From Fraser Island we continued our journey southwards, hugging the coast. Noosa Heads was a very chic place full of little boutiques and surfboards everywhere. We decided to spend two nights at Maroochydore. First impressions were of a Spanish Costa del Sol resort, but the beach was very pleasant. We visited Buderim and Nambour (the big pineapple plantation) during the day. We were keen to see how the big pineapple had developed as we had visited it during our Queensland trip in the 70s. Then it was a novelty of a giant pineapple and a small plantation which distinguished from the other farm shops. Now the two way road that it stood on, has been upgraded to a major dual carriageway with a pedestrian bridge. The farm shop has become a significant tourist attraction, the farm sheds replaced with a big complex and the plantation now has an Australia Wildlife Reserve and mini zoo.
Next day, we moved on to Brisbane, stopping at the Australia Zoo, run by Steve Irwin's family. We saw the crocodile, reptile and bird shows before stroking wallabies, kangaroos and koalas – definitely the creature with the "Aah" factor. The zoo is very well maintained and the keepers were very informative about the animals and the ongoing Conservation programmes.
We just made the campsite at Brisbane before a thunderstorm. It's amazing though, the ground can flood quickly but an hour later it all dries up. We spent a day wandering round Brisbane, very busy like most cities, office workers having lunch on the lawns. We crossed the river to Southbank on a catamaran, where there was a huge lagoon with a beach right next to the river. There is also a 'Brisbane eye'. Late afternoon, we came across a cinema so went to see 'Australia' with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman – very good even if only for the photography and scenery (worth seeing).
Next day, moving further south, we arrived at a lovely little fishing/yachting town called Yamba, where we had a glorious sunset and decided to stay for the weekend. We walked along a large breakwater which provides shelter for the harbour and we saw dolphins and pelicans. We climbed up to the lighthouse for a great view along the coastline, then back down through the town.
If we thought we were having "Adventure before Dementia"(a sign we have seen on several of the Grey Nomad caravans), how about a couple from Shropshire that we met in Yamba. He was 80 and she was 79 and they were in a Backpacker van hoping to drive up to Cairns and back to Sydney in a couple of weeks. They had tried 6 years ago but went too slow and only got as far as Brisbane, so this is their second attempt. Way to go!! We met another couple who run a 5CL caravan park in Holt, Norfolk, so I expect we will see them there one day.
From Yamba we moved to Port Macquarie via Coff's Harbour and Nambucca Heads with great cliff scenery. I had a go at bodysurfing in the sea at Port Macquarie. The temperature is now starting to get cooler.
Next stop was the Booti Booti National Park where we camped with the ocean on one side and a huge lake on the other; a really pretty area south of Forster. We then arrived in the Hunter Valley and lost the sun!! However, it didn't stop us from a bit of wine tasting at Rosemount, Lindemans, and McWilliams wineries.
We are now in Sydney and have had two days of solid rain and wind. Oh dear, my umbrella went inside out at Manly Beach where we had a relaxed lunch with Faye and John (friends of Fiona's). We had to stay longer and have chocolate fudge cake whilst we waited for the rain to stop – which it didn't. The sun is due to return tomorrow with 31 degrees. Let's hope so.
On a political note here, in order to boost the Aussie economy, the Prime Minister of Oz has given 1000 dollars to each child and each pensioner as a Xmas bonus, in the hope that they will spend it. However, I rather think people will either pay off their credit card bills/mortgage or put it into savings. So the scheme could backfire on him.
We are finding petrol very reasonable, they have been coming down and now on average they are around 1.05 dollars (50p) per litre unleaded; since Cairns, so far we have covered 3,858 km. (We also covered around 1400km in NT). The campsite fees are generally between $AU20 and $AU30 per night (half UK costs). Food costs are about the same as UK, the good news is the meat is a lot cheaper though and the bad news is that beer & wine is more expensive.
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