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We were out for about 8:30 and the first stop on the itinerary was Rainbow Beach, supposedly one of the prettiest sea-side towns in the region. Unfortunately for us, it was enveloped in grey skies with intermittent rain spoiling the potentially astounding views. It wasn't going to put Joe and myself off trying out our new purchase though, so after a quick pie (a bizarre collective craving, minus Joe the southerner, that we were able to satisfy at a petite local bakery) we headed to the beach with Wilson for what turned out to be a very elongated kick-a-bout session, with Jude even joining in at one point. From here, we drove down to Noosa/Noosa Heads, which is a rather affluent town built on an estuary. There are numerous islands housing residencies worth upwards of a million dollars, all complete with their own speedboats and private beaches, with every island connected by a network of bridges throughout. Even in spite of the rain, both Anne and I were in awe of the place and marked it down as a 'plan b' if things didn't quite work out in Melbourne. As the rain became more incessant, we'd decided to halt any activities for the rest of the day and so looked to find a place to hold up for the night. This place turned out to be the home of the local Sea Scouts and was ran by a rather peculiar chap called Chicko, who lived on site and who we later found out was a black belt in karate unless he just liked parading around in the uniform in a feeble attempt to stamp down authority on the passing twenty-something's who could potentially cause a racket into the night. Either way, we weren't planning on testing the potentially explosive man's patience and so despite having our first glass of wine at around 5pm, we were tucked up a mere five hours later.
We once again awoke to rain and as we'd planned on a sightseeing day, we decided to take a walk around the cliffs of Noosa. It proved to be rather eventful, with stunning beaches, striking cliff-tops and we even caught our first glimpse of a koala bear. After the brief expedition, we continued south in search of the Steve Irwin Highway. We were planning on visiting Australia Zoo the following day (weather permitting), which is now ran by the wife of the late, great Steve and so we decided on a free site on the highway as our residence for the evening. We arrived after a brief stop in the scenic Point Arkwright and immediately decided to take a wander through the local rainforest-type terrain. The facilities at the site were perhaps the worst we'd encountered yet and there were a few shifty looking vehicles parked up which added to the ominous atmosphere around the place. We ended the evening with a big pot of Jambalaya along with the obligatory card games and soon after we drifted off to the sounds of the incessant rain pounding against the roof of the van.
As we left the seediest rest area (as they're also known) in Queensland the following morning, we began to see cracks of blue skies working their way through the grey. However, it wasn't to be and we once again had to make do with the dull and wet weather which was now beginning to plague our journey. In the midst of all the downheartedness, we decided that Australia Zoo just wasn't to be and along with Fraser Island, The Whitsundays and many more, it fell victim to the adverse weather and was called off. We decided to head onto the Gold Coast, famous for its 300 days of sunshine every year, as we were definitely in need of a bit of sun, sea and sand. After acquiring some free mandarins from a chap during a petrol stop, we hunted down a McD's for a wifi break. It was here where we decided to revisit the idea of Australia Zoo after all and with us all in agreement, we turned back in the direction of the Steve Irwin Highway, this time in search of the Glasshouse Mountains where there was a cheap-ish campsite, going via Mt Ngungun which we decided was worth conquering for its spectacular views and generally just to get a bit of exercise! That evening saw the invention of the greatest card game known to man; Munopoly, which is essentially just a hybrid between Uno and Monopoly Deal, but once it was invented, there was no going back and we were all hooked (by all I mean Joe and myself, the girls grew tiresome of the apparent squabbling and victimisation it created, all of which was most definitely a combined creation of their imaginations).
Our faith paid off and the sun had returned by the morning. We sped off to Australia Zoo and despite being completely oblivious to this, it was actually a Bank Holiday due to it being Queen Elizabeth II's birthday (how is this not a Bank Holiday in the UK?). Therefore, there were additional surprises throughout the day for us, such as Joe meeting with Steve Irwin's wife and kids after competing in a competition to win a bed. This all came about as Joe had performed the best kangaroo impression in the crowd whilst we were being warmed up for the Crocodile Show (the heart-breaking thought is that Steve Irwin would have probably been performing had he still been alive, which probably would have also meant that we wouldn't have got a ticket in). After being picked out from the crowd, Joe then had to complete 3 minutes in a bed with a Burmese python (staff were on hand to ensure that no funny business occurred from either Joe or the snake). As Joe and the two other contestants all successfully completed the 3 minutes, it was then up to little Bob Irwin (Steve's son), to pick a name from the hat. Sadly, Joe didn't win (although we definitely dodged a logistical nightmare there; what the hell would we have done with a queen sized bed?). After hugging some koalas, feeding some 'roos and choking up whilst reading the memorials for Steve, we mooched about until late afternoon when it was time to hit the road. We stopped off in a nearby town to pick up the essentials (just wine and a few bits for dinner really) and ended up walking past a Domino's Pizza. Neither Anne nor I were overly fond of their work back in the UK, but we both suddenly developed a massive craving for pizza which we had to satisfy. Luckily, we thought rationally and opted against gorging on masses of dough, cheese and tomato sauce (plus toppings) there and then but it was definitely in the back of our minds for the next time we cross paths with a pizza house.
Whilst on our way to Cracie Park, which was our free campsite for the evening, Anne and I realised that we had been on the road for 7 months exactly. Therefore, this was a cause for celebration and ultimately resulted in all four of us drinking far too much wine than we should have that night and needless to say, the next morning was a rather lazy and haphazard affair considering the state of Anne and the J's heads (once again, I came out unscathed). Still, there was a unanimous decision that we should seek out something greasy and fulfilling for breakfast to brush away the cobwebs. This took us to Kilcoy, which claimed to be the winner of the 2001 'Friendliest Town Award'. We could only presume that the people of Kilcoy in 2001 were no longer residents as it truly was a shockingly awful place. The service at our cafe was disgraceful; not only were the counter staff and waitress rude, but some poor couple's fish and chips were just tossed onto our table with our own food and we had to pass them on. On top of that the locals seemed to sneer as they walked past. One even went as far as to raise his middle finger to us.* After a quick use of the facilities, we were out of there and on our way to Lake Wivenhoe. Despite it being pretty temperate water, given the fact that it was winter, Joe and I still decided to have a quick arse around in the lake; it is obligatory after all. However, what really made all of our day was when we headed to the toilet block before hitting the road again. As we were walking in, we were greeted by a wild koala which had scurried over (presumably to use the facilities?). He seemed to get stage fright as we snapped away on our cameras relentlessly and just hopped off back into the bush. Poor little b*****. From there, it was onto another free campsite for the night, this time in Fassifern, which was surrounded by scenic views in all directions. As the next stop was the tourist trap of Byron Bay, we'd decided on having the earliest start of the trip for the following morning, simply to get the majority of our driving out of the way before lunchtime so that we could all enjoy our afternoon in the town.
The next morning, we were up and about for 6:30 and proceeded to go about our usual morning rituals. The sun was shining once more and we all had a skip in our step ready for the day ahead. As I went for my typical morning/pre-drive toilet break, I was greeted by heaps of messages scribed on the wall from a young chap, mainly suggesting that he was looking for an encounter with other males under the age of 40 and then followed by the specific dates and times of when he would be present in the vicinity. Considering the amount of messages on there, he probably wasn't having too much of a hit rate so I couldn't help thinking that he should potentially try other sites and broaden his horizons. Or perhaps he did have other sites, as from the dates mentioned, I quickly calculated that he seemed to frequent this particular establishment every 10 days or so; could this toilet block be part of a 10 day rota, along with 9 other local 'hotspots'? I say hotspots as amidst this chaps notices there was also a solitary message from a husband and wife who were seeking a young bi-guy. For those who are interested, they can be found at the site every Saturday and Sunday night in a beige Ford Pick-Up Truck, which certainly seems like dedication to me.**
Hitting the road was a welcome notion considering what potentially could have happened around us the night before. In no time, we were climbing through the rainforest terrain of Mount Tambourine. A few picturesque photo's later and we were bombing down towards Byron Bay. The descent down the mountain was rather worrying as despite being in the lowest gear possible, I still had to almost floor the brakes at some points, creating an awful stench reminiscent of burning electrics. Thankfully, it dispersed within around half an hour and there didn't seem to be any permanent damage to the brakes.
By 11am, we had arrived in Byron Bay. We settled on Domino's for lunch to satiate the previous day's cravings and after a good few hours mucking around in the sea, we headed out to find a campsite for the night. We had settled on Broken Head, just south of the town and took full advantage of all the facilities. The next few days were to be mainly full driving days as both us and the J's had an itinerary to keep to and we both needed to be in Sydney within the next 5 days, whilst taking in the Blue Mountains along the way. It was going to be tough...
*Some people may protest that it was his index finger, not his middle finger and that he was merely raising it to scratch his head. To them, I say 'nonsense'.
**Please note that in no way am I condoning the behaviour of these people, nor am I on any form of commission for the blatant free advertising. Although that could have some mileage as a business idea...
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Shaun's Mum xx once again very enjoyable reading x