Spirit of the ANZACS

Back in June Brian & I along with our friends Helen & David headed off into Brisvegas on a Sunday afternoon by train to see the "Spirit of the ANZACS" at the Brisbane COnvention Centre. Amazing display's, poor organisation spoilt it - the venue was too small for the volume of people. Other wise we had a great afternoon, after the show we found our way to coffee club for a drink and snack, wandering past the "Town Hall" stopping for a selfie. Made our way back to Central Railway Station and caught the train back to Caboolture where we headed back across to Bribie and Helen & David headed back up the highway to Sippy Downs.

 

 

 

 

Australian Darter or Snake Bird

Yep as it says, if you see this bird in the water you would think it is a snake. We called him "Clacker" as he would sit up in the tree and he clacked if you came near him. Everyday he would come to his favourite tree and sit there peering out.

 

 

 

 

 

Here we go

Been a bit slack keeping the blog updated recently, however there has not been alot to report as staying at Banksia Beach is just a repeat of the previous house sit we did there.
We already knew the ropes, codes etc and what needed doing, so it was actually a real
breeze. so will mainly update with some photo's.

 

Wild Windy Wet Weekend

Well we dodged the bullet on that storm that came through last weekend. We were advised to be in for gale force winds, rain etc. We did get some heavy rain and very strong winds but other than that not much compared to the Gold Coast, Coffs Harbour, Sydney and now poor old Tasmania. We rolled the cover from the pool back and Brian tied it down with rope as the wind was blowing it off again, it is very heavy duty bubble wrap a kind of thermal cover and if it did blow over the canal wall we would have had a job getting it back up. Brian also put extra ropes on the two boats down on the poontoon. We just stayed indoors not venturing out at all. The wind has been very strong until today when it has finally eased off and once again it is nice and sunny. The pool had waves on it and leaves galore along with other rubbish blew in all of which Brian has blown out with the leaf blower.

 

 

 

Back To Bribie

We arrived back to Bribie on the Sunday May 29th, overnighted in the caravan at Worrim. We had a good drive down from Ninderry where "Poppy" was being stored at our very good friends we were so grateful to Lyn and John for minding our little van. We arrived at Worrim around 1.30pm, found a site and in no time were all set up. As we were only here overnight we had paid an extra $20 to give us a later check out time of 1600pm. We never put the van fridge on or set the tv up - no need. Dinner Sunday night was at the Blue Pacific Pub, then back to the van for the night. I dug out the blankets and heater as it was mighty chilly. Alarm set for 6.30 as we had to be at Banksia Beach for 8.00am on the Monday morning as we had to take the Phillips to the Brisbane Airport and with traffic on the HWay they wanted to allow plenty of time incase of incidents. I - Chris actually went with the Phillps to the airport as Brian was not feeling to well. We drove down in the brand new Kia Sportage, very comfy I was sitting in the back. Arrived at the airport in plenty of time, dropped Mike and Margaret off and then I headed back toward Bribie.Stopped at Nudgee servo for a loo and coffee stop. I arrived back at Bribie around 1230. Brian had made a cuppa which we great, we headed back to the van park to collect Poppy and drop her off at the place where we usually store her once here. We are now here until early August. I/well will update again at a later date.

Briefly from Nambour

We are at our friend's mum's house at Nambour, only briefly until Sunday when we will head to Worrim Van Park for 1 night.
We left Peachester yesterday around 1130, once Jo arrived home, updates on her amazing trip to Nepal, she kindly brought us some lovely momentos and a bottle of NZ Pinot Noir with the hello's,  & goodbyes over, pats and farewells to the pets and we were on our way. The blog will now be updated once we are at Banksia Beach.
Below photos are the last one with Nala and Bean:

 

 

Coming To An End Here

We leave Peachester next Tuesday and head back to my friends mum's vacant house at Nambour for 5nights. The house has not been sold and we were asked would we like to go back and stay again we took up the offer. We leave Magpie Street on Sunday the 29th and will take Poppy the caravan back down to Worrim Caravan Park for 1 night. On the Monday 30th we take the Banksia Beach homeowners to the airport and then do their house sit for 3mths. (they have asked us if we would like to do the 5mths for them next year - of course we said yes, this will be our last house sit, as it's time to settle down)  Our little van will be in storage at Worrim where it has been before. Below photo is the house at Nambour.

Below House is the Banksia Beach House.

Below House Is Our Christmas/New Year Housesit

The above house belongs to a NZ family who are heading back to Nelson for Christmas/New Year. It is a new home with all mod cons,aircon,pool etc so we will be comfortable.

Misc Photos

These are the Banksia flowers that the large Black Cockatoos are feeding on.

 

Mother's Day Flowers

Lovely Torty Miss Bean

More Peachester Photos

 

 

Laughing Kookaburra

 

 

Peachester House Surrounded by Blackbutts

 

We have found out that the massive trees in the backyard are called "Blackbutts". Blackbutt is one of the highest value timbers and is predominantly grown in the north coast of NSW, called the Northern Region. It is also common in coastal forests, from southern Queensland to southern NSW. Plantations are established in Australia and many overseas countries.A tall tree of up to 40 metres or more in height, with a long straight cylindrical trunk. It can measure up to 3 metres in diameter.Blackbutt gets its name from the rough bark at the tree base which is usually charred black from past bush fires. Blackbutt is 'half bark, which means it has rough, fibrous bark on the lower trunk with the upper trunk and branches normally being smooth and whitish to yellow in colour. The bark sheds away in strips in the upper part of the trunk, leaving smooth branches, often wtih insect 'scribbles' on the bark.his is a native hardwood. The timber is light brown or yellowish. The grain is usually straight with gum veins present. It may stain well, but is a poor surface for paint and the mature wood may cause problems when gluing.The wood is hard and strong and is the major timber used for all kinds of building construction work, including rafters and battens. It is also used for flooring, weatherboards, bridge planks, railway sleepers and pulp. When treated with a preservative it is used for posts and poles. It is highly sought after for use in making paper, particularly fine writing and printing paper. In addition, the leaves are eaten by koalas.

Beerwah Sports Ground

Popped down to Beerwah Sports Ground the other day to check out the camping facilites there. Had been told you can camp there for 4-5nights, for $20 includes power,water and ablutions, we thought it could be handy if we have any short gaps between house sits. Met the on site manager Des, advised that he was very low key, that the area was very quiet. We took Nala the dog for a walk while we were there she loved it. We will be adding this spot to our list for any short stays in between house sits, it is very close walking distance to the Beerwah shopping village where there is a Woolworths,Aldi and Super IGA, it is also very close to the train station where you can get the train into Brisbane and further. Great location.