The Sabbath was 3rd August and time to visit the Glasshouse mountains. It only took a short time to get there and establish where the best coffee was to be had. However we had to justify morning tea first, so off we set map in hand.
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| Mt Coonowrin |
We did find a couple of fresh food farm stalls to stock up on stuff like local avocados, onions and pineapple. We enjoyed the scenery but still had time to do more so we set off for the Sunshine Coast Hinterland (again). It was sort of on the way home anyway.
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| Gardners Falls |
We pressed on to Lake Barron and its walking tracks. As the weather looked like beating us we headed in to Montville (which we had visited a week ago). Shirley cornered some cove in the street and found out where “the bakery with great pies” was. And what a great idea that was—the pies were excellent.
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| Road Out of Montville |
It was approaching 4pm and the gentle rain suggested that it was time to head home. So we did. The adjacent photo give you an idea of the start of the drive.
It was very pretty and steep.
Monday 3 August was a quiet day, but we had time to cook scones for Leo and Judy. They included date scones for the first time this trip.
The rest of the day was uneventful, with Shirley having time to find a dress shop while I had an unscheduled visit to the dentist. She spent less than I did.
The rest of the day was uneventful, with Shirley having time to find a dress shop while I had an unscheduled visit to the dentist. She spent less than I did.
Tuesday was a relatively unpleasant day with strong winds making our regular beach walk much shorter. We caught up o things like reading, Sudoku and knitting. The following photo is a view from the north of the caravan park.
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| A view from the north of the Maroochydore caravan park |
We did that and took a photo of a puffer fish from the bridge over to the island. The purpose of the photo is not to illustrate the fish, but demonstrate how clear the water is so close to heavy populated land. The water was probably two metres deep.
We needed more exercise do we headed south to Mooloolaba Beach. It is about 2 km long as just as good as heaps of other beaches along the coast. It was a very pleasant walk, with waves starting to gain heights good enough for board surfing.
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| Mooloolaba Beach |
Shirley then used her female discretion and decided that it was time for some retail therapy. So we strolled along the Mooloolaba Promenade. The many coffee/food shops were interspersed by many shops to attract the ladies. The potential short stroll became a 90 minute wander. However the purse was never opened so that wall OK. The relaxing afternoon ended with a beef stew for dinner.
Bowls day came around on Thursday 7 August. After a quiet morning I set off for Coolum Beach with Leo and Judy. Small world, a lady on my team is from my bowls club at home. We duly won our match but not good enough for the prize of the day.
I arrived home to find that Shirley had bought me two pizza trays and Darryl was busy cutting up veges and salami. Luckily I had made the pizza base before I left so it all came together in grand style. The pizza trays worked well on my new pizza stone. They went down well with a glass of red (or two). Kay produced vanilla slices for dessert.
Friday began with me telling the milkman that 7:45 am was too early to ring his hooter. It was like a ship horn. It did no good, but I felt better.
Shirley and Kay went shopping one way and Darryl and I went in the opposite direction. Darryl and I visited shops Bunning's, Ray’s Outdoors, Harvey Norman, etc. We spent more than the women, but they were necessities.
We caught up with Leo and Judy for a late afternoon drink at their apartment, prior to a Grill’d hamburger for dinner.
Saturday 9 August was the day to say goodbye to Maroochydore so Shirley and I headed south. Well we did after we visited the great Farmers Market at the Big Pineapple. The quality and range was superb. Of course we bought a number of items that were not on the shopping list—but they will all be eaten in time. Maybe tonight.
We established camp on the eastern side of Bribie Island on the little town of Woorim, after crossing the 50-year-old bridge.
We went for a walk to the surf beach then drove around and arrived at a local museum where we got an excellent history summary of the island. Bribie has a broad WW2 history as this was the northern most part of Australia that we reckoned we could defend if we were invaded. So there are lots of war relics around the island.
Famous artist Ian Fairweather is also a famous local, who settled here after a long and chequered history of roaming the world. His life story is a good read. I even enjoyed his art work.
A local historian is quoted as saying that “there cannot be any other place in Australia that has as much history as Bribie Island and Pumicestone Passage” (where Pumicestone Passage is the waterway between the mainland and Bribie Island). Big call. However the aboriginal history of the local area is significant and some cove called Matthew Flinders sailed his ship into Pumicestone many years ago.
We are not sure if many famous people live here, but if you are guided by the size and location of the homes it is obvious that many of the rich live here. On the way to the island we puzzled at a “pontoon” business. The reason became obvious this afternoon as we noticed the number of homes that exist and are being built on waterways.
It was the Sabbath. While Shirley slept in I arrived at the beach at 6:20 to take the following photos. It was a magnificent morning for a photo.
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East side of Bribie Island Looking East at 6:30 am
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East side of Bribie Island Looking North at 7:15 am
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Most of the day was spent with former work mates from Brisbane who are the people who encourage me to come out of retirement occasionally and work in Perth. We had a great day with John and family (am) then Mark and family (pm).
Shirley and I visited the local pub for dinner where we enjoyed the calamari.
Monday 11 August was the day to visit more of Bribie Island. It
started with a 3 km nature walk. Then more exploration, a visit to the
local wood working club, then coffee, then more exploration, then lunch,
then a 4 km walk along the beach.
After a short relaxation period we visit a couple of the WW2 bunkers (and relics).
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| WW2 Bunkers & Relics (above & below) |
We visited a local artist whose metal work was excellent and very Aussie. We left some money behind, principally on a portable BBQ that is made from a 9 kg gas bottle.
I ripped up a great chicken stir fry and rice for dinner.
Tuesday we started with a visit to Buckley’s Hole, which is a small lake that has known 273 different species of bird to reside there. We enjoyed the peace from a bird hide and the quiet commentary from an avid local.
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Little Pied Cormorant
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Black winged stilt
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Purple Swamphen
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We visited the local Community Arts Centre and were impressed with the range and quality of the many works of art.
Our regular walk on the beach was prevented by the strong wind. I decided that I needed a better photo of the bridge to Bribie Island. However
my attempt was thwarted by a large number of heavily armed police who
were addressing a siege that was taking place just of the bridge on
Bribie Island.
Wednesday 13 August “was move south day”. So we headed to Paradise Point (northern end of the Gold Coast) to visit my sister Lynn. She has a visitors parking place that took the caravan with the car getting a garage berth. One of her neighbours had just returned from a caravan trip with wood that was no longer required. So we scored about a wheelbarrow of wood.
Roast lamb for dinner was lovely.
Thursday started with an early photo from the front balcony and a leisurely start to the day.
Shirley and I did some much needed tree pruning in Lynn’s garden, from neighbours overhanging trees.
Just after noon we headed off to Tamborine Mountain for lunch and a walk. The views were magnificent and the Angus Beef pie was superb (with mash, peas & gravy).
Under pressure from Shirley and Lynn I bought a new hat. We visited the cheese factory before we left and our purchases underpinned our light dinner, complemented with a loaf of light soy bread and a fine bottle of cabernet sauvignon.
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| Surfers Paradise from Tamborine Mountain |
On Friday we went for a drive to Surfers Paradise and checked out the new light rail system, and some early preparations for the next Commonwealth Games. We then visited a small quality food hall that sold lots and lots of lovely things to eat. Before we purchased any food we treated ourselves to a wonderful hot chocolate. Then we bought some fresh pasta for dinner.
It was a quiet afternoon before we enjoyed the pasta and some olive bread.
The forecast rain started at 8:30 am on Saturday and continued steadily all day. It was welcomed by the locals as it was the first rain for a significant period of time. We stayed indoors all day and later found out that Paradise Point had 85 mm for the day.
One of the highlights for the day was catching up with our niece, Kirsten, who we had not seen for a few years (and her boyfriend Adam).
Sunday was the time to head south, but not before Lynn took us to Carrara Markets, allegedly the largest permanent market in Australia. We soon learned that their focus was on quantity, not necessarily quality. However it was OK for a one-time stroll. Lynn upped the ante and then took us to the Ferry Road markets. It was a completely different type of venue and we had just about the best coffee we have had in Queensland (not to mention the lovely cakes).
The numerous boutique food shops made the taste buds work overtime.
We returned to base, connected the car to caravan, said our goodbyes and headed off. Less than an hour later we were at Chinderah (just inside NSW) and the caravan park with the appropriate name of Drifters Holiday Village.
After some necessary shopping we had a quiet evening.
This posting is complete.
Please stay tuned for more stories as we head through New South Wales
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