Second Week Wobbl(i)es

This week we have been exploring the Eyre Peninsula. Due to our sorely depleted bank balance we are attempting to free camp/find cheaper options (aka freeload from family) as much as possible for the next 12 months. Before we left Mike spent every waking moment in the shed tinkering with the van in an attempt to make it livable for the next 12 months for ‘one disappointed mother who really wanted to upgrade to a better caravan that we could actually fit comfortably in’ and her family. So the past week has been a good chance to check a few things out and see how it (ahem….me) stands up to this free camping lifestyle Mike loves so much. 

Let’s see ….so far the battery in the camper has died a slow death, meaning we are on limited power supply…we have been managing fine thanks to our lovely electronic/ electrician neighbour who has been supplying us with led lights and low voltage options. Oh and the new whiz bang hot water system that Mike strongly advocated was just as good as a shower in a caravan has also failed….YIPPEE so far I am LOVING this free camping never having a hot shower thing!!!! Sponge baths take on a totally different connotation when you are attempting one with 3 kiddies in tow!

my studious Scarlett

Aside from my complete lack of ‘sucking it up’ on my behalf, we have had some lovely days chilling with the kids. Scarlett, my super excited studious little chick, has been busting to start her distance ed school work,  so instead of having two weeks off we have been getting ourselves familiar with their distance ed modules. Surprisingly we have got off to a good start with both Oscar and Scarlett enjoying their first week of schooling mumma style. I am not enjoying all the reading that I need to do the night before to prepare myself but I am sure once I get the swing of it we will be fine! Oscar is not to happy that I make them say “Good Morning Mrs Watson” in a sing song voice as I enter the camper to commence classes, Scarli however loves how ‘funny’ her mum is….I secretly giggle every time she sings so enthusiastically. Lola likes to sing out ‘Morning Mrs Farty Bum’ and run away, the cheeky minx!

We had been staying in a campsite with a few other travellers, mostly grey nomads and I have enjoyed having a natter with the old ducks over an afternoon cuppa, not that I can get much in as they all have a habit of speaking over themselves…(just like a bunch of other dutch aunties I know!!!) Mike has been testing out his 4 wheel driving skills in the sand dunes around where we have been staying and I have been laughing as I watch how he digs himself out of every sand bog! The kids have loved sliding down the dunes and were continually attempting the bigger dunes to throw themselves off.

Lola playing with her rock and shell collection

Lola beating me at Stacko

Oscar at the top of a look out

the cubby house the children made

sunrise from Port Lincoln National Park

We then headed to Port Lincoln to set up in the national park and wait for the Easter bunny to find us.  We were lucky enough to set up near a lovely family with kids similar ages and an older couple. We had a great five nights in the national park, playing lots of board games, walking the bush trails, watching everyone else fish, swimming in the ocean and generally chilling out. The Easter bunny still managed to find us and over supply us with lots of chocolate goodies. We cooked up a big batch of pancakes and had a great morning sitting around scoffing pancakes with our new friends.  Today we headed for streaky bay and after a very long day in the car ended up in Ceduna, we have washed clothes (and ourselves, I can tell you now that the shower I had tonight totally kicks arse over the pitiful drip system Mike calls a shower) and restocked the food cupboards in preparation for the start of the nullabor tomorrow.  

THE WATSON'S HAVE RETURNED TO WANDERING!

Well the wandering Watson's are back wandering the country side. I can’t believe that it’s been three years since we left on our last journey, but here we are again a week into the latest adventure. This time it feels less ‘holidayee’ more like an experience for our family. The excitement is still there but the feeling of unknown and anticipation has been replaced with the knowledge of what is ahead of us.

Five weeks ago in a mild panic I wrote this………

“So apparently in 4 short weeks we are leaving on a trip around Australia…..4 weeks, the house isn’t packed, the house isn’t rented out yet, the education of the children isn’t organised, I do however have beaut new hiking shoes, new bras and undies to hang on the caravan park clothes lines, the kids have new coats, new runners, new jumpers, I have ‘appropriate’ camping clothes, a  new low power kettle option and a kindle to read a million books on. I have transferred all my cd’s to my computer and purchased an iPad to use for ‘educational purposes’ (aka facebook)…. oh and apparently we will get as far as Beaufort before we need to start looking for work as we have spent all our savings preparing for the trip. Despite all this, in four short weeks we will be departing on the next wandering Watsons adventure, broke, slightly shit scared, not emotionally prepared for close confinement and not sure if the feeling in my gut is excitement or a panic attack!!!!

In amongst all this preparation and packing, the thing that is pressing on my mind the most is, should I buy new doona covers for the camper to make it fresh and ‘holidayee’?????………… yep that’s the most important thing floating around up in my brain keeping me awake at night. Not how much do I really like baked beans considering we have no income to buy food, not can I make enough money from busking to support a family of five?, but what can I decorate……hehe.”

Now five weeks later we are a week into our ‘experience’ we were waved off by Ballarat family and friends, spent a lovely couple of nights catching up with Mick and Jo and Andrew and Di before we made our way across to Adelaide. We stopped in Adelaide for a few nights to catch our breath, to organise ourselves and the camper a little better. To realise that everything that wasn’t sorted a short 5 weeks ago is, it feels good to finally feel like we are prepared to continue on, to get the last minute items we didn’t have time to get and today it finally felt like we were on holidays!!! We got up and the sun was shining so the kids and I rode our bikes along the beachfront, we played at playgrounds and visited Meagan and Ruby in the morning, we watched movies and relaxed at the camper and then I had a lovely evening with Adi catching up for a drink after she finished work.  I think today I finally felt like we were ready for this ‘adventure’

Oh and those doona covers I was losing sleep over…..haven’t got them yet but what a great excuse to have a little shop in every town we visit!

Homeward Bound

So it is only 8.00 pm and all is quiet in the world of Watsons, Mike has fallen asleep next to Lola whilst trying to get her to sleep and the other two flaked it as soon as their heads hit the pillow, I finally have a little time alone. Now, whilst travelling, I seems that I have all the time in the world but I have less time for myself, there seems to not be a minute in the day when I don’t have someone around me, there is nowhere to hide in the camper, not even from yourself., there is no other ‘life’ distractions, just the here and now. As I try to reconcile the person I am, I have been for the last 6 months with the person I am at home I am flooded with questions….will I be this relaxed when I get home, will the same things that bothered me at home, bother me when we get home, will I still be plagued by indecision and unhappiness with some parts of my life, or will I just not care anymore.

Will the questions that once kept me up all night still be there when I am home, or will there now be answers, logical thoughts a PLAN.  Whilst travelling for the last couple of months, I have wound down, so much so I think I have nearly stopped thinking, I have relaxed so much, enjoyed just being in the moment, being with Mike and the kids,  not planning anything, not having to be responsible for anything except our little family.

As the kilometers clock up and the line on the map pointing home gets shorter, I find myself conflicted about my return home. I am a little anxious about returning home to a life without a job, without a purpose other than me and my family, also a little excited to start a new chapter of our life afresh.

I am excited to be planning future adventures around Australia, adding places to return to and places we didn’t get to onto the list. I am looking forward to the many trips to camping expos, caravan places and researching where we will go, what we will upgrade to, what lessons we have learnt from our first expedition to not repeat again.

I have loved nearly every moment of this trip. I have loved the anonymity of moving on every few days, of no-one not really knowing you, but I have also loved the feeling of seeing someone you have met before at the caravan park, the instant connection of recognizing a face in an unfamiliar surrounding. I have loved meeting new families who are on the road also, conversing about where you have been, where you are going,  the different journey each of you have travelled to get to that destination. I have loved the serenity of the outdoors, of watching my little girl so happily playing outside, picking up sticks and stones to show me just how magical the outdoors really is. I have embraced the heat of the North, not caring about how sweaty I might be or get, just doing whatever it was that I wanted. I have loved wearing shorts nearly every day for 5 months, feeling the heat on my bare skin and not caring to cover up from the hot sun. I have loved watching my kids play, make friends, laugh so hard until they could burst. I love watching Mike play with the kids, seeing them light up with his stupid games. I love that they groan everytime he says ‘Hi starving I[m dad’, when one complains, “I’m starving”. I love seeing how the kids work through their frustration of being bored, of being sick of each other. I particularly love watching Scarli annoy Oscar as it reminds me of how annoying I must have been to my brothers. (I couldn’t possibly have been that bad!)  I wonder how many times worse my precious Lola will be by the time she starts to annoy Oscar.

I love that Lola’s first words are based upon birds, fish, trees, sky….I love that Lola doesn’t even have to say a word to get her message across,  a look, a grunt and she has the whole family running to be on her beck and call. I love that Lola no matter where we are always puts her shoes on and heads for the door, she will not be kept inside for a long period of time! I love that she has her first bubba that she loves, puts blankie’s over, cuddles and kisses, and defends from Scarlett trying to steal her away. My Lola has grown into such a big girl on this trip, not my little baby anymore.

I love that Scarlett is fearless and fuelled by the excitement of what the day may bring.  She is so full of life and ready for adventure, If you suggest anything with the right tone to your voice, Scarlett will be up for it, she is the first to jump to action, her eyes lit up at the simple thought of doing something with you. No matter how stubborn and obstinate she is, no matter how much she pushes my buttons I always remember just how similar we are and enjoy her spirited nature! I hope that I will remember to be like her more often.

I love that Oscar is quietly determined, a little shy and reserved, but bursting with questions and an inquisitive nature once he is comfortable in his surroundings. I love that he is such a caring brother to his sisters, he is gentle and kind. I love that he is protective and caring of the people and things he loves. I love that although he never wants to go anywhere or do anything, by the time we get ‘somewhere’ he is the first out and exploring the situation, the first to run into the waves, or finding the walking tracks, making cubbies in the scrub and climbing the tallest trees. I love that he too like me, loves his own company, needs his time to himself to play, think and wonder.

I have loved spending time with my children, I love watching Scarlett and Oscar play and Scarlett trying so hard to keep up with Oscar and Lola trying so hard to keep up with Scarlet and Oscar. I love that when you ask Scarlett a question her answer is always ‘whatever Oscar is having/doing).

I will not miss my heart skipping a beat when I hear a car coming and I have lost my line of vision on Lola. I will not miss the morning dash to the loo in my jammies, braless and busting. I will not miss getting up to wee in the middle of the night and the coldness of the night air. I will not miss Scarlett saying she needs to go to the toilet 5 min after I have returned, I  will not miss the bites all over me that have left my legs looking like a scarred join the dots puzzle. I will not miss the the screams of boredom from the kids in the back of the car, Lola constantly trying to ‘hudini’ out of her car seat on the long drives.

I will miss the nights of laughter with my kids when they danced around tent poles and had competitions who could dance the longest. I will miss not knowing what day of the week it was and that being a good thing. I will miss having no obligations to anyone but my kids. I will miss the long car journeys, sleeping with the sun warming you through the windscreen. I will miss the relaxed attitude that comes with being on the road for so long. I will miss waking up in the morning, not knowing what town we may lay our heads down in that night. I will miss lazy mornings and even lazier afternoons.

I am excited to see my family and friends, to ‘move’ back in to my home, to decorate, add my personal touches to each room and meld the old me with the new. I am looking forward to having cuppas with friends, to having adult conversation and ‘things’ to occupy my mind. I am looking forward to family celebrations, Anthony’s wedding, birthdays, Christmas. And as our time away draws closer to an end, I am excited about what the future will bring the Wandering Watsons!

Berry, Berry Delicious

So we left Sydney destination unknown, and unfortunately for my scarli wags had our first incidence of ‘car sickness’ for the whole trip. Poor little Scarlett tried so hard to get it into the sick back, but was not helped by the big hole that was in the end of it!!! OH DEAR!!!! I think we can count ourselves lucky that this has been the first real car/spew issue we have had on our travels to date. We finally arrived at our destination, BERRY! We set up camp in the showgrounds for the low cost of $20 a night for a powered site and hot showers. I was very excited to be in Berry as I had always wanted to come and explore this area and trust me it did not let me down. I LOVED LOVED LOVED this area. The beautiful green hills that roll all the way down to the beach, the amazing views, the gorgeous little towns around the area, EVERYTHING was beautiful. There was also another family that were camping at the showgrounds too and again we all enjoyed our new friends’ company at happy hour every night. The kids had a ball exploring all the old sheds and pavilions around the show grounds, they set up cubbies, ‘man caves’ (as Mike called them) and had a great time playing with their new friends. It is truly a small world as our new friends Paul and Juli are also friends with people we know. 

I particularly loved wandering around the streets of Berry, I found my new house, (once I convince Mike too move and persuade the owners to sell), it has a turret, a tree house and a flying fox, beautiful gardens, a big deck and such a lovely feel about it. I wandered into town every day to feed my coffee addiction (and maybe do a little spot of shopping for my birthday….you know ......just in case Mikie forgets to purchase me something!!!!) My morning walks were full of beautiful sites, gorgeous old houses, amazing landscapes and the smell of spring in the air, even the rain and gale force winds didn’t dampen my spirits. We went to the beach, hung out in KangarooValley and went on some amazing drives through the country side. On the Friday I celebrated my birthday with my gorgeous family and luckily I did a spot of shopping for myself, because lo and behold Mikie said he just didn’t have time to get me a present, I said ‘not to worry love. I have more than taken care of that for you!!!!!’ I had gifted myself some beautiful presents, man I do have good (if not slightly expensive!!!!) taste!  I spent the day doing what I love most, playing with my kiddies, shopping, eating and drinking…life does not get any better!!!!

I did laugh at Scarlett when after she had given me a microwave egg poacher for my birthday, she commented, ‘You love you new egg crack don’t you mum, it’s much better than your arse one!!!’ I wonder who taught her that language!!!!!

After an amazing five days in Berry and the surrounding district we packed up, dodging the rain long enough to remain dry and took off, again destination unknown.

Family, Friends and more Family

Well we left the Amamoor state forest, all set for a few nights at a caravan park at the strawberry farm, however mother nature was against us. It was pouring with rain as we packed up camp and continued to team down on the drive to the sunshine coast, so instead of staying and having a look around this area we decided to hightail it to the comfort of a house and some friendly faces and made the unexpected arrival at Gerard and Julies. Well we did give them a few hours notice (just enough for them to go “F&*^ look at this house, it’s a mess we had better clean up so that the Watson kids can trash it again in a second!!) I did manage to convince Mike to make a stop at the Eumandi markets and the Ettamogah pub before making it to Brisbane, I LOVE this market, Mike says he is seeing Australia via every playground the kids can find and every market I can find! So after a quick bit of retail therapy, we ventured on to the Ettamogah Pub for a yummy lunch and finally made it to Gerard and Julie’s. What a great week we had visiting the Brisbane family. It was so much fun to hang out with everyone, the kids had a great time playing together, and I think the attribute of cheekiness has definitely been handed down the Saunders gene pool, Scarlett and Keeley are running contenders for the title of cheekiest kid, and I am sure that Matilda and Lola will soon be close contenders!

Mike became Kasey’s new best friend, they spent a lot of time watching the ipad, playing the zylophone and singing! I love that under Mike’s gruff demeanor is a softer side that Kasey automatically identified, it was beautiful to watch these two interacting and having a ball. Whilst at Gerard and Julie’s we did very little sightseeing, when we managed to pry our children away from the big screen tv and their cousins, and me away from the washing machine, we did venture to Dream world and White water World for a few days. I managed to once again whimp out of the big rides, and watched with terror as Mike and Oscar conquered some of the more scary rides. I was happy with the tea cup ride in wiggles world and I managed to up my bravery and did the scary waterslides in white water world. We all had a great time and Mike only did a double take once at the price of everything!

We had recharged our batteries, drank copious amounts of coffee made by Gerard the barista, enjoyed sleeping in a house (well everyone except Mike who would kiss me good night and he walked out to the camper that was set up in the driveway to sleep alone) and the convenience of having the toilet in the next room, and, after a great week, of visiting playgrounds with cousins, and competing with Gerard and Julie to see whose kids can stay up the latest (it’s currently a tie), we bid a fond farewell and drove away to Matilda calling out ‘see you ev’ry body’ and a family sing a long of ‘hot cross buns’, heading towards my happy place, Byron Bay. (wow what a long sentence!)

BYRON BAY

We crossed the border into our second last state on our journey, Mike again forgot my  mandatory border crossing photo and cruised straight past the sign!!! Bloody bugger! We meandered our way through the beautiful hinterlands, with me sighing in contentment as we drove over gorgeous hills and beautiful country side, as we reached Byron Bay my happy place feeling washed over me and I thought to myself, this is it, I just need to convince mike that we are not going to leave this place. We set up camp in the caravan park right in town and loved being able to walk anywhere we wanted. Even the rain didn’t put a dampener on my mood, I was happy, I was in a beautiful spot, with my beautiful family and had a beautiful friend coming to visit the next day. The following morning Binny Bum Fluff came to stay, our cosy camper became a little cosier for the next 3 nights as we welcomed our dear friend into our little home. We drank lots of wine, ate lots of food, played lots of cards, where binny bum fluff whipped me but in the game of sixes and laughed lots.

In true Binny style she knew someone the moment she arrived at the camper, her aunt and uncle where staying there for 3 months so we had a great ‘happy hour’ with them and their friends at the most enviable site in the park, the one with the most spectacular views!!! Binny and I had a great day exploring the country side around Byron, enjoying a morning of retail therapy, Japanese tea and delish coffee in Bangalow, then driving around falling in love with the views from the beautiful hill tops in the region. I think it’s safe to say when I finally convince my hubby to move here, Binny will be a regular visitor! Oscar and Mike loved body surfing in the warm water and the girls made sandcastles and splashed through the little waves as they broke on the sands.

On the Sunday we woke to the kids singing “Happy Father’s day’ to the tune of Happy birthday  to Mikie. We ventured off to the Byron Bay Market to see all the amazing products that were on offer, we had a great time wandering around, listening to some great music and watching the kids having a jam session on the drums in front of the band. We had a great father’s day lunch at the pub in Byron, enjoying the views, even if it was raining, the kids even behaved long enough for us to enjoy eating too! On the Tuesday after Binny had endured the dreaded snot city that were our kids, I bid a sad farewell, thankful that she had come and shared this special spot with us on our trip. Mike dragged me from Bryon Bay kicking and screaming I was not impressed to leave as I think I could have set up here for the last few weeks of the trip, however New Castle and Sydney was looming and the thought of spending some time with my neice and her family and my sister lured me away from this magical spot.

We headed to Grafton for a short overnight spot at my Uncle John’s house. We spent a great afternoon and evening with Uncle John, his fiancée Barbara and my cousin Jacinta. It was lovely to visit Uncle John, wander around his amazing collections he has amassed over his lifetime and listen to his stories. We shared a delicious meal most of it prepared from their own garden and had a great night. Uncle John had turned his beautiful home into a BnB and Mike and I were lucky enough to get the Honeymoon Suite, yippee! After a great night sleeping in the most comfiest bed we packed up the kid for the long drive to New Castle, to see  my neice Jamee, (aka poo chunks), Nic and my gorgeous great nephews Eli and Fyn.

NEW CASTLE

We spent a great five nights with Jamee and her beautiful family. The kids loved having all those toys to play with and running around with little Eli. I loved getting my fill of baby cuddles from my gorgeous 6 week old nephew Fyn and spending time with the Jarrett Family. We hung out, shopped, went to the toboggan hill near their home and had a great afternoon whizzing down the hill and getting lost in the maze! (lol). Nic took Oscar and Mike to the RAAF airport and showed them around his work which was so lovely. The area that they live in is close to the beach so the kids had a great play at one of the many playgrounds down by the bay. It was gorgeous watching my kids dote over Fyn, Lola would crouch down next to him, look at me to see if  I was watching then inch closer until ever so gently she would touch his face, it was so cute to watch her, she was a real little mummy. Whenever Jamee was holding fyn she would bring a blanket over to her to make sure he was covered and warm, Oscar also loved having cuddles with his second cousin it was really beautiful to watch and if Mike wasn’t shooting blanks these days I might have been tempted to go for no 4!

 SYDNEY

On the Monday we packed up gave as many kisses and squishes that we could to the boys and Jamee and headed to the big smoke, Sydney. We made a stop not far from New Castle to see an old friend, Bec Thompson, who I went to Loreto with many many years ago. It was so lovely to catch up with Bec, in true Theresa style I rocked up with all the Watson's in tow, with no 'plate', but not to worry Bec was all prepared, there was freshly made sandwiches, cakes, slices and lots of coffee! We had a great catch up whilst my kids played with bec's youngest, Summer. It was so lovely to share a few hours with Bec, chatting about our families and lives that we have created with our families and we left with a full belly thanks to wonderful hospitality. I had to drag Oscar out kicking and screaming, as again he was happy to be playing with a new friend. We made one more stop to put our camper in storage for the week and headed to Aunty Bernie’s (aka the best babysitter in the world!!)

We have had such a great week with Bernie. The kids have been spoilt rotten by their loving aunty, sleeping with her every night, I have loved waking up to the sound of their laughter as the play around with Bernie when they wake up. We have had a great time relaxing at Manly, frolicking in the ‘freezing’ water (it was so warm when we swam last in Byron Bay), we have visited the museum, played at the beautiful parks in Sydney, drank lots and lots of good coffee and wine. I had a lovely day wandering the Paddington market and oxford st with Bernie and her friend the ‘other’ Bernie, looking in beautiful shops and enjoying a lovely lunch (without the kids). On the Saturday night Bernie was on babysitting duty and Mike and I went out for a romantic evening (eg dinner and the movies), we went to see Red Dog, and loved seeing the country side of WA that we had so recently driven across. We then had dinner at a gorgeous Lebanese restaurant to celebrate our 12^th anniversary as old married farts.

The kids have loved all the attention that Bernie has lavished on them (and me) and I have loved ALL the yummy food Bernie has cooked us each night, but most of all I have loved her company. Mike has been kept busy ticking of the jobs from Bernie’s list of things for Mike to fix. He even renamed Bernies’ laundry, it is now called Bernie’s shed. (Bernie was regailing this story to her friend Sophie and Sophie responded that her shed is the third drawer down in the kitchen!) He added a couple of new tools to her (very limited) tool box, a thank you present for having us is what he called them!!!  I will miss my sister and I think that when we get back Mike may find himself being a single dad for quite a few weekends, when I take a leave of absence to visit Bernie and enjoy Sydney without the kiddies!

We have enjoyed the last month of being with friends and family and even though we are so close to home, the reality of home is yet to sink in, I feel refreshed and happy to continue on our journey, I am not ready to come home, but I don’t think our funds will last for much longer! We are planning to spend the next 2-3 weeks slowly making our way down the coast, I think after a week of the big smoke, Mikie is ready for a little more fresh  air and a bit more space around him, so back to the confines of the camper and the wide wide open spaces of free camping! 

see you all soon xoxo

More Queensland

We left Murray Falls, not knowing where our next destination would be, and as the kids were being so good in the car and Lola was snoozing through we continued to drive, we made our way to Ayr and had a brief stop for the night to recharge our all electrical equipment, do a million loads of washing and have a warm shower that didn’t involve warming the water in the sun all day.  As much as I loved the relaxing few days at Murray Falls, I do love a good shower! It was whilst we were staying at Ayr Lola decided to let us know that she was ready to be toilet trained, every time she did a wee she would try and take her nappy off, I was sick of listening to her carry on and watching her try and rip her nappy off that I just let her run around naked whilst I was finishing brekky for the other kids and packing up the camper, I casually said to her, ‘if you need to do a wee or poo go outside’, and as a joke added “and do your business just near you dad’s shoes”  Well the next time I turned around, Lola is standing just near her dad’s shoes and lo and behold there is a nice little poo deposited right  on top of her dads’ shoes. Man I laughed and laughed, Oscar and Scarlett also thought it was hilarious, I’m not sure how amused Mikey was, but it sure made my day!!!

That day we ended up in Airlie Beach, not a bad spot at all! Here we spent the days wandering around the market, playing at the pool and playgrounds. The camp kitchen had a big tv in it and all the kids from around the park would end up there first thing in the morning still in their jammies to watch abc kids. You would see the parents coming in to try and drag them away, then with a resigned look on their faces, would bring back the kids brekky’s for them to eat in front of the tv. I’m sure Osc and Scarli were the first kids there every morning, as they tried to make up for the lack of tv for the last four months!

We enviously eyed off the boats in the harbour, Oscar was choosing which one he wanted to sail around Australia next time we travel and Scarlett just wanted to get the purple yacht to sail the seven seas in. The weather in Airlie was beautiful and on the last day we took a cruise to Day dream island and then over to Whitehaven beach. We had a great day and Whitehaven beach was definitely one of the most beautiful beaches we have seen on our travels. It was such a glorious day and our kids were so tired from the day they were asleep before their heads hit the pillow.

After an expensive stay at the Big 4 in Airlie beach, we headed off in search of some cheaper lodgings, we ended up in Rockhampton for two nights and although I’m sure it is a lovely town we didn’t see much of it, we preferred to relax at the camper, again washing a zillion loads of clothes and doing the much needed grocery shop! It was lovely to again do not a lot of anything, we chatted to the grey nomads who had set up in the park for the winter, many of them were too getting close to the end of their trips and getting ready for the trip home. We also had a lovely visit from Naomi and Chaz, my dear friend, Jewls’ mum and dad. The kids loved having them come and visit, Oscar is really missing his grandparents, and monopolized Naomi’s time, constantly chatting about his pokemon cards, enlightening Naomi to which ones had a better value and what damage each one could do, I’m sure Naomi has remembered every single pokemon that oscar explained!!!!! The kids also loved getting a little presie from them too, it was so sweet and I was so touched that they took the time to come and have a cuppa with us. I think they enjoyed getting some cuddles and having our kids around as well, as they are missing their grandkids too!!!

The next day we packed up, again a little unsure where we were headed, we just started driving with the aim of free camping for a few nights in the bush, however the spot we had picked was right on the highway so we just kept driving and ended up in Bundaberg. We only stayed in Bundaberg for a few nights, just long enough for me to get my hair cut and coloured. OMG I was so embarrassed to sit in the salon and actually have someone look at the damage I had done to my hair. Five months of swimming in oceans, and chlorine had certainly left it’s mark on my ‘beautiful luscious locks’ and combined with the grey nomad streak that was getting bigger and bigger, it was time for some serious action. So after a few good inches being chopped and a darker than normal colour appearing from underneath the towel I left a new woman. We then had a great afternoon catching up with Aunty Trudy and Uncle Jon. The kids were rapt to see a table layed out with all the treats they could find, chocolates, cake, biscuits, softdrink, you name they had it!  They also enjoyed playing with different toys and of course ‘watching tele’, you would think we were subjecting our kids to a form of child abuse the way they carried on about NEVER seeing tv!!  It was lovely to catch up with my cousin Marietta and her soon to be husband Mike, and have already teed up accommodation for our next trip around aus. Scarlett never stopped talking, as usual, talking, talking and talking to Aunty Trudi about EVERYTHING. Oscar again enjoyed being the centre of attention and seeing some family, as I think he is getting very homesick for some time with his Oma.

Saturday August 20

We have set up camp in the little spot called Burrum River. It is close to Hervey Bay and some beautiful little beaches. I think we will be staying here for the next week and checking out all the beautiful spots around this area. I can’t wait to go to Frasier island and do a whale watching tour. I am enjoying the slow pace we are travelling, as if we are putting off hitting any cold weather for as long as possible. It is just beautiful here, there are lots of birds to keep Lola happy and Oscar and Scarlett are happy to play around with the soccer ball. I am whipping Oscar’s but in Uno everyday and Scarlett is trying very hard to play with us, when Oscar has the patience to let her!

Unfortunately Mikie doesn’t  enjoy my love of card games and will not join in the fun that action packed game of ‘spit’ can bring….ah well I’ll just have to wait till I see the edenhope clan again and whip Di’s butt!!!! I have tried to engage him in a few card games but he claims that it distracts him from his ability to finish a can before it goes hot!!!! (he’s male and can’t multitask!!!!)

This morning was an early start, Oscar is waking earlier and earlier and doesn’t get the idea of not waking me every morning, so he comes and snuggles and wiggles around  until I am fully awake, this morning though I told him to wake his dad as he had promised Oscar that they would go fishing, I bid them farewell, telling them to not return until they had caught me my dinner! Unfortunately they didn’t catch one the first day, but the next day Oscar caught his very first fish, he was so excited and was jumping up and down and running around and around on the jetty. He was sooo cute. I think my highlight was then watching Mike try and gut and clean his very first fish, as many of you may know I only every imagine my meat to come wrapped in plastic, so the thought of helping him was definitely out of the question!!! I sent him back down the river, to bring me back a nice filleted fish, well he tried his best, but I don’t think Mike would win a Masterchef competition for filleting a fish, a few of the oldies came down and gave him some help and even told him what type of fish he had caught!!! (we are such a fisher family!!!!)  the next day Oscar caught another fish, so he know thinks he is a really little fisherman, although when I cooked them up he was less than keen to eat what he had caught!!!! Mike can however, say he achieved his goal for the trip of catching a fish!

Unfortunately for the last few days, it has been a little wet and windy, I am most definitely not used to this weather and was very annoyed to not be able to go out looking for whales, as it was so windy the tour operators advised it would not be a pleasant experience for us or the kids, so again we changed our plans and spent a few days around the camper. Mike is enjoying the time just hanging around doing nothing, I on the other hand have got a serious case of cabin fever, as it is pouring with rain, we are all stuck in the camper and it is definitely feeling smaller and smaller by the minute. I am looking for a little more excitement that unfortunately Burrem River does not really offer, even the pub was closed!!! We did however get a list of things to do from the caravan park managers and it said to go to the local haberdashery shop as it is a real hidden gem.  Well I was that bloody bored that I actually did go to the local haberdashery shop, and trust me it was not the hidden gem at all!!! It did make me laugh to see bed jackets and long flannelette nighties still being stocked, I’m sure I just stepped back in time to the 80’s with the treasure trove of items that were on display!!!! After a very brief wander around I returned empty handed from my ‘shopping’ adventure, I did contemplate purchasing a ‘racy’ new sleeping attire to tempt Mikey boy, but wasn’t sure how much he would enjoy me looking like the grey nomads we have befriended!!!!

It is fair to say I am looking forward to moving on, catching up with lots of family and friends along the way home.

Thursday August 25

So after a few days of wet weather and not much to do we headed off, Mike had chosen the next spot to stay as he is trying to get in as much free camping as he can before we hit the leg of the journey I have planned out (which includes lots of family and busy cities). Mike chose a gorgeous spot just past Gympie in the Amamoor State Forest. Unbeknown to us though it is about 4k’s from the Gympie Music Muster, as we were driving the signs kept advising we are getting closer and closer to the muster, it cracked me up that Mike chose this spot for it’s seclusion and to have it pretty much to ourselves and it has ended up to be busy with lots of people camping around for the muster. I was so excited at the thought of getting ‘my muster’ on and quickly checked out the price of tickets, my excitement did a quick turn around at the price for us to go for the day and decided it was just as much fun to listen to the music from the comfort of my deck chair next to the fire!! I am pretty happy with my decision as it has continued to drizzle rain for most of the afternoon and tonight it is pouring down!! My dunderhead of a husband is as I write, standing next to his dismal fire, beer in one hand and an umbrella in the other, as it pours with rain!!! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!

I am looking forward to getting on the road tomorrow, we are staying at a strawberry farm tomorrow night, (how much are we going to LOVE that) then heading down to Brisvegas to see Gerard, Julie and their gorgeous girls!!

North Queensland

Mission Beach, Cairns, Port Douglas and Free Camping thru the National Parks

Mission Beach was just beautiful, heavily hit by the cyclone, the devastation to the small town and the surrounding national parks is still clearly prevalent. We happened upon this very small caravan park in south mission beach that had only reopened for business 6 weeks ago. For the low price of $25 dollars a night you got a powered site, amenities and the great company of other travelers. The park had a very relaxed feeling about it, the manager, Marty, (picture attractive hippy like man, with long flowing locks big sun hat and barefeet) waved us in as we drove past, nearly running onto the street to tell us they were open, he then offered us freshly baked chocolate cake and coffee for morning tea which was a hit for the kids and their mother! We sat down with the other campers and chatted whilst Marty pottered on his pottery wheel with the clay. He then wandered me over to our site and helped to pick out a good one, introducing us to our other new neighbours and instilling this relaxed, friendly approach in us all. We spent a few days here wandering around, playing at the beach and playing pool whilst having a few drinks with the other campers.

Wednesday August 3^rd

Mike and I are a little sick of each other’s company. Yep I said it, four months in a little camper with not a lot of other adult conversation can really test a marriage. In many ways it has been the best time ever, but. our gags are a little stale, we can finish each others sentences without even starting them and even the kids are sick of hearing us talk!. 

We now literally jump to talk to the nearest adult that passes by, eager to engage in conversation with someone different, someone exciting. We are the couple that we used to laugh at, that wanders up to someone’s campsite for a quick chat, only to find that they are still there 3 hours later. I find myself talking to anyone I can just to get some more conversation in, I even try to talk to the overseas tourists who can’t speak English when I am desperate!

Now it’s not just me and mike that are a little ‘over’ each other. Oscar now asks how old do you have to be before you can move out? He says he is sick of us all and would like to spend less time with us! He wants Mike to build a little hidey spot in the camper for him to go and be by himself without the girls chasing him!......yep it sure is cozy in the camper!!!!

Even with our confined space issues we are still enjoying our travels, I think we have become  a little complacent to the beauty of Australia, we now go to a national park and start to think, yep that’s another waterfall, yep that’s another gorge….what ungrateful buggers we are!!!!!  So to pep us up for our last 10 weeks of travelling we have had  a bit of a holiday from our holiday. We have spent the last week staying at the coconut cairns resort,  it has 2 jumping pillow, a water playground, 2 pools, a bike track, mini golf, movie nights, pancake breakfasts….it is a kids paradise. We have kicked back and relaxed, played with the kids, done minimal sight seeing and regrouped. We have surrounded ourselves with people and had a great time. Oscar made friends with the boy next door and had a great time playing for a few days. Mike and I enjoyed the company of his parents and enjoyed having new things and people to talk about.

Cairns is very pretty, we have enjoyed wandering around the town, the esplanade and the lagoons. Today we went to kuranda and wandered around the markets and the beautiful rainforests. Mike and the 2 older kids took the skyrail back down to Cairns and the kids loved being that high up! Their mother did the sensible thing and drove the car back down with Lola…..(as I am not a great fan of heights at the best of times!)

We are heading to green island tomorrow for a day of snorkeling and coral viewing, it should be fantastic! Then the following day we are off to Port douglas for another week of relaxation….what a tough life this is!

Thursday August 4^th

Today has been a great day, unfortunately when we went to confirm our booking for green island the lady advised that the weather is not too great to take kids out on the boat. She regailed a few tails about the amount of vomit that the crew have been cleaning up this week and we quickly agreed to abandon our boat trip. So instead we have just relaxed by the caravan park, playing at the playground and laughing with the kids. I have been partaking in my favourite activity, people watching, there is a group of campers all set up with lots of kids ranging from 8 – 16ish. The kids are having so much fun running around the caravan park, playing in the laundry and toilets at night and generally doing what kids do. It makes me think that in years to come this scene will be filled with Hodge, Mahar and Watson kids getting into mishchief, Oscar chasing Jess around, the hodge and mahar girls leading my angelic Scarlett up to no good and Lola bossing the boys around, making them chase her all over the park. I can’t wait to see what they get up to! By then I imagine that one of the menfolk will have got a boat and be out catching us dinner, (eg drinking on the river!),The women  folk will be kicking back ‘looking after’ the younger kids, (eg drinking wine from coffee cups, whilst gossiping over a game of  cards.) I can only hope that our kids grow up to have great memories of these camping trips I forsee for our future!

Mike and I spent the better part of our last afternoon in Cairns, chatting to our new neighbours and having a few beers, it was great to  relax and hear about another families travels, where they have been and what they have seen. We have arranged to meet up again in Airlie Beach in a few weeks time. I think Mike was happy for some ‘bloke’ company and Ben was more than willing to sink a few beers and spend the day chatting away. For someone who was so reserved, Mike has been the consistent friend maker on this trip, I think it has been great for him to have this chance to relax and enjoy the company of others as many of you will  know he is more than happy in his own company most of the time!

From Cairns we drove the picturesque drive to Port Douglas, the highway travels right against the coast so the view were amazing, we spent a few beautiful days in Port Douglas  wandering the streets, visiting the great Sunday market, playing on the beach and generally hanging out. It was so lovely to get back into a relaxed rhythm of enjoying each others company again, Cairns had certainly pepped our spirits back up and even thought the weather was not great we still made the most of any bursts of sunshine we had. We visited Mossman gorge and did a a very beautiful walk through the rainforest. We will however endeavour to read the sign next time that says the walk is a ‘moderate’ walk, and although it wasn’t too hard having a tired Scarlett and Lola who we had to carry for much of the walk did not make it any easier. But with a lot of cajoling Scarlett into believing that we were hunting for fairies in the magical forest we made our way around the walk. Scarlett was so funny as I would pretend to sprinkle fairy dust on her legs to get her to walk a little more, she would get all excited and circle her arms around and around as if she was building up momentum and then woosh she would be off, for an ever so brief moment climbing up the hills and stairs until a very short distance on she would need more fairy dust and the process would begin again. Another couple who were doing the walk were very impressed by my ingenuity and you could see them giggling every time Scarlett would do her very pronounced ‘circle work’.

After all this effort a poor little Lola fell asleep in my arms before I could lay her into the pram and Scarlett announced that her tummy had worked up an appetite for an icecream! Scarli’s tummy tells her a lot of things, that she is hungry, that she doesn’t want to do her chores, that she loves mummy more than daddy, that she should have some chocolate…..in years to come I think she will continue to use her tummy as an excuse for EVERYTHING, she even pushes it together so the skinfolds can ‘talk’ to me when I don’t believer her, she is such a funny little creature!

I loved the short time we spent in Port Douglas and now can totally understand why my dear friend Kym says Port Douglas refreshes the soul, it was great! So after a beautiful last play on four mile beach we packed up the camper and headed to our next destination, Paronella Park, to learn more about Jose’s dream!!!.

Paronella Park is a castle and private gardens that a man called Jose built for his beloved earlier this century, (not very good with the details, but it was maybe around the 1930’s) We drove to Mena Creek to do the tour and stayed in the caravan park attached to paronella park for the night. The story told about Jose was very interesting and the amount of work that this single man did to build these beautiful buildings, by hand, was incredible. We did a couple of tours, one during the day that described the historical story about Jose and his ‘DREAM’ (this wording featured very heavily in the tours)  and then the night tour which was just even more spectacular. Although the castle and other buildings have been heavily hit by cyclones and time, you can picture so clearly what these buildings must have been like in their hey day. Scarlett and I wandered around the night tour and she was so excited to be seeing a ‘real live castle’ she even asked if santa could make her one like that for Christmas!

The next day we headed off for a few nights of free camping at Murray Falls, even though we had visited this national park previously Mike loved it so much that we have come back to have a few days ‘out in the bush’.

It has been a lovely couple of days out here communing with nature. We have swam in rock pools, getting carried away by the rapids, the kids have played and explored the bushland. Oscar has found some secret hiding spots to try and hide from his sisters and has had a great time at night sitting by the fire chewin’ the fat with his old dad. It is so gorgeous to eavesdrop on their conversations, I love listening to what they talk about.

We have read books, relaxed watching the waterfall and roughly plotted the next leg of our journey to Brisbane. We also met another great family who have been on the road for approx 4 months too. They had two daughters and Oscar has had such a great time playing with their eldest daughter, Honey. They hit it off so well and it was so cute to see them cosying up by the fire toasting marshmallows! We were so disappointed to see them head off as Oscar had so much fun. Scarlett loved it too as all the kids sat with Sara and made lip gloss, Scarli wandered around all day reapplying her lip gloss to her lips until they have doubled in size, she then tries to kiss you and you end up wearing half a pot of lipgloss all over you too! It is nice to see the kids playing all day outside, as much as Oscar loves his ds, he is just as happy to be outside playing by the river and climbing up hills exploring. Free camping is a great way of ensuring we do this more often as you can’t power up the ds or the computer, you do stop and take time out. I think I am so relaxed from the last couple of days I could fall into a coma!!! ( quick get me  to the nearest facebook access and shopping mall!!!)

We have now made our way to Ayr for the night before we hit Airlie beach tomorrow, happy travels!