And we’re off again, it’s a good feeling driving along the highway with our little home on wheels behind us.
We did spend, (as mentioned in the last entry) 4 days on Bribie Island while we had our van repaired at the Majestic dealership in Caboolture. Thanks guys for a job well done and thanks also to CIL, the insurance company that we use. It was our first claim and was handled very professionally. We are now just waiting to have our accommodation costs reimbursed.
The unit where we stayed had everything we needed and was in a good location overlooking the body of water known as the Pumicestone Passage with views of the bridge which connects Bribie to the mainland .
We spent our time exploring, Opp shopping, beach walking, looking at show homes and a boat trip along the Pumicestone passage with lunch included. We saw turtles and dolphins but not the local pod of dugong as they had apparently moved closer to the ocean because they don’t like the higher levels of fresh water in the passage at the moment, due to all the recent rain fall.
We managed to catch up with friends who we had met on our travels 5 years ago when we did our loop around this beautiful country. We first met Garry and Joan in Kalgoorlie WA and then again twice along the Nullarbor, then Streaky Bay and Port Lincoln. We remembered that they were eventually going back to their home on Bribie. We looked them up on messenger and sent a quick message, getting an excited response back. We managed a quick catch up on the last afternoon of our island stay and had an enjoyable time reminiscing our adventures. With the assurance of keeping in touch we went our separate ways.
As we got back to Banora Point, while we were putting everything back into our newly repaired van we made the final decision to not sell it. Admittedly we didn’t have much of a response to our advertising but we were not prepared to drop the price on what we feel was more than fair for a great caravan, only three years old and still in good condition. There is a lot to like about this van and we were always in two minds about selling anyway.
We spent a day at Murwillumbah races and after just arriving we noticed that my brother, Chris and his wife Rosey were also there with a group of their friends. Not wanting to intrude we decided not to make ourselves known to them as they were with their friends. Later on though, the two Chris’s met while putting on bets and so after checking with the friends, brother Chris insisted we join them. We were made to feel very welcome by all and even managed to win on the last race. We all made a syndicate bet on this race which was organised by Kim. (Thanks Kim for your betting skills or maybe just luck!) and our winnings went part way to covering the cost of a lovely day.
We then decided to take off on this trip for about 4 weeks before the kids come back up the coast for half term. We had hoped to catch up with our friends Dennis and Christine as they start their annual migration up to warmer weather but unfortunately they are having their own problems with their van and have returned home to Geelong to sort things out.
We were going to travel out to Charleville, Cunnamulla and Quilpie with Dennis and Christine but we have now decided to go inland up towards Rockhampton instead. Chris wants to watch the second State of Origin at Fardooley’s bush camp, hopefully repeating a great occasion when we were there two years ago.
We left Banora Friday morning after saying our farewells to family the day before, and headed off. Our first stop was at the very small suburb of Bowenville, free camping behind the pub. We had planned to only stop one night but as we pulled into town we saw that the monthly “Pig on a Spit” at the pub was happening the next evening so not in any hurry we decided why not?
We had a good feed of roast pork and beef with all the veggies or salad. A very pleasant stay, mixing with and enjoying the company of locals and fellow travellers alike. The use of the facilities including power was a big bonus! Thank you Leanne and Wayne for you hospitality.
We left Bowenville on the Sunday morning and drove through Dalby and Chinchilla, stopping only at Chinchilla to take the photo of the giant watermelon before arriving at Miles. This part of Queensland is known for its farming and coal mining so we have seen lots of big machinery, trucks, trains and road trains along the way.
Now we are pulling out of Gil Weir at Miles where we were parked next to the water for two days. We have explored the town, spending a couple of hours at the interesting old museum, bush walked and had two great happy hours in the evenings with fellow travellers. Such an enjoyable way to pass our days. Yet again we tell ourselves how lucky we are. I nearly wrote reminded but I don’t think we need reminding. We do know!