The Following is Our Diary of

           Zoe's Walk for Cystic Fibrosis.  

        

      Queensland Walk Port Douglas to Brisbane Qld Australia 2000 km. 

In aid of approximately 850 children and their families who battle daily to keep their child alive.

Starts on the 3oth September 2012 finishing 36 days later on the 4th November 2012 at Slacks Creek Primary School, Daisy Hill, Brisbane, Queensland.

 

25/9/2012

Camped outside of Gympie at the free park last night.  To Bed at 6.30pm and up this morning at 5.30am.  On the road at 8.30am. In Childers at the moment at the library.  Got access to internet on my computer but didn't have power to run it last night.  The library here is free for internet. Our phone number is +610437782078 Jos & Nigel is +610498063116

Chontae is having a great time and whenever she is travelling she is writing in her diary or doing maths.  She has enjoyed everything.  Will send some pics tonight as we are staying at a paid site for power so we can wash hair and do computer work.  Hope to get to Sarina or MacKay today.
 
Campervan is great. Except yesterday afternoon we had a thunder storm, it was dark and we couldn't see to do anything/find the switches etc.  Worked it all out this morning and was able to have a coffee.  Bliss.  The campervan is called Bertha.
 
Love to you all and will write more tonight with pics hopefully.

26/9/2012

I am about done in tonight.  We travelled from Rockhampton to Home Hill today just below Ayr.  As well as fitting in the supermarket shop, toilet and petrol stops.  Nigel made the sandwiches and kept us full of cold water.  Good to have a fridge on board in this weather.
 
We stopped at several pubs along the way to hand out brochures and they are all allowing us to rattle the tins on the way back.  We have another free stop at a camp ground with a restaurant.  Food and power for free.  That makes about 12 free meals and free power sites.
 
There is a beauty here at Home Hill.  Free kitchen, toilets, showers and even free power for the computers.  Right in the middle of town.  Great to have a campervan for these places.  The first free one only had toilets but we carry 60 litres of water so thats okay.  We have gas rings and a kettle and a toaster and jug when we have power.  All the dishes etc as well.  Sleeping bags, sheets, towels, T towels , pillows etc.
 
It will be a lot easier for Chontae when we do not have to race so far in a short time.  When we start back we may only go between 50 and 100 kilometres a day depending on where we need to stop.  There will be a lot more time for fun things.  We were lucky enough to see a lovely big green frog last night and mother and baby kangaroo at the camp ground this morning.  Miss Chontae tells us that she will know everything about Australia by the time she goes home.  Get her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  She will drive everyone nuts with her knowledge.
 
I must away now and get some sleep.  Was not so good last night as I had too much the night before.  We will probably get to Cairns or close tomorrow night.

28/9/2012

Yesterday we arrived at Cairns about 4.30pm and went to niece Cassandra’s house.  We were met there by Sandy & Kushla as well as Cassandra’s fiancée as well as their dear sweet daughter Alyssa.  Chontae was in seventh heaven having baby to play with.  Had Coffee there arranged Monday night for a meal back there then went on to Sandy's to stay the night.  Sandy cooked us our first home cooked meal in a week.  Absolutely blooming lovely.  We are staying there again on Monday night.  Looking forward to once again being with them.  Chontae watched so many DVD's with Kushla that she fell asleep as soon as we hit the road today.  Great time for us all.

We have arrived in Port Douglas and staying in a lovely motor camp just out side of town.  They have given us 2 nights powered site for free.  The beach coast is beautiful but what was disappointing was that one only sees the sea as one is getting near to Port Douglas. I had it in my mind that one could see more of the sea along the way.  Never mind thou for the rest of the day we are living the dream.  But tomorrow all is go go go.  LJ Hooker has organised a 4 kilometre walk starting at  ANZAC Park in Port Douglas  for tomorrow.  We have been told to turn up by 7.00am to take part.  We will also be rattling the donation tin.  They have organised the usual sausage sizzle etc.  We believe that this LJ Hooker have very successful fund raisers.  So here hoping. 
 
Yes Mum I had only been as far as Bundaberg before so it's a great experience.  Crazy that I didn't do it when I was here before.  We will be able to have a slower look at everything as we go back.  Campervans are everywhere and all the councils cater to them by having free camp areas with toilets etc.  Some even showers and power.  We have a hand shower on the outside of our van if we get desperate and it runs off the tank supply of the van.  There is enough power from the battery to run it.   The Grey Brigade are everywhere in their campervans.
 
Australia is indeed an opportunity for the young and middle aged.
 
Grandi and Chontae are over at the pool.  It has a slide and great barbeque area.  They have just come back and Nige says that Chontae already thinks that she is Tarzan of the jungle handling the water slide alone.  He watches of course and the slide is not that high.
 
Well enough gos now time to relax a bit.  I must admit I am a bit jet lagged from driving so far so quickly.

29/9/2012

Well a brilliant day in Port Douglas.  LJ Hooker Port Douglas are to be commended for their efforts.  This town is very switched on to the plight of families and children affected with Cystic Fibrosis.  There was a 4.5 km walk around the town (Nigel and a lady coming in first) followed by sausage sizzle and raffles and merchandise sales.  That all finished about 11.00am.  We came back to the motor camp for a much needed swim.  Later we went back to two hotels in the town which were packed solid with AFL supporters for that Grand Final and shook our money tins around.  I was blown away by how many people knew of Nigel and what he had achieved.  It was an experience I will not forget in a hurry.  Nigel starts his first day of road walking tomorrow.  I am going back into Port Douglas tomorrow for a couple of hours to rattle the tin again as they have a big market day in the park.  I will then follow Nige into Palm Cove to appear at the Life Saving Club. 
 
Wished I had gotten a job here years ago.  Talk about living the dream.  This is where its at.  Met a great old English guy today who came all the way from Kenya six years ago and stayed.  He won a walking trip in the raffle.  He was hoping for a dinner raffle.  As he said he’s walked everywhere anyway. Met other lovely people who had come on holiday, went home sold up and came back.  The marina just reeks of money with all the flash boats moored there.  And there are huge top rate hotels everywhere one looks.  I guess there is a poor side but I haven't seen that.
 
Well we have another early start tomorrow.  Bub and Nige are already asleep.  I hope everyone is well.

2/10/2012

After the great start on Saturday we left Port Douglas on Sunday.  The TV crew were there bright and early with Nige rearing to go.  They got some great shots and sent him on his way.  Chontae and I packed up, left the motor camp picked up some camera batteries and a few post cards and set off to follow Granddad.  Along the way we saw a large pack of bikies and I was hoping Nige caught then stopped as they are renown for putting the hand in the pocket for charity.  Evidently he only caught the last three before they took off and got coin out of them all.  He managed to collect about $30.00 that day.  I picked him up about 12.30pm then we headed for Palm Cove.  We booked into the Motor Camp and set up again.  We headed down to the Palm Cove Surf Lifesaving club where we had arranged to do some fundraising.  Wow what a surprise.  They had a tin with Nige's picture all over it and had it on the bar for the last few months.  So with that and what we raised on the night while the league final was on we were able to get another $200.00 odd dollars.  My mouth just kept dropping open.  The girl behind the bar that had organised most of it was born in Aus but her parents were from Hamilton.  Good ole kiwi spirit.
 
I dropped Nige off the next morning just outside Cairns and Chontae and I went back to open a bank account for the collection monies.  What a catastrophe.  2 & 1/2 hours later I was able to get out of there get a few groceries, purchase a new camcorder for Skype and race off to make sure Nige was okay.  Chontae fell asleep as soon as we were on the road.  I picked Nige up just at the Gordonvale turnoff where we drove to so Nige could visit the hospice where his best mate Colin died three years ago.  We then travelled into Innisfail found a camping ground, did the washing etc and rested.  When I booked into the camping ground the owner took my thirty dollars for the fee, then put her hand in the till and pulled out $50.00 note as a donation.  Very generous indeed.  Another man in the camp (in A wheelchair) stopped me and said I was bloody brilliant for wearing the Cystic Fibrosis T Shirt.  It turned out his niece died at aged 14 from CF.
 
On Monday night the local Cairns news via channel 7 played the article about the walk and all the while that Nige was walking today horns were being honked for him and people were stopping their cars and giving him money.  How cool was that.  He raised about $80.00 just while walking.
 
We are having some incredible things happen along the way and some very very lovely emails being sent to us.
 
So it's off to Tully later tomorrow after doing some walking around Innisfail.

5 October 2012

Well the three days have been fairly quiet.  We have been lucky to strike free accommodation for two of the last three nights and the third was discounted.

Coming into Innisfail there was a fair old tropical storm and Nigel got caught right in the middle of it.  I think that was the start of his blisters on the inside of toe 4 on both feet with the chaffing in the wet weather.  Yesterdays walk only made it worse and one toe is badly eaten down.  I insisted on a day off today.  We booked into the Rollingstone Motor Camp which is 7 km off the Bruce highway right by the sea.  We were warned not to swim in the sea as they have two resident crocs.  They had a great pool with a waterfall and lounging deck chairs all around.  Very LA looking.  So we swam and rested.  Beautiful spot.

In the early evening we drove back down to the Bruce Highway to the Rollingstone Hotel and took a collection box.  The manager okayed it and the patrons were very generous as well as Mr BP from next door.  We raised about $140.00.

In the morning we will be starting the walk towards Townsville from Mr BP's place.

We are being filmed again by channel 7 going out of Townsville on Sunday morning with the Townsville Ulysses club as an escort.

That's about all for now will keep you posted.

8 October 2012

Nigel walked for four hours (6 October 2012) towards Townsville.  It was quite late when we got there and as many roads had changed over the years Nigel found it quite hard to know where we were.  However we found a motor camp just on the south side of town a very short distance from where we were due to start out from the following day.  We all had a swim again to cool off.  Chontae is doing extremely well with her swimming gaining more confidence with each swim.

The following morning (7 October 2012) we set off for the Copper Refinery to meet up with the Ulysses riders and the Channel 7 camera man.  What a great time filming it was.  The club members all made donations then Nigel walked off to the sound of rumbling motorbikes. 

After a few hours of walking Nigel walked into the Giru Hotel.  Chontae and I had arrived there ahead of him and we were waiting with the camera.  What a hot day it was, but in staggered Nigel.  What a great welcome we had there.  A friend of Nigel's from way back (Ensio) was selling the raffles of which one, the proceeds came to our cause.  Also his club donated a further $100.00 and the winner of the jackpot monies gave $50.00 of his prize.  So along with the nearly $100.00 from the Ulysses riders we had a very special day.

We left Giru late Sunday afternoon and pulled into a camp site in Bradon where we will stay for two nights.

Today (8 October)  would have been dear sweet Zoe's birthday today.  We are resting in a lovely little town called Bradon just to the north of Ayr.

13 October 2012

We ended up spending two nights in Bradon with the second night free.  Thank you to the the lovely chaps reworking the Bradon Hotel and combined Tourist Park.  They were looking for a new Manager and we very nearly put our hands up.  But commonsense prevailed and we left there heading for Bowen.  Nigel walked for about four hours altogether.  We are finding it easier for him now to walk for an hour at a time with rests inbetween.  Bowen turned out to be quite expensive for accommodation and no one was willing to discount anything for the cause so we moved on to Proserpine.  We stayed at the council camp site which was a reasonable price and it is an incredible facility with the town pools right beside with free admission for the campers.  By now it was Tuesday 9 October 2012 and we were due to appear in an item on the Channel 7 news.  We found a friendly pub in the main street of Proserpine to watch it.  Having missed the first report in Cairns we didn't want to miss the main one.  Grand Central Hotel was super friendly and the barmaid took a bucket around teasing her locals into parting with their change.   It was amazing to see as about 20 odd guys donated just over $100.00. We are constantly amazed at how generous people are and everywhere we go somebody knows somebody associated with Cystic Fibrosis. It feels like an epidemic proportion and these families need help.

On Thursday 11 October 2012 Nigel walked into Airlie Beach.  We had already organised two free nights accommodation at the Seabreeze Holiday Park and a fundraising venue at the Whitsunday Sailing Yacht Club.  What a welcome we got there. We were treated to lunch on our arrival as well.  On the Friday Nigel was chatting with the Kelly family who at present are living at the Seabreeze Holiday Park.  They were so taken by his story that they came back to our campervan with their savings tin and donated it to our cause.  A very humble feeling prevails to know that one family can care so much.  We went back to the yacht club on Friday evening and did a collection.  The wonderful patrons of the Whitsunday Sailing Yacht Club donated close to $150.00.  We also won a bottle of wine in the raffles!!!!!!! 

 Our grandaughter has had a remarkable time in that in the last fortnight she has gone from not being able to swim to now being able to swim and having a great confidence in the water.  She is loving it and her order is that the camp grounds must have a pool.  Not always possible but we try.  I have to admit that I (Grandma) use the pools as well as it is hard for me to exercise on this trip so water aerobics is the answer to that problem.  We are finding that with the heat an hour in the pool does wonders for our equlibrians.

It is now the morning of 13 October 2012 and as I write this Nige is packing up around me while I write this report.  We are heading off towards Mackay.  It is quite a long haul from here so not sure where we will stay tonight.  We are still enjoying the whole experience and with meeting so many great people along the way we are able to stay very positive.

More to come next time.............

Well here we are again.  Next time has come around all too soon.  I have suffered from writers block this week but now the fingers are tapping so on with the update.

The walking continues and as Nige walks Chontae and I drive a few kilometers ahead wait for him to catch up, make sure he is okay and repeat the process until he is done for the day.  On 13 October 2012 we made for a sea side town called Seaforth. Along the way at Ossa we stopped at the store and the SES were having a Sausage Sizzle there. Nige got a free Sausage, free drinks and ice creams for him and Chontae from the shop as well as a donation from both the shop ladies and the SES lady. At Seaforth we camped for two nights free of charge at the Council Caravan Park.  We consider these free nights as donations as they are donations in kind.  All the free nights we have at Caravan Parks have been through our own efforts. An amazing thing happened at this park.  While we were sitting on the chairs out side the van having afternoon tea a lorikeet flew in and landed on Nigel.  I started counting and soon there were 15 lorikeets all over Chontae and Nigel. I quickly got the camera and started snapping.  The both of them were so ecstatic as to be able to join nature like this.  While we were at Seaforth we visited The Leap Hotel on the Sunday.  What an afternoon that was.  It was a real bush pub with very giving patrons.  We had a great lunch (Steak sandwiches) thanks to Bibi the Owner.  Once again we got about $100.00 and thanks to a patron knowing someone at a radio station, Nigel was interviewed on two radio stations in MacKay and the local MacKay newspaper did an article about him.  There was also a patron who knew all about Cystic Fibrosis.  It was a shame that as in Cairns and Townsville we were not given any Cystic Fibrosis contacts and we could not take full advantage of the advertising that these towns provided. 

On 15 October 2012 nigel walked out of MacKay with the newspaper lady taking photographs of him. We then headed for Sarina to the Poiciana Caravan Park where the owner gave us a very discounted rate for two nights.  We visited the RSL and pubs but it was very quiet being a Monday and Tuesday.  At the RSL Nigel met a cousin of Professor John Pern (once Head of Childrens Health in Brisbane) who had spoken at the first public meeting of Zoes Place.  It was nice for Nigel to share and talk with someone that knew of the cause. 

We left Sarina 17 October 2012 and headed for Malborough where we had a prearranged free stay.  By now the temperatures had soared and coupled with road works creating alot of dust, Nigel found it quite tiring.  The temperatures were between 35 & 40 degrees.  The Caravan Park had a great pool which we all made use of  and that evening we were treated to dinner and the Park donated $50.00 as well as other diners donating.  A big thank you to Sue and her great team of workers.  This place may be in the middle of nowhere but well worth the visit.  As soon as one enters the dining room one knows that all the graces are going to be given.  Great service!!!!!! Rave Rave Rave.

On 18 October 2012 we headed for Emu Park as we had a couple of days before meeting up with supporters in Rockhampton.

We arrived at the Caravan Park at Emu Park to find that our Campervan was leaking deisel.  Oh my!!!!!!!!!!!!!! However NRMA came to the rescue and because our campervan company had the full insurance we were put in a motel for the night, the van was fixed and we went on our way the next day.  A big thank you to Tim at Moo Moo Campervans.  He stayed in contact with us the whole time and made sure that we were okay.  Three Cheers - Hip Hip Horray.

On 19 October 2012 Nigel walked into Yeppoon.  We booked into Beachside Caravan Park for two nights.  We were a bit dubious about it as it had 1 bad review and 1 good review.  Well no need to worry as it was superb.  Even a big tomato vine growing at the back of our site and we were able to use the fruit.  We set about going from clubs to pubs and teed up some collection points for Saturday.  Thank you to Emu Park Hotel for their donation and the lovely Scottish lady who gave $50.00.  A huge thank you to the Capricornia Hotel for allowing us to collect there and we were lucky to receive $250.00.  Thank you all you lovely kind patrons.

On Saturday morning Nigel took a walk out towards Byfield.  We had coffee at the General Store come Restaurant and then drove back to Yeppoon.  I don't mind saying that Emu Park and Yeppoon stole a piece of my heart.  Very much like Mount Maunganui where we come from in New Zealand.

Sunday Lunch time 21 October 2012 Nigel walked into Kershaw Gardens at Rockhampton.  There waiting for us was the lovely Bev Saunders, her husband JIm, Cousin Doreen and another lady who has a Cystic Fibrosis granddaughter.  Bev Saunders is the grandmother of Emily Farlow who died in 1997 with Cystic Fibrosis (Sunshine Coast).  Bev had heard Nigel talk on 4BC with Greg Carey and contacted us about two weeks ago.  In that time these ladies set about selling raffles to raise funds for Nigel's Walk.  These ladies were magic.  They had baked, made sandwiches, supplied cold drinks and had the raffles there ready for us to draw the winners.  Chontae drew the winning numbers and we were then presented with a cheque for $420.00.  How good was that???????  I believe these ladies have been sending up to $5000.00 a year to Cystic Fibrosis each year for the last 20 years.  Bev also showed me alot of merchandise that they make and sell for the cause.  She gave me a lovely Xmas hand towel. Bev & Jim allowed us to stay at their place for the night and even arranged for two of their grandchildren to visit so that Chontae would have some company.  They even shouted pizza for tea that night. What generous people.

We were sad to leave Jim and Bev but we had to move along.

With nothing else organised until Thursday 25 October 2012 we drove to 1770 and stayed for three nights.  It has been a welcome break as Nigel hit a wall mentally and emotionally and coupled with the oppressive heat it got a bit much for him.  Luckily there has been a change in the temperatures and the last two days have been very comfortable.  We have been able to experience another great piece of nature with what looks like the same kookaburra visiting the clothesline everyday right beside our van and today a two foot lizard.  Also the bush turkeys are forever hopeful of a free meal.  Nige has seen one live brown snake and many dead ones in his travels.  

However we are off to Bundaberg tomorrow and will be meeting up with Julie at the Thrift shop for a Sausage Sizzle on Friday then off to Gin Gin on Saturday which is shaping up to be a great fundraiser with the help of Kyra, Ryan Walsh's grandmother.  Three cheers for Kyra.  Another week and a half and we will be in Brisbane,  The time has flown by.  More to come...........

 25 October 2012

We arrived in Bundaberg to the warm welcome of Anne Walsh (Ryan's Mum, a CF Mum and long time friend of Nigel) and her partner Dave (a great Kiwi bloke).  We stayed at their house the night and were spoilt by a lovely home cooked meal.  After tea Anne and I went to collect from hotels.  Most were empty but at the Brothers League Club we collected about $60.00.  The next morning (26 October 2012) Anne took us to a lovely little free children's zoo and showed Chontae the birds and animals.  There was a very sad story attached to this little zoo. They used to have two emus and it was discovered that a back packer(female) killed one by cutting it's legs off.  So the second one was removed in case anything happened to it.  Fortunately the person responsible was caught and punished.  So tragic!!!!!!!!

We then went on to the Cystic Fibrosis Thrift Shop where we were met by Julie and her staff.  A representative of LJ Hooker was there with their mascot Hooker Bear. It was a lovely shop and the staff were equally nice and friendly.  Anne had also organised for the Ulysses guys to be there and they made a $200.00 donation.  Anne also donated $100.00 along with $50.00 from her cousin.  Once again Nige and I were overwelmed with the generosity of people.

That afternoon we drove onto Gin Gin where we were to meet Kyra & Jeff Edwards the following day to fundraise at the markets.  I booked into the Showrounds Motor Camp in Gin Gin then went back  to collect Nigel as Chontae and I had left him walking between Bundaberg and Gin Gin.  Chontae and I spent alot of the walking hours doing school work, reading and catching up with correspondance.  We were not normally more than 5 kms away from him.

27 October 2012 and we had to be at the market by 7.00am.  We arrived there and met another lady (Yvonne) who was helping Kyra and Jeff to set up.  These ladies had everything under control.  Kyra is the grandmother of Ryan Walsh. We had a great day there and made $120.00 off the stall, $60.00 from the Ginn Gin Market Assoc from cup of tea sales and I did a collection from stall holders and raised another $60.00 odd dollars.  We also visted a hotel later that afternoon and collected another $50.00.

Kyra and her Gin Gin Mature Women's group also donated $40.00..  It just goes to show what can be achieved when one has help on the ground.

So to Bundaberg and Gin Gin thanks so much from the bottom of our hearts.

With a night to spare with no engagements we drove to Barrum Heads.  This is where we saw some beautiful pelicans for the first time.  We stayed at Burrum Heads Tourist (Caravan) Park which was very nice.  We have been constantly amazed by the number of retired people opting for the caravan lifestyle for an extended time.  I guess it makes sense as there is little housework and even less committment to an everyday lifestyle in the burbs.

29 October 2012 we headed for Wallace Motel/Caravan Park at Maryborough.  Nigel had previously arranged our free accommodation there.  It has been very clear from the beginning that if collections in pubs were not done on Friday, Saturdays and Sundays there would be insufficent patrons in hotels to make collecting possible.  Most of the time Nigel still went out and walked for his three to four hours, alot of the time walking on quieter country roads that he hadn't been on before.  We also collected in smaller towns that had not been approached before.

Tin Can Bay was our next Port of Call.  We went here specifically for Chontae to feed the Dolphins.  We spent a night at a Caravan Park and got up bright and early to see the dolphins.  What an experience that was for Chontae.  Nobody was allowed to touch the dolphins but if the dolphins touched you that was okay.  Chontae stood for a whole hour and she was rewarded with the dolphin nudging her legs and hands.  Then she lined up for her fish in a little bucket to feed the dolphin. Nigel was also rewarded as the male dolphin that we saw was the same male he had seen nineteen years ago. How unbelievable is that???  There was also a female dolphin there.

We then travelled to Noosaville to stay at the Wolngarin Resort (arranged previously by Nigel) for two nights.  The owners Jim & Tracey also have a CF/Autistic boy.   Tracey and her friend Donna (Also a CF mum) and another couple of friends had raised $30,000.00 in May 2012 for Cystic Fibrosis Qld. These families and their friends appear to be a very prominent force for Cystic Fibrosis in their community and work very hard at keeping the message out there.  In the early evening of 1 November 2012 we did a sweep of the hotels in the outlying areas (Eumundi, Cooroy and Te Wantin but even for a Thursday night it was too quiet to collect.

Friday 2 November 2012 we came back to Brisbane to meet with Erika to finalise arrangements for the end of the walk on Sunday 4 November 2012.

So if you live in the Brisbane area please come along and support Nigel.  This is his last Charity Walk as at 68 years of age he feels it is time to stand aside and yet the yonger ones take over.  Where to go?????  Slacks Creek Primary School on Daisy Hill Road, Daisy Hill.  Be there by 10.30am as Nige is due to arrive at 11.00am.  We will have raffles going and the collection boxes being shaken.  Cystic Fibrosis Qld will also be selling merchandise.

So for now I will sign out and I will be back after Sunday with a final report......................

Yes Sunday 4 November 2012 was indeed a magical day for us all.  Erika (Zoe's Mum) had worked her magic to get everything to come together.  She was able to get the local Member of Parliament, Zoe's Headmaster, a Lions Representative, and many of Zoe's classmates to attend.  The current headmaster got on board and had many of his pupils doing memory projects.  The School Gardner wove his magic with the garden and the lovely office lady (who was at school when Zoe was there and still is) got her husband to renew the garden sign and paint that and the trimmings a light purple which was Zoe's favourite colour.  The garden had been originally a Lion's Project and has been maintained by the school, as well as Erika and Nigel over the years.

The raffle table was awash with prizes and beautifully set out.  Nigel decided not to walk into the grounds as preplanned preferring not to have the hoopla that goes with that.  We quietly arrived before others so that we could speak with organisers and thank people etc.

Very soon there were many people there.  Nigel spoke first then I read a prepared speech.  Nigel seems to speak off the top of his head very well but I need to write everything down otherwise I forget too much.  It was very emotional for both of us as Nigel feels that his Walking days have come to an end.  I am not so sure about that!!!!!!!!!.  Given the right circumstances I could be persuaded again and I think he could be too.

The other dignatories spoke and Nigel was presented with a beautiful Plague commemorating Zoe's Life and Nigel's Journey.  That was super emotional as it was something the children at school had organised.  Later we drew the raffles and then we were were given a beautiful Morning Tea by the P and C Committee from the school. Yummy crackers and cheese, scones with jam and cream and beautiful chocolate cake.

Many photos were taken and Channel Seven came and stayed for quite a while.

Nigel and I felt very humbled but more was to come. The wonderful O'Sullivan family from the Gold Coast whom we had met in Port Dauglas, are taking us to Sea World this week and many of our friends have filled our dinner cards to the hilt.  So what we thought was going to be a quiet week of reflection has become a social whirl wind for us.

We fly out back to New Zealand very early Sunday Morning.  We are sad to be going home and leaving once again the great life we have had here but we are also very excited to go home and return to our lifestyle there.

So once again thank you to everyone who has made this stay a trully wonderful experience.  And most importantly of all, a big thank you to Pete (brother) and especially Shirley (sister-in-law) for having us in their home at the beginning and end of our trip.

God Bless you all with much love 

Cheers Nigel, Jocelyn & Chontae

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

             

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Route -

Port Douglas    - Cairns                           Sunday 30th September

Cairns              - Inisfail                            Monday 1st October.

Inisfail              - Ingham                           Tuesday 2nd October  -   Thursday 4th October

Ingham            - Townsville                      Friday 5th October       -    Saturday 6th October.  

Townsville        - Bowen                           Sunday 7th October     -   Wednesday 10th October.

Bowen              - Airlie Beach -                 Thurs 11th October      -   Friday 12th October

Airlie Beach      - Mackay.                         Friday 12th October      -   Sunday 14th October.

Mackay            - Rockhampton.                Monday15th October    -   Sunday 21st October

Rockhampton  - Gladstone.                      Monday 22nd October   -   Tuesday 23rd October.

Gladstone        - Maryborough.                 Wednesday 24th October-   Monday 29th October.

Maryborough   - Gympie                           Tuesday 30th October     -    Wednesday 31st October

Gympie            - Noosa                             Thursday 1st November - Friday 2nd November

Sunshine Coast - Brisbane                        Friday 2rd November - Saturday 3rd November

Slacks Creek Primary School, Daisy Hill, Brisbane  -  Sunday 4th November 

 

Apart from the start and end dates, these dates are subject to a slight change as events unfold.

Many small towns will be visited inbetween the main towns listed.

 

* April 2013 run/jog the length of New Zealand North to South. 

 

* 2014 Cross Canada East to West.

Here is the Wish/Need List  (Sponsors Needed for Expenses)

1.  $2300.00  MooMoo Campers (Campervan) MooMoo Campers have already given us 1/3% discount hence the low cost of the campervan. Vasyli Medical have sponsored the remaining cost os the Campervan so now it is fully funded.

2. Fuel Cards

3.  $2000.00 Camp Site Fees or in kind (so far we have received 10 nights free accommodation from hotels and camp sites)

4.   Food

5.   Footwear (Vasyli Socks)

6.  T Shirts & Printing of T Shirts (Vasyli Cystic Fibrisis are sponsoring sets of T Shirts)

7.  Mobile Phone Costs

8.  Bottled Water, Enery Drinks & Energy Bars

9.  Air fares for three people (Nigel & Jocelyn now live in New Zealand and will be coming back for the fund raiser) (We have paid our own air fares)

All sponsorship monies can be paid to the Cystic Fibrosis Queensland and then they will be

re-allocated to the relevant cost.  When sending or banking monies to Cystic Fibrosis Queensland

please identify what you are sponsoring for this walk.  Please note that a partial sponsorship is just as important as covering a total cost.  If 10 people give $100.00 each, very soon it becomes $1000.00.

The Bank Account is: 

Bank: Westpac

Name: Cystic Fibrosis Queensland Limited

BSB: 034 036  AC: 347 343

Any Cheques need to be sent to:  Cystic Fibrosis Queensland, PO Box 2245, Chermside Centre, Queensland 4032

 

Donations can also be made at www.everydayhero.com.au/nigel_reed 

Or on our Donation Page through the Donation link. 

Go to our Donation page for a list of sponsors who have already donated.  

 

Please note we have a Certificate of Authority from Cystic Fibrosis Assoc. Queensland to raise monies.

Contact Nigel & Jocelyn at Ph +64 7 5720786 or +64210509115 new zealand numbers

Australian numbers are Jocelyn 0437782078 Nigel 0498063116

or at nigel2reed@hotmail.com

 

 

 

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