TOOWOOMBA, MARY RIVER & AGNES WATER

My last night at Canungra was spent sipping red in front of a roaring fire sharing life stories with two amazing Rollers, Kerry and Gayle. What inspirational women! Their experiences make me realize my life has been a piece of cake. Gayle in particular is incredibly resilient. She's in a wheelchair and yet manages to travel the country in her small, purpose-fitted van. She has an amazingly can-do and positive approach to everything and a great sense of humour to boot. I left Canungra feeling I had made friends I would connect with again in my travels ahead.

With a few days up my sleeve before I joined Shelley, Adam and Lachy in their caravan on the Sunshine Coast, I decided to head north-west Monday morning. Kerry had suggested I check out The Woolshed at Jondaryan some 40 km from Toowoomba on the Warrego Hwy. I was keen to see the sights around Toowoomba so planned two nights at Jondaryan where I could camp down by the river for $22.50 per night. It was nighmare run for the first couple of hours of the 213 km trip. For starters I should have refueled before I left, so was looking for suitable place to do so while trying to follow complex navigational directions on my Google Maps and negotiate the M2 motorway packed with horrendous traffic - mostly trucks. Because I was a few kilometers below the speed limit I had trucks overtaking me in the right hand lane, trucks lined up behind me to do the same and traffic merging from left lane on-ramps. There were a couple of really close calls. It was not fun. I only had around 30 km of fuel left by the time I found a servo beside the motorway that I could actually get to, almost wiping another motorist out on a roundabout trying to get into it. I did manage to have a few laughs over a series of road rage rantings between a couple of motorists on channel 40 of the CB radio - unbelievable abuse hurled at each other! Guys....really???

As you approach Toowoomba through the Lockyer Valley the multi-lane A2 Highway snakes its way up, steeply rising to the edge of the Great Dividing Range 700 meters above sea level. The approach, visually, is quite magnificent. At the top of the mountain I headed straight to Picnic Point to take in the panoramic views of the valley I had just traversed. After James and I had explored by foot the lookout, waterfalls and park land we headed to Jondarayan, making a stop at the tourist info center to grab some maps and find out what we should see. We arrived at the Woolshed around three, made our way down to the river through farm gates and, as it was pretty cool, set about making a fire. It was a very quiet night with only one other camper 200 meters along the riverbank.

THE WOOLSHED AT JONDARAYAN is 46 km west of Toowoomba a couple of kilometers off the Warrego Hwy. It's a pioneer village with genuine buildings dating back o the 1800's, including a huge shearing shed, school, bank, blacksmiths - in fact all services to make it a totally self sufficient operation. There are lots of old relics from the period - furniture, equipment, machinery, vehicles etc. mostly related to the wool industry. You can have a powered site for $25 or non-powered in a huge paddock with a stream for $22.50. That's by far the prettier location. The museum/village area takes a couple of hours to walk through and is really interesting. Entry is free if you camp. My rating for the camp by the stream is 3.5.

The next morning after doing a tour of the village I headed back to Toowoomba and had a look around. I drove the tourist trail which pretty much encircled and traversed the greater city area picking up many main attractions including some of the old and new homes. Wow - there must be some money in that town - the new houses looking out over the Lockyer Valley are unbelievable architectural wonders. James and I did a few walks taking in panoramic views and I did a very steep 4 wheel drive track to Table Top Mountain, the site of a battle between Aboriginals and early white settlers. Toowoomba, I decided, was well worth seeing.

Wednesday morning I was on the road to Maryborough, 300 km northeast, around 9.30. Google maps directed me along several small country roads picking up the New England Hwy for a bit then zigzagging again to cut across to the Bruce Hwy. It was a great run. I really enjoyed the drive. The Jeep tows the van so easily. Even with two and a half ton on behind it holds speeds uphill and the whole rig is very stable - no sway at all. I'm happy with the towing fuel economy of 14 to 14.5 litres per 100 km. too.

Shelley and I had booked a Youcamp spot, Mary River Bush Camp, 9 km out of Maryborough on 80 acres of bushland with 300 meters of river frontage. We arrived within minutes of each other, needing to put the cars into 4WD to get our vans through some very muddy, rutted sections of the access track. There had been and still was quite a lot of rain around. The only two campers there, we set our vans up close to the edge of the high bank overlooking the Mary River. I stayed hitched so jumped right into setting a fire while Lachy and Adam collected great piles of readily available wood from the surrounding bush. Our hosts, twins Mark and Ross, wandered up the muddy track to greet us. A couple of really nice old blokes who are both severely vision-impaired, they introduced themselves and made sure we were happy and comfortable. We sat around a huge fire till well after dinner and dark, periodically having to take shelter from the showers passing through.

MARY RIVER BUSH CAMP at $11 pp per night is good value for a fully self-contained solo traveler like me who likes a bit of solitude and a fire. It's a nice enough spot but has no facilities (bar a lean-to housing a makeshift dunny) and is quite out of the way. There is no real access to the river and it would be marginal getting a 2WD vehicle in even if it was dry. My rating is 2.5. And oops - I forgot to take a photo!

I had left the planning of our family holiday completely to Shell and Adam. I was just happy to be spending time with them in our vans. They were both keen to keep going north to pick up warmer weather and a beach - sounded good to me. We were on the road at 8.30. All I had to do was follow. It was actually quite relaxing to pass the navigation over to someone else. With a couple of stops in the howling gale we were driving through, we arrived 230 km later at Agnes Water, and as Shell had been instructed by the ranger on the phone, drove into Workman's Beach Camp Ground. There was only one site out of the 38 available, so I pulled up in the Day Stay area while Shelley and Adam set up. It was only an hour or so before another one was vacated and it was a great spot. I was pretty happy with how I reversed into position and as we had all agreed it was a fantastic location and would stay a few days, set up more substantially than I had since setting off from Yarrawonga five weeks earlier. Lachy and I, with the dogs in tow, checked out the beach right beside the camp area. The wind was still howling so the ocean was very rough, but just beautiful.

Friday it was still blowing, but not at all cold. I was playing around on my laptop, doing this blog and sipping coffee in bed when Ranger Ross appeared to collect $9 for the previous night's stay. I paid for a week even though Shell and co. had to head back Tuesday at the latest. If I wanted I could stay up to 42 days before I was required to leave for a week, after which I could stay another 42 days....and so on. Ross gave me a map and some info on the best things to see and do. He was sooo laid back. The only rule was NO FIRES (bugger) and keep your dog on a lead - well, sort of, in full view, aah most of the time. He had a dog there too and was pretty chilled about it. I threw on my now 7 days dirty jeans (my favorites) and with James went off to explore some trails and lookouts, then into town for a gander.

Back at camp a couple of hours later I pulled out the awning keeping my fingers crossed that the forecast drop in wind would happen that afternoon and then Lachy, Chibi, James and I hit the beach. After that I checked out the golf club. My online research showed that visitors were welcome to play in their composite 18 hole comps which were run Saturdays at 8.30 and Thursdays at 12.30. They were mixed. I spoke to a very affable John and, by now thinking I might stay three weeks or so while I waited for Karen to join me, paid $15 for a winter membership which gave me a decent green fee discount. That'll make me stay and play!

So next morning I was up bright and early for an 8.30 tee off. Bright was a bit of an overstatement, a raging sore throat and stuffy head having kept me awake for most of the night. Luckily the Betadine throat gargle, Strepsil lozengers and Cold and Flu tablets kicked in and I didn't feel too bad by the time I left camp. There were 16 in the comp, mostly blokes which was fine and everyone seemed pretty affable. My group consisted of Pete (retired paramedic from Hobart who was one of the first on scene at the Port Arthur massacre), Julie (ex commercial chopper pilot) and her partner, Tony. It's a good little well-kept course and tho I played like crap (yet again!) it was fun. At the end we kicked back with drinks and complimentary snags and onions in bread. Back at the van I slept for bit before hitting the beach, shared a lovely dinner with the family, then had another shitful night. I wasn't as bad as Lachy's.....he was throwing up at 3am!

ROLLING SOLO

Tamborine Mountain Golf Club were running a comp, King and Queen of the Mountain, over two consecutive Saturdays. I joined in and was put in a group teeing off around midday with club members Greg, Mark and Jacinta for round one. They were great company and it was a perfect day but when we got to the 15th it was really weird when suddenly fog rolled in and got thicker and thicker. It was quite cool and getting dark on the last hole so it was nice to get into the club rooms to warm up and enjoy a drink and a chat. Unfortunately I played like crap...not good when the game is stroke! My second round in a week would need to be spectacular in order for me to be crowned Queen. I took it very carefully driving home down the steep goat track in the fog and the dark.

When I first entertained the idea of traveling alone with my van some nine months before my trip started, I did a bit of research and came across a group called Rolling Solo. Membership is only open to women and fundamentally provides a meeting platform for females of all ages who want to explore Australia on their own. No blokes at all! I joined the group and the online conversations, attended a couple of events and made one good friend, Karen.

An event had been created by Alex on Sunday. It was a lunch at Currumbin Surf Life Saving Club, only 45 minutes from Canungra. It was close for Karen as well so we RSVP'd and met there along with 14 other girls (old girls) shared lunch, a few drinks and lots of conversation around traveling...where, when, how, in what etc. I was the only one currently on the road, though they all had plans. Only Karen and I had caravans, there was one teardrop (not really a caravan) and the rest were in cars with tents or motor homes or still planning and dreaming. We were all of similar age and a mix of married, widowed or on their own for traveling purposes. It was easy to fit in and make conversation. I knew I would catch up with some of them again. (Love the chic in the background)

During the following week I did a bit of local sightseeing. James and I spent a day at the beach on the Gold Coast and checked out Surfers Paradise. A great place to visit. Lots of traffic, sky scrapers, people and lovely clear, warm water.

Wednesday Shelley and I took a drive up through Beechmont to Binna Burra in the Lamington National Park. Situated 75km south of Brisbane on the Gold Coast hinterland, Binna Burra was founded in 1933 by private land holders, with a large eco lodge being built and operated as a tourist retreat. The name means "where the Antarctic Beech trees grow" in the local Aboriginal language. We had lunch in the beautiful old restaurant with amazing views out over the ranges to Brisbane. The area is hugely popular with bush walkers and there are walks which were designed and built during the Great Depression by one of the owners, Romeo Lahey. Apparently all of the trails have a less then 1:10 gradient. We walked to Bellbird Lookout and Clearing...lots of wildlife, ancient trees and stunning views. 

Thursday afternoon I moved the van from my daughter Shelley's place to the Canungra Showgrounds only a few minutes away. Rolling Solo was staging a camping weekend there. It would be a great opportunity to meet up with more Rollers. Twenty five women had RSVP'd but only a few were staying the first night. I picked a site a little bit away from the others so I could have power and water, and also have an open space in front of the van for James to wander. I introduced myself to the girls before taking James for a walk to the pub. The other Rollers obviously knew each other so I lit a fire and had a quiet night in front of my van.

Friday saw motor homes roll in from early, interspersed with the odd Avan, Teardrop or car and awning. By 3pm there were four fires burning in the centre of the camp circle and we all brought chairs over. Barb, who had organised the event, had us all to participate in an ice-breaker game that would ensure we got to know a little about each other. That actually worked quite well and by the time night fell there was lots of chatter and laughter. I felt comfortable and relaxed with all the women and could be part of the group or withdraw to do my own thing without feeling any pressure.

Throughout the weekend I was able to connect with several of the women as we sat around fires, walked down by the river, into town for coffee or to the pub for dinner. James was a great conduit and soon became a camp favorite, especially when he showed off his meerkat trick. I was surprised at how quickly one on one conversations became quite personal with a couple of the girls. It's funny how some people just gravitate to one another. I was enjoying myself so much that I pulled out of the second round of King and Queen of the Mountain Saturday afternoon and instead of departing  Sunday opted to stay a fourth night with three other Rollers.

CANUNGRA SHOWGROUNDS, while not a free camp ($16.50 for one person with power & water $11 without), is a top spot. Set in a valley, there are lots of non-designated sites from the central arena area to the very pretty creek side. The amenities are adequate although they would possibly be strained in busy periods. It's a stroll into town to visit one of the very busy cafes or the pub and on weekends the main street is packed with motor bikes and collector cars so it's very interesting and a great place to people watch. I rate it 4.5.

SOUTH EAST QLD - CANUNGRA

I pulled up stumps at the Mullumbimby Rugby Leagues Club campground pretty early Friday morning. I would definitely go back there if I needed a stop over - either short or long. A top spot right on the Brunswick River. I left the car and van parked behind the club rooms and hitched a lift with Karen to the local markets. We browsed the stalls listening to three excellent musicians performing in different areas of the showground location and soaked up the somewhat grungy organic/sustainable/alternative/hippy atmosphere. You'd go broke if you were a hair dresser in this neck of the woods! We then found a spot to park beside the Mullumbimby Creek and took James and Ellie for a walk, ending up doing a loop of the town which promotes itself as "The Biggest Little Town in Australia". It has heaps of character and judging by the prices of houses in the real estate windows is quite well sought after.

It was sad to bid Karen farewell. It wouldn't be for long though. She is going to head back to Melbourne when her house sitting stint is over at the end of June, sort out a few things, hook up her van and meet me somewhere in Queensland - wherever I might be - and travel with me for a few months. I'm looking forward to that - it will be a hoot!

The short 115 km run to my daughter Shelley's place in Canungra, Qld took just under a couple of hours and I arrived at two. I hadn't seen her for almost a year, so very exciting to catch up and meet the new addition to the family, a cavvy/jack russell cross puppy named Chibi. He's so cute. James, however, did not think so, nor was he happy being near the cat either. Probably understandable given Boston is bigger than he is! While Shell went to pick my grandson Lachy up from school I unhooked the van and set up for my two week stay in front of her saddlery workshop overlooking the lovely gardens of her and partner Adam's small acreage.

Lachy, now 10, had certainly grown up since I had last seen him. He was very keen to show me how his new flying fox worked, how fast he could speed down the hill on his go-cart, somersaults on the trampoline and his latest project, a bunker he was digging out. Such a gorgeous, energetic, enthusiastic and creative young man! I'm very proud of him. That evening we enjoyed a family dinner at the local pub to celebrate Shelley's 44th birthday.

A weekend of housework (caravan work?) followed. It was actually quite cathartic to give the van and jeep a thorough clean and do my first loads of washing in over two weeks. The car in particular was disgusting, the interior covered in James' hair. I engaged Adam's help to clear the partially blocked drain in the kitchen sink. He blasted it with high pressure air, which appeared to help. It was pretty funny when some time later I opened the door to the shower/toilet only to find the entire cubicle covered in coffee grounds. It seems the blockage exited at the nearest point, which unfortunately was not the pipe coming out under the van. Mmmm...a couple of obvious lessons learned there.

Sunday arvo I made a lovely big fire by the van. In the warm sunshine Shell and I sat and chatted, watching Lachy and the neighborhood kids playing on the flying fox. What a life!

Shelley and Adam's property is located on the lower, west-facing slopes of Tamborine Mountain, a very touristy spot with amazing views out over the Gold Coast and the hinterland. There is a beautiful golf course on the mountain, so I made inquiries and found ladies comp day was Tuesday....and I was welcome to play. Fantastic! I joined the group of about 15 delightful and friendly women, teeing off around 8 am in stunning weather. The pretty 9 hole course (18 composite) is very lush and well maintained but very hilly, sloping up and down as well as side to side. I found it challenging after spending the past five years playing the relatively flat Murray River courses of home. I did have a little luck though winning Nearest the Pin.

I stopped on the way home to take a photo of the view from the top of the hill above Shell and Adam's place.

Over the next few days I tended to some outstanding business which included a trip to the dentist (with a follow-up booked for Monday) and a visit to the optometrist. Thank goodness for private health cover....a new pair of specs and two fillings would not send me totally broke! Thursday morning James and I headed west for a picturesque drive through the Scenic Rim to Aratula. Brian had been visiting his daughter in Yeppoon and was on his way back to Yarrawonga, so we met him en-route for brunch. James squealed with delight when he saw him. It will probably be quite some time before we see him again.

Friday was a delightful day in all respects. In 26 degree sunshine we explored the nearby tourist attractions. Hinze Dam, only half an hour away, was a great place for a long morning walk which took us through the bush and along the spillway wall. From there it was only 25 km down the road to the Springbrook National Park. A stunning drive through the Numinbah Valley toward Murwillumbah, the national park is part of the world heritage listed Gondwana Rainforest. It's a spectacular area of waterfalls, escarpments and rock formations. It would take a few days to see it all, so I opted for one relatively easily accessible site, The Natural Bridge. The circuit walk from the carpark takes a bit less than an hour on a well-formed track that meanders down into a valley through the sub-tropical rainforest that is millions of years old. The bridge itself forms a cave (that has glow worms in it) and a waterfall pours down through a hole in the rock to a pool below. Its just gorgeous.

In the afternoon I drove up the mountain to pick Lachy up after school. He was starving of course, and I wanted a photo of the view out to the coast, so to kill two birds with one stone we called into the Eagle Heights hotel. On the way I told Lachy about my morning adventures and he insisted we stop at Curtis Falls on the way home. He'd been there on a school excursion and was very excited at the prospect of showing it to me. His guided tour was fun. Another lovely spot to visit.

NSW NORTH COAST - MERRIWA, BULAHDELAH, COFFS HARBOUR & MULLUMBIMBY

The wind had died down heaps, so with the battery topped up we headed north from Lake Lyell around 10 Thursday morning (day 8) after a big walk around the camp area. There were some really nice little non-powered sites tucked away all around the foreshore. It was a relaxing, easy run up the Castlereagh Highway with the music pumping. I'm sure my voice is improving. After a lunch break at Mudgee we headed northeast on Ulan Rd then the Golden Highway to Cassilis. The comments on WikiCamps about camping/eating at the Bowling Club were very good, but I didn't feel right when I got there, and with plenty of time up my sleeve decided to push on to Merriwa just 40 km further east. We pulled into the basic and not pretty dirt carpark behind the RSL in the middle of town and I backed up to the fence line. Happy with my parking....got it first time! Had a nice dinner at the RSL, used their free wifi, had a little play on the slots and was tucked up in bed early.

MERRIWA RSL CAMPING AREA is a carpark. I felt safe there with other travelers in for the night, but could be a bit uncomfortable if I was alone. It's at the back of the main street with rear access to the RSL. Handy for one night. OZ Gran's Free Camp list rating is a 2.

I was awake early Saturday morning and with the outside temperature around zero, felt it was time to move to warmer climes sooner rather than later. We left Merriwa at eight for a very quiet and picturesque drive southeast through the beautiful Hunter Valley toward the South Pacific Ocean, before picking up the Pacific Highway to head north. Temperature at midday was 18 degrees....the warmest I'd seen for a week. We lobbed into Bulahdelah Lions Park some 252 km later in time for lunch. A really nice spot to prop. I invited the grey nomads in vans either side to join me for a drink in front of my warm fire before dinner. It was great to have some company and a chat.

BULAHDELAH LIONS PARK is just off the Pacific Highway nestled beside the Myall River. It has enough space to take maybe 30 vans, is level, clean and water available to top up the tanks in the van. A donation box is beside the tap. The small township is a very short stroll across the bridge and has a pub with a beer garden that looks out over the water, small shopping strip, coffee shops and amenities block. It's great for a one night stopover though you do hear the road noise from the highway. I rate it 3.5. 

It was drizzling in the morning but we went for a walk around town anyway. After putting some water into my completely empty tanks, I drove to the showgrounds and bowling club to check out the free/cheap camping there. Not bad. No doubt quieter and more space at the showground. I used the dump point to empty the dunny before filling up with fuel at $1.449 Lt. A reasonable price. We were heading north on the A1 by 10.30. I really enjoyed driving the Pacific Highway. Divided dual lane pretty much all the way with 110 km speed limit (90 for me), not much traffic being Saturday, by-passes all towns and quite interesting scenery. A breeze to drive the 300 km to Coffs Harbour (which is not by-passed) where I pulled into Bunnings to get a gas bottle swap around 3.30. I played the damsel in distress card and my gas bottle was changed for me by a very kind Bunnings man named Noel. Nice. 

Our destination was 15 km further on at a place called Bucca. I'd booked Coffs Harbour Camping & 4WD the night before on the Youcamp site for $15.54 per night. It was a 230 acre farm that was rated five stars by 161 users. Caretaker Bruce welcomed us and led us into a huge paddock with three horses in it and told us we could camp wherever we liked as there was no-one else staying. After a bit of a chat I set up on top of the hill looking across a valley, collected some wood from the adjacent timbered area and settled into the usual evening routine - fire, wine, food - in that order.

I liked the space and solitude so much I decided to spend another night. James absolutely loved it! He bounded around that paddock like puppy and wasn't even scared when the horses came to check him out. We did a bit of exploring Sunday morning and found a lily pond and stream at the bottom of the hill. It was a very pretty environment.

Coffs Harbour is renown for its beautiful beaches so we went on a bit of a sight-seeing tour, checked out the Jetty Market and had breaky. I thought James would love a run on the beach so took him to the leash-free area. He was such a cry baby - didn't cope at all with other dogs running, playing and barking. He couldn't wait to get back in the car. Sook! Cool and overcast from daybreak, it started to rain. We went back to camp where it continued to drizzle into the evening -  a great excuse to do very little and settle into listening to a new audio book, Tears of the Moon by Di Morrissey. I was drawn into it from the get go.

My friend and fellow Roller, Karen, was house sitting in Ocean Shores, just north of Byron Bay. It had been my plan from the outset to meet up with her for a few days. With no free camping available in that area I booked into the Mullumbimby Rugby Leagues Club campground from Monday till Friday morning. A powered site beside the river was $30 per night - as cheap as I could find in the area. It was 224 km north on the A1. We packed up and left our Youcamp farm in cool, clear weather around 10.

COFFS HARBOUR CAMPING & 4WD, while not strictly speaking a free camp, gets a rating. 4.5. I really enjoyed the beautiful, private environment and the host, Bruce, was a nice bloke who I only saw when I chose. I felt very comfortable. The Youcamp online booking system is very user friendly and when I decided to stay the second night I paid my $15.54 by credit card online. I will definitely use Youcamp again.

Google Maps directed us via the back route, Orara Way, toward Grafton, along narrow, windy roads with pretty scenery. At Grafton we picked up the Pacific Highway once again, but it was nothing like the fantastic road system we'd been on a couple of days before. The 136 km stretch was single lane for the most part with roadworks and constant speed limit changes from 40, 60, 80 and an occasional 100 kph. It was a bit wearing and I ended making two stops, the first at the quaint little town of Ulmarra, nestled beside the massive Clarence River and the second at New Italy Rest Area just off the highway. I needed a little nanna nap in the van.

The highway returned to a great divided multi-lane carriageway after Ballina from where it was a quick run to Mullumbimby. Karen phoned and said she would meet me at the Leagues Club at 3 o'clock bearing bubbles and nibbles. Yay! I backed the van into my really stunning spot beside the Brunswick River and had time to set up and take James for a walk before she arrived. James squealed with delight when he saw Ellie

, Karen's dog. He clearly remembered her from our previous caravan trips together. I suspect he may be in love! It was sooo good to sit by the river in the sun, watch the fish jumping and have a chat and a laugh with a familiar face.

Overnight the wind really started to howl. I was relieved I hadn't pulled the awning out. The forecast predicted it would hang around for a few days but it did ease off a bit later in the morning which was excellent as I was looking forward to a beach walk with Karen and the two dogs. James and I drove over to Ocean Shores mid morning, picked up Karen and Ellie then went to the local foreshore produce market. It was very alternative with lots of young hippy people and dreadlocks everywhere. We grabbed some fresh fruit, veggies and dips. We were on the beach just before midday. It was beautiful. The pristine northern NSW beaches go for miles with  fine golden sand that is gorgeous to walk on.

After a yummy lunch at Hooper's fish and chippery in nearby New Brighton, Karen gave me a guided tour of the area. We headed south into macadamia nut country, bought some delicious warm honey coconut macadamias, then onto Ballina, took the car ferry across the Richmond River to check out the stunning beach at South Ballina and returned home via Lennox Head. The kids in the back seat were very well-behaved!

Wednesday was a hoot. After a beach walk the four of us took a drive inland to the the hippy/hemp capital of Australia, Nimbin. About 70 km away, the narrow roads snaked over hills and through valleys of the lush Northern Rivers area. The alternative lifestyle village is very strange, as are the inhabitants. A throw-back to the seventies, the tiny main street area is full of brightly painted, psychedelic, frontier-style buildings, references to cannabis everywhere, cafe's and market stalls that spill out onto the footpath and musicians sitting cross-legged on the ground playing weird music on weird instruments. We shared a delicious wood-fired oven pizza and a glass of sav blanc for lunch then did a tour of the candle factory where we were shown the art of candle-making.

Two weeks on the road. So far so good. I hadn't, however, played a game of golf and given my clubs and buggy were taking up a swag of space under my bed I really needed to get some use out of them. Mullumbimby Golf Club had a deal whereby after two o'clock you could play as many holes as you liked for ten bucks. Great deal! So Thursday after a walk along the Brunswick River and a huge barra burger at the ancient and somewhat rustic Billinudgel Pub, Karen and I hit the fairways. I even played ok. Yay!