A week at Beerwah...what a blast!

With Christmas over, Boof and Nik were making their way home and expecting mates, so we had to find a place to hide out for a week before the caravan park had room for us. We are so used to living week to week that we forgot to forward plan for the Christmas period and being able to camp somewhere without paying extortionate prices....l suppose we had planned to be up further north on a work stop, so that came into factor.

Anyway, after some discussions with mates, we decided to meet up with the Hambrooks out at Beerwah Showgrounds for a week, with Big Bertha pulling in for some time over the New Year as well.  We were very excited to be catching up with this family again, having last seen them in Airlie Beach in November.  We thought we wouldn't see them again, so the girls were stoked to be spending time with them again.  The groundsman at Beerwah let us stay a little longer than allowed which we greatly appreciated, and it was cheap at around $20 per night with power and water!!!

Our campsite at Beerwah Showgrounds...

We arrived to see the Hambrooks had found a great spot up against the back fence, they had arrived a few days before.  The girls had a cracking time playing with Brenny, Mog and another boy who was camped there.  What simple pleasure a hose, tarp and dishwashing liquid can bring!!!

Free fun like the old days...fun under the hose!

Need a run up!!

Boo playing guitar on her slide!

Mog and Meg loving their time together again.....their
interpretation of elephants!

Great to relax again with old friends over a cup of coffee..Brony and me!

Later that day we waited in anticipation for Big Bertha to arrive, everyone was so excited.  When they finally pulled up late arvo, we all caught up and had drinks and stories under their annex.  It was so good to see them again and we couldn't wait to spend a few days with them.  

Excitement plus as Big Bertha pulls in!!!

Time for homemade scones, jam and cream for treats.....

Great to have a yarn under the awning of Big Bertha again!!!

Next day we after chilling out all morning, we decided to go and explore some off road tracks up in the Glasshouse Mountains with the Hambrooks and Baby Bertha.  They were all excited to see what the tracks would be like, we called into information centre and was politely told that it was not appropriate to go 4WDing on the tracks due to them possibly being boggy due to the rain lately.  We decided this was the best time to be out and about and headed off up the mountain ranges to find a track.  We had a mud map but that was proving to be useless, so we veered off on the first dirt track we saw next and headed into the bush.  It was a great little track with some small hills and deep ruts to work around, both the Hambrooks and Baby Bertha having a ball.  Think Duncan was excited to see how well the little Rav 4 did compared to its bystanding bigger trucks!  Was great to get bush again, even if it was only a short track, great way to blow off the arvo!

Boys got to check the track out beforehand....

Patrol leading the pack....

Baby Bertha proving strong and can keep up
with the big boys!!

Few more ruts to dodge in this track...

Off home now...

Big Bertha and us had a great day out at Eumundi visiting the markets.  We hadn't been there for a few years, and last time l don't recall it being so bloody hot!  As we walked around, we all started to bead with sweat but still enjoyed looking around.  I grabbed some gorgeous button earrings for Boo and l, which l totally loved due to my new fetish with earrings.  We enjoyed some delicious food and heard some talented musicians along the way.  Definitely 'a must do' when visiting the Sunny Coast!  With everyone so hot we headed back to Beerwah where the kids had a great game of bocce under the shade of the shed....

Girls at gates of Eumundi Markets...

Stalls galore..

Nice to enjoy a slushy listening to some music...

Back at Beerwah. playing bocce...

Finally New Years Eve had arrived and we had arranged to meet Boof and Nik in at Mooloolaba for the celebrations and concerts.  They had mates up from down south, the Millers, who we also knew and it made for a good night out.  We had been to this event a few years ago and the girls loved it, so we were anticipating that it would be just as good again.  After finally finding a park close enough, we headed down to meet up with Boof and Nik.  There was a great atmosphere, with a growing crowd gathering already.  At the concert area, there were performers walking around on stilts blowing bubbles, face painters and heaps of eatery places.  We settled in, grabbed a pizza and watched the show, which had the show "Dragons" as its theme.  It proved to be a little bit of a let down, not as good as years prior, and after the fireworks show we made our way to the car to head back to Boof's for some drinks.  OMG, it took us an hour and a half to get home, with over an hour to get out of the carpark!!! Lucky Marty had his Engel in the back and was able to share some beers with Boof, who was starting to go off his nut due to Ella being tired and crying in the car!  Finally, we got back to Boof's about 20 minutes earlier than them, when they walked thru the door, the Millers and us couldn't help ourselves and greeted Boof with some wise cracks, which he didn't appreciate.  After a couple of beers he mellowed out a bit, not long after we called it a night and went to bed.  Rather a mellow New Years really....

Boo, Ella and Meg all dressed up for the night...

Boof and Ella...

And the show begins....

Ella getting her boogy on!

Stunning views as a backdrop to the concert...

Boo getting her viking face on!

Bubbles.......

Meg, Boo, Nik, Boof and Ella enjoying the show...

Time for pizza...

The girls and me, yes l was there too!

Time for another dance...

Ella loved the bright lights and music...

Time for fireworks to close the night...

Got messy back at the house once the kids went
to bed!!!

Next day, we made our way back to Beerwah to spend one more day with Big Bertha before they set off again, making their way down south back to Melbourne.  It prooved to be another wet day with showers throughout, the kids loving playing in the rain on their scooters at the near by skate park.  That night we decided to have a farewell group dinner with everyone bringing a salad and desert.  I miss these dinners with families, everyone contributing and sharing with great laughs and company. Great way to end our final travelling time with Big Bertha!

Boo coming back from the skatepark...

Drenched rat....lol

Meg not so happy either!

Marty having a 'wow' of a time!

Dinner with mates....

What a spread for our last meal together...

Time for desert....

Moon hidden behind the clouds...

We woke the next morning to farewell Big Bertha, it felt like a rerun from our last goodbyes but this time a little less sad.  We knew we had made friends for life and would meet again along the way.  With hugs and kisses, we waved the bloody big bus off one last time then spent the next few days chilling out in miserable weather.  It rained like we'd never seen since kids.  Bucketed down, with a lake forming in our camp grounds super quick.  The girls loved playing and splashing in the puddles, no use trying to keep them dry!  

No use packing up Saccha reckons....

Unfortunately the rain passed and Big Bertha was able
to head off :(

One last crazy face family pic with the Goughs...
Lexie, Duncan, Sacha, Angus, Me, Boo, Marty and Meg...

Lexie, Boo and Meg...

Group hug....

Bye for now Big Bertha...

The next day we decided to have a relaxed day and headed into Boof and Nik's for some catch up and the girls to have a play with Ella.  Marty must have been feeling really in the mood for relaxation as he never swims or has a midday beer, lucky its still in the New Year holiday period!!

Our last day at Beerwah was spent in the vans due to the rains appearing again, this time causing a flood and small river thru the camping grounds, which kept Meg happy.  She got her Lego figurines and played in the water with them, thinking they were on their boats up the river, lol!

Meg had fun!

Such a big week at Beerwah...all tuckered out!

Beerwah proved to be just the haven we needed to pass the week off, even though we had been flooded a few times with downpours of rain!!! But it was now time for us to clear out and head into Forest Glen to book into the Big 4 caravan park there.  We were looking forward to it seeing the Hambrooks and Hardfirms were parked there too, but we were worried about our friendships living so close together for a long period of time seeing our past misfortunes with the Woods and Cronans.  We didn't want to make the same mistake, so were going to see how things felt before deciding on staying long term in the park.....Anyhow, it was time to get serious and set up for a work stop!

Bell Xxx