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We have made it to the Promised (Queens)land, only 1700 kms to go to Cairns....
We left Byron Bay and headed for the Gold Coast. Felt like we were only another planet! It was busier than Sydney! It reminded us of Las Vegas! We made a hasty reatreat, having downloaded the vibes of hippie Byron and not wishing to stress we headed on past Brisbane, (passing a sign to Ipswich... God help us...) and drove further onto a little place called Maroochydore. Still a bit more commercialised than we are used to, but is was a mighty fine beach and the campsite was right on it... so we thought we'd pitch up for the night!!!
Now after 5 days we are loving it and have met a nice couple from NZ ( we love the Kiwis) Ron and Denise who are touring Queensland too. The weather is very warm here, in the 80's and it will get warmer as we head up the coast. It is winter though, what it is like in summer we dread to think!
The mian reason for stooping here was to visit the home of the dear departed Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin. It was a lovely day, but so sad to look at his memorial there, he was such a cracking bloke. The animals there are so well looked after, the dingos looked healthier than the Queen's corgis and we got the chance to pat lots of animals, except the crocs and snakes of course...
Great education about snakes and if they bite you... stay still folks.. (huh?) .and just avoid crocs totally was the main message. Along with the sharks, they are in the sea up the coast. So we're going to have to be careful. Gary did see his first shark in the water today, only 6ins away , swimming towards him. It was a 5 footer, just a baby really... where was his Mummy? So we left the water very quickly and got behind the safety of the campsite fence. The locals told us that they don't really attack unless they are bigger than the person...not a lot of time to get a tape measure out though is there....
We have also been to the Eumundi Craft Markets and we could have spent a fortune, beautiful clothes and crafts and really imaginative things to buy. No tacky stuff. I was whisked away immediately.
We then went onto Noosa, a very beautiful upmarket resort, full of rich Aussies, of which there don't seem to be a shortage of here, everyone seems to have pots of money, except us!
We are off to Rainbow Beach, perhaps tomorrow, to look for that pot of gold. This is the start of the Great Barrier Reef, so we are really looking forward to it. We have done over 100 nights in the tent now, but everytime, we get fed up with it a bit, we kick ourselves, it is still so great to be here doing this.
Anyway, love to all, especially young Becca Mann who has broken her collar bone Uncle Gary want's to know... did you walk into another lamp post?? (private joke here). Karen in NZ, we hope you are feeling better!!!Hope to see you and Bob in Singapore XXXX
We miss you all and are thinking of you of course. Specially our Mums and Dads, Auntie Sylv, Uncle Len and the girls.
Lots of love Gary and Dee
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