Wildlife HQ, Zoo, Nambour Qld

Well I did mention that we still needed to make a special post for the Zoo.....and wasn't it a great option.

A little background, Wildlife HQ is a small zoo based next to the Big Pineapple near Nambour. It has a great selection of both local and international animals with a up close and personal feel.

They also offer a number of hands on experiences that you can't really get anywhere else, sounded too good to be true.

Packed lunch in hand and Grandparents in tow off we headed. 

First stop Red Pandas, Emi's favorite but it doesn't top there. Local animals everywhere is small and personal exhibits, all very close and visible. We headed off through the Reptile section where Charlie managed to get the CCC started, well we though that Alligators were worth half a point but half is better than none.

 Didn't take long and things started to improve, a real salty.

Sorry about the picture Charlie couldn't stand still, his first real Croc of the trip, CCC is away.

Next stop was Koalas, they were everywhere. Emi managed to get up close and personal with this one

Not wanting to be outdone it was Cindy's turn to do something that she had always wanted (other than marry Tom)

Was a great experience and everyone got to have a pat, this is something that most places don't allow these days so everyone was very happy, except Mango the Koala, he was just having a sleep in the sun.

Next it was Charlies turn to brave the big and ferocious Meerkats, he was very reserved to start with but quickly had it under control and took it all in his stride. 

Not wanting to be outdone by her brother, it was now Emi's turn to get face to face with her favorite animal. She has done school assignment after school assignment about these little fellows, yep you guessed it, the mighty Red Panda.

Not sure that any other zoos allow this which is something that seems to set this zoo apart from others.

Not sure that this will be topped but we can keep trying.

We spent another couple of hours walking around the other animals, there is a massive collection of monkeys that are always fun to watch, the favorite was clearly the Golden Lion Tamarin, an unbelievable golden colour that the picture really doesn't do justice

I think that this little visit will be an everlasting memory, so much so that the kids have now decided to become Zoo keepers.

We can definitely recommend this place, well worth a visit and you can feed most of the animals in the Zoo, just ring and book first as some are more popular than others.

Updates:

EEC After a long drought the count is back on, 3 spotted at the zoo (better than none)No Emus at the farm or anywhere in between

Total EEC stands at 47

CCC (Charlie Croc Count), The number is up and running, after a number of Alligators (only worth half a point each) and a 4 Crocs (Salties and Freshies) the CCC is on the board with 6. This will only increase as we head to warmer climates. 

The Farm (Benyule)

Well after the trials and travels of most Victorians trying to get in to Qld we managed to make it up to the farm to help out with a few things.

We are here...

With the folks getting a little long in the tooth it was time to help out with a few of the things that needed to be done.
First thing was the cattle work, well there is a fair bit to say about brahams as a breed....bottom-line they are mad. 

We managed to sort through things and got the ones we wanted to send to the market tagged, branded and penned up.
We had major issues with one that managed to escape last time there was a truck heading to the sale yards, not this time.
Once the truck had left it was time to brand the remaining calves with the help of the kids, all and all a good success. (sorry for the angle)

Next job, lets clean up a few things over at the other house, well things were pick up and disposed of quickly before dad could stash it away, Matthew (nephew) was worked very hard along with the kids. Dad has done a great job putting up slats around the bottom, a few more to do but work in progress. Managed to clean things up and burn a lot of stuff that was just rotting away in the weather. The place looks a lot cleaner and even managed to get a couple of pics from the drone.

Also managed to get over to the main house without hitting anything, landing was not as good as it should have been but no damage.

It seems like after 3 good days in sunny Queensland, things are about to change......rain is forecast for the next 4 days so a little burning off was called for. Has been a while but with a little breeze though managed to take off well. Really would have been good to do some more but as it happened the rain arrived, not very much but enough to stop any further fires.

A few more days spent doing odd jobs and putting up a few sheets in the other house.
Tim, Sandy and Jeanie came down from Gympie for lunch on Friday, Jeanie's French Bulldog Sophie came for the visit and the kids drove her mad, she finally managed to give them the slip just long enough to acquaint herself with Mrs Chook, no harm done but a few tail feathers were removed and Sophie was in trouble.

Managed to get a hit of golf at Tewantin Noosa Golf Club, was very wet and rained the whole time although is was only 17 degrees so quite pleasant compared to the 1 degrees the guys were experiencing down at the National on the Mornington Peninsula.

We also managed to celebrate 50 years at Benyule with a great feed of King George whiting and Calamari (brought up from down south) as well as some nice Mooloolaba king prawns topped off with a great bottle of Sew & Sew Fiano.

After nearly a couple of well needed inches of rain we took the chance to do a little exploring at Imbil and a bike ride along the old railway track. Everyone ended up coping with the 10km round trip, something well worth doing but would not recommend in summer.

Only a couple of more days then we must continue on heading north.

It has been great spending time on the farm and the kids have had a lot of fun with Granny and Grandad, making bread,

 tractor rides and of course the very elaborate Grandad bedtime stories. Then there were the daily walks where Emi managed to make a few new friends

We did also go to the Zoo with them and that was a fantastic day, so good that it will get its own page on the blog, stay tuned.

And one last drive by farmer Emilia

Off to see the whales.......

Updates:

EEC No Emus at the farm or anywhere in between

Total EEC stands at 44

CCC (Charlie Croc Count), Still none

The Tweed

Following a great couple of days catching up with PLZZ (Paul, Laura, Zac & Zoe) we headed further north to warmer weather, well only a little. Time to spend a little quality time with Aunty Cathy and Cousin Lachie.
Its always great not to have to set up the camper and enjoy good hospitality in someone else's home and a comfy bed.
Thought it was time to do little further research on the upcoming border and what we needed to do to make sure we got in to Qld without too many issues. Seems pretty simple, don't be a Victorian.....Don't visit a hot spot in the last 14 days, Tick. Apply for a Permit, Tick. Provide proof that you haven't been in a hot spot in the lat 14 days, travel diary done and copy of receipts made, Tick.
Fingers crossed.....
Managed to find a person to regas the struts on the camper, only problem was that he would not come across the border due to the delays crossing back in to Qld, fair call. Maybe I go to him.
Wednesday 15/7 at 2.36pm Permit to enter Qld was lodged, This is exactly 14 days to the minute since we cross the the Vic/NSW border and off I headed camper in tow (solo run). Took about 45min to get to the front of the line and then another couple of minutes explaining and I was in.......Hooray!!!!!!!!!!
Struts all regased and back across the border I went, good first run, will do it again the next day for a game of golf.
Cindy, Cathy and the kids had their own little adventure, heading to Tumbulgum for an explore, great views of Mount Warning.

 

Early start off to golf and Parkwood, once again no border issues, getting good at this now.
Later that day we ended down to the jetty for a spot of fishing with the kids, not too much success but Charlie did catch 3 small bream and Emi a toadfish/puffer fish. All had to go back much to the disgust of Charlie as he wanted to keep the puffer fish to hang up in his room.

With Cathy returning to work it was time to put all that border crossing training in to practice and we packed up all the stuff and made a mad dash for the border before someone changes the rules on us again. Not sure how long this would take we left Cathy's place at 9am, well the border delays......what delays, we were across the border so fast that we didn't even manage to get a picture of the biggest barrier we have had in this whole trip, next stop Cooroy.

How good is it to be in Qld, warm weather, sunshine and no Stage 3 restriction.

Off to the coast

Our time in the green paddocks of the Liverpool Plains has come to an end, a little dustier than expected but we are off to the coast, Yamba to catch up with Paul, Laura, Zac and Zoe.

We left Gunnedah after a nice breaky and headed off towards Armidale, Glen Innes and then down the ranges on to the coast.
Managed to spot a bit of classic advertising on the side of an old building near Moonbi (and a little for Agracom).

Great drive through areas we haven't travelled for a long while. Emilia was in charge of Altitude monitoring, with a maximum of 1451m above sea level reached on the way between Armidale and Glen Innes......it kept us both busy whilst the other 2 slept.

We stopped off in Glen Innes for a quick bite to eat at The Stones where Cindy could channel her inner Outlander

Kids even gave it a go

The drive down towards Grafton through the Gilbralter Range National Park was very picturesque, although was a little charred from the fire last year. Nice to see things bouncing back a little.

The Prado is still running well although that descent was pretty heavy on the brakes.

Nice to be at the bottom of the range, very nice looking country down here, below is a pic of the Mann river

We managed to get to the Blue Dolphin Holiday Resort in Yamba by late afternoon. Quick set up and then a catch up over a few quiet ones with Paul and Laura, kids got on like a house on fire, not sure that we saw very much of them for the next 2 days.

 Managed to do a little exploring around Yamba,

Weather was great and even managed to get a spot at the iconic Pacific Hotel for a beer and some hot chips for the kids.

Charlie found this painted rock hidden in the grass, its a facebook group and the rock was replaced even though they really wanted to keep it.

Well all good times have to come to an end.

On the way again, a quick stop over at Iluka to see what my old investment is like now, nothing changed and wished we could have kept it. Iluka is a magic place and think we will look to stay there next time we are up this way camping.

Did a little detour to Bluff Beach (Iluka) where it was realised why its a great place this is.

Looking back towards Yamba

Crane on the cliff

Next stop Tweed Heads to stay with Cathy and Lachie for our final couple of days before we get across the border, has been a great 14 days travelling around NSW going to many places we haven't seen before.

Updates:
EEC After a few good days things has slowed, we were hoping to see some of the rare coastal emus around Iluka but no such luck.
Total EEC stands at 44
CCC (Charlie Croc Count), Still none

Lightning Ridge to our weekender

Alas, all good things must come to an end and we were off again. Where to next as we wait for our 14 days in NSW. With some wet weather on the forecast we headed towards a safe haven (the Dono's). On the way we stopped of the shop that has everything in Walgett, you have to love a place that sells Newspapers and guns. As well as thorn proof tubes for the bikes, will have to change them when I get a chance. 

After looking at various options for the night we settled on Warrumbungle NP, was a great choice.
A quick call to the Info Centre and bad news as everything was booked out. We drove in the the National Park as it was on the way to Coonabarabran, stopping off at Camp Wambelong, a very nice camping area that was not full at all. A little up the road we managed to get some internet coverage and checked the website, sites were available - we are all good. Quick u turn and back to the site to set up.

There was a lovely creek running through and clean facilities. Set up was easy but there was still the wet forecast on the horizon. 

We had a good feed and then managed to have a nice fire as well.

Off to bed and hope that the weather will hold, atlas 4am and down it came. When we finally come out the weather seems to have stopped but now the mad rush to pack up before it comes back. Just as we started to get sorted it come down again so a little drying will be needed when we get to the weekender.

After packing up it was time for a little exploration led by head explorer Charlie.

Not long in to the expedition and a few creek crossings later we came across a slightly hard one. It was at this stage that our leader needed to offer encouragement to a fellow expedition member, as quoted below:
"Mum, just believe in yourself, you can do it", this was all that was required and Cindy managed to navigate the crossing.

Not long after we got back to the car and we were driving out the heavens opened again. Next stop was the Warrumbungle Observatory, 4km up hill in the rain and fog. Seems I was the only bloke towing (as we found out later there was a spot to leave trailer/vans at the bottom). It was a very interesting detour and well worth the effort. The Observatory is home to Australia's largest telescope.

The kids thought this was a good chance to try to eat the clouds, not sure what they got out of it other than wet.

False emu spotted by Emi.

A full review of the situation and it was time for a quick foggy descent.

Driving out of the NP and towards Coonabarabran and on to our weekender. Quick stop to take a few pics of a good looking crop just outside Mullaley.

Arrived at our second home on this trip (The Dono's aka Our Weekender) later that day, stocked up with supplies and ready for a weekend out of the weather. Was a good chance to do the washing, dry put things and have a comfortable bed for a few nights. Even managed to get a few holes of golf in with Brett and Charlie 1 & 2

Thanks again Dono's, next stop off to Yamba to catch up with Paul, Laura, Zac and Zoe


Updates:
EEC has had a good increase with 18 spotted plus Stanley
Total EEC now stands at 44
CCC (Charlie Croc Count), None