Blog - Page 4 of 7 - The Land Down Under

Into the country

Our new friends Keith and Hilary like there tours . Keith being a country boy at heart offered a trip into the past and to meet his cousin Ed

So with the thermometer on 32 and rising we set off up the Bruce highway to Childers . A pretty , sweet , farming town , famous for it fruit , nuts and sugar cane and sadly an arson attack on the Palace backpackers hotel which killed 15 young fruit pickers , mainly British in 2000. Now a museum, simply and beautifully done , only spoiled by the rumble of the big trucks up the high street outside

Keith then took us to his birth place and family farm at Dallarnil . The house no longer exists sadly

The new ranch owners have a sense of humour

With thunder clouds gathering in the distance , we met Cousin Ed ( not Eddie) in Biggenden , a local celebrity, tour guide , part time mineral stone collector and polisher

With some aboriginal artefacts to see that he had found in his garden

And many tales to tell over fish and chips ( and my slightly dodgy chicken/ avo melt )

Time was pressing and we followed lunch with Ed’s tour of his current family farm , however the combine harvester had a puncture and his daughter was down with a virus , so the farm house was quarantined and the wheat cutting display cancelled

Biggenden , however still had a few sites to see before we completed our loop , via Maryborough and back to the cool evening of Hervey Bay . Lady was in waiting for her evening walk before the thunder storms and rain struck

Hot weather has hit us hard . But my job as a dog walker has been fairly seriously hampered . Lady the little black pooch basically digs her feet in and heads for the shade ! So early morning and late evening trips are the future

But that doesn’t stop me . Lady may be hiding under the sofa

But I can head out into the bush and clamber through snake infested swamps

My own bridge making efforts. And it gets hotter tomorrow

Grass cutter

Today was dominated by the grass cutter . After plenty of rain , sun and warmth our grass was growing

Aussies all have petrol mowers , I’d broken ours on trying to start it . Snapping the string .

Good old Keith , an old country boy if 84 , diagnosed the problem, but it was unfixable.

Bless him , they then stuck his heavy mower and ours on his Ute , drove them to Bradman way, but made me cut the grass in 30 degree heat

Finally , we nearly came last in the quiz

Where’s the rainbow?

So Charlie was up early to catch the rip before the crowds and then chasing the big storm to Byron . We followed a few hours behind

The sun was out , it was hot and Noosa was packed . So I jumped out of the car with plenty of water and left the ladies to potter around town

The coastal trail into the Noosa Heads NP was as rammed as the surf , but numbers thinned as everyone wilted

Leaving the inland trails to me and the Gums

After seeing off the Hawlings , I persuaded Anita that Rainbow Beach was worth a visit . When the tarmac road was replaced by dirt track on my short cut & the beach was rainbowless , Anita was less than impressed. 4wd on the beach a few Km’s south the cliffs have a bit of colour in them !

Chasing the storm and the break

With the storm wrecking a weekend trip to Fraser Island and Charlie keen to to catch the point break at Noosa . We booked a cottage and hit the road

So with the big storm just south and moving further , we caught the wet end of it at the beach

Charlie along with hundreds of other surfers hit the surf , whilst we checked out Noosa Heads

So it was off to the cottage on the hill

And if the dog walker leaves the gate open , in the garden

Ella on the gate , lady on the veranda and Anita hiding inside

Ella and Charlie bring a storm

Ella and Charlie arrived Friday night bringing terrible rain and storms. The worst weather so far . Our phones continually receiving flood warnings .

Not really relevant for us , but as we set off for Saturday morning brunch the ducks were taking no precautions and heading for high ground

So we went West to Toogoom , good job we booked !

After a hearty feast ! Interesting muesli and yoghurt presented without the yoghurt

Depressions and troughs

Lots of bad weather sweeping in from the west

So , a day only for sheltering on the esplanade

Lots of troughs moving in from the west . Dumping 100mm on western Queensland, who need it and also NSW and Victoria hinterland who don’t.

Normally all drops on the coast not in land

Quiz night 2

Tuesday was really all about the Quiz . Our second attempt to win the first on the buzzer trivia at the Bayswater Hotel , so we had to get out and calm our nerves

Plan a failed as dogs aren’t allowed in Reservation as well as NP’s , so headed for the beach

A long and fairly empty stretch of beach west of Hervey Bay

Dogs are allowed off leash , reducing pre quiz stress

Spent a sunnier afternoon, relaxing at Point Vernon with Anita sketching

So the Dorset Devils went into the quiz , with fairly low expectations. Only hoping to beat the Humpbacks ( in photo)

We ended 13th , Anita was robbed in the activity section ( 15pts) . Fortunately the Humpbacks blew quite a few pts on failed wild guesses

Graham’s Sister

After Anita’s early Aqua Pilates we had arranged to meet Hilary and Keith for coffee

Hilary was English and the sister of Graham Edwards , our minister from Stockton who spoke at our wedding

She also grew up in London with Sarah , Charlie’s ( Ella’s husband ) mother

She is married to Keith , a local lad from the outback . Their speciality is outback tours . Well taking friends and family to small Aussie towns .

So we’re off on a trip later this week

After coffee , wandered round to the harbour with the dog

Lunch with the Vicar

Some of Australia is a little like living in the past . Sometimes mixing with the locals takes you back in time and today , church and then lunch at the vicarage ( well vicar’s cottage ) seemed a little “ old Australia “ . A classic lasagna , combined with chicken casserole followed by tinned fruit and ice cream- very sweet

Anyway my reward a 12k dog walk along the disused railway line into the bush

Doing our bit

Today we looked after some poor needy local man . Well , a young English doctor who needed help moving house . So we spent most of the day driving around the area picking up bits of furniture

He had no electricity in his new house for the weekend and tonsillitis, so I said we’d feed him

After a couple of drinks at the poshest ( only ) wine bar we picked him up . Poor lad was sitting in the dark, so we invited him for bnb and evening meal ( sadly he slept in on Sunday and missed b )

Busy Friday

Finishing our first week in Hervey Bay with a busy , sunny Friday . Early start with our new friend big Chris the local minister at his Bible study group . Always good to feel so young . And fixed me up with some work for Saturday ( every day is Saturday

With warm sunny weather, the dog needed walking

My last unexplored piece of Hervey Bay beach

Under the watchful eye of the natives – slightly scary

So finished with a drink , again with the locals waiting patiently

Dead turtle day

Is there such a thing as a dead turtle day . A take it easy day , lie in , few lengths of the outdoor pool ,

Relax on the beach till the sandflies started biting

Burrum Heads

Early start for us both . Anita joining the aqua aerobics and me taking the car to the garage for a warning light .

$70 to find the car has the wrong battery in it .Not enough power for the automatic stop/start – it the dog got a walk and I had a nice coffee

As the weather was mixed and Anita preparing for work in the evening, I decided to head up the coast to Burrum Hesds and the Burrum Coast NP

A 12k walk round the town and into the bush

The trail ended . To cut a long story short , I patched the walk together, back tracking and cutting across building areas . Shame it looked good , still 12k done

Anita’s Birthday

The day started with the birthday girl opening her prezzies, a few of which she had carried half way round the world. I had a spending spree in TK Maxx . No where near as good as UK

Fortunately the Surf shop had a towel swimming changing thing

So birthday brunch at the beach with a special guest

Fresh air and swimming before tonight’s pub quiz . Quick on the buzzer Trivia . Sadly most teams buzzed in before we’d started to read the questions. But though we came 19/24 we did win a dessert voucher

La Niña Monday

A wet and windy Monday leaves little exciting to put in a travel blog . But , it does rain in Australia. Evidently not as much here , as in NSW or in land . So as usual , for the sake of the blog and a few nice photos and a dog going crazy

And to a very blowy beach and distant Fraser Island

Sunday

So , some comments have suggested that we will get a dog on return to the UK . So a damp Sunday morning, followed by a bright afternoon after church bring and share lunch , with Anita exhausted after a busy Saturday left nothing better than a …

So here are some exciting photos from that trip

Well , not the best bay shots . But , the point is that , and it would take more than a travel blog , that a dog is for a short travel trip and not for life

Friendly mother and calf

Busy Saturday with an early start then an afternoon whale watch

A very early start , before 8am , but the roads were busy as everyone was of for the Sat am 5k and market at Urangan!

But it was sunny so we stretched our legs rather than lie in

After lunch hopped over to the harbour for the last afternoon boat ride with the French , Germans and a few other internationals

But the captain new where he was going and we had amazing fees of whales , especially a mother and calf and an accompanying female who came right up to the boat and played by us – hence a happy customer

But videos don’t work on my blog so you’ll have to take my word

Meeting Lady

On leaving Granville my main job was to book a Whale Watching tour for Friday pm as were expecting a handover in the housesit after tea that evening. Anita’s had been to arrange the handover

I successfully booked it for Friday am . A few mildly panicked emails later we rearranged it for Sat pm as no more room on Friday

As we had plenty of time it was off to Burrum Heads , brunch and I’d walk in the National Park whilst Anita did prep on her computer

Whilst relaxing over the local Burrum heads full English and cake , we found that our housesit owners were expecting us after lunch not tea ! Good job we checked and were not on Hervey Bay . Anyway Lady hadn’t had her daily 12k walk yet , so here we go again

Off to the prom and v long beach , with a much smaller than expected Lady . Cross between ‘Ted ‘ and a miniature poodle , but more energy than Ted – Judith knows what I mean

And plenty of walkways for those avoiding the sun , but no stray croc’s here

Coastal Granville

Day before was a relaxation in the house in prep for Anita’s Redcar teaching with a trip into the town and avoidance of most things Mary Poppins