I ended up catching up to him around Wild Horse mountain so we stopped for fuel and a quick lunch at the new Hungry Jacks there. Just after this we hit some very slow crawling traffic due to the road works a couple of km down the road. After a few km we were back up to cruising speed and had a comfy run up to Cooroy where we turned off to Noosa. We got to the car ferry at the Noosa River and Greg was just in front of us and of course the extra length of the caravan meant that the Paj wouldn't fit on, so we cursed him. Fortunately it was way more expensive for him with the van on, so we were slightly mollified.
We stopped just before the third cutting and aired the tyres down before heading onto a nice wide flat beach. Greg had no trouble with the van getting across the short section of soft sand so we headed north to find a nice camp site. The beach was pretty free of traffic and we found a nice spot a few kms into the camping area. I tested the short run across the soft sand to a nice grassy area and it looked like it would fine for the Prado and van. He made it up no worries and was able to back the van onto a nice flat grassy spot while Juliane and I had a shady tree to set up out tents under.
We set up camp with only minor problems due to a very strong north easterly wind, I made sure the tents were well and truly pegged down and even tied the Oztent off to the car for awhile.
When everything was set up we had a chat and a drink or two before going for a pleasant walk on the beach. Afte the walk we cooked and ate dinner with another drink or two and then Juliane provided us with some delicious chocolate topped carrot cake for dessert. The wind had dropped off nicely so the tents were no longer at risk of flying away, so after chatting for a bit no longer we all turned in for the evening and went to sleep to the sound of waves gently crashing onto the beach.
The tent dwellers were up relatively early as the rising sun was making it quite warm in the tents. Coffee and tea were made and we had a leisurely time reading before a nice breakfast of bacon and eggs, although I failed entirely on making soft fried eggs for Juliane, as I normally have my eggs as hard as possible. The caravan folks were finally awake and we ended up having a nice swim to cool down. The Rangers dropped by to check the permits and as the tide started going out a bit we decided to head up to the Freshwater camping area for a shower. A goanna was wandering around the day use area and looking hungry.
We then decided to head into Rainbow Beach via the Freshwater track as the tide was still a bit high on the beach. We arrived in time to have lunch at one of the cafés and the meals were pretty big. After a quick look around the town we headed down onto the beach and found if we timed the waves well we could just get around the rocks without too much salt water splashing the cars. The drive round the beach to the Leisha track was nice and easy and we ended up driving around a bit further to explore the rocks. There were quite a few cars here and the kite surfers seemed to be enjoying the wind.
We headed back across the Leisha track to the surf beach and turned north to the lighthouse. Once again there were tons of cars here but they seemed to be parked all over the place rather then the old fashioned way of reversing up to the back of the beach. I'm getting grumpy in my old age. :)
The walk up to the lighthouse seems to get steeper every time I do it but the views were pretty spectacular.
The walk back down the hill was much easier and cooler. When we got back to the beach we saw an odd sight of what looked like a Barina with a swag on the roof coming up the beach. As they were turning it around it got bogged and they had some very strange methods of getting it out including a high-lift jack directly onto front panels, which left them pretty bent.
We headed off and stopped into the Freshwater day use area for a quick toilet stop and as we came back out to the beach the Barina was heading south with its accompanying Subaru Outback. We followed them down the beach towards our camping site but they kept slowing down the further we went. They finally stopped and we thought they were heading into what looked like a fairly lively party camp site but as we went past, the bonnet went up and there was a cloud of steam coming out, so they were having more than just traction problems.
Then it was back to the camp site for the afternoon. A walk on the beach and a read in a shady spot left us feeling very relaxed and because of the large lunch we didn't have a proper dinner, just picked at a few things. We did however have room for more of Julianne's cake over drinks. After chatting for quite awhile we headed off to bed for another good nights sleep.
Once again the tent folk were up early as the sun was making it even warmer than the day before. In fact an early morning swim was required to keep cool. More bacon and eggs for Brekky, I still failed at making soft eggs properly. Even though there was a breeze it still got quite warm on the beach so we alternated between swimming, walking and sitting under a shady tree reading. The caravan folk seemed to be having a good sleep in. About mid-morning we saw the Barina going past under its own power, so they must have fixed the overheating problem.
As it got closer to lunchtime the tide was getting further out leaving a wider beach for Greg to get the caravan onto, so after a quick lunch it was time to pack up and leave. The trip down the beach was a nice easy drive and we didn't see the Barina anywhere so it must have made it off the beach. Getting off the beach was then the next concern. I headed off first and Greg followed with the caravan, I couldn't see him come off the beach as I'd tried to leave him space in case he got a bit of speed up. Just when I thought he didn't make it he called through on the UHF to say he had just made it off the beach but he could have used a little more momentum just to be safe.
We got to the main car park and put some air back into the tyres before heading off to the car ferry and wouldn't you know it the bloody caravans meant that I missed out again and had to wait for the next crossing. It was then a pretty good run down the main highway until just south of the Caloundra entrance/exit where the highway became a car park for awhile. The temperature gauge was showing around 37 deg outside, so we were quite glad to be in the air-conditioned car. There were 5 or 6 cars stopped beside the road looking like they were suffering from the heat.
A quick stop at the BP at Morayfield was required for an iced coffee and a caramel magnum so that I would have the energy for the drive home. The temperature got a little cooler the further south we headed and when I dropped Juliane off at Southport it was down to 31 deg. Home at Palm Beach the temperature dropped to a nice 28 deg and as it was getting dark I decided to hose the car down first before unpacking it. After cleaning the car and unpacking a Kookaburra came to inspect my handy work.
All up it was a great relaxing weekend, looking forward to doing it all again.
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