Nov 30th, Dec 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th
With Eleanor, Tim and family in Coolum and ride to Crystal Waters

26 years or so after last seeing her we end up at the house of our old school friend Eleanor Caddick. She travelled a lot, moved a few times and finally settled in Coolum Beach Australia. She is married to Tim and they have two charming boys, Zack who is 6 and Max who is 18 months. It's been really good staying with the family for a few days. The chance to be off the bikes for two full days was refreshing and the time has been well spent. The one day we went out on the bikes was to ride up to the beautiful bay town Noosa Head. It was a 17 mile journey along the coast and over a few hills but the view on arrival was worth it. Angie joined Eleanor for some beach aerobics one morning, I opted out as running on sand at 6am is not my idea of fun. What I did enjoy was walking up Mt Coolum, especially with Eleanor bringing young Max along in her backpack. I took the chance to go slowly as I know that a good long hike batters my shins and calf's. While here we have tried "boogie boarding". Years ago I found out that I cannot wind surf but now I know that yes Sir, I can boogie. So can Angie. We both took to it and we're catching some great waves. No wipe outs for this beach bum. My final day in Coolum was actually spent asleep on the beach. We went down again with our boards but the sea was way to rough for this novice so we had a picnic and ended up flat out and snoozing for 2 hours. Mine and Angie's path have split for a while. I have set off to cycle the Hinterlands back down to Brisbane and Angie is retracing our steps back along the coast. We should both meet up by the middle or end of next week.
I want to put into text mine and Angie's appreciation to Eleanor and Tim for letting us stay in their home with their amazing family. We ate and drank like royals, we had great conversations and we loved meeting Zack and Max. I'm certain it won't be another 20 plus years till we all meet again.
The ride to Crystal Waters took me through a village called Eumundi that has a popular market for local goods and products. I dipped into the coffers to purchase some environmentally friendly wooden sunglasses. I could have bought a wooden calculator or computer keyboard but I'll maybe wait until I'm home a get one from their online shop. If you want to check them out then go to www.eumundibamboo.com.au
I stayed the night at an Eco-village called Crystal Waters. $10 to camp and access to showers, kitchen and WiFi. I awoke during the night to use the bathroom and exited my tent to be greeted by the most amazing view of the night sky I have ever seen. It all looked like a big picture with connecting patterns. Truly stunning.