At last the day had arrived, our odyssey was to begin! Well at least the first 50 km's!? There was plenty to do for us both that day before we could get the big rig on the road. So after a hot and muggy morning of final packing and cleanup it was time to hit the road (after one last countery at the duke....of course) As we headed along the Peak Downs Highway to make our appointment with the Bruce Highway and a turn to the south, we were watching a very nasty storm building rapidly to the south directly in our path! Well as it happens with all well laid plans we hit torrential rain at Bakers Creek. As our progress and that of everyone on the road in our area slowed to a crawl with near zero visibility we were wondering what we had got ourselves into towing a 24 foot caravan around Australia.

Now we would like to mention at this time that although we are having a bit of a laugh at our particular situation and the effects the wet season has had on our plans we do not want to detract from the severe situation that our fellow Queenslanders and Australians living in the badly flooded areas south of us have had to endure. With that we would like to wish all those affected the best with their recovery, rebuilding and future efforts.

As we mentioned we survived the storm and made it to our destination, Sarina Qld. Albeit only 50km down the road we were on our way. Our home away from home was provided by my uncle Warren Tramacchi. (A position he has been in before with our previous movement across state) Some minor repairs and adjustment as well as one major repair to our A/C unit filled our first few days. With these out of the way we had time for a look around.

So to pass the time, I got on the net, www.geocaching.com (Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPs devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. It is enjoyed by people of all ages, so go check out this website, fun for the whole family)to see if there were any caches to find in the Sarina area, there was 3, so we went out to find some treasure, and we were successful. One at Middle creek Dam, one on the Sarina Homebush road and one at Armstrong Beach. With these "treasures" (kids swapping rings, bracelets, & balloons for hippo finger puppet, toy pistol, unicorn and rooster) in and located and several trips to the local beaches and playgrounds, all of which are in good condition and well worth the trip, the weather and flooding had eased enough for us to continue our shaky start with a short run south to St Lawrence.

After a quick stop at Clairview for a "captain cook" we pulled up at St Lawrence Recreational Reserve, which is 5km off the Bruce Highway and only 1km west of the township of St Lawrence. This is a free stop where you can stay for up to a week. The only cost is $1 for hot water in the very neat and clean shower block.(a donation box is provided to help with the maintenance) The actual camp grounds are dirt but the BBQ areas are grass, there is a big undercover area that the kids loved, they rode their bikes and scooters for hours. This camping area has no power provided but generators can be used in certain areas between certain times.

The next day we were up early and on the road by 8am, heading to Yeppoon. Our first stop on the way was at the Caves, 23km North of Rockhampton. These caves are a unique system of above-ground caves in a limestone ridge. The girls seemed to enjoy this tour, especially the small suspension bridges and the "candle cave", and we were also both glad we decided to go. It is $25 per adult and children under 5 are free.

From here we headed to Coolwaters Caravan Park, Kinka Beach-Yeppoon. This park was great and had all the facilities that we all have come to expect these days of a holiday park. Between the jumping pillows, pool, playgrounds and bike/scooter riding the girls were on the go all day if we didn't pull them up for a rest. (So we could have one!) While in Yeppoon we tried to see Champions Brock museum but as it happens it was closed the only day we had to see it. (Probably had no Holden's running that day?!) Also now living in Yeppoon are good friends of ours, Bruce & Jenny McLean. We managed to have a cup of tea with Brucie and check out their new "humpy on the hill" After catching up with Bruce we made our way to the headland at Emu Park (10km from Coolwaters caravan park) to see the "singing ship". It is a memorial to Captain Cook. Built in 1980, it is a strange looking thing that works like an organ with lengths of pipe, activated by the wind, causing the ship to "sing". This is something a little different, but also nice and relaxing sitting around listening to sounds that the ship makes.

Because of our late departure we are about two weeks behind where we thought we would be by now, so we decided in the interest of keeping some dates we had on the Sunshine Coast, our next stop would be Hervey Bay. This meant we had to skip a few of the places we had marked to visit and head straight through. This was about 430km from Yeppoon, we hope not to have to do this distance often, makes it a long day towing a van. (Be easier with about another 500HP!) It is good to see green grass everywhere you look but we saw the low-lying areas of Rocky and the Bruce H/Way that have paid the price for it.

On our way out of Rocky we had a quick stop at ARB for some warranty on our Thule bike carrier. This little bit of gear has turned out to be a real winner. It allows us to carry our bikes on the a-frame of our van as well as on the rear of our wagon when required. All with about five seconds of work and no tools.

In Hervey Bay we were lucky enough to be able to "bludge" of some more rellies. We set up at my Uncle Kevin's house, a 5 acre block down a quiet road on the way to River Heads. Arriving so late, Kevin recommended we check out the The Boat Club in Urangan for a feed. This was a great place, worth a visit if you are looking for a place to go out for dinner. It has a fully supervised kids club, great food and good service.

In the morning we were treated to a beautiful south east sunrise with views of Fraser Island. We got going early and headed for the water front esplanade. There is a bike /walking path with exercise equipment, plenty of tables and chairs, and kid's playgrounds along the way. It runs all the way from Point Vernon to Urangan. Our kid's bike seats come in handy here as kids seem to lose interest after about 100m of pedalling on their own. Also on the esplanade near Pialba is the Wet Side water park, which is free and absolutely brilliant. Not a pool as such, but water squirting out of the ground slides sprays and a big bucket similar to the one on the Strand in Townsville. This park also has a wave ride for bigger kids with $5 to spare. We watched a few wipe outs before the girls were told they were too small to have a go and they took off back to the slides. The weather was a bit hit and miss with a few scuds interrupting some beautiful sunny parts. The kids had a great time.

After a bit more of a look around we are heading to Gympie today, pulling up at Fraser Road B & B, and looking forward to having a beer with some old friends, Cheers.