Judy & Brian Tour Oz

My apologies for being a week or so late with this post, but we made it home and 'things' have just overwhelmed me. But, back to Brunswick Heads..... Brunswick Heads is a tiny village, stuck between Byron Bay and Ocean Shores. It is 'quaint', in that it seems untouched by either the super-hype trendoidness of the Bay or the uber-suburbanism of Ocean Shores. I hope it stays this way for ever. The thing is, its only about 4 blocks, no high-rise buildings and so laid back it's barely believable. The focal point of town is the pub, which is now part owned by 'Strop & Delvine' one-time heroes of Australian Film and TV. The pub is just so relaxed. It's all outside, one huge beer garden. The food is delicious, the entertainment plentiful and varied and the wine, if you buy the right one and don't ask the price, is fantastic. We spent one fairly long night there eating, drinking and playing musical bingo. And then you just walk the couple of hundred ...

Pelicans at Pelican Point, of course So, we've been here a week and done nothing out of the ordinary: walks along the Noosa River, Eumundi markets, Noosa Markets, Montville for lunch, Hastings street etc. Today we went to Mooloolaba for morning tea, then down to Caloundra to take the Cruise up Pumistone Passage. A really nice way to spend a couple of hours and a fitting low-key end to our Tewantin stay. Tern o the Tide, Caloundra Cruises, Pelican Waters, Qld Pelican Waters, Qld Shirley. Pelican Waters, Qld Judy. Pelican Waters, Qld Gemini Twin Towers. Golden Beach, Qld Caloundra Qld Bribie Island, Qld

Having been to Hervey Bay a few times we just wanted to chill out. We toyed with whale watching, but settled for walks on the beach, the esplanade, the marina, the pier and the 'big shops'. I tried the van park pool, but decided I didn't want to chill out quite that much.... Here's some snaps Sunset. Hervey Bay Qld Oddball creepy thing on the beach.  Hervey Bay Qld  Hervey Bay Qld No points for guessing the name of the beach.  Hervey Bay Qld Urangan Pier.  Hervey Bay Qld Tides out.  Hervey Bay Qld

From South Mission Beach we travelled down the Bruce to Townsville and on the extra 80km to Ayr for our overnight stop. We went to the Big4 Silverlink park, a little run down, not many vans in, but a fair few workers and backpackers. It was Ok for overnight and I managed a swim in the pool, which is just swimmable despite not being heated. Then it was a fairly easy drive the 300km down to Blacks Beach, which is just north of Mackay, in the Northern Beaches suburbs. Our site is just a short walk to the beach itself, which stretches for 6km, and there is a pool, which is 'refreshing'. It's a pretty nice place actually: very clean and quiet. We're only here two nights and so today we wandered into Mackay itself, to have a look around, then out to the harbour and marina ogling the megayachts, and back across to the north to have lunch at the Eimeo Hotel. We've taken a chance and booked ourselves in for a week next year.... Blacks Beach. Mackay Qld Blacks...

I won't trouble you with endless photos of the beach at South Mission Beach, it's unremarkable except for the fact that its very flat and protected from the ocean by the Barrier Reef and Dunk Island. I will put in a picture of Luggers Beach, which is the very next one south, accessible only by a 1.2km walk, first on an easy boardwalk and then on a bit of a rough track around and over the headland. It's backed by National Park and is very clean and very quiet. Mission Beach, why is it so? Luggers Beach, South Mission Qld No, instead I will regale you with our two major tourist things we did: Paronella Park and Charleys Chocolate Factory Paronella Park was established by Jose Paronella, A Spaniard who came to Australia in 1913, worked hard cutting cane and doing land deals and making his fortune. He had a dream: he wanted a castle, just like they have in Spain. So in 1929 he bought 13 acres of scrub on the edge of Mena Creek and set about creating what was/is...