Christmas and New Year 2011-12

It is now New Year's Eve + 1 and 4 days ago we returned to Bundaberg after a very pleasant Christmas in Murwillumbah with Jean's long time friend Sara and her son Ricardo and Carl. Jean (Gina) had known Sara since they both worked together in Auckland over 30 years ago and they also used to see quite a bit of each other when Sara was married and living in London. Jean travelled there from Hong Kong many times.

We left Bundaberg on the 23rd. and were very kindly given a lift to the airport to pick up our rental car by John and Chris ("Sara II") who had a local rental car. We had a 6 hour drive to Murwillumbah in NSW ahead of us (between 500 and 600 kms.) and so were pleased to have been able to get away by 9.30. The route south from here is by the Isis Highway to Childers where it ends as it joins the Bruce Highway. Still only one lane in each direction but the traffic was flowing well. 60 kms further on we were getting a bit peckish so stopped for an indifferent breakfast on the outskirts of Maryborough but at least it filled the gap. As we went further south there were more stretches of 2 lanes which speeded up the flow. Still, the Aussies don't generally dawdle like they do in NZ so the trip was relatively hassle free. We bought lots of fruit at a stall just inland from Mooloolaba - beautiful mangoes and soooo cheap!! As we approached Brisbane the traffic increased appreciably but by then we were travelling in 4 lanes in each direction. The Gateway Bridge across the Brisbane River was an experience - 2 identical bridges side by side, each 4 lanes. One going south and the other north. As you approach they resemble giant skateboard  ramps or ski jumps as they have to be high enough to allow the passage of ships underneath. Once on the southern side of the river however the traffic increased dramatically as we were now travelling with the holiday traffic leaving Brisbane. Through the back of the Gold Coast it was very slow and also hampered by many roadworks. However, after enduring that for about an hour things started moving again as we got closer to the Coolangata area. Then it was relatively quick through Tweed Heads and Tumbulgum to Murwillumbah. It was lovely to be in Sara's fairly new house overlooking lush green valleys and many trees -quite unlike the aridness and flatness of Bundaberg!

The next day (Christmas Eve) it was up early and Jean and Sara talking nonstop and catching up on the last few years, although Sara and Ricardo had stayed with us when we were in the flat at the Norsand Boatyard in Whangarei, which wasn't that long ago!!! Carl has a property up towards Mt. Warning and he went there to feed his chooks while Jean and Jim went into town to look around and get some more food for Christmas dinner - as if we needed any more!

Mt Warning is a few k's SW of Murwillumbah and is an extinct volcano now 1157 metres high (3506 ft.). Just after it first erupted it apparently was twice that height. It was named by Capt. Cook as it warned him of the proximity of the coast and particularly dangerous reefs off Point Danger (also named by him). It was humbling to realise that we were once again near the footsteps of the Great Navigator as we had been in New Caledonia and no doubt will be again as we head north in April. You can read more about Mt. Warning on www.mtwarning.com

Later Jean and Sara were busy in the kitchen with Jean doing her thing with the stuffing and then very slow cooking of the turkey - all night at 100 degrees C. A very successful way to cook turkey. Christmas Day dawned  fine although Mt. Warning was still shrouded in cloud. In a spirit of Yuletide conviviality we all sat around the Christmas tree and opened presents in turn . A delicious breakfast of fresh fruit - cherries, mangoes, bananas and oranges and we were ready for the rest of the day. Carl, Ricardo and Jim then went up to Carl's property in Carl's bright orange VW Kombi van. He has a substantial acreage just at the foot of Mt. Warning with a fast running stony bottom stream. The house and assorted outbuildings are something to behold. "Quirky" doesn't do them justice and the house is full of memorabilia from Carl's life - an absolutely amazing place. We also went to the carpark at the base of the Mt. Warning track and climbed up a short way admiring the Bangalow Palms (native to the area) and the lush rain forest with bush turkeys and many other birds in evidence.

The turkey and ham were marvellous and as usual we all ate far too much. All in all a very pleasant day filled with Christmas love and goodwill but tempered with an underlying concern for Charlotte and her family as Christchurch had had another large earthquake 2 days previously and we had rung them as soon as we arrived in Murwillumbah. Although they were ok there was an feeling of sadness which we hadn't detected before. We hope with all our hearts that the worst is now behind them and that they may finally get on with their lives with a degree of certainty. At least they were going up to Blenheim and the Marlborough Sounds for a break which will take their minds off it for a time. 

Boxing Day - Jean, Sara and Ricardo all set off for Mt. Warning where Ricardo ran to the top in an amazingly short time. J & S walked about two thirds of the way up before returning to the car. Jean had been to the top before. Jim and Carl remained at the house and variously put the world to rights and talked about recent experiences. Later that afternoon we all went down to Brunswick Heads for a picnic dinner. This is a typical rivermouth estuary with a fearsome bar entrance but passable in the right conditions. Certainly with the low pressure system passing by which has since battered NZ the conditions were anything but "right". Most surf beaches had been closed that day because of the high swells. But a very pleasant time and then home to Murwillumbah.

The next day (27th.) a sad farewell to Sara, Ricardo and Carl and we were on the road once more. Stopped at Tumbulgum for brunch at the pub which was nostalgic for Jim as he had had a meal there 16 years ago during a tourist river excursion on the Tweed.!! Then on through Tweed Heads (grown hugely and unrecognizably) in the intervening time. Lots of slow moving holiday traffic. Thunderstorms and torrential rain behind the Gold Coast so stopped for a while at a one of those soulless motorway stop places before continuing on to Bribie Island where we stayed with Robbie and Jeya in their very attractive house on a canal development there. Robbie is an ex Cathay Pacific pilot who Jean had known in Hong Kong about 12 years ago. We went to the local surf club for dinner and picked up Robbie's mother on the way. She is an amazing sprightly person in her late eighties - an inspiration. Sports clubs in Australia really run great restaurants and it is a major business. We had an excellent meal and then returned to their house and a luxurious bed and space - so different from the boat!! The next day Robbie took us on a tour of Bribie and we walked along a foreshore area where one could observe various wading birds. Then sadly it was another departure and we continued north. Heavy traffic as we approached  Mooloolaba where we had a seafood lunch and then managed to catch up with Kasey, Giselle and the Monkey Feet crew on "Monkey Feet" - a Canadian boat we had come to know well in Whangarei. Mooloolaba was frantic and the traffic was mostly at a standstill everywhere but after a very pleasant time with Monkey Feet on their ship we managed to rejoin the Sunshine Motorway and then eventually the Bruce Highway and hightailed it north again. By then however it was becoming clear that we wouldn't make Bundaberg anytime before dark so we decided to stop in Maryborough for the night. This is a town on the Mary River and famous for its old colonial buildings when it was a sugar port. Jim had an irrational desire to stay in an old Aussie pub so we managed to find one but the experience was not up to the promise that seemed to be indicated by the very attractive facade!! Still, it was clean and we slept well before a very early departure. Over 100 kms to Bundaberg and we wanted to get to the marina at the port so that we could offload our gear before returning the car to Bundaberg Airport at 10 which we did.

Then a meal and some provision shopping in town before returning to the boat.

We've been here ever since and on New Year's Eve we went with John and Chris from the British boat "Sara II" and Buddy and Helen (Canadians who now live in Australia) from "Desire" to the Lighthouse Hotel at Burnett Heads. A pleasant meal and conversation after which we repaired aboard "Sara II" for more drinks until the magic hour when we ushered in 2012. Let's hope it is better than 2011 and speaking selfishly, that it treats us kindly when we leave here in April for the 2500 mile passage to Darwin.

The weather here has been consistent with 20-25 knot SE and fine day after day. So far we have replaced our hot water cylinder and today our galley waste pump. Tomorrow we start on a selective re-caulking of some deck seams so that they hopefully don't leak on the way to Malaysia. One of these days we might actually get round to having a G&T at sundown!!  

More fascinating news of our boat maintenance will be posted in due course!! In the meantime we wish all our friends and loved ones a very happy New Year and may it be everything that you would wish.

With lots of love

Jim and Jean (Gina)