This morning we had breakfast cooked by Beccy, Libby and others. The wind was cold but the sun was out most of the day. We walked along Patonga Beach but the sand was soft so we ended up following Patonga Creek at the back of some of the homes here. Lunch was provided at the Patonga Pub. It was passable Thai with lots of vegies. Beccy Cole has arranged for the other artists to perform at mates rates and claims Adam Harvey owes her big time which is why he performed after lunch. He is very entertaining and quick witted even though Beccy accuses him of stealing her jokes. This evening brothers Andy and Duncan Toombs did their set which was very bluesy. It was very cold sitting outside but there was a fire and we rugged up. We pack up and move on tomorrow.

Our drive from Nambucca to Patonga was uneventful, with stops for coffee and lunch. We were glad to have cruise control for the drive down the windy road to Patonga as this uses engine braking, not just the Jeep and van brakes. There are 57 people on the tour in about 30 caravans and motorhomes. We were among the last to arrive and fortunately the people in the site opposite were out in their vehicle leaving us plenty of room to reverse into our site - we had an audience so didn't was to make a meal of it! Dinner was served in the Patonga hall and tonight's entertainment started with Libby O'Donovan singing jazz, another woman whose name we didn't catch singing rock (she grew up in the same street as Jimmy Barnes) and Beccy Cole singing some of her own songs. Someone in the audience requested she sing some Dolly Parton tunes but quick as a flash Beccy said Dolly doesn't sing any of her songs! We both really enjoyed the evening.

The owls have stayed under our awning all day. We drove to Bellingen as we have never been there before. It is about half an hour from our Nambucca caravan park and the drive was worthwhile. It is an interesging village which still only has an IGA supermarket even though the place seems quite prosperous. I walked round Nambucca and over to Shelly Beach. The photo was taken from the Rotary Lookout. 

Overnight a pair of frogmouth owls took up residence under the awning of our ensuite.

On the road again! On Sunday 27th August we left our critters in the care of Lyn and Mark, house sitters extraordinaire. Our first stop was at the Ballina Headland Big 4 caravan park where we were guided to our site by the manager who referred to our "short Bushtracker". We were able to be lazy and stay hooked up on a long site.  We are having to relearn a lot about our Bushtracker and spent a long time trying to get the TV to work, only to discover today that the aerial had become disconnected from the back of the set! Tonight we are at Nambucca Heads. It wasn't until we had driven into the caravan park that we remembered having stayed here before with our critters and the Eco Tourer - in our defence the park has changed its name. It is a wonderful location. We walked along the breakwater and saw this great rocky outcrop. The tavern at the front gate has good food and saved us the trouble of cooking.

We are sitting in the Qantas lounge at Changi Airport waiting for our flights home - yes 2 flights as we go via Melbourne. Not sure why as there is a Qantas flight to Brisbane showing on the departures board. We are looking forward to seeing our critters, house and friends. Two months away from home is a long time but we have seen a lot and crossed a few things off our bucket lists. Farewell to all of our blog followers, till next time!

We are both still struggling with jetlag and it is affecting our capacity to appreciate Singapore. It was hot and sometimes sunny and that was a welcome change. The Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) system is to be envied - frequent driverless airconditioned trains, no graffiti, clean, with glass barricades at stations to minimise the risk of people falling onto the tracks. We travelled on the MRT to Marina Bay to view the gardens with these enormous artificial "trees". The Marina Bay Sands hotel is probably the most expensive in Singapore starting at around $900  per night. There are 3 towers of more than 50 floors each so the nightly turnover must be astronomical. There was no shortage of Asian guests lined up to check in - I didn't see any European guests. There was no one at the VIP check in area - at those prices everyone should be treated as VIPs! The fee to go to the top for plebs not forking out for the privilege of a view of the bay is $23 . We didn't go up - I stru...