Mackay

After a lot of procrastination, I decided to take a trip and visit a number of family friends who I had not seen for a long time, finally making true (for some) my threat to catch up with people after I had retired.
Leaving home on Friday, I drove up through the Newell Highway and arrived at Dubbo that evening. I had already been there recently, so was able to find where to eat (Hungry Jacks, of course) and fill up (Shell, as the Woolworths/Caltex was closed by the time I arrived). Even though I was still well awake, after two hours out I pulled over and had a sleep. My new Snuggle blanket proved to be effective and was easy to use. Not long after dawn I was off again (early rising is a side-product of having windows uncovered) and had a good run north and entered Queensland not long after. I pulled over to have some breakfast and was surprised by how interesting the small country towns were. This happened in quite a few other towns as I progressed north. Roma, with a Woolworths Supermarket, didn’t have a Woolworths/Caltex petrol outlet (but should by now). I used up my last voucher for four cents off at the local Coles Express, and my others (Woolworths/Caltex) were rapidly passing their use-by date (a hazard of travelling in more remote areas).
An interesting side-effect of rapid change was at Peak Downs where my SatNav insisted I turn into the private mine entry rather than follow the large signs telling me how to travel to Mackay (further north and then to the east). I persevered and followed the correct signs and eventually the SatNav and the roads agreed.
I arrived in Mackay at 8 p.m. on Saturday and, after having some tea, caught up with Maureen. She had been a WAAF at Laverton and dad had given her away when she was married. She and her husband practised with Fran and I, taking us on holidays to a farm at Serpentine (Victoria) when we were very young. I wonder now whether an ulterior motive was that mum and dad got time by themselves with us away for between three days and a week. She is now living in a small unit and is very fit, walking in the ranges and assisting training those wanting to train for the Kokoda Track in her spare time. I was able to stay with her for two days – the first when she suggested a morning walk, I innocently said yes and about twelve kilometres later rued the fact I wasn’t wearing walking boots. Later we went to visit her youngest son but he was out. We had a look at local spots, including lookouts and beach places, while waiting for him to return. We finally caught up with him and his family, and I marvelled at the change over forty years.
The next day we went up to the high country nearby and looked around, as well as having lunch at a popular spot for hang gliders to launch from. It was a fantastic view, marred by smoke from fires – a common feature all the way down as far as Sydney.
I had the pleasure of being able to install and leave a set-top box so Maureen could watch more channels and still use her TV – and continue to use an older, cheaper TV until digital TVs drop in price.
The next day I departed and headed south. After taking a day and a half to get up to Mackay, I had planned to take two weeks to return. My first stop was to be Hervey Bay, to catch up with “Grandma”. I wasn’t in too much of a hurry so I was able to slowly drive through some small towns, marvelling that Queensland is by far the most decentralised state in Australia and so has more large towns and cities than elsewhere. The standard of driving appalled me, when I saw not only cars but also a B-double overtake on double lines – the B-double had to suddenly pull back in and its second trailer nearly took out the car it was overtaking (the car was travelling at the speed limit!).
At Hervey Bay I decided to try out the YHA offering. I’ve belonged to YHA for over two years, initially taking membership out as insurance while travelling overseas in case I couldn’t find reasonably-priced accommodation. The price and room was acceptable (I’m not yet into dormitory rooms unless I have good earplugs) so I booked in for two evenings. I called up to the home where “Grandma” lives and soon found her at the dinner-table. Within a few moments it was, “Laverton, next door, yes! Doug!” and I arranged to pop in and see her the next day. After tea I called in to visit a couple who I had met in Scandinavia while on tour last August. We caught up with things and discussed the “newly wed and nearly dead” population composition of Hervey Bay and its rapid growth.
The next morning I caught up with “Grandma” and was able to tell her about my trip, what had happened with the family in the meantime and was given the tour of her home. Being older, she tires more easily now so I departed before lunch. I had some and then spent the rest of the day looking around Hervey Bay and talking to others staying in the YHA hostel.
The next morning I headed off and called in to see a family friend (Max) in Tin Can Bay. He had just lost his wife and his little dog had just recovered after losing a back leg in a car accident. We had a good chat and looked around after morning tea. Then I headed off towards Brisbane. I arrived in Brisbane in the early afternoon (I didn’t realise how close it was) and then called up one of Maureen’s sons and his family. I was lucky in that Brian was home and so was Judy. I dropped in to see them and caught up on a lot of family news and was glad to see they were all in good health and going well. Soon I bade them goodbye and called in to see some more neighbours – they were house-sitting (and dog-sitting for their oldest daughter, who was over in Disneyland with her sister and their children. I was very pleased to see them, because Doug had some ill-health but was now recovering from leukaemia. Anne was well, but Doug had very good news – he had a new baby! It was a blue diesel Jaguar and is now his pride and joy. After catching up with news, I headed off south.
I had some tea on the way out of Brisbane after some fun and games trying to decipher the signage at the new roadworks. Within a short time I was out of Queensland, but starting to feel tired. I called in off the main road to Mullunbimby and found a place to stay. The next morning I set off and was in Ballina in the mid-morning. I knocked on the door – no answer. I called up and still no answer. I called Stan and he came around, and found Lynette well and truly asleep. I went off and got DOUG washed (apart from being filthy, he had dust from two storms on him). The Laserwash did a good job, getting the bugs off the front. I ran into Jen’s hubby, Bill, there. He already knew I had arrived because Stan had told him. Then I looked around the town – the first time I had done so, and it proved very interesting. Naturally there were beach areas, but quite a few other scenic and interesting places – including the giant prawn (faded but still there). I returned in the mid-afternoon and now Jen was home. I settled in and started to catch up with all the news, with contributions by Lynette as well, plus my latest news on “Grandma” and passing on the news about Fran and family. That evening I caught up with Stan and Bill and finally with the school news from Zac (Jen and Bill’s son).
The next day was spent around their home and doing some local travel. That evening we had tea in the local RSL club – very good food and reasonable. The next day Stan and I went to Lismore to scout out a model aeroplane field. We found that, then had some morning tea there. As we weren’t far away, Stan suggested visiting Nimbin and returning through Byron Bay. (Memo to self: check and refuel if not absolutely sure of the distance going to be travelled) We arrived in Nimbin and had a look around – it’s not quite a “flower power” town as it was, but it’s still more alternative than mainstream. We were fortunate enough to run into a Moke rally and saw some wonderful examples. Then we headed off to Brunswick Heads and had some lunch – but not at the pie shop, as that closed for the day just as we drove up to it! Then it was down to Byron Bay and more foreign accents than I had heard since I was away. After some ice cream, we briefly visited the lighthouse and then went south. On the coast road south I ran out of petrol on the way up a rise. I considered the options and decided to drop 11 litres from a drum I carry (just in case). When we returned to Ballina I filled up and found that the water capacity of the tank is 78·5 litres. We did some shopping on the way home and then had a quiet evening.
Next day I packed, said goodbye and left. I had planned to get to Sydney but with roadworks and such, and calling in to say hello to Wendy (in Crescent Head), who I met on my Scandinavian tour, I ended up spending the night at Raymond Terrace in a reasonably-priced motel. I was able to arrive in Sydney mid-morning and rang David, a minister who I had not seen since the late 1980s. I intended just to say hello, but ended up having morning tea with them and then agreeing to stay the night. They had to head off to appointments, so I went to visit friends (no, they weren’t home) but ended up visiting Katoomba. I found it had changed considerably in the 43 years since I had last been there.
During the evening I was able to show David and Barbara many pictures from my overseas travel and we also caught up with much news. The next morning was the same and, too quickly, I had to say goodbye and head off to Hornsby and lunch with Lin and Sue.
I was able to find Lin’s home easily and met them there. It was interesting as we had met in Turkey on one tour and then again in Egypt on another tour (within a few days). It really is interesting how I find I can slip into an easy friendship with people after a short time, but I suppose it is similar interests and backgrounds. I ended up replacing a gas fitting and a carpet edge before an enjoyable and laid-back barbecue lunch. Again, too soon, I had to say goodbye and head north up to Glennifer. However as I had delayed so long, again I had to look for accommodation – which I found at Bulahdelah.
The next day I headed off again and went through Bellingen before I arrived at Peter’s place in Glennifer. We chatted about travelling (he was just back from Morroco), the festival in Bellingen and then ended up having lunch. Again, finding time went too quickly and pleasantly, I was off late and heading south. I went through Sydney and got some tea and ended up stopping by the roadside about midnight. The Snuggle is very good! Where I stopped there were two caravans, but when I awoke in the morning there were four caravans and five cars.
I arrived in Braidwood at about 9, looked at yesterday’s Melbourne papers (I really miss them while in Australia, but overseas it doesn’t worry me at all) and caught up with Marilla and David. After saying hello, I went out to the farm, unpacked, showered and changed and then they were back for lunch. We spent the rest of the day catching up with news.
The next day we were into Goulburn for a celebratory lunch and church service. The following day we attended a sustainable-farming lunch and information session – interesting and informative. The following day I said goodbye, refuelled in Queanbeyan and was home that evening.