Gold Coast & Byron Bay - Sun, Surf & Seafood

Gold Coast - 16th - 23rd October

We stayed at Broadwater Tourist Park at Southport on the Gold Coast. Unknown to us the V8 Supercars were racing around the Gold Coast while we were there so the park had its fair share of rev heads with their Holden & Ford flags flying high around their sites.

As usual, the caravan Park was right on the beach. Not a swimming beach though but just a few hundred metres from a beautiful white sandy beach. It had a huge lawned area between the park & the

water which was nice to walk along.

We had lunch in one of our favourite places to eat on the Gold Coast ....The Lazy Lobster. We shared an amazing seafood platter that we couldn't finish. The attached photo should explain why.

We went to what I think is the best outlet centre in Australia.... Harbourtown. Gary went to the movies while I spent a leisurely 2 hours browsing the shops.

Shopping while living in a caravan is actually pretty liberating as buying lots of unnecessary things is not an option when you have to consider the space & weight of every single item that goes into the van. I bought a nightie & a couple of things for our new grand daughter Emma & then wandered around the other shops, trying all the testers, had a coffee & just generally killed time while Gary enjoyed the movie.

Just after arriving back at the van I realised that I was missing the shopping bag with the nightie in it! Aaarrgh!! I called centre management & the other shops I went into but no luck. I was shattered.

We went back the next morning to retrace my steps & the first place I went was the Asian grocer .......There it was, sitting on the floor where I left it while looking at steamers. I was so very relieved & surprised to find it.

One night a mobile pizza van came to the caravan park selling $10 pizzas. Such a great idea. We had a lovely night eating pizza under the awning of the van as it was a lovely warm night.

Didn't do much else on the Gold Coast, just went for a few walks & hung around the caravan Park. Decided to give Surfers Paradise a miss with all the V8 'festivities' happening there.

Byron Bay - 23rd - 28th Oct
We loved Byron Bay so much last time we decided to come back again on our way back down south.



The caravan park is in the perfect location, just one street back from the main street.

The park grounds are usually pristine but this time our site was a little overgrown which was disappointing. I spoke to the receptionist who said the owner was in the park this weekend & seeing as its a Sunday he would'nt allow lawnmowers etc to be used. She said someone would come & sort it tomorrow.

Next Day 2 young guys came with whipper snipper & blower & asked what we would like done. They were so nice & introduced themselves saying to please let them know if we need anything

Next day we went for a walk around the park & saw the same two guys sitting outside a tent. Turns out they are backpackers & work in the park to pay their way. We saw 2 young girls cleaning the units to. What a great idea to employ backpackers.

The weather was amazing with sunshine every day. The highlight was a 10km walk along the waters

edge up to a lookout. Byron Bay's coastline is so beautiful you don't need to do anything else there.

Next Stop ......... Pt Macquarie!

Maroochydore - Sunshine, Soccer & Special Times

Maroochydore - 4th - 15th October 2017

After flying from Perth to Brisbane, nephew Ben picking us up & dropping us at the car & caravan storage facility & then driving in torrential rain, We finally arrived at Maroochydore Beach Holiday Park at about 8.30 at night. Gary insists on setting everything up when we arrive anywhere. This means, connecting water & electricity, putting up the awning, laying floor mat (if the ground is just dirt) if concrete slab or nice grass we leave it at that. Setting up the washing machine, setting up the table & Webber & lastly putting up our chairs. It can take up to two hours to set up so this was a very very long day.


We both have our designated tasks & this system works well for us. Gary does the driving & outside set up & pack up, I do the inside setup & then all the cooking & cleaning for the duration of our stay.

The main purpose of our stay in Maroochydore was to catch up with Colin, Megan, Ashleigh &
Lauren as Colin is here to play soccer in the Australasian Police, Fire & Emergency services games.
The games are held every second year, hosted by various states in Australia & New Zealand. It's like a mini Olympics with so many Sports represented. I think for that week we were in the safest place in Aus with all the police, firemen, paramedics etc etc around us.

We miss our family very much while travelling so It was really nice sitting on the sidelines watching Colin play soccer each day, chatting with Megan while the girls cheered for their dad & the other SAPOL guys. We have been supporting Colin playing soccer since he was 5 years old & still love it. Colin played in the A team & filled in for the over 35's so there was plenty of games for us to watch.

The competition was really good with some great games played. SAPOL were defeated by NZPOL in the grand final to win the silver medal. The over 35's defeated VICPOL for the gold medal.

Maroochydore is one of the few places in Australia to still have a Sizzler restaurant so we were very
excited to take a trip down memory lane & have dinner there. Of course we all dived straight into the 'Sizzler toast' but were a bit disappointed that it didn't live up to our memories. Might just have to go back one day to see if it improves.


On the Wednesday Australia Zoo hosted 'Super Hero Day' where all emergency services workers & their families were given discounted entry to the zoo. We have been to this fantastic zoo twice before but it was so nice to go with the girls & enjoy it through their eyes.


Maroochydore is a beautiful place with sunshine & white sandy beaches. We look forward to coming back again next year.

Next stop ........ Gold Coast!

Perth - Meeting Our New Grand Daughter

Perth - 17th Sept - 4th Oct

Receiving the phone call to say your new grand baby has been born is about the best news any parent can get. Emma Betty Griffiths was born in Perth on 26th August. To see our child holding his new born baby daughter just made our hearts burst with pride. even if it was only via 'Facetime', with Tim & Amy living in Perth & us still staying in Gawler since Garys mums passing.

Three weeks later, Tim picked us up from Perth airport while Amy stayed home with the baby. As soon as we arrived at their house Amy handed Emma to us. We were finally cuddling our new baby grand daughter!

The following night Tim & Amy had a 'date night', seeing a stage show of Sound Of Music. Gary &  I had a lovely night babysitting. Emma was beautifully behaved, just feeding & sleeping & generally being perfect.

Tim & I have our birthdays one day apart, Tim on the 19th & me on the 20th September. On my birthday Tim & Amy took us to breakfast to a beautiful quirky café.

We spent two weeks with Tim, Amy & Emma, just hanging out & enjoying their company. They live in the Swan Valley, a beautiful part of Perth with wineries, cafe's & beautiful scenery. We had a lovely cheese platter lunch one afternoon in one of the wineries. Emma, of course was an absolute angel.

Gary & Tim worked on a little project 'landscaping' their front garden beds. They enjoyed some 'fun' father / son time buying plants, stones etc & making it look really nice while Amy & I entertained Emma inside.

It's very difficult having your children live on the other side of the country & now our grand child. We will have lots of video chats so Emma knows exactly who we are. However, one of the bonuses of living this nomadic lifestyle is we can take our  'home on wheels' over to Perth & spend a few months over there with them. (Which we plan on doing early next year)

Next stop ........ Maroochydore, Queensland