Our annual visit to David's brother Mike and wife Laura in Glenwood, Gympie.. The house and grounds are looking quite spectacular and it is a pleasure to sit on the front verandah and admire the view. However, David and Mike had other plans! Our van aerial is useless and so the new aerial purchased in Brisbane had to be installed, at the time a serious repair had to be made on the outside light of the van. THEN a serious alteration had to be made in order for our bike rack to be installed on the back of the van instead of the car. Lo and behold, all done! The bike rack is particularly smart and will be a lot easier to deal with than cluttering up the back of the car. Now all that is needed is a bike for me!
During a visit to Gympie we had this view from the cafe of what we think is the remains of the old mine train track, (no that is not our van!)
After our arrival in Hervey Bay and having settled in we walked up to the local shops and happened on this litte group entertaining in the local park. We arrived on the very day the Cologne Chamber Music group were playing at another venue down the road which we didn't find out about until it was over. Having seen them before we were quite devastated at missing our chance to see and hear them again.
Well, there's always fishing isn't there?
I was about to say not a lot has changed in dear old Hervey Bay but that is not quite true. In the park itself there is new management who are managing to upset various people with stringent rules and regulations never before applied such as no riding of bikes in the caravan park. So we have to diligently walk our bikes to our nearest exit. Sigh! Power corrupts didn't someone important once say?
However, the good thing is the amazing way the waterfront has been upgraded with huge grassed areas and stages and bbq areas and bike paths galore. The stage near the c/park is up and running with a local fair last Saturday (the whale festival) and a parade etc. and of course the mandatory fireworks display. Generally riding around town is a pleasure with new bike paths appearing and all green spaces in pristine condition. (Do you like my new bike? It's a bit pink but it was that or .......)
Well, there's always fishing isn't there?
I was about to say not a lot has changed in dear old Hervey Bay but that is not quite true. In the park itself there is new management who are managing to upset various people with stringent rules and regulations never before applied such as no riding of bikes in the caravan park. So we have to diligently walk our bikes to our nearest exit. Sigh! Power corrupts didn't someone important once say?
However, the good thing is the amazing way the waterfront has been upgraded with huge grassed areas and stages and bbq areas and bike paths galore. The stage near the c/park is up and running with a local fair last Saturday (the whale festival) and a parade etc. and of course the mandatory fireworks display. Generally riding around town is a pleasure with new bike paths appearing and all green spaces in pristine condition. (Do you like my new bike? It's a bit pink but it was that or .......)
I have had a number of people ask why we always end up in Hervey Bay for winter.
So here we are! Photos taken from our van. We have this spot each year for 2 months and find it idyllic. We know many of our neighbours and a lot of friends are starting to join us for a short time each year.
Breakfast is always on the beach, shielded from the morning breezes by trees and then we come back to the van when the sun is properly up and doing its job.
So here we are! Photos taken from our van. We have this spot each year for 2 months and find it idyllic. We know many of our neighbours and a lot of friends are starting to join us for a short time each year.
Breakfast is always on the beach, shielded from the morning breezes by trees and then we come back to the van when the sun is properly up and doing its job.
During our first week we were warned that there were a number of wild cats in the trees next to the van and below left is one I watched devouring a bird (I think it was a Miner bird). I spoke to the office about this and they called in the local wildlife people who managed to catch two of them and take them off (to where??) and we haven't seen any since.
On a brighter note, this lovely Osprey and his mate often join us during our breakfast time on the beach. They just sit and watch for an hour or so and then off they go. Beautiful!
On a brighter note, this lovely Osprey and his mate often join us during our breakfast time on the beach. They just sit and watch for an hour or so and then off they go. Beautiful!