Judy & Brian Tour Oz

Emerald Beach NSW August 30 2015 Just a couple of days doing nothing. We are at Emerald beach which is just north from Coffs Harbour, close enough to be half-handy, far enough away to be relaxed. As relaxed as one can be with mum, dad and the 4 kids across the road going flat out at full volume all day from 630. One of the kids just sits there and squeals all day. They have a pop-top van with the beds folded out each end. They have 5 bicycles, 6 chairs, a play pen, several tables, a BBQ, numerous toys. The whole lot is spread out over two caravan sites. Mum sits out in the road, using it as a table to fold the once clean clothes. Dad is reliving his childhood through his children, which is OK, except he's making more noise than them. We went out. Naturally, on day 1 we gravitated to Coffs itself and stumbled into the markets, a car show, saw a steam engine, snapped a DC3 and had an ice-cream at Sue's sisters place on the wharf. We wandered around the marina and found some...

Emerald Beach NSW August 28, 2015 Headed off down south today, staring out on the really good road they call the M1, which is a dual carriageway all the way down to just north of Byron Bay. From Byron Bay down to Ballina there are extensive roadworks which will do away with the tortuous route over and around and up and down the mountains. From Ballina down along the rivers to Grafton is still the old slow trip through all the little towns and over the rivers. We stopped at Maccas at Grafton, as we seem to have done a few times, for an early lunch and to have a rest, that road is pretty tiring. Then it’s back on the road for the 60km or so down to Emerald Beach which is 20 odd km north of Coffs Harbour. Once south of Grafton the road opens up again into a dual carriageway and is quite a pleasant and smooth run. Last time we came down this way it was wall-to-wall roadworks and so this was a nice change. We found our park easily enough and it’s right on the beach, well just a...

Tweed Heads NSW August 27, 2015 We spent yesterday cruising around the mountains out the back of Tweed Heads / Gold Coast. First we had to go back to Springbrook, to see if the Best-of-all lookout could live up to its name: Best-of-all lookout 2012. Springbrook Qld Best-of-all lookout, 2012. Springbrook Qld Best-of-all lookout, 2015. Springbrook Qld Best-of-all lookout, 2015. Springbrook Qld Personally, I didn't think it that great a view, but the busloads of Asian tourists thought it was all pretty special. 'Ow' and 'argh' sound just the same in Japanese. Its a narrow track down and out onto the viewing platform. They came down in single-file led by the tour guide. They marched out onto the platform, give a quick 'ow argh' turn around, grab a selfie-on-a-stick with the view in the background, and march right off again. We had coffee in the only coffee shop we remembered in the area for miles. It's the oddest place, full of 'art...

Hibiscus. Rainbow Bay Qld Tweed Heads NSW August 22, 2015 Can't remember what we did this morning - must have been exciting! We wandered off for lunch some time after 1pm, and naturally enough we gravitated toward a place called D'Bar up on the headland, right behind the Captain Cook memorial which marks the boundary between NSW and Qld. Yes, we've eaten here before and chances are we'll eat here again before we leave. It's just the right place, the right atmosphere and the food is delicious. I could eat here 3 times a day, but our budget and my waistline might not  be up for it! Duranbah Beach NSW. Tweed River NSW It's a really gusty overcast day on the beach, not really very pleasant. We had a bit of a walk along Rainbow beach, the 'beachscape' of which seems to have changed dramatically since we were here last year or the year before. For a start, there's this lagoon that's been formed behind the beach - the kids were having a ...

Tweed Heads NSW August 21, 2015 Another day, another state. Time to move on again today, and so, in-between showers of rain, we packed up and hit the road. Back out through Eumundi to the Bruce once more, heading south. The rain persisted and made for a more uncomfortable drive than it should be. Somewhat south of Eumundi, just north of Beerburrum we started picking up 2-way radio chat about a truck crash ahead of us and how the road was blocked for 5km or more. As we got closer we understood that only the left lane was getting through but it may as well be completely blocked. Armed with this warning Judy hit the atlas to find us a way round, via Beerburrum and Caboolture, a detour confirmed by the trucks as they too made other arrangements. Just as we came to a halt, the exit appeared and so we along with anyone else with a radio, left the mighty Bruce and headed for the hills. It turns out to be a pleasant drive, and as we like roads less travelled, it suited us fine. We cam...

Tewantin Qld August 18 2015 One trick I have learnt when travelling, is to go to the i-place and get a birdwatching guide. Not that I want to track down birds particularly, but the guides that they supply usually have tracks and trails that lead you all over the countryside, to places to which you wouldn't normally go. And so it was that we found ourselves at a place out the back of Tewantin called Lake McDonald, starting with the ubiquitous bird hide, so named because the moment you step into them, the birds go and hide. Just hold the camera still taking snaps until a bird flies past. Lake McDonald. Tewantin Qld Judy harassing dragon flies. Lake McDonald. Tewantin Qld They are kinda cute though.  Lake McDonald. Tewantin Qld Brian being snap-happy. Lake McDonald. Tewantin Qld From here we were led up to the top of the volcanic plug called Mt Tinbeewah. well not quite top the top, there was still a 250m walk / climb to the actual top. We were p...