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Of course the first bottle neck we had to contend with was Sydneys peak hour traffic! It wasn't too bad getting to the harbour, but once we got to North Sydney, the Pacific Highway up to the freeway was bogged down as usual. But finally we were on the wide bitumen and able to let loose the horses stabled in the V8 chevy engine!

First driver change was a quick one, it wasnt time to eat yet, so we swapped over just out of Newcaslte, to give me my opportunity to get the fuel economy in check after Darrens lead foot had been hard pressed against the firewall for the last 200km! As soon as I started, the DTE figure crept up to and over the 900km mark :) I didn't accept it as a highest figure though as we really need to get 100km on the clock before we accept a figure so outrageously good as that!

Next stop was going to be a dinner stop of course, and we had a long way to go before then. We flew past Newcastle, before entering what came to be known as "Never Never Land"! We were getting hungry and looking for food, any food, it didn't matter what! But for possibly 100km, there was nothing but totall desolation! Eventually we saw the most welcoming set of golden arches we had ever seen, it was a sign to Port Macquarie, and only 15 minutes ahead. When we got there, we realised that we had cut thingsjust fine enough, the top class restaraunt was closing at 10pm, and of course it was 9:59 :)

After dinner we were off again, but this time, rather than heading North, Darren decided we would take an easterly route to Queensland. It didn't take me long to convince him that going via Perth was not going to help the overall duration of this trip.

Eventually we were getting closer and closer to the Queensland border. We had another driver change, and I brought the beast rolling into the northern territory a little after 3am Sydney time. Amazingly, the fuel prices were 88c for unleaded!! Wow!! We will definitely fill up on the way home on Saturday morning!! (More on this to come later...)

DAY TWO
We pulled up in a car park at Burleigh Heads which look reasonably dark and away from the main road. And we then settled in for a little snooze before the new day was upon us. Well of course, Queensland not obeying with the daylight savings rules meant the the sun actually rises there at around about 5am!! Do you think its easy to sleep in a car, windows up, when the sun starts beating down??? Right answer! We rose eventually about 6:30 and took a look at the beach, with many people around even at that early hour.

After breakfast, we did a buzz around the gold coast looking for the AGM location west of the main Surfers area. The golf course was easy enough to find, in immaculate condition! After that we scoped out some accomodation, the local Mermaid Waters was the location of some fine 5 star accomodation. Darren had to be careful with the stunning girl running the place, she had taken a liking to his car :)

By the time we had sorted things out, there was just time to shower and change and head off to the AGM. Of course there was JUST enough time to cruise through Surfers and check out what all the fuss about Schoolies week was all about :)

AGM Details can be found in this report.

After the AGM, we headed off for lunch along Cavil ave, and then a lay on the beach. Darren had a little trouble deciding what to order, and then the people making such a simple piece of food had no idea what to do! It took nearly half an hour I'm sure, just to make a steak sandwich! Oh well, there was plenty to watch as we waited for food, such as the statue of David :)

The swim at the beach wasn't too succesfull, there is such a bad rip on Surfers beach I don't know why people rave about it! But we tried to catch some waves, and then eventually layed in the sun a while and watched the world go by.

The evening was beckoning. We had decided to head to the movies to watch National Treasure with Nicholas Cage. It was a really good movie, and definitely worth a watch. But its getting so expensive to visit the movies, $18 for a ticket and a drink! After the movies, it was off to the Casino for a light dinner and then hitting the tables!!

I have no idea why I am such a bad Blackjack player, I am sure it has to do with just bad luck! But I lost my entire bank of $100 in about 15 hands! So I sat a while and watched Darren win himself $50 :) At least one of us won something, but we decided next time we go to the casino, I'm just going to give my $100 to Darren at the door, then we'll go home :)

DAY THREE
We got back to the room around midnight, and were asleep very quickly! We were up at 8am, and quickly changed for a walk to the bach and the last swim before heading home. I have to stop making stupid comments when I'm out with Darren, like "wow those waves are perfect, anyone that cant catch one of them must be a chump!". Darren - Surfer boy, Graham - Chump!

After the swim, we checked out of the room and headed off to breakfast. We found a place that looked perfect and when we got inside, it was like a dream. We were greeted by a waitress that could only be described as nice on the eye :) With an amazing pair of blue eyes you couldn't stop looking into. Anyway, back to the story. It was about 10:10am, and their kitchen had closed for breakfast at 10!! Ok, so how about lunch menu? Sorry, that doesn't start until 12!! Bugger! Anyway, we went downstairs to the kiosk and met her younger sister how WAS serving breakfast, and possibly the worlds best bacon and egg roll :)

Leaving the Gold Coast was bitter sweet. The day was shaping up to e a perfect beach day, and we were leaving the perfect beach crowd behind :) We left around 11:30 Sydney time, and the first thing we did was headed for that 88c per litre fuel!! Well, wouldn't you know it, here on the Gold Coast, it appears that is is ok to hike the prices 10c overnight when the weekend comes around!! So we could now not find a price less than a $1 a litre!!

It was a good run through the day though, not too much traffic. We had more stops on the way home, and it took as a while to find Captian Colnel Chicken for lunch!! So we lost a bit of time, but still managed to make it home in about 12 hours, which isn't bad for making so many long stops!

Overall a very safe and frutifull weekend.