Fraser Island

'Maheno Wreck'

We spent the morning packing the car in preparation for our three nights on Fraser Island - this was quite a job because we were leaving the vans at Rainbow Beach and just taking the tent. We also needed sleeping gear, BBQ, clothes, recovery gear, food and kitchen utensils etc. After fueling up and buying Vehicle Permits we caught the Barge from Inskip Point around 12.30pm. The trip across only took about 15 mins and before long we were driving north up the Seventy Five Mile Beach. The 120km long Island is the world's largest sand island. For many years the island was exploited for it's valuable timber and mineral sands. Sand mining ceased in 1975 and logging did not stop until 1991 when it became part of the Great Sandy National Park. In 1993 native title was recognized and the island was listed as a World Heritage area. It was very windy and the waves were crashing in. We stopped at the Maheno wreck, a passenger liner that was blown ashore by a cyclone in 1935 while being towed to a Japanese scrap yard. A little further on were the Pinnacles which is a section of colored sand cliffs. The next stop was our camp ground 'Frasers at Cathedral Beach'. There were lots of warnings about dingoes especially around small children so we had to be vigilant. We set up camp and then went for a walk to a nearby sand blow. We cooked our BBQ dinner by torch light and spotted our first dingo slinking around the campsite looking for an easy feed.

Catching up with the Cooks

It was an ordinary kind of day - overcast and rain. After breakfast we took the kids down to the local park for a play. We went for a walk and bought some morning tea at the bakery. We farewelled Geoff and the girls around 12.30pm and headed to Rainbow Beach where we had planned to catch up with Kaya and Andy and the kids who were on a 6 week trip of Northern Queensland. We arrived at the Caravan Park around 2.30pm. The camp sites were large open sites. We set up and I drove into town to get some groceries for our three nights on Fraser Island. I went to the small supermarket in the main street which seemed to have a limited supply of fresh food. When I got back the Cooks had arrived and the kids were very pleased to have someone else to play with. After dinner we caught up with Kaya and Andy and discussed our plans for Fraser Island.

Wet n Wild

Happy 6th Birthday Cooper! Cooper's Birthday felt like it had been going on for sometime now having celebrated with family before we left. He had already received his main present just before leaving home which was a new bike. He had a couple of things to open - a new helmet and shirt. After doing most of the pack up we decided to take him up the shops so he could spend some of his birthday money he had also received before we left. Back to pick up the van and check out from Treasure Island we then headed to Wet n Wild water park. It wasn't too busy which was great except they tend to have only half the things open so you still end up waiting. It was sunny and 19 degrees but it got quite cool when you were wet and standing in the wind. The kids and I wore our wet suits. The kids had a little play at Bucaneer park and were then keen for some slides. After a couple of hours we were done which was good timing as it had clouded over and started to rain. We got changed and jumped back in the car and headed to Caloundra to visit Geoff, who used to work with Rick. We arrived at Geoff's place in the late afternoon and had fish and chips for dinner and bought a cake from Coles. Caitlin & Cooper enjoyed playing with the girls. We sang Happy Birthday and the kids watched a movie.

Sea World

What a big day. We woke up to more blue skies and sunshine. Caitlin & Cooper were very excited about their Dolphin Adventure which was a birthday present from their Nan & Pop. We arrived at Sea World at 9.30am checked in at guest services and only had a few minutes at Shark Bay before the kids had to get changed into their wetsuits and go to the meeting point. Fortunately for us Caitlin and Cooper were the only two booked in for this session so they had their own private show. They meet Shelley the dolphin trainer and the star of the show Zack the Bottle-nose Dolphin. The session involved them sitting on a pontoon in the water so when Zack came up to them they could reach out and pat him. Shelley involved the kids in getting Zack to perform lots of tricks and stunts. It was also very educational as she talked about the behavior and anatomy of these beautiful creatures. Rick and I watched from the sidelines. They had a great time and also received a photo and DVD each. From there we raced across to the 11.30 "Imagine Dolphin Show" and the other attractions including Shark Bay, the new penguin exhibit, and the Polar Bears. Caitlin and I booked to go on a behind the scenes tour of the Polar Bear exhibit which houses three bears. We learnt some interesting facts and got up close (the other side of the cage) to Nelson and Lia the only female. They have never bred polar bear cubs at Sea World and all the trainers were very excited about the prospect. Lia had been in her den for about 3 weeks but we were fortunate enough to see her come out for a snack of sardines, carrots and meatloaf. Polar bears are very adaptable and can cope with the very warm Queensland summers, they don't hibernate and weigh between 200 - 800 kg. The bears are rotated between 5 den areas and two outdoor areas including the exhibit area which has climate control features such as wind fans, sprinklers, waterfalls etc. The bears are mentally stimulated through toys, different scents, food etc. We met back with the boys at 3.00pm and decided to go across to Movie World for the 4.15pm stunt show. The queue was huge but they jammed everybody in. We headed back to Treasure Island for dinner - we were all exhausted. It had been a great day.

Movie World

After a quick breakfast, much to Cooper's disappointment (he was keen for pancakes) we headed 10 minutes up the road to Movie World. We arrived just before 10am (the opening time) and were pleased the kids got to go around a few rides without much queuing. There was however, a huge queue for the show which was apparently a two week special - a display of Monster Truck and freestyle Moto X riders. By 12.30 after the first show had finished the crowds and the queues were out of control. I think everybody had the same idea about using their 3 park pass before they expired on the 30th June. We decided to go back to the caravan park and maybe try and come back tomorrow afternoon. The kids had a swim then went to kids club at 3.00pm to paint plaster moulds. I did some grocery shopping and we had an early dinner before heading to the cinema to see the new Cars 2 movie. The kids loved it but were really tired.

The Sunshine State

I woke up to the sound of the Lorikeets in the nearby Banksia trees. We checked out the Red Rock beach which looked like it been hit by recent storms. The kids had a ride around and we left about 10.45am headed for the Gold Coast. We decided to stow one of the kids bikes in the van because they were copping a hard time on the rack rubbing against each other. We detoured 10km off the highway to check out Yamba. It is quite a chilled out town - what I imagined Byron Bay to be like before it became super popular. It was raining and quite cool. We went for a stroll up the street and had a bite to eat at one of the many cafes. Then it was another couple of hours in the car before we crossed the boarder into Queensland and headed for the Gold Coast and our three night stay at Treasure Island. We were excited to see blue skies and people wearing shorts and t-shirts (probably Victorians!) The park is a Big 4 so has all the extras - pools, jumping pillows, kids club etc. Rick set up while I took the kids to the pool. Marcel you will pleased to know we had our first BBQ for dinner.

Sunshine

I am having trouble working out how to upload photos onto the blog site from the IPad so sorry there has been no photos. Camp Elim was actually a school camp and there was loads of school kids around. We had some breakfast and the kids rode their bikes around while we packed up. It was Caitlin's turn to have a melt down this morning. It was shaping up to be a lovely day and the sun was shining. The Myall Lakes form the largest natural freshwater system in NSW and definitely somewhere we would like to come back and explore further. We drove to Cape Hawke and did the short walk up to the lookout where there is a 360 degree panorama of the confluence of lakes, ocean, forest and teeny towns. There were also some whales further out to sea but difficult to see without binoculars which we had left in the car. We drove on to Forster only a little further north and the kids had a play on the sand at the front beach. We spotted loads of dolphins only a few meters off-shore. We had a coffee at the nearby cafe - I liked the sign which said shoes optional! We continued on to Red Rocks. We arrived at the campsite around 5.30pm, set up and cooked a risotto for dinner.

Driving, driving, driving (driving us crazy!)

Happy Birthday Mum!

Our aim was to try and get somewhere close to Forster which was 7 hours of driving. We were a little slow getting away (9.45am) but it was hard to get out from under the doona. Although it was still cold at least the sun was out. Before heading out of Canberra we thought we should at least take in the view of Canberra from the 195m Telstra Tower on Black Mountain. We had great 360 degree views from the viewing platform which is at 66m. Caitlin & Cooper both enjoyed taking photos and pointing out the different landmarks. After a fuel stop we headed out of the city but knew we were in for a bad day when 20 minutes down the road Cooper asked that question "Are we there yet?". Knowing he wasn't well and dosed up on Redipred we tried our best to appease him but he drove us all crazy. We stopped for lunch at a service centre around 1.30pm about 1 hour south of Sydney and were pleasantly surprised at the change in temperature - off with the thermals. We got through the outskirts of Sydney without any traffic dramas and continued north on the Pacific Highway. When we got to Bulahdelah we headed east out to the Myall Lakes District. It was dark by this stage and we were trying to find a particular campground listed in the Camps 6 book. We ended up at Camp Elim 11 km south of Forster. It was 7.00pm by this stage and the kids were exhausted. They both crawled into their sleeping bags and went to sleep. It had been a big day and were feeling like we were taking things a little fast and missing all these great spots along the way. We had made a commitment to be at the Gold Coast - having purchased passes for the theme parks last year which expired at the end of the month were keen to reuse them. In hindsight perhaps this wasn't such a good idea.

Doctors orders

Flight Simulator

Waiting

I didn't sleep very well worrying about the kids but they woke up feeling a little better. I braved the showers (at least there is no cue to contend with camping in the middle of winter) but the kids flatly refused and I can't really blame them. We decided to go and visit Questacon - the National Science & Technology Centre. The kids really enjoyed the 'hands-on' and interactive exhibits and also very educational (that surely counts for today's schooling!). We watched a presentation on Natural Disasters, went on a roller coaster simulator (Cooper's favorite) and got scared in the earthquake room. After a few hours we had a bite to eat, walked back towards the car and took in the view of Lake Burley Griffin and the Captain Cook Memorial Jet. Then decided it was way too cold and jumped in the car. Cooper was running a temperature and I felt it was time to get him to a doctor. We rang a few medical centres but were unable to get an appointment but the receptionist told us to go to the 'Walk-in-Centre' at the hospital which is staffed by registered nurses. We were seen to almost straight away and were referred to a medical centre up the road where there is no appointment necessary. We knew this meant there would be a wait but three hours later we got to see the doctor who checked the kids over and sent us on our way with a script for antibiotics and redipred for Coops. The doctor asked if we were staying somewhere warm tonight, and when we told her we were in a caravan she suggested we keep heading north! So sorry Canberra I feel really bad we didn't get to take in all the sights but we promise we will be back in the warmer months. We went back to the van had a quick dinner and went to bed to get warm.

Cold Canberra

Cooper woke up bright as a button just before the 4.30am alarm. We were on the road just after 5 and fortunately the kids went back to sleep. We had a good run through the city - We couldn't believe the amount of traffic on the freeway already. We stopped at Euroa Service centre for a hot chocolate and toilet stop. The car was going well until a warning light for the performance chip came on which Rick decided to disable. We fueled up at Albury and pressed on till Holbrook where we got out, had a run around and clambered over the submarine. Another couple of hours in the car and Canberra was in our sights. It was rainy and cold. We arrived in Canberra about 2.30 and found the Exhibition Park Camp ground - powered site for $30 a night. We definitely needed power because the heater is staying on all night - it is freezing! We have all got our thermals on and boarded up the vents in the van to try and keep the warmth in. The kids have got awful coughs and Cooper's asthma has returned. I am contemplating taking them to a doctor tomorrow. They have also lost their appetites and it was Cooper's turn to vomit tonight after trying to get him to eat some dinner! One day maybe enough in Canberra and we will return in the summer time.

False start

The day had finally arrived. We were up early and started racing around. Caitlin & Cooper were keen to get going. Then Caitlin started feeling unwell so we decided to wait a bit to see how she was. She had a nap on the couch but woke shortly after and threw up all over herself. Cooper got upset because he thought we couldn't go around Australia anymore! After cleaning up Caitlin was still keen to head off. It was about 2.00pm when we pulled out the drive. First stop was mum and dads to drop off our other car. Now that it was getting so late Rick suggested we stay the night and head off early tomorrow. So after a bit of discussion it was decided that our first night would be in Cranbourne South - I wasn't going back home. So needless to say the alarm has been set for 4.30am and we are aiming for Canberra - all being well! Thanks for your hospitality mum & dad we will recommend this caravan park.

One more sleep!

It has been a busy couple of weeks getting the final bits and pieces organised and with lots of farewell dinners. At this stage we are still going to head off tomorrow but the 6.00am departure won't be happening. It is after 11pm and I still need to mop the floors and clean the toilets! This morning we had to farewell Madison and take her back to Guide Dogs. Fingers crossed she passes the initial testing and is accepted into the training program. 

Caitlin & Cooper are very excited although this morning Cooper was have second thoughts about leaving school and all his friends behind. Rick did well to get most of the pool tiling done. 

One week to go!

One week today we will hopefully be driving out the drive.  Caitlin & Cooper stayed with their grandparents over the weekend so we managed to get a fair bit done. Rick did some more tiling on the pool which looks fantastic.  We had a little family get together today - a combined going away and early celebration for Cooper's birthday which is on the 28th June. We met Tony & Bev over the weekend who are looking after our house while we are away. The roof of the car is packed the van is mostly packed apart from food and clothes. We will also have to say goodbye to Madison this week when she returns to Guide Dogs. We will miss her although Rick is a little over his power leads being chewed in half. By the way I am not allowed to take all the credit for the cake because Rick iced it!