Still Waiting...

Over the weekend the camping ground became quite full but gradually the tents are coming down, the campervans are driving off and we have our part of the park almost to ourselves again. Michaela's family was here for two nights but they have also gone home now, so everything is quiet but for the sounds of birds, frogs and the breeze stirring the leaves.  Occasionally a voice can be heard from one of the remaining camps and the children are playing with another little girl who has just arrived this morning. (It doesn't take them long to make friends!)
It's been a very enjoyable weekend.  Michaela had only been away for a few days, but the children were so excited when she arrived again on saturday to camp with us for the weekend.  Her Dad, who had almost recovered from his pneumonia, was able to join them too this time and got a really warm reception too!   When they started setting up the tent our "tame schoolies" (as they called themselves) came over and offered to help.  The girls joined us around the campfire again, too, and showed the children how to make "smoors" by sandwiching a toasted marshmallow between two chocolate coated biscuits.  Yum!

Yesterday we went for a drive with Michaela's family.  We had heard from some other campers how beautiful the Springbrook area was and the road through the Ranges and across the Queensland border into the Surfers Paradise hinterland was quite spectacular.  Each ben in the road brought views of rolling green hills, lush forests, rugged mountains and steep rocky escarpments. We had left a bit late and had to make a detour for petrol on the way, so by the time we got to Springbrook it was lunchtime and the "Gourmet Galah" was the first cafe we came across.  We lingered over lunch while the children ran around in the gardens of the cafe along secret paths which took them across little bridges, past a fishpond and numerous aviaries. Unfortunately the galah after which the business is named, along with the forty year old cockatoo who shared his cage, had recently been eaten by a python.
By the time we had finished it was mid afternoon. There are many walks, lookouts and waterfalls around Springbook, but we would have needed a full day to do them all so we opted to visit the "Best of All Lookout" and just one of the falls. We had passed through the very appealing township of Chillingham on the way and just had enough time to stop there for a late afternoon tea on the way home. 

The outlook from the cafe- Surfers Paradise in the distance. 

The huge Antarctic Beech behind the children was a sapling two thousand years ago!

The prominent peak of Mount Warning is an easily recognisable landmark. It was named by Captain Cook 1770 as it is visible from the sea and serves as a warning to ships that they are near the Danger Reefs north of Cape Byron.

From the tallest trees to the tiniest forests of moss god's creation is awesome!

The Best of All Lookout was somewhere up there!

As well as coffee, we bought some sugar bananas here for $3 per kilo.

When I began writing an update for this page we were sitting in front of the caravan, waiting to hear from the mechanic and wondering just how long it will be before we will be on the road again.
I seldom get to sit and do anything for any length of time without interruptions and this morning has been no exception- the little girl's Mum came over for a chat, the children wanted morning tea, I saw one of the caretakers I'd been wanting to ask about something, an altercation between the kids needed arbitration- and now it is mid afternoon.  Meanwhile the mechanic has rung. It seems that his original diagnosis that the torque convertor was at fault was incorrect and the problem is rather more deep-seated. (Something to do with the pistons.) He's going to take the engine out to establish more exactly where the problem lies and there has been talk of a reconditioned engine... In any case, it looks as though our stay at Mount Warning is going to be even longer than we anticipated and we will be home a few weeks later than we had planned.