toilet signs

I snapped these in a little pub in Maitland NSW

I think they are the BEST I have ever seen, so much better than "Lads and Lassies" and other nauseating alteratives

Please excuse the quality as they were taken on my phone. I have a stoopid phone not a smart phone

I would love to see what the designer could give us for a breastfeeding room sign!

This is what arriving home looks like

The two older Kids are horrified at the thought they might have to clean the car! The cheery guy in the pic is Taff. We travelled 4817 km in 15 days!

I don't know where to start

what to put in the washing machine

what to put away

why the lego has grown while we were away

what to eat

OK calmer now - amazing what a cup of tea will do

Copy all photos onto computer and back it up

Unpacked suitcase

Not even LOOKING in the Kids room

Bills and dockets can wait till tomorrow

Here is something cool we saw today in Emerald - it is the biggest Van Gogh Sunflower painting in the world!

And we turned over our Van Gogh calendar today and guess what the picture is? The church out of the Doctor Who episode! So we are having a very arty and Whovian day

back home - what an adventure

We have been out of internet range for some of the last week and so shagged the other days that I have not updated this blog but I have lots of photos and notes about interesting things we noticed on the way through so will be posting a lot in the next few days

Meanwhile we are having the arrive at home kind of adventures after travelling from Emerald to Townsville this morning

Taff has glued his behind to the couch because the AFL grand final is on

The Kid wants to dump all the holiday crap in his room and play xbox. If he does that he will be unable to enter his room due to space constraints

The pool is a pleasant shade of light green so I have put the filter on and chucked a hose in

There was a pumpkin growing mould in the fridge and a loaf gone all green in the bread bin

I have washed shoes, a vomited on cuddle pillow and a towel. Not sure what to chuck in next as I have no place to hang it out

will update soon. real soon

Yesterday we found our retirement spot

We left Elanora on the Tweed Coast nice and early for the long drive to Newcastle so at lunchtime we pulled over to Nambucca Heads and spent almost two hours having a picnic and walking at the beach at Wellington Point - what a hidden treasure

There are painted rocks all along the board walk which show that we are not the only people who think this place is paradise

We walked out to a secluded beach and the boys went rock scrambling

If we didn't have the Kid and some older monkeys to be concerned about I think we could happily sell up tomorrow and move to a weeny little beachside shack

So here are some pictures of our lovely day at the beach

Newcastle NSW

Today we are in Newcastle NSW with an old friend we had not seen since 1987

We headed for the newly opened Newcastle Museum and spent some time playing in Supanova with all kinds of magnets and other physics activies

We visited a restaurant which was appropriately named "3 monkeys" for lunch and sat in the street to eat

Unfortunately the kid got a bird dropping on his new hat and his bacon which made for some pouting and upsettedness

Then we went up to the old fort which overlooks the bay and after that a long leisurely drive through the famous wine country of the Hunter Valley

Tonight we are going out for a Mexican feast!

Sky climb - Seaworld - pics

Shark Bay - Seaworld Gold Coast

Here is the Kid. And some sharks. He told me cool stuff which I immediately forgot. Like about eggs, and baby sharks and "look at that one's penis"

Sky climb - Seaworld

We left Brisvegas yesterday with the intention of travelling to Currumbin Wildlife Park. Unfortunately due to a vomit related incident (thanks Kid) the night before we were somewhat less prepared than we had planned to be and so as the conversation in the TARDIS mobile turned to sharks (as it does wtf?) we decided to hit Seaworld instead on the proviso that there were no movies or unreasonable queueing for rides

The Kid last went to seaworld as a weeny toddlery beastie so had no memory except of being terrified on the Bermuda Triangle, which was closed for maintenance

We had the loveliest day - I will post separate pics of the highlights as I still can't work out how to format the dang blog.

The absolute highlight was the new Castaway Bay SkyClimb which cost extra but both Taff and the Kid got all harnessed up and really had a blast - they caught the last climb of the day and were up there for AGES

You can see from the pics that Taff had to hold on pretty tight but the Kid ran around in the sky like it was his natural environment - when he couldn't reach the upper ropes he just pushed his harness along in front of him!

It was awesome - should be more of it

more teasers

We also went to Australia Zoo - saw the new Africa exhibit as well as the tigers, and Terri, Bindi and Bob Irwin perform

SO BUSY

We have had a fantastic few days but no time to blog or upload photos. Rest assured there is more news to come. In the meantime here is a taster - we stopped at Hervey Bay and went whale watching.

Timey wimey (when you need a real TARDIS)

last night the Kid said "I wish we could go whale watching" and I thought "What a good idea" So we had breakfast, got on the road, farewelled Rockhampton and cranked up Google to see how one arranged whale watching in Hervey Bay.

We phoned the lovely people at the Spirit of Hervey Bay and booked for three, planned minimal toilet breaks and went for it.

Then came the road works, shortly followed by the police car which screamed down the road right in front of us but in the opposite direction. We pulled over and watched as a large Queenslander (house) trundled up the road. It was wider than both lanes!

The boat was scheduled to leave at 1.30pm

We emailed ahead to say we would be pushing it to make it in time, then phoned at 1.26 and the skipper agreed to hold the catamaran for 10 minutes ...

At 1.39pm feeling sick with anxiety we called again to say we were 2 streets away. We were ushered in to a car park and boarded to a round of applause.

spelunking

Well those nineteenth century cave explorers did it hard

We are told they crawled and walked through metre deep guano with only a rope and candle to guide them

We followed in the footsteps of John Olsen yesterday and explored the Capricorn Caves

We arrived there about 3pm after stopping at Calen for fresh strawberries and Kolijo for the toilets

On the way we spotted a road kill variation - a dingo not a kangaroo (we had already seen heaps of those)

I started a small crochet project and Taff and the Kid engaged in a noisy enthusiastic game of road cricket. For those who don't know the rules this game is played using oncoming traffic to score runs. A white car is one, blue two, red six and any trailer, caravan, truck or ute is out. It can cause minor brainmelt, but is great fun. We also listened to some audiobooks as well as Sugarland and Neil Diamond. The caves are incredibly beautiful with tiny endangered ferns and long fig roots growing through the rock in some places. There was a formation which looked like a fossilised Ood To Be Continued.

Cats don't like packing

This is on the middle of our bed while we are both packing on either side

"Enough, already - begone!"

A couple of days in Central Queensland

Yesterday we headed south on the Bruce Highway. We saw a very tanned, happy man walking along the highway in a pair of satin boxer shorts and thongs. He was singing (loudly) and pushing a shopping trolley with a P plate attached to it

We passed hills with charred trees as a result of the recent brush fires. Some were still burning high on the hills near Mt Elliott

We put the pod on shuffle for a while

The Queensland roadscape is much more familiar to us than when we moved up here 20 years ago. Spindly drought resistant trees, bony white cattle and termite mounds

About an hour later we were driving through the canefields near Ayr and pointing out the cane trains and the tall smokestacks of the cane refineries

We stopped at a place with a huge snake which is set around

interred indigenous remains - here is a picture of the Kid on the snake

We drove through Home Hill which must be a very genteel place to live - they have a big sign that says "Comfort Stop" rather than "Toilet"

There were fields with all kinds of things growing. Corn, mangoes, tomatoes and sunflowers! And cane fields as far as the eye could see

We spent the night at Kipara Rainforest Retreat at Airlie Beach - woke to the sounds of birds and the sight of bush turkeys

We had a lovely grilled reef fish dinner at Capers Restaurant on the Esplanade - Airlie Beach was humming.

We walked past the same place after breakfast this morning and saw tiny red chinned finches flying about under the awnings

Our last memorable Airlie Beach moment was the kookaburra on the road sign as we headed south towards Mackay

Leaving a day early

Yesterday the Kid said "Why can't we go sooner?"

Today I woke without a hangover

So today we are packing up the car and headed for beautiful Airlie Beach where we have one night booked here http://www.kipara.com.au

Taff decided a wheel alignment is required. This is what I said when I called him from Hobart on the 5th of this month. So he called somewhere this morning and the car is booked in for 9.30 am

Kid has just emerged and dumped bag and all belongings all over the table before anyone has breakfast despite my instructions to "plug in everything that neds recharging, have breakfast and clean your teeth, THEN bring out your bag"

It's gonna be a long morning

last minute shopping

I went to Weight Watchers this morning and stocked up on their toffee bars - a great substitute for a chocolate at a petrol stop

This afternoon we bought milk in a weeny bottle and cereal in a weeny box (that NEVER happens - we generally buy 3 litres and the giant box) as well as some fruit and biscuits for the Kid

Taff is mulching the garden in the hope that it might get watered a little by the older monkeys while we are away

We had the pool tested and are adding acid and chlorine tablets and switching it off till we get back

I have had a lovely day - very spoilt with gifts and lunch out with my mum. I was given bamboo chopping boards, a cheese board, a Keep Cup, a framed picture of the Ross Bridge (my godfather was involved with the restoration). A purple hemp satchel, a wallet, a hair straightener, a backpack, a scrapbooking box, monkey bookmark, red oven mitts and a Mindfood subscription. Today a mystery gift arrived in the post.

Tonight we are going to Shakespeare under the Stars and tomorrow is washing and packing and kicking back so we don't start off tired.

Counting down now

The last few days have been a frustrating jumble of preparation and procrastination. I have had washing and household admin to do as well as a job application.

It has taken all my personal strength and integrity as well as a talent for setting priorities and evaluating the most effective strategy... no wait this is the wrong document for that sort of talk!

And so to preparation. I have washed out the chiller box, collected cutlery and crockery for 3 in a stuff sack, put the entire 14 hours of the BBC Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy on my Ipod touch and treated us to a spanky new Acer Iconia tablet and I am mapping out the trip and adding useful apps (like list makers and the national toilet map)

Tomorrow I have birthday festivities and ten Saturday is PACKING DAY and Taff, the kid and I will be heading south so look out!

Preparation - backpacks

Well I thought I would like a backpack. Because I don't want to lug my Mary Poppins style handbag EVERYWHERE. And I might want to carry a book or magazine, a snack, a cardi or a water bottle as well.

So what does this backpack need to accommodate?

Today's bag inventory:

My ipod touch (of course)

My purse which is large and red

Sunglasses

Reading glasses

Ecobag (from ecosilk have you seen them?)

Hankerchiefs (because I am a sinus plagued old fashioned gal)

Teabags (in a cloth wallet gifted to me by a dear friend)

Comb

Purple silk coin purse

Purple silk wallet with various painkillers in it

Purple notebook (are we getting the theme people?)

Tube of hand cream

Asthma puffer

Glass cleaning cloth

Earbuds

Mirror in a compact

Emery board in a plastic case so it doesn't scratch stuff

Classy ABA pen (for when I am being grown up)

Purple sparkly Smiggle pen (the real me trying to get out)

Floss (so I can kid myself I will)

Mobile phone (currently a small, stupid brick)

Hand Gel

Sewing Kit

Rescue Remedy (useful if I am stressed because I can't find stuff in my bag)

3 kinds of lip balm (clearly I have an addiction)

We went to BCF, Kathmandu and Anaconda. I ended up buying this one at Anaconda for the kid.

Anyone know of the perfect backpack for me to buy?

Confusing week

I am on HOLIDAY well I should have been at 6pm tonight when I arrived home from beautiful food filled Tasmania but the Taff is still there - he and I met briefly yesterday for a cup of tea and a hug. Sadly a vacancy at work has been advertised so some of my fun planning week (this week) will be used to write an application.

I have been south since last Friday and Taff flew down on Wednesday but not to the same place as me (are you confused yet?) We met briefly yesterday for a cuppa and a hug and then drove off in different directions

I managed to squeeze in visits to some people I love a whole lot as well as a stop at the Christmas Hills Raspberry farm and a whole day at MONA an experience not to be missed. Sydney Nolan's snake and some sound installations which are just crying out to be the next Doctor Who filming location. Sadly I didn't get to Reliquaire which is one of my favourite places on the planet

So this week is haircuts and wheel alignments - after I unpack. And lots of list writing

Planning

The September holidays will be a huge adventure for the three of us as Taff the kid and I head off to drive 4500 km in 14 days and have some fun at the same time.

We have done the serious planning, used the RACQ trip planner to calculate kms and time for the travel days and researched attractions for the days in between.

Although we have a night on the Gold Coast we are planning to have a wildlife and nature themed trip and so we are avoiding the big theme parks. We plan to do Australia Zoo and Currumbin Sanctuary, several museums (musea?) and Carnarvon Gorge on our way home.