It rained in the night, big, fat tropical rain, but it was a lovely morning in Mooloolaba. Kevin had discovered our campsite was near a wharf with boat trips on the river Mooloolah, so we headed there for a little outing. Mia, 8, and Ellie, 6, from Sydney were on the boat with their parents; so Jemima inveigled herself into their family for the duration (eating their Pringles, comparing heights and sunglasses, and of course, chatting), while Kevin and I kept an eye on her while watching the world slip gently by.
The waterways were very pretty, and lined with extremely expensive real estate (it reminded us of a boat trip we took around the Miami islands - a $5 million house here; a $2 million tennis court there; with big boats parked in front, blocking the view). My favourite fact: the location of a beach house where Errol Flynn and David Niven used to come to party, (and also Sean Connery about 30 years later) - Mooloolaba must have been happening, back in the day. But you could see it was also a real place: a lovely marina with normal-sized sailing boats; waterside parks with free public barbecues; a large area of proper functional looking fishing boats, weighed down with machinery - apparently they can be at sea for a couple of months, fishing for tuna.
The highlight for Jemima (apart from playing with the big girls) was when the kids all got a turn to drive the boat. She was very excited because the helm was a proper wooden spoked wheel - "like a pirate ship!". And she was very proud of her ability to steer in a straight line. And then after we'd docked, the skipper brought out a bucket of bread to feed the fish (some kind of bream, good eating apparently). They knew the drill and circled around as soon as we were on the pontoon; then fought fiercely for the bread handfuls to the delight of the kids. Fun for all.
We then tried out the Surf Club for lunch. This was a large modern building facing onto the beach, that housed the Mooloolaba lifeguards and their equipment on the ground floor; and a nice restaurant overlooking the beach on the first floor. Lifeguarding is clearly more than just practical here: it was full of photos from the Australian championship winning team from 1955; big wooden winners' name boards; and even a replica of the first Mooloolaba lifeguard hut from 1911. Jemima was very taken with the life size models of lifeguards hanging from the ceiling, doing rescuing things. The food was good enough, the view was great, and I loved all the old photos. Then back to the motorhome for a post-lunch lie down, before we returned to the beach.
And it was great. We camped near the lifeguard flags so we could swim, and we all got in there: Kevin and I both separately swam out through the line of breaking waves to just beyond, where you could bob up and down in the warm water, lifted by the building waves but not squashed by them, which was surprisingly peaceful after the splashy journey out. And Jemima got involved, launching herself about in the shallows, beaming. More sand drawing; more beach games; the realisation that I was, despite this travelling, non-sunbathing life, actually slightly browner than a couple that must clearly have just arrived in Oz (hurrah!); then time to go home. I walked to the shop for some provisions (and sushi for me, yum) and we had dinner in the van, still loving Mooloolaba. We decided to stay a bit longer.
On the boat:
Jemima and her new family:
Steering:
Jemima's drawing of us three on the beach:
Perfect sand for sand castles:
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