8th - Dad has been gone 3 months now. It rained all night but there were no leaks, yeah. Sent Pete a message for his birthday.
The rain stopped at 8am so we packed up and said goodbye to Ray and Carol. Will catch up with them in WA next year.
Back to the eastern (surf) side of Bribie Island to check out the war items we spotted yesterday on our drive in Ray’s hot rod. Nice mural on the tower.
Pulled into Rotary Park to read the war history.
While we had a cuppa I rang Rebecca, slowly improving. Sent Wendy a text too.
We followed the path through the park. A lorikeet was enjoying the new banksia flowers.
Found the Submarine Loop Control Bunker.
The beach is suffering from erosion at the moment.
The path came out to the National Park entrance. There is an inland road or you can drive along the beach.
Headed back across the island then over the bridge back to the mainland. Onto the M1 and over Caboolture River. Turned off towards Scarborough for lunch and a look around. Found a nice spot at Scarborough Beach and went for a walk.
Scanned around from the rock wall we walked out onto. We can see the shipping container cranes at Brisbane Port. From here it looks like they are just floating in the ocean. The beach has red sand because of the very red cliffs on the other side.
We walked up the path to the top of the red cliffs. The big and small housing here.
Found a map showing the port and Green Island - how did that slip down here!
Looking across to Moreton Island.
The waves are crashing against the retaining walls - they built too close to the sea!
I had defrosted sausages so Steve cooked them on the BBQ in the shelter. Sent Annalise a text and photo of the tea towel her Mum, Lynda had given us - using it as a tablecloth as it is too nice as a tea towel.
Drove around to the Marina - you can see the Glass House Mountains in the distance.
Lots of parks by the water as we went around to the east side of the point.
Continued south to Margate. Nice stroll along the boardwalk with cute BBQ shelters along the way. Pete rang for a chat. He had a nice birthday.
We parked opposite Humpybong School - will have to find out the reason for that name. There is a creek behind my Great Grandparents place called Monkeybong that stands for dead sheep apparently as they were dying in the swampy area. Maybe the humpy’s have all died too.
Headed around to Helen & Phil’s in Clontarf. Had a great time catching up over afternoon tea. Helen had to pop out for a bit. Heavy rain fell for an hour. Helen got drenched in it. The storm left so we hopped in their car and went for a drive into Redcliffe - I always thought it was a big city as a lot of my ancestors are cremated or buried here.
Went for a wander and found the Bee Gees Way. I had read about it but forgot where it was. Unfortunately we walked in from the wrong end so my photos were back to front but I have tried to put them in the right order.
We walked along the foreshore - interesting sculpture near the jetty.
The war memorial is by the water.
Two walls list all the convicts and soldiers who landed here at Settlement Cove in 1824 from Sydney. They decided the Brisbane River was a better option so they moved there.
We ordered dinner at Yabbey Road Fish & Chips, based on the Beetles song. The tables were covered in tickets from different shows.
Next door is Cominos Arcade which is filled with old photos of the area. Humpybong means dead humpy (houses).
Back to Helen & Phil’s. Moved the camper into their driveway for the night.
9th - Joined Helen and Phil for breakfast. Mum had painted St Margaret’s Church in Cairns for Phil as he was the minister there. Greg and Tracy were married there and when Phil was the minister. Helen had bought this painting which is one of Mum’s painting friends, Lorraine’s. Had a lovely time chatting.
Said farewell then headed south across the bridge to Brighton - looking across Bramble Bay which is a part of Moreton Bay. Brisbane Port in the distance. Old bridge entrance on the Brighton side.
Onto the M1 again, over the Gateway Bridge - up we go and down the other side. Beep - there goes a few dollars for the toll.
Good drive to Beenleigh traffic wise. Pulled into the free camp park for a cuppa - a few ‘interesting’ characters are parked up here.
Back onto the M1 to Robina to meet up with Zelly. Steve worked with him at Chellingsworth when he was a mechanic. We arranged to meet up in the shopping centre near his unit. Unfortunately the huge complex doesn’t have any ‘big vehicle’ parking. There was one area but it had the bar across the top because of the undercover parking further on but we could have fitted into the open area. Instead we had to drive further down the road and eventually chose a spot just off the road. Walked back - wasn’t that far.
Found Zelly and had a wonderful time chatting over lunch and a couple of coffees.
Back to the truck then back up the M1 to North Tamborine. Went up the steep side this time as we weren’t towing the van. It was still a steep climb for the little motor in the truck but we got up no worries.
Quick view back over the Gold Coast as we climbed again through little villages to North Tamborine on Tamborine Mountain. Parked up out the front of Cathy and Rod’s place - we stayed here when we first left in 2014. There is a very strong wind blowing so Steve made sure there is any ‘branches’ ready to fall from the big gum trees. One had just fallen on the other side of the road.
Their son, Frazer, is home this time so we heard all about his travels - so adventurous. Tait is studying to be a Doctor and fits in his travels in between - amazing.
Their daughter Darcie lives nearby and she has a little girl, Indigo now. Cathy and I had a great time chatting about our family lines as her Dad was by Dad’s cousin.
Great evening chatting over dinner. When we walked out to the camper the whole place was covered in fog. Drops of water from the leaves are pitter-pattering on the roof.
10th - Wet cool morning with thick fog still at 8am. The sun came out then misty showers of rain.
Imran the peacock - lost his partner. Chook hatched duckling eggs and now they follow her around. Another chook has chicks but they are nearly ready to go it alone. Lots of fruit and vegetables growing well. Cathy had a hydroponics system set up but it needs fixing up so that’s the next project. Off and on showers all day.
Went for a walk to the start of Witches Falls walk (part of Tamborine National Park which was the first national park in Qld) but the track was still wet and slippery so we just walked around the block. Its a bit chilly up here!
Lovely afternoon chatting. Cathy and I exchanged stories about the loss of our parents. A few rumbles of thunder but no heavy rain.
11th - No fog this morning and the sky is a bit clearer. Chatted for a bit then headed off.
Down the range to the north-west to Tamborine township. Windy like the Gillies Range and in need of some road repairs. Someone has painted a piano onto a rock - tree got in my way.
RSL’s are setting up for Rememberance Day. Nice monument at Beaudesert.
Across the Logan River.
Stopped for a cuppa at Wyaralong Dam which has a big rowing centre. It was built to provide drinking water for the Scenic Rim area. Looking over the spillway you can see Flinders Peak in the distance.
There are lots of walking, riding trails here but they are closed at the moment. The Dam is very full - can’t quite make out if there is water going over the spill way but there are two pelicans there so it mustn’t be too much.
Drove back to the Sculpture Park. Love the detail in the fishing rod and reel.
Continued on then turned north towards Ipswich through farming country.
Turned off to Amberley - the RAAF Base where David worked at one stage.
Pulled into Walloon for lunch and filled up the water tanks at the Henry Lawson Park. In 1891 Henry Lawson wrote the poem ‘The Babies of Walloon’ so the park is in memory of those two girls who drowned. Very nicely presented and a lovely restful place to remember those we have lost.
Further up the road to Thagoona to see Dave & Petra. I hadn’t been able to get onto them on the phone to let them know we were nearby. Unfortunately they had an appointment to go to so we had a quick chat and arranged to come back and see them next week. Petra makes a variety of spirits so we left with a couple of bottles - yum.
Continued on to Wivenhoe Pocket. Dark grey sky ahead.
Into heavy rain at Fernvale - I think it rained like this the last time we called in. Over the Brisbane River into heavier rain. Pulled into their place and went in for a cuppa while the rain kept falling. Watched their dam fill up and their water tank overflow.
The recent house renovations look great. Leanne is very happy with how it all turned out. The fire pit area has been started so we will try that out one night when it isn’t raining!
When the rain stopped we moved the camper to the flat area on the bottom side of their drive but as Steve backed up I noticed he seemed to be sinking. Quickly I got him to drive out back onto the hard ground - will have to do some trench filling in now! Leanne’s son had his car parked on the concrete pad we parked on last time but we managed to back up onto it once they boys moved the car back a bit. Put the front of the truck up on Rick’s car ramps and we are all good.
When we opened up I noticed water on the floor beside the shower. We had that once before and I thought it was from the shower door but now we realised it is from the venting hose on the water tank. Praying it isn’t a leak in the water tank as Dan won’t be happy if it is. Steve tightening up the clamp on the pipe so we will see when we fill up with water again.
There was also some water by the door and we found water in the storage box by Steve’s chair and under the gas box area - will have to investigate that. At least we are finding these things out where we can deal with them.
Got our drinks and joined the others to chat the evening away.
More rain fell in the night.
12th - The sky is a bit clearer. We put up the canvas shades to protect the windows so we can leave them open as more rain is predicted. Glad we did as another big scud came through.
Cuppa with Leanne and Rick. I checked my emails etc and sent off one to see if any vacancies have come up for the Kimberley cruise next year. About a minute after I sent it I got a phone call from the company saying a room had just become vacant. It is the same date as Rebecca and Clive’s so we decided to take the room. Now to sort out travel insurance etc. I have a week to pay the deposit etc. A very big luxury for us but this is what Mum and Dad would want me to use their money on - they went on it in 2014 before we left Cairns and they loved it. I sent Rebecca a message that we are joining them - she was very excited and it helped her to have something else to aim for in her recovery from her hip operation.
After lunch Leanne and I went into Fernvale to do some food shopping. The sun is out here.
Dark clouds came over again about 4pm. Had our drinks and played Sequence.
13th - 17 degrees - got up and went walking with Leanne. Sunny but the wind is cold.
Leanne and Rick’s son, Travis, arrived with his family. Had a lovely lunch chatting.
The weather is clear so we got the fire place ready for drinks. It was so lovely we decided to stay out there and have dinner too.
Spotted two satellites. So lovely to be sitting outside again. It is quite cool - needed our flannelette shirts but the fire was nice. Who would think we would be sitting around a fire in November and feeling cold!
14th - Cool night - 14 degrees at 6am when Leanne & I went walking again. The sun is out so we warmed up quickly.
9am, we headed off with Leanne and Rick to Mt Glorious in the D’Aguilar National Park. Looking down Kipper Creek that flows into Wivenhoe Dam.
Drove into Billy’s Bay and Hay’s Landing - great spot but no camping allowed. View to dam area and Mt Flinders peak in the distance.
Turned onto the windy road up to Mt Glorious, lots of motorbikes and Fiat enthusiasts zooming around the corners. Lots of deaths happen on this road to which is sad. There are two day use areas on the way up - Red Cedar and White Cedar. We pulled into White Cedar so I could take a photo of the info.
Stopped at Elm Hous Cafe for a cuppa. It is a lovely building with a lot of different items the owners have collected over the years. We loved the front door. Wandered around outside admiring the house and the stone archways.
We drove further along to the National Park area. Followed the trail through the rainforest, listening to all the birds - I can hear Whip and Cat birds. We only had time for the short trail as we had booked lunch at a pub. Had to climb over a few trees - obviously the rangers haven’t done the walk for a while. I didn’t realise that ‘wait-a-while’ was down this way too.
Drove to the end of the road before it headed down the other side - nice view to Moreton Island and you can just see Brisbane Port too. Altitude 680m according to the sign.
Drove back down the road to Wivenhoe Outlook - seems to be the new name for a lookout. Even the one on the Gillies Range at home is now an Outlook. Lots of bell birds are singing. The view looks over Wivenhoe Dam.
Back down the range and onto the road heading back. Pulled into the Wivenhoe power station at Splityard Dam.
I walked up to the tower to read the information. Unfortunately only the wording is left - the map has faded.
Good view down to the station and the dam. You can see the cars going over the dam wall.
Stopped in Fernvale to check out the murals.
This tree was been planted on 24 Feb 2012 to celebrate the resilience of the Community following the floods of 2011.
Great map in the information centre.
The train line ran behind here which has now been made into a rail trail for bikes, horses and pedestrians.
Continued on to the Bottle Tree Hotel at Glamorgan Vale. Lots of hot rods visiting. Very popular spot, need to book any day of the week. Had a great lunch, very friendly staff.
Carried on towards Lowood. Nice view. Great grass tree.
Nice mural at Lowood. The rail trail continues here.
Driving alongside the Brisbane River - narrow section here so it all flooded in 2011. The flying foxes like it too.
Home for a cuppa. Drinks around the fire, spotting satellites. Think we saw the Space Station as it was very bright. Two possums went up the tree - Mum and baby - so cute.
Lots of frogs and crickets enjoying the recent rain. Cool but great for a fire.
15th - Clear sky. Walked with Leanne again - unfortunately Steve isn’t doing his walks! Cool but we quickly warmed up in the sunshine. Sorted cruise travel insurance etc. So glad I was here with Leanne to ask questions as they have done a few cruises etc.
Had lunch then packed up. Said farewell for now as they may come up to Woodgate in the new year for a visit.
Went to dump point at Fernvale but the plumber was there trying to work out why it was clogged - all those people that put thick wet ones in their toilets! Lucky we carry a spare cannister so we are fine for a few more days.
Continued on to Dinmore railway station to check out the parking area for us to leave the camper while we go into Brisbane with Leanne on Thursday. All good.
Back along the highway a bit then into Barellan Point to Graham and Sharon’s place beside the Brisbane River.
Graham had put his camper back on his truck so we could have the flat slab to park on. Rob and Sheura came up from Brisbane to see us as we missed them when they were up on the Tablelands.
There are free range Peacocks wandering around the neighbourhood - the males are always happy to show off their feathers to the couple of females that are about. Graham and Sharon are used to them of course - very noisy birds and they make a thump when they land on the roof.
Sharon and I walked down the high bank to the Brisbane River. It is amazing to see how high the water came up in the 2011 floods - up to their retaining wall. The big gum held strong as the water whirled around in the area behind it.
Graham mows down here. The tide is going out at the moment. There is an island in front of their place - the main river is on the other side.
Great afternoon chatting. It is also Graham and Sharon’s 46th wedding anniversary so more reason to celebrate.
The peacocks roosted in the tree beside the pool at night - Steve didn’t realise they could fly that far. They were not happy with us still chatting on into the night!
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