We drove to Cardwell and pulled into the rest area. It was busy on a public holiday but we found a park, had some lunch and took in the view of Hinchinbrook Island. We travelled on and had another stop just outside Cairns under the highway by the Mulgrave river and "The Pyramid". It was a great feeling to be back home and to top off the day we were able to pick up the keys to our house a day early and move straight back in - woohoo!
After our wonderful time at Cape Upstart we headed north again to Townsville to spend a few days with Papa Doc and Nanny. Stella had a play with the neighbours grandkids. We had a day at Reef HQ and Stella said hello to turtles, sharks, fish and Nemo! Zane got his nautical fix at the maritime museum and hiked Castle hill with Doc. We had a bbq lunch on The Strand with Sahra, Sienna and Ruby. It is a beautiful spot overlooking the sea towards Magnetic Island. We ate up Doc's Blueys' with Uncle Nicko and Auntie Gi and then went to their house for some garden inspiration and a strong coffee to see us on our way home to Cairns. We drove to Cardwell and pulled into the rest area. It was busy on a public holiday but we found a park, had some lunch and took in the view of Hinchinbrook Island. We travelled on and had another stop just outside Cairns under the highway by the Mulgrave river and "The Pyramid". It was a great feeling to be back home and to top off the day we were able to pick up the keys to our house a day early and move straight back in - woohoo! We were back in North QLD at one of our favourite destinations in the world - Cape Upstart. Zane took Janelle here for the first time in December 2006 and won her heart. Here we are nearly 10 years later with our little girl Stella, completing our Aussie east coast adventure, winding down and reflecting on the last 6 glorious months of life on the road.
Cape Upstart is a coastal headland inside a large bay and Ben's family hut and house are situated at "The Point" of the cape. With stunning views overlooking the bay, cool water and sandy coastline for the kids to play in and amazing fishing to be had, it was one of the highlights of our trip! We caught and ate mud crabs from the bay, jigged for squid off the rocks and witnessed a huge bait ball with marauding trevally, tuna, mackerel, sharks, birds and a huge bull shark in the middle eating the school of white bait. We had time to race the boat back to the hut, grab the kids and race back in time to witness the bait ball feeding frenzy. Ben also skilfully caught a whopping trevally just to top the action off. We ate salt n pepper squid, fresh mud crab and Papa Doc even caught a big Bluey off the rocks to continue his "Bluey King" tradition. The kids loved playing in the sun and sand and splashing around in the cold salt water. It was a wonderful 3 days and the best way to finish our trip! Let's do it again. Bargara BeachWe farewelled Nonno and Grandad and headed north towards Bargara Beach to visit Aunty Gab and Uncle Mick who were busy packing up in preparation for their Euro Trip! Stella was pumped to see Gubbsy and a little scared of Mick after her christmas memories when Mick pretended to get eaten by the lounge! We took Beans the dog for a walk and went to the beach. Gab cooked amazing pulled pork sliders with coleslaw and we had a great time revisiting the trip and exchanging stories. Good luck in Europe guys! MarlboroughWe hit the road and got as far as Marlborough before we pulled into the Marlborough pub for the night. It was a $5 camping fee with a hot shower and a lovely clear night under the stars. We had a great pub feed and a few drinks and read the signings of all the patrons over the years who had scribbled their names on the walls of fame. We met a couple of retired police officers from NSW who were on their way to Cape York for their annual fishing trip. They had been doing it every year for the past 30 years! Rocky to MackayAnother big day of driving saw us get to Rockhampton for a quick brunch in the park that was damaged from the cyclone and then onto Mackay for lunch with Paddy and Ali and the boys. It had been 5 months since we last called in at the beginning of our trip and it was great to share stories and see their garden come to life. Very inspired to get our veggie garden growing when we get back to Cairns. Bowen to Home HillFinally we drove on through to Bowen for a quick stop at the Big Mango as Stella was done with the car. It was 5pm and we had been on the road since 8am. This was one of our biggest days of driving but we really wanted to get to Home Hill to see the family. We finally arrived at 6pm to greet Sahra and Ben, Sienna and Ruby. Stella was in little girl heaven with her two big cousins to play with and fuss over her with all of their toys and arts and crafts. We had a great catch up with Sah and Ben and decided to head over to Cape Upstart as the weather looked good and Ben had a weekend free from the crushing. Papa Doc and Nanny would come over as would Aunty Gi so it was going to be a sweet welcome home to North QLD for us - woohoo!
Hello again Queensland you coastal paradise! We drove across the border and pulled into Kirra for a lunch session. We had been told about this uber-cool Hawaiin bar "Tupe Aloha" and in preparation for Janelle's 30th Luau (Hawaiian feast) we wanted ideas for the party. Step to it this place. Great food and cocktail menu and we sampled the delights for inspiration. The owner Rory was very friendly and helpful and his partner Cassie was a Cairns girl! We gathered some great ideas and knocked off some tacos and cocktails before heading to the beautiful clean, cool waters of Kirra beach. Janelle also found a vintage clothing store and bought a very stylish dress for her 30th; its all falling into place! Reluctantly leaving the beach we heading back onto the highway and towards Brisbane to catch up with some friends. Zane had dinner and drinks with Reggie and Jacob at their unit in Kangaroo point and Janelle caught up with Chaunnie and the kids in Morningside. From there we were off to the Sunshine Coast for a 3 day weekend at Dicky Beach with Nonno and Granddad. This was great as they hadn't seen us for 5 months and Stella was very happy to have her Grandparents to play with. We took some great photos beside the SS Dicky wreck on the beach and won 2 meat trays at the Surf Club, thanks to Neil and Robyn! We toured the Buderim Ginger factory which is actually very interesting and got an amazing recipe for spicy ginger BBQ sauce. Uncle Glen and Auntie Dan come for a day visit and cousins Finn and Taya had a blast playing with Stella at the park and on the beach. So good to see the family again.
Travelling from Yamba we called in at Nambucca heads for lunch with Judy and Tony. Judy was a family friend from Cairns and we had coffee by the river mouth before driving to their lovely home for lunch. We drove on to Byron Bay and the first Caravan Park was in town but had terrible options for our camper. We drove about 3 km from town and were rewarded with a beautiful camp site surrounded by gum trees and a pond with resident ducks for Stella to greet. Byron Bay was very cool as we expected! Buskers in the street, little hippie stalls and shops, an amazing health store "Santos" that Janelle had been excited to visit and of course the beach, lighthouse and walking tracks. We did a day trip into the mountains and cruised the main street of Nimbin. Got offered many types of weeds and cookies! Some interesting shops, funky smells and asthmatic patrons... We did the candle museum and Stella was excited about her pink doggy candle! On the drive back to Byron Bay we called into "the farmhouse" a locally owned organic farm with a bar and restaurant that sells local produce. Again inspiring us to get green thumbs on our return to Cairns.
We walked along Cape Byron to the lighthouse and enjoyed the most easterly views in Australia. We would love to come back to this area and spend a month surfing and fishing and being hippies. Arriving in Yamba we were very excited to get back to basics. We left the camper connected to the X-trail and agreed we would walk or ride only for the next few days. The campground was close to the breakwall and we could walk along the busy rockwall observing the fishing and boating. After seeing the locals catch a few bream Zane went and bought some bait and straight away had a feed of bream for dinner! Stella and Janelle played in the sand and we all went riding the bikes along the inlet pathways. Zane managed to catch and eat more fish over the next 2 days and even caught a flathead out of his kayak. We swam in the council saltwater pools by the sea and walked around the coastal lookouts. Yamba really is a beautiful little seaside town and we loved it. We found another great little cafe with a kids area out back and they served great coffee!
Hello again to our beautiful friends Bobby, Angie and family who welcomed us back to Forster. We had such an amazing time with these guys in January that we just had to call in on the return trip and say hi. Everyone was happy to see each other again (especially Stella) and it was great to exchange travel stories and have a laugh. It def does not feel like 4 months later! Good luck to Bridget and Curtis in their South American travels.
We returned to Sydney as we had fond memories of our time at the Narabeen Caravan Park and Janelle wanted to attend the Naturally Good Expo. We had a day trip into Blackwattle Bay and hung out at the Sydney Fish Markets where Zane sampled scampi, abalone, seaweed salad and a range of oysters! We then went to Colin Fassnidge's (MKR) hotel "Four in Hand" for a smashing pub feed.
Well its been a long time since blogging but we feel this amazing trip deserves an ending.
We left Port Fairy and had to get to Albury so Janelle could start work on the 20 April. She had scored a 2 week gig which came with accommodation in an apartment in the main street. We travelled along the Hamilton Highway to Ballarat and stopped for lunch. We strolled the streets of Ballarat looking at the old architecture buildings and Zane found a cool comic book store. The owner had an X-Men electric guitar signed by Stan Lee - ultimate nerd cred for life! We travelled onto Bendigo where it was pouring rain and we decided to stay the night in an apartment. The next day we continued on through Shepparton and stopped for lunch in Glenrowan where Ned Kelly was captured. We had a quick look at some of the memorabilia and had an average lunch from the bakery. We arrived Albury - Wodonga and were once again thrilled to cross over the NSW/VIC border! We had a small apartment in the main street of Albury. As Zane was reversing the trailer off the road for the first night, a bloke stopped to ask some questions and basically told us not to leave the camper and kayak on the street as it would not be there the next day! He offered us his storage shed up the road. We were skeptical at first but it turned out all good! For the next 2 weeks Janelle worked at a busy pharmacy counting Websters...Fun! Stella and Zane hung out in the library, local parks, visited Lavington and Wodonga and rode the bike around the Murray river. We had a wonderful ANZAC day parade in Albury for the 100th year memorial and a well attended dawn service at Monument Hill. We caught up with Bianca, who went to primary school with Janelle, and her husband James and had a lovely BBQ. Bianca also took us for a walk around Lake Hume. Our excitement had been mounting for this section of the trip. We had done a little research on where to stay and what to see and waited until after the Easter no vacancy period. Finally the day had come. We stayed in Geelong with our friends again. Blake and Zane took the 3 girls on a bike ride from Jan Juc Beach in Torquay along the cliffs to Bell's Beach where the Ripcord Pro was being held. We had a fun night playing Boggle and Harper who is 6 was outstanding! Very strong vocab. We set off the following day and visited Torquay first with a promise to return and check out the stores and shops. Our first stay was 3 nights in Anglesea. It was windy and rainy and we utilised the very busy camp kitchen and indoor movie night for kids. Zane had lunch with work mate Emma at the Surfclub. Emma was also doing the GOR during her holidays. We went to the Airies Inlet lighthouse and had views of Table rock. We spent the day in Torquay checking out surf shops, people surfing at the beach, had a picnic at the playground - Torquay is beautiful. We rode our bikes around the tracks in Anglesea and the caravan park put on a pancake breakfast. We packed our trailer to move on and saw that many others were doing the same. As it was the end of the school holidays it was mass exodus from the park. We had an amazing drive from Anglesea to Apollo Bay. Along winding roads by the edge of the cliffs overlooking the ocean. We stayed at Pisces Bi4 caravan park and had a great spot tucked in a corner overlooking the bay. The wind had dropped and the weather was kind. We set up the tarp and were very happy with our lot. We drove up to Mariners Lookout for spectacular views of the bay. We went out for dinner to the Brewhouse and had the best meals of the trip. Swordfish for Zane, Mexicana Parmagiana for Janelle and even Stella's nuggets and chips were great! Zane went to jetty to attempt to catch a squid - no luck. Wandered into the little markets and Zane went for a kayak off the beach and got smashed by waves getting out. We drove up to Mariners Lookout for spectacular views of the bay. The next day we drove into the hills and went to Forrest for a coffee at the brewery. Forest is big into Mountain biking and the microbrewery was cool. We drove on to Lorne - great little beachside town. Firstly we drove up to Erskine falls and had a little hike. We went to the Lorne sea baths and warmed ourselves in the hot pool and steam room. Stella was pretty tough going from the hot spa to the cold pool. On our last day in Apollo Bay we went to Maits Rest for a rainforest walk. There were amazing huge trees, strangler figs, moss and fungi. On the return home we went Koala spotting along a stretch of road and Stella saw her first koalas in the wild. We drove on from Apollo Bay towards the 12 Apostles and spent the afternoon from the lookouts down to the beach. It was really busy with tourists and Stella got mobbed by some Chinese grannies who took turns taking photos with her for about 10 minutes. It was pretty weird but kinda cute. We stayed the night in Port Campbell and ate pizza by the bay as the sun went down. The backpackers next to us stayed up drinking and singing until around 11pm when Zane had enough and politely yelled at them to go to sleep (in his green thermals). We got up early and drove back to the Apostles and there were much fewer people around. Zane went for a quick swim and we explored the cliffs and beaches. From there we visited Warnambool so Zane could check out the Maritime Village centre. It was great. They recreated the township and lighthouse and army battery. We drove onto Port Fairy and set up the camper at the Big4. We strolled around the Jetty and had a boat ride aboard The Mulloka which Stella commandeered! Port Fairy was a beautiful little seaside town. It would have been great to stay longer. Zane went for a paddle from the surf club into the marina and a huge aussie fur seal swam out from under the jetty, under the kayak and popped it's head up right beside the kayak. It then swam under and back to the jetty a few more times before floating in the shade of the jetty. Amazing experience! We walked along the jetties, up into the old army battery overlooking the marina entrance and along the beach combing for sea objects as the sun set. This would be our last day on the Great Ocean Road and it was a sweet way to end the trip.
|
Archives
September 2016
Zane, Janelle & StellaOur family adventures as we travel Oz Categories |