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| Lake Tinaroo Dam |
Arrived at our house sit at Tinnaroo late afternoon and after meeting Karen's Mum and Dad plus Auntie and Uncle who are travelling together, we set up our van. Brent cooked a great Barra for tea and after a few drinks retired to bed as the travellers were leaving early next morning. Upon departure we moved our things into the spare bedroom and settled into their lovely home with a great balcony overlooking bushland - what a great spot to spend the next month!!
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| This is where we spent a lot of time! |
Also became good mates with Jessie and Ruby the dogs who loved a game of ball - had to tell Jess to have a rest every now and then as she would run and fetch ALL day! I started walking again in the morning, which the dogs loved, however things became hectic when they saw some kangaroos. I had dogs and leads going every which way!!
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| One of our early morning walks |
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| Sunrise through the clouds, Lake Tinaroo |
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| Jess and Ruby, always ready to chase the ball. |
Had a few cool days to begin with, even had to put the fire on one night, however weather warmed up into lovely days with cooler nights for sleeping.
The property was surrounded by bushland and we spotted so many different variety of birds
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| Eastern Yellow Robin |
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| Scarlett Honey Eater |
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| White Cheeked Honey Eater |
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| Sulphur Creasted Cockatoo, with unusual pink feathers or very dirty? |
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| Scarlet Honey Eater |
Had another drive into Cairns to meet up with friends from Adelaide who were travelling for 3 months in their Vans. Stopped at the Botanical Gardens for a coffee then a walk around. Had lunch at the Boathouse at the Marina then back to their caravan park for a look at Sue and Dave's new caravan.
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| Lunch at the Boathouse, Cairns |
Two week into our house sit our daughter-in-law's parents plus her younger sister arrived and we spent the next 2 weeks together. During that time we had a trip to Malanda for the Markets and had lunch at the Malanda Hotel. The hotel is characteristically built from the timber of local trees and as you enter you notice the floorboards and the magnificent staircase, made from local Silky Oak, leading to the hotel rooms and second floor. Great historic photos hang on the walls with typed posters telling stories of past years - great place to call into, and the food was good! Susan bought Vanilla Slices from the Bakery which were great and certainly rated up there with some of the best! Another day we had lunch at the heritage Tolga Pub - T-Bone Tuesday was certainly worth the visit!! The Kairi Pub was another great venue for dinner one night - good old Aussie Pub which has been newly renovated.
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| Malanda Hotel |
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| Monique spoilt Ruby, sorry Brent! |
Brent and Karen returned and we moved back into the van for the night. Great to hear their stories from their adventure as we had been to many of the places in the past. Said our goodbyes the next morning, sad to be leaving such lovely dogs and such a beautiful home and surrounds. Thanks to Brent and Karen for giving us the opportunity to look after your home.
