The Scene of the Crime

Many years ago when Sean was a little tyke he was taken to a tiny zoo called Cooberrie Park. It wasn't one of the happiest days of his life because a cockatoo bit him and ripped off a thumbnail. So, taking him back again more than 10 years later was bound to bring back memories.

Fortunately, Sean wasn't fazed. He's much bigger now. He can feed kangaroos while making ducks wait their turn.

There are plenty of peacocks in Cooberrie.

Sean continued to get up close to some quite tame wildlife.

In fact, Sean's job was to distract the animals away from Craig and Graham. The two little boys were quite worried about live animals getting up close. They preferred sleeping koalas behind wire.

If a non-Australian asks, How can you tell the difference between a male and female kangaroo? I usually say that the males are the bigger ones.

Craig and Graham didn't have any fun at all with the anmials. Then, when they got into their swimmers to play in the pool a storm arrived!

It only rained for about 45 minutes. Sean and Craig spent most of that time sitting around waiting for the rain to stop.

Graham huddled in a towel under an umbrella trying to stay warm.

The peacocks are supposed to stay out of the barbecue area but post-lunch pickings are too tempting for them.

This is just a typical Cooberrie scene: peacock and kangaroos with emus behind the fence in the background.

Sean was good enough to pose in front of the cockatoo cage just before it was time to go.

Cooberrie closes at 3pm. On the way home a stop was made at a playground beside the north end of the main beach of Yeppoon.

The playground is made for kids Graham's age.

Craig tried to get into the spirit of it but most of the things to play on were a bit small for him.

Graham had a lot of fun in the playground, ten times as much as he had back at Cooberrie Park.

He refused to leave the playground and had to be carried out by his impatient father just when he thought he could stay forever. Sadly for the little boy, Dad had to get back to Grandad's house to cook dinner.

Chasing Bubbles and Playgrounds

There isn't a lot for little boys to do at Grandad and Grandma's house.And, little boys on holidays don't usually show a lot of initiative. Hence, Dad felt the need to buy cheap entertainment for his children.

Craig and Graham had heaps of fun playing with this $1 bubble maker.

Dad got value for money there.


The area around Grandad and Grandma's place (within 5 mins drive) has quite a few playgrounds with jungle gyms/slides. This little one is in the park across the street from Cooee Bay beach. Craig has been coming here since he was a baby.

Actually, Graham has too.

A much newer playground was built a few years ago not far from Yeppoon's main beach.

It's not bad for climbing.

There's also this climbing thingy right on the main beach. It's currently surrounded by a building site!

Nevertheless, the views over the bay are not bad, especially when there's sailing races going on.

There's also this very small jungle gym next to Ross Creek.

Truly very small.

So small that Craig preferred to spend time climbing trees.

Graham used this window to play at being a shopkeeper.

Back at home, Graham did everything he could to avoid getting involved in a game of cricket.

Most afternoons have been spent at Cooee Bay beach but, on Sunday, their visit coincided with low tide.

Plenty of space for digging in the sand and even playing beach soccer (not pictured because Dad can't play and take photos at the same time) but no good at all for swimming.

First Days on Holiday

Child slave labour is a deadly serious topic. Or, is it? Whatever. The boys had fun washing the car. It was a lot more fun than the previous two days of driving.

Lots more fun. They attacked the job with gusto.

They even did a surprisingly good job. The outside of the car has never been cleaner.

On the second day of their stay the boys finally made it to the beach.

Cooee Bay was windy but otherwise perfect.

The little white dots out on the water, center-right in the picture, were little sailing boats having a race. It was a very picturesque few hours.

One of the best things about Grandad's place for little boys is dessert. There's dessert almost every night and ice-cream is often featured.

Road Trip

This rainbow appeared above the Hunter Expressway at around 7:30 in the morning of Day 1 of a 2-day trip. The boys missed it because they were catching up on sleep after a 5am start.

Not long later was breakfast at a roadside rest area. The expressway and its rest areas are still quite new and very well maintained.

Another stop was made at Scone.

Graham enjoyed this swing.

Another stop was made further up the Hunter Valley for another swing.

Lunch was at this much less pleasant rest area. The flies were so abundant Graham couldn't eat.

So, yet another stop was made somewhere near Narrabri for a snack.

An overnight stay was made at Goondiwindi. The Goondiwindi Motel has a nice barbecue area that seemed under-utilised. Pizza and chips under the stars put smiles on the faces of the two smaller boys.

After leaving Goondiwindi around 7:20am on Day 2, a stop was made at Condamine. This little playground was a nice surprise.

Not so nice was the lack of places to stop for lunch. After passing through Miles at 10:30am nothing was open in Wandoan, Taroom or Theodore. And, those towns are not close together. Finally, at 2:30 in the afternoon they were able to buy pre-packaged sandwiches at $6 each while the little boys feasted on chips in Banana. (Yes folks, Queensland has a town called Banana.) Craig's smile was a mile wide.

The boys had been so good throughout the trip that Dad thought they deserved a reward. Wowan has a little general store just off the highway. It's for sale, if anyone is interested. It looked like a good little business when we were eating ice-blocks.

A little over an hour later the boys arrived at Grandad and Grandma's house in Yeppoon, 1,450kms from home.

Beach Weather

Saturday's weather was superb. The boys took advantage by going downstairs to play in the tiny park.

Craig can get comfortable in trees but doesn't climb too high in any of the ones downstairs.

A little girl from China and her mum came to play in the park. They didn't stay long.

Dad spent most of the time reading in the nice warm sun.

After the visitors left the two little boys ran some foot races.

Around the park and back to the tree they started from

with Graham receiving a fairly healthy headstart.


They ran nine or ten races in all.


On Sunday they went for a long walk to the beach. A stopover was made on the way at Dee Why Oval for some climbing.

The boys were badly over-dressed for the occasion. They both wore long sleeves and long pants while everyone else on the beach wore much less.

That didn't stop the boys having heaps of fun digging in the sand.

Craig did his usual thing of digging tunnels to connect large holes.

On the way home a stop was made to buy ice blocks. Living in Dee Why is almost like being on holidays, sometimes.