Day 235 - Sunday 20 August - Gold Coast Hinterland

Day 235

Sunday

20 August 2017

Boonah – Beaudesert – Bonogin – Mermaid Beach – Burleigh Beach

It was another cold night with no clouds to keep the heat in and we spent much of the evening hidden in the doona. The light from the morning sun assaulted us, when Paul opened the blinds and we spent some time reading.

As has become the routine, Paul was off for his shower before 8am, while I stayed in bed enjoying the warmth a little longer.  Once Paul was back though, there was no delaying the inevitable and I hopped out too, shivering! We completed the usual bits and at 9am we were in the cab listening to the radio news and heading on down the road towards Beaudesert.

Beaudesert was another small town, but it became clear, as we travelled further along the main street that it was a bikers’ haunt. The streets were lined with sports bikes and Harleys, their riders now filling up on a warming coffee in the many cafes along the strip.

We continued our journey along the very up and down and twisty road. I am so glad we don’t have this at home, flat is far more preferable. We pulled into a lay-by 35km from our destination to check over the bike. It was again resting against the car, not surprising considering the road conditions. Our poor little car is now full of scars and the front number plate is looking like a tattered piece of old cloth.

At 11am we finally arrived in Bonogin, with the GPS sending us along our way. We pulled up outside a rural fire service building and rang Scott to check on directions and proceeded to walk on to his property checking the condition of the driveway and its steepness. It all looked fairly manageable, so after a quick hello, we returned to the van, unhooked the car and drove the vehicles on up.

We settled in on the concrete pad, had the horse in the stable heralding our arrival and sat out the back with Scott, enjoying a drink and a chat.

We were greeted by other animals including a miniature horse that thinks it’s a dog and a couple of chooks; all inquisitive and wanting to know who the new people were.

We enjoyed catching up and reminiscing for an hour and then left Scott to his chores as we had lunch and set the van out. Just after 1pm we took off to the shop in Mudgeeraba, picked up a few bits we needed and then headed for the Gold Coast.

We arrived at Mermaid Beach, found a place to park and proceeded to walk. I checked out the skyline of mulit-storey buildings lining the coast. It really is a sight to behold and one I am glad Perth has managed to avoid. There wasn’t really a place to walk along the beachfront here. Hi-rise apartments and massive homes have right of way along the beach so we walked one street back gaining glimpses of the water at each cross street.

We returned to the car and drove further down the coast to Burleigh. This spot was a lot better for walking. A footpath hugged the coast with parkland on the other side. We walked to a lookout that gave a great view back over the coastal strip and the metropolis that is the Gold Coast strip. The surf was pounding in with the breeze and certainly wasn’t worth surfing.

Once back at the car, we returned to Bonogin, enjoying the tranquillity of the forest surroundings and the sounds of the birds in the trees. Scott and Kirsty returned home shortly after and we finally all got the chance to meet properly. We also met the other animal members, a cat and a dog.

We joined them at the back of their home where they have a view over the paddocks. We spent the evening chatting about our trip, learning a bit about Kirsty and Scott and I reminiscing about our shared path.

We enjoyed our bbq dinner by the fire, which was needed as it got cold quick. The drinks flowed freely, as did the hugs and exclamations of “I can’t believe you are here”.  17 years since we last saw each other and we had a lot to catch up on, even though it felt like we had only seen each other yesterday.

Kirsty left us to it as she had to be up for work in the morning, we managed an extra 30min, now almost sitting on the fire to keep warm. Soon after we called it a night and made our way to the van and the warmth of the bed.