Brisbane and Mount Tamborine

Greg has a friend from uni living in Brisbane who kindly let us stay in his backyard, under the large mango tree with a vocal bat population. Alex and his wife Cath have three beautiful children: Jack, 4, Lachlan, 2 and three month old Elizabeth. Our kids were very happy to have a house to play in, including lots of lego and Thomas trains, plus a backyard full of really cool toys, and three new friends to play with.


While in Brisbane we caught a train into South Bank and visited the science centre and museum- free with our Powerhouse membership. There were some fun activities on due to the school holidays up there. After that we took a ferry to New Farm Park which had an excellent playground.

We have become playground junkies and love checking out different equipment. Queensland has much more exciting play grounds compared to NSW. The ferry made me only moderately nauseous which was a happy outcome.

On our second day we went to the much anticipated Dreamworld, which seemed the best option out of the theme parks for a boy who still couldn't get his dressing wet.

Archie surprised us by going on not only the Wiggles Big Red Car but also the Mick Doohan motorbike roller coaster. Sadly Greg was too tall to go on, but when I managed to glance at Archie during the ride he had his eyes wide open and was shouting 'this is cool!'

Greg and Darcy braved the 'Wipeout' ride while Arch and Jess loved the 'Dorothy's Teacups' ride. We all went on the log ride, although Jess became so terrified in the middle of the ride that she climbed over her seat and onto my lap, which made for a scary descent into the splash pool. It was a super day and one I think we'll remember for a long time.

After leaving Brisbane we stayed in Mount Tamborine for a couple of days. It was peaceful with a creek to paddle in, but still no swimming. We all enjoyed looking at the craft etc shops. Jess and I especially liked the fairy shops. Most of the shopkeepers looked a little distressed to see four kids coming in so we divided up to minimise their anxiety. I resisted the urge to buy more German music in the German clock shop- the rest of the family sadly just doesn't seem that enthusiastic about it.

Hot Buns

On our way towards Brisbane we decided on a free campsite at Tiaro, 40km south of Maryborough. We passed a few bushfires on the way and the smoke combined with dust from NSW's duststorm made for rather poor visibility. One bushfire was very close to a crematorium, which made for some interesting discussion. Our site for the night was in the bush near the Mary River. After we had settled in amongst the trees the wind picked up and the smoke became quite thick. We made our escape plans, checked the smoke alarm (AKA dinner bell) was working- thanks mum- and took the boys down to the river for a quick wash before dinner. The water was quite chilly so the boys were out quickly and the older two ran back to the caravan to warm up. Unfortunately Darcy met misfortune while getting his pyjamas on. In the process of warming himself near the oven that was roasting our potatoes, he got just a little too close and seared his rump. At first we thought the burn was only minor as he laughed, but then he started to feel it. Greg took him back to the river as we had very little water, and there were no taps nearby. After a while we realised how big the burn was, about 10cm diameter, so I took him off to Maryborough Hospital, an 80km round trip, where they had a suitable dressing for him. Darcy is a bit sensitive about the whole thing so we ask that you please don't make him the butt of any jokes...Thankfully the bushfires didn't come close to our campsite, as it would have been tricky for Greg to move the van without the car.

No visit to Queensland would be complete without a trip to THE BIG PINEAPPLE!! Dry activities had to be found as Darcy would need to keep his dressing dry for around a week, and it doesn't get much drier than this. The Big Pineapple is as touristy as you can get. The absolute highlight of the entire trip for Greg was a ride on the nutmobile to visit the macadamia farm (sorry, too much sarcasm?). Actually the kids really enjoyed it and I must admit that the brand new goat kid on it's wobbly little legs calling for its ma was very cute, as were the baby chicks that we had a cuddle of. Darcy smuggled out a couple of macadamias, although we later bought some, and even Jess is now very competent at cracking them open with a hammer and offering everyone the crumbled insides.

Rockhampton-Agnes Water

Rockhampton had a rodeo which we took ourselves along to. It was an interesting insight into the male mind. It made me wonder how bull riding began- who was the first person to say 'hey, why don't we tighten a rope around this cranky animal and see how long it is until we get gored?'. Darcy has decided on a career in beef cattle farming, and wants to know when he can take up bull riding as an extra-curricular activity.


At Rockhampton Zoo we watched two beautiful chimpanzees eating strawberries and yoghurt with a spoon. Jess and 'Occy' blew raspberries to each other. On Sunday after church we had a great time at the Heritage Village Children's Fair. There were lots of vintage and antique quilts to look at in the houses that had been built in the 1850s and recreated. The human kids got to cuddle the goat kids, play with old fashioned toys, help in a magic show, sit in an old fire engine and generally get an idea of how life was like for early Australians. HSIE-tick!

After the fair we drove south to Calliope River, which also had a recreated historic village. Isaac found a piano and tried to tap out a few tunes, but it didn't seem to have been tuned since it was built in the 1800s. Or maybe Isaac just needs to practise. There were also lots of interesting and finger-trapping machines to try, such as this corn sheller.

Off then to 1770 and Agnes Water. Agnes Water has the most northerly surf beach on the east coast of Australia, and the first surf beach we've been to this trip. Archie got strapped back into his bubble which was a good thing as he drifted out a way and had to be rescued by Greg. Barbie Mermaid had a fine time swimming and being leisurely on and under the sand.

Townsville-Bowen-Sarina

We were expecting a parcel of mail with some important 'stuff' to have arrived in Townsville, but alas it hadn't. So we spent an unplanned night in Townsville in the hope that the mail would arrive the next day (it didn't). Townsville doesn't have a lot to do or see so we just enjoyed a picnic on the waterfront and lots of swimming and sliding in the caravan park's pool.

In Bowen we tried to go snorkelling at Horseshoe Bay but the visibilty in the water was very poor due to the coral releasing their spawn- how inconsiderate! The next day was much better and Greg and I took turns with the older boys going slightly off shore. No crocs here but I did have in my mind the last time I went snorkelling around 100m out near Byron Bay, seeing a shark swimming a few metres below me. I was glad when a couple more snorkellers joined us, I figured it reduced the risk to me just a little! Arch and Jess had a very industrious time on the beach with buckets and spades.



We stopped in Sarina near the sugar mill to visit the Sarina Sugar Shed, a miniature version (as the larger mills don't take children under seven years old on tours). A retired sugar cane farmer took us through the old and new methods of growing, harvesting and refining sugar. We had a taste of molasses- ick!- as well as sugar cane, juice and then lurid blue fairy floss, given to the kids before mum could say no! The smell of sugar cane has been with us almost constantly since Mossman, and the cane trains cause lots of excitement for the kids. Greg has switched his mid life crisis plan from opal mining in Coober Pedy to sugar farming in Queensland. We stayed overnight just south of Sarina near the beach in a free campsite. There was an abundance of fresh coconuts which kept the kids busy for several hours and blunted my favourite kitchen knife. We walked out onto the mudflats in the morning as the tide had gone out a long way, possibly a kilometre or more. After bandaging Darcy's oyster-cut foot and releasing Archie's secreted hermit crab we were off to Rockhampton.