2 August 2012 - Nestle Inn Tourist Village, Tingalpa, Brisbane

We crossed the border into Queensland before 10 am this morning and should have taken only an hour to travel the 100 or so kilometres from Tweed Heads to Brisbane, however the traffic on the freeway west of the Gold Coast was heavy and sluggish. We had heard that Brisbane had enjoyed its coldest morning for at least the last twelve years at just 4 degrees; not an encouraging bit of news for us chasing the warm sun, however the day was gloriously sunny and soon warmed up.

Here at Nestle Inn we were directed to a site which proved to be impossible to set up on, difficult to reverse into and absolutely impossible to get anywhere near level. After half an hour or more of messing about, we marched back into the office and said as much. “But”, said the young girl behind the teller like barrier, “you are in the wrong place”.

“No”, we insisted, “come and see for yourself”. She wouldn’t budge from the safety of her den, however she insisted that site number 23 was one down from where we were perched. It turned out that there were two sites clearly and boldly marked 23, which vindicated us all. Once moved to the other site, we were soon established in our normal speedy fashion.

We lunched late and then headed along the road toward Cannon Hill where we shopped for gas, a replacement water hose, food and other bits and pieces. And that was enough for the day.

I have revisited the travel reference books we have in our growing library and considering our exploratory methods engaged in other state capitals, realise we have never given Brisbane a thorough going over. We will venture into the city tomorrow and give it another go. Of course, last time it was in recovery mode after the horrendous floods. In the meantime, the Olympics are demanding our attention.

And just for my reference and fastidious record keeping; we have travelled 39,449 kilometres through four states since we left Brisbane in the land cruiser, new to us, way back on 27 January 2011. And yet we have still not reached Western Australia or Tasmania!