Calliope to Sunshine Coast

3 November 2025  We planned to stay in Calliope a few days but it got too hot. Off to Bundaberg where it was a few degrees cooler and we are heading in to rain territory. They even had golf ball hailstones just south of us. Bundaberg is a sugar town with the famous Bundaberg rum factory. A lot of sugar cane farms are switching to macademia nuts. Instead of the rum factory we went to a quirky coffee shop Oodies. After this to the RSL on Melbourne Cup day, No win.
We staid two nights with a friend from Vaska who has a big farm.

 Coffee and cake at Oodies Bundaberg                                  The Craters Bundaberg

A short stopover in Childers and off to Maryborough on the Mary river. Maryborough used to be a wealthy port in the 1850s with stately old buildings everywhere in town beside the Mary River. Now it is famous for the fact that the author of the Mary Poppins storywriter was born here. We spend a few days here.

Vaska and Mary                                     Rainbow beach

8 November. Next stop Rainbow beach. So named after all the different coloured sand in the dunes. I had not been there for at least 20 years. The beach can be very treacherous for those who take their car there. Over the years dozens of cars have been swallowed up by the sea. The steep dunes go right to the waters edge. We had some some good walks there. Drove back to Gympie where we set up camp in the dark.  Next day (Sunday) two markets. First one a flop second one in Noosa was good. Noosa is a popular tourist place and parking is a challenge. Had my first swim in the ocean in a long time.
We had plenty of time to explore the Sunshine coast. Another technical mishap. The clutch of the bus is playing up and we had to spend four days beside a river while exploring by the beaches by bus. Maroochydore to Caloundra.
13 November The bus was supposed to be repaired but the wrong part. Had to wait another day. Picked up the car and camped beside the river where we spend the last week.
Next day another drama. Vaska’s I phone refused to cooperate. We spend all morning to get this sorted. Surprise surprise next morning the phone worked again. It probably did not like the rain we had. It also meant we did not have to stay in the Sunshine coast and left direction Glasshouse mountains. The Glass house mountains are named by Captain Cook in 1770 because from a distance they looked like the glass smelters in England.
 At the start of the year I took a photo on top of mount Ngungun and wanted to do this again with Vaska.

Sunshine coast on a sunny day              Mount Ngungun March 2025 and November 2025

We are staying away from the coast and heading for Boonah where a chapter of the motorhome club are having their Christmas weekend. We were prepared and bought already our outfits. Friday night dinner and dancing at the showground. Left the next morning after the club provided us with lunch. Sausages, buns and salad. Off to Canungra via Mount Tamborine. This is a tourist town with a very interesting German clock shop. While in Canungra Vaska contacted her sons and they decided to come over for dinner. Vaska shouted us a beautiful early Xmas dinner in a Japanese restaurant.  I got to meet the family and we had a good time catching up.
Next morning another drama with the bus. Lost radiator fluid and when I started the motor it did not sound good. Because we were close to the Gold Coast where Vaska has an apartment we wen there first before heading north and back to the garage which fixed the clutch.

             Robert     Katrina      Richard      Albert      Vaska       Vera

27 November. Waiting for bus repairs with views like this every morning.
Our outings are via local transport which is very well organised for 50ct a trip.

X Mas party.                            German clocks                             Gold coast

View from hopefully our last camp here       View from bus Alexandria head Maloolaba Beach