Coolum to Gloucester 2015

Italy Here We Come!

It is hard to believe that a quarter of the year has already gone, and that it is almost two months since I added to the blog!! But then, 2015 is not going to be a normal year for the nomadic Andersons. We have been busy, not travelling this great land, but lying low and planning the trip of a lifetime, when on 27th April, we take the Big Adventure Offshore and fulfil another lifelong dream, to spend some quality time in Italy. Three whole months of quality time!! Along the way, we will catch up with old friends Jim & Joan Griffith at their home in Wilmslow in the UK. We will take in a little romance in Paris and the south of France before hitting Italy. The odyssey will end with a cruise through the Eastern Mediterranean to Istanbul, before heading home at the beginning of August 2015. Yes folks, the old Bucket List is taking a beating!! They say you can't take it with you, and we have absolutely no plans to even try!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carolyn with Kenzie & Harly.

Coolum Beach

But first, a recap on what has been happening in our life since the last Post. We set up camp at Coolum Beach. You all know what a favourite of ours it is, with the caravan park just metres from the beach and countless cafes. Friends Lynne & Paul and their puppies Kenzie & Harly live just up the hill at beautiful Maleny, and golfing mate Pete lives two streets away, so there are lots of excuses for coffee and golf! But before we can do anything, the storm clouds are brewing to the north, with Tropical Cyclone Marcia heading our way. The caravan park was emptying out fast, as

After Cyclone Marcia.

During Cyclone Marcia.

people sought sanctuary elsewhere. With so much conflicting information we decided to stay, rather that drive hundreds of kilometres inland. As things would turn out, our decision was vindicated, with lots of rain but no damaging winds. There were some strong wind gusts, one of which brought down a small branch that damaged our satellite dish, but that was quickly repaired, and the sunshine returned and stayed for the next few weeks. The crowds slowly returned to the caravan park over the next week, but generally the caravan park was never more that half full.

 

With Lynne, Paul, Kenzie & Harly.

Morning Coffee at Sunrise.

The beautiful beach beckons most mornings, with a long walk ending with coffee at one of our favourite cafes, Sunrise, opposite the beach, or The Caf, which bakes great savoury & sweet muffins, every day! The water temperature is around 25 degrees C, so it is just beautiful for a dip. Holiday planning is the task at hand, and countless hours are spent going over dozens of websites. You see, we are booking the entire holiday, with the exception of the cruise, ourselves. Hotel sites, B&B Sites, Cars, Trains, Tours. It is absolutely amazing what information is available.

A Great market!

Doing the Eumundi Markets.

Between hours of holiday planning, we still had time for visits to Eumundi Markets, and some long lunches. John also got into a golf routine, heading off with Pete most Thursdays and Saturdays, to play in the member's comp at Pete's club, Mt. Coolum. It is a challenging course, with lots of water & trees, narrow fairways, all in the shadow of the looming Mt Coolum. There is heaps of bird life. It is a lovely place to play. On my first outing I burgled the comp with a net 64, eight under par!!! There was quite a bit of good hearted heckling from Pete's mates at the presentation. They didn't have to worry, I didn't get close

Coffee at Eumundi.

again!! It was a huge amount

Great colour along Maleny Road.

of fun playing with a variety of Pete's mates. There  are some real characters among them, though I'm not sure I'll forgive Pete for sending me out on Monthly Medal Saturday, with an 81 year old guy, slightly deaf & suffering early Dimentia, his 79 year old mate who warned me his sight wasn't great, and 91 year old Tom, who played a very private game, completely oblivious to the movements of the rest of the group!! It was more like Search & Rescue than golf!!! I was exhausted having followed the flight of four balls on every hole, usually into a forest or a lake, keeping score for everyone, "have I had 5 or 6? No I think it is 8!! No, that was the last hole! And so it went on!!! I think our 4 ball aggregate would have made a new record somewhere close to 600 strokes!!

Shopping in Montville.

The Brisbane Skyline.

Carolyn & Lynne took a day trip in to Brisbane by train for a look around. Carolyn couldn't remember the last time she'd been in Brisbane, and with Lynne having come from these parts, she had the perfect guide. From all accounts, they had a lovely day, walking, using the free ferry along the Brisbane River, and enjoying a lovely lunch at Southbank. Brisbane has changed so much over recent years, and Carolyn wants to head back again. Next time I will be going with her! She was a tired little tiger, when I picked her up at Nambour Station.

A day at Kenilworth.

Lunch at Montville.

On another day, we met Lynne and took a lovely drive out to Kenilworth. Paul had taken himself off to Melbourne as a Volunteer at the Avalon Air Show!! We took the scenic drive down the mountain from Mapleton, and it is a spectacular drive. With all the recent rain, the country is so green. When we reached Kenilworth, we headed out to the famous Cheese Factory for some tasting, and you know what happens when you taste, you buy!! Lovely tasty cheddar!! The little town has a surprisingly good selection of quality shops, so the girls had a good time! We found a café for lunch, which was just OK. It was for sale, and I think the owners and staff had their minds elsewhere. Anyway, the  drive back up the mountain soon made lunch a distant memory, with the wonderful views at every turn. Later in the week we were out to dinner with Pete and his sister Lynette and partner Graeme. We went back to our usual haunt, Castro's, where the pizzas are great, and everything else is equally as good. As usual, we were last to leave!

Jill came to Noosaville.

Happy Hour!

During our last week at Coolum, niece Jill flew into town. She has an investment Studio Apartment up at Noosaville, and decided to take week off work.  We enjoyed a long lunch at Noosaville, in an establishment with the quaint name of Corner On Thomas. It was lovely, looking across to the river. Next day, we took in an afternoon movie followed by Italian at a nice little family restaurant in Noosaville. The girls proclaiming the Tiramisu as World Class!!! Our last social event was the celebration of our friend Paul's 70th Birthday. How can our friends be turning 70!!! The card we found along our travels said it all - "HOLY CRAP YOUR OLD!!" Lunch, sitting out on the deck at the Kawana Tavern, was excellent. Really good pub food at reasonable prices.

Here's to 34 Years together.

Romantic dinner at Blue Scooter.

So, it was time to start heading south. The holiday plans are well underway. We were very slow getting going on the morning of departure, with one last walk along the beach, one last coffee and muffin at The Caf. We finally got out the gate at around 10.45am! We were only driving down to Kingscliff, another very favourite spot. Crossing the border back into the Daylight Saving of NSW, brought us back an hour, so we weren't very late at all!! We had managed to get into the Kingscliff Beach Front Caravan Park, right in town. It is very similar to Coolum, with a long sandy beach on one side, and lots of cafes and shops on the other. The weather was stormy, but warm. It was a lovely stay of 10 days, during

Farmer John.

which we made

On the farm at Gloucester.

more steady progress with the holiday plans. Our favourite coffee spot in Kingscliff is Choux Box, who make great coffee and some very good cakes. The banana toffee cake is fantastic! The old Kingscliff Hotel has undergone a transformation, and is now a modern beach themed establishment, with the outdoor area having the biggest TV screen we have ever seen! A great spot to watch the last few games of the Cricket World Cup! On our last Saturday night, we took ourselves out for a special dinner, to celebrate 34 years to the day, that I knocked on Carolyn's front door and took her out for the first of countless dinners. We went to Blue Scooter, an Italian themed seafood restaurant, right at the roundabout in the middle of town. Joe was playing guitar, providing a terrific background with all those old surfing instrumentals from the '60's and '70's. The food & wine were great, and it was a very special night for us.



Leo the Kelpie.

Taking Leo for a walk.

From Kingscliff it was off to Coffs Harbour to get our annual caravan service done. We also had a list of minor repairs we needed done. It is only about 4 hours down the road, and true to form for Coffs Harbour, storm clouds were building! We have never been in Coffs Harbour when it didn't pour with rain! We took the caravan into Watson's early Monday morning, and the team did an amazing job, getting everything done in a day. It was late when we drove out the gate, and we got back to the caravan park just in time to get the van parked and the

Milking time.

awning out, before the heaven's opened. It was torrential for

Mist over the Dairy.

a couple of hours and eased off to a torrent! When we awoke in the morning we were surrounded by a lake!!! We have friends in Coffs Harbour, Lesley & Jim, and on our last night went around to their home for a delightful home cooked meal. It was a long and lovely evening. The Spanish Mackeral that Jim had caught was just delicious! On the morning we left town, it was back to Watson's for one last time. Our leaky awning was still leaking, so it was now Plan B. With the repairs done, we were on the road to Gloucester and the farm, for the Easter Break.

Feeding the new calf.

Feeding time.

With a late start and heavy Easter traffic, it was a late arrival at the farm. It is a lovely sight coming over the hill into Gloucester and the drive out to the farm is a joy following all the recent rain.  We set up in our usual spot next to the house, and are met with the news that Lindsay & Myrelle are soon to be rid of all the Dairy work. They are planning to sell the dairy herd, and lessen their work load, by raising beef cattle. Farmers have to plan retirement too!! So this Easter break could well be our last Dairy experience. We had a lovely weekend catching up with all the family. Michael & Wendy came out with their kids

Leo gets a cuddle.

Andrew & Samantha, and the following day Margo & Adam came

Galahs amidst the fog.

out with Alby & Ellie for an overnight stay. So we got to spend some quality time. Carolyn was cooking up a storm to give Myrelle a break. There were so many visitors camping on and around the farm. The dairy resembled a football match with kids perched all around the railing fences of the dairy, straddling the quad bikes and begging rides. I've never seen it like this. The poor old cows were wondering what hit them!! Add in a wet Easter, and it was bedlam! The wet weather drove some campers away early. Carolyn was in heaven, as Lindsay has a new pup, Leo the Kelpie, just 12 weeks old. What a livewire. Carolyn took him for walks up the hill, or was it Leo taking Carolyn! They both had heaps of fun.

The dairy cows may soon be gone!

Four gorgeous Grandkids.

And so the Easter weekend came to an end. We stopped by Margo's house to pick up some home made goodies, had one last coffee with Margo, at a new place in town called The Fox Den, and then it was on the road headed for Shellharbour. The holiday is getting closer. We have ten days in Shellharbour, during which time I will be heading down along the Murray River with my mate Pete and 22 other blokes to play some serious golf for 5 days. It is an annual pilgrimage for Pete, but my first "Big Tour". Should be a lot of fun. Carolyn is looking forward to some "quiet time"! When I get back it will be all systems go for Italy. D Day is 27th April!!

This will be the last full post for some time. I will try and keep the blog going while we are away, using my IPad and the Blogger App, but the presentation will not be as detailed or contain as many photos, but I am sure you will enjoy our holiday with us!