Monday 20 January we departed Byron Bay in New South Wales towards Caloundra.

First stop en route was the Boatworks, our home for a lot of our time during Covid and after Richard’s heart attack which amazingly is almost five years ago now!   On arrival we headed into the on-site restaurant The Galley and waited to be seated.   David spotted us, looked confused for a little while, then rushed over to envelop us in bear hugs.   “Richard and Jan you came back!”    We settled down to some breakfast – which was excellent as always – and caught up with David and Cara who genuinely seemed very pleased to see us. Cara said she hadn’t smiled so much for weeks!   How nice is that?!? And of course we forgot to take photos in the moment…..

Tearing ourselves away we headed to the office – Amy was working and came out straight away for a bear hug.  She looked really well.   Danielle was also working but on a break at that moment in time so we headed into the yard to see if we could find Nikki. We were directed to the super yacht yard (which had been transformed with new huge sheds) and much of the old ‘storage’ area was now kitted out with new units / workshops. We asked one of the guys to radio Nikki which he did as two people were looking for her – tracked down and waiting in place – we drove around the corner. She was absolutely delighted to see us and we got more bear hugs. Saying fond farewells to Nikki we headed back to the office and this time found Danielle – wow she looked completely different having lost lots of weight – just younger and more vibrant. So we caught up with her for a little while and then sadly we left the Boatworks behind….

First stop was the mall to pick up some chocolate gifts then onwards to Upper Coomera where we had arranged to visit with Tim and Naoko. Tim was delighted to see us but Naoko looked a bit shocked as Tim had forgotten to tell her so she quickly jumped in the car and headed out shopping herself. Naoko is an excellent host so clearly felt the need to pick up some provisions – all a bit strange as we had reminded Tim that we were coming only the day before!

While Naoko was out we looked at Tim’s ongoing projects and discussed ideas for taking it all forward. He desperately wants to get the big boat launched this year so he can take his fellow veterans out sailing to improve their mental health. Tim suffers from PTSD himself so the projects keep him busy although with his scatter gun approach their fabulous home is surrounded by bits and pieces and resembles a works yard!! Naoko returned and proceeded to lay out a fabulous charcuterie board which we tucked into. She also persuaded me to have a glass of wine as Richard promised he would do the driving….she had even remembered what type I liked and had picked up a couple of bottles specifically. So it seemed rude not to LOL. Here we are with Tim and his dog….

Our visit was over all too soon and it was time to head up the coast towards Caloudra. We arrived around 5pm but found the reception to the building closed. Hmmm….so called the listed number and was talked through instructions of how to get access to the underground car park, the apartment keys etc. Managed all that and we rushed upstairs to have a look. The apartment was huge, quite old fashioned and could do with some upgrades here and there. But a wrap-around balcony looking down towards the sea was very welcome…. Sadly I could not find a washing machine although I was convinced that the description had talked about laundry facilities. Oh well, never mind….

Having made ourselves at home we headed down the road to the promenade and into the Drift Bar.

This had been our favourite watering hole many years previously and we were surprised by how quiet it was – but, hey, it’s a Monday so what did we expect?!? We had a couple of drinks listening to the live music which was a young hippie chick dressed in Mary Quant type fashion. She had a good repertoire but, just like her clothes, was a bit dated LOL. Sadly her voice was a bit weak and didn’t really engage with the room. The Drift Bar appear to position their nightly live music offering as background rather than entertainment.

We had some potato wedges for our tea and were amazed by the sound of the parakeets as they returned to their trees opposite to roost for the night. Quite amazing that such little things can be so very loud. Anyway, had been a busy day, so we headed back to our apartment for an early night.

Tuesday morning we were up early and I did some hand washing and got all that out on the balcony on the airer. After breakfast we headed out to the nearest large supermarket for supplies and picked up some cheap giant prawns – cooked, cleaned and peeled – and later we realised that we had got 35 for the princely sum of £13. Fantastic!

On our way back we had some brunch – just a toastie – and chatted to the receptionist in our building. She showed me the laundry room which was coin operated. Excellent – will use that later on before we depart.

We then headed to the beach – this used to be the main channel between the mainland and Bribie Island – and the tide used to race through, which is where we really enjoyed drifting along in the current. In January 2022 Bribie Island was broken through by the sea in a storm and this has now become the dominant entrance so the Caloundra bar is infilling with sand and closing over and a huge sand bar now blocks the main channel. Which has meant that the sea is shallow, warm, and a bit lagoon like instead. So we joined all the other families and enjoyed bobbing for a while. We were amazed to see people walking and driving across to Bribie too. Amazing changes brought about by nature.

Back to the apartment we had a delicious prawn salad for tea followed by a glass or two on the balcony – where it was so windy the washing had been blown over…. So we ended up back in the Drift Bar for a nightcap and then home for the night.

Wednesday morning we awoke early as we had planned to meet Sandy and Nigel – but sadly, Nigel had gone down with the lurgy so we postponed the trip and hope to see them later in our travels. There was a severe heatwave warning so we decided it was way too hot for the beach and headed into the mountains instead. We thought it would be cooler in the mountains but that was not to be the case. First stop was Montville which was a historic old town and very cute. We stopped at the Poets Cafe for lunch and enjoyed great food and iced smoothies. Richard wanted to walk around to get some photos but, the trek back up the hill to our car in the heat did me in, so he continued on his own and I escaped to the air conditioned comfort. We had already agreed that I was driving from here too….

Leaving Montville behind we headed to Garrad’s lookout for views over the countryside which was absolutely spectacular. So lush and green….

Then we decided to return to Caloundra via the supermarket and back to the apartment. The air conditioning in the apartment was only in the lounge – fans in the bedroom – so we camped in front of the TV for a few hours. Later on as it cooled down for the day we headed back to the Drift Bar for a couple of cold ones before returning to our apartment to finish off the prawns for supper. Afterwards we vegged in front of the TV but sadly the viewing opportunities were a little limited – either the Australian Open tennis in Melbourne or the Trump Inauguration – before turning in for the night.

Thursday was another extreme heat warning day (think 40 degrees centigrade) so I spent some time in the laundry as we were leaving the following day. Having completed all that Richard took me out for brunch where we ended up in the Coffee Club on the seafront – which was new since our last visit here.

Back to the apartment we decided against returning to the beach as it was way too hot so decided to stay put. So I took the opportunity to blog …. Later on we got cleaned up and headed out to the Drift Bar which was still quiet, although there were lots of volley ball players turning up for the long bank holiday weekend’s tournament. Richard had captured the activity setting up this tournament on the beach earlier.

So back to bed having readied ourselves for our morning departure. So come back soon for the next instalment. Bye for now

Jan