Well, what a week! After some uncertainty due to Super Typhoon Yagi scheduled to hit Hanoi at approximately the same time as we arrive, it does appear we may actually make it to somewhere in the vicinity of where we want to be in the next 24 hours. We started very early with an early morning train from Cardiff and caught up with Sandra and Glenn at Morisset on the way. The trip down went well. Once we arrived the…
Wow! I can’t believe we are done! 125 nights on the road. I’m so glad that it’s all been recorded here as it’s already a blur in my mind. Although we had our familiar van to wake up inside each day, it sometimes was a surprise to look out the window and see where were we were once the sun came up. We’ve had some incredible experiences, and have shared them with just the best people. I can’t even rank the best times…
I woke this morning feeling contemplative. It’s weird to think this trip is drawing to a close – and wondering how we will all assimilate back to normal life. Apparently crocs aren’t suitable footwear in the office 🙁 . Today was spent doing our own things. Karen and Kieran continued with touristing for one last day while Bob and I went into van prep mode – Bob and I spent a few weeks working from the van here during covid in 2021 so not…
The march south continues….we didn’t hurry to depart Evans Head this morning though as we didn’t have much time to look around by the time we arrived yesterday afternoon. The Scott’s headed out on their bikes and Bob and I went for a walk along the breakwall and the river. We arrived in Sawtell in time for lunch. Karen and Kieran called in to the Big Banana while Bob and I took the van to get washed. Time to spruce…
Another south moving day. The Scott’s took off early and hit the Glass House Mountains on their way to Evans Head. They booked an early ‘marriage saver’ van removal (which is required at the Maroochy River park) and were on their way. They also found ‘the’ pie shop recommended around the camp fire last night and enjoyed the spoils. Bob and I were on the road not far behind and headed to Brisbane to catch up with friends that we…
Bob and I took off early this morning to hike to the summit of Mt Ngungun while the morning light was good. It was a decent climb of nearly 200m over about 1.2km. The view of the volcanic plugs was worth the effort. We were done by 9am so headed into Mooloolaba for a look around and a reminisce of our last trip there 22 years ago. It has changed a lot! While we were out playing on the south…
Today we were mugged! By whales. The whale watching cruise was amazing! Jason and Sue made a late night decision and came along on the tour with us. Lots of baby whales fattening up in the bay and learning their behaviours from Mum. We saw a 1.5 week old learning to breach but mostly just belly flopping 🙂 . Then the mugging happened. 4 large whales just hung around the boat and kept swimming under it for about 45 minutes….
Today was massive! We did our own things and Kieran started the day with Park Run. The Scott’s headed to the markets this morning and spent this afternoon on a whale watching cruise which they really enjoyed, particularly the pod of mothers and calves that put on a display for them. Bob and I were off on our day by 715 – bus, then ferry, then bus again on K’gari. The sandy ‘roads’ across the island were insane and we…
This morning we arranged to go for a bike ride along the Esplanade and have brekky along the way. We left at 730 and spent then next few hours riding, exploring and eating. We rode the 1 km long Urangan Pier and were back after 34km of riding in time for lunch at the vans. After lunch, the Scott’s hit the shops, Bob hit the sack and I hit the sand and hiked a couple of km to a lovely…
Today we took a ridiculously long time to go only 220km! We didn’t hurry this morning and were on the road by 9. We made it to Bundaberg around 11am and headed straight to the rum distillery where we went through the museum and booked a tour. The tour came with a few rum samples and despite the various options, I am still not a rum fan. The closest I got to liking it was the salted caramel dessert rum…