We wake up in the shed after a very safe night's sleep. It is Father's day, so the kids bombard Dad with gifts and breaky in bed. Tony's parents, John and Marie, arrive at about 8:30 and we have cuppas and catch up. They can't believe how big the kids have grown as the last time we saw these guys I was just pregnant with Tori, I have sent them photos over the years, so it was nice for them to see the kids in person.
Just before lunch we head towards Tully to catch up with Tony and his family. It is a bit overcast and showers are forecast for the area. We head through Townsville and up through the Yasi effected area. Their is still evidence of the cyclone, however, we marvel at how the quickly the houses have been rebuilt, rooves replaced and how the trees have shot back. We pass many sugar cane crops and Glen and I feel very happy to be back in Queensland. The kids can't believe the funny little harvesters that are being used on the crops and they are also amazed by the mountainous country with the hilltops sticking up through the clouds.
We haven't seen Tony since 1999, so we are looking forward to seeing him and meeting his fiance. As we get closer to Tully it begins to rain. Cheers come from the back seat as the kids have missed winter and they just love this outdoor weather. We arrive at Tony's to a lovely brick house on a hill surrounded by green fields filled with cows and bananas plantations, mountainous rainforests in the distance provide a backdrop, just beautiful. We meet Bianca and her son Nicholas who are just lovely, we also meet the rotty, Diesel, the border collie, Tory, the pug, Fred and the cat, Jersey. Yes, Tori is horrified to think they have a dog named Tory, who is named after the state, and this creates much confusion for her whenever anyone calls her name!!!
Before long it is like we have only just seen these guys last week, we have so much to chat about and it is great to just relax and have a laugh. Nicholas is 9 and he happily let's the kids play on all his things. Cody just loves the power wing and the girls get on the scooters, and best of all, the driveway is a beautifully bitumised road up a hill, what a great place to ride, so this keeps them all very busy. I anticipate at any moment there is going to be a major stack, but luckily this doesn't happen.
We have a barbi for tea and it doesn't take long for a few cane toads to start to appear. Nicholas immediately goes and gets his weapons, spray bottles filled with dettol, and he takes Cody and Shannae on a cane toad hunt. The dettol on their back kills them. It seems to be a common practise over here. Luckily the cane toads aren't too bad in September, but in the wet season it is a different story.
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