What an apt title for this weeks’ update from your ‘Grey Nomads’ Trevor and Julie. In our last post I concluded:

Where to next – Which way is the wind blowing?

Well we got that right – we retraced our steps back to Bowen tempted by our previous short stay here with big fish screaming off the real. You got it right – last count was Fish 5 – Trevor and Julie 0. Not a fish and only a day left to reverse the trend – not likely says me.

We did ensure that the stay wasn’t totally devoid of risk by running straight into Cyclone Hadi. Trevor being one never to let an opportunity pass was comfortable to hang around and take the cyclone on! [yeah] Hadi is a Persian masculine given name. ‘It means a guide, leader or calm’. Well Hadi lived up to its name lots of huffing and puffin but very calm – so we were on alert for 4 days – followed Cyclone warnings all day and in the end the anticipation of pouring rain, rip snorting winds throwing all the vans around and 6m storm seas were all but talk. This is starting to play out like school – ah lets not go there.

So what do you do in a Caravan in an aptly named town Bowen when you are in lock down – referred to as ‘Blowin in Bowen’ – you fish – no fish – you read books like Julie (3 of them) or you get your toys out like Trevor (3 of them) and begin to create a web site and catch up on social media and BYOD technologies which do it for me and set up a weekly paper – will make it daily soon but sounds too hard for the moment

In between some nice walks along the beach, plenty of good food and wine and life becomes simple. Stress free (minus a cyclone warning) wake up throw the line in book/iPad out – check line – lunch wind in – no fish – sleep or energetic today walk the lovely beaches. We have also taken a journey down town and photographed the many murals – maybe I will put a collage together when I get the urge. I have managed to please a couple of ‘Real Grey Nomads’ by producing collages of their fish as screen savers – old saying if you cant beat em join em.

My glasses are now ready to collect in Airlee Beach (sat on the others and broke em) so Thursday it’s put the van back behind the car.

We have marked out three to do’s Cape Hillsborough National Park about 200km towards Brisbane.

The brochures say, Kangaroo silhouettes standing out boldly against the shimmering shoreline is a common sight on the beach at night and early morning. The park has a dramatic coastline and abundant wildlife that can be enjoyed on several picturesque walking trails.

We will then move down to Mackay for a couple of days and lock up the van and head to Eungelly National Park – which contains the meandering Broken River, flowering bottlebrush and tall river she-oaks protect the secrets of one of the world’s most mysterious monotremes. This is home to wild platypus and as word has it, the most reliable place on the planet to spot them going about their business.

If you know Julie well we will spend many an hour looking for these wretched creatures. That’s about a weeks planning – a lot like school – have to see how the implementation goes before we decide to continue down the Bruce Highway and change the weekly lesson pad.

 In the meantime if you are IT inclined you may look around my site TGPD I intend to focus on two issues BYOD and Social Media. It’s a work in practice when I get it up and running I’ll let you know. Feedback is always appreciated.