After our fleeting Kingscliff visit our plans for the next month are very, very work intensive so there won’t be much of the usual Vagabonding stuff in this blog. However, I have thought that at the start of many blogs and some turn out quite to include a surprising amount of excellent Vagabonding moments, Lets see how this one goes.
Brisbane
We booked into an Airbnb in Brisbane for a week so we could get caught up with the hectic work load. Coincidentally, while we were there, the brilliant Kristian Fletcher had organised the annual “Bowies Down Brunswick” charity walk and party. I thought I was a Bowie fan until I met Jenni. We had to go, and go we did.
The night turned out to the one of the highlights of the year. The evening ended in a Bowie dance party playing just Bowie tracks. This is what happens when you play “Star Man” to a group of hard core Bowie fans.
Apart from Bowie night Brisbane was all work so nothing much else to report. Oh except for being stalked by a scary, giant fruit bat on the way home one night.
Oh and while in Brisbane we treated the Mazda to it’s annual top class car wash.
Yaroomba
The company annual strategy meeting took place the following week. Jenni had booked a beautiful place near the beach in Yaroomba where we all could stay and work and also relax. The strategy event was 3 days of pretty intense work with everyone involved. However, being early birds, Jenni and I did get to walk on the nearby beach most mornings before business started.
Some nights we went an sat on the beach to watch the sun set and the stars come out while listening to the waves crash on the shore. It was very peaceful.
Coolum Beach
Yaroomba is only about 8 kilometres from one of our favourite camp sites, Coolum Beach. Jenni and I knew we could get good internet connectivity there. It was still not quite holiday season so would be quiet. We booked ourselves a camping spot for a few days beside the beach.
All the time we were in Coolum we worked, we walked, we swam and we enjoyed the experience.
Coolum beach has crabs. Lots of crabs. Most are very, very small. They are also very adventurous and get everywhere. Including the camp kitchen.
Not all crabs are so bold. This fella we found skulking in its hole one morning as we walked along the beach.
Occasionally we went for a walk on the beach at sunset as well. One night on our way back it got quite dark quite quickly. I snapped this picture of Coolum Beach town using the excellent Samsung phone night mode. I love this, especially as it came from a phone camera.
We left Coolum to return to Brisbane for a few nights
Golden Beach
From one beautiful beach to another. Like many of us, our good friend Judy has a birthday each year and this week it was hers. We celebrated in another remarkable, and little known, location called Golden Beach.
We used to wonder why it was called Golden Beach, now we know. Every morning was like this.
Or this
Or this
I could go on but I won’t. We had a lovely time celebrating Judy’s birthday. Judy’s birthday next year is already booked and we’re going to Kangaroo Island.
The bush fires in New South Wales are having an effect everywhere. This picture is taken in full sun at sunset with no filters. The sky is red because of the smoke in the atmosphere. Not as bad as Sydney but very noticeable,
On our regular walks Jenni and I were delighted to discover that the beach was inhabited by a Brahminy Kite. As we strolled each morning the kite would swoop and soar. The days the swooping and soaring was right in front of us I didn’t have my camera. The days I had my camera the swooping and soaring took place a distance away. But, one day both items aligned, the kite was close when I had the camera.
It wasn’t the last time we’d see such a remarkable and beautiful creature.
Bees on the Beach
As we did our daily beach exploration we noticed there were several bees either dead or dying on the beach just the the tide line. This one was still alive and walking in circles.
Google came to the rescue again. It would appear that if there is a beach between the bee hive and the pollen it sometimes get too laden down with pollen it drops into the sea and gets washed up on shore. It seems to happen a lot.
Butterfly
Again, while enjoying our morning stroll we saw this poor drowned butterfly. The next picture montage is the sequence of what happened next.
Billinudgel
Judy reckoned we should go to the Billinudgel Hotel for lunch one day. So we did.
You can read more about the Billi Pub and Billinudgel here.
And so our brief stay in Golden Beach came to an end.
Maleny – From the coast to the mountains and back
We dropped Judy off in Brisbane, filled the car up again with all our camping gear from storage and drove up to Maleny in the mountains, where we would be spending just one night before going back to Coolum Beach camping. Our overnight stop in Maleny was at the Tranquil Inn. We were the only guests in the hotel. Probably why it was such a good price.
We went back to the Tranquil Inn for the rest of the night. Weird being the only guests in a large hotel. The views were pretty good though.
Coolum Beach (again)
If its not clear by now you should know we love this camp site. It has big grassy level sites and is right on the beach. The difference between our last time here and this time is it is now school holidays and the camp site is packed full of families and people with dogs.
We set the tent up in our new configuration, with a big silver tarpaulin covering the tent. This is how we had our original tent but as we left a lot of camping gear in Tasmania we had to get some new gear on the way up to Coolum, While setting up the tent we discovered we had a stowaway.
He’s still hanging around the tent, saw him yesterday afternoon crawling up one of the guy ropes.
You’ve probably seen enough beach shots in this blog taken at early dawn with the sunlight glinting off the shore. Well as readers of the blogs know Jenni and I also like to sit on the beach at sunset with a glass of wine mulling over each days activities and lessons.
And so, it is with a happy heart I end this year with this blog. I started writing this thinking we’d not done much but now I realise Vagabonding is in our DNA. Even when we are busy and in the same place for ages we still find opportunities to explore and learn.
Credit to Judy Kratz for the lovely picture.
As I write this it is 3 weeks until the new year. In that 3 weeks we will have been in Sydney, then Hervey Bay for Christmas and then a week at Woodford Folk Festival. Plenty of material for the first blog of 2020.
Till then
Walligans Travels 