MARYBOROUGH, HELLO AGAIN

Well here we are in Maryborough again, who would have thought!  We made a rather sudden decision to take off the other day.

Some of you may know that Peter has embarked on a two year "Bible College" experience, doing a Cert 4 in Ministry and Theology, and year two is the Diploma level.  One of the requirements of the course is to align yourself with a mentor church and gain experience from participating in their programs.  The college is The Second Mile, in Gympie, an arm of the Wesleyan Methodist Church.  The church we have chosen is Grace Community Church in Maryborough, founded by my brother Pastor Chris Foley and his lovely wife Glenys, also a WM church.  So therefore we've come up here for nearly two weeks to get started on said alignment.  This morning Pete attended their Men's Breakfast, followed by a working bee at the premises.  He has the week mapped out already.  

I can't put in words how proud I am of Peter for what he's doing, it's on his heart to learn more to help fellow travelling men we come across on our future nomadding.

We will be back on the Coast about 11th March for a few appointments and to see family.  Kirsty is heavily pregnant with their second baby, due to be born early in May.  Then Peter has a few dates to attend college on a Friday and Monday two weeks running!  We are thinking about a four day weekend in Tin Can Bay to cover both of those.  So, a little bit of away time from the traffic at "home" at Glenview.

After Easter, we begin house sitting for some good friends who are away for a few months.  This means we will be wintering in a proper house again, which will be nice.  We can still get away for short breaks in the caravan when necessary.

So that's most of this year mapped out.  I am glad to be back near Brad and Kirsty to help with Emilee and her new little sister and do things for Kirsty.

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS FROM THE HANNAHS

Hi Everyone

Judy and I are back on the Sunshine Coast for Christmas, and we are about to "babysit" a beautiful home and B&B up on Buderim. Our wonderful and gracious friends heading away, and have asked us to look after it - which we are really looking forward to.

This past 12 months has seen a major change in our lives and lifestyle, as I retired in April and we headed off to the Atherton Tablelands through central Queensland.

First, we had two months in Maryborough, staying with Judy's brother Chris, and helping with their church - Grace Community Church - in the old Maryborough Powerhouse.

We headed up through Biggenden, Gayndah, Mundubberra, Monto and Cania Gorge for a month, Biloela, Springsure, Emerald, Rubyvale, Clermont, Theresa Ck Dam, up to Moranbah, back to Clermont, Charters Towers, and Townsville. These are the places we stayed, but we saw and experienced so much more. Mission Beach is another beautiful place - just like Hawaii - only 'simple', with the added bonus of sighting a wild cassowary.  We saw another on the Atherton Tableland, this time with three chicks.

We then headed up to Innisfail, and onto the Atherton Tablelands where we met with our close friends Geoff and Mary Parry.  Geoff and Mary and Trevor and Jan Stock also came out to Cania Gorge for a few days with us while we were there - and we had some wonderful times.

In Atherton (aka Athvegas) we spent a lot of time finding all the places where my Mum and Dad spent a huge chunk of their lives, and then my grand parents graves. We had taken my Mum's ashes with us, and while that scared the heck out of Mary Parry, Mum enjoyed every bit of the fun and frivolity we had taking her "back home". Malanda, Millaa Millaa, Lakes Tinaroo, Eacham and Barrine, Herberton and everywhere around the district, all came back to life for me, as I was only 5 years old when we headed to Malanda for my Grandfather's funeral.

We found my Mum's father's grave at Millaa Millaa, and I pressure cleaned it and the graves around it, and then we placed half of her ashes in his grave. Her Dad was a World War 1 Military Medal hero, and he passed away at age 33 after being gassed and made an invalid.

Her Mum was buried at Atherton, as she had remarried and moved to Tolga. I also cleaned her grave, which was situated very close to my father's parents graves. We placed the rest of her ashes with her Mum. I found a "long lost cousin" in Tolga, and we had lots of fun times with her family.

We then travelled down to Mossman Gorge, the Daintree, and into Cairns. The day we went to Kuranda, Judy came down with shingles, which really put the brakes on our happy days. Luckily we were able to find a doctor who knew what he was doing, and gave her the anti-virals to quieten it down.  While Judy stayed in bed, I was able to go back up to Malanda for the centenary of the State School, where my dad and many of his siblings attended in 1923.  We also caught up with my aunt Dot, who we hadn't seen for about six years.

We then headed back down the coast, staying in free camps at times, and caravan parks when we needed some R&R. Down through Cardwell, which was flattened by Cyclone Yasi, Back into Townsville - I found another cousin I didn't know I had - Doug in Townsville, and we had some great times with him - even though he was in hospital after a heart attack!!

Down to Airlie Beach (where we flew out over the Barrier Reef in an old floatplane - then we took a trip out to Reef World and while I went scuba diving for the first time, Judy snorkelled her way around the 'buoys'. Rollingstone, Yeppoon, and into Bundaberg where we stayed with Judys' cousin for 10 days.

Down to Hervey Bay, and back to the Sunshine Coast.

We have had an amazing trip, spent some wonderful Sunday mornings at some amazing churches, and met some truly beautiful people.

We almost need to start a Facebook page for Misty-Rose, our ragdoll cat, as she has found some awesome fans, who want to have photos with her and give her lots of cuddles.  She has developed into a great little travelling companion, and while she used to panic when we hooked up the caravan, she now sits back and relaxes in her bed in the back seat.

We missed our beautiful grandchildren, sons and daughters in-law - but over the coming months, we will definitely be catching up with them all.  Tim has divorced and now lives in Sydney, but he gets to have his kids, Tayla and Jordie (now 12 and 14) every second weekend. While he spends a lot of time at Channel 9, he also is doing all the adverts for Channel 10 and their Winter Olympics - and they are now going to air. He will spend a month in Melbourne with 10 - making up replays and highlights which you will also see in February.

Brad, Kirsty and little Emilee, are doing really well - with a new brother or sister for Em due in May.  Emi is a constant delight in our lives.

We have had an amazing 8 months, and while we intended going to Tasmania for next Christmas, I have now signed up for Bible College to do a Diploma in Ministry and Theology for the next two years. While a lot of the course can be done online, 30% is face-to-face, but it is in Gympie, so we will be hanging around a bit instead of heading off for long periods.  But there will definitely be short trips away when we feel like it.

I pray that you all have a beautiful, safe and "family friendly" Christmas and New Year, and we can only thank our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ for our safety, our health and our provision - that has taken us across and around our beautiful state this past year.  (Well not quite, we've yet to see the Outback)!

Heart Reef on the Great Barrier Reef from the seaplane

After the flight

The day we took to the road from Maryborough

Cheeky King Parrot at Cania Gorge

More cheeky wildlife at Cania

Perpetually chillin'

Beats working!

Our blog address - hannahsinthekingdom.blogspot.com.au

God bless

Peter and Judy - and Misty Rose    

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME BETWEEN BLOGS

I gave up blogging a few months ago, it's jolly well time I started again.... The delay is mostly because our data

modem has been chewing up more than it should, despite Telstra's assuring us that that is not the

case....    A Facebook friend of mine has a blog, she is an English teacher and Creative Writer, she's inspired

me to start again. Thank you Catherine Joy....

We really have had an amazingly good time touring around Queensland, driving firstly up the

inland just west of The Great Dividing Range, with the goal of Atherton Tableland. There on the AT we found

and renovated important family graves of Peter's grandparents, two Scottish emigrants, George

and Elizabeth Hannah, and Norah and Edward Ellson.  We were there about a month.

On to Mossman, then to Cairns, where I succumbed to the Shingles, keeping me lying low for a few weeks. We

reconnected with Peter's cousin Ronda, her mum, and their aunt, all locals. The Daintree, Cape

Tribulation and the massive rain forests all around there, Mossman Gorge, a day in Port Douglas,

Palm Cove, Cairns Night Zoo, Kuranda on the train, the Skyway for the return trip, it was all

amazing.

We stayed in Innisfail for a few nights, Peter went and saw Paronella Park, an amazing Spanish

Castle built by hand by an emigrant Spaniard.  I needed to rest that day.

Townsville again, where we saw to a little business with Telstra. We also went to meet a cousin of

Peter's, Doug Hannah, whom he'd never met. He is also studying the Hannah Family Tree. We

had difficulty finding him at home and found out he was in the hospital!

Airlie Beach was amazing, we hadn't seen it in 40 years, it was very different. We did a flight out to

the Barrier Reef on a seaplane, an old Canadian Beaver. It was truly amazing flying low over it,

the pilot did a quick touchdown on the water for a moment to give us that experience. Next day we

went out again, this time on a cruise launch, calling at Hamilton Island on the way. I snorkelled and

loved it, Peter did a scuba dive, a first for him. We were totally exhausted at the end of that big

day.

On going further south we had a stay at Rollingstone, then a free camp at Bushy Parker Creek.

We visited my cousin near Sarina, with the van hooked on. Misty stayed in the van while we went

inside the house for a cuppa. Linda had two boisterous dogs, excited to see their feline visitor. We

think Misty got quite distressed.  When I went to show Linda the van, I picked up Misty as she

looked scared, the dogs came to the door, Misty freaked and grabbed onto my arm, cutting through

my tissue paper skin. Much blood was shed, we went to Sarina hospital and got some first aid.

Dramas!

Calliope River was a perfect place for a free camp, then we made our way to Yeppoon and stayed

at Kinka Beach for a few nights. Many beach areas there, I've always wanted to see it.

Next stand out was Agnes Water and the Town of 1770, a beautiful little place, we stayed a few

nights. Very pretty place, 1770 was where Captain Cook first came ashore in Queensland, in, you

guessed it, 1770!

Bundaberg next to stay with my cousin Les, for almost a week. We went down to Moore Park for a

drive, and around town to see the markers where the floods reached. Other than that, we just

spent family time together with Les and Jean.  Misty fell head-over-paws for Les....

On to Hervey Bay, for several days in the Torquay Palms Caravan Park. We came home for an overnight

stop to celebrate Kirsty's birthday, then returned for the rest of our stay.

We returned home on 9th November to be ready for two weekends of weddings, then we left again on
25th November to trip around again. We've been to Kilcoy to check out the Somerset region, which has a
special interest for my father's family. Henry Plantaganet Somerset was an important

member of Queensland Parliament between 1904 and 1925, and he brought to the parliamentary floor that a dam

should be built out there, to prevent flooding. This (Somerset Dam) did not happen until after he

died, but he had the vision originally, they named it after him. He was an Englishman from royal lines in England.... He boarded

with my grandmother during Parliament sittings. Nana was a deserted mother with two kids, then a

third child appeared, more than likely fathered by Mr Somerset, as he paid for her confinement in a

Brisbane private hospital. All very interesting. We found his grave and the church that he had built

alongside his homestead called Caboonbah, near Esk. Caboonb
ah burnt down in 2009. As an

aside, my father and his younger sister were like peas in a pod.... Draw your own conclusions! But

obviously, he was a good man.  He had a wife and ten children back home.

After Kilcoy we stayed at Esk for a few nights, then  to Crows Nest.  We've been to Toowoomba for church and took in
The Milne Bay Military Museum.  My father was stationed there during WWII as an ambulance bearer.

We came to Kingaroy and saw the Bunya Mountains today, did a little shopping and will rest up and leave here Friday morning.
My niece Brittany is dancing in her annual concert this Saturday in Maryborough, I am looking forward to attending, then we will
be back home next week.  We have a house-sitting to enjoy for a couple of weeks from mid-December.

What have I enjoyed the most? The frequent changes of location and seeing new places regularly are

fantastic, but I love the natural beauty of old forests and gorges, mountains, wildlife and pretty

beaches, stunning blue skies, relaxing in the late afternoons...... I could go on!

The Barrier Reef from the seaplane


google.com/+JudythHannah

Travelling back from the Reef

The church Henry Somerset built on his property

Henry Somerset's Grave

Paronella Park

Located just inland from Innisfail is Paronella Park. Created by a young Spaniard, Jose Paronella who decided after making his fortune in North Queensland, that he would go and bring back the love of his life, and build her a castle.

The thing is - he built it all by hand, and brought in all the "new technology" of it's day.

Unfortunately, he used the wrong sand in his concrete - and now the whole place is decaying because of the mica in the sand causing it to explode. 

What an amazing place! This was the first place in Australia to have its own hydro electricity, a ballroom that could hold 400 people, a 2 metre glass mirror ball, tennis courts, a waterfall to drive the hydro system, a "tunnel of love", and even ice cream for all the visitors.

Three floods, two cyclones and many other natural disasters, and Paronella Park is now in ruins, but a new enthusiast bought the park 15 years ago, and they are starting to rebuild. Because it is heritage listed, there have been lots of red tape and hoops to jump through, but now they have been approved to spend over $1m and rebuild the ballroom to its former glory.

Everything is made by hand - even the 8,000 vertical supports for the railings. 47 steps in the staircase had to be installed first before they could start on any of the buildings. His hand prints are all throughout the structures because he plastered all the walls. 

Google it and read the story!! Simply Amazing!!

Looking Forward - Looking Back in Atherton

This week has been 'full on' - but it has seen God work His wonders.

Early in the week, I headed out to Atherton Cemetery to pressure clean my Nana and Pops (Dad's parents) graves. I met a stonemason there who went to school with - and sat beside Peter Beattie for 3 years - poor fellow, but he was a wealth of knowledge about the local community and history.

I have inserted some before and after shots, and then we found my Mum's mother's grave. Unfortunately, my Mum's father passed away at 41 - he was a war hero in World War 1, and died of his injuries. He is buried in Millaa Millaa cemetery, and seems very lonely.
We had intended spreading my Mum's ashes over the Malanda or Millaa Millaa Falls, but since seeing how their graves have come up after being cleaned, we decided to spread half her ashes with her Dad in Millaa Millaa , and the other half with her Mum at Atherton.

This week has been so exciting - family wise.

Last Sunday we attended Northpointe Community Church, where a great mate - Daniel Askey-Doran from Maroochy Baptist Church - which has been renamed Lifepointe Baptist Church. Not sure what that all means? Daniel heads up the Mens Ministry there, and what a great bunch of guys they are.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of sharing a project with them. Painting the downstairs area for a single mum who has been trying to sell her house for almost 12 months.

On Tuesday, Judy was in the community showers and her a familiar voice. Turns out our friends Ken and Carmel Small were parked two caravans down from us - and had been there for 3 days! This couple were a large part of our lives when our children were born, as their kids were only months apart from ours. Ken and I worked together for several years, and it has been almost 30 years since we have seen them. How awesome is that??

Unfortunately, their son Steven passed away doing what he loved last year - playing rugby league. He was also coaching a couple of other junior grades, so he was loved and respected by his peers and his teams. We were able to have some valuable time with them and even prayed for them before they headed off next morning. Lo and behold, as they were hooking up the van, the L bolt on the jockey wheel broke, dropping the van A frame inches from his feet. I knew my Hi-Lift Jack would come in handy some time, so we were able to lift the van and back the Nissan back under the tow bar so they could get going.

Then earlier in the week, I found my long lost cousin. Ronda and her husband Peter live at Tolga, and they had recently purchased a secondhand Bushtracker and been out to Camooweal. We have had some amazing chats about our families and we will catch up with her mum and sister when we get to Cairns in a week. Ronda and Peter helped us put half of my Mum's ashes in beside her mother's grave - and later we went and put the other half in her father's grave at Millaa Millaa cemetery.  Great times!!

We had an awesome time in Atherton!! Over a month, and we met so many wonderful people and after spending time with Geoff and Mary Parry and their beautiful daughter Louise and her husband Gavin - who spoiled us and took us everywhere.  Gav, Geoff and I even had a "boys' day" 4 wheel driving with a batch of guys from across the Tablelands. Don't ask me how to get there again.

 We then headed down to Mossman. Three nights in Mossman, a day at the Mossman Gorge which is now run by our indigenous friends, was the first time we saw the beautiful Ulysses butterflies.

Then down to Cairns for a week's rest and recreation. We stayed at the Cairns Holiday Park in the middle of town. We had a wonderful day on the train up to Kuranda, and caught the Skyrail back down the mountain. Judy was totally worn out at the end of the day - as everywhere is uphill. The Butterfly House is absolutely awesome, and you learn so much about these beautiful creatures. My suggestion if ever you intend going there - buy a tour price, as the Skyrail ends up 20klms out of Cairns, so a tour bus will drop you at the station and pick you up and drop you back at your accommodation later.

We also went to the Cairns Night Zoo - wonderful experience. We met two young newlyweds from Colorado. He was a prison officer and she a medical company rep. It was also her 30th birthday, and she just couldn't wait to hold a koala.  Wonderful experience especially when they found that they had escaped from the drop bears on Hook Island without injury.

Unfortunately, two days after coming back from Kuranda, we found Judy had shingles. Ronda, my cousin in Tolga, recommended a doctor in Cairns and he was great. We had caught it within the 3 initial days, so he was able to give her some heavy drugs. While you can't cure shingles, you can reduce the effect, and those are very painful.

We had an wonderful time in Cairns as well - but all good things must come to an end - and we started headed back towards the Sunshine Coast for Christmas.

My Dad's mum and dad's graves in Atherton - BEFORE

Their graves after the pressure clean

My mother's father's grave in Millaa Millaa - a WW1 hero

A beautiful Ulyses butterfly in Kuranda

My cousin Ronda, my aunty Norma, and Ronda's sons

On the Kuranda train heading up past the Barren Falls

Enjoying a great day on the train - the day Judy got shingles!

Mareeba Airshow and Granite Gorge National park

Sunday the 19th August, was the Mareeba Warbirds Airshow. We headed out there and were surprised at the roll up. Mareeba was the staging ground for the American and Australian Army and Air Forces during the World War 2. Over 100,000 troops were located here and hundreds of aircraft, 1000's of tons of munitions, factories and equipment.

Mareeba is also the Northern Australia service base for MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) repairing and servicing all of their aircraft from Timor, NT and New Guinea. MAF have recently purchased 5 four year old Cessna Skyvans from a Western Australia company who went into liquidation. These will provide a larger, more reliable aircraft where their 30+ year old aircraft are causing some reliability and service issues.

We got to go for a walk through their paintshop, workshops and office areas, and to chat to a great team of Christians who are using their God given gifts to earn their incomes, but build the Kingdom through "loving their neighbours' across the Southern Hemisphere.

Yesterday, Wednesday, we drove through Herberton and Mt Hypipamee National Park, where we stumbled across a cassowary mum and her three chicks.

We have another 10 days here at Atherton, before we move across to Cairns and Cooktown. We have been attending Atherton Baptist Church over the past couple of Sundays, but this coming Sunday we will head across to Atherton Northpoint Church where an old mate - Daniel Askey-Doran (ex Maroochy Baptist CHurch) and his family attend. It's great to share "the love".

Below are a few photos of our past few days.

Geoff and Gav in the cockpit of the DC3

The Cathedral Fig Tree in Danbulla State Forest

A "Pitts Special burnout"

The Curtain Fig Tree in Danbulla State Forest 

A mother rock wallaby and her baby came to say hello at Granite Gorge

A Cassowary Mum and her three chicks - VERY RARE!!

Gillies Range and Lake Eacham

Saturday the 17th August, Louise and Gavin took us on a "mystery drive". From Atherton out to "The Chimneys" - and old homestead where only the chimneys are left, on to Lake Euramoo - a cavity created by some volcanic vents. This lake is not fed by anything but runoff - and has no creeks that empty into the surrounding areas.

Next we turned off to the Cathedral Fig - an enormous fig tree that you can actually walk 'into' - another fig not far from here is the Curtain Fig - just as old, just as enormous and home to dozens of birds nest ferns and hundreds of tiny finches and beautiful birds.

5 klms of 4 wheel driving and then on to Gillies Range Lookout. What a stunning view!! They had never been there before, and WOW - what a place to have lunch. (Photos below). Not until you actually get out of the car and walk across to the small plateau, do you realise the immensity of the Atherton Tablelands. The small area is all fenced off as the Cairns Parasailing Club jump off the ridge - down into the Gillies Valley. Looking north you can see Goldsborough - and looking east through the valley past Mt Bartle Freer - is Babinda.

All packed up after a barbie lunch, we headed back towards Lake Eacham.  This and Lake Barrine are two volcanic craters, and together the form the Crater Lakes National Park. Both lakes are formed by volcanic explosions, and neither lake has streams that run into or out of the lakes. They are both freshwater and have a constant depth of around 65m. We loaded the kayaks into the lake and Geoff and I paddled slowly out to the middle.

As we were looking across the lake, a voice called out - "Can you help us please?" Two young boys were struggling to swim back to shore, as their two mates had swum off and left them to fend for themselves. Great mates those two!!

Initially I had them both hanging onto the back of my kayak, but eventually Geoff caught up and we shared the load. Later on their Mum came and thanked us, but they were really starting to struggle, so if we had gone the other way around the lake, the ending might not have been as happy. The lake is approximately 1 klm across - and being fresh water, is not so buoyant.

It is sooooo awesome to come back to "my roots" - and see names such as Tolga, Malanda and Millaa Millaa where my family all grew up. If you get the chance, and your parents are still alive and healthy, sit down and record their stories - because once the pass on - your history - is "just that - HISTORY!!

The Cathedral Fig - near Yungaburra

The Chimneys - out in the Danbulla Forest Drive

The Gillies Range Lookout - looking towards Mt Bartle Freer and across to Babinda.
You can see the removable gates to allow the hang gliders to launch

Looking north to Goldsborough and Mt Pyramid

The first thing you see as you come up over the ridge!
The Gillies Highway is directly below the lookout.

Lake Eacham - looking across to where we found the boys drowning