BACK ON THE SUNSHINE COAST

19^th October, 2012

We’ve spent three nights on the beach at Moore Park but apart from enjoying the sun, surf and sand Wok hasn’t had much luck fishing.  We pack up and head further north along the coast and come to the small coastal caravan park at Miara.  Apart from the caravan park there is nothing else around.  Located on a river estuary it looks like a great place to relax so we book in for a week and get a site along the waterfront.

Our site at Miara

For the next seven days we watch the tides roll in and out, do some reading, watch the pelicans, take some walks and Wok spends much of his time feeding the fish rather than catching them.  By the time the week was up we were quite relaxed and ready for the last couple of days on the road before returning to the Sunshine Coast.  We decided to take a circuitous route and avoid the busy Bruce Highway, making our way along country roads until we stopped for the night at a forest reserve at Glastonbury to the west of Gympie.

Glastonbury Camping Area

Then in the morning we were off again travelling the back roads until we finally descended out of the mountains into Yandina.  From there it was a short hop, step and jump to our daughter’s home on the Sunshine Coast where we set up camp in the backyard.

Tina and Paul's home on the Sunshine Coast

It was great to see everyone again and marvel at how much the grandkids had grown while we had been away.  Then it was time to meet the new additions to the family.

Tina and Paul with Pedro and Usher (the alpaca kids)

Pedro and Usher have a paddock all to themselves but they also get to come into the house yard and Paul sometimes takes them for a walk on their leashes.  This is to keep them used to being handled so they can be easily transported when it comes to veterinary visits etc.  Sort of takes ‘walking the dog’ to a whole other level!

Usher and Pedro waiting to go 'walkies'

A few days after arriving our daughter (Tina) celebrated her 40^th birthday and we caught up with rellies and friends at the surprise B-B-Q party that Paul had organised.  We spent the next few weeks getting the necessary yearly checkups done – doctors, dentists etc.  As Christmas school holidays were galloping up on us much too quickly we arranged to spend the first three and a half weeks of December doing a house sit on the Sunshine Coast.  This would give us a holiday away from the caravan until Christmas Day when we would then return to spend a few days with the family before hitting the road again.  We said goodbye to the Van and drove a whole 15 klms to our house sit.  The house is situated on a canal not far from a major shopping centre and the beach.

Our house sit - this is the backyard overlooking the canal

It is a large four bedroom/3 bathroom home and even has its own cinema room.  There is a pool for us to play in and a small dinghy and two kayaks for us to use if we feel the urge.  Of course the main reason we are here is to look after the two small dogs while the owners are on holiday.  Their names are Sally and Molly - aka ‘The Girls’, and it is going to be hard to say goodbye to them when we leave as they are just adorable.

Sally and Molly (The Girls)

We were told that ‘The Girls’ like to go for rides in the boat or on the kayaks and when Wok tried out his paddling technique in one of the kayaks ‘The Girls’ were quick to race down the jetty to get his attention.

Sally and Molly waiting for Wok to pull alongside

They didn’t need much encouragement and in no time had joined him in the kayak for a ride.

The kayak is getting a little crowded!!

After paddling around for a while Wok returned to shore bemoaning that he was way out of condition for that type of exercise and he wasn’t looking forward to all the aches and pains that were becoming apparent.  ‘The girls’ on the other hand were delighted with their little excursion.  That evening we sat out on the patio overlooking the pool and watched the sun set.

Sunset over the canal

We reflected on the year quickly ending, our adventures and the friends we had made over the past few years.  We are ‘living our dream’ and we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.