Day 95 – Monday 29 August – North from Yeppoon
It was a very busy start to the day. The caravan had to be packed up and put in storage. The fridge was clean and off and empty.
Port Douglas was 1162 km away, and we started that journey - without the caravan - around 9 am. We picked up Amanda and headed, first west, then north. We had a full tank of fuel, lollies to suck, water to drink, and (most importantly) our clothes for the wedding.
The 3-person Kelly road trip had commenced..................
The trip was 362 km for the day. Amanda drove the middle third and I drove the first and third section. Morning tea was at Marlborough, where Amanda took over the driving, and lunch was at Clairview - where we had a sandwich lunch overlooking the ocean - and I returned to the driving position.
While I was driving we had the music off my phone. When Amanda was driving we had her music. It worked well, not that we had much time to listen to music - with near-non-stop conversation.
Our first major stop was at Sarina where we visited the Sarina Sugar Shed. Amanda bought a tasting paddle of locally produced drinks - including a rum liqueur, butternut schnapps and Limecello.
The ladies enjoyed the drinks while the driver looked on. An investment was made.
We drove the short distance to Mackay and checked in to our motel. Amanda and I had been counting caravans/campers/motorhomes and along the 250 km of road into Mackay we counted 150 tourist rigs.
After chilling out for a while we went for a drive and saw the sights of Mackay including Marina Beach - which was overcast and windy - and justification for a 'bad hair' day. Luckily I have not got much.
After a short break back at camp we headed to the Austral Hotel for a superb bistro dinner.
Day 96 – Tuesday 30 August – Mackay to Forrest Beach
Some photos, then some verse about yesterday and today.
Yesterday
We said good bye to Yeppoon
There are some places we need to see - and soon
At Sarina we did stop
For liqueur tasting at the Sugar Shop
At Mackay we made our bed
To first dine then rest our weary head
Today over 525 km
Proserpine had the great pie shop
For vanilla slices we did shop
Next stop was the beach at Bowen
Although a gale it was a blowin'
Amanda drove the next leg to Ayr
While I try to manage the navigator's chair
While Shirley knitted a bonnet
I was able to write this sonnet
We stopped for a pie at Ayr
While the rain quickly made a mess of our hair
Caravan after caravan we did see
As grey nomads from home they did flee
Much road work was the cause for delay
As a ruined schedule caused some dismay
The most common sight was sugar cane
Which would have been enjoying the widespread rain
We ended the day at Forrest Beach
The weather was so bad the beach we could not reach.
Twenty metres to the Bistro, we did walk
Over pizza and pasta we continued our talk.
Day 97– Wednesday 31 August – Forrest Beach to Port Douglas
The unit faced the beach to the east, so I was ready for sunrise. A look out the curtains looked promising. So I donned the bare minimum of clothes needed on the beach at 6:15 with a 21 degree temperature.
We pressed on to Innisfail where we bought diesel - our first for 1200 km. Not a bad run - without the caravan. Amanda and I shared the driving as we moved north.
By now Amanda was an 'expert' in sugar cane.........
We arrived in Cairns in time for a look around before heading to the airport. Two additional passengers were added to the 'tribe' - Wooly & Bodo (names withheld to protect the 'innocent'). The car was packed such that one suitcase was added to the roof rack. Dan Murphy's was bypassed as there was no room for any purchases.
There was non-stop conversation for the next 65 km, and not much intake of the lovely scenery along the coastal road.
We arrived at our rental house in Port Douglas around 3pm and soon had coffee and cold drinks happening.
It was a great place with lots of bedrooms, four fridges and one pool, and the occasional gecko.
Shopping happened for food and drinks.
The pool was used.
The BBQ was lit.
Day 98– Thursday 1 September – Daintree & Cape Tribulation
The first day of Spring meant an early start as Amanda, Wooly & Bodo had booked a 9:15 am cruise on the Daintree River. So we departed Port Douglas at 8am and had them at the departure point on time. Shirley and I enjoyed a peaceful coffee at the Daintree Village while they looked for crocs.
Amanda, Wooly & Bodo were the only passengers on the cruise.
We paid our $45 and had a ferry crossing over the Daintree River.
Our preferred place for lunch was closed so we tried the bistro at "PK's Jungle Village" and we all had superb seafood for lunch - burgers, fish n chips, seafood basket.
We headed home via the ferry, stopping to buy some cheap avocados at a roadside stall.
The drive home was just as noisy, arriving back at camp about 3:30 pm. It had been a long but enjoyable day. Shirley and I got a coffee. The others donned pool gear, got a grog and headed to the pool. I updated the blog.
We had a hamburger for dinner.
Again, it was not a late night. Again, I did not read.
Day 99– Friday 2 September – "The Wedding"
The day started with rain at 7am - not a good start with a beach wedding 8 hours away. I had my breakfast alone on the deck. Amanda was first to appear, just before 8am.
After breakfast we wandered around Port Douglas, did a bit of window shopping and had a look from the Lookout.
Word came though that the 3pm beach wedding had been changed to a 1:30 pm pool side wedding. We got dressed up and arrived in time to get a poolside seat at the "Pullman Sea Temple". It is a magnificent place.
We took our seats before time and took in the sights. The bride was fashionably 25 minutes late. It was a 'fun & entertaining' ceremony.
There were group photos afterwards, as the rain started to fall. It was estimated that the 'bowls people' photo contained 65 to 75% of all guests. The 'Kelly Gang' also featured in the list of official photos - with the Bride & Groom. Hopefully I will get a copy. Phones and cameras were banned during the ceremony.
There was a two hour gap between photos and reception so the 'Kelly Gang' returned to our lodgings for coffee and stronger stuff.
We were back at the Pullman Sea Temple for the start of pre-dinner drinks and canapes at 5pm. We moved to the reception area at 6pm, for four hours of food, drinks, speeches and lots of fun. It was a balmy 26 degrees.
Shirley and I visited the dance floor a couple of times - the inviting pool was only a pane of glass away.
Just after 10 pm, the reception moved to the 'after party' room about 10 metres away. Shirley and I stayed for a short time, then (like many our age) drifted to the car and home. We sat in our air conditioned lounge room before the bed became a better option.
The younger brigade stayed for an additional 90 minutes (or so) and then conned a ride home with one of the other guests. They claim that the only sound in the house, when they arrived home, was snoring.
Day 100 – Saturday 3 September – "The Day After the Wedding"
I was first to emerge around 8:30, and the first to cook bacon & egg on the BBQ. The others emerged over the next 90 minutes, with the BBQ being repeatedly turned on and off.
By mid morning we were ready for a walk on Four Mile Beach - with the sun shining. We walked to where the wedding would have been, had it not been raining.
It was then time for an ice-cream, in lieu of lunch. So that is what we did.
We decided to revisit the Lookout to get a photo with sunshine.
It was then back to base and a swim in the pool, so that is what we did.
Today was declared 'Father's Day' as Amanda gets dropped off at Cairns airport at 9am tomorrow. A table at Hemingway Brewery was booked for beers and drinks, for the 5 of us. The view was great, overlooking the Marina.
I tried a glass of "The Prospector" beer and it was excellent.
Dinner was Red Emperor and a glass of shiraz. Both were very good, particularly the fish.
We were home by 7 pm, in time to relax and do some early packing for our departure tomorrow. Our sole Collingwood supporter was not overly impressed with the football result. It was still 23 degrees at 7:30 pm.
Day 101 – Sunday 4 September – Heading South on Father's Day
It was the first time that I had ever driven 600+ km on Father's Day.
The car was packed, five people were strapped in, and we left Port Douglas at 8am. We had eaten the food and drank the grog but the car seemed to have less spare space - so the roof rack was employed for the trip to the airport.
Two little bits of trivia. First, my favourite dry biscuit is an Arnott's Savoy. Second, you cannot buy a Savoy in Queensland. So Amanda, Wooly and Bodo came to Queensland armed with packets of Savoys - for me.
It is the little things that count.
Below: Savoys packed into 'tool' storage
Along the road to Cairns we had to stop and get a photo of the man-made cairns that were beside the road. Amanda took the opportunity to get the last daughter-father selfie of the trip.
It was a noisy drive to Cairns Airport as we dissected the last few days of fun and laughter. Amanda and Wooly headed into the terminal for their Melbourne flight, and Bodo was dropped at the Cairns Hilton - for a few extra days of warm sunshine.
At 9:15 Shirley and I left Cairns for our long drive back to Yeppoon.
We travelled a total of 615 km via Cairns, Innisfail (coffee), Tully, Cardwell, Ingham (diesel), Townsville (lunch) and Ayr (ice-cream). We had regular stops for caffeine & food intake - arriving in Bowen at 4:45 pm.
We sat and had a cold drink then went for a walk around the Queens Beach Tourist Park. I then headed to the beach and got the following sunset photo.
We cooked our remaining bacon, egg, tomato and bread rolls on the BBQ for our dinner.
Day 102 – Monday 5 September – Back to Base (Wrap Up)
There is not much to report about today, apart from a wrap up of the last eight days. As Lennon & McCartney would say "Eight Days a Week".
Today we drove a mere 560 km from Bowen, through Proserpine (Vanilla slice purchase), Mackay, Sarina (some shopping), Clairview (beachside lunch) and Yeppoon. We departed at 7:50 am and drove into the Yeppoon caravan park around 3:15 pm. It did not take long to move the caravan from the storage area back to site 54.
We drove through maybe 20 road works sites, all had speed limits, a few had red lights, a couple were long enough for a nano-nap. A few seemed to have no work planned or in action.
Anyway we are back to base camp after a 2740 km, eight day, seven night family/wedding road trip. We slept in four different beds. We had three passengers, Amanda, Bodo and Wooly (the latter both called Lauren). Amanda was also a welcome co-driver.
We ate too much. We drank too much. We laughed a hellava lot. We told tall stories. We heard tall stories.
We attended a wedding that would be hard to surpass. The bride and groom made sure that everyone had a ball (or their 'minders' did).
We stayed four night in one of our favourite Aussie holiday destinations - Port Douglas.
I had four ladies who made a fuss of me for Father's Day, plus a number of others who had electronic contacts to ensure my day was first class. I love them all.
The last eight days have been very busy and very tiring - but an extremely enjoyable time for Shirley and me.
We ended the day with Happy Hour with Kay and Darryl, before a rissole for dinner and an early night.
This chapter is complete.
We have 3 nights in Yeppoon then we point the caravan south. Maybe tomorrow/Tuesday we will discuss how quick we move and what route we will follow.
Last updated at 9:20 am on Wednesday 7 September.
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