North Coast NSW / Gold Coast Qld

Over the course of 4 weeks there were 3 trips north!

Trip 1 : I went up for Hollie's formal.  My beautiful niece!  How glamorous all the girls were!  Mary and I stayed at the Marriott Surfers Paradise as that is where the formal was being held.  We watched the Young and the Beautiful arrive on the red carpet and then we went to dinner at Benihana.  While the Marriott is holding its age well and still has the most amazing pool, Benihana was a little disappointing.  It seemed that they were more interested in cramming in as many as possible and getting the show over and done with, than providing attentive service that makes it a special night out.

Trip 2 : to the Gold Coast with a group of friends to see Joss Wheadon's version of "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Gold Coast Arts Centre (boo and hiss Coffs Harbour cinema... not classy enough to show it!).  We stayed at the Mecure at Carrara (the Raddison until recently).  Happy with the room but would not recommend eating there!  The movie was great!  Alphie had I had an extra couple of days at the Mantra in Kingscliff on the way home.  Our "room" was actually a suite, very well set up, very spacious, with a view over the smaller resort pool.  The main pool was beautiful and the location of the hotel was terrific access to lots of restaurants and walk paths.  The biggest disappointment was our visit to Fins, something I have had on my bucket list for a ling time.  The meal and the service were very much below par.  Give back you Good Food Hat!!!

Trip 3 : the Byron Bay Writers Festival.  We always have a bit of a panic after buying the tickets!  They are so expensive, even when you opt to take the risk and buy earlybird tickets.  And accommodation in trendy Byron Bay has a trendy pricy tag that makes it all a bit over the top.  We decided to look further afield for accommodation and stayed in Pottsville at a holdiay rental, Frangipani Fun.
http://www.stayz.com.au/accommodation/nsw/northern-rivers-byron-bay/pottsville/103860
This was great value.  Pottsville is a very appealing coastal village - but don't think we could live there ... the lure of the Pottsville Bakery would have a decided impact!  Wow!  great bread, great cakes and pastries, great pies, great coffee, great prices ... well worth a visit to Pottsville!
The Writers Festival turned out to be one of the better ones.  I particularly enjoyed Kerry O'Brien and Peter Fitzsimmons and, as always, Michael Robotham and Cate Kennedy. We had a wonderful dining experience at St Elmos (note : dining experience ... not jut dinner!) ... beautiful tapas and friendly attentive service.

Sydney, NSW, AU

We went to Sydney for Alphie's birthday (any excuse will do!).  Stayed at the Sebel Pier One.  An awesome location, right on the water and just about under the Harbour Bridge!

2013 Red Rock Calendar

THE OTHER SIDE OF RED ROCK

A flush of colour across the heath, 

a tapestry of small flowers, 

a myriad of blossoms

And Back Again

The There & Back Again Tour to FNQ

We are home! Sorry about the lack of postings! Once the word “Home” came into the conversation we were off and running! We actually did the drive from Cairns to Coffs in 3 days! And I even did some of the driving! We had planned to stay at Agnes Waters but decided that it as going to bee too cold to snorkel anyway (at least without a wetsuit and that is just tooo scary a visual!). And we had planned to stay at Poona near Hervey Bay ... And we had planned to stay at Byron Bay (but when we turned up they said there was a mistake in the caravan info book and they no longer took pets .... So it was home!

We left the lovely Malanda Caravan Park without spotting a tree kangaroo but having seen plenty of birdlife. We spent the first night in Bowen in a caravan park that was the icing on the cake as far as our attitude to caravan parks goes! But then the next night we stayed at a very small park at Bororen and wished “if only there could be more like this!”

So the decision has been made :

Caravanning is NOT FOR US! We will be taking it up to Byron Bay next weekend for the Writers Festival but then we are selling it. There are many and varied reasons (ask me if you are interested). We still want to travel so we are researching our options!

Red Rock Storm

We hope all our friends and neighbours in Red Rock are all right after that destructive storm. Fingers crossed that you are all safe and haven’t had much damage. Thoughts are with you. Thank you to Val who kindly looked in to check that all was ok in the Five Star Fibro and to Lesley who is sorting out a small problem caused by the inundation.

Brunswick Heads #2

The There & Back Again Tour to FNQ

“And so to sleep ... our first night in the caravan.”

HA! Is that what I said!!!

This caravan park is in a great location ... right beside the Brunswick River ... but also right beside the bridge over the Brunswick River. Trucks roared through the night.

The amenities block was excellent ... great ... because that is what we had a close up view of from our van site. The neighbouring van was a metre away from our awning. Privacy? A thing of the past. I know that “claustrophobia” is not the right phobia but it is on the right track ... there we were “on the wallaby” and I felt totally hemmed in.

No plug for the sink ... thanks Watson’s Caravans.

No gas in the gas bottle ... thanks Watson’s Caravans.

Power cord won’t plug into socket ... thanks Watson’s Caravan.

Awning arms jump out of track ... thanks Watson’s Caravans.

Cupboard locks that don’t work ... thanks Watson’s Caravans.

If you are getting an impression that I was/am not a “happy camper” ... you are right.

It was/is totally doing my head in.

As someone who is chronically smiling, I was/am the opposite end of the spectrum.

I have been told by other caravanners that it WILL get better.

So here’s a reason to keep your eye on this blog ...

WILL IT GET BETTER??????

It was not all negative at Brunswick Heads ...

• awesome tuna from the co-op;

• a great bicycle track from the campgrounds to the town;

• Alphie had a kayak ... but didn’t get to fish;

• beautiful old pub;

• happy dog;

• but, most especially, the wonderful kindness of strangers who helped us, advised us and told us “It WILL get better!”

PS ... Alphie needs to write his own comments ... he has his hopes up is a believer.

First Stop ~ Brunswick Heads

The There & Back Again Tour to FNQ

We hitched up and the wagon was ready to roll. Last minute light check ... and the left blinker wasn’t working. So really the first stop was Royal’s Garage at Corindi.

The drive to Brunswick Heads was uneventful and we had a drive-though spot (great for novices).

And so to sleep ... our first night in the caravan.

Scattering The Ashes

Scholarship Study Tour