Beerwah to …….             January

3 December. All work on the motorhome finished. We took Keith and Yvonne Nunn out for dinner to celebrate a job well done. Next day met up with Jeff Redshaw Vaskas friend who helped and assisted us since the Hino decided not to cooperate. And we are finally on our way. Spend the night in Caloundra. Our favourite parking spot was taken but found another one with a view of the ocean. The new fridge had some protective film over it which as it turned out was impossible to remove. Back to Maroochidore for advice. Got an email from the manufacturer that this particular batch was faulty and they did not have a solution. This means month of scratching to remove it.

  Albert, Vaska, Keith and Yvonne                Vaska, Albert and Jeff Redshaw

New inside and storage box on the back

The next day off to the Masedonian church to celebrate the Orthodox X Mas. Not many people there but the next day for the Orthodox New Year there were a lot of people. A band played traditional music very loud. Vaska participated in the dancing and I participated in the traditional food. After this we drove to the Southport Spit and had a relaxing afternoon and walk. Next day to Surfers Paradise where we staid three days beside the Nerang River. We are surprised that we not get tasseled to move on but we are not the only campers staying overnight in beautiful spots. Saturday night dinner in a Thai restaurant. Sunday morning a tour boat on the Nerang river and in the afternoon Vaska’s sons and partners were invited to celebrate Vaska’s birthday in a few days time. It was great to catch up again. Also because it was Masedonian New Year it is custom to hide a coin in a pies of bread and whoever gets it get the Money. Richard complained before that he seldom get’s it be he was the lucky one who scored $50. After they had gone we drove to Redcliff. We just switched on the TV to watch the movie Goolagong. When the light went out. Our electrical supply had gradually gone down since the compressor fridge was installed but this time the battery shut down. Luckily we had already made arrangements with Keith and Yvonne to install new solar panels there.

I am not converted but still lit a candle        Vaska’s birthday present, River cruise Gold Coast

          Katrina.          Richard.          Albert.          Vaska.          Robert.          Vera.

12 January.  Up till now we had perfect weather but the day started with rain but luckily it cleared sufficiently to install the solar. One job out of the way.  Another project was to install new rear shock absorbers because the van sometimes swayed violently. We had to wait a few days for the part to arrive. In the  meantime Vaska had her birthday. Went out for dinner.
14 January the part arrived and in the afternoon we were heading towards the Gold Coast. Met up with a friend from Vaska and next stop Byron Bay. We are finally out of Qld. This is a Mekka for the younger generation. Strictly no free camping but another camper showed us a nice quiet spot. Byron Bay is mostly known for it’s lighthouse which is on the most easterly point of the Australian main land. The walk reminded us that you always have to be vigilant when bush walking because on the way ten ambulances, rescue teams and helicopter to pick up someone who had slipped.

                                              Byron Bay                               Tamworth with Slim Dusty

A long day driving to Coffs Harbour. We also got a fair bit of rain which we did not have before. We had a great parking spot overlooking the harbour. During the night the wind started to pick up  and shook the car a fair bit. There is a saying here “If the bus is rocking don’t bother knocking” HaHaHa, During the night we decided to shift where the other campers were sheltered from the wind. Next day Coffs Harbour to Armidale which is a winding road but generally good but because of the extra heavy rain there was a rock slide and the road was closed. A detour took us over a narrow road to Armidale where we found a good campsite after we had done the laundry. Around sunset it got a bit chilly and for the first time we  turned on the heater. Armidale is 900 metres in the Deviding Range. Next day down the hill again and a beautiful 28 degrees in Tamworth. The country music festival has been on our  things to do list for a long time, eventhough we have benn here  before. This is an amazing experience. You hear all levels of country and quality buskin in the street. At times you hear four artist at the same. We parked close to town, a five minute walk to the action.