Eliza's birthday. Eliza tries to regain control of her presents: Mum (Caitlin) preparing Eliza for the party:  Eliza and Sam:  Lauren:  Fraser and Jackson  Tom:  |
Around Brisbane
We woke once again to the sound of birds and bright sunshine on the clumps of golden cane palms, ubiquitous in Queensland. While I was showering, Bruce set up our al fresco dining arrangements some distance from the van in order to avoid being in the sun, which was already burning out pale Sydney skins. I went over to wait for him to bring the coffee and was dismayed to find the whole packet of ‘Weetbix’ had been taken from the table by several large crows. They were now pecking disdainfully at its contents spread far and wide. Clearly ‘Weetbix’ were not their favourite breakfast cereal! We had to settle for just toast and coffee, but as we were still in early morning high spirits, this did not disappoint us too much.
My sister Ros called us then. This was to be the first of almost daily calls to us to keep us informed of Mother’s health and current emotional disposition. We began, over time, to appreciate her contacts as they helped us to feel in touch with home, especially when Bruce could not make email connections or even watch TV. That was to happen more frequently as we moved further from the coast, but for the moment, we could make contact and we could watch TV.
We were also beginning to notice camping etiquette, seeing other more experienced campers, how they dressed, how familiar or unfamiliar they were, what kinds of ‘homes’ they had [and there were many varieties] and how they managed small things like doing the washing. We had much to learn. I began taking responsibility for getting our clothes washed. As we had an en suite and I’d brought the necessary washing equipment, I soon had our first two days’ of underwear festooning our en suite while were to be absent. We learnt pretty quickly the convenience of having an en suite to ourselves as it was a safe place to store some of our gear when we drove the van elsewhere.
Later in the day, we were to visit Bruce’s son, Andrew, and his family, but the morning would have to be spent doing some essential shopping. Though we didn’t know it then, we would spend much of the day on foot. We set off after breakfast, walking past the ‘Lone Star Café’, on and on up the hill to the huge Aspley Shopping Centre. We felt optimistic about finding an electric skillet for cooking outside the van. Experienced camping friends, John and Trish Thorpe, had advised us about this and I could see even at this early stage that this would be better than cooking inside the van.
We were rewarded soon, finding exactly what we wanted, though we’d have to come back to collect it the next day. We made arrangements with the pleasant saleswoman who was herself about to take a campervan trip to Darwin, and hurried off to find a food store. We soon entered the ‘Hypermarket’, a vast supermarket complete with its own coffee shop. As soon as we’d bought the essentials, failing only to find a teapot, we resorted with relief to the coffee shop to rest and refresh ourselves before setting off again.
On and on we tramped. Arriving back at the main road, and finding there more traditional shops on either side of it, I headed to a chemist for some supplies. We looked further for a teapot shop, but after several unsuccessful forays, we decided to save our feet and walked back to the caravan park with our shopping. How grateful we were to sit and relax over a light lunch!
Soon I had the washing pegged on clothes hangers, all swinging in the breeze from the branches of the clump of cane palms outside our van. We sat in our chairs totally enjoying the break in activity and feeling much more at home in the peaceful environment. Other campers smiled and waved as they passed.
The afternoon was wearing on. As we were due at Oxley at 6.00 p.m. where Andrew was to pick up from the station, we gathered ourselves together and began the walk to Zillmere station in the opposite direction from our morning’s foot slog. At least the heat was dissipating, but the walk was up and down hills, and much longer than Bruce had estimated. As we crested the last hill, there below us we could see our train pulling out of the station. Bruce was dismayed and ‘phoned Andrew as soon as we knew when the next train would leave. Once that was settled, Bruce suddenly realised Eliza, the youngest of the six grandchildren, had just turned four and he had forgotten her birthday present. Using the time we now had available before the next train, we looked for some likely shops near the station to find a suitable gift. Alas! There were few useful shops. The only remotely hopeful one was a newsagent’s. Undaunted, Bruce soon found coloured pencils, colouring books, stickers and wrapping paper. As I wrapped them up, begging some sticky tape from the assistant, Bruce paid for them. We hurried back to the station and were soon on the Oxley train.
From my capacious backpack which I took everywhere with me, I dug out my knitting to fill in the hour’s travel usefully. I could also gaze at the passing scene and note how other passengers were dressed for the unseasonably warm late winter. In no time, we were standing outside Oxley station, looking for Andrew. A large four-wheel drive vehicle some small distance away flashed its headlights at us. We hurried towards it and found the two older children, Lauren, 16 and Sam, 13, were waiting there with their father. As we drove to their home, we asked Lauren and Sam about the schooling. Both had just come from after-school activities and were keen to chat. Bruce was impressed with Andrew’s new car, part of a new job he has informing schools of the benefits of solar power and assisting them to purchase and fit the equipment. As we neared their home, Andrew told us about little Eliza’s recent birthday party. ‘She’s not really interested in presents, you know. She just likes parties.’ I picked up his pride in his little daughter’s lack of acquisitiveness. It was indeed unusual in a four year old.
We entered the house through a different door as Andrew and Caitlin have now no tenants in what was once a separate attached unit. With a new door cut between the house and unit they use the extra space for themselves. This gives the six children much more room to move - a room each. Caitlin and the remaining four greeted us enthusiastically in the midst of what is their normal family chaos. Bruce and I found their constant energy and chatter a trifle disconcerting at first, but is a happy atmosphere and pleasant to be in as long as we oldies could escape in due course. I was amused, however, to note that as soon as little Eliza caught sight of a gift protruding from my backpack, she reached for it eagerly!
‘Is that mine?’ she enquired, pulling it to herself before we could answer. Her three nearest brothers helped her little fingers to pull the gift open and soon they were all exploring its contents. While that was going on, Caitlin was quietly organising last minute showering and dressing of any children who had missed out. Lauren assisted her with Eliza before changing into some very teenage low-cut clothes herself and brushing her long blonde hair. Her grandfather was clearly astonished at her suddenly mature appearance.
Eventually, we all piled into the two vehicles and headed for a local restaurant. With eight of us in the party, we took up the whole of one long table. Over much discussion with the boys – more interested in running around outside than sitting and eating - we were finally served. Bruce and I then had a chance to catch up on family news. Caitlin is able to run the ‘Showplants’ business til it can be sold and Andrew, pleased with his new work though he may be, is much keener to talk about his men’s groups than his employment. As it happened, he was going to be running one of his courses near Cairns in a few days, exactly the time when we were to be there for Bruce’s father’s ninety-second birthday. He was keen to be there and hoped to be able to make arrangements for that.
The night was drawing on. The parents decided the children had to get home. After a quick goodbye, Caitlin drove most of the children away and Andrew returned us to the station, bidding us farewell. We relaxed into our seats, I retrieved my knitting, but almost as soon as I’d started, a young woman interrupted my reverie, wanting to tell us all about her knitting exploits and much more than that. We were both amused and entertained by her enthusiasm and waved goodbye cheerfully when she left us. Finally, the train drew into Zillmere, but now it was cooler and we were in no hurry. Tramping quietly back to the caravan park was a gently preliminary to another good night’s sleep and an appropriate winding down from a very full day.
But our feet were aching!