We’re currently having a quick break on our way up to Surfer’s Paradise on the Gold Coast to meet up with Elaine and celebrate Australia Day in true Aussie fashion - on the beach with many, many beers! And so we will soon be back in the Sunshine State of Queensland after almost two months in New South Wales.

Our shopping trip to Coffs Harbour had proved very successful (more later) and we arrived in Bundjalung National Park a couple of evenings ago in buoyant mood, and after navigating our way around the maze-like campsite we got our tent pitched in a little spot by the trees before heading out for a quick exploration of the area. The tent sites were tucked away slightly from the beach, so not quite what we had become used to, but there was a nice walkway along the front, and after ten days of cold showers, we were pleasantly surprised to find that we now had a heated option for the minimal cost of just 20c for two minutes of glorious hot water!! Eager not to pass up such an opportunity, we both treated ourselves to a deliciously long four-minute shower, before heading to our humble dwelling for food, beverage and relaxation.

We arose yesterday at the crack of dawn as we had a busy day ahead of us with much to do – not least of which was sorting out our ride, which was rapidly beginning to resemble a skip on wheels due to the new purchases of the last few days. Our bikes were easy enough as Bruce possesses the mother of all roof racks and we knew that after a bit of fiddling around they could be nestled nicely on top of the car, but the real challenge was our new monster tent!!

After trawling through more than a few camp shops in Coffs Harbour the day before, we had seen a couple of tents that probably would have been ok for our upcoming life on the farm, but nothing yet had inspired us. We walked into one last shop in our futile attempt to find something big enough to spend three solid months in, but cheap enough to be in our budget, and there she was in all her glory!! Barely fifteen minutes later and we were the proud new owners of a luxurious twelve-man tent complete with skylights, a sun lounge made entirely of mosquito netting and even drinks holders that clipped onto the inside of the walls!

Once we had exhausted every conceivable layout for the giant jigsaw that was now the boot of our car, we set out on our bikes to enjoy the weather and see what the area had to offer. Our first stop was just along the road, where we discovered lots of people racing around on the beach in their four-wheel drives, but unfortunately our bikes became pretty useless in the soft, dry sand so we set off on up the road again. We hadn’t got more than a couple of kilometres when we reached our next obstacle – an angry Emu and its babies crisscrossing the road in front of us! While the cars on the road had the fairly simple task of slowing down and waiting for them to cross before speeding away, we were faced with a slightly more complicated problem – namely that the Emus were capable of speeds much greater than our own peddle power could muster. However, after a brief battle of wills with these winged beasts of burden they soon realised who was in charge and we confidently rode on, and we only looked over our shoulder to ensure that they weren’t following us two, three or maybe even four times!

We rode on into the town and after a quick stop at the shop for gallons and gallons of cold liquid libation, we found a nice little picnic spot down by the harbour where we rested our weary souls while people learned to swim in the murky waters. When we had recovered sufficiently we continued our quest and found that there wasn’t much to see or do in the town, but there were a few tracks in and around the national park that we could explore on the bikes or on foot. After several hours and many sweaty kilometres later we returned to the campsite to shower and watch the sun setting over the beach, only for the cloud to canvas the sky. Undeterred, we enjoyed our ice cold beer watching the water until the mosquitoes could feast no more and then we retired to bed ready for the alcohol filled debauchery that today has promised.

We are now less than one hundred kilometres from Surfer’s Paradise, where we will be gaining an hour due to an impending time zone crossing as we change states, so in actual fact we will be at our destination approximately five minutes ago…