Biding Time

We took a week or so getting back to Coffs Harbour. We dawdled down the coast, stopping at Kingscliff for a few days, given that the weather was nice. We like the area around here. It is close to the Gold Coast, and the village has a nice feel about it with lots of cafes and that unhurried holiday feel. We choose to stay at the North Kingscliff Holiday Park, as it gives us a 2 km walk back to the caravan after consuming coffee and cake!

On the road in the wet.

We had a lovely morning tea stop in Bangalow, which is a really trendy spot these days. No shortage of choices for good food and coffee in Bangalow. We arrived in Coffs Harbour in the pouring rain. It has been so wet this last six months in Coffs Harbour! Thankfully the manager Colin, had put us on a site with a concrete slab. We pulled up at the site, where the slab looked like it was floating in an inland lake. I reversed the caravan in beside the slab. It just sank into the mud! Setting up in the wet is one of the least fun things we get to do. You just put up with it and get very wet, and in this case very muddy as well. See this caravan life isn't all blue skies and roses! The rain just hammered down for the next two days, as we just mostly watched TV and read our books. We dropped the caravan off at Watson's, and didn't have any problems showing them where the leak was! As usual, they were so helpful. When we collected the van that afternoon, they had checked it from top to botttom, and are confident we are now leakless.

Set up at Maleny Showground.

We had received word from our friend Lynne that hubby Paul had had a bad turn, with his diabetes, up at Maleny, and was in Nambour Hospital, so we decided that we would head back up to offer some moral support. When we had been there just a couple of weeks before, we had sussed out the Showground as a possible future spot to stay, as there is no caravan park at Maleny. The council has a few power poles and taps distributed around the very substantial showground area, and allows campers and caravans to stay at the good price of $15.00 per night. We found a nice spot and set up, only to be told the next day we would have to move, as there was a big car show in that part of the Showgrounds over the weekend. So next morning we moved camp. To our pleasant surprise, the caravan that had occupied one of the best spots in the Showgrounds had pulled out, so we jumped in!

The bookstore at Ulmarra.

On the way up from Coffs Harbour, we had a lovely morning tea stop just past Grafton, at the old  river port town of Ulmarra, The pub has a coffee shop and restaurant out back, with lovely settings spread among the trees that line the river. I remembered to phone my brother Neil for his birthday. Must have something to do with being in a pub! Happy birthday brother. Out on the street we did the 90 second main street tour, and found a terrific second hand bookstore. We stepped inside and just went WOW! I rattled off a few authors I liked, and this guy just disappeared among the books and returned with arms full. I picked out 6, we settled on $30.00, and it was all done. As we left he called out, "next time, phone or email me a list, and I'll make certain I've got them ready!" What a great shop!! Down the street was "Sluggo's Antiques and Collectables". Unfortunately Sluggo was unavailable, so we never got to see his range of Fine French Dinnerware boldly advertised in the front window. I'll be watching the Antiques Road Show with renewed vigour now, hoping to see Sluggo in a future episode!

Lunch at "Our Daily Bread"
Broadwater

A couple of hours further up the road in Broadwater, we took lunch at a church. Unfortunately they were out of loaves and fishes, so we had the soup, which was creamy pumpkin and downright delicious. The Cafe goes by the name of "Our Daily Bread", and is a good stop. It is a huge room, decked out in the art deco style of the 50's and 60's. If you are a baby boomer you will recognise something from your home and past. We both had lots to reminisce over! It was a fun lunch break, and another reminder that sometimes you just have to stop and take a look!

We decided to do an overnight stay at Brunswick Heads, mainly because we are always saying, "we must stop here". We chose the Top Tourist Park right on the river. It is a great location, right on the edge of town as well. We were surprised at how good the little town was. It has that "alternative" feel like much of the surrounding area, such as Mullumbimby and Byron Bay, and has a great pub that is apparently big on live music, plus quite a number of fine looking eateries. On a Tuesday night there wasn't much open, so we decided to try the pub. On the way, we passed a small Pizza & Pasta place called "Sticky Fingers". I kept dragging Carolyn towards the pub, but she just said we are going there, so it was drinks at the pub, a bottle of red from the bottleo, and fabulous pizza for dinner. I was so impressed when the owner came over with a little dish crammed with anchovies, and put them in front of me. He'd heard us having our usual pizza conversation as Carolyn doesn't like them and I love them. He had the perfect peaceful solution. Now that's service! We got talking to the owner, who gave us the lowdown on the area, and made a pact to come back for a good stay in the future,

Lounging around the caravan.

Up at Maleny, we were glad to find that Paul was home from hospital, and looking bright. He was feeling a bit light headed from the treatment. He has a tough time ahead, but as usual he will take it all in his stride, in his own style, and just get on with his life as best he can. It was really business as usual when we all get together. Paul took a little extra rest time, but we all managed some nice outings and walks with the dogs. Friday night we went to a really fun place for dinner. "The Upfront Club" is a Co-operative that promotes local artists, whether it be music, food, painting, craft etc. The place runs as a cafe all week and on Friday and Saturday nights they have live music. We had a delightful Penang Curry, full of flavour and fresh vegetables, and were entertained by Barry Charles and Andy McDonnell, who did a lot of Bob Dylan and Lenard Cohen, played good guitar and harmonica, and were  highly entertaining. They write some of their own material. One song was about a 90 year old woman who organises an orgy. I'm not kidding! Mum, don't get any ideas! It was a great night out.

Lunch at Mapleton.

"Muscle on the Mountain" - the
main ring was soon full.

Saturday we drove along the ridge to Mapleton for lunch. Paul took a rest break. The weather was beautiful, and sitting down to lunch looking out over the Sunshine Coast was very nice indeed. That night it was Carolyn's turn to cook dinner. I begged for the Lamb with oregano and gnocchi again, and won, and again it was delicious, and then we sat and watched the Wobblies get flogged by the Poms, who obviously chose the better Kiwi as coach! Sunday was all about 'Muscle on the Mountain Show & Shine" Car event at the Showground. We couldn't believe the number of exhibitors. They started arriving from Saturday night, and before sunrise on Sunday morning. The main ring was soon full and overflow areas were opening up all around. The food caravans were running out of food. The great weather had brought everyone out. We've run into a few of these "Show & Shine" events along our travels. The work that goes into the cars is incredible. This was by far the biggest such event we've seen. 

Carolyn loved the '65 Mustang.

They even had Vintage Caravans.

Lynne & Paul's friends Andy & Carol came up with their teenage kids for the day, and another friend, Dennis had ridden up on his Harley Davidson, from his home at Redcliffe near Brisbane. We all had a lazy afternoon drooling over the cars.

Walking into Kondalilla Falls
National Park. 

Morning Coffee at The Edge Cafe
Montville.

We extended our stay another couple of days. Usually the Showground has a three day limit, but it was quiet again, and they didn't seem too worried by the rule. We headed on down to Caloundra for a lunch of Fish 'n Chips by the sea, and generally just hung out and relaxed. On our last day, Carolyn and I decided to get all energetic and go see the nearby waterfalls at Kondalilla Falls National Park, near Montville, and Gardner Falls near Maleny. We first headed to Kondalilla Falls, which we soon discovered is a long walk into the National Park. We did a 1 hour loop to the Rockpools, but didn't have time for the much longer walk to the actual falls. It is a lovely area, and we'll put it on the future list. We headed off towards Maleny, and as it was such a beautiful day decided on coffee at Montville, this time The Edge Cafe, with its magnificent views over the Sunshine Coast. Gardner Falls, were a much easier proposition. The short walk in along the river was lovely, but the falls were a bit more of a stumble than a fall. Still it is a lovely picnic area and swimming hole, close to Maleny.

That night we had one last dinner at Lynne & Paul's, followed by a movie. We all said our goodbyes and wished Paul well with his recovery and ongoing treatments. Next morning dawned misty and cold, as I fully expected having washed the car and caravan the day before! Lynne called in on her way to tennis. The courts are at the Showground. But as we hitched up and started to head out, we both weren't too confident about much tennis being played in Maleny that day.

Nash Gallery & Cafe at Esk.

We headed down the mountain through Woodford and then onto Esk in steady rain, and headed west towards Toowoomba, and the next part of our journey. Now, if you are ever going through Esk, you simply have to stop at the Nash Gallery and Cafe. This is our second visit. The owners are just lovely, and the ambience is really nice. We arrived on a cold, miserable day, and all the heaters were on and the place had a cosy feel. We were steered towards the "just out of the oven" sultana scones, which were so good, served with heaps of home made jam and lashings of cream, and at this stage Carolyn's plan to share was not looking good for her! Better bring an extra scone, and oh some more jam, and maybe just a little bit more cream!!!