Tolga to Townsville - August 2014

The next few days were pretty uneventful. We left Rocky Creek and headed across to Ingham and back down to Tully. After we set up and had some lunch we went back to Mission Beach to catch up with our friends again. It was so good to see them again even though it had only been a week since we left it felt a lot longer. It was so tempting to stay here another week but the weather was not looking good with rain forecast for all the next week. And sure enough the next day in Tully it rained steadily all day long. Lucy did a fair bit of school work, the kids and I hung out at the library for a bit, while Brad bought a new fishing rod and that was about it for the day. I think the highlight may have been the scones and pikelets we made for afternoon tea!

It was still raining the next day as we drove towards Rollingstone, the rain stopped not far out of Tully and the sun came out but it was very windy and we were glad that we didn't have far to go. Brad was very keen to try out his new fishing rod so once we were set up at Rollingstone we headed to Balgal Beach which has a great inlet perfect for fishing. A few weeks ago when we were here we had a lovely time on the beach, it was a different place today with the wind so strong the waves were crazy and it was so cold on the beach, but around the corner at the inlet was protected from the wind so it was actually quite hot. We were entertained by a turtle that hung around in front of us the whole time popping its head up every so often. Then we had a visit from a small string ray that just sat at the edge of the water so close to us! They both made up for the fact that we didn't catch any fish.

Yes, she is playing in a pile of ash...

It was Lucy's turn to get sick, so we spent another lazy day, while Lucy slept all day. Chloe and I spent a bit of time down at the creek feeding the fish and cute little turtles bread.

Sorry for the dodgy photo - only had my phone on me

Lucy was back to normal the next morning but now it was Brads turn. We got to Townsville pretty early but they let us book in anyway, after we set up (in the same site we were at last time) Brad crashed in a big way and spent the majority of the day in bed. The kids were super excited because the friends they met here last time were still here, it was a very cute reunion!! I spent the day catching up on all the washing, it does actually take all day to do a weeks worth of washing, because I use a little pink twin tub that I love because it saves me spending $4-$5 a load at caravan park washing machines, but it does take a bit longer because its so small, which is not really a problem because time is not really a big issue at the moment!

We originally only booked in for 2 nights at Townsville, but because Brad was so sick and we were waiting on some mail we ended up staying 5 nights. The kids were thrilled with this plan and once again spent every moment that they could with their friends.

While the kids played and Brad slept I spent a couple of days, doing housework and catching up on the blog and trying to catch up on the mammoth task of going through all the videos and photos we have taken and start turning it into a DVD for ourselves.

Lucy received some mail from her teacher at Dubbo School of Distance Education and was thrilled to receive an award - I think the smile says it all!!

On our last day Brad was feeling slightly better so we dragged the kids away from the park and went for a walk around Kissing Point. It was a beautiful day and Townsville has done such a brilliant job with this area making it so accessible and really informative. This area had a huge role in the first world war. 

We spotted so many turtles along this walk

Such a calm and beautiful day!!

A little bit of history 

The kids were very sad to be leaving their friends once again, but as we were heading to the Billabong Sanctuary this sweetened the blow slightly. We really hope to catch up with these lovely people again soon!!

Saying goodbye to friends xx