2souls2wheels

As i started to walk upstairs last night to say good night all i could hear was the sounds of my sister Sheri vomiting.
Ekkk gastro
Poor thing its in her first week of a new job. She is now a qualified beauty therapist and has landed a job in a vintage beauty salon which is right up her ally. I often thought as a child she liked pretty strange hairstyles. Turns out they were just from the 1950s, shes just an old soul because no one taught her those, she just knew. Hats off to her, she was studying full time whilst pregnant and then with a baby, she still managed to get a dermalogica scholarship for being a great student. I had no idea there was so much involved in beauty therapy. 3 years of study. I helped her with one of the nail exams and it was so in depth about the complete anatomy of the nail.

Anyways she was sick all day, vomiting and diarrhea. Its hard because i wanted to help and make sure she was ok but at the same time not get too close.
She fell asleep so off we went for lunch, not to worry as her hubby had taken the day off too as he had a milder version,so i had faith she would be ok.
Lunch was with Robs family that he hasnt seen for over 10 years.
Robs family are lovely, very friendly, chatty, welcoming and funny. Rob was really happy to see them after all these years and we couldnt have met at a better place. Manly Yatch Club.
It reminded me of the yatch club in Dubai ive happily spent copious amounts of hours in and passing through. Definitely something i would love to do again when im settled back in Australia, sail.

They were kind and i know from that meeting  the prospect of potentially moving to Queensland is less daunting for Rob knowing he has family.
Thankfully Robs Aunty and Uncle were able to drop us off at my Korean friends place,  Monika and Timmys. There is not much public transport around where my sister lives we realised, and we had a few wines so best not to risk it. We went to Korean bbq. Robs first time. It took him a little while to get use to the idea he was cooking it himself. Timmy loved the fact that Rob ate everything. He told Rob he is now a Korean man. It was great to catch up with them they seemed very happy. There son James joined us as well who is 1 1/2. He is such a cutie. They also have a dog Sally, she has her own Facebook page, its hilarious.

Monika is doing great, she is now shipping things from Korea and selling them on a website just for fun. She is making 300% on some products as you can’t get them in Australia and they are popular in Korea, so the Korean Aussies want them. Most people aren’t prepared to pay the shipping costs as they are expensive and would have to buy a lot to justify it, so they order and buy through Monika. She use to work for a shipping company so she knows the ins and outs. I’m so proud of her, i can’t wait to get back to see what Korean goods are available, after we have settled of course and i have more space than a bag.

Today we went for a float.

Strange analogy if you are a virgin floater and dont know what im talking about.

I’m talking about fantastic healing pod at a place called Freedom Float Centre.

We drove down to Burleigh heads for our second float ever. We had a float the last time we were in Queensland and they make you feel incredible. Rob has trouble shutting off his mind and the pod allows you to lay there and float. You have the option of keeping the light and music on however most seem to like the darkness I’ve been told. The water has a highly concentrated amount of epson salts, giving you a good dose of  magnesium.

As your skin is your largest organ your body just soaks it up like a sponge. My skin looked amazing with my pigmentation lightened. The pain in my hips had gone.

Hopefully Rob will be able to sleep tonight as he hasnt slept properly for 2 nights.He seemed so much more relaxed when he had finished his float.

After the float we went to the Burleigh Heads lookout which had a fantastic sunset. The sky covering the ocean was blue with dark clouds.  The coast line and inland however had a sky that was pink and orange with white clouds.Amazing!

We went for a delicious dinner at Greenhouse Cantene and bar with Benny and Sez. Portions were massive, all vegan food and tasted like meat. It was so good. Even satisfied my meat eating boyfriend thankfully.

We have both known Benny for years, me since primary school and Rob since they were young adults working at Loy Yang. They use to be gym buddies. Benny is the sort of friend that gets along with anybody and has a heart of gold, so naturally you feel protective of him. Happily we met his girlfriend who is perfect for him. Naturally gorgeous, very fit, intriguingly cleaver and very friendly. She seems very kind and loving. We got along like a house on fire, and im so happy Benny found her. She is a keeper.

Rob and i arrived on a Thursday with the intention to stay at my cousins for one night and we left on a Monday.

Rob and my cousin Gavin get along like two peas in a pod.
They have many hobbies and interests in common.

They both use to race go karts – they bought their go kart off the same person.
They both have there piolet licence – they were trained by the same instructor at the same school.
They both love wake boarding and jet skiing.
They both play golf.
They both work in oil and gas doing fly in, fly out work(besides the fact Robs off at the moment)
They are both children at heart.
They get along fantastically and have the same sence of humour which is great.

We went and had some catch ups with an aunty and uncle and a couple of cousins and their children. Gavin and his wife Kate have just built an amazing house and the attention to detail is something to admire and learn from.

We went to a family members 1st birthday on the Saturday. What a good idea having a kids party at a park, we have been to a couple now. You can see them playing, you get to use all the picnic facilities and the best thing is everyone puts there rubbish in the bin and you go home to a nice clean house!! Perfect!
There were lollies in barbie cars ready to be consumed and a large Macedonian feast. There had been a lot of effort made for the food and salads and they were delicious. There was a lot of meat that the boys loved.

Funnily though there was a big cooked pigs head in the middle of the table with an apple in its mouth. I didn’t really think anything of it and i don’t eat most meats. I think i must have seen a few too many heads whilst travelling for it to concern me. It did concern a few people as it was a first birthday and there are kids around. As we were informed in Macedonia the pigs head is a kids version, an adults version of a feast would have the pig running around earlier in the day.

Now im not saying that i would want a pigs head on my kids first birthday but thats the Mascedonian tradition and the child is Mascedonian so good on them. Its nice to be surrounded by different cultures. I think too many people like to live purposely ignorant when it comes to eating animals because if they know what happens behind the scenes or acknowledge it then they might not eat meat. Thats not something a lot of people want to do, especially in 3 veg, 1 meat aussie house holds. How boring would that be!

Anyways after the party, later that night we had a few drinks and hit the Soul Bar. What a night! We watched an amazing band called the Floating Bridges. Very entertaining!! My cousin Gavin is there number 1 groupie. So much so that when he introduced himself for the first time they recognised his name from how often he comments and likes there stuff on facebook.
We danced all night and got Maccas on the way home,like you do.

Over the next few days we went for rides through the Glass House Mountains and up to Montville which was really pretty. The town has such a quirky feel about it, reminding me of a smaller version of Mount Tamborine.
We then went to Gardners Falls which was like a large watering hole. There was three sets of bike handlebars tied up to surrounding trees with rope ready for swinging. The boys had a swing off the largest rope, it was really high. Gavin did a bomb when he let go and ended up with a big black bruise at the top of his leg. Haha worth it.

We arrive at a white set of gates, put in the pin code given to us in a text and drive onto the 27 acres.

The whole property runs along side the Logan river and its an animal lovers dream in Buccan.

We drive in past about 10 horses, 20 ducks and 4 dogs. The dogs were running alongside the car barking as we drove down the driveway. 2 were greyhounds which were very large but very friendly when we got out of the car.

We had driven to the property in my sisters, mother in laws car Raff.  She very generously lent it whilst my bike seat is getting reupholsted.  The seat is now going to be all black with blue stitching, I’m excited.

Anyways back to the property, as we got out of the car Andrew and Melyssa walked out of the stables. Andrew is Robs cousin who he hadn’t seen for about 10 years.
Andrew works in the police force and Melyssa is a veterinary nurse, hence the numerous animals. We find out Cameron their son also has some pet chickens and there is a couple of cats as well.

I offered to help Melyssa whilst she feeds the rest of the horses and the boys have a beer at the house.
I love horses and will take every opportunity to get up close and personal. I attempt to leap over horse poo as gracefully as i can in a skinny pair of sandals and flowing dress as i follow her on the move. Quietly im hoping my clumsiness doesn’t get the best of me whilst I’m surrounded by the brown landmines.

Melyssa’s had horses since she was 6 and knows everything there is to know. We have a bucket of feed in hand and walk to one paddock. One of the horses thinks its her food and trots towards us. When she realises its not she just keeps trotting like she was going past us the whole time anyways. Another two gallop very fast towards us (which i am quick to jump to the side of the fence) and also realise its not for them. They head straight to the stables after realising. Melyssa is so calm with them even though they are huge. She has to push one horse back a few metres and does it like you would a dog. But its a huge horse. Incredible to watch. They just move where ever she says. Some get fed in the paddocks and some in the stables and then we head back to the house.
They have a great set up and rent paddocks out to other horses. The owners of two of the horses live in Spain, only visiting 2 times a year. They must really love horses.

We chat, drink wine and eat a delicious salad and prawns. We meet Cameron who is the most intelligent 12 year old I’ve met in a long time and strongly independent. Making his own food often and cleaning his own bathroom. He quietly sat and did his homework whilst we chatted and sweetly said good night to us around 9 and put himself to bed. Andrew and Melyssa said he has been doing that from a very young age.
Thats great parenting!

We eventually call it a night and went to the spare room. For family Rob hasnt seen in 10 years the conversation didnt stop. What a good night. 

We woke up early, i jumped on the back of Robs bike and we head to the Stradbroke ferry from my sisters in Mount Cotton. 

For a car, return is $140. Pretty pricey for a two hour ferry there and back i thought. For a bike ticket when purchased online its $44. Better.
The ferry ride over is lovely. Very busy as its a weekend.

We wanted to explore the whole island so with our map in hand that was given to us by the lovely ticket lady we head to Brown Lake.
A warm brown lake. It didn’t really appeal to us as a swimming option when the ocean is so close, so off we went quick smart to a beach that 4 wheel drives have access on. Rob of course takes the opportunity to see what his KTM 990 is really made of.

I happily get off and watch him go over the sandy dune to the beach in full steam. By the time i have removed my boots and jacket and walked over, the bike is bogged. Haha funny..
Very easy to do as the sand was very soft from all the 4 wheel drivers that weekend. He managed to dig out some bits and tell me to put sand in other bits and the bike was out. A lot of strength required from Rob, my Hercules.

We relaxed in the sun and swam. Strangly we came across lots of Salp that had washed up onto the shore. I wasn’t sure what they were until i found myself googling for about 30 minutes . Thank goodness for google. They were the strangest little things, a small, clear, jelly like substance with a small dark dot on the inside. There was hundreds that we could see if not thousands washed up in total.
I felt so inquisitive, like a small child again, kneeling over and staring at these foreign creatures loosing myself in time.

From the beach i walked back over the sand dune to meet Rob on the other side. Rob powered over like he was in an off road adventure challenge competition. We dust the sand off, put on the bike gear and start riding. About 50 metres up the road we spot a seagull sitting in a puddle of water by the road. I had spotted the seagull by the road on the way to the beach. That was a few hours ago though and it was a really hot day so there must be something wrong with it. I tell Rob we need to stop it could be hurt. Hot and flustered in full bike gear he asks if I’m going to keep talking about it? I say Yes! We do a u-turn at the end of the road and drive back. He says ive got five minutes to catch it.
Running around fully clothed in motorbike gear, helmet and all would have been pretty entertaining for him i’m sure but i manage to catch it.

We ride into town with me holding onto nothing else but a seagull. Harder than it sounds when your riding uphill.
We pull over and make a few calls hoping someone can help our new birdie friend on a Sunday. Success! There is a man on the island that knows a bit about animals who is connected to a wildlife group. We dropped the bird off with him. Lovely old man. He will take it to the ferry for the RSPCA pick up the next day.
Our guess was that he had a broken wing.

We head towards all the restaurants and have a late lunch. Nothing too exciting but an enjoyable burger to say the least. We then head across the road to the Gorge walk at Point Lookout, thats a pretty one. The intricate colouring of the rock, the sounds of the water splashing through a rocky blow hole and the view, completely breath taking with Hercules by my side. Living the dream.

We rode and ferried back with a magical sunset on one side and fierce thunderstorms on the other making its way slowly towards us.
It was exciting riding back to my sisters with the thunderstorm chasing us, i almost wanted to be right underneath it, staring into its belly. The inquisitive child is still lingering. We made it back, just in time. 

My gorgeous nephew. Its the second time I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him. He looks just like his Dad, my brother Dean.

Its incredible his nature is very simular to Deans, very soft natured, gentle, happy.
Levi’s mum Ash seems to have a simular beautiful personality as well. I think my brother and Ash would make a great couple but as Levi was a surprise there is a lot more to take into account if they were to date and my brother is treading carefully.
She done a fantastic job with all the decorations making them by hand. Kids are so cute when they are learning to walk, they just want to run but they can’t walk properly. It was perfect weather for a party in the park.
My parents came up for the event from Victoria which was nice.

Before mum and Dad returned home we all went for a big ride together. My mum jumped on the back of Robs bike for 15minutes and it looked so funny. Robs bike is so big (which is perfect for Rob being 6.3ft)but when my mum went for a ride on the back (5.1ft) she looked like an 8 year old. So cute, so tiny. After being accustomed to the back of my Dads Harley it was a nice change for her, even if it was for a short while.

We went for a ride to the North side of Brisbane. It was beautiful. Thankfully I’m a better rider on the bike than i am a driver so my parents minds were put at ease as they sat behind me riding. Unlike the many times they have been in my car, especially driving in Dubai, admittedly i use to drive like an attempted formula 1 driver. On a bike i ride like an old lady. No padding from a car makes a big difference in my head.

We rode through Mount Nobu, Mount Glorious and then around to Lake Samsonvale. We were surrounded by very dense mountains and luscious forrest. It started to poor down rain as we scaled the narrow roads around the mountains. We pulled over because Dad has an open face helmet and couldnt see a thing. He does however have an attachable clear visor to use when required which he put on pretty fast.

As some hills were very steep and Rob is always on a fast mission he slid out going down one hill and almost hit the barrier on the other side. Ekkk lucky the car approaching the corner was 5 seconds after otherwise he would have hit it. He blames it on the new tyre. We think he was just going too fast but Rob loves going fast as much as he loves his bike. A lot!  

Thankfully we all made it back in one piece.
We would love to live between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, its just so beautiful. We may have just found the place to call home one day.

From Byron Bay we set off to Nimbin.

The road was windy and i got stuck behind someone who must have been high, they were going so slow i could have over taken them walking. It was however a very narrow road with traffic going both ways so i sat back and enjoyed the snail paced journey.

Once i arrived in Nimbin, Rob was waiting for me next to a skate park. There were a few grown men in the skate park too. Good on them, never to old to have a bit of skating fun.
We rode around the corner which turned out to be the main street in search for food. What we got was a cool looking brightly coloured street. It reminded me of a hippy area in Amsterdam.

Apparently in 1973 there was a festival called the Aquarius festival. Lots of students, writers and musicians attended and it lasted 10 days. After the festival a lot of people stayed in the town searching for the creative, alternative lifestyle and thats when the ‘hippy’ Ninbin was born.

We ate vegan wraps with hemp oil in them. Delicious! In the cafe we sat next to a lady who was slowly typing away on her laptop, she must have smoked her way to a new interesting chapter as she fell asleep before we left, so did her dog.
There was a mother and child, the child housing more dreadlocks than i thought possible  on a 10 year old. A few other people smoking some joints. I suppose if everyone in the town is smoking the police can’t do much. I noticed some graffiti on the wall, it was all positive affirmations. Make love not war, Loving one self, Respect the woman respect the man. It was nice to see positive graffiti and not just a tag.

We walked around the town and had a look in all the shops, busy for a small town. Might have been due to the tourists getting off the buses from Byron.

We jumped back onto the bikes and started the long day journey to my sisters.
We rode up between the Woolumbin National Park and Mount Jerusalam national park only to turn left up to Limpinwood and then  Hinze Dam. We met a lovely local, originally Swiss who told us about some good roads the riders take passing through. She was right, we went up to Mount Tamborine a cute quirky town with great views. The whole days ride was my favourite so far. The views were incredible.
The temperature was cool and very simular to Mt Wilson in places. Just like a rain forest. We could easily live in many of the places we passed through. 

Yamba! The scenery riding into yamba was different to what we have experienced on the journey so far.

We rode past numerous sugar cane fields, and it surprisingly reminded me of forest gump, when Jenny was running into the field from her father. I love that movie! Some of the houses very run down like hers, just bigger.

The beaches were amazing with decent waves for surfers. As there was no free camping,  we looked at staying in a caravan park online and there was a couple to choose from. To help us decide we started reading the reviews of each park and all of them had a theme that theft was quite common.  We chose the one in the best location and asked the woman behind the desk if she gets many reports of theft. She said she hasn’t had one in the last 48 hours. What!! What ever faith we had was gone. We stayed anyway but took our time picking a location in the campsite even though we had been given a sight. We have realised the receptionists usually say they are full to prevent people from moving around the park. I could easily see how theft would be an issue because the park was attached to a local walking track without a fence so anyone could walk through the park.

Besides the copious amount of midges that attacked us and the uneasiness about leaving our belongings,the town was very nice and the access to the beach was more than convenient.
Beautiful area, sad that there is so much theft. Yamba! Happy to visit but was ready to leave. The midges got me bad!!

The ride to Byron bay was very nice, we mostly stayed on the coast.
Where we stayed was close to some shops and restaurants in a place called Suffolk Park.
We stayed in a caravan park again as there wasnt any free camping in the area.
The caravan park was great and the people in the park were very friendly. We met a cool family from Hawaii.
We ate delicious Indian the first night. As we walked back to our tent past our neighbor after dinner, i got a glimpse into their dimly lit smoked filled tent. I believe the term is called compression session. I told Rob and we laughed guessing they were young adults on there first Byron holiday. To our surprise a 60 year old single woman came out about 11am the next day. Haha Only in Byron.
We walked around the streets of Byron and went up to the beautiful light house. The prettiest lighthouse of the trip so far.
Parking prices are a bit silly though.
It would have cost $8 per bike to park at the top of the hill near the light house. Even if its just for 5 minutes. We parked 5 minutes walk from the top of the hill instead. The walk up was incredible and the views were breathtaking.
We swam, sun baked and soaked up the Byron vibe. Walked around town with shops full of coloured sarongs, dresses and shirts. Its much busier than it was last time i visited. Everyone seems to still have the same respect for each other with the surfy vibe. The difference is that now its a popular place to go so there is also such a dynamic range of people in the town. From tourist to wealthy soccer mums, Byron has grown, its a different side to Byron. Its much busier than it was last time i was here but still worth the journey.

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Finally we arrived in Coffs Harbour after a massive day of tyre changes and heat.

Riding to Coffs i managed to be 45 minutes behind Rob as the fastest i am allowed to go as a learner on the highway is 90, even if its a 110 zone. I felt like the unfit kid in school running a marathon who thought he was going super fast until he got lapped.

On the ride I ran over a live brown snake and nearly pooped my pants as apparently they can bite you on the move and wrap around your bike. (One of Australias most poisonous snakes)
Thank goodness nothing happened to me, just a scare as most creatures on the road are already dead.
Its so different riding over or near road kill on a bike. First you see it, then you get the smell and its bad. Really bad!!
A few days ago i saw road kill too late and didn’t have time to move(and was a little more anxious to do so as a newbie)
So i went straight over. Not sure what it was but it hit me in three stages.
1st I heard something squirt out as i rode over ( and to hear that over my bike is a good squirt)
2nd I felt it flick up on my boot. Yuck!
3rd I smelt it, death, literally.
Now thats taking one with nature to a whole new level. I will try harder to slowly maneuver around road kill now.

On the journey there was also a large traffic jam, of cattle. Gotta love the country!
I stopped at a pit stop called Fusspots in Ebor,  dont get a home made cookie from there, she must be learning.

We arrived at Tina and Dales just above Coffs Harbour. The house was so relaxing with soft music and candles every where. They are a fantastic team and made us feel so welcome. They cooked delicious food, my favourite being the prawn dumplings (from scratch) and a heathy breakfast wrap. Delicious!!
 Waking up to so much wildlife literally outside your window was amazing. We saw Kangaroos, stacks of water dragons, eels, geckos, turkeys and cute little birds having a bird bath in the pool.

We went to the big banana and saw how lollies with writing on them are made. Very interesting, its all about the temperature, who would have thought!?
We went for a nice walk on the pier which was surrounded by fantastic landscape and a quick walk to the beach as it started to spit.

What an amazing way to spend a few days, great company, great food, great location.

Next stop Yamba!

We set the alarm for 7am. The first alarm of the trip. We wanted to get out of Tamworth before the weather got to 38° c as predicted and we had a 4 hour journey ahead of us.
First there was one quick stop planned at the Golden Guitar and then we were off to Coffs Harbour. The Golden guitar is an iconic statue for this country music town, a must do. Rob pulls up ready to turn a street earlier than needed, “ill meet you there” he says, he has spotted super cheap auto and needs chain loob. (A maintenance spray Rob uses every 2nd day)”Ok”so i ride ahead, sit under some shade as its already hot and its only 9.30am.
 
He is usually pretty fast with things like this but he took about 30 mins. I didnt mind, but when he got to super cheap auto he realised he had a flat front tyre. 2nd one of the trip. He pumped it up at the petrol station across the road before arriving at the golden guitar and the tyre is going flat again in front of our eyes.
We get the photo and head back over to the petrol station. Rob gets out his tools from under his seat and replaces the valve core to see if thats the issue. Its not and we can now hear a solid leak.  We google bike repair shops and there is one down the road 2km away. We get all our bike gear on, Rob pumps up the tyre and takes off. I can see him up ahead trying to make it to the shop on a puff off tyre air. We make it. The shop is open until 12pm and its now 10.30am. The shop is very busy. The guy finishes his last job and then gets onto Robs tyre. We leave at 11.35am. Not ideal to be riding in the middle of the day with the heat but we have to do it today.

We pull in and stop for fuel and food at a side road house about 15km outside of Tamworth in Kootingal. Its very cute and quirky for a petrol station more like a nice cafe inside with couches and all. As we move our bikes to the parking bay Rob shouts. “Its flat again” with a few possible swear words under his breath.
He calls the bike shop at 11.55am and let’s them know its flat. The guy says he will send someone. Robs says he will try and pump it up first and ride back into town.
Gets off the phone and rides to the air pump which is out of order. Calls them back asking to be picked up. They will get someone there asap.

We go inside and i can see Robs mind is ticking over with jobs and possible things he can get ready for there arrival. Bike positioning, wheel off or on etc. I tell him to eat and have a drink first as he is sweating more than a pedophile at a wiggles concert.

The young guy who changed the tyre arrives looking quite embarrassed and apologetic.
They get off the tyre and both head back into town while i stay on the comfy couches and watch the bikes. Its now 12.45pm.

Whilst sitting in that petrol station i realised there was a significantly large amount of females that stopped in. What a difference some comfy furnishings, good food and clean  bathrooms make to the clientele. I couldnt have chosen a better petrol station to be housed at if i tried.

They arrive back about 2pm and we are off to Coffs Harbour!! Woop woop!!! Well for 10 minutes. Rob had left his wallet and phone at the petrol station. Haha ohh geeze. He said he will catch up.
I still went up to the lookout as previously planned in the morning and messaged him that i was.  Whilst there I heard Robs bike roar on past the lookout turn off as he hasn’t seen the msg and has tried to catch me.
It didn’t matter though as our previous ride to Tamworth Rob took off and i met him there. I can only go 90kms on my learners and i go much slower around corners as I’m still finding my groove.

I thought i would feel uncomfortable riding by myself but i actually prefer it. I can stop for the ridiculous amount of toilet breaks i need and not feel bad and take photos when ever i want without a sweaty impatient boyfriend standing in the 1metre square patch of shade he has found asking if I’m ready to go. I love him but patience is not a strong quality of his and he knows it.
For the first time on the trip it now feels like its truly my own journey and i like it.