July 2014

Sunny and 25 degrees in Dicky Beach today with a gentle sea breeze this afternoon.

Lazy day today - a few loads of washing, followed by a trip to Woollies for groceries and the servo for diesel. For those that are interested yesterday's trip from Tallebudgera to Dicky Beach on the M1 achieved a fuel economy of 18.17 litres per 100 kms.

After lunch we went for a walk along Dicky Beach for a few photos.

Bunbubah Creek at Dicky Beach

Dicky Beach Lifeguards on duty

Wreck of the SS Dicky slowly rusting away

Di walking on Dicky Beach

Maroochydore in the distance

Caloundra in the distance

It felt a tad cool on the Gold Coast this morning, but it was 10 degrees - perhaps we are starting to acclimatise. Forecast for today was sunny and 23 degrees on the Gold Coast, The Sunshine Coast and in Brisbane.

We packed up and on the road by 9:45 am after emptying the holding tanks at the dump point. Our trip today was only 190 kms and most of it was spent on the M1 Motorway, starting as the Pacific Highway and changing to the Bruce Highway north of Brisbane. The Motorway is at least 2 lanes all the way, but at times becomes 3, 4 or even 5 lanes each way. We spent most of the time sitting on between 90 and 95 kph in overdrive - so fuel consumption should be good.

Approaching Brisbane's Gateway Bridge

Ka-Ching - or was that the e-tag chirping?

Sunshine Coast straight ahead

We arrived at Dicky Beach at about 12:00 noon and were allocated Site 6 for two weeks - a double slab site that we occupied last year. Soon after our arrival Frosty rode by going for his daily bike ride. A couple of hours later he came back to check on our progress setting up. Frosty has a Trailblazer 5th wheeler van the same as ours and we have been following each others travels for a number of years.

http://www.frostysaussieadventures.com/

All set-up on site 6 at Dicky Beach

Our swimming pool at Dicky Beach Caravan Park

At about 5:00 pm we headed for "Our Club" - The Dicky Beach Surf Club for a few pre-dinner drinks.

Sunny and 24 degrees - what else would you expect.

We have now been on the road for one month and our solar panels at home are busy generating electricity in our absence. Since we left home we have generated 181.5 Kwh and put about $50.00 into the piggy bank. That's not too bad for a 3 Kw system in the winter months. By comparison a good sunny day in mid-summer would generate about 20 Kw. Our solar system is connected to the internet which allows us to monitor how much power is being generated. The system is also monitored by the installer and the manufacturer to ensure that all is well - since the system was installed in May last year we have had 2 micro-inverters and one solar panel replaced under the 25 year warranty.

Mid morning we headed to Pacific Fair for Di's hair appointment. David bought a magazine to read and headed for the nearest coffee shop to wait - an hour later he was still waiting - why does it take so long to cut a woman's hair? After lunch we made a last visit to Robina Shopping Centre for a few purchases. Back at camp we spent an hour or so packing up as we are on the road to Dicky Beach on the Sunshine Coast in the morning.

No photos today.

Another beautiful day on the Gold Coast with clear skies and 24 degrees.

Morning weather photo at Tallebudgera Creek

This morning we had a visit by Colin and Louise from Australia Wide Annexes to measure up and give us a quote for an annexe. Our annexe will have a window and a door in each end wall, and a long side wall with two windows. The annexe will have two-toned walls - grey canvas with a strong black vinyl base for easy cleaning. All the windows are made with 3 zip down panels - mesh screen, clear plastic window (detachable) and a canvas cover. Every window can be used as a doorway. The doors are made with 2 zip down panels - a mesh screen and a canvas cover. We are also buying a 2 metre canvas porch to go on the front of the annexe to provide a covered area for using the barbeque outside the annexe. The annexe will be manufactured by the 8th of August and will be installed on the 14th of August when we are back on the Gold Coast at Southport. This photo from the Australia Wide Annexe website gives an idea.

Australia Wide Annexe

We had a visit from Brendan who lives on the Gold Coast, but he was on his own as Lynn had gone to Hobart to see her dog Pinot. She had not seen Pinot for a while as they had been overseas in Europe for the last seven weeks. After a beer and a chat we went into Burleigh Heads for lunch at the Bluff Café where we had a table on the footpath and watched the world go by. Brendan is also off to Hobart on Wednesday and we will catch up with them both next month when we return to Southport.

Bluff Cafe at Burleigh Heads

Back at camp we made a quick visit to Woollies for a few supplies, then went for a walk around the park to take some more weather photos.

Afternoon weather photo at Tallebudgera Creek

Another afternoon weather photo Tallebudgera Creek

Forecast for both Brisbane and the Gold Coast was fine and clear with a temperature of 23 degrees.

We left camp at 10:00 am this morning and drove to Varsity Lakes Railway Station to catch the train into Brisbane for the day. Varsity Lakes is the end of the line on the Gold Coast and the train runs to Brisbane Airport via Brisbane City. Known as the Airtrain the service is privately operated, but integrated with Queensland Rail, and commenced operations in 2001. The train makes about 6 stops between Varsity Lakes and Beenleigh, then operates as an express with only 2 stops on the way into the Brisbane CBD. The train operates a 15 minute service during peak periods and a 30 minute service during weekends and off peak periods. The trip from Varsity Lakes to Brisbane Central took one hour and 20 minutes and is very relaxing. It cost us $5.96 each way on a seniors Go Card - a bargain compared to about 30 litres of diesel and parking charges in Brisbane if we had driven ourselves.

Waiting for the train at Varsity Lakes Station

Gold Coast train arrives from Brisbane

We left the train at Brisbane Central and made our way to the Queen Street Mall where we found the Information Centre for a Map of the City area. It was only a short walk through the Mall to the Victoria Bridge which took us across the Brisbane River to Southbank where we made our way to the Plough Inn for lunch. For lunch Di had a baby Barra while David had Wagyu beef fillet - an excellent lunch. After lunch we wandered through the Collectives Market before walking up to Southbank Station for the return trip to Varsity Lakes.

Queen Street Mall in Brisbane

Looking towards the Victoria Bridge from the Queen Street Mall

Brisbane's Treasury Building

Looking downriver from the Victoria Bridge

Southbank from the Victoria Bridge

Queensland Performing Arts Centre

Deep Oceans Exhibition at the Museum

Brisbane's Big Wheel at South Bank

Location of the Night Noodle Market

Nepalese Peace Pagoda at Southbank

Wading Pool at Southbank

Archway on Southbank

Plough Inn at Southbank

Collective Markets at Southbank

Another view of the Market

Di checking out a Stall at the Collective Markets

One of Michelle's favourite places