Is it always raining when i do blog updates? The west coast of Aus has had a huge amount of rain over recent days- maybe its our british influence. We sat through 2 days of major storms last week. 1 nut case was killed- he tried to take pictures from inside a storm drain....darwin awards(?) so probably a good thing his genes have been eliminated from society ,some 120000 homes in the Brisbane area were damaged and numerous trees and power lines fell.
Meanwhile lu, Maddie and Georgia went to surf school! At 7pm that evening, when after several hours away they still hadn’t returned, i did begin to plot my course of crisis action. However they got back, totally elated, having been bashed around by 4 ft waves for a few hours. Definately the best way to handle adverse weather.
Nightime however was different. Having told the kids not to worry as we were protected by the rubber wheels of the camper being in contact with the ground, things did get pretty bad. My plan centred on explaining that if you count the seconds between the lightning strike- which were awesome as we watched them over the ocean- and the following thunder roll, that is how ‘far’ away the storm actually is. The count started around 15 which was fine but it steadily fell until by my own nervous reckoning it hit 2 and a collective wail rose from the kids beds. I said they had been counting too quickly and it was definitely more like 5!
We survived.
That all took place on a cliff edge at a place called Rainbow Beach. Without and doubt the coolest place we have been so far. Our tour of west coast Australia’s finest campsites has produced some pretty ugly contenders- Serena, Ingham, Mackay and some beautiful spots, but Rainbow Beach blows them all away.
A tiny town of about 500 people, 3 coffee shops- all serving awesome pancake breakfasts, 1 surf school and a couple of browsy gift shops- the owners of which knew Mads, Geo and Bugs on first name terms by the time we left (that involved an ever increasing discount whenever they spent there, which was an upside). Unsurprisingly in such a spot, they have just finished building some pretty awesome, ultra modern, ocean view apartments, so i guess in 5 years time the place will feel very differently.
Caught by the waves at Rainbow
Meanwhile lu, Maddie and Georgia went to surf school! At 7pm that evening, when after several hours away they still hadn’t returned, i did begin to plot my course of crisis action. However they got back, totally elated, having been bashed around by 4 ft waves for a few hours. Definately the best way to handle adverse weather.
Nightime however was different. Having told the kids not to worry as we were protected by the rubber wheels of the camper being in contact with the ground, things did get pretty bad. My plan centred on explaining that if you count the seconds between the lightning strike- which were awesome as we watched them over the ocean- and the following thunder roll, that is how ‘far’ away the storm actually is. The count started around 15 which was fine but it steadily fell until by my own nervous reckoning it hit 2 and a collective wail rose from the kids beds. I said they had been counting too quickly and it was definitely more like 5!
We survived.
That all took place on a cliff edge at a place called Rainbow Beach. Without and doubt the coolest place we have been so far. Our tour of west coast Australia’s finest campsites has produced some pretty ugly contenders- Serena, Ingham, Mackay and some beautiful spots, but Rainbow Beach blows them all away.
A tiny town of about 500 people, 3 coffee shops- all serving awesome pancake breakfasts, 1 surf school and a couple of browsy gift shops- the owners of which knew Mads, Geo and Bugs on first name terms by the time we left (that involved an ever increasing discount whenever they spent there, which was an upside). Unsurprisingly in such a spot, they have just finished building some pretty awesome, ultra modern, ocean view apartments, so i guess in 5 years time the place will feel very differently.
Caught by the waves at Rainbow
Camp Lucey
We had a great 7 days there made even better for us by the arrival of Jonny and Indra and their 2 daughters at the tail end of that. We met them what seems like an age ago in Mission Beach as they were on a 6 month trip to the North from their home in Melbourne and they caught us on the way back down at Rainbow. I am sure we shall be leapfrogging each other a couple more times over the next few months.
The weekend was spent just north of Brisbane at a place called Dicky Beach- so named as the SS Dicky beached itself there about 75 years ago- where i spent yet another afternoon getting thrown around in the waves with a surfboard trying to perfect my ‘hang ten’ technique. Jesus, it is a tough sport. What is most frustrating is sitting on the beach, exhausted after 2 hours in the water, and some young kid turns up, throws his board in and within 1 minute is riding a wave to die for. I have a long way to go and perhaps not starting at age 44 is the best idea.....
On Monday we visited the late Steve Irwin’s Australia zoo. What a fantastic day.
We hit it pretty much as the gates opened at 9.30am and were 1 of the last to leave 7 hours later. It is obviously super touristy –the crocodile show arena for example holds 5000 people and is like a Wimbledon show court in scale- but there is a very strong message of conservation, environment and sustainability all in a larger 
than life Steve Irwin style- Allrighty.
We had a great 7 days there made even better for us by the arrival of Jonny and Indra and their 2 daughters at the tail end of that. We met them what seems like an age ago in Mission Beach as they were on a 6 month trip to the North from their home in Melbourne and they caught us on the way back down at Rainbow. I am sure we shall be leapfrogging each other a couple more times over the next few months.
The weekend was spent just north of Brisbane at a place called Dicky Beach- so named as the SS Dicky beached itself there about 75 years ago- where i spent yet another afternoon getting thrown around in the waves with a surfboard trying to perfect my ‘hang ten’ technique. Jesus, it is a tough sport. What is most frustrating is sitting on the beach, exhausted after 2 hours in the water, and some young kid turns up, throws his board in and within 1 minute is riding a wave to die for. I have a long way to go and perhaps not starting at age 44 is the best idea.....
On Monday we visited the late Steve Irwin’s Australia zoo. What a fantastic day.
We hit it pretty much as the gates opened at 9.30am and were 1 of the last to leave 7 hours later. It is obviously super touristy –the crocodile show arena for example holds 5000 people and is like a Wimbledon show court in scale- but there is a very strong message of conservation, environment and sustainability all in a larger 
than life Steve Irwin style- Allrighty. At the zoo with a huge groc and the great Steve.
A short stop to more friends who we have met en-route, Louise and Tony, who hosted a barbie and sleepover that night for us made a long day.
Now Brisbane. We are camped some 5km from the centre of the city in a nice sleepy suburb. There is a great Mexican restaurant 500m away so we introduced the kids to Chimichangers, Quesidillas and reconstituted beans. No Tequila but memories of some of several pretty riotous nights at Jeepers in Wandsworth town flooded back to us.
So we now have 5 days of city culture ahead. There are some highly rated museums here, a great modern art gallery and more importantly for the girls with Christmas looming, great shopping. My credit card is gearing up for a battering......
Take care in the snow back home!
Andy
Now Brisbane. We are camped some 5km from the centre of the city in a nice sleepy suburb. There is a great Mexican restaurant 500m away so we introduced the kids to Chimichangers, Quesidillas and reconstituted beans. No Tequila but memories of some of several pretty riotous nights at Jeepers in Wandsworth town flooded back to us.
So we now have 5 days of city culture ahead. There are some highly rated museums here, a great modern art gallery and more importantly for the girls with Christmas looming, great shopping. My credit card is gearing up for a battering......
Take care in the snow back home!
Andy
2 comments:
great up date Drew, keep them coming!
LOL x Mum xx
Sounds like you are all having a great time. Can you speak Australian yet? It looks warmer down under than the -20C it is here in Yellowknife today. Still, I will be in Brazil soon..Xmas on the beach with Isa in Rio
Best wishes
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