Monday 1st July
Today was a sort of quiet day with some last minute items such as an appointment for Donnis to investigate a new “pillow” for her CPAP Machine.
Later I packed my suitcase and carry on bag for my flight tomorrow.
Oh! Have I not mentioned this before? Many moons ago we had agreed to travel to Mackay to house/cat sit for my sister Sandra. Initially I thought we would drive. Then after a little thought we decided to fly and use Sandra’s car to get around. Then thinking further we thought perhaps the car was the best option as we could then extend the month long house sit and travel further to north Queensland and do the Daintree area, then the Atherton Tablelands area and home via an inland route. Just a couple of weeks ago, Donnis son Peter was diagnosed with throat cancer and has surgery scheduled for 18th July. Donnis feels she would be of more help to Peter leading up to, during and post operative by staying home than by travelling. So, back to the original plan. I will fly to Mackay she will stay home.
We packed and re-packed my cases until we were within weight and size limits. I am now ready for my flight.
Tuesday 2nd July
We spent the morning just doing fiddly stuff at home. Our car keys were missing. I reviewed our outside CCTV and determined the last time the car was used and from there determined the most likely place the keys would be. We found them in an unlikely place but without the CCTV it would have taken a lot longer to find.
We left home at 4pm and traffic was medium on the M1 and arrived at Brisbane airport by 5pm. While I checked in Donnis left and drove to Peters house where she will stay for the night. My flight was delayed by 30 minutes but still arrived on time in Mackay.
How can that happen?
Wednesday 3rd June.
Sandra and Dave both went to work today. Dave came home at midday and he and I went shopping for groceries. How exciting is that?
About 10pm we suddenly had no internet connection. After checking a few possibilities I believe it is the ancient Netgear modem which has failed. We will see what the situation is like in the morning.
Thursday 4th July
To start the day on a good note I checked the modem. Still no internet signal. Sandra called Telstra and passed the phone to me. I talked with the techie and he agrees it is the modem. He ordered another which should be here tomorrow. I also had Sandra authorise me to access the account to set up the new modem and account when it arrives.
Sandra and Dave were then delivered to Mackay airport on time for their flight to Brisbane and tomorrow they fly to Italy via Hong Kong and Germany.
Tonight I had dinner with sister Enid.
The weather forecast for the next 4 days is not good. Unseasonal strong winds and about 300mm of rain with some local flooding predicted.
Sigh! Any plans we had for a bush walk at Cape Hillsborough on Saturday may be put on hold.
Friday 5th July
What a long day. Strong winds and constant rain. I could not leave the house because I was waiting on delivery of a new modem.
I read until I was sick of reading.
I watched dreary daytime TV and kept turning it off in boredom.
I could not watch Netfliks because I had no internet.
I edited a few photos.
The modem arrived 3pm and was installed in about 10 minutes but a glitch occurred which took another 2 hours to resolve.
Sigh!
Saturday 6th July
Rain came and went most of the day. There were periods between long drizzly bouts of rain and heavy downpours when we could get outside and be invigorated by the strong southerly wind. Sister Enid picked me up after lunch and we went to Lamberts Beach at Slade Point whereupon we climbed the steep wet muddy slippery goat track to the lookout.
Of course there is a road to the top but why drive when you can have an adventure? 
One track was a bit close to the steep edge of the rocks but the wind was blowing us away from the edge.
The overcast conditions and the salt haze did not do much for good photos but it was worth the climb followed by a walk along the beach then to Enid’s son, Aarons house. 
We had a visit with Aaron, wife Megan and daughters Tilley and Asher.
Sunday 7th July
After good continuing rain overnight, it continued during the day, on and off. Mostly to be a nuisance. Enid and I decided to go to Cape Hillsborough where I have not been for many years.
It rained all the way and continued to rain as we braved a walk along the beach and up into a hiking track.
Cape Hillsborough is a geologically diverse area of volcanic landscapes with distinct lava seams separated by layers of volcanic ash and pyroclastic materials. Volcanic hills at either end of the beach provide wonderful walking tracks. The entire area was formed by a series of massive volcanic explosions 34 million years ago. Today we decided to to the short version to what is known as double beach lookout and return along the same route.
Along the way there are at least three bat caves although none were in residence today. The stubby volcanic Wedge Islands just offshore can be accessed by a land bridge at low tide.
Some of the older rocks on which the volcano rests can be seen on the tidal causeway linking Wedge Island. They are impure limestones with shell fragments that accumulated in a narrow, elongate fresh-water basin. More bat caves can be found on the islands. The Coastal Sheartail Bat is only seen in small clusters of 2 to 5 bats and are rated as Near Threatened.
The beaches along this stretch of coastline are notable for the shimmering flakes of mica which have been eroded from granite. The nearest granite is in the Pioneer Valley west of Mackay. Fine weather and more time and armed with a bit of information this is a wonderful area to explore.
Tomorrow begins a brand new week of exploration.
FrankieG Home & Travel Gallery 