Where the Hell is Maclean?

Today was one of those days full of strategic vision, tactical planning, precise execution, decisive action, leadership,  individual contributions , family teamwork, group tasks, individual tasks, communication, conversation, consternation, toleration, guidance, feedback, annoying feedback, very annoying feedback, loving feedback and fun feedback.

It started with porridge and coffee for breakfast.  Yum.  It included a variety of tasks such as filling water tanks, hitching and preparing the van for the road, yelling at Jack and Jarrah for fighting in the van, showing Jack how to roll up an electrical lead, emptying the waste bucket and getting the sludge on me, driving the mob from Billinudgel to Maclean (where the frickin' hell is Maclean?)  catching Andrea looking up a knights skirt (see Exhibit A), setting up the van at the showgrounds in Maclean, emptying the toilet cassette into the dump point, disassembling the rear wheel on Jacks bike (hub bearing have shat themselves), playing soccer, making coffee, playing scrabble, playing drums with the boys and Andrea, happy hour, cooking on the barbie, hugging Jarrah after he smashed his shin, hugging Fletcher after spilling his cool drink, kissing and hugging them all to bed.  Wine.  Chocolate.

 

Exhibit A



Cro-Magnon bonding session.



A bridge. 

 

All of this in just one wonderful day.  I can't wait for the next one!

 

This rather brief blog is brought to you by guest columnist Bruce Johnston, as if you hadn't guessed.



I LOVE NIMBIN

Today we spent a very memorable day at Nimbin.  From Billinudgel we headed south through the sleepy little town of Mullumbimby.  Next we headed west into the mountains and meandered along a 50 km scenic drive which encompassed sugar cane fields, stone fruit orchards, farms growing cattle, coffee and macadamias, rolling hills and remnant rainforest.  The combination of hilly, windy, narrow hairpin bends and Bruce's rally driving was a little too much for Jarrah and he spent most of the drive with his head out of the window.

We passed through the beautiful little hillside hamlets of Rosebank, Dunoon, and The Channon, before arriving in Nimbin -  the alternative lifestyle capital of Australia.

Nimbin, once a sleepy little dairying village, shot to fame when it hosted the 1973 Aquarius Festival, attracting students, hippies and visionaries from all over Australia. Many of them stayed on to live the dreams and ideology of Aquarius and to sow the seeds for today’s vibrant community.  Today Nimbin is known as a mecca for hippies, environmentalists, creatives and pioneers in alternative energy, agriculture and sustainable living.

Nimbin is internationally famous for its intriguing and quirky streetscape, its enchanting indigenous, rainforest and psychedelic mural facades and its colourful local characters.  The main street has an eclectic array of cafes, craft shops and galleries and we were lucky enough to experience Nimbin on market day. 

There was a very free spirited, generous, honest feeling throughout this little town.  We felt it from the moment we arrived.  The local people had the time to chat, and listen, and were interested in other people's story.  They had time for kids, and didn't get cross if the boys picked up every single precious stone in their stall before a purchase was made!  In fact most people, having very little themselves, would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it!  The boys were given a precious stone each, and Fletcher (being extra cute) was given a beautiful locally made soap.

We had a jam with a bunch of locals on the African Djembe drums, which drew quite a crowd.  I bought a funky scarf and skirt and Jack was stoked with his sampling and purchase of some local olive tapenade!  We had a great pizza for lunch and checked out the Spangled Drongo, Happy High Herbs and the Nimbin Mad Hattery.

We spent some time in the HEMP Embassy where they promote the use of hemp for medicinal purposes and the use of hemp plant fibre in sustainable fashion, cosmetics, building material, pavers and even coffins!  I found it difficult to explain to the boys what some of the implements were used for, and when Jarrah asked to look at the Dr Zeuss book, Green Nugs and Hash, I knew it was time to move on!

We had a couple of beers in the Nimbin Hotel and we thought it best that I stay with the boys while Bruce checked out the HEMP Bar - a meeting place for Cannabis Law Reform activists from all over the earth.

I have to admit to being a little insulted that Bruce was offered the local produce on the street (several times during the day) and I wasn't asked once!  Perhaps I looked too conservative?  Or perhaps it was because Bruce hadn't shaved or showered for a week?  Not that I would have indulged, it would just have been nice to have been asked!  LOL

Before the day ended we couldn't resist returning to have another jam on the djembe drums.  We had such fun that somehow, we ended buying three drums, of varying sizes and tones.  Not sure how that happened, or where they are going to fit, but I am sure that they will go well with our keyboard, two guitars and two didgeridoos that we already have aboard.

It was difficult to leave this beautiful place and well after dark before we got home.

"May the long time sun shine upon you, all love surround you,
and the pure light within you, guide your way home."

-Aquarius Festival Anthem

Byron Bay

This morning started with a fast and furious game of chasey in the Billinudgel Pub beer garden.  Bruce and Jarrah, competing in thongs, were no match for the rest of us, and in the final round Fletcher declared himself the fastest, hence taking the Chasey Crown.  For now.

The weather was looking glorious so we headed straight to the beach to make the most of the sunshine.  Bruce and I took a leisurely stroll up Brunswick Heads beach, watching surfers, fishermen and wrestlers (JJ&F) enjoy the great outdoors.

Then we went on to Byron Bay where we took a stroll along the main street, soaking up the relaxed atmosphere and checking out the colourful locals.  The kids played at the beachside playground while we enjoyed a great coffee and basked in the sun at Main Beach.

Next we headed to the famous Cape Byron walking track, which winds through rainforest, along beaches and across cliff tops with stunning views of the ocean and hinterland.  We stood at the eastern most point of the Australian mainland watching resident dolphins and humpback whales on their annual migration.

Cape Byron was named by Captain Cook in 1770 after his navigator, the grandfather of the famous poet, Lord Byron.  We spent time at the historic Cape Byron Lighthouse, built in 1901 and still one of the most powerful in the southern hemisphere.
 

We continued on the Cape Byron walking track and almost made it down to Little Wattego's Beach without any tears or blood.  Almost.

We lingered briefly at Watego's Beach, Bruce enviously watching the surfers, before taking a drive to Lennox Head.  Another mecca amongst surfers, the views from the headlands both north and south are breathtaking and the Pat Morton lookout offered a beautiful vantage point (despite the overcast conditions).

Finally, just a scenic 10 minutes further down the road, we found ourselves in Ballina, home to more magnificent surfing beaches, scenic river vistas and of course, the BIG prawn.

It was cold and almost dark by the time we arrived back at our little pub home.  A hot meal and a couple of quiet drinks and another day was done.

Mt Warning Summit Trail

Today we decided to tackle the Mt Warning Summit Trail - a 9km, 5 hour trek from the Breakfast Creek base to the lookout at the top of Mt Warning.

We made an early start from our home base at Billinudgel, with a brief stop at Mooball, because we just couldn't drive past!  Mooball is a cute little town with black and white cow prints painted on the electricity poles and the general store - the Moo Moo Café (who of course have a variety of "Mooey" things to purchase). 



We came across a great giant motorbike which was actually a ride-able bike.  Not sure what that had to do with cows, but nevertheless, we were on a time schedule so had to say "Hoo Roo to the Moo Moo" and continue on our way.

Mt Warning towers over the town of Murwillumbah in the Tweed Valley.  Mount Warning, the southern hemisphere’s largest extinct shield volcano, is the first place on Australia’s mainland to be touched by the morning sun.  As nice as it would have been to watch the sunrise, we instead set off at the more reasonable time of 10.15am.
 

From Breakfast Creek, at Mount Warning National Park entrance, the main walking track ascends through superb rainforest with strategic rest spots giving a variety of scenic views of the surrounding valley.

After clambering up more than 1000 steps, the trek ends with a challenging rock scramble before reaching the summit.  The photo below doesn't really do it justice, but suffice to say the rock scramble was almost vertical in some points, and continued for some 400 metres.

The reward at the summit (1157m) is a 360° panorama of the enormous eroded bowl of the caldera landform and rim, with coastal views stretching from the Gold Coast to Byron Bay.  It was the perfect place to picnic before heading back down again.
 

We were all pretty tired by the time we got back to the base car park at about 3pm.  Fletcher had walked about 7km of the 9km trek, only being carried in his "pack pack" for a short uphill stretch.  Jack and Jarrah had powered through, despite both of them suffering terminal blow outs in the joggers.

 

We were back at our home base of Billinudgel Hotel by 4pm for Friday night sundowner drinks.  I find it an interesting social phenomena that even a 9 km trek into the summit of a volcano has no identifiable impact on what many parents know as 'arsenic hour'.  Jack, Jarrah and Fletcher continued to wrestle, kick, punch, headbutt and generally beat the absolute bejesus out of each other this evening, despite the physically exhausting day they'd all had.  Guess that's boys for ya!

Hello New South Wales

This morning we farewelled our wonderful hosts of the past week, Yvonne and Ian, and hit the road once more.

We took a leisurely drive down the coastal highway, and were soon to make the crossing into New South Wales.

There are many scenic little spots along this coastline, but we chose to stop at Hastings Point, upon recommendation from my beautiful friend, Erica.  Despite the overcast conditions, we were not to be disappointed!

Known as the "Jewel of the Tweed", Hastings Point is the smallest coastal settlement of New South Wales Tweed Shire.  It is surrounded by national park, and nestled between the ocean on its east and a beautiful but delicate estuary on its west.

We had barely gotten out of the car when the shout went up "whales!" and we stood mesmerised, watching two humpback whales breach, play and spout water from their blow holes.  The water here was alive with schools of baitfish and soon enough we were to see a pod of dolphins jumping out of the water and later even a shark!

Just before lunch we arrived at our new destination of Billinudgel, not far from Byron Bay.  We are lucky enough to be staying at the Billinudgel Pub, a real piece of Australian history!   Operating since 1906, the pub is infamous for being home to the world's oldest publican (Ma Ring was publican here for 53 years).  After unpacking and settling in, we enjoyed some great old fashioned pub grub and an ice cold beer in the beer garden.

With full bellies we decided to take a walk down the main street.  Op shops in small towns are always interesting...however I should never have taken that telephone call and left them alone inside the shop!

Now we must make room in our small caravan for Nelson, Froot Loop and Billy-Nudgel!

Australian Outback Spec-crap-ular!

There is some evidence indicating that we may have succeeded in wearing the boys out!

I wasn't sure I heard correctly when they got up this morning and said "Mum, can we please NOT go to a theme park today?"

The boys wanted to ride their bikes so we headed to the Burleigh Headland National Park.  It was a glorious sunny morning and we chose the 2.5 km Ocean View track.  This track skirts the coastline leading around the rocky headland from the southern edge of the Burleigh Heads township to the Tallebudgera Creek and the secluded Echo Beach.

Despite the warm weather, nobody was keen for a swim so we headed back to Burleigh Heads for some morning tea. We sat and soaked up the atmosphere of  one of the best surfing beaches on the Gold Coast.

Bruce and I enjoyed a coffee in the sun while the boys enjoyed a local playground!  Next it was off to the skate park where Jarrah's bike was finally laid to rest.  It has been repaired so many times in the past few weeks, but it has now been declared 'beyond repair'.  Sad faces all around!

Jarrah found the upside of the situation, however, as only Jarrah can!  He found it fun to ride with no tyres, no brakes, no handgrips.

He didn't have to endure this broken down shell of a bike for long, however.  Within a few short hours Bruce had found a suitable, local bike on Gumtree and Jarrah was back on the road!

 One happy kid!

 

This evening Bruce and I treated ourselves to an adults night out to the renowned Australian Outback Spectacular show, with Yvonne kindly offering to watch the boys.  A night out with a three course meal and entertainment - what could go wrong?

Well the website promotes that guests witness the bravery, beauty and courage of the greatest Australian stories never told... High Country Legends.  What a disappointment!  The show was disjointed, with a very mixed up story line that was hard to follow.  I waited and waited to be 'wowed' by the amazing feats of horsemanship, but it just didn't eventuate.

Not wanting to be too critical, I'd like to point out my own two personal highlights of the evening.  The first was the great Kiwi couple we met during the pre-show entertainment...

 

...and the other was the dead donkey.  It wasn't really dead - just playing dead and dying - but he was really good at it!

 

Bruce and I renamed the show the Australian Outback Spec-crap-ular and had a bit of a laugh poking fun at it.  When we arrived back home, Jarrah's boot scooting performance in his  new cowboy hat and my high heels had us all in stitches!
 

Favourite Parks Revisited

We gave the boys a choice of activities today and the consensus was to return to Movie World for the morning and then spend the afternoon at Wet N Wild.  We agreed that we would all pick one ride each, at each theme park - a total of 10 rides for the day.  Theoretically, then we wouldn't still be there at closing time.

 

Before we left home Bruce worked on some sneaky shoe modifications for Jarrah.

 

Thanks for the thongs, Debby Johnston, Jarrah will be eternally grateful!  None of us realised how handy those Carlton Mid thongs were going be!

Of course the first choice at Movie World was the Batwing Supershot.  And what do you know?  This
morning Jarrah was miraculously tall enough!
 

 

Immediately that concept of 'one ride each' was forgotten!  Jack and Jarrah rode the Batwing continuously for the next 40 minutes!  (LOVE the fact that there are no queues!)  Jarrah was absolutely thrilled, and with or without his 'new' shoes I know he felt 10 feet tall!

 

 

While Jack and Jarrah were getting their fill of thrills on the Batwing Supershot, Fletch made some new friends - Flash, the Green Lantern and Superwoman.

 

 

Then it was back to the Justice League 3D ride for Fletch, Bruce and I, to help the Superheroes kill all the baddies.

 

We finished off our morning at Movie World with rides for Bruce and I on the Superman Escape and Arkham Asylum coasters, then a family ride on the Wild West Falls Adventure Ride.  I've got to admit it was much more pleasant getting soaked on a beautiful sunny 26 degree day!

 

We knew we were succeeding at wearing the kids out when Jarrah walked straight into a pole on the way out of Movie World.  Ouch!  Or perhaps he was just taking after his Mum, who walked straight into the glass sliding door at Yvonne & Ian's place last night? 

 

Back at Wet N Wild in the afternoon, the weather was glorious!  We went back to our old favourites - first to the Aqua Loop for Bruce and I and the Junior Wet N Wild for Fletch.

 

 

Then on to the Kamikaze for Jack and the Tornado for Jarrah.

 

 

Lastly, a dip in the spa and a surf in the wave pool!

 

 

And what do you know?  It's closing time again!

 

For dinner we joined our wonderful hosts Yvonne and Cobs and their daughter Linda at Burleigh for a sausage sizzle. 

 

This beach side town is just beautiful, famous for the great surf beaches and point break, as well as its beach culture and laid back atmosphere.  There's also a great view up the coast to the tourist mecca of Surfers Paradise.

 

Linda, Yvonne, Jarrah and I took a stroll up to the headland while the other boys cooked the BBQ.  Then we all enjoyed a hot dog and a drink amidst the cacophony of rainbow lorikeets settling into the Norfolk Island pines for the evening.

 

 

The kids played on the playground until the cold and the random homeless people drove us away.

Wet N Wild Water World

This morning we were up early for our day at Wet N Wild.  Despite the bleak weather we headed straight for the Extreme H20 section.

The Black Hole was the first on the agenda and for Jack and Jarrah, the heart thumping twists and turns and the adrenaline pumping pitch black spiral of darkness was simply a warm up for the rides that were still to come.

As this is our third theme park day, Fletcher is now well aware that he's not tall enough for most of the rides.  He stood at the sign for a while, trying to grow, then contented himself with playing with the ants in the puddles.  Poor Fletch!

The Tornado was the next ride on the agenda, and OMG!!!  Jarrah described it as "sliding down an almost vertical drop and then getting sucked down a plug hole".  It sure scared the bejesus out of me!

While Bruce took Jack and Jarrah on the Kamikaze, Fletch and I went to find something he could get involved in.  While we were looking for the little kids' rides we came across the Whirlpool Springs.  On a day like today these hot tubs were just perfect and Fletch loved playing in the bubbles.

Next we hit the Wet N Wild Junior area.  Here Fletch was in heaven.  This is a huge zone just for little kids.   He could go on EVERYTHING! 

There are kid-friendly water slides including miniature versions of the big people rides.  There's also a multilevel interactive play structure, with 8 slides and Fletcher's all time favourite - a giant tipping bucket.

We all had great fun in this part of the park, but eventually the cold got the better of us and we headed back to the warm spas while Bruce got us some hot drinks.

After a picnic lunch we tried out the Aqua Loop.  These are four massive transparent looping slides.  Jack and Jarrah were thrilled that they met the height requirements for this thrill ride, only to be quickly disappointed when they realised they didn't meet the weight requirement.  Sad faces all around, but no tears thank goodness.

Bruce convinced me that despite the fact that I was already freezing, I needed to get wet one more time.  Although there was no queue, there was a bit of a hold up at the top because someone who went down before us was stuck in the slide!  Well that didn't instil me with much confidence!!  However, once said person had been rescued, I entered the trap door and waited anxiously for the countdown.  Suddenly, the floor drops away and I'm shot down a giant 40 foot heart stopping free fall drop, and up into a full looping slide at insane speeds of up to 60 km/h.  Holy Cow!

We left the big boys to have endless rides on the River Rapids and Aqua Racer while Fletch and I headed back to, you guessed it, the warm spas again.  Here Fletch spent the rest of the afternoon, alternately with Bruce or I, while Jack and Jarrah rode and re-rode all the heart stopping, adrenaline pumping, gravity defying thrill rides in the park.

By the time we met up back at the Giant Wave Pool the park was closing.  Fortunately, Movie World is right next door and didn't close or another 90 minutes.  So, while other families were sensibly taking their tired children home, we headed right back into the action!  Best we make use of those annual passes while we can!!

At Movie World Jarrah still didn't make the height requirement for the BatWing so we left Bruce and Jack there (didn't actually realise they were going to ride it for an hour and a half!!)  Jarrah and I, having just got into dry clothes, got soaked all over again on the Wild West Coaster.  The Scary Scooby Coaster was closed for maintenance, so Jarrah, Fletch and I headed to the Justice League 3D Ride to shoot some baddies.

We had just enough time to look around in the gift shops before the gates were closing, yet again. 

Batman fell asleep on the way home.