Straddie

Finally we are starting to ease in to our new life. With 3 nights on North Stradbroke Island and the place absolutely deserted we were able to relax a little and discover some of this this amazing Island.
We were also able to get on with some of those things that we planning to do. Start to really work on the distance education with the girls, complete some lessons and get up to date. And of course unstructured learning with  bike riding, bush walking and just talking about stuff on the way.

Mum and Dad also pushed their boundaries, letting the girls start exploring places on their own, out of sight of their slightly apprehensive parents. Of course our 6 and 8 year old girls have no problem with the apron strings being loosened, they don't even see a difference. 2 weeks ago the were never out of sight or immediate supervision, now its ok to go to places they know on their own, or together - even if its out of sight and hearing.

One of the biggest things we hope the kids will learn is to have the confidence in themselves to do their thing. Lisa and I were lucky to grow up in the 70's and 80's where helicopter parenting was unknown, where kids ranged freely, only returning home for food at the end of the day. Of course with Dingos and Crocs etc there will be limitations, especially given the patchy attention span of young kids.

Pack up and getting on the road is now going better than expected, we were booked on the 10am Ferry of the Island  and we were ahead of schedule and made the 9am Ferry. A short highway drive to the Sunshine Coast and seeing those places Lisa and I visited on holidays with our families 25 - 30 years ago. Noosa is pretty funny now, populated by women with unnatural appearances - especially the 'trout pout'!

One thing has changed, the wreck of the Cherry Venture on Cooloola Beach has disappeared. Also the beach from Double Island Point to RainbowBeach is impassable due to erosion - so the plan is for an early start, drive straight to Inskip Point and hit Fraser Island on low tide. We are aiming for about 4 nights and a good test for a more extended trip in to remote and sometimes challenging environment.
Off the grid for a while - sounds great!