Brisbane Trip Day 35 - 38: Bimbi Park -> Home

The wind was strong on the first night - I was surprised that it didn't scare me, I usually am uncomfortable with wind. It was loud though and at times I was awake listening to it and hoping that everyone's tents were safe. (All the homeschoolers were fine - one hire vehicle that some backpackers were staying in ended up with a large branch on it, but no one was injured).

The heavy wind continued for all of the next day, then eased overnight which was a relief to everyone - it had most of the adults feeling a bit jittery and exhausted, although it didn't slow the kids down.

I was pretty tired after our 5 weeks away and was happy to sit at our tent up the back of the camping area and chat to whoever wanted to come to see me. I spent much of the first couple of days talking with our friend who was camped with us, and with others who came up to see us. It was great to sit and relax and not have to think too much.

The kids were very happy off with their friends. Caitlin and the rest of the teens wandered around the camp, played games, went for walks, sat in the lounge area of the camp kitchen, took lots of photos of themselves and each other, played on the swing, and forged stronger friendships. Liam and his friends chatted a lot about fantasy games and stories, played tag games, explored the camp grounds, and occasionally played on their DSs. Amelie played mainly with a couple of girls camped near us, they played with pokemon, did roadworks on the path in front of the other girls' tent, played mini golf and ran around a lot.

Various people had fires at night which were great to sit around and chat (for the adults) and the kids came back and forth with marshmallows. The boys played games with torches of an evening. Amelie was quite tired each night and ready to go to bed reasonably early.

On the 3rd day our campsite friend packed up and headed home - his son (Liam's friend) stayed in his tent next to us for the rest of the camp. One of Caitlin's friend's dads also went home, and the friend moved into our tent. Another of Caitlin's friends had his swag next to our tent (his dad had stayed the first night), so we had quite a tribe of extras with us.

Each of the kids and their friends spent time hanging out at our campsite, as well as at other campsites and in the kitchen. At one point all the teens and most of Liam's friends were at our tent, and someone started massaging someone's shoulders, which quickly turned into a massage chain - I had a great massage from Caitlin's friend.

On the 3rd evening I walked up to the top of the nearby hill, it was great to see the view from there and watch the sun head towards the horizon. There were glimpses of the ocean, and views of the forest in all directions. I was also able to get enough mobile reception to catch up on messages that had been sent while I'd been at camp - although this brought me back to the real world a bit and reminded me that our trip was nearly over which felt a little less relaxing than camp.

The next day I went for a longer walk by myself to the lighthouse. The walk itself was along a wide path, mainly through open fields, and occasionally through the forest. It was a sunny afternoon and quite a pleasant walk, although longer than I'd expected. I stopped to look at a tiny graveyard my friend had told me about, with the graves of adults and children from lighthouse families who had died while stationed there. The view of the ocean from near the lighthouse was quite beautiful. On the way back I ran into Caitlin and her friends doing the same walk as me. When they came back they spent time up on the top of the hill watching the sunset and taking gorgeous photos.

I spent several hours each afternoon sitting at my tent chatting to friends and drinking cups of tea. The weather was sunny and warm and it was a very pleasant way to spend the time.

On the last night the wind picked up a bit again and it started raining. I got up and sorted out the potential for leaks. Packing up in the morning was tricky with the wind and rain coming on and off. The kids hung out with their friends and I chipped away and the packing up, and we were ready to go around the middle of the day. I was taking home two of the other kids so we had to pack the car and the trailer differently, it was pretty crowded but we got everything and everyone in. Throughout the morning we said goodbye to people as they headed off and we said bye to the last few families before we went as well.

We drove home via the Great Ocean Road which was beautiful, although very slow because of the frequent roadworks. Coming through the countryside before Geelong someone indicated to me that there was something wrong with my trailer - I stopped and checked and one of the straps across the back had come loose and was dragging on the ground. I tied it back together with cable ties and secured the carpet and trailer again.

We had a fairly easy trip around Melbourne, and we stopped at Bundoora to drop Caitlin's friend off with family. The rest of us kept going and arrived home in the evening. Very exciting to see Tony again after so long, and to see the dogs and cat.

Brisbane Trip Day 33: Wodonga -> Melbourne

I woke a bit after 7 and went down the street to get milk and a few other supplies, and to fill up our gas bottle before we go bush. When I got back Amelie was just waking up. The others were up soon afterwards and we had breakfast and started to get organised. Pack up went fairly quickly and well, until I tried to get the pegs out of the hard ground - some were tricky, and some were so stuck that I didn't know if I'd be able to do it at all. Eventually I managed to wriggle them free and could finish putting the tent away. We paid for our site when the caretaker came around, and I was pleasantly surprised that it was only $10, not $20, because we hadn't used any power. Racehorses were training on the track and on the grass near us, so the kids went and watched them for a while.

We set off a bit before 11 and listened to Percy Jackson again. The trip down the Hume Freeway was easy and fairly quick at first. I stopped for petrol and to check the air in my tyres, then we continued on. As the Freeway came down past Broadford and got closer to Melbourne, the wind was blowing sideways across the road and the driving became a bit more difficult and a bit slower.

We made it to my sister's place a bit after 2.30, and there was room in front of her house and driveway and a bit of next door's driveway for me to pull up with the trailer. We had to wait for a few minutes while the construction workers had a forklift on the road, then we were able to pull in. Amelie's best friend and her family met us at my sister's, and she went to the Museum with them. The rest of us spent the afternoon inside at my sister's, playing with the baby and the 4yo and catching up on each other's news. Liam is a big hit with his cousin so he was very busy playing cars and doing puzzles. Caitlin was more than happy to play with the baby.

Amelie came back in the evening, very happy to have spent time with her friend. We had pasta for dinner and then the little kids went to bed, my kids watched some videos and played on their iPads. I chatted more with my sister - I was so incredibly tired, any plans I'd had of getting things more organised for camp just didn't happen. We had a fairly early night, Caitlin slept on the couch, Amelie and I in the bed in the spare room and Liam on our foam mattress on the spare room floor.

Brisbane Trip Day 31: Blue Mountains -> Bathurst

It was a bit of a windy night, and the noise from the trains slowly heaving up the mountain could be loud - they didn't ever wake me up, but a couple of times I was already awake and heard them go past. The morning was beautiful and fresh, with the sun rising and lighting up the trees across the grass from us.

There wasn't a lot to do to pack up and it went pretty smoothly (although the wind made it slightly difficult at times and I also had trouble with the zip on the trailer cover). My friend from the night before came past at one point, she was walking to Springwood and it was cool to see her one more time.

We continued to drive through the Blue Mountains, and saw the new Hydro Majestic Hotel and it's majestic view. We stopped for petrol in Medlow Bath, and then approached Victoria Pass, which I had been anxious about for almost a week. The grade here is 14% in some parts, and I knew it was a tricky, steep road. My friend's husband had given me some tips the night before, so I put the car in 2nd gear and just took it very slow. The speed limit for trucks was 40, and I went slower than that - it was fine, I didn't feel the trailer pushing me at all at that speed. There were a few tight bends in between the 2 steep parts, and I managed them fine and got to the bottom feeling very relieved and a great sense of achievement!

I would have liked to stop in Hartley and have a look around but we already had enough stops planned for these last few days of driving. Tony rang us when we were near Lithgow so I pulled over and we all had a chat to him on his birthday. We kept going and turned off to find my friend's place - a friend from my BHP days. We parked the trailer in front of her shed, and then drove in to Bathurst to meet her at her daughter's school, which was having a Highland Gathering.

We found her watching the bagpipe display (her daughter was competing) and sat on the grass and watched that and the strong man competition. We were all hot and exhausted and I sent the kids to get themselves an ice block. Amelie accidentally got the wrong one so I sent her to get a 2nd one - it was hot and windy and it was much more bearable if we all felt happy. After their ice blocks the kids went for a walk to look at the games and rides. I stayed and talked with my friend for a while, it was so good to see her. She and her youngest son decided to go home for a while, so I went and found the kids and saw Caitlin and Liam competing by running attached to a bungee cord and trying to put blocks as far away from their starting point as they could. Caitlin's long arms and legs and speed made this a lot easier for her. Amelie got her face painted (a cat on one side of her face, it was really well done) and the others played some skill games (throwing or shooting balls at things). We had a bit more of a wander around and then discovered that the meat pies were half price as it was nearly the end of the day, so we had one each.

We headed back to my friend's place. I hadn't been to her house before, it was huge and spacious - she and her husband had designed and built it 15 years ago and I loved it. We had a bit of a look around, and went down to feed bread to the sheep and the very old (30 years) horse. Her boys were riding their motorbikes, and the 15 year old took Liam then Caitlin on a ride - they loved it. The kids played on the trampoline and the swing, and Caitlin helped feed the horse, then we went inside while my friend cooked dinner. We chatted and the kids played and we had a delicious lamb roast with her and her kids. We had ice cream and blueberries for dessert and then sat in the lounge for a cup of tea. It was relaxing and easy to be there and I'm so glad we detoured inland to see her.

The girls slept in the bunk beds in the youngest son's room (he slept in my friend's room) and Liam and I slept in single beds in the spare room. It was really dark once all the lights went out - no street lights this far out of town and they turned all the lights off before they went to bed.

Brisbane Trip Day 29: Newcastle -> Sydney

I wanted to make sure that I saw the girls and their Dad before they left for school and work so that I could say goodbye, so when I woke quite early I didn’t try to go back to sleep. I had enough time to go for a walk and this time went straight to the granny pool for a swim. The sky was grey and there was a light breeze blowing in from the ocean – the feel and smell of the air reminded me so much of swimming at Merewether Baths on a cloudy morning. The water was cool and refreshing and got to about chest deep near the gap in the wall, where the water flows in from the channel. I swam around for about 10 minutes then went back to the house to say goodbye and thanks for letting us stay.

After I’d had some breakfast I chatted to Tony for a while, then Caitlin said that the oldest cousin had missed her bus. I drove her to school (which also gave the girls a bit more time together) and then stopped at Woolworths on the way back to get some more bread and milk. The bridge was up again as we left Swansea. At home I was just about to start packing when Tony rang again, it was great to have a chat of more than a few minutes with him.

I didn’t start packing until 9.40, then had everything done, ready to go by 11.40 which I was very happy with.  I was hot and sweaty so had a cold shower and got changed, we checked that we had all our stuff and were on our way by just after 12.

We stopped for petrol at Doyalson – last year I’d bought a Pokemon DVD at this petrol station so Amelie wanted to see if they had more. There weren’t any DVDs that interested her, she and Liam bought some chocolate. The drive down to Sydney was fairly easy, there was a lot of traffic but it mainly kept moving. Getting through to Leichhardt had a few moments of tricky traffic with the trailer on, but we made it fine. As I approached our friends’ house I saw a parking spot about 2 ½ cars long, in front of a boat. It was long enough for me to drive into it, then reverse back at bit and wiggle back and forth to get the trailer fairly straight (and mainly off the cycle lane). It was only a few houses away from where we were staying so I was very pleased with the spot.

Our friends weren’t home until after work, so we had some lunch at the car, then walked down to the Light Rail station at Lilyfield. We stopped on the way to buy Opal cards, and I bought a scratchie as well which we did at the station – we didn’t win anything but the kids enjoyed scratching it. The train was very crowded and took a long time to get to Central. Once there we caught a regular train to Circular Quay – we sat upstairs which was exciting for kids used to Melbourne, single level, trains (and I always love catching Sydney trains). Getting off the train at Circular Quay we had a great view over the Quay, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. We stood at the edge of the platform and looked at the view, and noticed a street artist down on the path below – he was completely dressed and painted in gold, and appeared to be hovering in mid air – he had one hand resting on top of a pole, and was sitting cross legged about a metre off the ground. We headed downstairs to see if we could see how he was doing it, but he was packing up by the time we got there. From what we could see, the pole was firmly anchored in a base plate, but there was no other support – so we think he was balancing just on the strength of his arm on the pole.

We wandered around to the Opera House, looking at the markers showing the 1788 waterline. We admired a street artist’s painting of the harbour and gave him some money. At the Opera House we sat on the ledge around the edge of the point and looked at the Bridge, the boats and ferries going past, and the sails of the Opera House. We walked across the base of the steps and went down to the pontoon at Man-of-war steps, Amelie didn’t like being on the moving pontoon, so she played with some soft, sparkly sand on the path back on dry land. Caitlin and Liam had a look around, then we walked back up the Opera Houses steps and sat on one of the sloping parts in front of a window. It was tempting to run up to the top of the slope but there was a sign saying not to, so we sat at the bottom and looked at all the different aspects of the sails that we could see from there. We went over and touched some of the tiles and looked at the different patterns and how different they looked from a distance compared to up close.

Amelie wanted to see the Botanic Gardens so we wandered over there and the kids played around a sculpture of mother earth, Caitlin climbed a fig tree, and we went to look at gazebo that was installed recently, which had lots of symbolism about the colonial impact of Governor Macquarie and his wife. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon so the backdrop was incredible, with the harbour and boats and bridge always in sight.

We wandered back towards the station, stopping briefly to share a cup of delicious lemon sorbet. We got to the platform just in time to jump on a train – one of the newer ones that I don’t think I’ve been on before. We admired the old fashioned style of Museum station as we went through, then got off the train at Central. The light rail train was just pulling in as we arrived at the platform, we were able to get on and get seats this time. The trip back seemed much quicker, and we wandered up the hill in much cooler temperatures, just before sunset.

Our friends were sitting on the front steps waiting for us when we arrived. We had a drink of water then sat out the back for a while and the kids played tennis with small plastic rackets, until the mozzies got too bad. We had delicious pizza for dinner and all the kids got on well. (Our friends’ 2 kids and another friend of theirs who was sleeping over). The younger kids played with loom bands for a while and did some puzzles, Caitlin sat with the adults and we played a game called Love Letters. The boys played Uno then started to watch our game, and we switched out players so that everyone had a turn. My host and I had a cocktail and it was a fun night, full of laughter and catching up.

Brisbane Trip Day 25: Armidale -> Newcastle

It was even colder this morning - 6.7 degrees when I got up. Beautiful and crisp though. I started sorting our stuff a little and was about to make a cup of tea when some people arrived at our tent - a man and lady from the New England Lapidary Society, saying that they were setting up for their gem show and would I be leaving today. I said I was and asked what time they were starting - they said 9am. It was just before 8 at this stage so I said that I wouldn't be out by 9, but I'd be as quick as I could. They went around to all the other sites and told people that they had to leave - several of them had paid for another night, or even the whole week, and were understandably quite upset. The gem people were quite rude about it too 'Well we have this area leased, so you'll have to go'. (The caretakers had been away on the weekend and volunteers had helped out, and we figured they must just not have known about this previous booking).

I started packing up at 8.10, and we were all ready to go at 10.20, one of our quickest pack ups ever. By this stage the caretaker had come down and apologised to everyone and said that the lapidary people had no right to go from site to site - and that they didn't start their show until Thursday, they were just marking out the sites today, so everyone could stay a few more days if they wanted to. Some people had already packed up enough that they decided to go anyway, others decided to stay and move in a few days.

We all went to the toilet and on the way back we stopped to chat to several people (and met a very cute puppy), so it was 10.50 by the time we left. It was a beautiful sunny day and not cold any more. I really enjoyed the first part of the drive to Uralla - I've driven that road many many times and it was exciting to see it all again. From Uralla I kept going to Tamworth rather than turning off to go the Buckett's Way - I figured the highway would be easier with the trailer on.

The drive to Tamworth took a lot longer than expected. We were stuck for a good while behind another camper trailer who was driving quite slowly. Twice the truck driver behind me leaned on his horn because I hadn't overtaken the trailer when he thought I could have (neither times felt safe to me). I was glad when we had an overtaking lane and the 2 trucks behind me were able to get past us both. At the next overtaking lane I was also able to get past the slow trailer and was able to drive a bit faster - although I'm often quite slow on windy roads. Before Tamworth the road has a few very steep sections as the elevation drops quickly - this time the speed limit for buses and trucks was 60, so this was possibly steeper than the scary hill a couple of days ago. There was no one behind me as I came down these 2 hills, which made it less scary but I still didn't enjoy it at all, I found it rather stressful. I appear to have gripped the wheel quite hard too because my forearm was very tight and sore afterwards.

We eventually made it to Tamworth and drove past the Big Golden Guitar, then continued south. The road from Tamworth to Muswellbrook had a lot of of roadworks and we were frequently stopped or slowed to 60 or 40, which made the trip take a lot longer. There was another steep hill coming in to Murrurundi. As we came into the town I noticed a dragon fly stuck in my windscreen wipers, so we pulled over opposite a park so I could let him free. I also wanted to check my brake lights on the trailer as on Saturday the connection from the car seemed to wiggle loose as we drove - everything was still working today. We all went over the road to use the one toilet available - Amelie was amused that there were 3 different toilet paper dispensers, all different designs, all fully stocked. There were more roadworks as we continued south and we eventually made it to Muswellbrook around 3pm - way later than I had expected. As we drove in we could see open cut mines on the other side of town - whole hillsides that had been exploded, it was quite striking.

We stopped at the park next to the railway station and I made us some sandwiches. While we ate we saw 3 long trains go past with a variety of engines on them. We explored the park a bit and had a rest, then continued on through town and got some petrol, and stopped at Aldi to buy a 4-pack of Choc-mint ice creams (it took us a while to get to Aldi because first I turned left out of the petrol station instead of turning right across the highway, and tried to get there the back way, then ended up turning right onto the highway further down, and then missed the turn into the street I needed and had to go far enough up the road to find a place to turn around.) Eventually we had our ice creams and were on our way again.

The drive to Singleton was easier, and I enjoyed driving through both Muswellbrook and Singleton and seeing all the old buildings. And lots of memories from both towns. Beyond Singleton, just before Branxton, there's a new road which skips all the rest of the towns and makes the trip to Newcastle much quicker. This was much easier driving and we made good time. It was exciting to come into Newcastle through Wallsend and point out more familiar landmarks, including another street where I used to live. The trip out to Blacksmiths went smoothly and we arrived at my brother-in-laws around 6pm.

The kids were all excited to see their cousins and we sat and ate pizza with them and then I sat out the back and had a cup of tea while chatting to my BIL. Once I felt rested enough I went to get the trailer - when I'd arrived there were lots of cars in the street so I was worried that it would be difficult to even get the trailer to the driveway - by the time I was ready to try, everyone had left (there is a yoga studio across the road so the cars were from the yoga class). We'd moved the couch out of the garage, last time it made it a just a bit narrow and a bit tricky to turn the trailer at the end to avoid the garden. With great directions from my BIL, I backed up the street, into the driveway and through the garage, with really no problems. We unhitched in the garage and pushed the trailer the rest of the way into the yard, and quickly had the tent up. After a bit more of a chat I put the beds up and enjoyed listening to Liam talk to his uncle about movies and books and science and puzzles.

Caitlin hung out with her cousins (either on the trampoline or watching tv) until they went to bed, then she rang some friends. Once everyone else was in bed, Liam and Amelie watched Dr Who and Pokemon on Netflix, and I went to bed to read for a while. The kids came in not too long afterwards.

Brisbane Trip Day 14: Gold Coast -> Brisbane

Another early morning for me and I sat on the balcony using the computer. The kids eventually stirred and we ate chocolate croissants and donuts for breakfast. Tony FaceTimed us - with Winky (the cat) on his knee looking healthy and happy - she'd been missing for a couple of days and it was a massive relief to see her. I'd been having such a good time and also feeling bad that I was so happy while the cat had potentially disappeared. I had a shower then packed while the kids watched some YouTube videos. I was all packed up before 9.30 - it's so much easier when it's just our stuff and not the tent as well! I took one load of stuff down to the car, then got some ice for the eskies (there was an ice maker in the corridor) and loaded myself and the kids up with another load to take to the car. The kids sat in the foyer and I asked the concierge to bring down the rest of the luggage, then I went and checked out. When our luggage arrived I went to get the car, and loaded it all in. I moved the car back down to the carpark near the trailer and headed back inside.

We headed back through the gift shop and up to the monorail station - Amelie was excited to finally get to go on the monorail. We did one circuit around SeaWorld and enjoyed seeing everything again, and it was fun seeing it from that perspective. Back at the resort the kids sat in the foyer while I went down and hitched up the trailer. It was SO hot - mid 30s at least, and very humid. I'm glad I didn't have to do a full pack up. The kids came down once I was ready, and we drove out to Paradise Country, the 4th attraction on our unlimited access tickets.

The drive from Wet n Wild to Paradise Country was a longish road with lots of speed humps. We drove through the paddocks holding the horses for Outback Spectacular, that was pretty cool (we'd seen the horses from the top of some of the rides on Monday, that was also cool). I pulled into the carpark and realised that it wasn't a loop and there was nowhere to park the trailer, so I had to back out. I got most of the way then a guy came and helped me with the last little bit. I parked in the 'additional parking' area and managed to find somewhere in the shade that would be easy to get out of.

The walk to the entrance was quite long, sunny and very very hot. Amelie really found it hard and I did wonder if it was worth it. We went in and tried to find a water fountain but there didn't seem to be one. We went down to the animal nursery and fed some goats and sheep, thankfully in the shade, then went into the barn and fed piglets, alpacas, ducks, more lambs and kids. It was fun, especially helping one of the keepers try the piglets on apples.

We decided we'd experienced enough so made our hot way back to the car, and drove back to Wet n Wild. I dropped the kids off and found somewhere to park the trailer - it was a fair way from the entrance but it was, again, in shade. Once inside we parked our stuff on the tables, got into our swimmers and refilled our soft drink cup (we had to pay a reduced amount to reactivate it). Liam and Caitlin went to the wave pool and Amelie and I went to the Junior slides. I did the mini tornado with her, then the mini half pipe, and she did all the other junior slides. One of them she was sitting and sliding slowly down and a kid came barrelling down headfirst behind her and ran into her - he and his parents thought it was hilarious, Amelie wasn't so amused.

We played together on the water playground for a while (I wasn't allowed on the slides there but could climb and walk around). We went into the Junior pool and the other kids came back. Liam and I went on the tube river and floated around once while the girls went on the junior slides again. They met us at the river and jumped in for a circuit as well. It was very refreshing and relaxing.

Amelie wanted to go on Mammoth Falls again, so we headed over there for a fun raft ride down the half pipe. We had a quick swim in the wave pool then back to get dressed again, feeling much cooler than we had been earlier in the day. I'd promised the kids a bucket of soft serve ice cream if we got the chance, so we took it in turns to add ice cream (vanilla, strawberry, chocolate and choc mint) and toppings (caramel, chocolate, lime, and sour worms, jelly beans and gummy bears), refilled our soft drink again, then reluctantly left our last theme park. (We'd thought about going back to Movie World again, but it had been such a perfect day yesterday that none of us really wanted to spoil it). I was impressed on all 4 days, at all 4 parks, at the staff - everyone was friendly and helpful and enjoyable to talk to.

We ate our ice cream as we headed towards Brisbane. The traffic was heavy but was moving the whole way. The ice cream was delicious and the toppings good, but the lollies were a bit much and most didn't get eaten. We saw DreamWorld on our way past and compared some of the rides there to what we'd been doing. There were still no caravans on the road - really odd. As we approached Ipswich we finally did see a caravan being towed - the first one (and no camper trailers) we'd seen since just north of Byron Bay.

We arrived at our friends' house around 4.45pm. My kids and the other kids were so excited to see each other and settled straight into playing on the trampoline and in the backyard. We spent a relaxed evening in and out of the house, watching Netflix, playing with the kittens and playing games. My friend and one of their kids came home from dancing later in the evening - it was so good to see her. The kids set up lots of mattresses in the lounge room and they all slept out there (all 7 of them). I slept in one of the kids rooms after a long long chat with my friend.

Brisbane Trip Day 11: Bryon Bay -> Gold Coast

It was windy overnight and I was up at one point tying the tarp down more tightly as it was flapping a lot - I didn't want to take it off in case the potential forecast rain arrived. I slept badly, worrying about packing up in time (there were signs around saying we must check out by 10) and the fell asleep quite soundly in the early morning and woke up at 7.15, which was later than I'd planned.

The pack up went pretty smoothly although it was hot and sweaty work for all of us. Liam and Amelie did the dishes and then put the poles and pegs away and carried things to the car, Caitlin helped me with the tent. We were all hitched up and ready to go by 10.40 which is our quickest time yet.

The drive north was quite enjoyable. The countryside was green and lush, lots of trees, and paddocks full of grass. There were a lot of hills and we could see mountains in the distance. Driving on a dry day was also much easier for me. We reached the Gold Coast and I was fascinated by the tall buildings. We were suddenly driving in city traffic (which wasn't as difficult as driving in Byron Bay...) and we noticed that there were no other cars with caravans or trailers - they must be around somewhere, but apart from a few at a rest stop about half way from Byron, I don't think we saw any other caravans.

We found our way to Sea World Resort - driving past Sea World we could see a large blue roller coaster and it looked like something I would be happy to go on. The big kids were excited about it too. We pulled up to the front of the resort (and a lady waiting there moved her car forward so there was room for me to pull up with the trailer) and went inside to check in. Our room was ready so we were allowed to go straight up. We got our clothes bags out of the car and put them on a trolley for the concierge to take up, and asked about parking the trailer - he said we could just put it in one car parking space and park the car next to it. The kids came with me while I moved the car down into the carpark. I parked in the last row so that the trailer wasn't in anyone's way - and I managed to back it into a spot without too much trouble. We grabbed a few more bags and headed back into the resort.

The lobby felt quite luxurious and the kids were extremely excited to be there. We headed over to our room, where our luggage was waiting. We were in the Bay Wing, so we took a lift down one floor from the lobby, then walked along a corridor and then a covered walkway, then up 2 levels in another lift, then around the corner to our room. We had a balcony, a lovely bathroom with shower over the bath, and 2 double beds. The kids explored the room and we had a quick snack and repacked our bags, put our swimmers and sunscreen on and got ready to go to Wet n Wild - the clocks had gone back an hour because Qld doesn't do daylight savings, so it was still only 12.30 and we had a whole afternoon of theme park time! (The deal I got for our rooms gave us unlimited entry to Sea World, Movie World, Wet n Wild and Paradise Country for the 4 days of our stay)

It was a 25 minute drive to Wet n Wild, and quite exciting to arrive there (and to see Movie World next door). Once inside we found a table in the junior area and set up our things there, then took it in turns to take Amelie on some of the junior water slides. Liam and Caitlin took her on the mini-tornado, and I took her on a longer slide which was fun and not scary at all - my kind of slide! We checked out the wave pool (the regularly spaces waves made me feel a bit seasick) then Caitlin wanted to go on a surfboard ride that was basically a large U shape, with the ends curved in a little, and the ride went up one side of the U, then down through the middle and up the other side - it looked quite scary, and I think Liam wasn't quite prepared for how scary it was. Oh, the seats also span as the surfboard went back and forth.

From there we checked out the scarier slides - Liam and Caitlin went on the Black Hole which was a long enclosed waterside, mainly in the dark. Amelie and I went back to swim in the junior pool (which was lovely and refreshing, and fun to swim around - we went under bridges and I shot her with water cannons from the top of one of the bridges) while the others went on the Kamikaze - also a U shaped ride, this time a water slide though. They said it wasn't as scary as they thought it would be.

We had another go in the wave pool, then the 4 of us went on the Mammoth Falls ride - we all sat in a raft and the ride was a wide, open tube that started quite high. It was a lot of fun and we did it twice. From the wave pool we watched some people on the SkyCoaster - they get strapped into a harness, lying face down, then pulled up very very high by a rope, then are released and swing through the air in a large arc - scary even to watch, I couldn't imagine doing it!

Liam and Caitlin went on the Constrictor, an enclosed tube ride, and then we went to the Aqua Racer. This one didn't seem as high as the one at Adventure Park Geelong, but I was still pretty scared. It was much harder to get going on this one too. I was way behind Liam a couple of times but picked up so much speed on the last two bumps that I overtook him. Amelie watched us the first time then decided to give it a go and she loved it, and went on it twice.

Next we went to Calypso Beach which is a lazy river ride - floating in tubes around a circular river. It was lovely and relaxing. After one circuit I left Amelie with Liam, while Caitlin took me on the Black Hole - it was so much fun. I was screaming and laughing and sounded a bit insane I think, and I really enjoyed it. Being in the dark made it a bit scarier but there were no scary drops or real surprises. We played a little more in Calypso Beach then back to the wave pool, and Caitlin had another turn on the Surfboard.

Liam and Caitlin bought themselves a soft serve cup with lots of different toppings, and Amelie bought some fairy floss. There was a very large water dragon wandering around amongst the tables where our stuff was, we saw him each time we went back for a snack or more sunscreen. Someone dropped a bag of cheese and bacon balls and the little birds in the area were eating them - they had orange beaks and ate a lot of them before Caitlin grabbed the bag and put it in the bin - we figured they were likely to make the birds rather unwell. We'd had under 4 hours at the park and managed to have a go at everything we wanted to - we would have been happy to stay longer but also felt like we were happy with what we had done. It was a very fun afternoon.

An old friend of mine lived not far from the park so once we were dressed again we headed over to his place. I hadn't seen him since a baseball tournament in Port Macquarie in 2002, so it was fantastic to have a chance to catch up. We sat on his back verandah overlooking some lush forest, and had a drink and a good chat. It had been warm and sunny all day and in the evening some heavy clouds rolled in - there was torrential rain for a little while, and lots of thunder and lightning. It was pretty cool to watch and we were very glad we weren't camping tonight! We decided to get fish and chips which were delicious. His 17 year old son was lovely and got on well with my kids - after dinner they all watched funny youtube videos together while I chatted to my friend. He had an early start the next morning and we were all exhausted so we headed off about 8pm.

We stopped and got petrol on the way back to the resort and the guy in the Spar service station was friendly and chatty. Back at the resort we watched a bit of tv and used the free wifi for a while, some of the kids had a shower and we gradually drifted off to bed. The room had 2 double beds and Liam didn't want to share a bed with any of us, so we'd bought a camping mattress up and he set himself up on the floor between the two beds.

Brisbane Trip Day 9: Coffs Harbour -> Byron Bay

It rained for most of the night so everything was pretty soggy in the morning. The leak near Liam's bed didn't get too bad which was a relief. There were a few hours where it looked like it was going to clear up, the sky was a bit lighter and there was some time without any rain falling. I booked our accommodation at Sea World and then started packing, trying to get as much done as possible before the rain started again. The last hour at least we were packing up in steady rain, and all ended up soaked through to the skin. We packed in a different order to try to keep things as dry as possible and it worked much better than usual. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to tow the trailer out because the ground was very wet and sandy, but it was fine. We drove down to the carpark and headed to the shower block to change into dry clothes and retrieve our washing from the dryer.

Once we were dry we headed down for one more look at the beach - the sun was trying to come through and the water was shiny and beautiful, a nice ending to our time in Coffs.

I found it a bit difficult driving with the rain coming and going, so it was a slow drive north. I hadn't driven beyond Coffs Harbour before so it was all new. A lot of the Pacific Highway is dual carriageway now and they are working on lots more of it. We saw a pretty spectacular bridge in the process of being built - it is going to be high enough to replace the current bridge which lifts up to let boats through. There were cranes and diggers on pontoons in the middle of the river, it was pretty cool. As we drove we listened to 'The Colour of Magic' by Terry Pratchett - it took the kids a while to get into it, now everyone is enjoying it and I'm pleased to be sharing this series and world with them. I stopped once for a cup of tea and once to retie some straps on the trailer and the short breaks helped me stay alert.

We arrived in Bryon Bay around 4pm and I was astounded at the number of people around - lots and lots of pedestrians and the traffic was heavy. I dropped the kids off at the information centre and drove back out of the main street to the free parking for long vehicles which was a block from the main street. Lots of people parked here and walked back through across the old railway track. The kids played in the park and we used the toilets and I rang around the caravan parks in town to see how much it would cost us to stay - the costs varied between $50/n and $95/n. I'd been trying to get in contact with the local football club who let people camp at the football ground - I couldn't find out how much they charged for kids. We decided to drive out there and check it out and if too expensive we'd come back to the cheapest caravan park. The grounds looked green and inviting and they said it would be $30/night, and there were toilets and hot showers and only a 5 minute drive back into town - so we decided to stay here.

It had started raining again while we were in town (we sat under a big tree while I made my phone calls and it kept off some of the rain) and it had settled in by the time we arrived at the football ground. Liam and Amelie decided to stay in the car and play on their iPods, and Caitlin braved the weather with me to set up. It was windy by now as well which added a whole extra challenge. We got the tent up - we'd left the annex roof attached and the tarp over the tent, which made putting the tent up much harder, but setting the annex and covering the roof much easier. It still took us a while to get everything tied down and in an optimal position for avoiding leaks - and we were soaked right through again. The inside of the tent was pretty damp, there was water in several corners. We set the beds up closer to the centre than usual, and put blankets and mats on the floor so that we didn't spread the water around, and it felt pretty cozy. Luckily the weather was warm despite the rain, so it wasn't completely uncomfortable.

We boiled the kettle and had cup-a-soup and noodles for dinner. There were lots of backpackers staying there as well and we chatted to a few of them (and lent one group a saucepan) and headed to bed as soon as we could.

Brisbane Trip Day 2: Yerrinbool -> Newcastle

It rained a bit overnight so everything was a bit damp when I woke up. It was a beautiful morning and I enjoyed a bit of time to myself outside. I started packing up then as the kids woke up we had fresh eggs for breakfast (and discovered most of the bread I’d bought with us was old so I’ll need to go shopping earlier than I’d expected). We packed up and played in the back yard a bit, then popped inside to have a cuppa and hot cross buns with our hosts.

We left just after 11 and drove through to Thornleigh to see a very good friend of mine. The traffic was a bit heavy, being Saturday morning in Sydney, but it wasn’t too stressful. We had a wonderful half an hour with my friend – always so wonderful to see her, even if it’s brief.

The next part of the drive was very enjoyable – driving from Sydney to Newcastle is so familiar and I love seeing all the things I know and remembering other trips. The kids were excited to see the Hawkesbury River and the bridges and remember our houseboat trip. We listened to the rest of ‘Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians’ which was a lot of fun.

We arrived at Tony’s brother’s house just after 3. I had a cup of tea and the kids played with their cousins – we had 6 pretty excited children in the house. Although being the only boy, Liam soon wandered out and sat and chatted with the adults. Tone’s brother helped me back the trailer in – down the driveway and through the garage, it was a bit tricky but with a bit of forward and back and trying again I got it into the backyard – I’d been nervous about it ever since we decided to stay here and felt great once I’d achieved it.

I took the kids down to the beach while P cooked dinner, then he met us down there. The surf was much bigger than what we’d been swimming in so far this summer – more like the ocean that I am used to, while the kids have mainly swum at Victorian beaches. Caitlin and Liam coped fine though, they were happy out in the deep, big waves with their cousins. I stayed close to the shore with Amelie and the little cousin, we jumped waves and ran away from them. P came down and he and the girls built a pool for the girls to sit in, I went out for a proper swim in the waves, it was great. Liam came in after a while and he and I competed to see who could stand still in the knee deep water for longest – it was fun and he was much better than I was.

We came home and the kids played some more while I set up the tent, then we ate a delicious chicken curry. Liam watched some Dr Who, the big girls did each other’s hair and then jumped on the trampoline, the younger girls played with their stuffed animals. I was extremely tired and headed to bed to read about 9pm – it was great to lie down and rest and not have to think about anything much at all.

Half-lap Day 61: Kununurra -> Ord River

Even though I’d sorted a lot of our stuff the day before, pack up seemed to take ages this morning. We didn’t rush it, and there was still a lot to organise, but we were close to done by about 10.30. The kids spent the morning playing with all their friends, most of whom were also packing up and leaving today. They played hide-and-seek for ages,  and did a bit of painting, until the others were ready to go. Then the 5 year old boy came over to our tent and they boys played on the iPad and the girls watched or played their own games.

Caitlin’s thumb was still swollen and bruised and had given her a lot of pain overnight, so she hadn’t slept well. I figured out a way to make a splint from some of the bamboo skewers we’d bought to do painting with, and I was able to strap it more securely. I’d just finished doing her thumb and went to put a tub in the car. I caught my finger between the edge of the tub lid and the wall of car as I dropped it into place. I thought ‘ooh, that hurt!’ and then noticed blood splashed across the back of the seat, and I was suddenly very worried about how bad it might be. A quick glance at my finger showed a long line that looked like a cut and a lot of blood. I called Tony over to help and he got some wound care stuff ready. When I was finally brave enough to look at my finger it wasn’t as bad as I’d thought – I’d just taken the skin off from near the tip of the finger to the first knuckle, so it was long but not deep at all. We bandaged it up and I was able to get on with packing.

The kids had wanted to have one more swim in the great pool before we left, so once we were nearly packed I took them over to the pool. It was hot by now and the pool felt fantastic. Tony joined us just as we were getting out, and Millie went back in with him, while I finished off getting everything in the car in the right spot (eg we have our chargers in the back, attached to the battery pack, when we are camping, and in the front, using the front cigarette lighter, when we are travelling.) When Millie got out of the pool she wanted a shower, and took a while to find one that had the right kind of water pressure – seeing as we’ll probably be free camping the next couple of nights we figured it was a good idea to let her have a decent shower while she could. Tony made some sandwiches for everyone and then we left the caravan park.

In town we stopped for milk and to get some oil and radiator fluid for the car, then on the way out of town we stopped at a banana farm and bought some lovely tree-ripened bananas, and a bag of cucumbers. Then we were finally on our way further west, around 1pm. We ate some of the cucumbers on the way – the juiciest and freshest we’ve ever had!

The scenery was different yet again as we headed along the highway. This time there were huge escarpments and mountains on either side of the road (not always close, but always there. The trees were even more sparse than previously, although there were still a lot of boab trees. We saw lots of very rocky hills and some with smoother, larger rocks on them. The highway was well maintained but only just 2 lanes wide, and there were several one lane bridges that we crossed – had to give way a few times to traffic coming the other way. We crossed lots of dry river beds – some with trees bent almost horizontal, the water flow must be phenomenal in the wet!

One lane bridge

Looks like the water flow is strong in this river during the wet season

We were planning on driving to Halls Creek, but when we started looking at the available free camps in the area, the only ones with toilets, and accessible via sealed road, were 100km before or after Halls Creek. We didn’t want to pay over $30 to stay in a caravan park just for a quick stop, and we’d left later than we’d planned, so we decided to stop at the Leycester Rest Area, 100km from Halls Creek, which we reached around 3.30pm.

We found a spot in the shade, right next to another caravan – they said it was fine for us to set up there. We put the tent up pretty quickly, then sat and had a chat to our neighbours. I took the girls up the hill to the toilets – these ones were hybrids, so composting toilets but with a flap over the hole, and a button to stand on to flush some water through and drop the contents into the hole (a bit like an aeroplane or train toilet). The kids were pleased, these were less disgusting and smelly than a regular drop toilet. On our way back down to the tent we saw a large cow wandering past our car (which explained why the rock I’d kicked out of the way of the tent earlier was so light – it was dried cow dung). There were 4 or 5 cows and bulls hanging around the campsite, just eating grass and ignoring everybody. The ground here was dry (although easy enough to put tent pegs in) and covered in sparse yellow grass, and full of prickles. Even LiAM decided to wear thongs because the thorns were painful.

I took LiAM up to the toilet then he and I walked down to the Ord River. There was a blocked-off causeway across the river bed, and we wandered over it. The river was almost completely dry, just a handful of deep pools of water right up against the causeway wall. We watched the fish in them for a while, and marveled at how wide and varied the river bed was. There were areas with rocks, some with boulders, some just sand. Some of the trees were on raised ground which I imagine would be islands, some were growing straight out of the river bed. It’s amazing to think that this is what the Ord used to look like all along it’s length in the dry season, before Lake Argyle was created.

Caitlin’s thumb had been getting steadily more painful through the day, and by the time dinner was ready she was curled up on her chair, shivering and miserable. She seemed like she was in shock from the pain. I gave her some pain killers and we tried to get her to eat something but nothing appealed – eventually she had a banana. She curled up with me while I ate dinner (pasta, bacon and tomatoes), then I got the beds set up so she could get to sleep. I also had a glass of wine - the first wine we've had for several weeks, it was so lovely! We all walked up to toilets together, and while Caitlin was waiting for us she saw 7 shooting stars! The stars tonight were the clearest and brightest we’ve seen yet, just phenomenal to look out. No moon, and 100km from the nearest town, and a clear, cool night – perfect conditions I guess.

We packed up our stuff in case the cows came wandering through, then negotiated who was going to sleep where – Caitlin was really not well and we figured she’d be better off in the big bed. I ended up sleeping on the little green bed, which was much more comfortable than I’d expected. With my head down the end of the tent, where the wall slopes, I could look straight up through the window and see the stars, which was very cool.