Week Five | A Friend is Only a Conversation Away.....

SNAPSHOT

I am the the first to admit I can talk under water (Dad always happy to back me up on that one!) but this week it has been more than just talking - we have met the most fabulous people and had conversations about anything and everything - I love listening to personal stories, their background, cultures, losses and triumphs - watching the girls world expand with every conversation had and their confidence growing at being part of those discussions, with people we didn't know from a bar of soap 5 weeks ago.

Just imagine? One less turn in the road, one less stop overnight and we wouldn't have met BUT we now have strangers we can now call friends, and feel so lucky to be able to do so❤️

WHERE ON EARTH ARE WE?

Ipswich Showground

Completely made up for the Grafton debacle, this Showground was run with precision and it was hard to believe we weren't in a Big 4!! Less the jumping pillow and pool granted but with 5 King Charles Cavalier's on one side and instant grandparents the other, the shiny kids attractions were soon forgotten.....not that we spent a huge amount of time there - we had a mission each in Brisbane - mine was to duck into the new Federation University Brisbane Campus which is fabulously designed (well done work colleagues 👏) and to see a familiar face in Alex was awesome 😂 It was refreshing to talk about non- caravan related stuff for two hours!

Leigh had a date with a golf course and an old friend for an afternoon followed by dinner at their house - (thanks for hosting us Paul and Katrina!)......so with missions accomplished and an armful of caravanning tips from people who are very experienced, we also waved farewell to two new friends at the Showground, "The Earl Greys" from Tassie, with a promise to try and meet them up in Yeppoon! 

Noosa Caravan Park

Despite my craving for surf and sand we couldn't go past this slightly inland caravan park at Trewantin because kids stay FREE! Yup $39 per night - and what a little oasis it was .....we decided to take a wee bit of a break here and booked for 4 nights....time to revise our plan of attack for Queensland - after all it is pretty much unknown territory for us AND the state we have the most amount of time in! However the highlight of this stay wasn't Noosa - (next time we really must remember our "George Hamilton tans", array of nautical wear and cash to really fit in!) 😂 OR Australia Zoo (which was fantastic for even the most unenthused zoo lovers - Leigh).......nope the highlight of our stay was our next door neighbours, "The Leyland Sisters"!  Originally from NZ and Austria, these very special ladies are retired, and having suffered the loss of their husbands within a year of one another - took a "Golden Girls" approach to life and happily live together in Hervey Bay BUT love getting into their caravan and travelling around playing golf.......and it didn't take much to hit it off with us (get it? Hit it off? Hah hah)......so we joined them for drinks and nibbles at 4:30pm (sharp!) every day and learned their life stories, we laughed and cried, the girls adore them - and so do we  ❤️ So of course Hervey Bay is now a 2 night stop on our way......we will call it the 19th Hole! I hope you girls are reading this because 4:30pm was very "beige" without you yesterday!! See you on the weekend!

Also had the pleasure of meeting The Atkins Family from Tassie who are travelling the same way as us - will stay in contact and cross paths again I'm sure!!

Cobb and Co Nine Mile Campground - (near Gympie)

It was time to settle the score with Maggie, and after resorting to the lowest of lows and bribing her to do homework with horse riding, we found this little gem in Wiki Camps! This place is amazing! Beautiful property owned by Katherine and Sean - they have built this campground with families in mind and includes showers and toilets (no power or water but we are good with that!), flying fox, and kids farmyard, bike trails, billabong, horse and cart rides, tractor rides and the big finale!! Horse riding! I think Maggie had excitement tears just pulling up.......incredibly experienced In horsemanship, Nick is in charge of the horses, training and lessons and within an hour, he had Maggie in a Stockmans saddle riding "Gorgeous George" like a pro cowboy - she sucked up all that info like a sponge and slept like a log 😂 thanks for having us guys! We will be back!

https://www.facebook.com/cobb.and.co.nine.mile/

http://www.cobb-and-co-nine-mile-camping-grounds.com/

BEST PART vs WORST PART

🐣Liv

Best part:  

I have two best parts! Having a girls afternoon in Brisbane and going to the movies - was nice to chill out for a few hours.

My other favourite part was meeting The Leyland Sisters in Noosa and hearing Monnie's life story about World War II and how her family sheltered her from the bombs as a baby in Europe....I have been reading some stories about children who lived through the wars and it was so interesting to hear her story - they are all so funny and lovely ❤️

Worst part: 

Shopping for hours with impatient Dad and STILL not finding any bathers 😡

🐴 Maggie

Best part: 

Learning the "Emergency Horse Stop" with Nick at Cobb and Co and then he let me canter on Gorgeous George❤️

Meeting Nola in Noosa for nibbles at 4:30pm in our shawls 😊 I loved listening to Ruth tell stories - she is funny and kind and talks just like Mummy :)

Worst part: Liv pinky promising she would play with me then not doing it - she's so mean!!! 

🏌️Leigh

Best part:  

Melbourne beating Collingwood! Oh best part about TRAVELLING this week??? 

Playing golf at Brisbane Golf Club, generally just the wonderful new friends we met along the way this week -  so lovely and friendly (not a "Noel Know-it-all in sight!)

Worst part: 

Shopping for bathers with the girls. Or should I say waiting outside the shops while they shopped. For hours. And then they left without any. 😳

🌺 Rana

Best part: 

1) Making lots of new friends and acquaintances this week - some recognized our blog, some just stopped for a chat if we were parked up having morning tea and some were just mere fate having them park up next to us! 

2) Girls overhearing us chatting to The Earl Greys about not being able to have a "date night" anytime soon and so they made one for us 😂

Worst part:   

Failing at building a campfire....twice. How can it be that hard??? "Make a tee pee" Leigh said, then went on a bike ride 😡. I love a good fire but from now on someone can make it roar! 😂

SAY IT AGAIN???

Leigh "Hey Rana I fixed the gas stove"

Rana "Oh thank god!! It's been really hard for five days without it! How did you fix it?"

Leigh "Refilled the empty gas bottle 😭"

Rana "Well dear, there is only one thing that could have been more embarrassing than that? If you had taken the van into a dealer to get it fixed 😂

LESSONS LEARNT:

📝 By Rana......there is an art to building a campfire. I should have worked this out before using all the paper and kindling 😂 

📝 By Leigh.......Gas eventually runs out.

NEXT DESTINATION:

Tin Can Bay, Hervey Bay, Calliope River, St Lawrence and Bowen....it's gonna be a biggie!!

 

The road thus travelled!

 

And so it began....Date Night! 😂

 

 

After lots of references we had to give Australia Zoo a go and weren't disappointed but confused about this sign?? Errrrm what the??? 😊

 

The Leyland Sisters! See you soon girls!

 

Maggie and Nola in their "drinks and nibbles" shawls 

Maggie getting a handle on the "Emergency Stop" with Nick and George!

 

Cobb and Co Nine Mile Campground Map! So much fun!!