BACK ON THE SUNSHINE COAST

30^th May, 2014

After disembarking from the ferry we joined the early morning Melbourne traffic and made our way around the bay and headed for Geelong.  We found a caravan park close to the city centre, checked in for a couple of nights, and then made our way to the Mitsubishi dealer.  Mitzi had developed some small rust spots on her roof which we needed to get checked out.  The dealer was quite happy to get Mitzi’s roof repaired under warranty but as we’d had extra paint protection put on by the dealer on the Sunshine Coast he was unable to do that under warranty – the only solution to the problem was to return to the Sunshine Coast dealer and get the whole lot done there under warranty.  So instead of making our way along the southern coastline of Victoria and doing the touristy thing, we headed north via some inland roads to the town of Echuca on the Murray River where we found a nice place to free camp for a few days.

Our campsite near Echuca on the Murray River

There was plenty of activity on the river with house boats

Houseboat heading up the Murray River

water skiers, kayakers, fishermen and all manner of water craft cruising by.  We were even amused to see a group of teenagers (doing the Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn thing) float by on home-made rafts.

Home-made rafts floating down river

Other than the human wildlife the other main visitor to our campsite was a very friendly magpie that was very interested in anything we could supply in the way of food.

Friendly magpie looking for a handout

We continued north through western New South Wales overnighting at free camps along the way.  We tried to camp as far away from the main road as possible due to the noise of the never-ending trucks and roadtrains.  This sometimes meant following dwindling dirt tracks to find just the right spot and letting a few locals have right of way.

Well don't just stand there looking at us - get a move on!

Before making our final run to the Sunshine Coast we caught up with our Tasmanian travelling buddy ‘Wayne’ who was house sitting for some friends at Woodford.  He was keen to check out the condition of the brakes on his Avan so Wok lent him a hand.

Wok and Wayne working on the Avan

The job took longer than anticipated when they discovered that the shock absorbers had collapsed and needed replacing.  Wayne says that he has probably been travelling around without shockies for years as he’d never checked them before.  We can report that the Avan has since been on a weekend camping trip and is riding much better over bumps etc.

Eventually we made it back to Tina and Paul’s home on the Sunshine Coast and set up camp in the backyard.

Wok setting up the van in Tina and Paul's backyard

It wasn’t long before the alpacas came around and checked us out.

Our view towards the house - Usher (laying flat out) and Pedro just 'chillin'

We had thought that it would only take a few weeks to get Mitzi sorted out and we would be on our way again, but unplanned medical checkups etc. etc. etc. keep on holding us up and we are still here.  Oh well – may as well get everything done before we move on.  It has been quite enjoyable being here though and the weather has been wonderful – lovely sunny days and mild nights.

Paul and Tina in the front yard with Ranger (the dog), the alpacas and the chooks

The grandkids are on the go all the time with Josh now doing part time work at Subway until he leaves for the USA to commence college in August and the girls fitting in school around all their outside activities.  It was ‘crazy hair’ day at school recently and Tina spent lots of time teasing, bobby pinning and lacquering to get these artistic sculptures to stay in place.

Shakiah with 'crazy hair' complete with fork and spoon

Talia went for the 'finger in electric socket' look

As we watch the sun set through the trees, Ranger is sleeping peacefully on our bed,

Awww!   Isn't he cute?

the chooks are scratching in the leaf litter, the alpacas are munching away on the grass and kookaburras are sitting in the gum trees watching us and laughing.

Sunset through the trees at Tina and Paul's

Life is good ….