We have escaped from Gympie sometimes along dirt tracks with bend after bend through Kin Kin to Noosa where we took refuge for a day whilst the traffic went through when they opened the Bruce Highway We were told there would be lots of delays because some of the trucks are HUGE and they space them out because of the numerous bridges over the swollen creeks. It was a mad rush as news came out that there was a way round if prepared to try it !! Not wishing to spend another night at McD's it was to decided to make a break for it..... We had to head for a place called Tin Can Bay then cut off for Kin Kin which is where police were letting "small" vehicles cross the bridges!! Large lorries etc. we're not allowed because of land slide and rock fall.

So off we went, found the Kin Kin road and started to follow it. Bearing in mind we had been told that it was not far, Aus distances, it took us ages...however,we followed it but got a shock when the Tarmac disappeared to become a dirt track that was very wet.. The girls were not at all happy with the roller coaster way we were travelling but us boys loved it. Luckily they did not realise the van was actually sliding all over the place ,!! when we saw a sign that warned of sharp, narrow bends on our slippery road, Dee was overheard to exclaim " Oh come on??". Sat nav kept repeating " make a 'u' turn when possible" No chance on the road we were on, we would have been off down into the depths of the forest. So, no choice but to press on the way we wrer going, even if it was the bumpiest road in the world !!! After a while it seemed we would not find a good road again and tempers were getting frayed but Paul just kept driving and hoping !!! Yippee, road at last and off we went to Noosa to at least get a shower and b ready for the trip to Brisbane the next day ......

We then travelled through Brisbane which was a culture shock after all our country drives! What a huge city with tunnels and bridges everywhere! We then made our way to Toowoomba which has a reputation for it's gardens as it has a slightly cooler climate They have more cultivated gardens here and lots of more recognisable flowers like roses and many of our summer annuals The Jacaranda trees are beautiful and we are staying here for 2 nights so as to fit in a visit to a Japanese garden , a winery and a craft market :-)))))

It has been raining on and off for days and they say it has been a record amount for February One location along the east coast had half of their usual winter rain in 15 minutes , no wonder everywhere is flooded, .....did it have to wait for us we had enough rain before we left home!

All of us are still very happy , motorhome life is fun :-) We are looking forward to a day just poodling around enjoying the breathtaking Lockyer Valley which actually looks very much like the South of England! Also it is a good excuse to relax before the next big drive to Sydney , most of which will be on the coastal road

Speak soon folks xxx