about being a teenager.

The next morning we had a lazy day wandering around Canberra CBD, with a little bit of shopping. I think we bought a small library at this cheap book shop...
We discussed the two Buildings called “Melbourne” and “Sydney” and explained to Chris and Mitch the history of why Canberra was created.
Later back at the caravan park, the kids play areas were invaded with a swarm of kids on a school camp. We were later to see these kids at some of the places we went to later in the week. In the mean time however I think it reminded the boys that they would otherwise be in school themselves. They were a bit put out I think by their dominance over the jumping pillow..... and the young girls, not that Chris would acknowledge this!

The next day we visited Parliament House. Now, putting aside the politics of the place, (both the running of the country type and those which surround views of the building itself), the place is impressive and cleverly designed, in my view. Its a shame those pesky security guards stopped us (in a bit of a panic), from walking down one of the passages we wanted to cut through to a different area. Apparently it was the one that goes down to the PM’s office... ... pffft. I will have to tell Julia (who was/is the PM at the time....?????), about it next time I see her.
A special day it is today, as the speaker, Mr Slipper is reverting things back to the old way, and for the first time in 30 years there is a "Speakers Procession". We got to see this from the first floor, and then quickly made our way into the House of Representatives and watched a second reading debate. This was on the new Health Bill. Surprisingly the boys found it quite interesting, ...for a while. We were hoping for a division, but no, too much philibustering I think. Anyway, we left there and had some lunch ( which was very expensive and not very nice, so maybe try to avoid a lunch here) before heading back in to watch question time. We had already booked tickets for this, you don't pay for them, it just guarantees you a spot as sometimes it's very busy. As everything was closed off and security guards were everywhere, this time, no quick sprint into the house, we need to be checked, so stand in the queue, remove belts and shoes, and wait until security are sure there is nothing untoward going on, very strange. When we got to the security desk we could put our shoes straight back on, I thought they were going to keep them,so we couldn't throw them? This was the first time Jo had been in to actually see Parliament sitting also. She loved it. Particually when the opposition got up and asked K Rudd about his views on the honesty of the Pupua New Guinean Vice Presidents taking over of the country from his leader. She didn’t so much enjoy the question, other than its intent, but loved the “play” back from K Rudd in such a clever way as to make it backfire in the oppositions face. As of course, this is the first parliament sitting since it was leaked that Julias staff had a speech prepared to overthrow K Rudd. Chris found some of the antics of certain pollies quite funny. You might have to ask me about some of them! Jo also had to bribe the kids to get them to stay to the end of question time, a cost of $2.00 each.

The grass on the roof was interesting, very much unlike the job of the security guards that patrol up there. The grass was full of life at least. The views, looking back up to the War Memorial were just fantastic. (Did we tell you about that place? WOW! You could spend a day there, or more.)
Ok, so what else about the big house? Well, it has its own post office (with its own post mark). So we sent a few post cards off and Jo sent herself a letter addressed to home so she has one too. Well, when I say letter, it was actually just an envelope. Nothing in it, but it will have the post stamp on it.
A bit of a look around, and some photos out the front completed our visit to the house in the hill.

(This is the reverse view looking back up towards the War Memorial).

Who would have thought that that the highest Court room in Australia (as in constitution, not metres above sea level), looks you fair and square in the face as soon as you walk in the building of the High Court of Australia. Yup, the Court room where the Full Court sits on Constitutional matters is on the Ground floor. Now that is a representation of being with the People... or just a cock up by the architect either/either.. I was impressed. We had a wonderful visit to the building and had some interesting information about the history of Justices appointed. Certainly worth a visit and it was a shame that Court wasn’t sitting.

Jo mentioned that if I ever have to travel to Canberra again for work, and the High Court is sitting, she is also coming!

That night, Heather and Ian drove up to our caravan park – mostly to have a little look-see at the Mothership. That was nice. We were to follow them back to their house before then going out for Chinese dinner that night to celebrate (early) Mitchells 8th birthday tomorrow. The boys jumped at the chance to ride in their car.. and off they went.

Jo and I considered the possibility, while the boys were otherwise under supervision of others, to head off in the other direction, at least for a little while.. but no! I think Jo was a little jealous of the boys, but her turn would come..
On the way, we did a drive by the GG House...

.... tick, seen it. That is all I have to say about that.

We went out to Chinese for dinner with Phil’s uncle, Heather, Ian, their daughter Laura and her boyfriend Gavin. The meal was great and a good time was had. When we left, we followed Ian and Heather as they led the way to the top of some hill near their place that showed us great night time sights over the Capital. We stayed there and chatted for a while before heading off back to put the boys to bed and then doing final preparations for a very special day.

16 February 2012. What a great day. Well actually, one of the best days of my life eight years ago. It was the day that Mitchell William was born. As any 8 year old would on his birthday, Mitch jumped out of bed, well, actually, climbed down from his bunk, all excited (yet somewhat maturely controlled ... this wasn’t to last). We all sat around on our bed, sang “the” song 43 thousand times and gave him what all birthday boys want... presents.

This, that, some other stuff and an outdoor Dune Jumper remote controlled car. He just loved it. Short story - breakfast, two goes of the remote car (the car runs for about half an hour at a time, then needs charging) and we head off for the day. (that car is wicked.. gonna get me one too I think)

It was Mitchell’s day, and Questacon was the activity best identified in the Country’s capital for such a day. We all loved it.

When we got back to the Van, it was time for a battery change and another go on the the Dune Jumper.

Dinner of course, was Mitchells pick - Hungry Jacks. Well OK. You only turn 8 once. So we Google the nearest “restaurant”. As it turns out, there is five stores in Canberra. One which is not too far away, so off we go. When we eventually find it, it turns out to be one attached to the side of a BP service station. We were looking for one with a bit of a play area that the boys like to use after they have eaten. This one only had a few tables outside and no play area plus it was raining, our idea of a birthday dinner, doesn't include getting wet whilst watching cars fuel up. So we look for the next closest one. Found it, its just that this one is also attached to a service station and even smaller. Hmm. OK, so we plug the next one into Lucys sat nav. Lets head there. Down the Monaro Highway and guess who misses the turn off. So double back and eventually we head in to the shopping area. As we just about arrive, Jo notices that this one closes at 5. Its now about 5.30. ARGGGHHHHHH!. HOW HARD IS IT! With now fierce determination, we locate a 4th store. Guess where that is, almost back to where we originally were. So off we go. Well, talk about efforts being worth it. This location was set right on the side of a lake with a beautiful view over the water, a great little play area and best of all, the Burgers were Better at HJ’s. (It was still raining so the kids couldn't enjoy the playground afterall but the burgers were the best ones we've had from HJ's in the longest time). Thanks be to HJs Belconnen on Emu Bank Road. So after more singing to the Birthday Boy, we head off home.... some 100 kms (just about) and nearly four hours later, we were only about 15 kms away from the caravan park. But, a nice tour of Canberra we had.

Back again to the Van and time for some Birthday cake!

The next day, Mitch went out to play again with his Remote Car. Some time later I was watching him and the car was going really slow. I picked it up to see what was happening and could smell smoke. As it turns out, the thing had burnt it self out. It wouldn’t be until we get to Sydney that we could take it in to a hobby shop to have it looked at.. hopefully under warranty. Isnt that always the way. He got to play with it for about 4 turns and now it is cactus. (more on this story later).

Well, we went for a bit of a drive and decided to see how many Nations with an Embassy in Canberra we could find. The boys had great fun and created a list: (fortunately, they didn’t want a photo op outside each one.....) It was very interesting to see the different styles of buildings that the different countries had, some you could pick quite easily before seeing where they were.
Indonesia, Egypt, China, British, Canada, Finland, Papua NewGuinea, New Zealand, Singapore, France, South Africa, USA, Turkish, Philippines, India, Sweden, Israel, Poland, Greece, Germanu, Korea, Thai, Japan, Netherlands, Iran (oh note, this was just a vacant block.... hmmm), European Union (never heard of this country before), Spain, Ireland, Belgian, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia andd Yokraine. We also learned that other countries run their Embassy from their Delegates residence, which could be anywhere in Canberra. Later, we also saw the Tent Embassy. Not much else happened that day and soon it was again time for some sleep.

So it was time to get Lucy serviced (give her a little love). She has been working hard over the last couple of months and with 10 000 kms just around the corner, now was a good time. Why am I boring you with comment about getting the car serviced in this blog? Uncle Ainsley kindly let us use one of his cars. This enabled us to drop Lucy off and still get out and do something during the day before heading back to his house and waiting for Lucy to be finished. Interestingly, when we were leaving some shops to head back to his house in the afternoon, Jo notice a green liquid under the car. As she looked further, it became obvious that our car had dumped a fair bit of coolant. Not sure if this was bad luck, a coincidence, de ja vue or habit. A couple of weeks earlier when Phil’s Mum and Dad had been in Canberra, they also had their car serviced and used Uncle Ainsley’s car to get around in. When they had it, they also had a coolant loss. But for them, they didn’t know this until the car was boiling over and had a much more serious problem. When I rang dad to discuss this with him while still at the shops, mum had a bit of a chuckle in the back ground. Fortunately for us, it turns out that there was only about 1 litre that had been lost and we not far from Uncles house. So we drove back and topped her up. I think that car now has an appointment with the car doctor. We got Lucy back and all is good.

On the way back to the van, we decided to take a quick detour to Black Mountain – where the Telstra Tower is. Well it is certainly a lot bigger close up than from a distance.. that actually suprised me a little. Me, Chris and Mitch went up had a look around and came back down again. Jo kept Lucy company. The views were good.

So for our last day in Canberra, we visited the AIS. This was always a place that I knew I would go to... its just that I had hoped it would have been a few years ago (OK, ok, a couple of decades ago) and that it was as an athlete and not as a tourist. Some fascinating information given, including that of the sport with the tallest average height. Do you know what it is? (if you don’t, J.A.M.)
They had an area with interactive displays...

We saw the pool that the Australian Tax Payer spent $17m on. Did you know that only 22 people currently get to swim in it? I won't complain about the local pool fees anymore! Over all, an interesting tour, but I am not sure it is worth the entry fee amount.
Not sure if this counts as a "Big", but this was there...

Cotter Reserve is one of those places on the Australian Monopoly Board that we have not yet ticked off. We committed to otherwise wasting a couple of our last free hours in Canberra to ticking this box, before it was too late and the Monopoly challenge fails. We didn’t know what Cotters Reserve was, where it was, or how long it would take us to do it. We had however been told that they are building a new dam their and some roads are closed. As it turns out, we drove for about 30 minutes before coming across the new dam construction. That actually looked quite interesting, however many of the parks there were closed. We didn’t really spend any time there before heading back, but we can (we think) now at least tick the box that says we have done Cotters Reserve.

So our final night was spent having dinner at Uncle’s house.

We got to meet Phils cousin Fiona, who had come down from Sydney to visit. It was an enjoyable night and the boys again got to play on the piano. This one was made in 1880 (even has candle holders on it for lights).

This visit included Jo and the boys being introduced to an old era one armed bandit. Cost of 5 cents a turn - Jo borrowed some coins off Uncle Ainsley but unfortunately he came out worse off! Jo could have stood there all afternoon. Watching the boys have a go reminded me when I first had a turn on it. That was back when I was 8.

Thanks Uncle Ainsley, Heather, Ian, Andrew, Fiona, Emma, Laura, Jackson and of course Charlie, for taking time out with us and we hope to see you again soon.

So Canberra is behind us. As a caravan tourist, the place is very lacking, which is disappointing for a Capital City. The activities that it offers however are great. Aside from our family, and the 8th birthday, the visit to the War Memorial stands out... most probably challenging the sights of Hobart from Mt Wellington as the highlight of the whole trip to date.

Leaving Melbourne had a mini sense of excitement about it due to what was expected in two more sleeps. Chris knew about this because he overheard us on the phone, but we hadn’t told Mitchell and were leaving that for a surprise.

Before that though, we saw a Pheasant on the side of the road.... a big one....

Its not always easy to get an agreeable pose.....

We travelled to Lakes Entrance via Paynesville. Paynesville was a small but charming little place. Very picturesque and probably a perfect spot to stay and do nothing. Alas, while we did detour to go see it, we were just passing through for a photo opportunity and to see if for obvious reasons

As for Lakes Enterance, the place is quite nice and the water ways are an interesting “construction” of the coastal area. As for the caravan parks however, they are VERY small and crammed in here and there. There are lots of them though. The park we stayed in was, on reflection, probably not all that bad, but at the time we thought it was just horrible. With effectively nothing for the kids, it was a good thing that our stay there was just an over nighter. There was absolutely no room to get the van in and out of the site the normal way (we actually had to come in to it through the site behind ours and were only inches from a permanent shack in the bay next door. Due to the placement of a fire hydrant on the other side, there was no way I would have been able to get the van out driving forward either. Fortunately I was able to back the van out --- but even that was an interesting exercise. I dont know what we would have done if someone had come in and set up on the bay behind us. But, before long we were back on the road and heading to a place that would, up until then, be the nicest park we have stayed in.....

Merimbula is a beautiful little place and the caravan park (just on the outskirts) sits up on the hills side over looking the bay beach and on a cliff that looks out over the ocean. This is where our bay was. As for the park, it was a real little holiday gem with good size bays, lots of grass, a beautiful pool area, games room and stuff for the kids to wear themselves out on. We really liked this place and I think that if we lived closer it is a location that you would go to regularly for annual summer holidays.. as I am sure many Sydneyittes do.

So, after we checked in, we head off to find our bay. Jo is making sure that the boys are looking around, and Chris is doing a really good job.. cause he knows what he is looking for. Mitch on the other hand was just glancing around. When we came around the final corner to where our bay is, Jo asks Mitch what he can see.. “oh,nothing”. Jo tells him to look out the front window.... “GRANDMA AND GRANDDAD!!” comes a scream from the back seat followed by “...let me out..”. I stopped the car and both the boys jumped out and ran ahead, Mitchell with his arms stretched out, to give a big hug and kiss to their Grandies... who of course were equally excited to see the boys. As it turns out (because I am typing this some time later after the Grandies had already returned to Perth, Grandma said when asked by a friend, that that moment was the highlight of their two month trip away.) So Merimbula provided us with two relaxing days of doing very little. The locals were entertaining too....

After admiring the beauty of Merimbula, our journey takes us via Bega - yes, as in Bega Cheese. We stopped in at the cheese tourist place. This in its self was very disappointing and I think they have a lot of improvement to make if they want to make for a good tourist attraction of which it could be. Having said that, there was no entry fee and the little cafe was pleasant enough. We stayed long enough to have a last cuppa and scones (yes OK, with jam and cream) with Mum and Dad before we once again parted company. They were now on their journey back to WA. Once we finished, it was final hugs with the Grandies and off we went - Brown Mountain in our sights.

Brown Mountain is something that we had heard of for quite a while(usually in the context of, ‘you’re not pulling that caravan up Brown Mountain are you’, or ‘you should definitely give Brown Mountain a miss!’). Well, you know Phil. He had us booked into Discovery Holiday Park in Jindabyne, a caravan park and if there’s a caravan park up there then you should be able to get a caravan up it, right? With a little trepidation we start on up this Brown Mountain, and very soon we reach the top. The worst of it is the fact that there was thick mist and we couldn’t see for very far infront of us at all. The “Hill” itself is just that. It is long and it just keeps going up, but it’s really not bad at all. Obviously over such a long uphill climb your speed is suffering, but that is the only thing, we, for the most part sat on around 45-55kph. Which isn’t that bad considering the 3 tonne load we were pulling. Ears popping and a break in the mist to suddenly reveal a sunny blue sky and we drive along the top of the Snowy Mountains...... and Brown Mountain behind us. Lucy, you're a gem!

We couldn’t believe how vast it is once you’re up there. It’s a whole new world (after we got over our ears popping and carrying on as they do at that altitude). We come to Jindabyne and once again another town of beauty it’s in our luck to stay at. We find our caravan park without a hitch, and while setting up Mitchell is struck by the need for the toilet, I tell him it’s up in that direction but he’s soon back as he couldn’t find it. So I go with him to see why my map reading skills are so poor all of a sudden, as usually I’m pretty good if I do say so myself. Well, we have never stayed in a place where there is one door with Amenities written over it before and of course Mitch didn’t know that this meant toilets etc. So Mitch and I go exploring. In this door it’s temperature controlled, you can feel as soon as you walk in the comfort here. There are a couple of baths in each block of loos (ladies to the left and gents to the right) and if you exit through a different door you meet in the middle in a heated spa room with 2 spas. Back out in the foyer there is a coffee machine and a drink and snack machine for those desperate times. Upstairs there is a TV room, laundry, camp kitchen and a big area with lounge chairs around a huge log fireplace. A games room completes the upstairs and has the kids in raptures, there is even a change machine installed here for the times when you’re stuck without coins for washing (or more importantly for the kids, the arcade games). Now you see how they set up caravan parks in the Snowy Mountains and cater to the skiers that come in from a long cold day on the slopes. I’m not sure if all are up to this standard or if we just hit the jackpot of caravan parks, but it was lush.
Our site was around 30 meters back from Jindabyne Lake. This area is set aside for people with tents, but as it’s not busy there is no one there and our views are uninterrupted. Stunning!

Dawn breaks and from our base at Jindabyne we conquered the mountain. Mount Kosiuszko that is, 2,228 meters above sea level (or 7,310 feet). Not sure if that’s what you call it, “conquering the mountain”, seeing as we started out at Thredbo which is already 1450 meters above sea level. We took a chair lift to the highest restaurant in Australia, which is 1937 meters, so really we only had 291 meters to go, right?
OK, so for me, first conquest of the day, the chairlift. When we left the caravan park to head in to Thredbo, I did remember to pack my book, as there was a high probability that I would be spending the next few hours reading it, while the boys climbed Kosciusko. After trying (and failing) to climb Ayers Rock in 2007 I talked to myself all the way in to Thredbo saying, ok, this wasn’t on my todo list, but do I want to be the only one in our family to not do it. I bit the bullet, put on a brave face – is that what you call it, lol, and said yes to the chairlift! Yikes! Phil then moved really fast (I think he knew of the high probability of me changing my mind) and before I knew it, I was on! Happily there were foot rests which made it feel not so bad. It shuddered a bit, as did I. But we got there, my reward? Hot chippies at the Eagles Nest and a coke! Mind you, we did share one serve between us, which probably equated to around 8 chips each, haha. With our tummies full?? It was time to start the real work.
Well, it is a 13km round trip to the summit and back again, a few little hills so not a lot of climbing, but of course the air is a lot thinner than what we’re used to. We start out all full of the joys of life on a lovely path up the “hill”. The nice path doesn’t last long and turns into an environmentally friendly raised metal platform. I don’t particularly like it, but it’s bearable. Chris quickly takes position at the front, Phil next, with Mitch and I panting at the rear. The few little hills don’t feel quite so little with the thin air and the thunder rumbling in the back ground teamed with lightening. There doesn’t appear to be anyone behind us, just lots of people on their way back. Most saying, better hurry up, that rain is moving in fast. Yes, we knew there was to be some light showers, we of course are prepared, we have our very lovely rain ponchos packed (you know, the ones that look like clear plastic garbage bags), we don’t mind a few showers 
Well, we keep walking, Mitch needed ventolin at one stage but was ok after that, and we keep looking at the little markers on the pathway telling us how far we still have to go. Many people we talk to have only gone as far as the lookout, some all the way. My goal is the lookout at this stage but I would love to get to the top! Time is our enemy, we need to be back at the chairlift by 4:30pm for the last ride down. Not really sure how long this will take so let’s move fast! Mitch and I are still at the rear and looking at flowers and taking photos and getting in trouble from Phil for “dawdling”! I tell him to go ahead and we will get to wherever we get to........he’s not having that, let’s soldier on!
Here is a picture of us at the look out. You can see the light clouds around and the landscape. Mt K is the one right in the middle...

And, soldier on we did! We finally get to what we know to be the last bit, now Phil and Chris go on ahead and Mitch and I take our time with lots of bribes and “power walks” on the flatter bits. We round a corner and we see it! The top! Yay us. A few photos and we turn around to go back down.
This is us at the top of Australia. You can see the changing weather coming behind us... ominus!

It’s now 2:15pm and we really want a coffee at the Eagles Nest, they stop serving at 3:30. Conquest number 2.
About 15 minutes into our descent it starts to rain, we put on our “wet weather gear”, well, 3 of us do. Phil has misplaced his after Cradle Mountain. Argh, it’s not a light shower at all, the lightening and thunder are having a field day and we are being pelted with hail! The hail doesn’t last long though and we are treated to a full on downpour. Phil now moves on ahead, as he is not protected at all from the rain and is very quickly soaked through. The air is so cold and being wet doesn’t help. The ponchos do provide some protection but the hoods won’t stay up because of the rain and the armholes let water in (I didn’t know this until I was soaked through from the waist down). We made very fast time coming back down I can tell you. Although the environmentally friendly metal platform is now so slippy it’s quite hazardous. I slipped a few times, then Mitch went down like a tonne of bricks. The platform was like a cheese grater on his backside and he howled a bit! So hand in hand go Mitch and I and of course I call upon my many resources as a Mother to help him get back (it’s so hard when your 8 year old says “Mummy, lightening is attracted to metal and here we are walking on it. I’m terrified”!!!) what to do? Well of course we sing! “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.......”
We arrive back at the station at 3pm, wow, we're good, just a few minutes after Phil and Chris. Still singing as we round the corner, and ready for my reward of a hot cup of coffee before riding the chairlift back down. To our horror the chairlift isn’t working! They have shut it down because of the lightening, the Eagles Nest has shut early and apparently they are sending a 4wd up to pick us all up – there are another 2 couples there, all dry, obviously been enjoying a leisurely lunch! We wait, and we wait, getting colder and colder now that we’re not moving............after about 20 minutes the chair lift starts up again. I’m glad about this, as much as I didn’t like being on it, the thought of being in a car on the road I saw when we were coming up is much worse. We get back on the chairlift and completely freeze on our way down! Thredbo did look amazing though!

The boys all stripped off their dripping clothes (nope, no pictures of this), luckily they had dry jackets and blankets in the car, there was no way I was doing that, so I shivered all the way back. We never did stop for a coffee, we were dripping water everywhere. We had planned to stop in at the Schnapps distillery, but decided to save that for tomorrow!

So the weather we wake to is much nicer and we decide today we have the Wildbrumby Schnapps Distillary in our sights for lunch. It’s a short and pleasant drive, the grounds are very lush with funny looking sheep and green hills all around. We go in and try a few of the Schnapps that they make on site. They are very tasty but we decide that we won’t buy any as we probably wouldn’t drink them.
So we get a table (inside as it’s just a little chilly for outside) and peruse the menus. Mitchell decides he would like a toasted ham and cheese sandwich (not actually a menu item, but the staff were very agreeable in this change for our little Man), Phil, Chris and I opt for the schnitzel burger served with wedges. Well we all were in agreement at the end of our meal, that this was one of our best lunches so far. Everything was fresh and tasted just lovely and the views were outstanding. Definately a place to visit for a lovely lunch if you’re ever tripping through the Snowy Mountains.

We leave Jindabyne and head onto our next location - Canberra. On the way we stop off at the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre in Cooma for a look at how power is made from the water that is rushing down the mountain side. This generates enough power and is responsible for supplying vital electricity for south-eastern Australia and managing water releases for inland irrigation areas. It’s quite an interesting place to visit and the history of the place is really quite good. It tells of the thousands of workers that were brought in from many countries to help with this major civil engineering structure. How friendships were formed and recipes were swapped, all whilst building and developing this amazing way to supply power that is still sustainable today, many, many years later.
Our time at the Snowy Mountains were very adventurous, but relaxing. Shame about the no snow..

(oh, we would love to get some messages on our blog.......:oP)