Margate Beach to Bangor - Sunday 17th July
A lovely Sunday to finish what has been a great trip away. Amazingly, I even awoke early enough to watch the sun rise over the water - and to see a fun run in progress beneath us! I forget how much earlier the sun rises here.
Eventually it was real get up time and I thought I would order us breakfast - there is a cafe downstairs that will cook to order after you place your order via QR code - the modern way of room service! Given the guests of the 30th birthday are staying in house, I thought brekkie might take a while but it was in our room 15 minutes later piping hot. Very tasty and I enjoyed finishing my coffee on the balcony overlooking the beach.
Check out was 10am (perhaps the only downside to this hotel - I have left them an awesome review on TripAdvisor!) so we were packed and on the road shortly thereafter. The main agenda of the day - other than flying home - was for me to go shopping at DFO!! It’s at least three years since I set foot in a DFO so I was looking forward to it (Greg less so!). We parked and got coffees and I left Greg to a book as I stated laps. Suffice to say this was a fun way of getting my 10,000 steps up. I didn’t buy as much as I thought I would and had to rearrange suitcase contents to fit my purchases in. Although we were finished a little early, we headed to the airport to fill the car up, drop it off, check in our luggage (which required further rearranging! A little over the limit!) and settle in for our lunch/dinner. Lucky we had a big breakfast because we were only getting two meals today! Our meal was actually pretty good and filled in the time until boarding, although our flight was late. An uneventful 2.5 hours and we were landing in Launceston where the local temperature was a mere 6C. Welcome home.
Slick and Tabitha were very happy to see us. Thanks to our lovely family members who hosted us, friends we caught up with etc - it was a great mid winter break.
Maryborough to Margate Beach - Saturday 16th July 2022
A little luxury for our last night in Queensland. It was actually quite hard finding accommodation between Maryborough and Brisbane. Greg wanted to be closer to Brisbane so I can go shopping tomorrow and so we don’t get caught in traffic. But obviously because it is still NSW school holidays, hotels, motels, resorts etc were all full. So we booked this Sebel at Margate Beach yesterday, figuring an ocean front king room would satisfy my desire for a beach night this trip.
We enjoyed breakfast outside in the sun with Janne this morning before starting our pack up. Trent and Kerry arrived to help Janne with a few tasks and they very kindly washed our car too, as it got pretty dirty both at Andrew’s and out at the farm at Blackbutt. We set off after 11am, with encouragement for Janne to attend my birthday party later in the year.
By Gympie I was looking for a toilet but there was no way I was stopping at the rest area in Gympie that was where our caravan got towed from last year. Instead we stopped the other side of Gympie where we could get coffee and something to eat as well.
Back in the road, we took some scenic detours through Yambina, Nambour, along the Steve Irwin way before turning off at Deception Bay (the same turn off the Bruce Highway we used last year for our stay at Burpengarry East). And then out to Moreton Bay. I checked into the hotel and was pleasantly surprised to find we had been upgraded to a Junior Suite. We parked the car and checked out our room - and it’s lovely! Huge and comfortable with a big balcony looking out over the beach. Almost a proper kitchen and a gigantic bathroom. Just awesome!
After getting Greg settled, I headed out for a beachside walk. It may be quite a developed beach in suburbia but with such still water, sunshine, boats on the water and people trying to fish, it was all very pleasant. I pounded out 3.5km and felt great for it.
We enjoyed the comforts of our room, including a glass of wine, before ordering some takeaway Chinese and dumplings which I walked a further 1km return to collect. Very yummy and filling.
As we loll around this luxurious pad, there is apparently a 30th birthday party at the rooftop bar tonight but so far, we can’t hear them!!
Maryborough - Friday 15th July 2022
Will we, won’t we? We had planned to move on today, because I wanted a night in the beach somewhere, and Greg suggests we should be closer to Brisbane for Saturday night so I can go shopping and then be close to the airport. I had hoped we could get a cabin at Rainbow Beach, but there was no availability. We half heartedly tried a bit further down the coast but didn’t decide on anything. In the meantime, we sat outside in the sun taking it very easy and before we knew it, lunchtime was upon us! I had popped into town to buy Janne a milk frothing jug and thermometer but as the hours went by, instead we searched for good lunch places in town and landed on Portside restaurant, which had a great taco and quesadilla menu. So off we went and it was great! In a beautiful building on the river, we orders three different types of tacos so we could mix them up and all have one each. Together with a glass of bubbles outside on the veranda in the balmy weather, it was very pleasant.
After lunch, we headed out to meet Janne’s good friends Kerry and Trent who we hear a lot about. They live in a beautiful Queenslander on the other side of Maryborough and it was great to put faces to names.
Back home for a quiet afternoon, which did include a bit of trip planning for tomorrow night.
Maryborough - Thursday 14th July 2022
Another cool night - almost like home, really! And still cool when I got up but I was determined to wear 3/4 pants today - even if I had to wear a jumper as well!
After breakfast, we headed into town to go to the weekly market. Tracey needed coffee first so we stopped at a little cafe Janne likes. Greg also got his first crumbed sausage - and we’ve been in Queensland for a week!!
We enjoyed the walk through the market and bought the odd little treat. We ended up in front of Town Hall, where I was reminded that Rhonda has suggested we visit a new public art offering called the Cistern Chapel. She had seen it in a TV program so Janne and I walked into the public toilets and oh my goodness, what a fantastic job they have done! The hallway, the baby change room and the two female toilets (I couldn’t see much of the men’s version!) were all beautifully painted and decorated. It’s not quite the Sistine Chapel but it was impressive. Especially the gold toilet!! Thanks Rhonda for letting me know! And the ladies out the front were super impressed we had travelled so far to see the toilets (slight exaggeration but don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story!) and also complimentary of my hair (as were several other people throughout the markets).
We enjoyed another coffee in the sunshine out the front of Town Hall with a busker playing before we headed back to the car. Janne had her eye on a coffee machine on sale so we went to buy that. Then it was off to Hervey Bay for fish and chips on the beach. Very tasty but just a little cool sitting outside due to the breeze.
After filling up on barramundi and treats, we headed to the Hervey Bay Regional Gallery. Not the sort of place we would typically visit but a friend of mine is the Director here after leaving QVMAG last year. So while Greg waited in the sun and Janne went to Coles, I surprised Ash!! It was so good to see her (and she was well and truly surprised! In a pleasant way, I gather!) and she has definitely landed on her feet. It is a beautiful gallery with a real focus on Aboriginal art. She showed me around and we caught up and it was lovely to see her. Next time I must make more time so we can have a drink together.
Back home via Uncle Dan’s and then we set up the coffee machine and tested it out. Janne is very happy with it! A quiet night at home with a light dinner after eating so much fish and chips at lunch.
Yarraman to Maryborough - Wednesday 13 July 2022
Happy Birthday Neill! We had celebratory pies at the Blackbutt Bakery in his honour, as we had all had ours together there last year, although two months before Neill’s birthday.
Yesterday I said we were missing our caravan because it is a great way of knowing where your home is every night. We are also missing our caravan bed, which we have made super comfortable. I can assure you the motel bed last night was not, and nor have some of the other beds been this trip.
We had provisions for breakfast but I did have to walk down the street for a coffee to have with mine. The man in the cafe was fascinated I was from Tassie, saying “it must be really cold down there”. I told him it was no colder than it had been up this way recently!!
After checkout, we headed to Blackbutt and the bakery. We enjoyed our pies in the same park as we had with Neill and Jude et al last year. Then we continued to reminisce about previous trips travelling with Neill and Jude and indeed by ourselves, as we drove up to Maryborough. Obviously this is a regular destination of ours because we come to visit Janne and we have brought Neill and Jude here many times.
The next coffee stop was Nanango and the cafe I chose (from very limited choices!) took the longest time in the world to make two coffees. I was beginning to think we were facing a repeat of last night’s dinner delays! Admittedly, they were quite busy (a good sign) and had a very high functioning autistic young man placing a very particular order, but my impatience was showing through. In the end, the coffees were quite good so worth waiting for!
Continuing up the road, we stopped at the Rosella Farm as we have done on many trips. Obviously no need for fresh veggies this time but we did get some rosella soda - no jam though.
This is one of our rare times visiting Maryborough without the caravan. We arrived at Janne’s mid afternoon to be happily greeted by the dogs - but no Janne! She was just down the street and arrived shortly afterwards so we spent the afternoon catching up before settling in for a few wines and then our dinner.
Stanthorpe to Yarraman - Tuesday 12th July 2022
A great night’s sleep in our cosy little cabin, which just to keep extra cosy, I did get up at 5am and put some more wood on it!
We got up for our brekkie hamper and after our second cuppa, decided we had better get moving if we were going to make 10am checkout. Once in the road, I observed a giant roo sunning himself against a granite boulder but also noticed quite dark clouds in the distance. We reacquainted ourselves with Stanthorpe, including the bakery we got lunch from last year and the park we parked the caravans at. The we drive up Mount Marley to the lookout which you couldn’t do in a caravan. Surprisingly, lots of granite! Back down into town for coffee before heading off for Warwick. We stopped for fuel there but it was too early for lunch so we kept going. And then the rains started. And the temperature plummeted. We really could have stayed home if we wanted this kind of weather!! We reached Toowoomba and managed to get our lunch in between rain showers. Then it was back onto the New England Highway heading towards Crows Nest. We travelled this way last year with the vans and turned off at Cooyer for the disastrous stay in Pimpumbungee where we lost our awning.
Well, it turns out travelling with your house on your back (aka caravan) is quite useful. After last night’s luck in getting accommodation, tonight was not so good. We tried the Yarraman Caravan Park for a cabin but they had no vacancy. So then it was down to the Gardens Motel where there was one spare room! It is pretty basic but will do for one night. We then headed to Blackbutt for a little reminiscing on Greg’s part but we were too early for dinner there so came back to Yarraman.
We made plans to catch up with Neill and Jude via FaceTime at 8pm so headed to the pub in Yarraman for dinner beforehand. They were actually quite busy which we took as a good sign. We placed our order for entrees and mains and took our seats in the dining room, although most of the workers (obviously the ones taking all the motel rooms and caravan park cabins) were in the front bar. We did some trip planning and chatted until my hunger got the better of me and I realised we had been there for 45 minutes!! 5 minutes later I bailed up a lady who I think was the owner and asked about our meals. A further 10 minutes later (yes, a whole hour since we ordered) she brought our entrees saying she had had to cook them herself. Given where we were seated, we could actually hear the cook and he was not a happy camper. Not our problem though. Eventually we got our mains and thankfully we had pre warned Neill and Jude that we might be delayed. Eventually we got back to the motel, made a cup of tea, and had a lovely catch up with Neill and Jude ahead of Neill’s birthday tomorrow. We have celebrated so many birthdays together that it was a shame we’re not together for this one but it sounds like they are having a wonderful time.
Ewingar to Stanthorpe - Monday 11th July 2022
beautiful sunny morning in Ewingar greeted us, although the fog was down in the valley. We did comment that the weather had been much better this trip than our last couple of visits. A most enjoyable fry up for breakfast again (had to eat the last of the meat which Courtney had kindly bought for us), a lovely hot shower now possible since they bought a water jacket for their wood heater/cooker very recently, before we were packed and ready to head off. Goodbyes weren’t so bad as they are coming to visit us in November.
It was a much easier drive up the hill to Tenterfield than our usual caravan towing efforts so we arrived at lunchtime. The first two best Googled places for coffee were closed - it’s Monday, of course! - so we found the third and enjoyed their homemade goodies although the coffee still wasn’t great.
Then we started heading for Stanthorpe, which we passed through last year on our trip north. It is one of the coldest places in Queensland - in fact, the current temperatures are very similar to home!! Friends from home are here at the moment, staying in a caravan park so we thought we’d catch up with them. Turns out they are staying just out of town but had found a brewery to try for dinner tonight. We stopped in to see them on the way to Stanthorpe but they were out and about. Just to prove what a small world it is, we got talking to the caravan park manager who had moved here from Tassie! His wife was born in Kings Meadows and they both went to school in Launnie. This sort of thing happens in Tiny Tassie or Little Launnie, but not as far away as Stanthorpe!!
A little more research showed us that the Brewery Michael had found had cabins so we thought we’d stay there, which means I wouldn’t have to drive anywhere after dinner! By the time we arrived, there was only one cabin available due to a cancellation. It was meant to be!! We have a lovely little wooden cabin with a wood heater which makes it cosy and warm. You can’t miss we are in the Granite Belt as there are giant granite boulders everywhere, including these huge ones behind our cabin.
We spent a quiet afternoon in our cabin and had invited Karen and Michael to join us here for a drink before dinner. They arrived while Greg was in the shower and we caught up on their travels while we enjoyed a drink in the very warm cabin thanks to the super efficient wood heater! We walked over to the restaurant and it was very busy! Michael said he had tried to book and was told they were full - I booked when I checked in and I suspect they prioritised us because we are staying here. Michael and I tried some of their beers via a small tasting paddle. This came with the three course meal so we all chose our dishes and enjoyed them very much. We had a lot of laughs, great conversation and yummy food. It was a really good night so we are super appreciative that Michael suggested this place!!
Ewingar - Sunday 10th July 2022
nother cool morning (but we were cosy tucked up in bed so not complaining - especially when it’s not as cool as home). We had already planned a good fry up for breakfast which we sped up when we heard that assistance for tractor extraction was coming at 10am. So after our enjoyable breakfast we headed down the drive to wait for Ed. It was lovely in the sun so we didn’t mind waiting. When it became apparent Ed wasn’t coming quickly, Andrew and I got the chainsaws out and started removing the limbs from a fallen tree off a fence so we could have a fire later this afternoon. Ed finally arrived after elevenses and we went down to assess the tractor situation and came up with a plan after lunch. Ed is Andrew’s boss down at the farm and a very experienced tractor operator. He was also wisely cautious in considering the risks and our plan of attack. So we came up for a delicious lunch on the veranda in the sun and then headed back down. Lots of preparation which included digging, securing, tree removal for the path of dragging and then we were ready for the first pull. Andrew put on a helmet, and his seat belt and I was on duty to assess the tractors movement into the hole we had just dug. All went according to plan and we were all very reassured when the tractor was somewhat more vertical in the hole. Some more digging, air back into one of the tyres, and then part 2 and it was a success. Tractor was out and upright and nothing was harmed in the making of this video. However, it was far too late for a fire so we all brought up the respective tractors and enjoyed some drinks with my very relieved brother. Another amazing dinner cooked by Courtney and a great weekend.
Ewingar - Saturday 9th July 2022
great night’s sleep and we were amused when the locals were complaining about the cold. Apparently it got down to 4C last night!!
Breakfast, coffees and waiting for the sun to be high enough. Then we headed down the hill on the back of the tractor as apparently we had to rescue Andrew’s new tractor which he had parked rather precariously. Oh my goodness, how he didn’t tip it over I don’t know. After assessing the situation and the tools at hand, I didn’t feel confident that Andrew’s old tractor could hold this new tractor if it did fall over - as there was a 25m drop on the RHS. A dangerous situation. We took some photos and came back to the house so Andrew could call in reinforcements.
After lunch, we headed back out to check our campsite, which we have stayed at here a number of times usually with company. Andrew and I did some firewood cutting along the way and I got to check out his electric chainsaw - definitely a fan! It would be great in the caravan. After that bit of exertion we came back for a quiet afternoon of reading then another delicious dinner and a few more drinks.
Brisbane to Ewingar
Waking up in Queensland was such a good feeling! The sun was shining, it looked warm and the Pullman Hotel at Brisbane Airport is so well insulated you wouldn’t know there were planes outside your window! It was after midnight before we got here last night with flight delays for the plane getting to Launceston. Clearly we are out of practice with flying because that 2 1/2 flight seemed really long!!
Downstairs for a good breakfast and then I wandered over to the terminal to pick up our hire car, before bringing it back to the hotel. Upstairs to pack before checking out and heading south down the freeway. Brisbane traffic is also annoying so it took a lot of stop/start to clear Brisbane and Gold Coast traffic before we turned off at Ballina for lunch at our favourite fish and chips shop! It was very pleasant to sit outside and enjoy our lunch in T-shirts!
On the road again, driving through Lismore was very sad. So many houses are empty and most businesses have not yet reopened after the series of devastating floods earlier this year. Building after building is dead and empty and clearly the Council has better things to do than mow the nature strip because the vegetation is high.
Onto Casino for a very ordinary coffee before we turned the hire car off the Bruxner Highway and up into the hills towards Andrew and Courtney. The road has suffered since we were here last year with all the flooding rains and it’s pretty ordinary. But so nice to arrive to familiar surrounds and see these lovely people I call family.
A great evening catching up over wines and delicious foods. So nice to be back.
A mid winter mini escape!
The Spirit of Tasmania has been fully booked for months so there was no chance of getting a caravan holiday on the mainland this year. We tossed up ideas of where to go for a flying holiday and in the end, went for the easiest option of a direct flight to Brisbane, hiring a car to potter around, and hopefully enjoy some warmer weather than home.
