Day 3 - Nambucca Heads

Cookie says...

Our second full day in Nambucca Heads and with no need to go anywhere, it was a perfect opportunity to explore the headland.  We found a lookout and then walked down to main beach where some of our kids tried their best to find spots to be swept out to sea from the rocks. 

The next lookout was the Lion's followed by Captain Cook's which overlooks Shelly Beach and the White Albatross holiday park. The kids went for a swim while I walked over the headland to check out the V Wall. Most of the rocks have been painted with artwork, clever statements and RIP messages.

Afterwards we found a park and playground where we had fish and chips for lunch. The afternoon plan was another beach swim but it was too rough so the kids invaded the pool. 

Julie says...

Rachel told me I had to have 'whimsy' on our trip around the headlands, and so I just instructed the convoy to take every turn to the left.....

Mim says...
Another wonderful start to the day at the beach - nearly as perfect as yesterday's morning swim. We've explored the beaches so now for NSW's famous "Waterfall Way". None of the other families agreed with my tourist info advice and I admit the kids were even a little disappointed they weren't seeing the other families.

The giant leech statues at the skywalk put us off a bit & the short way to the waterfall and suspension bridge was closed so decided not to take the long (2 -3 hour) way. Still got to see the view from the skywalk and Lily and I did a short and really pleasant rainforest walk while the other kids whinged so Mikey backtracked and drove them to the end of the track to meet Lily and I. Also got Ebor Waterfall in (after a good pie for Mikey and a bad pastie for me) which was stunning. We would have even had a quick swim bit it was raining at that time.

Day 2 - Nambucca Heads

Cookie says...
The first full day was started with a swim at the beach, which we almost had to ourselves. This was followed by a swim in the pool and my first and hopefully only sunburn of the trip. I was also gutted about not trying to photograph the night sky the previous evening, it was such a good opportunity.

In the afternoon we managed to get some gaming in as well as another swim in the pool. That night, Mikey smashed it at Five Crowns.

Some rain had come through earlier but I thought I'd see what the sky was doing. There was some cloud still out there but you could see the storm out off the coast. I brought out my gear and tried my hand at some astrophotography. Two and a hours and a midnight later, I headed to bed. 

Julie says...

I found my kindred spirit in Perrin, who hates the beach, sand, salty ocean and sun as much as I.

Mim says...
The water was amazing. I do think it's my favourite beach. I had about an hour to myself and went beyond the breakers & just floated - bliss. Loved making the series of dams & sand castles with the kids - Mikey and I ..... I mean the kids really got into it....

Rachel says...

Magical beach. We definitely want to come back someday 

Tash says...

The barbie boggie board was a blast!

Day 1 - Nambucca Heads

Cookie says...

It's a long time between posts, but we're finally at it again. This time we're road tripping through northern and central NSW with the Prices, Rodda's and Ruthenberg's.

We were quick off the mark and stopped in Ballina for a break at a playground,. It wasn't a bad playground, but there wasn't much shade and was a bit of a detour. It did however mean we could start making some cultural stops, like the Big Prawn nearby and then followed by the Big Banana in Coffs Harbour.

Sawtell was a quick detour to check out the headland and the Big4 holiday park. Once in Nambucca Heads we checked in and found the tortoise had beaten the hare - the Ruthenberg's who had come from Esk towing a van had beaten us to the park.

After everyone had arrived, the kids found the pool. After dinner I went to the beach to check the night sky conditions. It's was probably the best night sky I've been under, so I went back to the cabin and slept. 

Julie says...

The Big Prawn is now in the carpark of a Bunnings, so it doesn't have quite the same 'fishiness'.

And I'm so glad Cookie brought 5 cameras... he took 45mins to take 65 000 photos at Sawtell.... meaning we lost the race!!

Mim says...
I had about five brown signs planned to visit on the way but only managed to do two. The first was "The Farm" near Byron Bay and I knew I wasn't in Queensland anymore as there were only a few bogans in sight (probably all visiting from Qld). Instead there were long blonde haired toddlers beautifully tanned with only board shorts on that looked like they were about to catch a wave or appear on their mother's Insta post. 

We had to run in for the obligatory photo at the Big Banana as our second stop of course.

Rachel says...

Knowing which of the six available cameras will be best for the job is an amazing skill 

This is our first time travelling with Cook Tours. They came highly recommended and I must say, they have not disappointed. Amazing location, quality cabin, access to beaches and pools and an interesting local town to explore.... wow! 10/10! Looking forward to day 2!

Day 8 - NZ

Cookie says...
Another day with lots of two things. For me it's driving and for Mim it's brown signs. Seriously, the woman is addicted! Anyway, after a walk to check out the glacier we exited Frans Josef and made good time throughout the day.

Mikey distracted himself from the glacier and started building some rock piles
that people start building all over the place.

We managed to leave our accomm with a quarter of a tank of fuel and were worried about finding a town large enough with the petrol we needed. The positive thing was that it helped keep Mim's addiction in check and we made it to a major town with 22km's to spare.

Mim photobombing another of her brown sign locations.

The next challenge was to travel through Arthur's Pass without losing too much time to brown signs. We did stop a few times to keep Mim happy but a few of her ideas turned out to be duds (she'll deny this though). The Pass was pretty good, free of ice / snow issues and only a couple of slow vehicles to pass.

We checked in, had some Thai and if we weren't full already, we had dessert at another joint.

Julie says...
The statements to sum up the day;
1. Mikey's singing should be outlawed.
2. No Mim, not every brown sign is worth stopping for.
3. Really? A sock museum? Are kiwi's really that bored? and
4. NZ shall no longer be known as 'The Land of the Long White Cloud', and shall henceforth be known as 'The Land of the Giant Green Hedge'.

Mim says...
There's nothing wrong with being addicted to brown signs.

When he looked up,
he worked out where it was jammed.

Mikey says...
Long day of passengering today. Made the drive easier for everyone by singing and telling cracker jokes. Mim and I were excited about visiting the sock museum at Hokitika even though Cookie and Julie were ... less than enthusiastic. However Cookie unknowingly parked right across from it! Woo hoo! So we went and had pizza and then went to the sock museum only to find out it was closed. Mim and I were understandably devastated, now I will never know the secret history to the sock.

The Rodda's were unhappy that this place wasn't open.
Seriously!

Day 7 - NZ

Cookie says...
We've discovered that the trip from QT to Frans Joseph was longer than we'd thought and it wasn't the earliest of starts due to light and ice concerns. They were probably a little unfounded and we made okay time. The road is generally pretty scenic with transitions from rugged ranges to farmland to rain forest encrusted with snow. Mikey managed to take a thousand photos and a few of them even captured some scenery.

Mikey has a unique way of learning photography.

The main stops we wanted to make were Blue Pools, which we found early on, and Fox Glacier later in the arvo. A few more stops here and then we'd made it to Frans Joseph.

Pilty, you'd be proud of Mim's photo bombing skills.

We finally found something that Mim could do (clearly pregnancy doesn't agree with her in that it's too restrictive to her lifestyle!) and dunked ourselves in some hot pools.

One of Mim's more successful brown sign sights,
Thunder Creek falls.

Dinner was at another bar sponsored by Speights where we once again over ate. We've also found out that we can't watched the third Origin match at home and the bar was going to close before it finished. Fortunately we're recording it at home so hopefully we don't hear what the result is from others.

Julie says...
Hehehe, I had a little giggle to myself when Mim found out she wasn't allowed on a glacier. I know that sounds mean but if you'd heard her go on and on about her looking forward to it, you would've had a little sadistic giggle yourself! It's ok though, she found it slightly humourous and then went searching amongst her 50 million brochures to find other things she could do...

Mim says...
So annoying that they wouldn't let me climb on the glacier due to being pregnant!!

Blue Pools was just loverly.

Mikey says...
Loved looking at all of the mountains as we drove to Franz Josef. So far have only tried slow motion movie caption of Cookie driving, it's like normal driving but SUPER SLOW MO! And don't tell Cookie and Julie the origin score! Pilty that means you!

No points for guessing what he was saying...

Day 6 - L

Cookie says...
We pick up Mikey today which is good as Mim hasn't stopped counting down the number of sleeps until he arrives. Mim was pretty crook today so after heading to the pharmacy for her, we then went for a stroll around QT. Julz was chuffed that Frisbee Golf was setup in the gardens and is now obsessed with finding one in Brisbane.

I showed her where Fergburger is (it's a required pilgrimage) and next door they've opened the Fergbaker so I had to have a pie!

When you're onto a good thing, diversify!

Wineries were next on the list however after wanting to check up on Mim, we only made it to Amisfield. Mim was a lot better, we read for a bit and then went and found Mikey at the airport.

Before dinner we ducked up the gondola to check out the view.

I tried telling this guy the real view in front of him was better!

This is the stereotypical view he could see.

Dinner was at the Bunker on the recommendation from one of the girls from work and we were all wrapped with the setting and meal. After an awesome meal, it was time to sleep it off.

Julie says...
Go Frisbee golf! Too bad we didn't have a Frisbee - Cookie would've been embarrassed though when I whopped his butt at it. The pilgrimage to Fergburger.... it is a requirement of the visit to QT, and is definitely worth it. Not only are the burgers enormous, they are tasty as well. Noisy-pants Mikey finally arrived on the scene. I wonder what wildlife he will scare away tomorrow...

Oh the irony!

Mim says...
Bed all day (3 movies plus sleeping), picked up Mikey then gondola. Really delicious food.

A really nice dinner, nice warm setting and great company
makes for the perfect night out.

Mikey says...
Finished work at 2am, got home, packed my bag, slept for 3 hours then to the airport! Bought a camera at Brissy airport and it's got a SUPER SLOW MOTION MOVIE setting. Hmmm what to video super slow mo...

Day 5 - NZ

Cookie says...
Breaky was the fourth meal at Baileys and the place was getting a little tiring.

Wouldn't want to get wost!

We made for Queenstown and saw our bus guide from yesterday plying his trade. The drive was another drive full of great scenery and fortunately there were no ice issues.

A mini hydro plant.

We didn't drive directly to QT as we headed to Wanaka via Cromwell. We stopped in at the Bungee jump bridge on the way and then invaded Puzzling World in the way into Wanaka.

Lunch was a must and after that we checked out the illusions section which was interesting. We had a bit of fun with the maze which introduced the third dimension. The A-A's would have like this place.

After driving over the Crown Range, we dropped into Arrowtown where we checked out the main street, Chinese Settlement and Mim managed to find the old Gaol. Back on the road, past Coronet Peak and the Shotover Jetboating spot and then into QT.

Too old for some of you to get.

Our accom wasn't too far our of town so we walked in for dinner at Winnies. There was a bit of a wait but it was worth it. Mim wasn't feeling the best so we headed home.

Julie says...
Puzzling World is very cool. I'm just reinforcing that, so that Bec and Luke know the awesomeness they missed out on.

One of the illusions at Puzzling World.

It was a little chilly in Arrowtown but the thermometer refused to go below zero (I had a bet with Mim about the temp). For years now Cookie has raved on about this place called Winnies, and homages to it exist all over our house. I never really knew what all the fuss was about.... now, I can - some of the best pizza ever.

Mim says...
I was the only one that completed the maze properly - found all four corners and then found the way out. I was paranoid about slipping on ice as we were checking out the rebuilt Chinese settlement at Arrowtown so of course I did slip over but thankfully didn't hurt myself.

Another stereotypical image from NZ.

Day 4 - NZ

Cookie says...
I liked today as there was no driving! After breaky we were picked up for the shortest pick-up ever, across the road! There we waited for a bus to take us to Milford Sound. The driver could talk under water but he was alright. Te Anau was under a blanket of fog but by the time we made it into the Fiordland region, it was clear skies.

Children!

On the boat we had lunch and cruised the sound for an hour or so. On the way back I snoozed (driving is clearly tiring regardless of whether I'm behind the wheel or not), we ate in at the hotel again and then hit the hay.

This place was stunning but it still had a bath ring!

Julie says...
Today was pretty cruizy - just sittin on the bus and boat watching the scenary go past.

So pretty!

Mim says...
We saw wildlife - a brief glimpse of dolphins and a more sustained view of sea lions. Also got to meet a cheeky Kea (bird that's basically a fat parrot that likes to eat anything). Julie and I got to have a mini snow fight.

Mim was in her element!

Day 3 - NZ

Cookie says...
This morning was colder than yesterday but it didn't stop us from checking out some markets at the train station. The markets weren't big but they had some good stuff. Afterwards we were on the road heading to Te Anau which is on the other side of the island.

The train station is the most photographed building in New Zealand.

Four hours, five towns and six million sheep later, we'd made our destination in time to book a glowworm tour and risk salmonella poisoning with a servo pie. The tour was good and Julz and I returned to the room while Mim went for a stroll to a wildlife park.

Julie says...
Today we went to the market where my fingers froze. I took a 'short' nap in the car, even though I'm the designated navigator, and helped Mim find a new word to describe the scenery ('pretty' just doesn't seem to cut it). I then contemplated how easy it would be to murder someone in a dark cave...

Insert stereotypical New Zealand photo here.

Mim says...
On the drive from Dunedin to Te Anau, my exclamations of the scenery evolved from pretty to, scenic to stunning to just WOW!

My first detour of the trip turned out alright!

It really is a beautiful part of the country. Pity about the effect that the pie had on my digestive tract.

Day 2 - NZ

Cookie says...
Kicked the day off by stepping out into the fridge called Dunedin which had a wind whipping though the place. The tourist information was the first port of call where we found a helpful guy who was genuinely afraid of Mim's tourist thesis. After answering all her questions, I caught a glimpse of him wiping his brow as we exited the building.

Baldwin Street was the first tourist sight to see which is the steepest street in the world where apparently residents are marooned during the winter months due to their street effectively turning into an Olympic ski jump ramp.

It's not steep, it's just that the houses are crooked!

Their coastline has an awesome ruggedness to it.
This is at Tunnel Beach.

Dunedin has kept a proud heritage influence from Scotland (including the weather) and Dunedin is Gaelic for Edinburgh. They even have their own castle. After visiting Larnach Castle we drove around the Otago Peninsular before hitting Cadbury World where we saw the worlds largest chocolate fall which was followed by a brewery tour of Speights and dinner in their original Ale House.

Julie says...
Whenever I went looking for Mim, I found her at a tourist brochure stand collecting another five or so maps. If she makes it out of NZ without incuring more than a $50 excess baggage tax, I'll be surprised.

You reckon it gets a bit breezy?

If only I had a kettle like this for tea!

Mim says...
I swear the tourist guy was eying off my 35 page folder of things to do in Dunedin and I found out that it takes 24 hours to make a Jaffa.

Mim just can't stopping herself from
trying EVERYTHING!

Day 1 - NZ

Cookie says...
Back into the swing of things and we're road tripping around the south island of En Zed with the Rodda's... well, She Who is Incubating is with us as the Keystone Cop has to work. Even though New Zealand is only three hours away, today was still written off as a travel day as we made our way to Dunedin via Auckland. The closest thing to a highlight was Mim managing to make a special kind of trifector while travelling with me. First it was after some grappa, then it was food poisoning and this time it's pregnancy related.

Julie says...
I've been through a a few airports over the years but none quite like Dunedin. It's literally a fenced off runway in the middle of a sheep paddock.

Mim says...
Pass the barf bag please...

Mim's set: 342 maps, 17 vomit bags and a
six chapter list of things for the first day.

Day 11 - Launceston

Cookie says...
Before we knew it, the final day was upon us and we headed off to another maze. It was conquered and there were other puzzles there to get stuck into.

Mikey tried to give Mim a hand in the maze

Luke and Julz supersized this game

Julz and I had to bail early as we still had something to do. I was thinking that we wouldn't get a chance to do this but we managed to sneak into a Boags brewery tour. I must admit that the first Boags I had wasn't very good so I went for several years thinking that it was overrated (but still better than XXXX). It was pretty good. We walked through a few areas where things happen (or look like they happen because it all happens within silos then we were back to the Boags building where we sampled some beers match with cheese. Checked out the gift shop (it's all about a buck these days) and then into the car to get lunch and out to the airport.

Hmm.... Beer... Boags beer...

We arrived with plenty of time, the others arrived half an hour later with plenty of time. In fact, if we had arrived when the plane was sheduled to have left, we would have had plenty of time. The flight had experienced a few delays, something Mikey's bladder had appreciated. He's now known as Michael Yo-Yo. We sat around playing cards and doing some of this blog. Finally boarded, into the air and after some more cards, we landed home in Brisbane.

That was another wonderful trip so until next time.

Bec says...
Lucky we only had about 3 hours to kill at the airport... otherwise where would Mickey have fit his 15 toilet stops in before we boarded.

Day 10 - Launceston

Cookie says...
Last time Mim and Mikey missed the cooked breaky but made up for it this morning. For Mikey, Bec and Luke, it was a day in while Julz, Mim and I made for the wine trail.

Mikey wonders why you can take him anywhere but out

The Tamar region has quite a few wineries however being winter, a lot of them are closed. Fortunately the main ones we were interested in were open.

It's not a wombat but Mim enjoyed another
opportunity to mingle with animals

Long live the good old days. Plus, Maunsell must be doing
something right because this bridge still stands

We stopped in the 'township' of Pipers Brook for lunch which was yummy. I say 'township' because if you blink, you would miss it.

Yup... that's all of Pipers Brook

Between the three of us, we snagged over two cases worth so we had the last venue (Pipers Brook) send them on for us.

Another town competing in the lameness stakes

Upon returning we cracked out some cheese and bread we sourced and it turns out that the others basically played games all day. Sadly, I had one more thing I wanted to do here and that was a Boag's brewery tour however when we rang to book, the first tour was full and the second tour was later than desirable for our timing for tomorrow. Oh well... next time. Thai was on the cards for the Roddas and the Cooks while the A-A's had chicken. Afterwards the games continued until the State of Origin aired when Julz and I glued ourselves to the TV. It was a success and the right result for Lockyer's final Origin but at the cost of a season ending injury for Thurston.

The games finished, I blogged and it was lights out.

Bec says...
A day indoors, relaxing, watching movies and playing board games was just what I needed. After I smashed the boys in some Citadels, I regret to report that my efforts in Ticket To Ride and Settlers of Catan leave something to be desired.

Day 9 - Bicheno

Cookie says...
As we had a change of plans for checking out Freycinet and Wineglass Bay, we back tracked a bit of a distance.

It seems that car lifting is a past-time that kangaroos
really get into around these parts, especially at night

When we arrived we found out that the Wineglass Bay lookout was closed for an upgrade so while Bec and Luke stayed with the cars, we tramped our way onto the beach. The beach probably wasn't as magical as it looks for afar but it was still wonderful.

No lookout view but this should give you an idea of the spot

Mim and Mikey stayed on for a few more walks while the rest of us headed onto Launceston.

Mikey in the... er... rock room not the green room

On the way there, we found the Bicheno Blowhole (it's more a crevace than a true blowhole) that Mim and Mikey saw in the morning but as it was low tide then, it was pretty boring.

It wasn't doing this when Mim and Mikey found it. A high tide helps

We had a late lunch and were back on the road again. Mim let us know where they were and after another hour or so and in true Top Gear form (actually, this was legit and not the typical staged Top Gear scenario), we met up with the others just minutes from the town. In fact, Luke thought we had so much spare time that we did a lap of a round about and that allowed the Rodda's to sneak in front. Thanks to the Roddas GPS pretending to be Tasmanian and giving them the bum steer, we arrived first.

Once again we checked into the same place we stayed the first night and then headed out for dinner. Italian was the cusine of choice and after two courses, we were heading to a surprise location.

On the way to dinner, I wasn't complaining

Bec had wanted to treat Luke to a round of putt putt and it turned into a six person affair.

Bec lighting it up on the putting green

Mim making up for her wedding day

It was fun, naturally Luke won and after dessert in a food mall, we headed home. We were keen on a late night of games but we piked on ourselves and hit the hay.

Bec says...
Tell the truth Pete... we didn't pike on ourselves - you had a unique way of clearing us out of the motel room (something that can only be matched by Mikey). My caution warning to you for next time: that kind of gas is flammable you know, and you almost cleared your wife out of the room with us!

Cookie says...
Be that as it may but I wasn't the worst offender. Someone ignored the confined space rule and cleared out a car at some point and a few of us had tender noses for the rest of the trip!

Day 8 - Bicheno

Cookie says...
After last nights ghost tour, I had wondered if we'd be visited in the night but no. In fact, I was almost surprised considering we woke to find that the Comfort Inn virtually looks over the site. After breaky we headed back to it to investigate it.

Port Arthur has some wonderful buildings like this church

It's a pretty good place to visit. Clearly it had quite a lot history and involvement with the penal side of things even if it only operated as such for 40 odd years.

A wing of the Seperate Prison.
Jail these days would be a walk in the park in comparrison

We did the harbour cruise but didn't step onto the Isle of the Dead, next time. Some of the buildings are in great condition but some were lost to bushfires with the church accidently burning down.

I might suggest this layout to Nathan for the hall expansion

Mikey still struggles to take good photos

It was time to hit the road again so we fanged it to Bicheno. We arrived here quicker than expected which allowed us to break out Settlers again. This time I won in a neck and neck game where I pipped Luke at the post. Time for dinner so it was off to the Diamond Island Resort. The food was okay and they showed us down to the beach to look for penguins. We found some, it was pretty poor conditions so we headed back to base and played some six handed 500 followed by Up and Down the River.

This fella was a bit shy about appearing in the blog