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Well the weather has slightly improved and we had a few days with only light wind, and also the temperature has incereased. We had one day which got up to 27, also the last two nights we have not required jumpers of an evening, so things are getting warmer.

We have managed to have two attempts at fishing - with the usual results of no fish. I did manage to catch a really small flathead, but it was much too small to eat. Still it was nice being out in ths fresh air and light breeze. Both days were lightly overcast which helped prevent sunburn.

Jack's gout is slowly improving. The pain is nearly gone and the swelling is subsiding. Now he has a bad cold. He got the results of his tests that he had on Monday for diabetes, but was relieved to find that he is OK at this time - but at very high risk (as probably am I) so after our friends leave here next week, we are going to try to be really really good with our eating and drinking. There is always something. Our friend Peter here has gone out in sympathy with Jack and developed a very swollen and sore left foot (almost identical to Jack's gout symptoms), but his problem is not gout but cellulitis. Fortunately he got on to the problem quickly and he is slowly improving with antibiotics.

This morning we went to the inaugural BowenFest which is a multi cultural festival here. While we were there there was an Aboriginal dancing group which included two gorgeous little girls aged about 3 and 4. They were so cute.

Last night we played bowls. There was a group of young people who came along and they were obviously very high on alcohol and probably other things as well. The young man I played with was very loud to start with and this was his first night ever of bowling. He calmed down as the evening progressed and played very well. The young girl on Jack's team was a real primma donna and swore and called the other ladies "f...ing old tarts" and she kept storming off. It was certainly a different night of bowls. We have put our names down to play on Sunday afternoon, so I hope Jack is feeling better by then.

Well, the last few days have been more of the same - windy and around 22 or 23 degrees. Not suitable for either fishing or swimming. The nights have been very cool and you usually need long sleeves by dinner time, and definitely a doona on the bed at night. Neverthrless it is a great place to be as it is very relaxing and there is lots of good company here. Most of the people in this caravan park are either long term workers in the town or Victorians who have come up to escape winter and are here for a few months, so there is not a lot of coming and going. That makes the park a lot more stable and gives people more opportunities to make friends. Last night a group of 8 of us went out to dinner to celebrate one lady's birthday. Most nights we go to Peter and Ann's van and play cards after dinner. They have a full annex so it is warmer there.

Yesterday we went for a drive to Collinsville which is about 85k inland from Bowen. It is a little old mining town in the coal mining area. On the way we came across about 8 derailed rail carriages beside the road. I could not tell how long they had been there but lots of people were stopping to take photos. It is not something you see very often. The carriages were quite smashed up. The line was back in use so it must have happened some time ago.

Jack's gout is slowly improving. We had expected much more instant results once he started on medication but while the pain is subsiding the swelling has not. He has to have extra INR tests as he is Warfarin and the gout medication can affect that. Fortunately the doctor he is seeing has the capacity to do INR testing in his surgery with just a pin prick rather than having to have blood taken as Jack's veins in his arms are starting to harden after almost 10 years of constant blood monitoring. He had to have some other tests this week as well, as last week's full blood tests showed up some other things that were not quite right. We get those results on Friday. There is always something to check.

Hopefully we are going to play bowls this afternoon, although I might not be able to play as I have a tummy upset.

We have just got back from playing social bowls this evening. We had a good time and my team won the night - our prize was half a dozen eggs and a packet of bacon each, so it is bacon and eggs for breakkie.

I was not sure that Jack would be able to play tonight as his foot is so painfull, but he managed. We got the results of his blood test this morning and the diagnosis was as expected - gout. He is not happy as he was in denial that gout was the problem. Hopefully the medication will start to make a difference soon.

The weather has been quite windy for the last few days but it eased today. There were quite a few people in the water at Horseshoe Beach when we went down to take some photos this morning, but it was still a little too cold for me as it only got up to about 22 today. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little warmer. We have put our names down to play bowls pairs tomorrow afternoon. We have not been fishing here yet because of the wind so I am anxious to cast a line in to the water, but that will have to wait now until Sunday.

It has been great catching up with Peter and Ann. We usually end up at their van each evening for sundowners along with another couple. Tonight we went there after dinner and played cards. I had not played 500 for years and it was good to play it again. The girls beat the boys two games to one.

Yesterday we drove down to Mackay for the day (it is about 200k south of here). Jack has hammer toes and needs to be treated by a podiatrist every few months, but there is not one available here in Bowen, hence the trip. His toes feel so much better today.

While in Mackay Jack also met up with an old friend Helen whom he had not seen for over 14 years. She was so pleased that he remembered her and looked her up. When we go through Mackay on our way south we will stop there for a few days to look around and will catch up with Helen again then.

We have only been for one swim since arriving here as it has been quite windy for the last two days and the temperature is only around 23 today, a little too cold for swimming even thought the water temp is good.

Jack has been to the doctor to see about his sore foot. The doctor suspects gout and has ordered blood tests. We get the results on Friday. The pain is not as bad as it had been, fortunately.

We went for a drive with our friends to Airlie Beach a few days ago. I had been there 6 years ago and was amazed at how it had grown in that time. They now have better shopping than here in Bowen, including a great caravan repair, sales and spare parts shop where we were fortunate to be able to buy a new leg for our van. When we were in Darwin the leg collapsed and we called in a caravan repair man to replace it. He cut the old leg of and then could not get another leg to replace it so we were left with only three legs. Fortunately we had bought tripods so we had them to support the van on that corner. The owner of the park where we are now staying has agreed to lend Jack his welder so that Jack can re-attach the new leg - Jack was a welder by trade.

We have arrived in Bowen and were booked in for a week, but after arriving and checking out the park we have asked if we can stay for a month.  We are at Queens Beach and while the caravn park is not on the beach front it is not far away. By staying put in Bowen for a month that should slow the expenses down as we won't be doing long distances towing the caravan for a while - and hopefully we won't have any more car expenses. Also this is the cheapest park we have stayed at as we are only paying $20 a night (we have paid as high as $35 a night elsewhere, averaging around $27). The only other places we have paid only $20 were coming across the Nullarbor and they were fairly atrocious, where as this park is beautiful.

We went to the Sunday markets and bought another Christmas pressie - you just have to buy things when you see them don't you? The markets were quite extensive and well attended for the size of the population. Then we did some more fishing - with the same results as always - no fish. Not only do we not catch any but we jinx everyone else around us. They could all recount what they caught yesterday or last week, but when within close proximity to us they don't catch anything. 

We went to Tully to do a tour of the sugar mill there. That was a great experience and we learnt so much. This year they expect to crush almost 2 million tons of cane to produce 250,000 tons of raw sugar which will all be exported overseas. Tully is in the area known as the Wet Tropics as their annual rainfall is measured in metres. Cardwell, the next town south of Tully is only about 50km away, and it gets only half of the rainfall that Tully does.

We celebrated our third wedding aniversary while at Mission Beach, so that of course necessitated a nice night out. Three years and still on our honeymoon.

Our next stop is Bowen.

When we were fishing off the jetty where the ferry goes to Dunk Island, the ferry came in to discharge its passengers and collect new ones. We got to chat with the ferry crew who were very excited at an event that happened the previous day. The whales are migrating here at present and it is common for the ferry to have to stop while the whales pass. The previous day, they were stopped waiting for the whales to pass when a whale surfaced in front of the boat, turned over and gave birth. What an amazing experience to be able to watch something like that on your way to a holiday to Dunk Island. I wish we had been on that boat.

We are now near Mission Beach staying in a small caravan park in Wongaling. It is completely different to any other park we have stayed at as we are basically in a small paddock and we are right at the back and have no vans within 50m of us - just two mall tents. We also have water views and nice sea breezes. Unfortunately we do not have any laid on water, but we can manage without that as we always carry bought water for drinking and our water tank water is suitable for washing up.

Today we went up to Mission Beach to their Sunday markets and bought some tiger prawns for lunch (yummy) and also a small pressie for one of my daughters for Christmas. The markets were quite busy given the population. Then we went for a drive to some of the northern beaches and on the way found a wharf that was ideal for fishing. So this afternoon after our prawn lunch we headed back to the wharf for a few hours fishing - and if you have been following this blog or know us well, you will know the result of our fishing. No fish.

Actually, we almost caught one. On Jack's first throw out, his line had only just hit the water when he go a hit from a good sized mackerell. He pulled it in but it got off as he was lifting it out of the water. From then on we did not get any more bites. Never mind, we have bait left to try again in the morning.

It was overcast this morning but cleared to a beautiful day - around 26 degrees. There are some heavy clouds coming over this afternoon and there may be some rain tonight.

We had a great time catching up with our friends from Tasmania, Babbs and Stan. We had not seen them for three years. We went out with them for lunch to an Italian restaurant and the food was marvelous. Then in the evening we played bowls and I managed to win both of my games. As well we won a meet tray, but as we were leaving early the next morning we were unable to collect it from the butcher, so we gave the voucher to our friends.

We were pleased with our choice of caravan park, Cool Waters, and would go back there again. On Sunday evenings they have an "all you can eat pizza night" for $6 a head and it was very good value. Even though the park was full each day, it did not feel overcrowded and the ammenities coped easilly.

We are fortunate to be here this week, and not last week when it rained all week. We are enjoying beautiful sunny days with temperatures around 25 each day. Last night was the coldest night of the year and it dropped to 11 degrees. We even turned the heater on for a while. But hey, this is winter.

We have enjoyed not being constantly on the go since being here as we are here for a week so have had some quiet time. We went to the pictures and saw the Batman movie - which I thought was overly violent. I thought it was sad that there were some young children there as it certainly was not suitable for them.

We put the car in for a service today (we have now done 20,000 km since leaving home almost 4 months ago) and the mechanic pointed out that our universal joint needs replacing so it is being done tomorrow. There is always something to spend money on when you own a car.

Yesterday we did the tourist trail and went up to Karumba by skyrail and back down by the train. We had a really nice day, followed by a trip to the Cairns Night Markets where we had a good Asian meal.

We are both enjoying Cairns. It is so picturesque with its surrounding hills, lush tropical vegetation and blue ocean waters. The coastal water is not inviting for swimming as it is always murky as a result of being inside the reef. It is certainly not like the crystal clear beaches of NSW and WA. Then there are the signs warning of stingers and crocodiles, not to mention the sharks. A few years ago the Cairns Council took a great step forward and built a massive pool on the foreshore right in Cairns - they call it a lake. It is at least 100m long and 50m wide and is surrounded by white sandy beaches and lush grass. And there are hundreds of backpackers lying around and in the pool. It is a huge tourist attraction both for the bathers and the onlookers.

On Friday we are catching up with some friends from Tasmania, Babs and Stan, whom we met when we did our first big caravan trip in WA two years ago.