Later that day...

We are now in Emerald...planning to seek our fortune on the gem fields. Wish us luck!
PS: I have tried, with no luck to change the posting times on this blog as they are not accurate. If anyone can tell me what to do, please do. Meanwhile, this means that sometimes it says the wrong day too. Quite often, in fact. Today is THURSDAY :)

Rockhampton

After a fantastic dolphin encounter in Tin Can Bay on Tuesday morning, we drove 440km trying to shake off the rain, but it was still with us when we arrived in Rockhampton. However, yesterday and today have been lovely and as we are sitting right on the tropic of Capricorn there is a certain muggy feeling going on. Rockhampton is lovely. (There is a country music radio station! Jealous?) Rosa and I went to the Art Gallery yesterday (while G and F had their own cultural experience at 'Crazy Clark's Discount Warehouse'!) and we had a great time at the Botanic Gardens where they have a small (free!) zoo. We were there alone in late afternoon and caught the koalas in a very animated state. Finn has named one 'Bryce' and we are going to pop in and see him on our way out this morning - even though we are pretty sure they will all be asleep. I have visited my first quilting shop in 'Rocky' but unfortunately the owner was so friendly and chatty I didn't have any time to look at fabric!
Time to go pack again - along with all the needs of 24/7 life, we are now travelling with, amongst other things,: a surfboard, a skimboard, a boogeyboard, a skateboard, a soccer ball, a diablo, 4 tennis raquets and balls, ping pong bats and balls, stacking cups, slinkies, skipping rope, bouncy balls, goggles and flippers, 2 kites, a slingshot, fishing line...

Leaving Rainbow Beach...

It rained last night - the car is waterproof, but the tent (adults in it) is not quite! There was a break in the weather and we packed our soggy selves up and we are off to Tin Can Bay. We are all very spotty due to many mossies. It's not all glamour, you see...

Rosa's news

Hi. I loved White Water World and we went on the Hydrocoaster and the Green Room. It was awesome. We saw a massive crab at Inskip Point. We have seen a possum, a kookaburra, a koala, a lizard - all in the wild! Thanks for your messages!

Finn's News

Hi every body. I have got a new surfboard for an early birthday present. I haven't been able to use it much because it is sometimes too cold and sometimes the surf isn't right. Hope you are all having a good time without us at home. We have been doing lots of exciting things. We are exactly half way through our trip. Seven weeks to go!

Pictorial Update...at last!

NB: Actually posted it on Friday, June 11th.

Phew! After 3 different internet sessions over three weeks, totalling about 5 hours (I knoooow), finally I have these loaded! But still you have to sit sideways for quite a few! (Roberrrrt? Thanks for the help with the time! How do I fix the pics?)
Anyway! Enjoy! (And I hope you don't need to call the chiropractor as a result!)



Three countries in three days is enough to knock us flat! We arrive in Brisbane.



The first of many animal encounters for Rosa.



Caboolture Urban Country Music Festival Main Concert - spot the hats!



Gordy at Bribie Island, near Caboolture.



The Urban Blaze Concert at the Caboolture Festival.



Kingaroy - if you can get the flavour on a chip you can also get it on a peanut, apparently!



Bunya National Park



Not swagmen and not a billabong...but a jolly Australian experience all the same. Jondaryan Woolsheds.



Rosa learns to spin at the Jondaryan Heritage Day.



Giraween National Park.



Still in Giraween.



And another Giraween picture.



Border QLD/NSW



Lunch with a friend in Casino, NSW



Camp at Lennox Head.



Lennox Head



Gaining confidence on the surfboard.



A suitable pose at Byron Bay.



A bit of madness at White Water World.



Gordy makes a friend x



Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?


She hunted it down and ate it! Beard Papa, Mt Gravatt. Thanks, Rosemary for the directions and to TomTom for taking us there - only 1km out of our way!



Lee Kernaghan and friend. Great seats, huh!



Smitten!



Is it a courgette?...is it an eggplant?..no! It's a jolly Big Pineapple.



Lakeside at Boreen Point.



Our camp at Boreen Point - just a few steps to the lake shore.



The gorgeous pub at Boreen Point.



Finn and a kookaburra get friendly...little did Finn know that his toast would be taken from his plate the very next day by one of these guys!



Eumundi Markets. Not a great pic - just a lovely town and a nice spot!


The Carlo Sandblow above Rainbow Beach. It is a 120m high sand dune. Hard to get the perspective on the camera!


Finn cooking Sunday lunch at Inskip point while the rest of us relax! The BEST ever toasted cheese sandwiches!


X marks our camping spot at Inskip Point.


Rosa in animal-lovers' heaven with the local dolphins at Tin Can Bay.


Rosa and 'Bryce' in Rockhampton.



Sometimes the thought of one more sensible family photo just puts us over the edge!


At Rubyvale. Can anybody guess why this photo was a must?!


Fossicking for our fortune at Rubyvale.


Mine tour in Rubyvale.


Lorikeet and friend.


The country bumpkins arrive in paradise!







Returning to the mainland from Daydream Island...fond farewells!



Last Saturday morning on Airlie Beach.


The marina at Townsville...what a lovely city :)

Fraser Coast

We are now in Rainbow Beach, after arriving here late yesterday afternoon through the most torrential rainstorm I have ever experienced. We stayed in a cabin last night, but today have moved out onto the National Park at Inskip Point for a couple of nights. We spent most of the week bush camping in a park at Boreen Point on the edge of a gentle lake about 10km north of Noosa. Last Sunday's concert was really so cool. Lee Kernaghan (I will go on as if everybody knows who I am talking about) really exceeded expectations. The show was so good - we had third row seats. AND THEN afterwards we got to meet him! Right place, right time. He was really lovely and chatted away to us and asked us about our trip and we told him we spend most of our Friday nights watching his DVD while eating fish and chips - to which he completely thrilled me by saying 'Fair dinkum?'. He was Australian of the Year in 2008, and I'm not surprised. I think it is fair to say all four of us have a little crush...

All the Australians think it's getting chilly...

...here on the Gold Coast, but us hardy Cantabrians (or at least 2 of us hardy Cantabrians) are spending a lot of time in the water. We spent yesterday at White Water World and had a ball...although my head is still spinning and my body still rocking! We are staying at Treasure Island Holiday Park. It is like no other camping ground we've ever stayed at. Quite the canvas resort, although there isn't any canvas that I can see! We're heading north again tomorrow - one night in Maroochydore for the Lee Kernaghan concert in Nambour, then we are heading bush again. We figure we have 5 weeks to get as far north as we can and then two to get back down before our last week here again. I would love to load some photos on (I know I keep saying that) and as soon as I find a good spot to do it I will!

If this trip was a tv guide...

...we'd be in 'Home and Away'. We have had three nights in Lennox Head, camping next to a tea-tree lake (the kids call it coca cola water) and over the road from the beach. We've bought a boogey board and a skim board and hired a surf board for a few hours too. It is dark here at 5.30 pm but light before 6am. Very nice for beach walks. We visited a Koala Rescue Centre yesterday - we know quite a lot about koalas now. That visit was followed by our first sighting of a koala in the wild which was thrilling! We are heading to Byron Bay for the day today, then through to Surfers for a few nights. I'd better go and help pack! x

Onward ho!

We have left Jondaryan after three nights. We enjoyed the Heritage festival yesterday which wasn't busy at all - being Friday the children had some special treatment and were even given some spinning lessons. We are stocking up in Toowoomba before heading into the Giroween National Park for a couple of nights.
I have lost my diary...boo hoo. I am mainly missing all the info I had written in the back - addreses, recipes, birthdays etc...so if I miss yours I apologise in advance! Or in arrears! OK...time's up again!
Karen - the diary may be at your place. I can't think where else, but don't think about sending it anywhere...I am making do :)

Australia: Where Country Singers are Loud and Proud and Pretty Good Looking Too!

Hello! It seems that internet opportunities are less frequent in rural Queensland than in Asia! The only kiosks I have found are $2 for ten minutes - hardly time to read the comments. But luck has found me in the Dalby library in the Darling Downs. With an hour for free, and an hour free. However, I cannot upload photos and have already spent 50 minutes doing jobs and replying to comments so will say what I can in the next 10!
Our arrival in Australia went smoothly, despite missing our Sydney - Brisbane connection and meaning instead of the 7am flight with breakfast we got a 9am with a piece of cake the kids didn't like - quite important at that stage. The children were amazing - they were absolutely exhausted but just kept trooping on. Not once in the whole trip have they ever complained about waiting at the airport, and there has been a lot of it. They never want to go on a plane again...but they'll get over that!
We have introduced a new member to our family. Tomtom is a GPS. But not only that he is a life saver, a marriage guidance counsellor, a children's entertainer, an economist and an alround good guy. We love him. He loves us. (Made that up) Can't wait to take him garage-saleing - woohooo!
Nostromo the Space Ship is another new friend who is proving his worth. We will add some pics of us and him next time.
The festival in Caboolture was really great. The council organise it and apart from entry to the big-name Saturday night concert it is all free, including buses to the concert. Caboolture is the home of Keith Urban so they set their standards pretty high as far as country music goes (I can hear some sniggering...NO! that is not a contradiction in terms!). We came away with a couple of new CDs. Nostromo has a good stereo (and DVD too). We had a good friendly motel about 500m from the action so all went really well there.
We spent our first night on the road in Kingaroy - and we nearly WERE on the road! Crikey! Trucks through the tent it felt like!
Yesterday we travelled through the Bunyah Nat Park - gorgeous - Rosa and Finn loved the wild wallabies.
Last night we pitched our tent by a river at the Jondaryan Woolsheds and will stay there tonight. Cheap ($11 for all) and atmospheric! Amazing birdlife and real camping - fires are allowed so of course we had to light one :)
The woolsheds are hosting a Historic Festival starting tomorrow (good timing us!) so we'll have a look at that before moving on.
Whew...sorry to be so rushed...but my time is up. Maybe next time will be just a photo catch up. Love to all x