Townsville again

I am not sure what this flower is but it is quite lovely don't you think

It is starting to get hotter and more humid here now. I feel sorry for you all over in the west with your cold and rainy days but I think we need to move a little more South to where its a bit cooler. We arrived back here on Tuesday in time for happy hour and I'm sure that you aren't really interested in the mundane things we have been doing since them. The Jimny will have a service on Monday and I think we will probably move on to Emerald perhaps on Tuesday. Another couple have moved into the camp and she is a quilter so we have been having lots of fun with show and tell. She is able to do lots of sewing because they have plenty of Solar panels when not plugged into power. So when we get some more Solar Panels I may be able to get some sewing done also. It probably won't be before we get to Brisbane.

The props for the new Narnia Movie in Cleveland Point

We have to be in Rockhampton on the 28th Sept for the CMCA Rally and we have found a camp spot near 1770 for after the rally that we can stay in when the kids are there. We are now preparing to move on. So I will soon have some more exciting news to share with you. Yeh!! Only 3 months until we fly home for Christmas. But I'm not counting.

Our spread for Brunch

Talk again soon

Bororen Central Qld

Hello again, What a weekend we just had. We left Townsville at 6am on Thursday and drove 1200kms down the Bruce Highway for 12 1/2 hours with just stops for fuel and Lunch. We stayed in a motel at of all places Childers, home of the infamous Backpacker fires. After we checked in I had a most enjoyable shower it was utter bliss. To have continuous hot water and able to wash your hair without turning the taps off inbetween to conserve water. It is amazing how your priorities change when you are on the road. Childers is a quaint little town, consisting of a lot of historic buildings, and great hillside views. I would like to spend some time here when we aren't in such a hurry. Friday we gently cruised into Brisbane, or at least until we arrived at the Gateway Bridge. They are busy upgrading the Motorway and the GPS did a wobbly halfway across as it didn't have the new sections programmed in. However we managed to get across to Cleveland without any misshaps. We arrived at our son's house around 12pm. Some of the guests had already arrived the night before. We managed to check into our hotel around 2 and then left for a BBQ and to watch the youngest grandson play in his soccer match. Saturday we were driven across to the other side of Brisbane for the other grandson's soccer match. It was great to be able to watch them play for the first time. We all gathered at the local Thai Restaurant for the birthday celebrations on Saturday evening and a most enjoyable meal was enjoyed by all. Great food, great family and great friends you can' beat that combination. Sunday there was no rest for the wicked we were off to more feasting and celebrations. A lovely Brunch was enjoyed by us all at one of our son's friend's gorgeous house. Again what a spread, Bill's famous Baked Beans were made by the DIL (The recipe has been passed down thru the family), there were pancakes, bacon and eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes and muffins along with the champagne and Orange. We all vegged out in the afternoon too full to do much. Afterwards we drove to Cleveland Point where the new Narnia movie is being filmed. Took some happy snaps of the pirate ship which I will show you all next time I blog. After another pleasant evening with just the family and a good night's sleep we left Brisbane for the long trek back to Townsville. We met up with a couple of fellow motorhomers for a coffee at Gympie, it was lovely catching up with them as we probable won't see them for awhile. We did a slight detour into 1770 to see if we would be able to park the bus anywhere so that we can join the family on their holiday in Oct but no luck I am afraid. No Council parking and the 3 caravan Parks are unable to fit us in. We were hoping to get to Rockhampton today but it was getting dark so we pulled into the Bororen Motel for the night, Bororen is halfway between Brisbane and Mackay. Talk again soon

Sticky Date Pudding

Sticky Date Pudding Yummo

As we are busy packing and preparing for the 1300km drive tomorrow to Brisbane I thought I would reflect on the past week. Again there has been lots of happy hours and BBQs around the fire. Saturday night we prepared sweets for everyone so I opted for the old faithful sticky date pudding. I decided to put them in the muffin trays and I must say they turned out very well. They went down a real treat. I have been crocheting and patchworking whenever I find a free spot in my day and I have managed to complete a milk jug cover my first effort using the finer cotton and hook. The next one should be better.

My first effort at a Milk Jug cover

Yesterday I went to the movies. There is a Readings Cinema here in Townsville so I was able to use my rewards card. I chose to see "My Sister's Keeper" having previously read the book by Jodi Picoulett. I wasn't disappointed it was a real tear jerker. Not quite as dramatic as the book but still very well acted. I couldn't persuade Bill to come with me so I went alone. He did some minor repairs about the bus that long needed fixing. We also broke our chair which is under warranty but without a receipt we are unable to change it. So that too may have to be fixed or invest in a new one. I am looking forward to the trip tomorrow down to Brisbane. We estimate it will take us 2 days to arrive there. Maybe the first stop will be in Bundaberg, depends on how far we get. It will be great to catch up with the family from this side of Australia.

Parked up in Townsville

Talk again soon

Another week in Sunny Townsville Qld

The view of Townsville from Mt Stuart

I can't really believe that another week has gone by here in paradise. Last Saturday we drove over to Homehill about 103kms away for the local Craft Extravaganza in the Uniting Church hall. It was absolutely packed wall to wall of quilting shops, beading and every other craft you could think of!! It was very well represented. I managed to slip another bag pattern in my bag to go home (yes another bag pattern) I actually visited the stallholder's studio this week in Townsville very nice and a very talented lady. DH was quite happy at the fair as they were selling damper baked in camp ovens by fellow travellers so I was able to escape to browse the stalls in utter peace while havachat discussed the pros and cons of the damper making. Sunday we drove up Mt Stuart and we were amazed that there was a local BMX meet and the riders actually rode down the mountains on a really rugged track specially formulated next to the main road . Very Bizarre I am glad I didn't have to ride it. When we reached the top the view was amazing.

We were a lot higher than the other mountains and could see for miles. I wasn't very well during the week some virus that must have been around but we did manage to drive up into the Hervey Ranges where there is a lovely Tea Rooms where they sell the $50 coffee. Its the one made out of the beans that have been reconstituted by some sort of cat from Indonesia then cleaned up. It didn't sound very exciting but judging by the comments in the book it must have been quite enjoyable.

We cooked up baked apples around the campfire on Thursday night they went down a treat especially with cream and icecream. Hey it was light icecream give me a break. I only allow myself chocolate one day a week and we walk every morning around the property.

The Brolgas

Some of the other guests on the property who join us on our walk

There is alot of birdlife around the area every night we have the curlews and during the day there are lots of mudlarks, Ibis and Brolgas. There are one or two kangaroos also. e will be here for at least another week. On Thursday we are driving the Jimny down to Brisbane for a family event and we are looking forward to catching up with the family for a few days.

Talk again soon

Townsville North Qld

The Waterfall on The Strand
Townsville!!!!!!-now what can I say about Townsville. It is a very big city with lots of shopping centres. I managed to escape for a day with some other ladies for some much needed retail therapy. Townsville is surrounded by mountains and it even has a hill right smack in the middle of town called Castle Hill, lots of joggers and walkers climb it everyday. It is about 3,000ft high. Along the foreshore is a lovely area called The Strand with a lovely walkway and lots of water activities for families. We have been here just over a week, and are camped on private property with about 7 other motorhomers.

View of the town from Castle Hill

Every evening around 4 o'clock we gather around for happy hour followed by Camp oven cooking and BBq's and lots of camaraderie. We are all up early and walk around the property some are faster than others.

Magnetic Island in the distance

Last weekend we drove up to Paluma and into the spectacular wet tropics rainforrest. We feasted on Hot homemade scones at McClelland's Lookout in one of the lovely cafes in the village, gazing out over panoramic scenery.

The view from McCelland's Lookout

We drove up the mountain which is very steep and I was starting to get a bit dizzy going round all the bends. I didn't dare look over the side. We drove back through Hidden Valley and again the scenery changed into more farmland. We even saw some cattle who looked like they were having a stop work meeting in the centre of the road. We drove on to Ingham and cane fields was the order of the day. We stopped at the Fresh Mango far and succumbed to a tropical fruit icecream, mine was coconut and Dh had ginger. Yummee!!!!!

Talk again soon