Glass House Mountains
to reach our next destination of Maroochydore we passed thru the Glass House Mountain Range (so called apparently because they reminded Captain Cook in his discovery days of his home town Yorkshire Kilns?) This range is very old and formed part of a Volcanic range lots of years ago They re spectacular to view and this is another area we didn’t want to leave !!
Brisbane Brendale and Southport
We virtually drove past Brisbane calling at Brendale to get our mail & bus warranty work completed and Im happy to say ALL is working well .I have visited Brisbane before and seen Movie-world, Sea-world etc before and tis reminiscent of my old home town Blackpool with all the funfair attractions (my wonderful growing up years) The Brendale campsite was comfortable BUT fees are high.I treated myself to a new camera that has lots of “gizmo’s,s” on it and will take a lifetime to learn Hopefully my next blog will utilise my new toy with lots of pictures Southport campsite was very small and difficult to manoeuvre the bus onto our given site We are slowly moving towards Cairns with Maroochydore near Mooloolaba next on the agenda ( Where DO they get these names from?)
Natural Bridge & the Rain Forest
Located just 35 minutes scenic drive from Murwillumbah you’ll find the rock archway known as Natural Bridge. Behind the Bridge the mountain-fed waters of Cave Creek form a waterfall which plunges through the roof of a cave into a sparkling pool below, which then flows into the Nerang River and down the Numinbah Valley (one of the older visitors told me kids used to jump from the ceiling into the pool!!! its now protected) At night the forest and caves are alight with the largest glow-worm colony in Australia ~ a must-see for visitors and locals alike.Surrounding the creek is dense sub-tropical rainforest (somehow reminded me of all those Tarzan Films I saw in my youth).The trees are enormous and have lots of brilliant Stag Horns ( for the Pomms its a plant) growing high above out of human reach !
Towering cliff faces form the edge of Springbrook Plateau. Visitors come to see the rock formation, stroll along the rainforest paths, picnic in the surrounds or swim in the chilling waters of the cavern’s recesses.Its absolutely brilliant WE are SO lucky to witness these magical places !
Nimbin Happy Hippy Village
Sitting amongst world heritage rainforest and volcanic mountain ranges, this small town is a psychedelic reminder of yesteryear – hippies everywhere, mural-adorned buildings, strong community, and cannabis.
the town is surrounded by mountains; the Koonorigan and Blue Knob Ranges (not cold men !!) leering out of the surrounding landscape The heartland of alternative Australia, Nimbin can be rather intimidating on arrival with its frenetic main street, and flocks of always colourful and often eccentric people everywhere.Another local product is marijuana and on display is shops is the legal amount allowed !! (about a cupped hand full) Took me back to my youth..Flairs.Golden shirt,purple velvet jacket,kipper (very colourful) tie shoulder length hair complete with leather headband and yes purple suede zip up the side boots AND that was just my wedding gear !! Bring back those days and rid the world of all the religious nonsense that is killing people ,,,,,, NEXT the Rain Forests and it beauty The police turn blind eye to the weed smokers A few minutes drive from the village is a Candle making factory and customers are invited to watch the process Its an absolute must to see IF passing this way The factory also doubles as an occasional Theatre which has sadly seen better day
We will return to this place that dwells on the early 70s Peace to you all !!
Casino a possible retirement village for us to ponder for 2011
Casino This place is fabulous, a small country town with the BEST caravan park I have come across on our travels!! It is situated next to a Motor home village that caters for over 55s.The houses are terrific and have purpose built garages to accommodate motorhomes and we are seriously thinking of settling here .The Happy Hour area is terrific and although new, gives the impression of being in a Blacksmiths shop !! It is an up & coming site with lots of people who have lived in the area for a few years.It is around a 2 hour drive to Surfers Paradise . We stayed over 2 nights to get a feel for the place and the present occupants are really nice & very helpful We are continuing our trip and NO decision will be made on moving to this area until we return from Tasmania in February 2012 (and the possibility of viewing other villages ) Centre link also advised me that we are eligible for rent assistance Take note of some of the street signs !!NEXT NIMBIN the hippy town
Queen Mary Falls Part 2
This place is magical !after our walk around the Falls we went to the Happy Hour hut and got chatting with some lovely young people who were asking after our life stories ,it was a good night chatting,Our new next door neighbours arrived in a motor home that was HUGE Jim n Sue invited us to inspect it Even had a bloody washing machine installed !! and a Queen sized bed BUT smashing people none the less Our next move is towards Casino still in NSW to inspect potential retirement villages which will be discussed on my next blog
On the way to Queen Mary Falls from Warwick part 1
Queen Mary Falls
This is what this trip is about ! we are just outside Killarney (No not Eireland) We travelled 40 kms outside Warwick and are camping at QMF caravanpark 500 metres from the falls !! all sorts of wild life is apparently abundant in this area including possums,wallabies, bandicoots,eastern water dragons,skinks,ducks and a huge variety of birds.The evening is also looking promising with a camp fire being lit We went for a walk down the mountain to the waterfall base AND what a breath taking experience it was.We got a little soaked standing in the waterfall spray BUT very exhilarating This place is SO good Ill do it in 2 parts
Overnight in Warwick Queensland
we stayed at a very nice,quiet grassy camp @ immediately found a new friend ! a baby Gallah seeking food and not frightened by we humans.The morning was nice and misty adding to the charm of this place Warwick.Pop here is around 10,000 and the central information office was very interesting In one huge room a cardboard box “city” has been constructed over 12 years by one person and it is still ongoing (covers 200 sq metres and over 900 buildings) Warwick is also famous for its Rodeo held annually Once settled in the camp we met a couple from Goondiwindi \!! Recognition at last !!The Luxxie Bus travels onwards towards Casino
Jandowie to Toowoomba
We travelled further into Queensland and went thru lots of small country towns On the road we narrowly missed an Australian Bustard (also known as a Bush Turkey)its the first Ive seen We are currently in Toowoomba and visited the cinema to watch THOR in 3 D worth watching too Toowoomba has a population of over 100000 and altho a nice tidy town we are not keen on big towns ( altho the pub next door to the campsite was great !!good cheap food and the beer is reasonably priced called The Southern on Ruthven
Stop Press ! A Frog in the Bog on my Blog
Annie paid a visit to the Loo last night and got a fright !! We now have got into the habit of checking underneath toilet seats whilst in Queensland !!
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 