Mount Coot-Tha

Another day, another motorhome to see. This one was a beast. 4 tonnes of 4wd, on pneumatic (lift/lower) suspension. Designed for off road so that the accommodation doesn’t fall off when driven across extreme terrain. While this will give us options to go anywhere and not get stuck, I wonder how easy it will be to sell at the end of our trip? Again, a good learning experience and some sound advice about what works in Australia.

The afternoon consisted of a visit to Mount Coot-Tha that overlooks Brisbane. At its foot is the cemetery where Bun & Mike’s mother’s ashes are, so we stopped off there to say “Hi” and also Bun had never been there. The cemetery is “heritage” so should remain forever .... it is vast and almost full, I wonder how long “forever” is when it has no relevance to anyone left alive which is what it will become after it’s full.

Drove up to the summit where there is a lookout. It’s a bit hazy so the view was limited. Are there fires somewhere with the smoke causing the haze? At the foot, near the cemetery, is a botanical gardens. Time was running out as we were going out to our first Aussie BBQ this evening. We stopped for a drink before a slightly rushed walk around part of the gardens. Bun and I will have to go back when less rushed. The gardens are beautiful and full of wildlife.

The BBQ was with Bob and Robin (Robyn?). Bob was RAAF and Robin a nurse. Their house is amazing, beautiful and airy with high ceilings. Bob gets frustrated that the large gardens are messed up by the local (protected) bush turkeys. Lizards and snakes co-habit the garden, some less welcome than others. At dusk, fruit bats flew in and out of the surrounding trees. Bob does most of the cooking and had prepared his own marinade for the satay chicken and prawns on skewers. The main BBQ was sausages, I wasn’t expecting that. Bob makes his own skinless sausages so they were pretty special. Hopefully we’ll go back again as we hadn’t finished our discussions about where to visit in NSW.Read more