Port Stevens and Newcastle - 26th August

We headed for Port Stevens and Newcastle to catch-up with good friends and checkout the surrounding beaches this area is renowned for. With so many good people and picture perfect bays we could defiantly move here, but some how we don't think the Grand's would be to pleased!!

See photo - Leanne & Bert with team Somers

Our Journey began with a relaxing drive along the Pacific Hwy to a place called Medowie, here we caught up with two old friends from Saudi (where we worked from 1998 to 2004), Bert & Leanne Tarrant........... and before long it was like old times. After trying to get the van down the side of the house (remove the awning and it would have fit), we decided to parking it on the driveway, sit down for lunch and have a couple of drinks! However the young ones got restless so Leanne and Bell took the nippers to Stockton and view the Shipwreck, have a milkshake and watch the big ships escorted into the harbour by tug boats. That nite .Leanne & Bert cooked up the most delicious dinner and we settle in for a night of photos and over 8 years of catching up!



The next day it was Riley's 6th Birthday, so what better way to celebrate than with a cooked breakfast, been a while since we had one of those! After presents (thank you to everyone that sent wishes and presents), we headed out as Leanne and Bert (L&B) took us on a site seeing tour around Port Stevens and Nelson Bay. With great weather and so many bays to view, it was spectacular and we even got to see some whales in the distance! L&B suggested we come back and climb Tomaree Heads with spectacular views of the ocean and bay. Apparently in season this area can become pretty hectic with tourists, we imagine something like Dunsborough. We finished the tour with a cuppa and a quick dash back to one of the bays to find Aiden's thong he had left behind in the car park!

See photo - Riley's 6th Birthday celebration.

After saying goodbye to L&B we then met up with more Saudi friends, Team Mulder (pictured right). We met at the local Netball court, which was actually how Bell and Nicole first met. We then headed back to their house were Nicole and the team had cooked up a birthday cake for Riley to helped him celebrate in  traditional style.

The boys were in their element with Maddy & Aidan Mulder. To give you an idea how long ago we caught up with these guys, little Maddy (who is not so little now ) was not much older than 18 months.

So what is Port Stephens all about? It is the submerged estuary of the Karuah and Myall Rivers and is rich in history with Aboriginal tribes known as the Worimi first inhabiting the region. In the early development of Port Stephens is was an idyllic coastal Paradise where the emphasis is on pleasure (they got that right for today). Captain James Cook in the Endeavour, sighted the entrance on 11th May 1770 and named the bay after the Secretary of the Admiralty. It was first entered in 1791 by the British ship "Salamander" from the Third Fleet, and surveyed in 1795 by Charles Grimes. Port Stephens was a haven for convicts escaping from Sydney!  


See photo - One of many magical moments.

See photo - Love the sand dunes at Fisherman's Bay.

So what adventures did we get up to now .....? Well Bell had been nagging Chris to go Whale Watching for the last .. 2 months, so when Bell suggest it to Nicole, the kids and girls all went and what an experience we had. The captain on the boat had his camera out and said "we haven"t had it like this for weeks!" So as you can see from the pics (not bad for a little Cybershot camera) we were well entertained. It was breathtaking. We also spotted the resident Port Stephens dolphins and several seals with two pups, we got the trifector! Chris spent the time with L&B and relocating the van outside the Mulder's house. That afternoon we went 4wd  along Anna Bay / Fisherman's Bay and had some sand dune fun like when we were in Saudi.


See photo - Baz, Aidan, Nicole, Maddy, Chris, Riley Aiden and Bell.

 

See photo - One of the many beautiful views from
Tomaree Head.

The following day Baz was not feeling well enough to go to work, but managed to take us sight seeing up to Tomaree Head.
Tomaree Head stands 161 m above the entrance to Port Stephens and from here there are breathtaking panoramic views over Port Stephens, the coast and to Broughton, Cabbage Tree and Boondelbah Islands nature reserves. The summit was also the site for the longest serving radar in WWII. Cabbage Tree Island (which we saw seals on when during the whale watching cruise) and Boondelbah Island are the only nesting sites in the world for the endangered Gould's Petrel.
The path has elevated walkways and stairs, with some steep sections on the walk and also paved areas. We descended via the WWII gun emplacements.

See photo - Chris with his new kite.

Feeling a bit peckish we had to go for Fish and Chips. Then it seemed like a good time as any to  buy a kite. Baz is a mad Kite Surfer, and something we learnt about Baz in Saudi is when he does something he does it well, so who better to give advise on a kite. Baz took us to his mate and out we came with our new kite (check out the pic). We headed to Fisherman's Bay again and had a blast............!

See photo - Volcano time at Corlette Beach.

With our last afternoon upon us we headed to Corette Bay (Mulders local ) and enjoyed a drink whilst the kids made volcano's on the beach. As you can see from Riley's hands it sure makes for some interesting skin colouration's!! It was magic again and we were certainly lucky to once again have fabulous weather during our stay.





See photo - Aiden, Bell, Kerry, Maddy, Nicole, Aidan,
Chris & Riley catch up.

We finally had to set sail, but first we needed to actually visit Newcastle and catch up with one more friend from Saudi. We drove to Stockton with Nicole and the kids, parked up the van caught the ferry over for a walk (kids had scooters) along the walkway out to Nobby's Point. It started to rain a bit so we headed for a coffee to meet with Kerry Frawley, surrogate mother  for lots of friends in Saudi during that time.
You guessed it, it was just like old days and it was a shame we couldn't spent more time catching up. We also tried to catch up with Bell and JC (other friends), but it was not meant to be. The kids even managed to have some fun scootering down the best ramp we have seen for a long time!! After lunch, we set sail back to the van and bid Newcastle and the Mulder family goodbye, with a hope that maybe one day they come and visit us in Perth.

Wow what a week, anyhow here is our next clip.

Grafton to Forster - 23rd August

See Photo - Yamba Lighthouse.

Next stop Platypus (NSW state animal) so we headed to Grafton out thru a little coastal town of Yamba, it was a beautiful little town surrounded by hills, this included the local surf club and ocean pools in the main part of town. Yamba is located at the mouth of the Clarence River 680 km from Sydney, fishing fleets from Yamba, Iluka and Maclean catch 20 per cent of the state’s seafood – so enjoy fresh seafood when you're there. We visited the lighthouse ( no visit is complete without seeing a lighthouse when you're 5 and 4 ) then went down to check out the ocean pools at the local beach but it was much too cold to swim. Before we headed off we noticed the rear indicator was filling with water so after a little roadside maintenance we were off!

See Photo - Platypus at Nimboydia,
you can see them in the wild!

It was another long bumpy ride along the Pacific Hwy down to Grafton which was a stopover on the way to Nimboydia to see one of Australia's largest Platypus colony's. We dropped off the caravan at the Grafton Showgrounds and headed south to Nimboydia, the trip was only 40km, but we felt everyone of them along the way, the road needed a little "Love " from the state government. We arrived and headed for the Nimboydia Coaching Station "PUB" where they have a Platypus viewing platform in the beer garden? ( every pub should have one ) and the "Museum of Unusual Things". This is all owned by the one and only Russel Crowe, and the museum is filled with local historic and Crowe memorabilia, it was a fantastic place and well worth a visit. During our time here we spotted 5 platypus, ate 2 bags of Samboy chips, drank 2 glasses of water and had 1 beer! so the day was considered a success! Except Bell wish she had her big camera!!

After the platypus excitement we headed back to Grafton and our trusty van for dinner and bed!, Grafton is a neat town and has a great bridge which was partially hoisted to allow river traffic through many years ago, the bridge still has the mechanisms but is not in use today. It is also famous for its jacaranda trees, which were originally planted in the 1870s , it is also famous for its more then 24 parks in Grafton containing more than 6,500 trees. We had dinner and proceeded to resume teaching the boys how to play Connect 4, Riley is a bit of a shark now and likes playing with me or Bell (not keen playing with Aiden and his creative rules! ) then it was settling in for a quite night.......  and no rain!



See Photo - 1973 version of Big Banana
Chris with his Mum and sister.

See Photo - Big Banana - new version
built 2004.

Wednesday we packed early and headed for Coffs Harbour and the Big Banana, along the way we passed thru the Wedding Bells State Forest where we met a 7ft + kangaroo crossing the road just in front of us, we managed to slow as it bounded across the highway with just 4 hops!......... it was big. Bell did not get a photo, but did find new hand grips on the side of the seat. We arrived in Coffs Harbour just before lunch time and headed for the Big Banana in search of the elusive fruit, known in these times as a delicacy after the floods, cyclones, errrr and anything else they can use to keep the price over $10/Kg. We managed to get our photos and hit the road for the town centre and a view of the harbour, we walked across to Mutton Bird Island for a view along the coast and also back across the mainland. It was great. Originally known as “Korff's Harbour”, after John Korff, a shipbuilder who took shelter here during a gale, Coffs Harbour developed as a port for the shipment of cedar and other timbers. Bananas were introduced into the area in 1881 and the industry thrived following the completion of the rail link to Sydney in 1923. 

See Photo - Trial Bay Goal with Aiden, Riley and Chris.



After lunch we hit the road and headed for our camp located at Arakoon just past South West Rocks, we arrived at the National Park by 2pm and checked into the camp site, it was located just below the ruins of the Trial Bay Gaol and right on the beach! Set on cliffs high above the sea, Trial Bay Gaol was built in the 1880s to house low-security prisoners who worked to build a breakwater around the bay below, but the project was abandoned when it was only partially completed. The prison was closed in 1903 but it was re-opened in World War I as an internment camp for men of German and Austrian origin who were resident in Australia, even though some of them were second or third generation Australians.




See Photo - Kangaroos Shhhhhhhhh!

See Photo - Black Creek Footbridge.

We then headed for the Smokey Bay lighthouse to climb the hill and enjoy the views along the bay. Smokey Cape was sighted and named by James Cook in 1770. Riley managed to see a "massive" (Aiden's favourite word ) kangaroo before we headed for the supermarket for some ice creams (travellers tip - you can get 4 ice creams from the s/market for the price of 1 at the shop! ) and we headed for Southwest Rocks to have a look around, we found the surf beach right in the centre of town on the north side of the headland, while we were there a RAAF Hercules did a low pass along the beach.... amazing ! The area is just lovely with lots of different walks to do, we had a blast. We headed back to the campsite where Bell took the boys down to the beach while i got the BBQ going and dinner sorted, while I was cooking I could hear this noise, only to find a Kookaburra sitting on the drivers mirror and hitting his own reflection in the window with his beak. After Bell and the boys returned it was dinner and bed, next morning we were up for our early morning bush walk with great views, then a tour of the Gaol before we hit the road and headed for Forster! 

  

See Photo - Sunset at Arakoon.

See Photo - Pelican taking off or landing? You decide!

Sadly we had to continue to move south (could have stayed a week) and we made our way to Forster. Driving through Pt Macquarie we continued on and discovered more lovely beaches and inlets along the way.
Our caravan park was in a great location, central to everything, It was interesting to note however so many 'permanent caravan' setups in the park with more than 1/2 vacant!! So without hesitation the walking shoes were on (as usual) and of we went. We watched the locals fish for black fish (they caught heaps while we were watching), and the pelicans came in to land as the locals fed them left over fish we enjoyed the wonderful weather as we walked the Beach and jetty areas. At 4pm each day the Dolphins come in to the inlet at the marina just 4 meters off the point, we were lucky enough to sit and watch them feed for 1/2 an hour..... what a way to finish the day!



See Photo - Booti Booti National Park - Seven mile beach.

As we made tracks the next morning we enjoyed the lovely weather with a number of stops along the way through Booti Booti National Park. With a lake on one side and the ocean on the other the views were spectacular. However our only miss was the largest tree in NSW. The turn off was on a corner with the sign ... you guessed it ... on the corner. We found out latter this area is a black spot and with no where to turn around we continued on to our next destination.

Here is our latest youtube video!




See Photo - Our journey on this leg....

NSW: Alstonville, Byron Bay and surrounds - 18th August

After almost 3 weeks we finally bid Brisbane and the Shard family farewell, the rain had finally caught up with us and we headed for Byron Bay and Ballina to catch-up with Leanne and Ubey whom we met in Bali.

Along the way we passed thru Tweed Heads for some shopping and lunch then crossed the NSW border (nothing fancy) just near the airport, along the way there was no shortage of tunnels and bridges to keep the midgets occupied. We finally made it to Byron Bay and parked down the end of town, grabbed the boys and walked along the park to the main street then down to the beach for Riley and Aiden to have a bit of sand time!

See Photo - Our adventure whilst in the area of Alstonville and Byron Bay.

View of Byron Bay

Byron bay is still a nice town without that Surfers Paradise feel (Chris use to come for holidays when younger), but make no mistake it is still a tourist town, that said we managed to pickup a couple of nice printed T shirts for $10 each, so it's not crazy Perth prices just yet! We called Ubey and arranged to meet at 3pm that afternoon, we met Leanne and Ubes in Bali during our trip from Darwin, they gave us their address and number and offered a place to base ourselves while we visited the coastal and inland areas around Byron and Ballina.

See Photo - Our resting place whilst at Ubey's.

We arrived at " The Tropical Link Nursery " in lower down town Alstonville. After navigating the new Ballina Bypass we arrived to be met by Ubes who threw us the keys, gave Bell a quick tour of the house and figured where to park the van, then he was off to pickup the kids. We managed to get setup when Ubes returned with Georgie and Harry so we headed out on the tractor and trailer to feed the cows....... what a day! We also managed to catch up with Leanne when she dropped in to say hi and organise the kids and Ubey for Friday's trip to Yamba and the weekend.

See Photo - Most Easterly Point of Australia.

See Photo - Protester's Falls in
Nightcap National Park.

With Leanne and Ubes away for the weekend we headed for Ballina and up along the coast on the Friday as the weather had cleared, when we rounded the point Riley saw the first whale breach, so we parked up and watched around 4 whales playing 100meters off shore for the next hour. Then it was up to Port Morton's Lookout for more wales, and a Tick, (as Bell would find out a day or two later) Lenox Heads and finally up to Byron Bay to visit the lighthouse with views of the town, Palm Valley and the ocean. The Byron Bay lighthouse was constructed in 1901 and is the most easterly point in Australia, it is also the most powerful lighthouse in the country visible from 50km.

See Photo - As we walked to Protester's Falls.

We awoke Sunday to an overcast sky and plenty of rain so what better way to spend the day than drive inland. Our trip took us via Lismore, Nimbin (hippee town) and the Night Cap National Park - Protester Falls, Later that arvo Ubey checked the rain gauge where we found that we had 97mm's of ran fall over 24 hours...... no wonder we got a little damp in the van!

See Photo - Chris, Phil, Josh, Leanne, Ubey, Craig.

See Photo - The kids having a blast.

We then settled in for the evening with Leanne, Ubey and their friends Craig and Phil. We marinated some lamb and sparked up the BBQ, the girls went off to do the school run in Ubes Hilux........ now, on their return  they kinda forgot about the boards on the roof!, and in a second it was over as the highest board was parked in the carport ceiling.....especially the fins!

The kids all had a blast (5 boys and 1 girl) and so did the adults for that matter with plenty of beer, wine and great company .. who said it was still raining outside!

See Photo - Riley and Aiden in their element.

We then finally decided we needed to spend a day planning .. with every possible NSW map from the information centre we could get spread out over the dinning table and got stuck into it. We came to the stark realisation that we had a measly 9 weeks ....... which is not that long considering the things we want to see! Bell and Ubes climbed the shed roof for some photos and Ubes grabbed the boys for some wheelies in the Bobcat to round off the afternoon!

Our last night was raining again ........ so we had our final supper with Ubes, Leanne and Craig, a lovely roast cooked by master chef  Ubey.

We then reviewed our rough itinerary with Leanne as she has travelled this region before, we also planned some future trips as Ubey and Leanne wish to visit Perth, Coral Bay and Exmouth mid 2012. To cap this year off we also plan to catch-up for New Years eve overlooking Sydney Harbour!

Here is our latest youtube video.........

Ipswich, Brisbane, family and friends - 6th August

Following from Goombungee the cooler weather  has us still using our extra covers at night, the days have been lovely even with the odd spot of rain, to date we have only had no more than 5 rainy days in total............

As luck would have it while we were house and doggie sitting Bells Mum and Dad, sister Jen and best friend Deb have all decided to book a flight over to Brisbane to catch up with us for a week!



See photo - Belinda, Aunty Jen, Riley, Mum, Dad and Aiden at Movie World.

See photo - Sea World.

See photo - Dinner with family - Aunty Jen & Boys at Movie World - Sea World, Emperor Penguins - Loan Pine Koala Park.

See photos - Dad and Bell on Superman ride - Bremer bridge boys and cousin Josh - Cousin plane time  - Aunty Deb and boys at Wet n Wild.

Mum, Dad and Jen arrived Saturday morning 7am to the delight of us all. We had a great brekkie at the local café and enjoyed the lovely morning weather, something Perth doesn't have on offer during these winter months. Toni managed to arrange some back seats (thanks Kellie) so we could all fit in the Prado (all 8 of us) and avoid hiring another car for the week. After a catch up day we headed to Movie World, the boys first Theme Park, Chris took his Dad to Gold coast for a lazy day without the kids..... yay! We got Grandad on the Superman and Lethal Weapon ride, which left him a bit unsettled due to his sinuses....... in all we all had a blast. That evening we went out for dinner on the way to the airport and said our goodbyes to Poppy (Chris' Dad ) and Jen. The airport run was interesting with a huge traffic jam on the 6 lane entrance to the domestic terminal, we latter found out from Poppy that at least 15 people missed that flight!



See photo - Allan, Jodie, Aiden, Chris, Riley Mum and Dad on Kurilpa Bridge in Brisbane.

See photo - Chris holding a Koala (first time)
at Lone Pine Koala Park.

Mum and Dad stayed for the rest of the week and we enjoyed some relaxing time with a visit to Sea World a look at the Gold coast and also the Lone Pine Koala Park. A great week which ended with Deb visiting over the weekend, she arrived at 9am and was dragged off to Wet and Wild water park for the day. We were impressed that Deb managed to stay awake ( all that Friday and Saturday night training mate ) and again it was great to spend some quality time together. For the folks last day we headed over to our friends from Saudi, Jodie, Al and Nick Cherry, it was great to catch up with them and we went out for lunch to South Bank in Brisbane to explored the river, bridges and museums. After saying our goodbyes to Mum and Dad we stayed the night at Al & Jodie's, then headed back to Flinders View to catch up with the newly weds who had just returned from there honeymoon cruise. On the Monday we took Debs out for the day with Jodie and Al then did the airport run and said our goodbyes.



Bremer River - Aunty Toni, Josh, Riley and Aiden

Whilst in Ipswich we went down to the Bremer River where we could gage the true effects of the floods in January 2011. It was 19 mtrs above the usual height, and was hard to believe that it was1 metre lower than the 1974 floods, where the water reached just underside of the bridge pictured.

See photo - Cunningham Gap with Toni, Andrew, Josh.

With family evenings, maintenance on the van, and some movies, it was nice to do some catching up. We took a trip up to Cunningham's Gap, where we had a lovely bush walk, picnic lunch were we were accompanied by 10  male and female Bower birds. Their eyes where stunning and they were very cheeky. The following day we had to say our goodbyes to the Shard family. However before we left Riley was surprised with an early birthday present from Toni, Andrew and Josh. It was Lego...... yahoo! The perfect travellers gift, and big thanks to Josh for assembling it with Riley!!!

See photo - About to leave Toni and Andrew's house...

Brisbane has been great for a bit of downtime and will prepare us for the rest of our travels as we now only have 9 weeks left before getting back to the grindstone and normal life once again.

Just some more interesting stats ...

We have travelled 17435 kms
Had 5 days of rainy weather to date (2 on this part of the leg)


Enjoy our next visual .... Riley loves every part of it especially the rides (we think he has become a ride junky!)
 

See photo - Koala - Queensland's State Animal.

See photo - Bell's favourite photo .....



'The Wedding'..... They finally did it! - 2nd August

Weddings are a special day so this event deserves it's very own page.

This story is about the marriage of Toni Somers to Andrew Shard and their commitment to their son Joshua.

With nervousness in the air we arrived at Toni and Andrews home, ready to help them celebrate their wedding following a 17 year relationship including 7 years of engagement.

The preparation began with the arrival of Poppy (Toni & Chris' dad) from Perth on the Wednesday. After lugging all his gear from the Train station, to the Bus station then down the street to the home he looked like a grey ghost, but thank goodness after a lay down he was better....... next time he'll remember his mobile so we can pick him up!.

We then madly sorted out our clothes that Poppy had brought over to find Riley had out grown his shoes and shirt so it was off to the shops for some wedding attire. With pick ups and deliveries to be made by the bride to be, Bell managed to squeeze in her first haircut for 3 months then went out with Toni for the rest of the day.

See photo - Riley & Aiden giving Aunt Toni
a wedding butterfly to hold.

Friday the August 5th arrived and without any prompting the boys disappeared for the morning whilst Toni enjoyed some quiet time in the cupboard with Teabags on her eyes (lack of sleep can do this). This was followed by the arrival of the hairdresser and makeup artist to help all the girls get prepared, this is when lucky Bell got a sneak peek of the Bride before the ceremony.


See photo - Chris, Andrew, Dad
Aiden, Josh, Riley.

2pm arrived with all the family pressed, dressed, unstressed and ready to go....... it was a miracle!
(even though we all got ready in one house........ different rooms of course) however i think the excitement was starting to show just before
leaving home as the big moment had finally arrived.
Andrew, Toni, Josh and Poppy went ahead to visit Andrews Grandfather who could not make it to the big day, then on to the gardens for some early photos as the photographers were concerned they may not have enough light after the ceremony.

The weather turned out to be fantastic after a little
scare with rain on the horizon earlier in the morning.
We made our way to Kholo Botanical Gardens, on Riverside Drive, Muirlea. It was a beautiful location for the ceremony by the lovely lake. With no wind or rain and a temp around 22 degrees... it was perfect.



The ceremony was sweet with Joshua looking cute, Poppy had to dash off before the ceremony began to get the rings out of the car and Andrew almost threw the ring in the water after untying the bow on the cushion. With all these exciting moments aside the vows were beautiful.
After Shirley and Steve (good friends of Toni and Andrews "T&A's") witnessed the commitment, it was time to indulge with champagne and beer along with some lovely nibbles that included endless supply of cupcakes for Riley & Aiden and not least the other children.


Now all the nervousness had vanished and feeling a little more relaxed it was time for the photos.


See photo - Family Photo
Bell, Chris, Dad, Toni, Andrew
Aiden, Riley and Joshua.

We then headed back to T&A's to leave the boys with the babysitter so we could have our first night out in 3 months.  Off to 'Platform 9' Ipswich International for dinner and drinks....where the company and the food were great! With 30 guests at the reception it was the perfect size to be able to relax, wine and dine. After some lovely speeches including Dad's quote  "They Finally Did It!" it was time to cut the cake!

 

See photo - The happy couple standing on the cake.

 The cake was lovely, classic and simple in design with a pair of caricature bobble head figurines on top. It also tasted great and I must admit in all my time being involved with weddings I have never come across a macadamia and butterscotch cake, yummy.

Music for this slide show was used in the wedding and is one of Toni & Andrews favourite pieces - "Wild Horses" by the Rolling Stones.

Enjoy............. this youtube celebration!

Deception Bay to Goombungee - 28th July

See photo - Big Pineapple - closed :(

See photo - Strawberry picking.

After getting back to the mainland we headed for the nearest Pressure Cleaning bay to remove what was left of Fraser Island from the Prado, we then picked up the van and headed for Deception Bay to stay with Red and Simone for a night. On the way we dropped in to see the Big Pineapple which was closed :-[  But still got a photo!  then visit the Ettamogah pub (original one is at Lot 1 Burma Rd Table top NSW just off the Hume HWY )....so we need to go there also!

We had to make the most of the Strawberry farm and had a go hand picking our own selection, this also includes seeing how many you can eat before you've filled the punnet!.....they really should weigh everyone who enters and leaves the farm as well!

See photo - Chris, Red, Simone, Riley, Aiden, Sara.

It was brilliant catching up with Red, Simone and Sarah over a Chinese meal, it seems that all of us have very hectic lives and are still working flat out, Red was off to work at 4am the next morning to continue commissioning the next inflight refuelling tanker soon to be handed over to the RAAF. The boys spent hours playing with all of Sara's great lego and truly were in their element.

 

See photo - Aiden first horse ride with Michelle.

See photo - Riley first horse ride with Emma.

 On 29th July we headed to Col and Shells in good old Goombungee (yes this is the correct spelling) a little country town north of Toowoomba for a few nights.

We headed out to dinner at the local pub which was great, and met some of their new friends along the way. Col and Shell have 5 acres, 3 dogs, 2 horses, 1 Tractor and of course 2 lovely girls Ashley and Emma, both of whom we only remember as nippers younger than our boys.

It was brilliant catching up with the Partridge family and having a relaxing break. With heaps of chatter day and night, it was like we had only just parted yesterday from Saudi. Lets hope we can do this again soon....

See photo - Emma, Ashleigh, Riley, Aiden, Col, Michelle, Chris, Bell at Picnic Point.

Next day Col took Chris and the boys to the Okey Army Aviation Museum for a visit near where Col is currently working ( Black Hawks and Kiowa's for Boeing Aviation ). Later that arvo Shell and the girls had Riley and Bell on Billy the horse, meanwhile Col and Chris managed to get Col's old "David Brown" tractor going much to Aidens delight who got to have a drive around the farm!
Next morning it was off into Toowoomba and the local markets then up Picnic Point to take in the views of the surrounding area before heading down to Queens Park for lunch. Our last day found us heading up to the Bunya Mountains for some bush walking, on the way back for a BBQ lunch under an old Canberra Bomber to the boys delight. It was beautiful during the day and cool at night, so we enjoyed the evenings indoors catching up over drinks........ it had been over 8 years after all! Thanks for having us crew, we loved it :)

See photo - Bunya Mountains.

Tuesday morning we hooked up the van and headed for Ipswich for the Shard / Somers wedding of the year. Our route took us back via Esk and the Ivanhoe Dam, however first we had more pressing problems like getting Diesel. We headed for Hampton about 15 min from Goombungee as there was no diesel in town, only to find their pump wasn't working also, so another 10 minutes on the opposite direction to Crows Nest found us coasting into town on fumes, 160 Lt later and we were on our way!

We continued our lovely scenic drive through the Deongwar State Forrest which took us over 700 Mt above sea level then down to the Ivanhoe Dam but unfortunately after all the recent flooding all viewing vantage points were closed so we continued into Ipswich to stay with Andrew, Toni and Joshua much to the boys delight! ......... finally some cousin play time!


Stay tuned and checkout our latest youtube video!