A new beginning

Was a day for new beginnings yesterday as the country welcomes in a new Government and we hit the road starting our travelling adventure.

Most amazing thing about yesterday was that we were packed and on the road by 9am!! Incredible I know! We said our final farewell for this trip to Vicki. Thanks Vicki, we have really enjoyed having you with us for the last week.

So we pointed north. First challenge… bloody Queensland drivers!!! They love to sit in the right hand lane and can’t keep a constant speed. Pretty much most of the way to Gympie we got stuck behind people as they sped up and slowed down, often sitting alongside the person in the left lane. When it is finally clear in the left, they switch lanes and speed up to the next car before jumping back in front of you in the exact same position they were in! Really strange behaviour??

Also, a bit of advice for Queensland drivers… when you cut me off, I have 2.5 tonne of caravan behind me and don’t stop real quick, so you will forgive me for blasting my horn at you… Wow I can feel my blood starting to boil again just writing about it!!

Worst experience we had was a couple of young girls who were purposely trying to mess with me, speeding up and slowing down, sitting the right hand lane to not let me pass. I finally pulled up behind them as they refused to move over flashing my high beams and sitting on the horn for a minute… when I saw they wouldn’t move over, I passed them on the left, and they were laughing at me??? Well, what they didn’t realise is that there was another guy with a van behind me who also went to pass them on the left, and when they tried to speed up to block him off, he simply started moving over. 2.5 tonne of caravan or back off ladies!!! They chose to back off this time, swerving onto the shoulder to avoid the van before backing right off, slowing down and sitting in the left lane for the rest of the trip. Bet they weren’t laughing now!

Grrr… was so dangerous and not a good start to a driving day!

Anyway, once we got past these stupid girls, the traffic thinned out enough and the rest of the day was easy. Hopefully it stays that was for the rest of the trip.

So, this morning finds us about 6 hours up the coast at Hervey Bay… or at least on the outskirts  of town in Veron Point. We chose this Big 4 as it was meant to be closer to the beach than the one in Hervey Bay itself, but I think we chose the grey nomad option! We are by far the youngest in the park, and certainly the only ones with kids. We contemplated staying another night and maybe taking a trip to Fraser Island, or Whale watching, but when we saw the prices I think we will be better off heading further north to the Great Barrier Reef.

Mark and I set up camp while the kids went off to explore, returning as soon as they realised there was a pool so they could change into their bathers. The water was freezing cold, but that didn’t stop them, although I think they were keen for that hot shower afterwards!

With a few bugs around, I setup my rooftop awning and mosquito net so we can have somewhere to sit for the night (picture below). It is fantastic, and only took about 10 mins to set it up. With both an election last night, and Collingwood in the finals, we thought we had better set a TV up, so Mark and I ran a long cable from his caravan (I don’t have an antenna) and setup my TV on the table just outside the mosquito net. Only issue was, Mark wanted to watch the footy, and I wanted to watch the election… I know boring aren’t I. Anyway, we spent the night flicking between the two… unfortunately the Mighty Pies weren’t so mighty last night, but at least we have an “Under New Management” sign in Australia’s shop window. Yes I was happy with the result if you didn’t realise!

So this morning, I think we will pack again and hit the road. Fiona wants to take a drive through Hervey Bay so we can at least say we have seen it, then I think we will point North again and head for the tropics. What will we see today?