Nov 16, 2009 - Luigi & The Big Banana

Monday November 16, 2009 – Port Macquarie Luigi & The Big Banana It’s pretty far to come all the way here in order to find someone from Edmonton but that’s what we’ve gone and done here in Port Macquarie.Monday November 16, 2009 – Port Macquarie Luigi & The Big Banana It’s pretty far to come all the way here in order to find someone from Edmonton but that’s what we’ve gone and done here in Port Macquarie....

Nov 15, 2009 - A good week all round

Well how things can turn around! On the Monday and Tuesday after Brisbane we spent hours applying for jobs on the internet and in the paper and updating (yet again!!) our resumes. ... We also had decided we would target all the caravan parks on the Sunshine Coast with both our applications with the idea that they may have work for either one or both of us.Well how things can turn around! On the Monday and Tuesday after Brisbane we spent hours applying for jobs on the internet and in the paper and updating (yet again!!) our resumes. ... We also had decided we would target all the caravan parks on the Sunshine Coast with both our applications with the idea that they may have work for either one or both of us....

Nov 15, 2009 - Dirt Bike Debbie

Today’s drive moved very quickly from drowsy Sunday drive in the backwaters into major motorway madness as we moved ever closer to Brisbane. ... It’s Steve Irwin day today at Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo on Steve Irwin Way in Beerwah (just north of Brisbane) and the traffic on the highway in both directions on the way to pay homage to him was jam packed together like a bunch of crocs fighting over a wounded fish in the water. ... We zipped along ourselves in the Corolla, past Brisbane and Surfers Paradise (a 10 chronometer long patch of high-rise condo’s and apartments that line the Gold Coast south of Brisbane) and that brought us to the state line and a turn back to the sea at Coolangatta/Tweed Head for a picnic along the beach. ...

Nov 14, 2009 - To Market, To Market, to buy a Pineapple

Saturday November 14, 2009 – Noosa Heads To Market To Market to buy a Pineapple The wind shifted during the night.Saturday November 14, 2009 – Noosa Heads To Market To Market to buy a Pineapple The wind shifted during the night....

Nov 13, 2009 - Whitsundays Cruising on "Scarborough"

Well the photos really tell the story.Well the photos really tell the story....

Nov 13, 2009 - It's Noosa to me

Friday November 13, 2009 – Noosa Heads It’s Noosa to me Rockhampton is Queensland’s Tidiest Town in 2009. We’re now on the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane and from here on in we’ll be dealing with much greater populations than we’ve encountered to date. ... In addition, the landscape is clearly more ‘manicured’ with mainly defined farms and orchards rather than untamed forest or savannah.Friday November 13, 2009 – Noosa Heads It’s Noosa to me Rockhampton is Queensland’s Tidiest Town in 2009. We’re now on the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane and from here on in we’ll be dealing with much greater populations than we’ve encountered to date. ... In addition, the landscape is clearly more ‘manicured’ with mainly defined farms and orchards rather than untamed forest or savannah....

Nov 12, 2009 - The Tropic of Capricorn

Thursday November 12, 2009 – Rockhampton The Tropic of Capricorn My sandals stink. That said, we did buy another suitcase back at Ayers Rock in order to round out the number of things we are schlepping to an even 6 (or 8, if you count the two cooler bags we bought in Cairns for our breakfasts and picnic lunches) (or 9, if you count both of my backpacks, come to think of it). ... It was very hard to bid farewell to paradise this morning but I was anxious to see if the Corolla was still in the Shute Harbour pay parking lot where I left it (it was) so we took a final walk around the island and bid adieu to the kangaroos (and had one final big buffet breakfast!) and boarded the Fantasea ferry for the quick ride back to the mainland.Thursday November 12, 2009 – Rockhampton The Tropic of Capricorn My sandals stink. That said, we did buy another suitcase back at Ayers Rock in order to round out the number of things we are schlepping to an even 6 (or 8, if you count the two cooler bags we bought in Cairns for our breakfasts and picnic lunches) (or 9, if you count both of my backpacks, come to think of it). ... It was very hard to bid farewell to paradise this morning but I was anxious to see if the Corolla was still in the Shute Harbour pay parking lot where I left it (it was) so we took a final walk around the island and bid adieu to the kangaroos (and had one final big buffet breakfast!) and boarded the Fantasea ferry for the quick ride back to the mainland....

Nov 11, 2009 - Life's a Beach

Tuesday November 10, 2009 – Daydream Island, Whitsundays Wednesday November 11, 2009 Here are the important 3 “s” words necessary for island life in the tropics: Swim, Snorkel, Snooze.Tuesday November 10, 2009 – Daydream Island, Whitsundays Wednesday November 11, 2009 Here are the important 3 “s” words necessary for island life in the tropics: Swim, Snorkel, Snooze....

Nov 11, 2009 - Depart for London

Woot Woot it is finally here people!!! Just doing the final checks of my bags before I leave.Woot Woot it is finally here people!!! Just doing the final checks of my bags before I leave....

Nov 10, 2009 - The Long Way Home

It finally was time to leave the Whitsundays with my two new crew members, we left the marina at 2. The Narrows is a waterway between the top of Gladstone and the sea, at low tide a good deal of the land is exposed and farmers move their cattle across the plains. ... There is no help if you get stuck !!!!!!! Gladstone marina in a SE wind gusting 25 knots with plenty of rain is not the happiest place to be. ... A couple of bright patches to the dull weather a surprise catch up with Barry Moore a fellow spray society person and his wife Jackie.It finally was time to leave the Whitsundays with my two new crew members, we left the marina at 2. The Narrows is a waterway between the top of Gladstone and the sea, at low tide a good deal of the land is exposed and farmers move their cattle across the plains. ... There is no help if you get stuck !!!!!!! Gladstone marina in a SE wind gusting 25 knots with plenty of rain is not the happiest place to be. ... A couple of bright patches to the dull weather a surprise catch up with Barry Moore a fellow spray society person and his wife Jackie....

Nov 9, 2009 - Welcome to Fantasy Island

Monday November 9, 2009 – Daydream Island, Whitsunday Islands Welcome to Fantasy Island There is a good chance that my wife has been abducted by aliens and replaced by a replica. North and south of Townsville there is one sugarcane plantation after another, with lots of mango and banana plantations just to add variety. ... About an hour south of Townsville you come to Ayr and just when you think that Ayr is going to be a dud, WHAM – you are face to face with a major size snake. ... His name is Gubulla Munda.Monday November 9, 2009 – Daydream Island, Whitsunday Islands Welcome to Fantasy Island There is a good chance that my wife has been abducted by aliens and replaced by a replica. North and south of Townsville there is one sugarcane plantation after another, with lots of mango and banana plantations just to add variety. ... About an hour south of Townsville you come to Ayr and just when you think that Ayr is going to be a dud, WHAM – you are face to face with a major size snake. ... His name is Gubulla Munda....

Nov 8, 2009 - Robert Eli & Big Things of Australia

Sunday November 8, 2009 – Townsville Robert Eli & Big Things of Australia Just south of Cairns you pass through the suburb of … Edmonton. ... Our stopping point for the night is a non-descript motel on The Strand in Townsville. ... I’ll forgive that in this instance, for sure, because Townsville is actually a very pretty place. ... I found it very helpful that the Townsville Town Council (is that redundant – wouldn’t Townsville Council be sufficient?) erects signs at regular spots along the beachfront displaying pictures and names of the various jellyfish that, collectively, are referred to as ‘stingers’. ...