The wet season is not over

Just have to post the photo of where we parked the van at the Boonah Showgrounds




Yes we have parked with the drain running directly under us.
A bit of a worry to say the least when we had heavy rain overnight. I kept asking Brandt to check the water level. Needless to say the water level subsided very quickly once the rain stopped.




We are currently in Cunungra, close enough to the Gold Coast to pop over and do a bit of business, pick up mail etc.
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Location:Boonah

Lumley Park

Accepted and invitation to accompany two other couples plus our friend John to camp on the banks of Lake Wivenhoe. On nearing the camp noticed a few groups of kangaroos and were surprised to see now tame they appeared to be as they did not take off when they saw people.
We were told that boats with petrol motors were not permitted on the lake. Evidently the electric motors push the craft along at a slower rate of knots. I found the setting quite peaceful. Tuesday and Wednesday were rather hot but it rained on Thursday and that cooled the air down.




Sunset was special. No doubt we will see more that are just as good (and I may get better at photographing them)
Dusk and dawn was quite noisy with birds chirping loudly - many varieties. There was also an abundance of cane toads that came out every night. One morning Brandt opened one of our chairs and found it inhabited.....




On Thursday night a possum made a visit to our group's camp. The Australians all said how cute, how lovely etc. it was obviously used to being fed by humans as it came right up to John's outstretched hand and, expecting some food, took a little nibble. Pity he didn't have any food for it.






The above photo was taken just outside the caravans. During the floods last year our caravan sites were under water. Just shows the huge amount of water that was involved.


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Location:Wivenhoe Dam

Shake-down

Did not get away on Friday as originally planned. The awning arrived Friday morning so back we went to the dealers, had the final bits done to the van to accommodate the walls etc, then Brandt had the lesson on how to put it all together (I was waiting in a store for Brandt to come back with cupboard measurements and wondering why he was taking so long).
So Saturday we set off for Coboolture.
Am pleased to say that only one thing moved during the journey, so my packing must have been OK.
Have had two good night's sleep. Were slightly worried that the bed may have not been as comfortable as we are used to but we give it the thumbs up.
The air conditioner is on when we are in the van, so as long as we are inside we are keeping cool.
Yesterday morning we walked to a market that's held weekly in the Showgrounds here and stocked up on tools and food. Also bought our BBQ yesterday afternoon so Brandt cooked the meat for dinner last night. The first night here I did something they said we would never do. I used the oven




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Apricot chicken (in the oven) with potatoes, carrots and broccoli




And our bed. Don't you just love the kiwis!
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Location:Caboolture Showgrounds

Getting Ready

Been here nearly two weeks and finally picked the van up this afternoon, currently have it parked at the time share in Labrador. We have been busy almost every day out and about either buying things for the trip or other personal things.
Took our two friends staying with us for a trip out West yesterday but now are back into putting the final preparations into place. Went to an RV store late this afternoon and bought a heap of stuff to stock the van up.
We hope to set sail tomorrow afternoon but we'll have to wait and see. The purpose of the next few days is for us to get used to setting up camp and moving to the next one. Then we are to go back to the dealer and discuss any problems that have arisen. We also need to go back to pick the awning up - the dealer is not pleased that it is not ready yet as they ordered it in November.
Brandt just happened to mention to the dealer that he would like a fern on the van and below is the result of that thought




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Looking at the photo has reminded me of the small drama regarding the reversing cameras. We asked for the van to be wired in readiness so bought a set of cameras and took them to the van yard. On the way home we were contacted and told that a camera had already been installed on the van and the monitor and rest of the equipment were in the post from Melbourne. Thankfully we managed to return the package we had bought.
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Location:Gold Coast

The first week

Spent 3 days in Melbourne with children of the Methodist minister I worked with in Papua New Guinea. Was treated to many birds coming and feeding out of bird feeders placed close to the house. One evening a kangaroo decided to stop in the drive and have a good look round. Of course it did not stay long enough for a photo. We were told it was one of 8 or 9 that live close by, the property owner said he had been asked to remove the barbed wire from the fences because they just jump over or the joeys crawl through underneath.
Were able to go to the factory where our van is being made and actually saw our van before it was put on the transporter North.
On Friday 3rd Feb we were taken to Malden, which is an historic gold mining town. The shop owners are not allowed to change the shop fronts.








Saturday 4th Feb we flew to Gold Coast. The temperature has been rather hotter here.
Monday we met up with some South East Queensland Grey Nomads and had morning tea with them. The morning tea lasted until about 2 pm.(on our arrival we were presented with a basket of groceries - what a lovely gesture) The cafe owner commented on how much talk was going on in our group and was rather surprised when told that most had never met before. We were given lots of hints and suggestions about caravanning.
From there we went to our caravan dealer, to find that the caravan was still in Melbourne and is due to arrive in the next day or so.
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