Janet and Peter On Tour

We met Jean at Paradise Point, on the Gold Coast, had a picnic lunch on the water front and caught up with all the news. She had been staying at a friends place and was due to go home to Adelaide in a few days so the timing was good. After lunch we said our goodbyes and headed south along the Pacific Highway and over into NSW. We stayed in a quaint little town called Burringbar. Light rain fell for a while during the evening and early morning but we woke to the news that Brisbane had a terrible night and had flooded in places! It always seems to rain after we leave somewhere, which is great because they need the rain - but I think we overdid it!
The next day we went to Byron Bay (OMG busy!!) and drove up to "The Pass" where we parked and did a vigorous but scenic walk to the most easterly point of Australia and then continued up to the Lighthouse. We did a tour of the lighthouse which was so interesting and the views where incredible. The walk back was much quicker as it was mostly downhill and we made it back in time (just) before our two hour parking ticket expired!
The next three nights were spent at Mallanganee Memorial Park which is a free camp but we had power and water which meant we could catch up with our washing - yes I know - mundane, but it means a lot when traveling. There was another couple, Jo and Chris and a guy, Colin , who were staying at the park as well and we had Happy Hour with them each night and also visited the towns Art Exhibition together. Great new friends and another quiet, pretty town with visiting Wallabies and bird life. We all left on Monday morning in different directions.
The next three nights were spent with friends we had met on a cruise, 12 years ago. David and Sue have a beautiful property at Ashby just outside of Maclean. They showed us around their wonderful beaches where we saw a big pod of Dolphins, huge jelly fish and thousands of tiny crabs on the march. They also took us dancing with a group of their friends and out in their tinny where we saw waterfront mansions and had a picnic lunch at Iluka. Every morning we woke to wallabies at our door looking for a friendly pat and a bit of seed. Thank you so much Sue and David for a great stay and wonderful hospitality xx Our next stay was at a free camp at Jackadgery. We went for a long walk down the hill and along the river looking for platypus but to no avail. A thunder storm was brewing overhead so we eventually made our way back to the van and got back just before the heavens opened. The thunder and lightning was spectacular and we were happy the locals were finally getting some rain - and yes, it rained at David and Sues' as well. We told them it would rain after we left!
Driving through the spectacular Great Dividing Range, we stopped to look at Boundary Falls on our way to Glen Innes. We walked through the old town and went back the following morning to have another look before heading further south.
The next two nights were at Guyra on the banks of "Mother of Ducks" Nature Reserve. We arrived and set up camp and then it belted down with rain, so much so, that we had to move because we suddenly had a flowing river under our van! The water was 6 inches deep below us and flowing fast.
We moved to higher ground in another section of the park and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The town had their annual Christmas street parade the following day and people from all over the district came. They had stalls all along the street and Lions Club and Rotary Raffles. A band was playing and the weather was perfect. The local line dancers gave a show and all the kids and dogs were dressed up for Christmas.
This morning we left Guyra and came to Armidale where we are staying at the Showgrounds.

Picnic lunch with Jean at Paradise Point, Gold Coast

A free camp in Burringbar

Peter REALLY misses his motorbike

Pork Chops for tea at Mallanganee

An old garage and bowser in Mallanganee

Mother and baby near our van

Byron Bay

most easterly point of mainland

Cape Byron Lighthouse

Paraglider above the lighthouse

The wealthy have houses here

These were the homes for the four families that worked the lighthouse

Inside the Lighthouse

Surfers at Wategos Beach, Byron Bay

Woodburn, a lovely stop for a walk. On the way to Ashby

Dear friends Sue and David

They have a slice of Paradise

plenty of birdlife

a beautiful dam

heavenly

our fast footed friends

Sue and David showed us the sights including this pool where the kids jump from a looong way up!

a fisherman feeding the pelicans

thousands of little crabs - minus one :(

Captain David

What a life!!

Our camp at Jackadgery

under the bridge looking for platypus along the banks

the skies are getting darker!

This cow prefers to be fed than get his own dinner

bugger off!...he's feeding me

Thanks Pete xx

Driving over the Great Dividing Range. Very misty

Dirt road to Boundary Falls

Very nice

The previous nights rain made it seem very mystical

The Balancing Stone in our camp site

a beautiful view

This is our first campsite at Mother of Ducks until we got washed out.

I think that duck is mocking us!

Our new camp spot at Mother of Ducks - complete with Gymnasium

some of the beautiful scenery around Mother of Ducks, Gunya

Here comes the parade, led by bagpipes!

Santa arrives by the Fire Service

We walked around the golf course and found this golf club in the water

Steve, have you played here??

Captain Thunderbolts hideout cave

I see another bushranger

A big roomy cave to hide your stash

We are now in Armidale at the Showgrounds

Hilarious chooks fossicking around us, long rows of beautifully landscaped macadamia trees, historic walks, moving memorials, stunning scenery, pristine beaches and magnificent birdlife have been our experience since I last wrote but an absolute highlight was seeing the ancient Loggerhead Turtles make their way up the beach, dig an egg chamber with their back flippers and lay 100-130 eggs, then fill in the hole and pat it down before returning to the ocean. That was a very long sentence but it's hard to put it into words! The evening started at 7pm when we gathered at the Mon Repos Turtle Centre where we browsed all the displays, watched video presentations and a slide show narrated by one of the Rangers and waited to be called onto the beach once a turtle was sighted. The call came just after 8pm and we walked down to the beach in complete darkness. The first turtle had started to dig her nest but after a while she gave up, turned around and headed to the water. So we all followed, being careful to keep behind her so she wouldn't see us. Apparently she had stopped digging because she had come across some tree roots and knew it wouldn't be suitable for her eggs. This happens a fair bit and they call it "a turnback" If the turtle is not happy with anything she will go back to the sea and wait a few more hours or days before trying again. We were following her to the sea when we got the call that another turtle was making her way up the beach so the ranger and volunteer took us to her. We saw her dig, lay her eggs and secure the nest before following her back to the sea. While the Turtle is filling in the nest, the Rangers tag her or record the tag if she already has one, measure her and plot where the nest is. They have been tagging and recording the turtles since 1976. It started to rain during our time on the beach but we didn't take much notice because we were so enthralled with our encounters. We were two of the last visitors to leave the beach at about 11.30pm and it was then that we realised how drenched we were! The Rangers and volunteers are on the beach until 6am to do all the tagging etc and they are so dedicated to the preservation of these fascinating creatures. Turtles wont come onto the beach if they see lights or any sign of danger so this area put aside for them is very precious to their existence. We were very lucky to see so many in one night, sometimes people can wait for hours and not see one!
After our trip up to Burnett Heads we called back to Skye and Ash's for another two nights on the farm. Tonight we are near Brisbane at Pine Rivers Showgrounds and tomorrow we are off to see Jean on the Gold Coast.

Chooks can be so funny, especially when you make up stories

about what they are saying to each other

Our first night after leaving Skye and Ash's place

A walking tour of Maryborough

Sausage tree

The different flood levels in Maryborough

Me and my mate, Mary Poppins

We really loved Maryborough

Our camp at the Maryborough Showgrounds

Loggerhead Turtle on the Beach at Mon Repos

Ranger measuring this 50 year old mumma

100-130 eggs laid, now to pack them down

Another Mumma laying her eggs.

I wonder if she knows that only 1 in 1000 will survive?

Hard to see but we are absolutely drenched from the rain

On Bargara Beach the day after our Turtle Encounters

About to do the Bundaberg Rum Tour

Peter and his mate

There is a moving memorial to the 15 victims of the ChildersBackpacker Hostel Fire. The Palace was rebuilt to how it looked before the fire.

We went back through Maryborough to visit this old store

The store ran from 1871 to 1972

The original owners son ran the store until he was in his eighties

He never married so had no children to carry on the shop and when he retired he just shut the door and left everything as it was.

This was a single lane bridge we had to cross in Tiaro

It didn't help when a truck was coming the other way!!

We let the truck go first before we took a deep breath!

Our beautiful free camp at Kybong

lots of birdlife

wonderful scenery

Also, the home of Matilda from the 1982 Commonwealth Games

I'm sure she didn't have "Matilda Fuel" on her medal at the Games

Luscious eyelashes

Matilda overlooks the water

Back to Skye and Ash's and it's much greener than it was a week ago thanks to the rain but they suffered a few tree falls and the roof on the feed shed came off during the storms