Sunday 25 August 2013 – Nothing happening

Today went as the days have been going.  Grant went fishing at about 8 this morning and came back about 1pm – empty handed.  He got a number of smallies, but put them back.  Meantime I did the washing, read my book, talked to Pauline and Terry next door (from Tassie), watched a lot of vans leaving, had several cuppas, and generally just sat in the half sun.

Late in the morning I rang a family connection in a town out of Rockhampton.  I had a lovely but interrupted talk to him (a few months off ninety years of age) – first I ran out of prepaid time, so topped up, then three more times we got cut off – probably because of my impatience.  They do tell you once you top up that it can take up to 15 minutes to reactivate your account, but I kept ringing back straight away, so I can only blame myself.  Anyway we have agreed that when I get home I will write to him and ask further things that I need to know.

We had a late lunch, then just read, etc for the rest of the afternoon.  Several vans came in mid afternoon, Joy came to visit  ………..

So that’s today – nothing happening.

Saturday 24 August 2013 – Happy Birthday Lis!

Well another big day at the office!  Up at about 8, did the usual stuff before leaving a bit after 9.30 and walked to Torquay where they had a bit of a market on the foreshore.  It was a beautiful morning (today has been 26 degrees), and today we stuck to the pathway that winds along between the Esplanade and the foreshore.  As we wandered along there I was almost tempted to do my morning drill on the exercise machines that are along the way, but I didn’t want to show up the try-hards who were already occupying some of the machines.

The market was quite a small one, and a few stalls had some bits and pieces that were different or interesting, but we came away only having bought some honeyed macadamias and some chilli macadamias, and with a sample sachet of ‘Mims Magic’ – a cure-all lotion that helps with arthritis pain, cracked skin, sprains, insect bites, cold sores (just to name a few things it helps) – handed to me by a stallholder who obviously had noticed my arthritic gait.  I tried it out this afternoon, and it seemed to help my knees, so I’ll get some when we next go to the market.  On the way back to the park we had an ice-cream from a speciality ice-cream shop which had far too many flavours, making deciding difficult, but we were both happy with our choices.

Back at camp, settled down with a cuppa, we had a chat with the neighbours behind us who are from Whakatane in NZ and come over here every year from May to the end of September to get away from the cold.  They fly to Brisbane, then hire a car and caravan, and amble around the coastal places stopping wherever they decide to spend a few days (or weeks).

At about 1.30 we had just finished lunch when we had a visit from my cousin Adrian and his wife Linda, so we sat out in the sun and solved the problems of the world over a cuppa for about an hour and a half.  And during the afternoon we had various of our neighbours stopping for a yarn, including Colin who brought us a map showing where to find a caravan park they suggested we stay at on our way home.

Oh! Before we left on our walk this morning we booked a day visit to Fraser Island for next Wednesday, so that should be good.

At the moment (almost 5pm) the wireless is on, but all you can get here is rugby, though they kindly share AFL scores very occasionally.  I keep check of them though on the internet, and so far I’ve picked 2 out of 3 winners, and Grant has a perfect score.  Melbourne let me down this afternoon!

Well it is now almost 10 o’clock and I delayed posting this blog entry in case we won Tattslotto, but as we didn’t, that’s about the news for today.

Friday 23 August 2013 – Big excursion to Burrum Heads

We had another chilly evening last night and an equally chilly morning this morning, but the day has again been lovely – 24 degrees.  Had a bit of a sleep in (till 8), and hung around till late morning just enjoying the lack of housework and the indulgence of just eating brekky and reading as I enjoyed some extra cuppas. 

Grant has woken up a little bit sore in his hands and shoulder still, but he is focussing on his exercise, heat packing, etc. and trying not to trip over, stumble, step into any hollow, and generally just keep himself upright. 

We decided to go for a drive a bit further up the coast , so we left here at about a quarter to eleven making our way to the thriving metropolis of Burrum Heads about 35 km away.  Though it is on the coast, you don’t see the coastline on the drive there.  The township itself is quite small and very much a fishing village.  Each access point to the water had a boat ramp and there were quite a number of fishing boats in the mouth of the Burrum River – looking more like not-too-large commercial fishing boats than just pleasure ones.  And there were lots of little tinnies coming and going – we couldn’t believe one of them – it was about 2 mtrs long and two men were going out in it.  It would have been a bit dodgy if the breeze had got up much stronger, as it was a little bit choppy as it was!

  

Burrum Heads

The tide was out while we were there, and it goes out quite a long way, so at all the roads we went down to the ocean beach, there was quite a long walk to actually get to the water.  We were there for a while, then headed back towards Hervey Bay, going down every side road on the left (the beach side), invariably going down ‘no through roads’ which all ended up at a sandy turning circle on the foreshore.  There was one other even smaller seaside place we went to, Toogoom and its suburb Toogoom East, both very similar to Burrum Heads, just smaller.

On the drive back into Hervey Bay we saw our first Wicked van of this trip.  They seem to be far less prevalent here in Queensland than they were on last years trip – perhaps because the ‘Up the Centre to Darwin, down to Perth then across the Nullarbor’ trip appeals to as many younger people as older, whereas this part of the world is more regarded as God’s waiting room. 

Back in town by mid-afternoon we first of all found the early voting office, filled in the appropriate paperwork, were given our ballot papers and did our duty to the country – well one of us did, anyway.  The other exercised the right to a protest vote.  From there we went to the supermarket and topped up on a few bits before coming back to the park for a very much needed cuppa.  And that’s today in a nutshell.


A lovely silver palm tree (bismarckia noblis)  we saw in a garden.

Thursday 22 August 2013 – Hervey Bay …. still.

Well we both had a sleep in this morning, that is of course after the initial butcher bird alarm awakening.  I woke at 8 and Grant said he’d been up at 7.30.  We woke to beautiful sunshine, and although today only got to 21 degrees, while in the sun it was really warm, but as the concrete pad outside our van gets shade from about 2pm, we chased the sun around like lizards do, finding the warm spots.

So this morning we didn’t do much – showered, did the chores, cuppa or three, read a magazine and did the puzzles then decided to go for a walk.  I wandered over to the toilet before we headed off and accidentally spoke to Sue (our next door neighbour) on the way, so got caught up in conversation for a good 30-40 minutes.  Yes, I’ve found someone who talks more than I do!

Finally off on our walk at a quarter past eleven, once on the beach we turned right (not sure where east and west are here) and walked quite a way along, then did a u turn and headed back.  I walk in the water, while Grant today walked on the hard damp sand – the tide was going out.

Grant setting out on our walk.

                                                                                                                               We stopped to take a couple of photos of the pelicans that hang around, then continued on the walk, with me slightly ahead of Grant.  Then ………… I heard a great thud and a groan, and Grant had hit the sand!!!  At this spot on the beach there is a wooden boat ramp going down to the waters edge.  I had walked around the end of the ramp, while apparently Grant had walked across it, put a bare foot on the edging board on it, and lost his balance landing on his left hand, elbow, hip and shoulder – in fact in a heap on the ground, and he was moaning.  His sandals and the camera were scattered nearby.

I went over to him, asking important questions, then attempted to lift him up.  Meanwhile, a lady who was sitting further back up the sand called out – ‘leave him, I’ll help, he may have broken his hip!’  While she rushed down he managed to get himself over onto his knees, and the two of us hauled him to his feet. (Grant has since commented on the fact that at this stage I told her that – ‘He’s no lightweight!’)  He said he had no pain in his shoulder, though his fingers and hands were very painful, as well as his elbow.  As we checked him over, and asked more important questions, he seemed to be okay, but of course shaken up, so we slowly made our way back to the park. 

The ramp where Grant fell – far side, just above water line.

By the time we got back he seemed not too bad, so we went to the sausage sizzle they have here at lunch time on a Thursday – gold coin donation to the Flying Doctor Service.  On the way back to the van we had a yarn to a couple who had not long come into the park (Colin and Joy – thought it was the reincarnation of my mother and father–in-law, Colin and Joy Cowley), and she was telling us she had a similar fall four days ago. 

Grant then went across to the spa pool (36 degrees) as we thought that might be helpful for his aches and pains, as by then he had started to stiffen up.  He spent 30 minutes there, then came back and we just sat around this afternoon, having chats with passers by, cups of tea and coffee, and making sock dolls – me making the sock dolls that is.  (While I’m writing this – 5pm – Grant is lying sideways on the bed doing his shoulder exercises, and not groaning, so that is good).

When we couldn’t find any more sunshine within sitting distance of our van we came inside, I put the kettle on and Grant went over to the toilet block.  When he got back 5 minutes later he was brandishing a heat bag loaned to him by Joy.  She had one in the van and said it had helped when she had her fall, so Grant has just heat-bagged his shoulder.  He can do it again a couple of times and we’ll see how he feels in the morning.

It’s now just after 10pm and we are back home after having tea with the Browns and Caseys at a pub in Urungan – very nice meal, then had a cuppa at Linda and Ade’s.  Grant is giving his shoulder another heat bag treatment, he’s just a bit stiff and his hand and fingers are swollen, but he is fine.  And it’s raining at the cricket, so we can’t listen to what isn’t happening!

We might go for a drive somewhere tomorrow – keep Grant off the sand!!

Browns, Cowleys and Caseys

Wednesday 21 August 2013 – Still here at Hervey Bay

Well I didn’t have the greatest night last night – up a couple of times with cramps following the two walks yesterday, and of course the early morning call from the butcherbird, so when Grant got up at about six thirty and suggested I go back to sleep for a while, I actually did, and woke up at a quarter to eight.  This time I was rudely awakened by the fellow in the caravan behind – who had to move to another site in the park – wound his caravan legs up with the assistance of what Grant tells me is called a hammer drill.  Talk about loud – I know where the hammer part of the name comes from – it was deafening.

Once up I realised that Grant wasn’t around, neither was the car, so I figured he’d gone fishing.  It was nice and sunny, so after brekky and shower I sat outside reading for a while, had a couple of cuppas and a chat or two, and was just getting up to make another cuppa at about 11am when Grant arrived home …… with a catch!!  He was pretty chuffed as he had the biggest catch on the Urangan pier this morning – a 60cm school mackerel.  He brought it home de-headed, de-tailed, filleted and all set to go.  So that’s on the menu for tonight.  We figured it is best eaten fresh, so we gave half of it to the couple in the next door van.

A plate of fish!

So once again, with Grant home, it was cuppa time, then lunch, and we were sitting here just after lunch when Lauris and Ray (my cousins) came to visit.  So the next couple of hours were spent sitting around talking, and moving around our van like lizards chasing the sun as it was a bit chilly in the shade.

After a delay of about 6 hrs I’m back to finish this off.  We crumbed the fish and bought some chips at the shop next door to the park, and it  was all delicious.  I told Grant he is welcome to catch some more of those. We couldn’t eat all of our fillet, so there is some cold for lunch tomorrow.

After tea we went to the Happy Wanderer Caravan Park where the cousins we saw the other day are staying, to play cards.  It was a new game they had bought involving cards and counters, quite simple to learn, and fun to play – especially when you win, which Ray and I did!  We played in Ade and Linda’s annex, and though it was quite chilly outside, they had the heater on and it was warm.

Back in the van now, the cricket is on, Grant is snoring, and all is good with the world.

Tuesday 20 August 2013 – Hervey Bay

That bloody bird!!  This morning it was squawking at 4.15am and obviously woke us and several other people in the park.  I asked Gary (the Manager) this afternoon what sort of bird it is and he told us it is a butcher bird.  In fact he showed it to us, perched on top of the tall pine tree at the front of the property with two mates.  We might have to resort to ear plugs.  The odd thing is that it stops after a while, so you can get back to sleep – and official wake up time this morning was 10 to 7 (way too early, but that’s what happens).

Today has been a beautiful day – 25 degrees, so after a slow start to the day we went for a drive mid-morning down to the Urangan pier which is about 3 km from where we are camped. Hervey Bay is really several suburbs which just continue on from one another.  I suppose someone knows where each one starts and stops, but the names of these towns are Scarness, Urangan, Hervey Bay, Torquay, Pialba, Eli Waters, Point Vernon, Urraween, Kawungan, Wondunna, Dundowran and Nikenbah.  We are actually in Scarness.

Anyway, we went for a walk first on the Torquay jetty, then moved on to the bigger one.  The Urangan Pier was built between 1913 and 1917 and was a very busy centre for the export of sugar, timber and coal.  At the time it was built it was over 1100 mtrs long, but the end 239 mtrs of it were demolished after it closed in 1985.  Due to a public outcry, the demolition was halted at this stage, and 868 mtrs still remain.  It is currently undergoing renovations, but is still a very popular fishing spot.  We walked out to the end of the pier, watched some dolphins playing a bit off the side of the pier, then walked back to the car.

After lunch we went for another walk along the beach.  We walked from the end of our street to the Scarness pier, and be the time we got back we had done our second 1 hour walk today.  Well that was enough for me, so it was back to the van, cuppa or two, Grant starting to get his fishing line set up ready for launch tomorrow, and me reading, then making another sock doll.

Had some good chats to some of our fellow caravanners as well as Gary during the afternoon.  He and Lyn (his wife) have been managing here for a bit over a year, coming from Wagga to take on the job.  They love it, and he was telling us about the changes they have made during that time.  We’re very happy with the park.

Well that’s it for today – obviously we’ve been flat out all day!!  With a bit of luck we’ll have freshly caught fish for tea tomorrow night.

Monday 19 August 2013 – Settled in at Hervey Bay

We were literally up with the birds this morning.  I don’t know what time it was, or what sort of bird it was, but it was definitely loud!!  And it was definitely early.  So it was fitful dozing until about ten past 7 when we were up ready for the day.  After breakfast, the first chore was to do the washing as I hadn’t done any since we left home, except for rinsing out undies a couple of times when having a shower.  Today has been pretty overcast, with only a couple of hours when the sun peeked out, but it wasn’t cold, so managed to get the washing dry enough to hang on the clothes horse to finish off.

So after chores, morning tea and a bit of a read we went off and had a drive around Hervey Bay.  We drove the Esplanade, and as Hervey Bay stretches out a long way – probably about 10 km, and though the Esplanade follows the beach - you can’t really see the water from most of the drive, though there is a cycling/walking track pretty well all the way.  Around the furthest end (Point Vernon) it is very rocky – not high rocks, but like a very rough, sharp looking rock shelf.

After lunch we decided to go for a walk along the beach, and we are only two blocks from the esplanade – and not big blocks, so we got down to the beach at the bottom of our street, turned left and walked in the shallow water of the incoming tide to the Scarness Pier, got out onto the pier as Grant wanted to see if there was any evidence of fish having been caught (there wasn’t), then made our way back to the park.  Just before we went on our walk we saw two people doing parachute jumps.  From our van we thought they were heading to land in the sea, but they did sharp coastward turns near the landing, so we think they landed safely. We were away a bit over an hour, so we’ll try to build onto that each day, or maybe manage to go a bit faster.

Our neighbours Sue and Mark, whose vehicle got towed in last night, got a hire car today, so now at least they have a bit of independence and don’t have to sit around looking at one another.

Back at the van, and refreshed by a cuppa or two, we sat outside and I started on my first solo sock doll.  As I am writing this, just before tea, she is almost done, but has arms which could have been a bit longer and made her look a bit normal – but she has character!

Grant has cooked our meat the last two nights in the camp kitchen, and he reckons there are low flying fruit bats whipping around everywhere just on dusk.  I have yet to see one – probably because I’ve been in the van getting the rest of tea ready.

On the way back from our walk today, Grant stood on the footpath and watched through the fence at the bowlers going about their bowling (the Bowling club is our next door neighbour), and today he has also been sussing out suitable fishing spots.  There’s a big ocean out there, so I reckon there will be fish everywhere.  I’ll report when we have our first home caught fish meal.