Sunday, September 15, 2013

Home with Mr E and 'Luigi'...


What a wonderfully exciting 34 hours we have had!
First there was the plane flight from Townsville down to Brisbane; then the taxi ride to our 'new' old car; then the handover of the keys and the start of our long 1400 kilometre drive home again.
Mr E was so happy, praising God with me for the blessing of such a good 4WD for minimum $$!

We filled the tank, and after navigating our way out of Brisbane we headed north. About 350 kilometres north was the pretty little seaside town of Bargara, right by the sea. We spent the night there but headed off at dawn for the 1100 kilometres ahead to home.There was fog all around for the first hour...

We grabbed coffees at McCafe on the way out of town, but the barista made a little mistake. We ordered two skim milk cappuccinos but upon taking our first sips once we were back on the highway we discovered they were soy, not milk. Poor Mr E has never ventured into the world of soy so this was a bigger shock for him than me. We stuck to black coffees for the rest of the trip!
Breakfast was three hours later at a country truck stop...

What I love about Aussie truck stops is the no-nonsense 'honest' food. This kept us going most of the day!
Mr E checked oil and water before turning back to the road...

Though surrounded by cattle farms there was evidence of the tropics ahead...

I never tire of the beauty displayed in my beautiful Australia, even when it's heading to drought.
It's very dry in our state with many bush fires already burning, though it's only early Spring. The rivers got drier the further north we drove...


Cane fields greet us on both sides of the highway for the rest of the trip. It's the sugar cane crush season, so some fields are ripe for the cutting, some are bare from the harvest, and others are already planted and sprouting next year's crops...


Sugar refineries are working overtime, with familiar smoke stacks every 10 or 20 kilometres...

 Eleven hours after we began Saturday's journey home, the sun begins to set...

Another three and a half hours and we finally pulled into our driveway, greeted by the frantic yelping of the Bob-the-dog who couldn't wait to jump up and welcome us home.

We slept REALLY well last night!

Sunday morning, and a closer assessment of the Pajero (whom Mr E has named Luigi) to find what needed to be done, was the task to be addressed. Those few hours driving in the dark through cane fields left a LOT of bug residue...

Mr E decided to start at the beginning with a good wash...

...and brought the sheepskin seat covers inside for me to clean with eucalyptus wool wash.

We spent the remainder of the morning driving again - but this time in search of oil and power steering fluid, as well as a visit to the market for fresh fruit and veg.

What a brilliant few days we've had. The start of a new adventure. Next stop - the outback! Can't wait...

Hugs
jenny
xx


16 comments:

Lesley said...

Wow! What beautiful pics of your beautiful country! And the truck is pretty beautiful too!

margaret said...

what an adventure, such a long drive and so much to see on the route. I expect now you are fully recovered after your good sleep and ready for more adventures.

Anonymous said...

Как будто путешествовала вместе м вами! Очень интересный репортаж)) Спасибо!

Marian said...

Wow, what a long drive home, our country is not so big as your lovely homeland.
Lot of beautiful pictures, so nice to look at them. Did we get on your trip in the outback photo's again??? I look forward to it.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing your life and beautiful patterns with us in blog land. Your writings are very infectious and always make me smile. One day I hope to come to your part of our beautiful country. I have told all my crafting ladies about your blog and patterns and one of my friends is going to stitch "The Lord Bless You" after finding it in a magazine. Once again thank you for sharing with us.

Cattinka said...

How exciting!
KATRIN W.

By Neymes said...

PARECER QUE ESTAR MUITO BOA ESSA VIAGEM AMIGA??FELIZ DOMINGO.VALÉRIA.

ladycobblestones said...

I read your blog all the time. I've never been to Australia so I love that you took pics. I started a blog a couple weeks ago. A huge thing for me. I had not thought of taking pictures of much stuff around here on shopping outings, after all, I see this stuff all the time. But seeing other places on the blogs I read is something I have always enjoyed so I think I will start taking more pictures when I'm out and about. It totally shocked me when I found out my tiny blog was being read all the way on the other side of the world. So I suppose someone on the other side of the world would like to see some of the stuff around here that I take so much for granted.
Any way, Thank you a lot for sharing your life.
See ya tomorrow.
Smiles to you.
Linda
ladycobblestone@yahoo.com
http://ladycobblestones.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Your pictures are gorgeous, and I can understand why you love your country. It reminded me so much of traveling with Paul the years we lived in our fifth wheel, all over the country, and me taking pictures out the window of bridges and rivers and fields. =) Thanks for sharing. I know you've gotten inspiration on this trip and we'll see the results in the coming months. What a great car!

Dorothy Matheson said...

Your pictures are great and you are a wonderful story teller. Thanks so much. I do see a new direction for a new quilt!!. Adventures in the outback coming???
Dorothy

Tammy said...

How exciteing.....Keep us updated on your travels please. I love to see the pictures of your country. I'm excited for you all cause we will get to hear about it and experience it with you.

Deborah said...

Looks like the fun with your new vehicle has begun. Enjoy exploring!

Karen said...

That is a lot of bugs! Beautiful Australia. Luigi looks like a great addition to the family - glad to see you named him too.

Noela said...

A wonderful find Jenny. I'm sure you will have wonderful journeys together in Luigi. Hugs........

Michelle Ridgway said...

Lots of adventure ahead for you two. The outback is so special and once experienced never forgotten. I wish you safe travels in your new car xx

daisydilly said...

Glad you both are home safe and sound!! Love all the pictures you took.