Brawling in Brisbane: Tuesday, Wednesday 5, 6 June2012

A chilly but sunny day and off we go via bus to explore Brisbane city. First trip was to the Information Centre for advice and brochures, lovely helpful guides as usual at all the "I" Centres around Oz. We went to see an exhibition about the 2011 Queensland floods, finding out that other devastating floods have happened here before. Then to the Queensland Museum; rather disappointing we thought, compared to Museums in other capital cities. We then hopped on the City Cat which is a ferry system going up and down the Brisbane River, so we got a good gander at the sights of Brisbane from this. Lovely trip this was, but chilly! Well, it is winter here.

We got back to our Shangri-La tent site to find a huge caravan parked on one side of us and, they had connected a hose to the single tap that is meant to be a communal tap between us 2 powered sites. Dave said to the old grey nomad couple that they have cut off our water and they need to have a 2-way tap adaptor on their hose if they want to connect a hose to a communal tap, but they both got very aggressive and rude straight away and said they'd travelled a lot and have never needed one before. Well, as my family would know, I have a Very short fuse when meeting up with rude bullies, so this was like waving a red flag to me! We both told this rude old couple that we would be using the tap when we needed it and left it at that. The camp manager came over to me and tried to ask us to use a tap further up the caravan park but I told him No! We have a right to water on our site, and the caravan couple could easily go and buy a tap connector as this should be part of their travelling gear. He winced and said he agreed but they were being difficult. Too bad! Why should selfish old bullies be allowed to rule us?

Truce for the night. Possums came raiding around our campsites. I plotted revenge if I had any more trouble from selfish caravan cretins! Grrr!

Morning time, sunshine! Mr and Mrs Intrepid are going to eat their breakfast outside their tent, on their little camp chairs. We need water for our coffee and to wash up our breakfast dishes. The selfish caravan grey nomads appear to have gone, as their big 4WD has gone. I disconnect their horrid selfish tap-hogging hose to use water for ourselves and the horrible old woman with dyed brown hair comes out of the caravan yelling that we've broken their washing machine by cutting off their water, and we should have knocked on their door to ask to use the tap water.

I went truly ballistic and I think I became the Newmarket Caravan Park entertainment for the day as I yelled that they were Filthy Capitalist Pigs coming in with their one hundred thousand dollar vans and cars taking over communal facilities and not bothering to spend $10 on a simple tap connector and trying to bully us others, and …..!!!!!

I didn't use a single swear word, as I told myself last night not to do this, but other words did the job as I vented my spleen at the sanctimonious old biddy trying to boss me around. I remember yelling for all of Brisbane to hear that access to water is a human right as sanctioned by the United Nations Charter, and there was no way we would be knocking on Their door asking to use water, and she had no idea on how to use communal facilities. Her bullying creepy big husband came out yelling then; he used swear words calling us a couple of w***ers, and ordered us to go and use a tap elsewhere in the park. Of course I told him He could go and use another tap…which left him stumped, much to my surprise.

This horrid couple wisely disappeared back into their huge caravan after Dave showed them how we would simply disconnect their hose whenever we needed to use water and when the bullying old man told him to pull his head in, Dave just grinned and ducked his head down under his jacket.

What gets me about this tirade is the way there many grey nomads doing the travelling thing with everything including the kitchen sink etc. in their huge caravans pulled by big petrol guzzling 4wd vehicles, and they selfishly think they can take over community taps in tent land, this has happened before to us. I cannot stand the sanctimonious surprise of these mean greedy consumers when they are confronted with their behaviour. Maybe other campers back down to them, but not the Mighty Intrepids! Dave and I had a chat today and we have decided next time we come across caravan cretin creeps trying to cut off our water without using a tap adaptor, we won't say anything to them at the start, as they just don't get it…these are baby boomers who make old people look bad and selfish, and they are too full of their own power to think of other campers, as they have toilets and showers and dishwashers and stoves and everything else in their big homes on wheels.

We will simply disconnect their fricking selfish hose and then they can deal with us, as reasoning doesn't work with these creatures that are a disgrace to tourism!

Well, after the breakfast fracas, Dave and I went by train down to Robina on the Gold Coast to see my dear old Aunt Noreen who is in a nursing home there. Gee it was great to see her again and we spent a very happy day with her, showing her photos of the family on our laptop that we took down to show her, and we now have a good idea of her nursing home, an excellent one too.

We arrived back at the caravan park; my heart was in my stomach as I did not want to set eyes on the horrible caravan creeps next door. The camp manager met us at the gate and said he'd installed a dual tap fitting on our tap to make things better. What a sweetheart! I told him that this would stop World War 3 and we were being bullied and we really appreciated his help. Note the selfish caravan couple didn't go and buy the connector themselves….a pox be on them!

In the evening we had a really lovely meal at the communal camp kitchen and met a nice new couple who are camping on the other side of us; Kayleen and John, who are Ulysses motorcycle members and what a relief to see friendly caring people to camp with on one side at least! Plus the usual delightful array of young European tourists, French and Italian tonight. We were even given some real Italian Chianti to drink as we chatted away with them.

So we Mighty Intrepids must remember the world is mainly made of terrific people, it's just those selfish grey nomads in caravans who need to have a good look at themselves! Don't believe they are poor old pensioners; these people are living it up in their fancy consumer caravans and guzzling 4WD vehicles, milking Australia for all they can get!

Dave and I have decided to call our caravan cretin tap-hogging neighbours "the Unmentionables" for the rest of our stay in Brisbane, and they seem to be doing a good job of keeping out of our way too!

We finished off our night with a Skype session in our tent, calling up my brother John who is 57 today. It was great seeing a lot of family there as well, having a bit of a party in Perth. Made me feel much happier.