Day 65 – Saturday 20 August 2016 – Sunshine Coast - Tweed Heads

The morning didn't start well as I let Scheppi out of his crate he let out a yelp and was very tentative about moving anywhere.  It was pretty obvious he had a sore back although apart from our walk yesterday there was nothing out of the ordinary.  Poor kid was really down and out all day so we just made sure to keep him warm and rested and see how he went.

We were up early & out of the park thankfully with minimum issue although just getting the car reattached to the van was difficult enough.  Our original plan from here was to drop in to visit Gillian in Brisbane for a couple of days but given we met her on the road as she was heading north to dog shows, we decided to alter our plans a little and skip Brisbane to head to the Gold Coast as Shane had never been there.  We secured a site in Tweed Heads so with 210km to travel we set off towards the NSW border.

The roads now are mostly highways and motorways and so the drive could be anywhere as they tend to all look the same.  We were surprised how easy it was to get past Brisbane which we only saw off in the distance.  They certainly love their bridges around here - and this one was rather steep!

We arrived at Tweed Heads somewhere around 11.30am where we were met by owner "Rodney the Mechanic" as his wife referred to him.  Apparently Rodney is a bit of a legend (according to his wife) and is also referred to as the marriage saver because he is so good at helping people back into their sites and that he would be happy to assist us with any issues we were having when I mentioned we had been having some issues with the car.  In fairness, Rodney did do a sterling job of directing me into an almost perfect position on the site we were appointed, however I couldn't help but smile when Mrs Rodney had a whinge after we were waiting to get past a couple just ahead of us who, after Rodney came to assist us, re-positioned their van themselves.  Said couple mentioned to us later that they've been doing this caravan thing together for 28 years and know exactly where they like their van and how to communicate to one another to get it that way and were just a little irritated when Rodney came over to direct them.  Poor Rodney did end up being a bit of a source of entertainment for us throughout the afternoon as we came up with all sorts of suggestions that Rodney might be able to assist with including, but not limited to, Brain Surgery,  World Peace and even the cat not having kittens.....  just call Rodney.

On getting set up it was time to head out to see Surfers Paradise and surrounds as we were unable to secure an extra night at the park.  One of the things I really wanted to see was a laser shooting gallery that Lakeisha and I had spent time at many years earlier when we had holidayed in Surfers.  Sure enough it was still a part of the Timezone and also spotted King Tuts Putt Putt - a mini golf course we spent a bit of time laughing..... errr....... playing on as well.  Before heading back to the car we stopped for a Ben & Jerry's ice-cream.  Not sure I would go for another one - just a bit rich for me.

A bird's gotta holiday too!

The Timezone Shooting Gallery

The Monte Carlo hotel where I spent one trip to Surfers

We stumbled across the setup for the Gold Coast Festival of Lights which was in the process of being erected for the following weekend.  The display was amazing with all the figures being made out of a silk-like material - so colourful and we were really disappointed we wouldn't be able to see the display when it was on show.  I'm sure it would be spectacular.

I have been to Surfers two or three times now and have always really enjoyed it.  We decided that we would like to come back again sometime soon for a trip to discover it a little more together.

The clouds started to roll in late afternoon and so we headed back to camp just in case it rained.  Thankfully we didn't get rain, but the clouds certainly made for an interesting sunset.