Time to smell the roses...and to take care of sick children

It is time for my regular update, Linton here. As I write this entry, Canadians are heading to the polls for the national election, world markets are hopefully rallying, the US is in the last month leading up to their election and I am sipping coffee, watching daytime tv and waiting for my sick child to wake up. This is one of the luxuries of this year - simplifying life and being able to stay home when the boys are sick. Unfortunately, this is the fourth day Alex has been sick in the last 10 days....So yes I am a little bored but still appreciating the time that I have to be with the kids and to be a stay at home mom.

Just last week, I was invited to another mom's house for "morning tea". About 10 other moms were there and we sat down with formal china, scones with jam and cream and party sandwiches. Very lovely and nice to be included. The conversation was about all the usual topics - kids programs, renovations, private schools, holidays, in-laws, etc. Minus the Australian accent, I really could have closed my eyes and felt like I was with all my TO girlfriends. Amazing really. I would equate our neighbourhood in Melbourne (Carlton North) with the Annex in Toronto. Because of the proximity to the University, Carlton North is filled with professionals and individuals working either at one of the hospitals/universities. There is a mix of double income families, single parent families and stay at home moms with working dads. But I have been told by a few parents that most of the kids that attend our boys' school (Carlton North Primary School) will go on to attend private school in Year 7. So there is definite wealth in the neighbourhood. Like the Annex, Carlton North has mostly older houses and shops but this is part of the charm of the neighbourhood.

Our life in Carlton North has changed a bit now that it is Spring and the weather is "fine" outside:
* The local Y's outdoor pool has opened so we have starting swimming there (the boys start swimming lessons in November)
* The school has launched their SunSmart program and all kids must wear a wide-brimmed hat whenever they are outside (so now both boys have bucket hats that they have to wear everyday). We continue to be told how strong the Australian sun is.
* Visits are more frequent now to our local park's playground. Saturday mornings are full of the kids' activities that all take place from this park. Tennis at the courts in the park and soccer on one of the fields within the park.

I continue to religiously watch the exchange rate between Australian and Canadian currency. Because the Australian dollar has dropped in value significantly against the Canadian currency (approx 20 cents), I have been booking the rest of our year's travel fast and furiously to take advantage of the cost savings. My representative at the local Flight Centre thinks she has died and gone to heaven with the amount of bookings I have put through her in the last 2 months. Just yesterday, I started booking our flights home, if you can believe it...We are flying direct from Perth to Johannesburg on July 3rd to have a visit with Sarah and her family. Very exciting that finally we are taking the boys to see their cousins in Africa. Then we will go on from there to hopefully see more cousins and friends in London, flying from Joburg to London July 13th. I am waiting to book the London-Toronto leg until we figure out what we want to do in London and how long we will stay. The plan is to return to Toronto in time to enjoy the August long weekend with family.

Future travels include:
* Sydney-Ayer's Rock-Alice Springs-Adelaide (November 15-27)
* Hong Kong (Dec 3-7 Linton only!)
* Great Ocean Road, Lorne-Mt. Gambier then meeting Jane and Peter Darling in Adelaide, Apollo Bay then back to Melbourne for the Australian Open (Jan 18-Feb 3)
* New Zealand - Christchurch, Franz Joseph Glacier, Queenstown, Te Anau, Dunedin (April 4-14) with Mom and Bill

I know, we are so lucky to be doing all this! Can't wait...

Personally, I am between fundraising contracts. Just waiting to see if Children's Miracle Network needs my services over here. So for now - I continue to do my fitness class, volunteer with Alex's class and at school events, run, and manage the household activities. I do like the slower pace and the simplicity of our daily life but look forward to our upcoming travels...

Sept. 29-30 Hervey Bay

On our way out of Yeppoon we decided to wander a little further down the coast to check out a sculpture called The Singing Ship that commemorated James Cook's exploration of the Australian east coast. It was situated in a uniquely named place called Emu Park on a bluff overlooking the ocean and an absolutely gorgeous view. We took pictures with the ocean in the background but I was having a bit of trouble mustering a smile having moments before been dived bombed by an aggressive magpie and quite literally pecked in the head! He or she almost got Colin too and necessitated a wary and hasty return to the camper.

Once we were on our way we had another longish slog ahead of us as we were attempting to get ourselves to the home of Australian whale watching - Hervey Bay - about 440kms away. Highlights of this drive included: sidestepping places like Rockhampton which has a very western feel and apparently 2 million cattle in the surrounding area, stopping for lunch in another information kiosk in a place called Miriam Vale, and making a detour outside of Childers from some excellent macadamia nut ice cream. The ice cream stop had two types of drama; the first was my second momentary lapse in terms of the right and wrong side of the road and the second was the very surreal experience of eating ice cream on a bench while watching My Fair Lady on a huge flat screen tv in the backyard of the ice cream shop. In spite of both experiences, we left no worse for wear and in no time we were wending our way through Hervey Bay in search of the next Big 4!

Now that we were "pros" at setting up camp, the kids were quickly in the pool as Linton booked our whale watching tour with the front office. We decided to do a half day trip on the newest and biggest boat in the Hervey Bay fleet - The Spirit of Hervey Bay. This trip would take us about 50kms out to sea and up the coast of the world famous Fraser Island which at 120kms long is the largest sand island in the world. We were after the Humpback whale which is "forced" into the area around Fraser Island in their annual migration north from the Antarctic to Indonesia.

But before the whale watching we decided to treat ourselves to our second non-camper dinner of the trip and settled on a funky place our Lonely Planet guide recommended called the Black Dog Cafe about ten minutes from our Caravan Park. On the way there we had a neat conversation with our cab driver who told us of his son who was a school teacher and a snowboarder working in Fernie BC who didn't seem to ever "want to come home". In this land of paradisical beaches that seemed hard to fathom and yet, for us skiers and Canadians we could understand the attraction. The dinner was a tonne of fun. Maybe it was the great food, or perhaps the Shrek and Simpsons figures by the kitchen, or maybe even the goofy presence of Owen Wilson in a signed photograph beside our table - whatever it was, we were all in a great mood as we walked the abandoned beach strip before hailing a cab home.

In the morning Linton showed me up in the extreme with an early morning run and then a walk on the beach with Colin. Allie and I chose to "lounge" about the camper if that's possible and I eventually made my way down to check out the beach with Colin after coffee. We had great fun "fossicking" in the tidal pools looking for starfish and hermit crabs with one wary eye on the lookout for swooping Magpies. An Ibis and an Osprey were our more friendly companions.

Our whaling adventure departed at 1:00pm from the main port which was at the opposite end to Hervey Bay from where we were and required a 20 minute shuttle bus ride. Once there we had more than an hour to kill so we wandered around the quaint harbour eventaully having a pre-trip beer and Calamari plate to toast the weather and the whales to come. In actual fact we were going to have to deal with some fairly rolly seas again so we all dutifully popped our motion sickness meds in the hope that time spent at the lee rail would be for the whale watching - only! Soon our ship was ready to board and we were off on a 50 minute cruise up the coast of Fraser Island and in search of humpbacks!

With vivid memories of a very cool and rough whale watching trip in Tofino that had little in the way of actual whales, we were keen to get close to a whale this time and after about one hour of searching we were handsomely rewarded. Eventually, we would follow two different mothers with their calves and the second pair was spectacular with many breaches, some fluking? and about 30 minutes of a show that would make Seaworld drool! This was followed up with some playful antics from another juvenile and we turned for home fully satisfied. A smooth return trip under a slowly setting sun made this day on the water forever memorable.

A Tooth, a Turkey and a Ten K Trot!

Taking a break from the minutiae of chronicling our travels on the highways and bi-ways of Queensland, I wanted to be sure to clearly record October 12 as a day of truly momentous occasions. This was the day that Linton and James would successfully complete their first 10km race together. This was the day that Alex and Colin would successfully negotiate the perils and predicament of "hosting" a teenage babysitter. This would be the day that we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with a lovely dinner once again hosted by our friends Alex and Simon Davies. And this would ultimately be the day where Alex Darling, with the help of a healthy bite into a Macintosh apple, would lose his first tooth! And that was only Sunday!

Having had a less than stellar morning on Saturday trying to get the guys going with tennis lessons and a soccer skills clinic we were hoping that Sunday might not repeat the drama. Mom and dad were going to be off early, cabbing it downtown toward the MCG to try and successfully realize the end of what had been a fairly relaxed training regimen...or in James's case get this darn 10k out of the way! We were leaving the boys with a babysitter for certainly the first time in Oz and for one of the few times ever in their lives where that person was under thirty. The sitter was a teenage neighbour of ours from around corner who had actually been friends with the previous tenants. We were very confident in her abilities - certainly moreso than our own ability not to worry. Nevertheless, it had to be done and after an endless series of instructions we raced downtown to join the 20,000 other runners competing in the various events connected to the Melbourne Marathon.

My nerves about surviving and completing the run were not helped in anyway when literally the first image we saw after stepping foot outside our cab, was parademics giving first aid to a runner who had collapsed during the half-marathon. A few blocks later there was another young runner losing her lunch at the side of the road...I was beginning to wonder what I had got myself into. After warming up for twenty minutes and convincing myself that I did not need to use the port-o-john, we got into position on the startline with five minutes to go. Only when we had no more than about three minutes to go did my bladder decide it was, in fact, full. But then we were off. I would have to deal with such things later.

The run itself was a lot of fun. Linton and I both felt strong after some significant carbo-loading the night before and no doubt our superior training program - not! We managed to work our way through a very clogged route without losing each other or our respective lunches. The route was flat and scenic and our only complaints would be the limited access to water and a few logjams where we actually had to stop running. Having been at one time in my younger, apparently much wiser years, quite opposed to the life of the runner, I must admit to getting quite into the whole scene. In particular, I found the need to pass slower runners and a growing obsession with my finishing time as things that propelled me down the course well out of my projected pace and making my full bladder a distant memory. Despite the odd moment of wondering when we might make the "turn for home", we eventually made a very exciting turn onto the field of the MCG with several thousand people cheering us all on. If there was an extra kick in the last 400 metres then I would admit it was all for the fans!

So we did it. And so did the boys, as we arrived home to hear that things had gone swimmingly and that there was a good chance that sitter and sittees might all agree to do it again some time soon. We didn't have much time to lose however as we needed to shower, shave and prepare the carrots for our trip down to Toorak and dinner with the Davies. This was another splendid occasion and Alex had gone out of her way to make a turkey dinner complete with stuffing, gravy and pumpkin pie. The boys were very well behaved - veritable princes in their Thanksgiving day outfits and thrown into a mix of four little girls under four all in their respective princess oufits. We had the pleasure of meeting Simon's parents, brother and sister-in-law and their two gorgeous daughters and the feeling of family around the table complete with witty banter and family memories gave us a strong feeling of family that we miss back home.

The surprise of the night was when Alex Darling appeared in the kitchen with a rather surprised look on his face clutching the first ever baby tooth to depart from his face. Thanks to a big bite of apple the tooth had been rather violently coaxed into a public appearance and Allie looked quite confused by the whole concept. Once we were home and safely tucked into bed, the tooth was safely stowed under pillow along with a wonderfully innocent anticipation for the arrival of the tooth fairy. This was a neat moment to watch and listen to as Alex, in a way that only he can, described exactly the conditions that were necessary for the safe and successful exchange of tooth and toonie. Priceless - as was this whole day. A day that in many ways seemed only able to be manufactured in Melbourne, Australia.

Sept. 27-28 Yeppoon

Having “sold” the previous drive to the boys as being the longest of the trip, we were almost forced to eat our words and to supply copious ice cream bribes when today’s journey looked to tally 5 and a half hours of driving. I was nervous. A little traffic, a wrong turn, a misplaced cassowary and we might be looking at some seriously put out passengers hungry for some “mint-chip” blood!

In spite of these concerns we rolled out of Airlie beach full of gas, the liquid type, heading back to the A-1 in search of the endless white beaches of Yeppoon. The countryside offered more of the spectacular same - constant mountain ranges, sprawling cattle stations, signs warning of imminent death unless we were to stop and rest every 2 hours, and always and forever big trucks roaring past or up our backsides. I was getting used to them actually and had taken to throwing on the hazards every convenient moment, slowing down, pulling over and letting the big boys pass for which we would often get a friendly toot of their horn. In addition, I was also getting nervy enough to pass the odd doddler in front of us, which were the few times I saw Linton grip her door handle a little tighter.

Once again the journey was divided into stages – settling on stops that had an information kiosk, gas, or a picturesque place to have some lunch. The beauty of the camper-life can also be realized in the fact that it is a rolling canteen and so appointed we had several nice languorous lunches parked in the cosy confines of a fairly deserted tourist kiosk parking lot.

It was after one such stop on this day’s travels that I made my first blunder in terms of the right or wrong or left side of the road. In a half-hearted and admittedly lame attempt at pulling into a gas station I managed to get us lined up on the right side of the road – nowhere near anything but the imminent threat of oncoming traffic. Three three-point turns later we were safely in front of the diesel fuel pump around the corner, on the correct side of the road and with only 3-4 harsh words spoken between driver and navigator. I was amazed and shocked at how logical this little brain fart had seemed at the time and the shot of adrenaline (or was it the scream in my left ear?) I received when I suddenly realized my mistake would be enough to keep me wide awake well into the following day’s drive. Thankfully, no harm, no foul and with a $100 more gas in our tank we we’re off again. The boys quietly convinced that our arrival was imminent and Linton and I plotting how we were going to sell the next three hours of driving to our restless, rolling natives!

It must have been around 4:30 when we finally began negotiating our way through the many roundabouts of Yeppoon. We must have been tired because our normal witty banter and surgical decision-making became decidedly short, to the point, and...less than surgical. Finally, after cresting a hill and seeing one of the most beautiful vistas of beach I have ever seen anywhere, we stumbled into the Big 4 Caravan Park in Yeppon intriguingly named Capricorn Palms. We learned later that we were on the section of Queensland coast called the Capricorn coast because we would soon be driving across the Tropic of Capricorn – hence the name. Again, despite some early trepidation upon first appearance (think trailer park at the end of undeveloped subdivision) this park would prove to be a good follow-up to the paradise that was Airlie Beach as it had a lot of the same things (though thankfully the boys never discovered the games room!) There was a jumping pillow, movie nights, and pedal carts all of which we made good use of including Alex’s small accident in a pedal cart which we didn’t see but about which he claimed to have “gone the wrong way and hit something”.

Unfortunately, perhaps the worst thing that happened on the entire trip was the attack of the no-see-ums, particularly for Colin and Linton. Thankfully, I don’t have the sweet blood that they do and was relatively immune to the bugs but Linton especially got as much as she could handle. She was a total trooper throughout, with nary a complaint, but we did need to hit the chemist in Yeppon for some drugs and cream to try to relieve the itch. When all you really want on your skin is some warmth and some colour and instead you are putting on anti-itch cream and bandages, it can really take the wind out of your holiday sails but thankfully after a day or so the medication started to work and Lint could spend less time scratching her countless bites.

We often spend time recounting our favourite parts of the trip and our day on the beach at Yeppoon ranks right up there for me. Warm water and gentle surf allowed for endless play and the fact that we were able to park the camper right beside the beach made the convenience of lunch, changing, and bathroom breaks all the sweeter. Colin, Alex, and Linton all managed to ride the tube and boogie board with great success whereas I managed to merely drown it. I like to think that it was a surf thing versus a weight thing but somewhere in the middle of it all was a buoyancy issue. Between dips we strolled the strip topping up our beer supplies, groceries, sunshirts for Colin and dad, and negotiating the correct word search book to buy with Alex. I still don't think he knows what "conglomerate" means! No matter, the best highlight of this day might have been the fact that it was Saturday and the day of the Aussie Rules Grand Final with Geelong facing Hawthorn at the MCG. Knowing this we managed to find a pub and a big screen tv mere seconds away from the beach! So, while Alex did a word search, we ate chips from a machine and drank glasses of Sprite and small “pots” of 4X Gold cheering on our mates Buddy Franklin, Luke Hodge, and Cyril Rioli to a well deserved championship. Tonnes of fun and a great memory!

In spite of the fun, grandparents will be pleased to note that we were a bit hesitant about exposing the kids to a full two hours of life at the local tavern so we bailed out at half time content to let the Footy gods have their way with our Hawks. Soon we were back down on the beach for more of the sun and boogie board beaching. We finally pulled back into the Capricorn Palms in the late afternoon, only to see that the movie that night would be Ice Age 2 (one of Allie’s faves) and thus a really great day ended triumphantly on one, even slightly higher, more glorious note.

Sept 25-26 Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands

Today was scheduled to be our longest day of driving yet so we tried to get up and on the road “earlyish”. The only advice that the girl back at the Apollo Van HQ had given us when asked about tips for driving was” Don’t drive at dawn or dusk”. We presume that’s because of the animals, and judging by the number of crosses we have seen dotting the highway ( I would say I have seen at least 50 impromptu memorials) there are definitely some dangers to be heeded. The other thing they seem to have an obsession with is sleepy drivers. You can’t go 5kms without being reminded to “Break the drive and survive” and “Rest or R.I.P.” It is unbelievable! Frankly, I’ve been white-knuckling the steering wheel so badly I can’t possibly imagine falling asleep. Anyway, the signs and the memorials are enough to freak this Young Driver of Canada right out.

Our route was to continue to down the Bruce Highway and if all went according to plan we would be pulling into the Adventure Whitsunday Big 4 Caravan Park in Airlie Beach around 4:30. We broke the drive up into three 2 hour sections with our first stop being a picnic ground and information kiosk outside the village of Ayr. There was a humongous snake sculpture here that the boys climbed all over marking the graves of some aboriginal remains. It was an odd spot for a grave and a huge snake, but then I am sure it made complete sense to those in the know. After the ubiquitous ham sandwich and a pee, we packed up and headed on down the highway for a few more hours of beautiful mountains, rolling pastures, sugar cane fields, and road trains bearing down my backside with complete contempt for my desperate but useless attempts at driving the speed limit. After knocking off 200 more of the best kms the road could offer, we pulled over for gas (the second fill up of the day but a relative bargain at $96.00) and Skittles and then we were off again keen to see the ocean which for a road that seems to hug the coastline is a rare sight. An hour and half later I was needing a jolt of caffeine so we detoured into Bowen (thought of Tim) and looked for anything but a latte. Little did we know there would be a Toy World!!! Well, we loaded up with a boogie board and a beach soccer ball and a couple of small toys, a little ice cream and a long black – adding our own 2 cents to the Bowen economy. Then finally we were toodling back down A1 and into Airlie Beach after more than 6 hours of driving and almost exactly 500 kms.

Upon arriving in the town we did a quick tour to get our bearings and so that Linton could show me where she and the girls had partied hard 20 years ago – Magnums she thinks! Airlie looks like a fun place and definitely seems to have a beachy attitude and we hoped to come back in town to stroll the strip at some point. But for now it was time to get off the road and head back to the Big 4! Though not on the beach, this was a fantastic site for kids. A huge jumping pillow, great pool with water slides, 18 hole mini-putt, pedal go karts, outside movies – this place had it all and the boys had done most of it within an hour of our arrival. The system that we have started to develop is to have one parent take the boys off to swim while the other arranges dinner or whatever. It is a system born of necessity as there is just not enough room for the four of us to all manoeuvre in the camper at the same time. The beauty of this place was that it also allowed for both boys to have a little freedom and autonomy. Colin rented golf clubs from the front desk by himself and both of them ran off to play golf (mini-putt) all by themselves! Better yet they retuned happy and unscathed with no one having wrapped a golf club around the neck of the other. It’s incredible what your kids can do when you trust them to do the right thing! Our plan for Airlie Beach was to go for a full cruise through the Whitsunday Islands so after a full dinner and a movie under the stars – Ratatouille for the umpteenth time – we headed to bed quite happy with the play and the pavement we had put behind us.

On any sunny day, this day might have taken me to some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen anywhere – but unfortunately our Whitsunday cruise day was overcast , rainy, and perhaps worst of all – windy! We took a shuttle bus down to Abel Point where the tour boats depart on a number of different island and reef-hopper tours where people can snorkel, scuba dive, and generally explore the Great Barrier Reef. The trip we had booked was a full day 3 island tour which included snorkelling, an underwater observatory, glass bottom boat, Whitehaven beach (world famous), lunch, and time on the resort at Daydream island. Our boat was a sleek twin hull 65 footer that could do 23 knots opened up and even with both engines roaring it took us about 50 minutes to get to our first island called Hook Island. Despite the weather, we were all very keen to get out on the water and see the reef!

But first a word about sea sickness. Even before we had left the dock the crew had mentioned the fact there would some rough seas ``out there`` and we were advised to take drugs if we had them. Well, we had them and we took them and I am very glad we did because it was rough! There was a point between our first and second stops as we came around a point and into the open ocean where the boat must have dropped 20 feet. I would love to exaggerate and say they were 4 storey waves or something like that – suffice to say they were the biggest darn waves I have ever fallen down the other side of and never before with both throttles stuck on full. The happy end of the story was that none of us were ill, though many were including the petite Japanese woman who was green before we cast off and spent the entire cruise with a bag under her chin.

Hook Island was really cool with an underwater marine observatory, glass bottom boat, fish feeding and snorkelling to be had. We did it all with the exception of Al, though he walked right up to the water’s edge intending to try, taking a pass on the snorkelling. Thanks to Linton’s kind offer to stay with Alex, Colin and I had a glorious 30 minutes of snorkelling over the Great Barrier Reef hand in hand. I must say if it hadn’t fogged up my mask I would have shed a tear – most certainly one of the highlights of the trip for me. Soon we were drying off and hopping back on board our boat heading out to the next stop – Whitehaven beach – renowned for being one of the most beautiful in the world.

This is the part of the journey where we weathered the really stormy seas and we were all quite happy to see the white sand of the beach come into view. Unfortunately, due to the weather the beach was not quite in its glory. The combination of clouds, wind, and a few conservationists asking people to fill out a survey (seriously!) put a small damper on the beautiful surroundings. Still, we all disembarked the boat, somewhat like an Allied invasion and had over an hour of time to explore, swim, play cricket, and just hang out on the nicest sand I have ever felt squish between my toes.

Soon we were wading out to the boat in waist deep water negotiating the perilous re-boarding of the bucking bronco that had recently been our boat. Thanks to a very wet and skilled crewman we were soon all safely back onboard and steaming toward our third and last port of call – Daydream Island. On our way there we passed the uber-luxurious Hamilton Island where Jackie Stewart and George Harrison have kept houses and where at one particular seaside villa they charge you $6000 per night!!! We rounded a point and dropped some guests off at another secluded and very cool looking beachside resort and then pulled into Daydream Island which is a sort of mini-Fantasy Island catering to wealthy couples who want to do something different for their wedding or holiday. We dropped a few dollars in the gift and ice cream shops, had a play on some cool climbers and then did a neat hike, surprisingly at Allie’s suggestion, that got us back just in time for departure. Another 25 minutes speeding back across the now siginificantly calmer Whitsunday channel and we were back in Abel Point.

Unfortunately, the rough travels did not quite end for me there. Needing food and dinner and maybe a few frosty cold beverages I jumped off our shuttle bus at the local mall and went directly to foraging for food like a good parent should. I was making record time and all the right moves until I decided to hail a cab at the taxi stand. Almost 1 hour later!!!! I managed to convince an elderly local woman to share her cab with me and so I arrived back at the Caravan Park – ever more tired with cold pizza, warm beer, and a slow burn on for the Airlie Beach taxi fleet. Of course, when the nice woman accosted the driver for the lack of service his response was more or less the mumbled equivalent of “No worries, mate” or Sheila or whatever the female equivalent to mate is. There is certainly an element of “Island time” to be found in pockets of this great country and continent. Yet all of our adventures and experiences in Airlie Beach – the wind, the waves, the taxis - only made us more eager for what would unfold for us the next day – after we closed our eyes, keeping one foot on the floor to stop the camper from spinning - shortly after 9 o’clock!

Sept 21-24 From Cairns to Mission Beach to RollingStone

I think I have discovered the real reason why we’re here. In Australia that is. It’s 8:10 pm. I have a glass of red wine in my hand, the iPod on, and there’s a cool breeze rolling in off the Coral Sea – which is a mere 40 metres away. The kids and Linton are curled up in our Apollo Camper van watching a video. Full bellies, tons of surf, sand, sun...Unbelievably we are somewhere along the coast of Queensland, Australia at the front end of 13 days of camping and driving over 2000 kms from Cairns to Brisbane. As bizarre as it seems and as out of our element as it seems, life could simply not be better.

I am sitting here trying to recall the last few days having had a little bit too much sun and red wine – indeed it’s all been a bit of a blur. We left Melbourne around 4:00 pm on the 21st flying Jet Star, Qantas’ discount airline to Cairns. There were the usual economy airline issues, including holding the entire plane up while they found seats for us, but we arrived safely in Cairns three and a bit hours later having flown 2300kms to Northern Queensland and the home of the Great Barrier Reef.

We weren’t picking up our van, or as they say in Oz - our caravan, until Monday morning so we stayed in the Queenslander Motor Inn for the night. A decent little 3 star place in the middle of Cairns – all we really needed and with a great little pool that the kids just loved...Sorry, Dave Matthews Crash into Me just came on the ipod – I will be right back... Okay, I’m back. Anyway, we dined at an amazing Malaysian restaurant 2 blocks from the motel – The Bay Leaf I think it was called. They kept the kitchen open for us and we had beautiful sates, nasi goring and Linton and I toasted the start of the trip with two of the best tasting Coronas ever.

The night was uneventful other than a busload of partying scuba divers coming back from the bars at 1:00pm coinciding with the kids’ need to pee and have a glass of water. When morning broke, far too early, the kids were back in the pool and we were paying extortion-like prices for a coffee and some toast. We packed up early, which was clearly not to Alex’s liking – he figured we had got our hotel, our pool – we were good-to-go for the balance of the 2 weeks! Ooops! How we continually forget to think like the mind of a very quick and stubborn six-year old! As the taxi pulled up to take us to the rental depot he was inconsolable – why did we need to leave a perfectly good room, pool, ??! He had no concept of the beautiful mind-blowing scenery we were planning to see. Why would he? He could not have cared less. Note to self. When planning trips that you think will alter your child’s entire world view and stand as a cornerstone to their whole sense of self for the rest of their lives – be ready for a 3 star motel swimming pool in the middle of Cairns fully trump your ace.

Still doing that sort of sobbing-sniffling thing, we pulled into the Apollo rental place and signed on about 10 dotted lines for the right to become trailer trash. Well, not really but if I said that we knew what we were getting ourselves into that would be a complete lie. What we did get was a four berth diesel five speed camper complete with toilet, shower, stove, fridge, a/c, dvd player and tv. A sweet ride really. Now all I needed to do was drive the damn thing.

Now this was going to be a bit of a turning point in our whole year for me – the driving. I had had many thoughts about how I would fare and here was about to be my moment to shine or fail miserably – on the left side of the road, the left side of the vehicle with the added bonus of a manual transmission with the left hand in something the size of a budget cube van. On top of that as I soon found out – the main highway south from Cairns, in fact the national highway(!) – the Bruce Highway – is little more than a decent cottage road in rural Ontario. There are often no shoulders and a 10 foot drop on either side and many, many rigs or road trains as they call them which made me grip the wheel at 3 and 9 just like Young Drivers of Canada had taught me, a little tighter. But more about the driving later.

After a thorough walk and talk through, learning how to dispose of our grey water and black water and how not to drain the battery or blow the whole thing sky high, we were off. Well, off for all of about 2 minutes to the local IGA actually. In that brief commute, I managed to negotiate one roundabout without killing us all or grinding the gears or stalling the thing outright. My mother would be so proud as memories of learning how to drive stick in the K-mart parking lot – stalling out that fancy Ford Probe – came flooding back with every lurching gear change. We loaded up on the essentials, including Tim Tams, Doritos, and all of the ingredients necessary for some killer vodka tonics and then gingerly headed out down the road, out of Cairns, and south bound to amazing places yet discovered.

Having been in these parts almost 20 years ago, Linton had booked us into Big 4 Caravan Parks in places and on beaches that weren’t too far to drive to and would be fun for the kids. So our first destination was a place called Mission Beach. Well, South Mission Beach actually and a Caravan Park called the Coconut Beachcomber – altogether about 160 kms of driving. A short distance made longer by the amount of road work, the general state of repair of the roads, the several and very long sugar cane trains (“Hauling cane!)” that cut across the highways, and the frequent oohing and awing at the amazing scenery going by. The boys were great - and sequestered to their little car seats in the back of the camper with no control over time, destiny, or anything else – they did well to keep their “Are we there yets?” to a minimum.

About 1.5 hours later and desperate for a picturesque moment around every corner, we “negotiated” getting off the beaten track and headed toward the ocean and a place called Bramston Beach for lunch. I was fully not into the diversion until we rounded the bend and saw the ocean...wow...though I think a stronger word came to mind. Crashing surf, islands on the horizon, beach as far as the eye could see...this was a good diversion. The boys went for an improvised swim as did I as I became increasingly concerned about the strength of the surf and after hauling everybody out – we had a Spartan but tasty lunch of salami sandwiches on the beach. After a quick change we were back on the road and again headed for South Mission Beach.

Speeding past miles and miles of sugar cane fields and banana plantations was eye-opening enough but we added to that - mountains, rainforest, the ocean, many many dried out river beds and some seriously challenging roads and there was no shortage of things to consider. As we got closer to our destination, we began to see signs for Cassowary crossings and Cassowary reserves as well as signs to keep our speed down because “Speed kills Cassowaries”. I’m pretty sure speed kills most things. In this case, the creature in question is a sort of prehistoric emu that clearly proves the link between birds and dinosaurs. This thing is butt ugly and truly a freak of nature, but also quite endangered so we were asked to take it easy and try not to bump one off. Frankly, every single car and truck we saw on the road had a “’Roo Catcher” attached to its grill and I figured if anything like a kangaroo or cassowary jumped in front our rental caravan, given the option of ditch or road train or cassowary – the bird would be buying the farm. Incidentally, we saw many grisly road kills in the form of former kanagaroos, about as frequently as you would see raccoons flattened on the side of a Canadian road. The problem with kangaroos is they can be about 10 times the size of a raccoon and would do some serious damage to our cute little camper van if we were to meet head on! Thankfully, there were no cassowaries or ‘roos to be hit or seen and we were soon turning into the first trailer park this guy has ever stayed in. I was looking forward to sporting a “wife-beater” and a perpetual rum and coke. (For the fans of The Trailer Park Boys)

Situated mere metres from the ocean the Coconut Beachcomber Caravan Park caters to families and retirees alike and it would seem the caravan using public comes in all shapes and sizes and with all manner of agendas. From fishing to cycling to swimming to relaxing people are all geared to living life at a relaxed pace and enjoying time with family and friends...oh, and having a few/many pints as well. It is hard to walk by any site without hearing the familiar clink of ice in a cooler or the snap of a cold beer tab being pulled. These Aussies like their drinks! The rigs are incredibly impressive with many people running tv antennas and flat screen tvs out of these tiny trailers that unfold into a hundred different rooms and compartments like some sort of origami tonka toy. People come fully prepared as if the game plan for going camping is to see how much you can make camp feel just like home. There are central laundry facilities and washrooms and hydro and water for all sites and if you can handle living within spitting distance of your neighbour with everyone having paper thin walls then it can be downright comfy.

The kids were swimming in the ocean within minutes of our arrival on what we thought to be one of the nicest beaches we had ever seen. Soft light brown sand stretching for miles in both directions. The tide was high but the break was gentle and they played and played until pruny. I should mention that this part of the country during the months of October to May are bad for jellyfish – particularly nasty jellyfish (the box jellyfish and one other I can’t pronounce) who can kill you if you are unlucky enough to be stung. That is part of the reason we are here now – to avoid the jelly season. They also string nets along some of the more popular beaches making them relatively safe to swim in. There are also vinegar supplies and first aid instructions on most beaches.

After swimming we settled in to a steak dinner and a movie – The Rescuers Down Under, of course and then proceeded to figure out how we turned a kitchen table into a double bed. Linton and I had toasted our success with a few glorious vodka tonics and by the time the movie was done and teeth were brushed, we were all quite ready to hit the hay – entirely pleased that we had moved ourselves down the Queensland coast line without incident, thus beginning the 10 day odyssey of kids, kms, and our kozy little kamper van!


Well, as Macbeth once uttered, “Twas a Rough Night”. New beds (actually a bed that is normally a table), strange sounds - very close, kids up in the middle of the night for water and peeing...actually felt just like home. Eager to get to the very cool pool, complete with slide and life-size crocodile, the kids wolfed down some Froot Loops (ahh yes, the breakfast of champions and caravans apparently!) and we were off to rip the seal off that pool the minute it opened. 45 minutes later and we were off to the beach to run and frolic (there is no better word) in the waves of low tide. With virtually no one on the beach this was a morning that was hovering very close to paradise. Needless to say it was quite difficult to pull them off the beach and get them ready for the next leg of our journey. Just watching the boys run, splash, and play aimlessly in the warm safe water was mesmerizing. So rare is the time we have to truly play without agenda. But this was it.

After getting the van squared away with all of the water drained, plugs unplugged, and hatches battened down we soon headed back down the road to our next Big 4 Caravan site – believe it or not the Rolling Stone Caravan Park about 3 hours down the road. Once again the scenery was gorgeous, the roads somewhat treacherous, and the driving getting more and more comfortable with every klick that zipped by.

Though we were a rolling lunch stop, we needed some gas and a few extra supplies that we hadn’t picked up in Cairns and so we stopped in Ingham to shop at the local Woolworths – which in Australia is akin to an IGA or Dominion. The gas was a shocker as we filled up for a mere $110.00 -diesel was a bargain at $1.65/litre! Stop complaining Canada! A Subway lunch, which is a mirror to any Subway at home was a welcome and familiar respite and we were then off down the road to try to find our next camp site.

It’s quite an experience as you roll into each place – tired of the road and eager to see what this resort offers in terms of amenities, sites, pool, and beach. Though the first few klics off the highway seemed a bit dodgy, this spot will forever be memorable for the beach – because we were almost parked on it! Mere metres from the roar of the wind and surf, this was an exceptional spot, with a huge pool complete with cave and waterfall, as well as some huge fish in a pond that the kids could feed with food supplied in the office. The beach wasn’t perfect for swimming but Colin loved looking for shells and we had to work hard to get Allie out of the pool that came complete with cave and waterfall. We also met a friendly retired couple who gave some sage advice about things to see and offered to show us their recent pictures of travels in the Outback. Perhaps the video show went on a few minutes too long, but I would say this was our first of many friendly encounters with fellow travellers who are interested in our trip and larger journey from Canada. They even loaned us a spare hose fitting which turned out to be an essential piece of equipment.

A good pasta dinner accompanied by that red wine I mentioned at the beginning of this lengthy blog and we were all off to bed content in the knowledge that the first few days had not been a fluke and that we were starting to get kinda good at this caravan thing.

The Winnebago has Landed!

We have just returned from 13 great days touring the east coast of Queensland - a journey that saw us drive 2300kms from Cairns to Byron Bay. I will chronicle our travels in a series of blogs posted over the next few days. We are tired and already thinking about school and school and work but not only was this the longest trip/vacation we have taken as a family it was also the best! Blog to you soon.