Home again

Here we are back at home.

It has taken me a few days to write this final post as we have been trying to put our home back together.

Tonia has done 26 loads of washing!!!!

Our back deck was full and we were all bewildered that all of it came out of our van.

How did the car tow it???

We have driven nearly 24000 kms.

We have stayed in a huge variety of caravan parks, free camp sites and even rest areas.

We have been on numerous boat rides and lots of tours.

But more so we have spent lots and lots of time together, enjoying each others company, growing together and experiencing so much of the natural beauty that this country has to offer.

Yes we are very sad to be finishing.

Yet very happy to have had the chance to go.

Very pleased to have been able to give the kids this amazing experience.

Truly amazed at how much we have seen and done and yet how much there is still out there.

Hoping that the last 20 weeks will be with us for the rest of our lives.

We know that this 140 day adventure has changed us all and hope that on the most part it will be for the better.

Definitely in awe at what an amazing country we live in and pray that we will get a chance to see some more of it as time goes by.

Really hopeful that the people we have grown into because of our experiences don't get forgotten when the real world starts knocking at our door.

We went away with this verse as something we liked and have come back hoping to take even more notice of it in the future.

"for a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life, but there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, a debt to be paid, until at last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life, this perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness, happiness is the way, so treasure every moment you can have and remember that time waits for no one".

Happiness is a journey not a destination!!

 

 

 

 

The final couple of days of our adventure.

We left Brisbane knowing that we were rapidly approaching the end of our journey.

The idea was to get to Forster or as close as we could but the drive was a lot harder than expected.

The roads down the East coast are shocking. Between the huge volume of cars and the never ending stops for road works it took us over three hours to cover just a couple of hundred kms. So by the time we got to Woolgoolga we decided to stay.

It was early afternoon when we pulled up. It is a lovely little town and the caravan park is right on the beach.

 

We spent the afternoon walking around the town and along the beach. Just beautiful.

 

The next morning we went straight down to Forster which although only less than 300 kms again took us a lot longer than expected with lots of road works and way too much traffic for my liking.

 

How I longed for the open roads of WA where we would cover that sort of distance in less than 3 hours and only see a handful of cars.

 

 

Drove past the Big Banana.

 

Anyway the caravan park is in a beautiful spot, right on the lake and just back from the beach as well as being across the road from the township. Again we walked around town, across the bridge and even took the kids to the playground on the waterside.

It was hard to believe that this was our last park.

 

We decided to go out for dinner to celebrate what had been an amazing adventure that has been everything and more than we ever expected.

 

So with a lot of sadness, a bit of rain and a lot of excitement and apprehension about returning home we spent our last night in our caravan.

Although we would have liked to stay on the road longer the real world has caught up with us and other commitments have determined that we should return.

Milly is singing with the school choir at the Opera House on 3 Sept and we are very excited about the opportunity.

We are really looking forward to Chris and Kirby's wedding on  Sept 7.

Promotional opportunities have come up at work that I have been waiting four years to occur.

So we find ourselves heading back home and getting straight back in to life after putting everything on hold for the last 4 1/2 months.

 

 

Hervey Bay to Brisbane

We took our time leaving Hervey Bay and hit the road about 10. First stop was 30 kms down the road at Maryborough where we had a good look around. There are lots of historic buildings and the town has a really nice feel about it.

 

They have suffered three floods recently including two earlier this year. It is amazing to try and imagine how it would look with the water up to the markers.

Loved this sign.

We went for a coffee and milkshake and some banana bread to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary at a really cool cafe. 10 years....incredible.

 

This is Lincoln doing some reading...got to grab the chance when you can.

 

The boys tried a couple of "selfies"!!

This place has a bit of significance to me as I spent time in the hospital here back in 1975 after a nasty car accident while on a family caravanning holiday. As we drove south I tried to find the site of the accident but I am guessing the Bruce highway has gone through a few changes in the last 38 years!!!!

Next stop was Gympie for lunch and a play in the park. Just across the road was a caravan repair place and they had the door handle we needed as ours snapped a few days earlier.

Great park and a great play ground.

 

Then we were at our free camp just outside of Eumundi and into bed early for the markets in the morning.

Great time again at the markets. Got a few buys and had a fantastic time looking around. These markets such a good feel.  Some amazing creativity.

The boys both bought themselves a didgeridoo. Great fun!!!

Then we stopped in at a town called Kuluin, just west of Maroochydore, to see some friends of TJ's. Vicki and Heath and their three girls. As a bonus her sister Sarah and their mum Susan and Peter were also there. Yes more  Kiwi's. Lovely family. TJ had a good catch up while I chatted to Heath and had a look around their home they have just bought and are renovating.

Then on to Brisbane to our caravan park. Really nice, tidy and clean park. Close to the freeway but not noisy at all.

This is our first trip into Brisbane so we came into town a couple of times to look around. We are both really impressed with Brisbane and how pretty it is the way a lot of it centred around the Brisbane river.

Although busier than what we are used to on the trip certainly not Sydney busy which is really nice.

 

Southbank.

Ferry ride.

Multicultural week celebrations.

Brisbane Museum.

We went up in the clock tower above the newly renovated Town Hall. Driving the 83 year old elevator to the top of the clock tower.

 

 

Also caught up with an old friend, Peter, who I Used to share a house with in Harbord about 13 years ago.

We went to visit Tonia's brother and sister in law on Sunday and had dinner with them on Monday. It was great to see Chris and Jen's house after all this time. We all had a great catch up and a yummy meal!! The kids loved playing with all their pets and seeing them have so much fun just reminds us of how bad we are as parents as we don't have any animals in the house.

Well this is just about the end of the trip.

We head off tomorrow hoping to reach Forster about 650 kms away for a couple of nights before going home Friday 30 August.