Relax, its Queensland!

Yes! A week at a resort!! Thanks mum!
After a much need break from our 10 week stint of working with the Segways we checked into Don Pancho resort on the beautiful Kelly beach in Bargara QLD 10 mins from Bundabergs CBD.

Ahhhh like a breath of fresh air we immediatly took in our studio suit for the week. A queen size bed, bathroom which can be accessed at any time just feet away quickly became a luxury.  Quite often you would be wide awake when you return from the hike we sometimes had to do for a midnight bathroom run. Included on our list of new luxuries were: kitchen with stove top and microwave, full fridge with freezer, (yaa ice cream!) and TV with cable. Amazing what a treat the little things had become.

Friday: We checked in, exploded our things all over the room. Saturday: relaxed and went for a walk around the area. Great beaches, some of the last ones to swim and surf at before we get farther up north where swimming is to dangerous because of the jelly fish.

Sunday: we took in Bargaras local united church where we where welcomed by the retirement community locals. We talked to almost everyone, over coffee and treats, they had so many questions for us. Us being the youngest ones there, they where interested in our adventure. Many had been to Canada when they where younger and of course had wonderful things to say. We said "good bye" and where even given a jar of jam-Jaboticaba cherry!!
Monday: It took almost the whole day to do the last blog entry as we had lots to catch up on. We also went to the beach and enjoyed the empty pool, as most of our older guests usually where reading in their suits or taking beach walks.This we found to be the trend for the week, which was great to have a pool to ourselves and a quiet stay.

Nick shoulder deep in Mitsubishi

 Tuesday: We wanted to go to an aviation museum but Sully (the van) had a different plan. After just leaving our parking spot we stalled and fortunately coasted to the shoulder. Nick carefully diagnosed the problem to be the fuel pump. Later that night we went to the beach for a walk, being told we might be able to catch a glimps of a baby turtle making its first steps.
Wednesday: We enjoyed bacon, eggs , toast and blueberry pancakes on our balcony over looking the beautiful blue waves flow gently onto the shore, another 30+ summer day, clear sky. We even watched a YAK (a Russian war bird) fly laps of the beach over head. With the help of the owner of the resort, we got a fuel pump from the wreckers which she kindly picked up for us.

That night though we took in the locals fav retirement hobby-lawn bowling. There was lots of laughs had by all in our group, they also where first timers. Snags (sausages) with onions and a beer plus lawn bowling for $7 was a great way to spend the night, even if all the locals stared at us, because again we where the youngest ones there.

 Thursday: the previous night we kindly had our new, but techincally used fuel pump delievered to us. Nick spent the better part of the day contorted into weird positions to access the engine area. I brought him water and applied lotion to his burning calves. He borrowed tools from the maintanace man at the resort and by the afternoon Sully was up and running again!!!! Oh how excited we where and we both hugged as we had another moment of hope for Sully's future and his secound trip around Australia. That night Nick proudly drove to Mon Repos (a conservation park) where each year mother Loggerheads make their way up the beach to lay their 150ish clutch of eggs. These turtles are one of the common breeds but are indangered. Hatching is always at night anywhere between 7:30 pm to midnight. When the temperature drops in the sand, the babies know to hatch. Once they hatch they are drawn by the magnetic feild of the earth toward the ocean(which they will also use to find their way back to lay their own eggs).

The conservation park, with volunteers, monitors their habits and help assist them safely to the ocean.  The park is open to the public to watch the events take place.  With nature there is now garontee and we worried that being at the very back of the line was going put us in the last group and more likely to be in a group that dosnt get to see the very best action. We got our passes...Group #1! oh, we couldnt wait.  Our pree show show in their out door aputheatre was cut short because group 1 was called to go to the beach. For what we didnt know yet! We were lead by flash light in our group of about 30. Our group consisited mainly of Christian school boys on a field trip, and even a photographer from the local newspaper. Along the way we were given instructions on how to be safe around the hatching babies. The nest had been relocated up high on a sand dune, so the rangers could study them better and have a better success rate against high tides.
 We gathered in a semi circle around the nest, right now just sand and grass. The boys excitement grew and soon the first baby poped his head through the top of the sand. He was well ahead of the others as he was the only one up and about for the next 30 minutes, when woke up. 10 at a time, now crawling all over each other made there first crawls toward the ocean.  74 exploded from the earth, and the ranger brought around one to let everyone see up close and touch the shell. At this time the journalist from the paper took Nick and my picture! He even took down our names. But before they where off to their new home they where collected in a net and brought down off the high sand dune. We stood on either side of the long line the ranger and volunteers made as a path way for them to make their first steps. What an incredile sight to witness, some of the boys got to stand and have the babies crawl through their legs, this with flash light made an illuminated path for them to follow.  Readers of this will not be the only ones able to hear our story as this saturday we found a detailed version in the local paper with both of our mugs plastered in the middle of a two page article on C7.!!