Sunday
The Bradley's and our lifelong friends Kevin & Maureen (old neighbours of ours) hit the Carrara Markets really early . . . . . . we arrived at an ungodly hour of 8:00 am!
Getting there early proved to be a good idea, we had the pick of the car parks and left by ten thirty to meet up with Kym & Daniel
Monday
Shopping day for us both before moving on from the Gold Coast. I left Nola @ Harbour Town Shopping Centre for three hours, whilst I had some Heavier King Springs http://www.kingsprings.com/default.htm fitted to the rear end of the Toerag (in mean Touareg).
Apparently the original VW springs are more suited for comfort rather than towing a fully loaded 22 foot caravan. With the new King Springs fitted, I've gained back 15mm of height to the rear end and when I hook up the caravan it wont drop as much :)
Last minute goodbyes to Maureen & Kevin (I wished we could see them more often) in the afternoon before returning back to Ian & Mary's place at Worongary to pack up the van.
'Tight Rope Walker'
Tuesday
We left Ian & Mary's sanctuary around 9:30 am for a leisurely drive to Noosa, arriving around one o'clock. Nola started on the laundry (4 days worth) while I replenished all our water - tanks and containers and setup the rest of the caravan etc.
Wednesday . . . Bugger of a Day
We only have today to look around the Noosa, as we are planning on leaving tomorrow morning for Monto . . . . WRONG.
After a short drive to Noosa Heads (just 3kms) early in the morning, we have
a 'flashing' light on our dashboard.
The owner’s manual tells me it's a 'Diesel Engine Problem', which
could be absolutely anything (I'm thinking major dollars now).
The nearest VW is 30kms away in Maroochydore, so off we go. Our biggest
problem is it's Anzac Day tomorrow, but the good news is we get them
to look at the Touareg and they replaced a faulty Exhaust Sensor for a cost of $250.00
However, they then tell me the bad news, when they were road
testing the vehicle they detected another major
problem with my 'Treg'. The entire driveshaft needs to be replaced and
our 4WD is 'un-driveable'.
This is what the driveshaft looks like; http://www.touaregdriveshaft.com/images/driveshaft.jpg
Yes, it looks expensive . . . sounds expensive and . . . is
expensive.
At around $1,500.00 + labour we won’t get any change out of another $1,700.00 . . . . Bugger
At around $1,500.00 + labour we won’t get any change out of another $1,700.00 . . . . Bugger
On a positive note (if I can just smile for a second) at least we
didn't break down on the way to Monto where we would have been 125 to
177 kms away from a VW Dealership. Anyway they have ordered the part and
hopefully we have our bus back by Monday arvo.
Probably the 'worst' part of the day was waiting six hours (yes 6 hours) at Maroochydore Shopping Plaza with Nola until the VW courtesy bus returned! Nola was in Retail Heaven, but it was definitely Stress City for Roger.
News Flash
I can't believe it, but Nola has turned into a 'geek'. After embracing her smart phone, Nola said she wanted a 'Tablet' for her birthday! With no iPods, iPads or iPhones we were advised to buy a Nexus Android Tablet which is similar to our Smart Phones.
Now that I have setup a new Pocket Wi-Fi, there's just no stopping her.
Thursday (Anzac Day)
Regretfully I didn't make the 5:30am Dawn Service as I was still shell-shocked from yesterdays events.
Nola & I decided to have a trip to Noosa and Noosa Heads. The trouble is twenty five thousand other people had the same idea!
With today being a public holiday the pace was packed with families having BBQ's in the parks and beaches. Wonderful for those families who got there early, but we decided to come back Friday morning, which was a lot quieter.
The weather has just been glorious. With temperatures around 25 to 27 deg Celsius, everyone has been thanking us for bringing the sunshine with us.
Friday
Now that the crowds have gone back to work today, we hit the 'tourist trails' around Noosa. Roger even got to shop at 'Bunnings' (it's a 'man thing')
Saturday
Bowls Day for Roger & Nola at Tewantin Bowls Club . . . wish us luck
(for the record we won our game of bowls by 2 points, but no prizes today)
Regretfully I didn't make the 5:30am Dawn Service as I was still shell-shocked from yesterdays events.
Nola & I decided to have a trip to Noosa and Noosa Heads. The trouble is twenty five thousand other people had the same idea!
With today being a public holiday the pace was packed with families having BBQ's in the parks and beaches. Wonderful for those families who got there early, but we decided to come back Friday morning, which was a lot quieter.
The weather has just been glorious. With temperatures around 25 to 27 deg Celsius, everyone has been thanking us for bringing the sunshine with us.
Friday
Now that the crowds have gone back to work today, we hit the 'tourist trails' around Noosa. Roger even got to shop at 'Bunnings' (it's a 'man thing')
Noosa from the Lookout
Fishing at Noosa Heads
Saturday
Bowls Day for Roger & Nola at Tewantin Bowls Club . . . wish us luck
(for the record we won our game of bowls by 2 points, but no prizes today)
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