holarrrrrrrz!

Well hello, earthlings :D

Been a goodly while since the govt gave me time out from the kinder to post up a long ... posty thing.  Six weeks, in fact. A round up of happenings up down our end:

Xmas, and all that that entails.  Mondo grub, fat gutz, other peoples' pricey shiraz, loafing, and finding somewhere to store the crap gifted by non-commital in-laws.

27th dec saw us hit the tarmac for an alternate state.  Literally and metaphorically. Ya see we went north. Now bearing in mind we only point the bonnet in that direction under familial duress, and all our pleasure ventures are in the opposite but apposite direction - you can see how this was something of disquieting notion. as things transpired, we weren't 'disappointed'.  The drive up the Pacific Fucking Highway was a novel form of torture, and day one saw us take 12 hours to reach the armpit of the universe, Coughs Harbour. yes, 12 hours.  Think on that.  The sheer awfulness was aleviated somewhat by the proliferation of billboards warning of the dangers of sun exposure. The kids particularly liked the one of a sunbaking chick with the caption "SKIN CELLS IN TRAUMA".  But I digress .... anyway, imagine 12 hours, 2 bored kids, on a 35 degree day, and your reward is a night at the Notell Motel in the aforementioned armpit. Nice.

Day two was modestly improved, with the diversion of the more interesting country betwixt Kempsey and the border (by way of Byron - in which we stopped for a wee and laugh at the faux hippies).  From the border to Sunshine Coast was spectacularly awful - with the motorway employing a total of zero sources of stimulation.  Not so much as a service centre to remind you that you're still alive.  By the time you've been on it for an hour you're not entirely sure that you haven't actually died and are currently in some pergatorial holding pattern. Incredible stuff.  Hot on the heels of that special misery is the utterly insane forest of roundabouts on the Sunshine Coast.  What town planner took bad acid and was turned loose with the CAD?  You get five options and one sign saying "crapsville this way, all other destinations that way".  All other destinations?  WTF! And there seems to be a roundabout every 2 kms, in ever direction. 

Our 5 day stay in Noosa was about what you'd expect.  Like watching the truman show for 5 days, but with a bad climate.  You can't get near the beach because all the buses are full from Tewantin, you can't drive to the beach because there's no parking, and you can't walk there unless you're a mad dog or an Englishman.  Impossible to sleep at night without airconditioner on max and ceiling fans blowing a tornado. You can't go outdoors after 8am because it feels like you're being stung all over with tiny needles.  Upshot, while it was lovely to catch up with a nice big extended family group, we'll never go north again in summer.  e-vaaaa!

We sensibly decided to return via the New England, and do it over a few days, and O.M.G - what a pleasure it was after the coast. They'd had some decent rain in previous month so everything was lush and green.  The granite belt looked spectacular, there were virtually no cars on the road, and the nights were 10 degrees instead of 26.  Tenterfield was heaven - waking up to mooing sheep, peace, and a chilly morning. An absolute delight - and that's not something you hear often about Tenterfield, I'll wager.

Highlights were assorted.  Fleeting glimpses of bonafide old school hippies around Byron, the majesty of the Northern Rivers, the pleasingly non-white vibe around Kempsey, catching up with seldom seen cousins - who've morphed into really interesting and mellow people in their middle years - having the kids to ourselves, the Granite Belt, country NSW, small pockets of ever so slightly down at heel counter culture in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, and spending time with my mob. The kids found it all very eye opening, too, and marvelled at how different Qld kulcha is.

Back home and husbot promptly comes a cropper and breaks an ankle, remaining at home for duration of hols as the biggest and most vexing child. Packed the lot off today. Husbot back to the saltmine, kid#1 to his first day at high school, and kid#2 to her first day at new school (selective thingo).  Plenty of nerves at our house this morning!