2026 - Winter Escape to QLD

Tue 30 Jun 26 - Yeppoon  17 to 23 Degrees, mostly clear with light winds, best weather in over a week. Noel took Olli for a couple of long walks today, while I set to work on finding a Support at Home  Aged Care provider for Mum. Lets just say it was a very busy day on the phone and internet researching and trying to understand what appears to me to be an overly complex system, and to find a provider. I ended the day having a better understanding of the system, but I still hadn't settled on a provider. It would be helpful if you could just get on the phone and talk to a human and ask the questions, but in most instances, I had to wait for a return call, some of which didn't eventuate. Nevertheless, we will continue on our travels tomorrow, and I'm confident that I can sort it out in good time by phone or email. Late afternoon, I headed out for a short ride to Rosslyn Bay, then returned to pack up for our departure tomorrow. After fuelling up, and buying a few groceries, we ...

Mon 29 Jun 26 - Yeppoon 17 to 22 Degrees, cloudy with patchy rain and SE winds all day. Another day with not much to report. After our morning routine we drove into Rockhampton to catch up with my cousin Stella and her grandson EJ for coffee at the Boathouse overlooking the Fitzroy River. Afterwards, on the way back to Yeppoon, we stopped at Stocklands  Camera House  to collect my Uncle's damaged SD Card and some of the photos that they managed to recover. Back in Yeppoon, it was another ordinary day weather wise, with lots of patchy showers and a persistent fresh SE wind. I tried sneaking out for a ride a few times, but each time I was ambushed. I did eventually get out for a very short ride later in the afternoon which was nice. After lunch, I received confirmation that funding for Mum's  My Aged Care Stay at Home Support Package was approved (2-3 months earlier that expected), so this kept my mind busy trying to work out the next steps. Essentially I have 56 days to fi...

Sun 28 Jun 26 - Yeppoon 17 to 22, Cloudy with morning and afternoon showers, and  a persistant fresh SE wind. A few walks between showers today, a massage for Noeleene to treat her neck and shoulder tightness in the morning, and for me an afternoon indoors planning a return trip home, via central Australia. At this stage we are looking to leave Yeppoon on Wednesday, with a couple of nights in Rockhampton before continuing west. The highlight of the day was a tasty roast lamb for dinner. Morning Walk Morning Walk - Yeppoon Main Beach Morning Walk - Infinity Pool Morning Walk - Ross Creek Morning Walk - Ross Creek Yeppoon Home  Sunday Roast Lamb Dinner - Num Num.

Sat 27 Jun 26 - Emu Park to Yeppoon (Towed 20km) 17 to 22 Degrees, cloudy, fresh SE winds, and some light drizzle. After our morning routine and 8 very relaxing nights at Emu Park, we packed up for the long haul to Yeppoon.  With plenty of time to kill before we could check in at the caravan park in Yeppoon, we decided at the last minute to walk back into town for breakfast at the Ocean Brew Cafe which was untested during our stay. Noel had her standard bacon and eggs, while I opted for something a little different - Shakshuka, which is a middle eastern dish of eggs poached in spiced tomato and capsicum with feta cheese and toasted sourdough - it was very tasty. After breakfast, we returned and hooked up the van and headed into Yeppoon. First stop on the way in was a quick visit to Aunt and Uncles to say hello, then coffee in the main street before checking in to the Blue Dolphin Caravan Park at 1100. After setting up, I ventured out into the wind for an a fternoon ride, while Noel...

Fri 26 Jun 26 - Emu Park 16 to 20 Degrees, cloudy with a fresh south easterly wind all day.  The day started nicely with a pretty sunrise, then weather-wise, it went down hill from there. We were up early, and after my exercises and Noel's walk, we drove to Rockhampton at 0800, first stop the crematorium followed by Pet Barn to buy dog food. From there we continued to Camera House at Stocklands to see if they could recover photos from a faulty SD card belonging to my Uncle David. Leaving the SD Card with them to see what they could do, we continued into town for our morning coffee at the Two Professors (previously Sexy Coffee) - a favourite cafe when visiting Rocky. Sitting outside in the fresh breeze with Olli was....well very fresh, but the coffee was nice.  I got a call at 1100 to say that retrieving data from the SD Card would take longer than expected, so after a walk around Kershaw Gardens we returned to Emu Park. I will return to Rocky to pickup the SD card ea...

Thu 25 Jun 26 - Emu Park  16 to 22 Degrees, mostly clear with a strong fresh southerly wind all day A horribly windy day, and nothing new to report. A morning walk along the ANZAC Memorial Walk, coffee at the cafe in town, and a not so pleasant afternoon bike ride in a strong fresh southerly wind. After the ride I had a quiet afternoon in the van out of the wind while Noel visited the local hairdresser for some maintenance 😜... I've been enjoying the slower pace of our stay at Emu Park so far, but today was just a bit too slow for me.  ANZAC Memorial Walk ANZAC Memorial Walk ANZAC Memorial Walk ANZAC Memorial Walk ANZAC Memorial Walk

Wed 24 Jun 26 - Emu Park 14 to 22 Degrees, mostly clear with light SE winds After a good night sleep and a leisurley morning routine of exercises and short walks, we had breakfast then headed into the big smoke (Yeppoon), with our first stop being another favourite cafe opposite the main beach for coffee. We then dropped Olli off at the groomers to remove some bad knotting, and to make him handsome again. Meanwhile Noel did some grocery shopping, while I visited an art exhibition and went for another walk along the beach, before we collected Olli again shortly after midday. We then drove to Farnborough for lunch by the beach, then called in to visit my Aunt and Uncles (Mum's side of the family) on our way back to Emu Park. The wind had picked up quite strong by the time we got back to the van, and with not many places to ride other than along main roads, I decided go for another beach walk instead. Sundowners, an easy dinner, and a quiet night capped off another very relaxing day. ...

Tue 23 Jun 26 - Emu Park 15 to 21 Degrees, clear with early strong southerly winds that eased in the afternoon. Olli was restless with an upset belly overnight needing to go outside much earlier than usual at 0200 and 0400.  I'm a very light sleeper, so it's usually me with the honours of taking him outside during the dark hours.  Needless to say, I felt much more sluggish than usual today. After breakfast, we went for a short walk to the nearby cafe for an early morning coffee, then we returned and climbed in the ute for a drive out to Keppel Sands for a look. We've been here before, but we obviously forgot how quiet (no - dead) this place is. Even the caravan Park, as full as all others are in the area had only a couple of vans. It would be an ideal place to stay if you just wanted to sit back and read a book, and not do anything. With nothing to see, in fact only 2 cars on the road and no people seen, but the pub looked open, we headed back to Emu Park to the van for lun...

Mon 22 Jun 26 - Emu Park 16 to 24 Degrees, mostly clear with a fresh southerly breeze. A routine morning of mobility exercises followed by a walk, today along the ANZAC memorial walk, while Noel took Olli out for his walk along nearby paths. Back at the van we had breakfast, and I made a few calls to finalise the Service Agreement for Mum's at home Physio treatment that starts tomorrow. Afterwards, we drove into Yeppoon for our morning brew at one of our favourite coffee shops, Baked on 44. Both the coffee and scroll were nice. A visit to the pet shop to buy a new harness and a fur de-tangler for Olli, a walk along the main street to the beach and a visit to Bunnings followed, before we returned to Emu Park for a late lunch. Noel took Olli for another short walk while I went out for a short ride around the hilly streets of Emu Park to make the most of another beautiful sunny day. Dinner was another tasty home cooked meal followed by a night of TV, capping off a very relaxing day. M...