Sunshine coast without the sunshine

-

 11-14 December: Palmwoods

With Fraser Island closed due to bushfires our plans for the next week were yet again revised (see- best not to make plans). Instead we enjoyed another lovely stay at The Dirt Rd Home with Team Mason- this time their gorgeous home is almost finished! The highlight for the boys was archery, for me a lovely lunch in Montville with Al. 


We arrived in Palmwoods just in time before the deluge started- endless rain, wind, cold. The region received 300ml in 27 hours! Noah's bed copped it the worst, and he ended up with everything soaking wet. 

Despite the weather the kids got on like a house on fire, Huw even had a sleepover in Eden's room. 💙 

From Palmwoods it was on to Lennox Head where we had been looking forward to some surfing. The rain was relentless & the surf brown and too dangerous to go in . The roads were flooded and dangerous too. 





Our next & final stop was supposed to be Pebbly Beach, in Yuraugir National Park, close to Coffs Harbour. Unfortunately with current weather conditions the camping area was closed (the camp is reached via a tidal crossing).

A family vote was taken- head in-land or home. I lost the vote, and home we went. 


Tim drove through horrendous conditions for 8 hours to get us home safely. Tired, emotional (some of us sad, some of us excited, some of us relieved) we embraced the now enormous space of our home!

Our trip has come to an abrupt end & I'm still coming to terms with this. Upon reflection i suppose its rather fitting, considering this adventure started all of a sudden, with no real plans and any plans we made were changed along the way! 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Malanda- The Tablelands

-
Image
  Friday 23 October: Woodleigh Station to Malanda Driving from Savannah country into The Atherton Tablelands felt like arriving in a new, green world! It was bittersweet knowing this was likely the last of the red dirt and Outback.  We spent 4 nights at Malanda Falls, a small park with mini animal farm for the kids to enjoy and private access to Malanda Falls. The scenery of the Tablelands is breathtaking. We drove the waterfall circuit visiting Milstream, Malanda, Milla Milla, Zillie and Ellinjaa Falls. The 18mt drop at Milla Milla into the pristine plungepool below is the most photographed cascade in Australia. Got up early on Saturday to check out the Yungaburra markets in picturesque Yungaburra. Drove around Lake Tinnaroo & spent the day at pristine Lake Eacham- swimming, spotting turtles and enjoying the natural beauty. Had a fabulous visit from Team Reeves who drove down from Cairns to spend the day with us.  Spent some time enjoying Lake Barrine, part of the Cr...
Read more

Learnings

-
Image
  A few weeks to go… It sure has been a ride. The rest of our trip is now mapped out, not much room for just going where the breeze takes us, as was the start of this adventure. At the outset, we hoped to give our kids the gift of our time, of being present, learning about Australia and Indigenous Culture, appreciating our beautiful country and all the things we have around us. We had big dreams for connecting more fully as a family, letting go of city stress and pressure and routine. Changing things up. Experiencing new things every day. Challenging ourselves. Being brave. Being in nature. Have we achieved all this? Yes and no. I have seen the kids’ independence soar to the point of being unsure how they will go being back at school. That life and type of learning feels too confined. Noah has taught himself how to tie knots- like proper knots that actually work, and to be more brave socially. He is snorkelling and riding waves in the ocean & finding his own creative fun ...
Read more