Up to Brisbane

A Brush Turkey - we saw these everywhere

So it was our last night as trailer trash in the amazing freezing sheets. I don't know what the sheets at this park were made from but they were freezing cold, it would take ages to warm them up and then if you moved they suddenly became freezing cold again. It was as if they were made from ice. We ended up with 4 blankets on top but we were still cold. Tom woke up crying both nights because he was cold too. Not a great night's sleep.

We packed up and left. First stop was Byron Bay so Matt could check any messages through a wifi spot. We then headed up Highway 1 up towards Brisbane. We crossed into Queensland and were very disappointed with the sign welcoming us in. We were expecting an huge welcome to the Sunshine State but instead were greeted with a sign no more bigger than a street sign saying Queensland. Oh hum.

Last play in the sea

We managed to skirt round the city - viewing it from a bridge, and then headed onto the Redcliffe Peninsula in the search for lunch. We ended up in a cafe run by a lady who was born in Morecambe of all places, she moved to Oz when she was 10 months, but she's lived in the UK for quite a number of years and knew roughly where Ingleton is, and knows Morecambe, Carnforth etc. It's a small world!

We had a last look at the sea and then headed to Narangba to Matt's old friend Lisa (they were in Japan together). We were given a warm welcome by her and her hubby Brad and Maggie a very cute Cavoodle (a cross between a poodle and a King Charles Spaniel). This was a good test for Tom. He managed to stroke her but then cried when she came close by. Oops. We were very lucky in that Maggie is a very calm and sweet natured doggie and before too long Tom was willingly stroking her and throwing a ball for her. By the end of the evening they were the best of friends - I never thought I would see the day!!!!!

Lisa and Brad have a 2 year old boy Callum who was with his grandparents when we arrived but he soon joined us and after some initial shyness he and Tom were playing quite nicely together, which was lovely to see - very strange to see Tom as a leader rather than ad a follower. Callum was very cute - almost as tall as Tom and talking (I always find that strange because Tom didn't start talking till much later).

Dinner was a BBQ - the first one of the holiday - burgers and chicken kebabs with a huge pot of pasta. Tom ate loads. Then bed for Tom and chat for us. Lisa's hubby Brad is really nice. As a family they are pretty much the same as us - ie Brad is self employed and works from home and Lisa a stay at home mum. They can also live pretty much anywhere as all Brad needs is an Internet connection. Now Brad's career path is quite interesting. He was brought up in a farm in Victoria and started his working life there. He then moved on to truck driving and is now an independent financial trader. Now how many people in the UK would be able to cite that career path? I think it is a result of Australian being a more egalitarian society than ours - here anyone can do anything, we are still governed by class attitudes. They are now thinking of moving up into the countryside to have some land - Brad misses the countryside, and Lisa wants to live somewhere with a bit more character.

We are also both very rock and roll as by 10pm we were all flagging and headed for bed. Nice warm sheets this time.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Narangba