Gold Coast 27^th April.

 

I am sitting in the sun and enjoying some warmth on the Gold Coast.  Thank you to everyone who contacted me for my birthday. I appreciate your thoughts and yes I had a great day and was very happy that the boys were able to join us.  

 

Catching up on our travels so far, I last wrote from a spot just West of Coonabarabran where we had stopped for the night at another roadside camp. Tuesday 21^st another beautiful day and reluctantly we had to head back to civilization.  Somerton was our next stop; where Ken’s cousin Tom and his wife Margo live.  They have a  large farm just outside the small town of Somerton which is located between Gunnedah and Tamworth.  Ken and Tom had quite a lot to catch up on as they haven’t see each other for a long while. 

 

Heading out the next morning for Tamworth we decided that the time had come to change the hitch on the car as the one we had was very low.  We took Toms advice and found a place that had just what we needed however the job took longer than we thought so I filled in my time with grocery shopping.  Many hours later we left Tamworth loaded down with groceries and headed up the New England Highway to the small town of Bendemeer, where we found another beautiful spot by a river to stay for the night.

 

Thursday 23^rd we realized we were running out of time as we had promised we would be on the Gold Coast by Friday so we made for Tenterfield as fast as we could.  Wendell unfortunately decided that after a couple of hours traveling in his cage in the car, that he had had enough and threw a huge ‘I have had enough’ tantrum.  The only option we were left with was to put him in the caravan on his own.  This proved to be a great idea, as he seems to quite enjoy it, I guess he has more freedom. 

 

Tenterfield as we discovered is not known for its great caravan parks.  We pulled into Tenterfield Lodge with a bag of washing that I was anxious to take care of, to find this large park had one washing machine and two dryers one of which was happy to take my three dollars but not happy to dry my washing.  The van ended up looking like a Chinese laundry with cloths hanging everywhere and our small blow heater on high

 

Waking up early on Friday morning I could not see the caravan beside us because of the fog.  By this stage we were getting used to the cold and had been using our feather dooner on our bed since Sydney.

 

The mission for this day was to visit Bald Rock about 25 kilometers North of Tenterfield.  Bald Rock has always been a bone of contention between Ken and I because on our previous travels through the area I wouldn’t stop.  We had previously always had someone waiting for us to arrive, (such as my mother).  However I must say I was very pleased that this time we made the effort.  Bald Rock is a massive granite dome 750 meters long and 500 meters wide and sits 1277 meters above sea level.  It’s the largest exposed granite rock in the Southern Hemisphere and at its summit the views are spectacular.  We headed back to Tenterfield to pick up the van and then headed for the coast.

 

It was dark when we arrived at Moira’s house, however we were immediately aware of how warm the weather was.  As always Moira made us feel very welcome and perfectly at home, in her soon to be renovated house.  Saturday 25^th was a we all know Anzac day and for us the day itself was a quiet one however the evening proved to be somewhat different.  Our friend Sue Joplin came over for a visit, Freeman also arrived and Moira’s daughter Erin joined us as well.  A very funny time was had by all, with much hilarity and many a good story.  As always Sue had us all holding our sides with her quick and quirky sense of humor.

 

Sunday 26^th MY BIRTHDAY was a lovely day. Ken and I did a huge walk along the Broadwater and found a very nice Seafood Restaurant, so decided to come back in the evening and we were joined by Geordie, Freeman, Moira and Sara.  Back home to Moira’s for cake, coffee and a night cap. I had a great birthday thanks to those who shared it with me.

 

I hope this finds all who is reading this well and happy. Thanks again to those of you who sent me your good wishes.  From here we are headed back home to the Sunshine Coast to reassess our goods and chattels and to catch up with friends.

 

Regards Elizabeth.