We’ve had a great time celebrating the holidays together.
On Christmas Day, despite being overcast, we drove just north of Brisbane to Pelican Park in Clontarf and opened our stockings on the beach.
We all had some fab gifts including a Joanna getting her Australian Passport and the girls having matching Disco Bead bracelets.
Later, we cooked up a spread of dishes to cater for all including salmon, ham and veggie tarts with a variety of salads.
The sun came out briefly after a huge downpour and later we played Dobble, Uno and Rummikub.
We drove to Noosa on Boxing Day and as we got closer, the day got sunnier! We spent the next three days here …
… spending some time on the beach ….
… and hanging out with the Hodder clan.
We also hired a paddle board for an hour and took turns. Joanna had her own board in Sydney but it was the first time for Chris and me. We both had a little trouble to start with and I even fell off and dropped the paddle and Joanna came to my rescue although when I realised I was not out of my depth and could stand on the bottom all was fine!
By the end we both managed to stand for quite a while – definitely something we will do again!
We explored Tambourine Mountain, set in the green hinterland where there are several national parks protecting rainforest and waterfalls. We took a walking track to Curtis Falls … spotting bats on the way and getting amazing ice cream in the cafe afterwards.
We’ve visited the Botanical Gardens at Mount Coot-tha before, but it’s a good place for a stroll and we even spotted wildlife, including a possum trapped in the cafe, causing chaos.
Poinciana trees are in bloom all over the city which has been a surprise as they weren’t flowering last trip and here is a huge one here making a bit of a show …
… and another along Kedron Brook where we walked on several mornings.
We cooked up another spread for New Year’s Eve including Jan’s Coronation chicken, frittata and a whole roasted cauliflower and celebrated the arrival of the new decade with party poppers and champagne.
On New Year’s Day we opted not to spend 1.5hrs in the traffic each way to the beach and instead chilled at home which was fab … sun, pool, board games and a few beers!
We’ve had a great time here but unfortunately all good things come to an end and it is now time to leave … our next destination, The Philippines.
Here we are back for a last weekend.
Having spent a couple of days back in Sydney shopping, washing, running errands and generally getting Joanna ready for a return to work, we are now off to Canberra.
Uralla’s claim to fame, apart from being a very cute little town, is that it’s the final resting place of Frederick Wordsworth Ward, better known as Captain Thunderbolt. He ruled the highways and byways of the New England High Country for much of the 1860’s and was the longest roaming bushranger in Australian history.
We had a beautiful morning and continued along the Waterfall Way, with our next stop being Ebor Falls in Guy Fawkes River NP. As I was taking a photo of the sign …
We were on the road just after 8am, heading south from Coffs, then inland along the Waterfall Way with a promise of a delicious breakfast in Bellingen, about 30 minutes away.
We then took on the Wonga Walk 6.6km through the rainforest.
Despite being sad to leave the 4 J’s in Brisbane, more adventure awaited!
It has been so fabulous so spend Christmas with all the family together. We spent Christmas Eve preparing food together ready for Christmas Day, with everyone joining in and much hilarity. We were certainly not preparing a full turkey roast as we can remember doing in previous years in England, and instead went for Coronation Chicken, ham and a selection of inspired salads featuring curried cauliflower and pumpkin and lentils.
Off Travelling Together 