Brisbane, 18-20 April

We stayed in a very pleasant campsite close to Brisbane.
We explored a bit of the city on both days: a lot of walking was involved (but with the girls in the pram).We quite enjoyed our visit of the city, especially the South Bank area close to the university.
What we found great were the street beaches (pools) next to the river. We didn’t get to swim but they looked very inviting.
South Bank has great picnic/BBQ areas and an extensive choice of restaurants and cafes, and we even found Crepes, yum yum.







I saw the Old Windmill, the oldest surviving structure in Queensland! (dated around 1826 I think)!

Gold Coast, Broadwater, 14-18 April

We got a pass for 2 parks (Wet’n’Wild and Seaworld). Wet’n’Wild is a nice park but it isn’t really suitable for our kids age. Best is to be minimum 4 I would say.
Seaworld however was brilliant and very suitable for the kids: they have nice shows (dolphins, seals) and lot’s of other creatures to see (polar bears, sharks, rays, etc). And there is a great range of slides and rides for little and bigger kids! There is also an area with pools and slides at extra cost but we didn’t check it out. There was enough to see and do inside the main park.
Nina caught up with Taylah, a little girl she met in Fiji. Both of them had lot’s of fun in the park.




We also went to the hinterland to check out the Lamington national park. On the way there, up in the mountains, we could see the skyline of Surfers Paradise.
We did a 1.2 km bush walk with the girls. Miracle! We haven’t walked with them that long so far. We were lucky to see 2 red-necked pademelons. What we saw of the park was nice.
There is a good Surfers skyline viewing spot we went to that is close to Seaworld. You can either walk on a bridge (charges apply) or walk along the pier but the view is a bit spoiled by the bridge.

Byron Bay, 10-14 April

Our stay in Byron bay was very enjoyable. We were a minute away from a beautiful beach, which made us get the surfboard out! It has been a long time since we last surfed!
We were at walking distance from the centre of Byron: the walk along the path by the coast was lovely. There are plenty of great shaded spots on the grass for those who want to relax near the beach and feel the sea breeze.
I cycled up to the lighthouse: the path was very nice and I was rewarded by a beautiful view.

We went in the hinterland and visited the crystal gardens where we rewarded the kids with a milkshake they seemed to enjoy!











We drove to the Nightcap National park, had a quick look at the Minyon Falls, and went on a nice drive (the kids fell asleep) through the Whian Whian forest.
We checked out the markets from Lennox Head, which were situated right next to the lake. Food, clothing and craft were for sale. Very nice markets.

Mooney beach, 7-10 April

We were staying at Mooney beach past Coffs Harbour.
Today we had a day out inland direction Armidale except we didn't drive that far. We stopped for a picnic at a lovely lookout near Dorrigo: beautiful view of the mountains. Then we went for a little bush walk at the Dorrigo national park: there is a rainforest center and skywalk.

After that we had a look at the Dangar waterfalls, lovely country spot. The fields were very green.

Easter at South West Rocks, 31 March-7 April

We had a lovely Easter at South West Rocks and a dry one for once!
Our friends Sylvia, Stephen with Matthew, and Richard came up for a few days, which was great.
It's so nice to see familiar faces.
We had a few relaxing days and we set up properly for the first time (with annexe).
We did a bit of cycling with one girl at the back of each bike (they loved it). We did some lovely walks on the beach and up to the south west goal (jail). Stephen went diving at Fish rocks.
We drove up to the lighthouse and had pre-dinner drinks and nibbles at the picnic area nearby but we didn't stay very long as the rain was close.
We drove to Scotts Head and enjoyed the scenic drive through the country. The swim on the beach was very enjoyable too. Annabelle had a peaceful lunch snooze underneath the beach tent while Nina was doing sandcastles.

We had some lovely evenings with our friends. We had one nice dinner by the fire and the kids had fun melting some marshmallows.
And of course, Nina, Annabelle and Matthew had fun hunting for eggs around the tent.

Diamond beach, 30-31 March

We stayed in a lovely caravan park (unpowered) at the Diamond Head/Crowdy beach national park. Nina and Annabelle loved seeing some kangaroos again. But they were disappointed with the cold showers that evening (I must admit, we skipped the shower then). And shortly after it rained heavily, which wasn't ideal considering were leaving the next morning...

We saw 2 kangaroos fighting: that was pretty impressive!

Smith Lakes, 26-30 March

We spent a few relaxing days with our friends Sandra and Ole in their very peaceful house that overlooks the lake and Sandbar beach.
We went to a few local beaches: Boomerang beach was one of them. But poor Nina got dumped by a wave!
We went to Shelly beach (near Elizabeth beach). There is a beautiful path through the bush that leads to it. The water was crystal clear and nice and warm. It seemed to be a nudists favorite.

Back to Oz, on the road again, 24-26 March

We caught up with friends in Sydney the day we flew back from Fiji, then drove back south to Burradoo near Mittagong in the evening where our caravan was patiently waiting for the next adventure :-)
We said good bye to our friends the next morning and ended up in a garage in Bowral 20 minutes later! (the speedometer wasn't working). Luckily the problem was minor and it got fixed.
That night, we didn't make it very far. We went for a lovely meal at the Mooney Mooney club just off the highway. We showered the girls there, got them ready for bed and continued driving a bit.
We didn't go to a camping that night, we parked on a rest area off the pacific highway direction north this time (Ourimba). Our route has changed. We are now going north direction Queensland so we can enjoy a few more warm months.

The next day we did a big drive to Smith Lakes to catch up with our friends Sandra and Ole.

Fiji holiday, 12-24 March

Fiji isn't in Australia, you are absolutely right! But we thought we go there for 2 weeks to get into real holiday mood and also to celebrate both our birthdays.

We stayed at the Shangri-La Fijian Resort & Spa, located on the Coral Coast of Fiji's main island Viti Levu.
Fiji was a nice and relaxing holiday, the temperature in and out of the water was beautiful.
Nina and Annabelle loved the pool and got very confident in the water. They had fun at the kids club. Manfred and I enjoyed the snorkelling on the resort beach: beautiful coral and fishes at our doorstep!

Luckily the cyclone Tomas didn't hit that side of the island where we were. Apparently it was the most intense tropical cyclone to strike Fiji since Cyclone Bebe in 1972. It hit the north and the east of the island.

To view a mini photo album about our holiday in Fiji, click on:

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Mittagong & Burradoo, 9-12 March

We had a lovely drive through the kangaroo valley, it was a nice sunny day. The caravan made it up the mountain, slowly but surely!
We set up at a caravan park in Mittagong for 2 nights. The temperature dropped quite a bit when we were there.
We had a stroll through Bowral, nice little town with character. It also has a nice flair with cute shops and cafes. Definitely worth a stop over if you are in the area!

The next day we caught up with our friends Jane, Matt and their 2 kids in Burradoo. Was lovely to see them. We even parked our caravan in their front garden. Great spot!
They spoiled us with a lovely dinner which Manfred will long remember as he nearly choked...

We left our caravan at their place for the next 12 days as we flew to Fiji.