Day 12 – Noosa

‘Is that blue sky I can see?’ This was my first thought when I arose and peeked out from behind the blind on the bedroom window. Indeed it was! Did it last? Of course not! I will say, however, that although it did rain on and off today, the showers were lighter, briefer, and when it wasn’t raining it was generally sunny. So that was certainly an improvement on past days.

We had all decided last night to have a “free and easy” day today – no plans. Gaz and I decided, due to what seemed a possible window in the weather, to go for a walk up the boardwalk to Wilkinson Park at Point Perry, a headland just up from Coolum Beach where we are staying. It was actually quite warm and had wonderful views.

We watched a guy surfing for a while when we hit the top of the headland and then I turned around and couldn’t find Gaz. Eventually I saw that he had found a bench to do some exercises on … random Gaz, random. We started to stroll back and what do you think happened? It started to rain. This increased our pace somewhat, but it was a nice walk none the less.

After a quiet time reading (me) and yelling at the TV news (Gaz), I decided to whip up an omelette for lunch and use up some ingredients from the fridge before we move on tomorrow. Very tasty, even if I say so myself.

Gaz was keen to re-visit Noosa, somewhere we hadn’t been for about 15  years, so we jumped in the car and headed up the coast road – it wasn’t far and it was a pretty drive. In a stroke of luck we found a car park right in the Main Street of Noosa and took a stroll observing the rich and famous having their long lunches at the ritzy restaurants and cafes. We walked along the beach – it’s a lot more protected than Coolum so less waves and wind, and more people. Enjoying our leisurely stroll, and half way along the beach, I’m sure you’ve guessed what happened next. Yes, it started to rain. Once again we upped the pace and headed back to the car.

On the way back to Coolum we saw a lovely rainbow, and could actually see where it ended – right in the sea. Once home, Gaz took off for the TAB and grocery shopping while I headed for the laundromat across the road and wrangled what I hope will be the last laundry wash before we get home … which is only a week away. Boy the time goes fast.

It was decided to have an easy dinner tonight and so fish and chips it was. Gaz had purchased a surprise dessert – a block of Wagon Wheel chocolate – and I can tell you it does sort of taste like wagon wheels. I think I’d like to try the Iced Vo Vo version – it would be awesome I reckon.

After dinner, the euchre tournament re-commenced. Maz urged Gaz to think positive but to no avail – another rubber won by Kev and me – that’s 3 rubbers to 1 – but who’s counting hehe.

Day 11 – Ginger & Nuts

Same old, same old. Awoke to a cloudy sky, patchy rain, and a cool southerly wind. This is not my idea of a beach holiday! Oh well, can’t change the weather… considered a beach walk … then reconsidered and read my book instead.

As arranged last night we gathered again at 10:30am and headed off to Buderim to the Ginger Factory … except the Ginger Factory isn’t at Buderim anymore. It was there last time I visited in the early 80s! Anyway we went the scenic way and finally arrived at the Ginger Factory at Yandina (not that far away). Unfortunately no dogs were allowed in the grounds so Kev and Maz had to take turns minding Buddy outside. Maz and I did the Ginger Factory tour and loved learning all about the history, growing, and processing of ginger. We did have a taste plate afterwards but I hate ginger so that was a bit wasted on me.

Meanwhile Gaz and Kev had discovered the Nut Factory across the road so Maz and I had to check it out too. Who knew that macadamias were named after a guy called Macadam? Regardless of their naming history they are certainly very tasty. Purchases were made! Did I mention it was raining again?

Anyway, back at Coolum Gaz and I went to a café for lunch – yummy juice for me and coffee for Gaz. All that activity required a rest for a while and then a walk along the beach where Gaz considered going in for a swim. Not one other person was in the water which could have been a clue. They said the water temp was 23 degrees but the southerly wind and dark clouds did not really make a swim an inducing proposition. A valiant effort ensued, but alas, Gaz and his pink prawn swimmers only made it in about thigh deep. I paddled for a while as we walked back along the beach towards our cabin. Oh well, we tried.

We ran into Kev, Maz and Buddy on the way back and dinner plans were hatched.

So at 6:30pm we gathered at the BBQ area with our meat, veggie concoction, and spuds and whipped up a scrumptious dinner. Wine was drunk and good times were had. Afterwards the cards appeared and much to Gaz and Maz’s chagrin Kev and I continued on our winning way. That’s two rubbers to one (to the good guys). Rain held off tonight though it rained late this arvo. Fingers crossed for some sunny weather tomorrow.

Day 10 – Eumundi

Rain, rain, and more rain. That’s what we’ve had last night and today. Sometimes it’s showers, sometimes heavier, and not always constant but pretty consistent across the day. For that reason our activities were somewhat limited today. After a few false starts this morning, Gaz and I managed to have a short walk along the beach in between showers.

The views above were taken 10 min apart at around 7:30am

We caught up with Kev & Maz who agreed to a 10:30am start to head off to the famed Eumundi Markets (only on Wednesdays & Saturdays). It was only about a 20 min drive away and we were stunned to see the size of the markets. They were massive and there were cars everywhere. Maz managed to get a great park right out front and we split up to wander the markets, coming together about an hour and a half later. Luckily, although it had rained on and off, we found ourselves undercover at the required moments. We had all bought some stuff ranging from toys to jewellery; gardening accessories to fresh locally grown fruit.

After that successful enterprise, we agreed to move on to the Main Street of Eumundi where we found a fabulous café and all devoured a bowl of veggie soup with sour dough toast. We watched the rain start to fall again and then get heavier, but looked out from the relative safety and cover from under the awning. Maz and I took the opportunity to browse in this massive book shop while the boys had coffee, and then Gaz and I checked out a fabulous honey shop where a very passionate lady regaled us regarding the benefits of Manuka honey.

It was then back to Coolum Coles to stock up on groceries and then back to the cabin where I indulged in reading while Gaz went and got some more wine and finally found a tablecloth, something we have needed for picnics. I have finished The Lost Man by Jane Harper (4/5 stars) and am now half way through The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion – the third book in the Rosie trilogy. I loved the first two, and this one does not disappoint!

Kev and Maz arrived a bit after 6 – it was teaming with rain. Maz whipped up a really delicious meal with salmon, rice and vegies while I whipped up a baked rice custard to have with stewed apple for dessert. Yum yum! After dinner we brought out the cards and Rubber #2 of Euchre saw Kez and me victorious, making it one rubber all. My ‘sitting’ has led Gaz to declare I’m now in his famed ‘black book’. Lots of fun and laughs. Rain still falling outside.

Day 9 – Kingaroy to Coolum

We awoke this morning to full cloud cover and wet ground – it seems it had rained a bit overnight. Taking our time to pack up, we farewelled Kingaroy a bit after 9:30am and headed up the Bunya Highway, driving through Murgon, Goomeri, Kilkivan (we had a lot of fun with that … get it? Kill Kevin lol) and then finally arriving at Gympie a bit after 11. Stopping at the trusty Tourist Information Centre, we discovered that there was a café a short walk across a lovely park - Lake Alford Park. We waited for Kev & Maz who were a bit behind us, and I took the opportunity to hide a couple of rocks.

After Maz & Kev arrived we strolled across the park, grabbed some take away coffees, and then wandered back to enjoy a break in the park. There were a lot of birds around the lake in the park – ducks, swans, guinea fowl and even chooks! A nice place to stop. When we walked back I noticed one of the rocks was gone – ‘hope’ they liked it lol.

It was then a short drive really to get to Noosa where we decided to meet up for a picnic lunch. We had a bit of a heavy rain shower along the way and I thought the picnic may be in jeopardy, but thankfully the clouds parted long enough for us to enjoy some mottled sunshine over our picnic table at Noosa Marina. Amazingly, as we drove the last short leg to Coolum, the clouds and rain returned and it was lightly raining when we arrived at the Coolum Beach Caravan Park a little after 3pm and unpacked.

It continued to rain on and off all afternoon but Gaz and I managed to walk around a bit to get our bearings in between showers. Our cabin is about 100m from the short walkway to the beach in one direction and about 100m to the Coolum shops in the other direction. The surf club is 200m up the road so we are certainly centrally placed for the next four nights. Unfortunately it is forecast to rain the whole time we are here. Hopefully we will get some breaks in the weather – I’m dying to have a swim as the water temperature is 24.1 degrees. That’s warmer than the air temperature! Gaz & I had a night in tonight, feasting on leftovers for dinner. The cabin here is fabulous – the most spacious one yet. Looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

Day 8 – Kingaroy

After a busy few days and nights we all went to bed early last night and took our time this morning, finally gathering at about 10am to hit the sights of Kingaroy and surrounds. I had done some research on Trip Advisor and discovered there was a lookout- Mt Wooroolin, admittedly only the 9/12 thing to do, but hey, it was a place to start. As we approached Kev declared “that’s not a mountain’s bootlace” and it was certainly a bit tame. It did, however, provide a nice view over the town. It was also pretty windy and chilly.

Our next destination was the old trusty Tourist Information Centre where we spoke to a lovely lady who gave us some ideas for the rest of the day. So it was off for a 45 min drive to Moffatdale Ridge Winery near the Joh Bjelke-Petersen Dam … yep, we’re in Joh territory. There we found a nice little winery where we tasted some wines and ports. Gaz and Kev made some purchases and then we were back on the road.

Trip Advisor, who never lets me down, had suggested the Goomeri Bakery, a short 15 min drive away so we got to see another small town. We had a great lunch – pies, pizza, and pastries – while there was a 5 min shower of rain (the first we have really seen the whole trip). After lunch we walked up and down the Main Street – took about 10 minutes. There is a rail trail that passes through these small towns and we watched that run parallel to the highway as we headed back to Kingaroy, passing through a number of other small but bustling towns along the way.

Gaz and Kev decided that walking through the Art Gallery and Historic Museum would be something akin to being poked in the eye with a burnt stick, so they dropped Maz and me off and went to do ‘men’s business’. They didn’t know what they’re missing! We spent a pleasant hour or so wandering through both gallery and museum, learning lots about peanut farming along the way. We also had a chat with one of the volunteers who explained the medium sized bushes we had seen growing in paddocks this morning were probably plants called duboisia, which apparently thrive in the local red soil and are used in pharmaceuticals, particularly eye medications. See! The boys would not have discovered that without us. We did enjoy wandering around the museum as well – they had a very big range of peanut related and non-peanut related historical items. The staff there were also very friendly and welcoming.

I insisted on stopping at the famous Peanut Van which has apparently been there for 30 years or so. We tried some different flavoured peanuts but ended up just buying some peanut paste (that’s peanut butter for southerners). We were supposed to go to an Observatory tonight for some star and planet gazing but unfortunately the clouds put paid to that. Instead, we had a BBQ, ate in the cabin, and stayed warm! Followed up with an epic Euchre battle in which Gaz & Maz were victorious. Sitters!

Day 7 – Toowoomba, Dalby, Jimbour Homestead, Kingaroy

Another chilly start to the day this morning but at least the wind had died down so it warmed up nicely as the day progressed. It was a ‘move on’ day so we packed up in our now time honoured tradition – we are a well oiled machine. We also decided we couldn’t leave Toowoomba without checking out Toowoomba Botanic Gardens at Queens Park. They were stunning, even though it’s not really a great time of the year for gardens. Gaz and I had a stroll around for a while and then we hit the road for Dalby. I should also say we loved our accommodation at Toowoomba – I voted it best shower and best Wifi so far.

Being Mothers’ Day, we got to speak to my Mum, the kids, and grandkids which was really good. At Dalby we met up with Kev and Maz and strolled through a park there where I dropped a couple more painted rocks. Speaking of rocks, I have now had two posts where people have found my rocks and posted that on the NSW Rocks Facebook page. Good to see they are being enjoyed. We had a coffee in the Main Street, went for another stroll around town where we did some shopping, and then back in the car to head for Jimbour Homestead, about half an hour away.

Jimbour Homestead was fabulous. It is an historic home built in the 1870s with beautiful surrounding gardens, the gardens being open to the public. We took a picnic lunch and spent a lovely hour or two wandering around the grounds enjoying the beauty of the area and learning a bit about the history of the place. They also apparently have large events and concerts there. All in all a great spot to break the trip.

Our last little leg of about an hour to Kingaroy was uneventful, well, after we wove our way through a huge mob of cattle that were wandering the road. Our cabin is very comfortable, a bit bigger than the others have been and Maz anointed it with her own special Japanese Tea Ceremony, courtesy of the new tea set she received from Jordan this morning for Mother’s Day. We bought our dinner from the Supa IGA in town – it was a bit disappointing really but we were all a bit tired tonight and no one could be bothered to cook. We did try some flavoured Kingaroy peanuts that were pretty cool. An early night tonight.

Day 6 – Toowoomba

No need to get up early this morning so slept in til after 7, very comfy bed, very warm and snug so it was hard to get up at all. Although it was sunny it was blowing a gale outside so I thought it might be an idea to do some washing and hang it on the communal line at the caravan park. My initial reluctance to get out of bed was vindicated when I came back from hanging the washing at about 8:30 and said to Gary ‘it feels freezing out there’. I though I may have been exaggerating but my weather app confirmed that although the temp was 7.9 it did indeed ‘feel like’ 0.2! The wind continued all day and it was really cold ALL DAY.

With the domestic duties out of the way, Maz, Kev & I spent some time looking at our activities over the next few days – looking at opening hours, road conditions, distances etc. Gaz had found a pub TAB just ‘round the corner and was placing all his bets based on the tips he received last night. He even passed on the tip in the first race to the caravan park proprietor who promptly placed his bet. Thankfully that one got up, even though Gaz later discovered he had made a mistake and the horse he backed wasn’t really a tip after all. Oh, well, the luck of the Irish I guess.

In the meantime, we had all decided to rendezvous at Picnic Point Park where there is a fantastic café and lookout as well as a fabulous park. The scones Gaz and I shared were to die for – best ever … and that’s a big call. The cream was the best I had ever tasted. Although a bit chilly outside, we were rugged up and enjoyed the sunshine and the view. I took the opportunity to drop a few rocks as well … and for the first time I actually saw a little girl pick one up. She had been eyeing my progress as I hid the rocks and ran and picked the ‘be kind’ rock from inside the rotunda. I hope she enjoys it!

Maz and Kev went on to the Japanese Gardens which they said were amazing while Gaz and I went shopping for warmer jackets! After a quick lunch back at the cabin, Gaz, Kev & I walked the short distance to the pub to watch the mighty Newcastle Knights take on (and demolish) the Canterbury Bulldogs. The pub was packed and they had big screens everywhere – with both the footy and the races on so we were all covered. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any dart boards to continue training in my chosen sport…

Tonight we first went to a bar called The Moose where we met with Jordan and Angus and Jordan’s friend, Cindy, for a pre-dinner drink. It was then onto an awesome Turkish restaurant called Sofra where they had squeezed us in for an 8:15 sitting. It was worth the wait – great food, including some fantastic lamb cutlets that were to die for, great company and a really fun evening all ‘round. Home by 10:30 and in bed by 11 ready to move on again tomorrow.