MOREE TO THE GOLD COAST AND THEODORE

We left Moree on 4 April and made our way to a free stop behind a small pub in a beautiful valley called Maryvale.

It was wonderful just to sit outside the van and look over a small community and beyond to the mountain range.

It was Friday and all the locals must have a meal at the pub that night because there were a few cars there.  It wasn’t noisy though.

When we left the following morning we were getting excited to reach the Gold Coast and Daryl and Graces.  The road into Nerang is quite steep at times and of course going down is always a buzz lol.

We arrived at D&G’s early afternoon.  It was great to see them and Brandon too.  Such a lovable boy.  Oh and of course Toby the dog.  Absolutely love him. They would all pile into our bed in the mornings.

 

The birdlife was so abundant.  We would watch as the King Parrots flew down to be fed.

I also saw a Kookaburra in a tree not too far away just watching us.

During our stay with D&G we went to a beautiful pub called St. Bernards at Mt Tamborine. And yes there was a St Bernard dog there.

 

We had just finished our meal when the dark clouds rolled in and the downpour started.  It wasn’t cold though.

We scurried inside and the boys had some icecream.  When we left Daryl took us home via the scenic route.

A day or so later Arnold took Aidan to Seaworld.

 

The hotdog was so big he could hardly fit it in his mouth.

They both had fun on the rides.

And Movieworld.  It’s all about the rides!

 

We went to Harbour Town, Pacific Fair and Carrara Market  to shop and spent time with my Sis Helga. Cindy flew up on Friday evening to spend a few days and then her and Aidan would fly home on the Tuesday.  It was great to see her.   We loved having our Grandson Aidan with us on the drive and will miss him lots. 

Daryl and Grace are such gracious hosts.  They allowed us to park the van on their lawn,

swim in their pool

And  made us feel very much at home so if you are reading this D&G, thank you so much to you both for your hospitality.  Also Brandon for keeping us amused.

It was all over too soon  and we left on Monday morning  14 April. 

 

Getting up the driveway was no mean feat and going down wasn’t either but Arnold did it without any mishap.

We weren’t sure which way we should go; up the M1 to Logan and then across to Toowoomba or back through Beaudesert.  We chose the latter which in hindsight we would have been better off going the other way.  Oh well!!

Of course the massive climb going into Toowoomba is unavoidable but we made it – slowly but surely.  Always lots of roadworks in Qld.

 

That night we stayed in a freecamp at an old railway station in a place called Warra.  What a great place to stop.  There are clean toilets at the station and the area was lovely.  The only drawback was that it was close to the highway and the trucks do make lots of noise.  But we are used to that!

I also used the macro setting on our new Sony camera to take the shot below.  Hope you can see the bee.  I was going to crop it so you could get a better look but didn’t get around to it.

We left Warra and after mulling over where we would turn, Miles or Roma, we decided on Miles.  I found what appeared to be a good freecamp at Theodore.  And it was. We decided to stay 2 nights it was so good.   Took some shots of the eclipse last night but missed the best  and only got the tail end of it.

Across the way there is this mosaic sign.  It is so amazing with little pictures all over making up the whole scene.

  Mr Chatalot (Arnold) was going backwards and forwards between the two vans each side of us talking to the men so it only seemed fitting for me to suggest happy hour so us women could meet lol. You wouldn’t believe it but one couple were from Melton.

Well Bye for now. It seems I may have finally been able to upload photos so I will try and update more often.