From Airlie Beach to Townsville, the big smoke.

Any body after a cheap sailing boat?  There were several boats that were damaged at Airlie Beach, from the cyclone Ului.

 

 

Yesterday, we headed out to the reef.  Now, I promised no pictures of anybody in stinger suits, so I’m holding up to the promise, so this is the only pictures you’ll see.  I do have previous pictures on the slideshow, but they ARE early pictures, so you’ll have to dig through them.

 

This morning we headed to Townsville.

Here’s Bowen, affectionately known as “Bowenwood” after the movie “Australia” was made on site.  It was also Ron’s birthday and by pure chance, he received a phone call from his son in America.

It was by pure chance that when I headed back to the car, the phone rang and it was their son, Mark, wanting to wish his dad Happy Birthday.  It was great to hear his voice.

This is the lighthouse at Bowen.  There was a beautiful scent coming from some native trees.  I then found out that it’s the Caster Bean tree which can irritate the eyes. (HUH??..oops)  well it SMELLED nice.

View from a lookout.  We had 360 degree views and this is one part of it.

 

 

 

The ”kids” having a cuddle.

 

 

 

 

As we came down the mountain and turned back on to the highway, we saw this, a Toyota Landcruiser  coming up the train tracks heading to Home Hill.  Once he found out we were taking his photo, we got a honk.

 

And THIS sight brought excitement from me.  This is the Burdekin River.  I have never seen water in this river.  And with all the rain we’ve had it was full and flowing.  There was still room for more, but it was a spectacular sight watching this.

Well, we made it in to Townsville this afternoon.  We stopped to have some Crumbed Coral Trout and chips.  It was very nice and all agreed it was much better than the last lot we had.

We finished the day out on Castle Hill to “ooh” and “aah” over the city lights.  And because everybody was up so early, we’re all in bed early.  So with that,..I say Adieu…or Goodnite.

“Please explain”…….

One thing about driving about with old people is that the conversation is very creative.  My in-laws are starting to lose their hearing, so between Chris’s deafness, their deafness, and my lack of concentration, we sometimes have four different conversations going.

Example: Chris explaining a story  about Castle Hill

Chris: “When I was here in my younger days, this use to be the necking spot”.

Pam:  “Huh?…what do you mean the Mexican Bar?”

to which we all busted up laughing.

From Agnes Waters to Airlie Beach.

After a rough night’s sleep on the hardest beds in Australia,  here we are getting ready for a long trip north.  We piled all the suitcases around Chris who packed the back of the cruiser.

 

We stopped in at 1770 and had a look where Lt. Cook (aka Capt. Cook) landed.  We were chased off the beach by midges and in urgent need of coffee and breakfast.

 

A little while later with our bellies full, we landed in Rockhampton and had a quick tour around the heart of the city.

 

 

 

Here we took a detour off the highway at Clairview.  The driver thought we could get to the top of a mountain for views, but this is the only view we had apart from a brahma or two.

 

We stopped in at Clairview.  This is one of our favourite spots to stay overnight.  There’s only a small handful of houses along this road and it’s miles from Rockhampton and miles from Mackay.

We landed at Hillsborough National Park. Our beds were MUCH nicer than last night and with the direct sea breeze, the night was cool as well.

 

 

As we headed further north, the effects of Cyclone Ului (pronounced oo-loo-ee)became evident.  Trees were stripped of their leaves, branches were broken everywhere and even a tree or two was down.  We had to ring ahead to make sure that there was electricity available.  Most didn’t have power and were using generators.

 

 

Here we are at Airlie Beach where trees were down, boats were washed ashore, and the power was only just restored to the town.

We had a little drive around and stopped for a late lunch/early dinner.

Fish n Chips were the order of the day.  Tempura Spanish Mackerel, which was voted “ok” by those who ordered it.  I prefer crumbed fish, so I ordered Ratatouille.

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we continued having a look around the town.

 

 

 

 

Well, we finished the day off with Sarsaparilla floats and peanut brittle.  I’m off now to get some sleep as we have an early morning out to the reef to do some snorkelling.  I’m just hoping that we’ll have a sunny day.  Either way, it will still be warm.  Good Night!

A short jaunt up the road…

 

We started the day heading to Agnes Waters.  We stopped into Bundaberg and had a look around which isn’t really all that far from where we live.  But there was a few things to see.

A trip to Bundaberg isn’t complete without a trip to the Rum Distillery.  We signed on for a tour of the distillery and even got to have a taste test at the end of it.

And not being connoisseurs of rum, we chose the next best thing SARSPARILLA!!!  And let’s face it, Bundaberg has the BEST SARS in the world!!

 

We ended the day down by the beach at Agnes Waters.  We’ll head up to 1770 tomorrow am, but we’re in for a BIG drive tomorrow as well.  Everyone is asleep as I write this.

 

We had dinner/dessert at the local pub and this one’s for you Bobbie.  Pam nearly had a heart attack as this “Killer” bug (a rhino beetle) froze her in position with it’s menacing glare.  Those are my sunglasses next to it.  Yep..yep,…yep…yep…we grow em’ big here in Queensland.

 

 

Well, tomorrow’s going to be a big day so I’m off to bed to get some sleep.

The local “Hervey Bay” tour-- taking in a bit of history along the way.

The in-laws have arrived. And here we are catching up with all the goss after dinner.

 

 

Al and Heather left for home early this morning and the rest of us headed in to town for the “Hervey Bay” tour.

 

One of the highlights is the Urangan Pier where the occasional fisherman is hanging around to catch the ‘big’ one.

 

 

View out to the marina from the esplanade as we checked out the local history.

 

 

 

We stopped at the local pub for some lunch and then took a walk down to Queen’s Park and along the Mary River.

 

 

 

 

Here we have a Strangler Fig providing some shade in the park.

 

 

 

As we walked along the Mary River checking out the history of Maryborough, we came across……

 

 

some of these little guys feasting on the berries of an Umbrella tree.  Rainbow Lorikeets make a racket, but they are some of the prettiest parrots you’ll ever see.

 

 

You can almost feel the ambience of the place when you see the local gazebo that’s still in use today.

 

And once we finished our little walk around the historical part of town, we drove by this magnificent old dame to show Pam and Ron the architecture that Queensland is famous for.

 

Well, we’re now preparing for our trip tomorrow.  Plants are being watered, dog is being walked, clothes are being washed, and last minute packing is being accomplished.  We’re almost ready now.

A funny thing happened when I woke up this morning…..

You ever have one of those dreams that when you wake up, you’re reminded about it throughout the day?

Well, I’ve been having thoughts about getting another cat. I feel it’s time now.  I don’t know why, but I do.  So I woke up this morning with kittens on my mind.  And when I opened the curtains I spotted a  sleek black cat across the street, wandering through the neighbour’s garden.  And later on this morning, Chris mentioned something about kittens from what he was reading on the internet.  Yesterday, I watched a movie, Three Coins in a Fountain.  One of the ladies there was given a fluffy white kitten.

I’ve never really had good luck with cats, except for Georgie.  Georgie found us.  She was only six months old and decided to stay.  I didn’t get her spayed in time so she had her kittens a few months later.  She trusted me so much, that she actually had her kittens in the loungeroom at my feet.  The vet said most cats only have 3 or 4 kittens on their first litter.  Not my Georgie, she had 6!!  We did find homes and we kept a couple of girls as well.  Well, at least I THOUGHT they were girls.  When I went to have them desexed, the vet rang in the afternoon and said, “Uh, Mrs. Earixson?” “We have some good news and some bad news for you.” I said, “Okay” She said, “the bad news is that the cats are not female, but male.  The good news is that it’s only $175 for neutering.”  Sadly, we lost one cat to cat fever, and the other went out one day and never came home.  But Georgie stayed with us for 16 yrs.  She DID at one stage go missing for 8 months, but once she made her way back home, she stayed with us until her passing. 

And now the games begin.  “No”  I can’t have one yet because……..blah blah blah blah blah.  Well, I know Chris has been wanting to get another dog too.  So we may end up getting not only a kitten, but a new puppy as well.  And I can tell you now, it’s nothing to do with the “empty nest” syndrome either.  All of the kids have been out of the house for a while now.  I guess with all of the projects out of the way, we need something to occupy us.

Well,  we will be away for a little while.  That will give us some time to really think about this.  But ….aren’t they so CUUUUTE!!!

Update before the big day.

Rain, Rain, go away.  While it’s still raining off and on around here, the ground is very spongy.  And judging by the spider lilies bent over, perhaps too well.  We have a mini lake in the front yard…..

 

and a mini lake in the BACKyard.   Well, living in the sub tropics has it’s advantages…but it also has it’s disadvantages…like the heat and the humidity that come with it.  Sitting around 28/29 deg. C, with 90% humidity makes for a very uncomfortable day.

Chris has left for a couple of days and I’ve got the Scout for driving.  Yes,..he took the BRUMBY OLD LANDCRUISER!!!  and left me this lovely DEEluxe Scout.  Hopefully, it doesn’t cause me too many problems.   Both cars have been worked on, so it should be okay.

Well, Rob’s wedding is coming closer now and we’re almost all ready to go. 

Rally day around the neighbourhood.

Our idea of our neighbourhood is roughly a 100 klm radius.  So when the Scout club announced a Rally day in and near Gunalda, we accepted this chance to see our ‘backyard’.  And because this is the I.H. SCOUT Club, normally we would have brought the Scout.  Unfortunately, our scout has leaking issues and a problem with the carburettor (which is getting fixed tomorrow), so we took the T..T..T..Toyota Landcruiser instead. 

The day started out beautifully.  We stopped for a Macca’s coffee and headed south.

Our starting point was Bill Roddau Park.  There were six vehicles in all, but only one Scout.  We arrived 40 minutes early.

 

Chris and Steve were chatting while we waited for the last few people to arrive. Once we had everybody there, papers were handed out with questions about some of the things were going to see along the way.

The road was narrow and the sky was wide.  The rains finally cleared up to a typical Queensland day.

 

 

This is one of the earlier bridges built in 1886 which was not only used for cars, but for trains carrying livestock and crops to sell.

 

 

As our car clackety clacked across the bridge, we stopped at the park on the other side and walked around having a better look.

Once our information for the rally was taken, we gathered up the crew and headed into a little tiny town called Miva. 

 

 

There we stopped at the local cemetery to get some answers to the questions on our sheets.

 

 

This little cabin was leftover from the 1800’s as well.  Many farmers build newer houses on their properties and just leave the original homestead as an out building.

 

At the end of the rally we stopped in at Theebine Hotel for a counter(a countery) lunch.  We also found another car rally group and I couldn’t resist taking their photo.  Each car was done up very nicely too.

This is our group who attended the rally.  Thanks guys for a really great day~!

 

 

We had a wonderful day out today.  The weather was beautiful, the company was fun, and the BBQ lunch was memorable.  I wouldn’t mind doing this on a regular basis.  I love exploring.

The landscaping is done.

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Hey, …I LIKE this.  I was experimenting and came across this handy little gadget.  These are pictures of our house while we were landscaping the yard.  Well, it’s DONE!  We have officially finished the landscaping.  The fence which took the longest, is completed, the garden beds are done, and the planting of many trees are done.  Woohoo!!!  We’re now waiting on the rains to establish growth.  I’ve been meaning to take some current pictures, but the weather is so bad, that it would never do it justice.  But once the weather clears up, I’ll take the finished product.  The grass has certainly covered A LOT more area since these shots too!

Well, I’ve been rather remiss in writing on the blog.  We’ve been working in the yard, hence the photos,.. and we’ve been down to Jenny’s place helping them out with some more of their renovation work.  We just got back the other day and now we’re making plans for the year.

Our next trip coming up will be in March where we will start heading up to Cairns to see Robert and Casey get married.  We’ve got our clothes ready for the occasion AND we’ve started taking dancing lessons.  The waltz was a bit tricky for Chris, but we’ve nailed the Rumba down.  Of course, we’re not as professional as those you see on “Dancing with the stars” or” So you think you can dance”, but we do have the VERY basic steps down.   It’s certainly been a lot fun too.

After arriving home from Jenny’s house, I’ve been inspired to really get committed to losing weight too.  So I’ve checked out a local gym and I’ve yet to check out the local swimming pool for an Aqua aerobics class.  So I’ll keep you posted on the success of that.

We’re off tomorrow on a 4WD rally with the Scout club.  Unfortunately, we’re not able to take the Scout.  The windscreen of the Scout has not been sealed yet and the last time we took it out, I ended up holding a cloth and a cup to catch the water as it poured out of the screen.  Also, the carburettor needs looking at.  So it’s the ‘brumby ol’ cruiser we’ll be taking.

As things unfold around here, I’ll start writing a bit more often.