PAfter two days down in Ballina, mostly spent in Byron, we packed ready for our return north to Brisbane, Pullenvale in the Western suburbs to be exact, to see our old friends Paul & Naomi. Before leaving Andy managed a run out along the waterfront of Ballina avoiding the rain clouds that had descended over night.

With a few clouds to spare before our 2.5hr drive back to Queensland, we returned to Lennox Head for a spot of breakfast on the beach and a coffee in one of the many espresso bars that sit on the Esplanade.

It’s a beautiful spot and one that got us thinking about where we could live and happily retire and this is certainly one of those places.

Lennox Head has that inviting feel, full of families on the beach surfing & fishing together against a backdrop of a wonderful sandy white beach and lush green rolling hills.

We spent an hour or two walking along the beach before jumping into the car to start our 125 mile drive to Brisbane. It’s funny that the motorways here have the similar numbering to home, with the M1 and then the M6 leading us up to Pullenvale.

Paul and Naomi live in a beautiful spot about 15 miles west of Brisbane in a quiet rural suburb where we were greeted by the local wallabies feeding in their garden.

The wallabies have become such regulars that they’ve been named, with Lightning being one of the young Joeys who are happy to be fed cashew nuts.

It’s been 25yrs since Michelle and Naomi first met teaching at Rush Common School in Abingdon and we saw a lot of each other socially until they departed to Australia in 2006. Since then we’ve seen each 4 or 5 times in Brisbane as well as a couple of times in Vienna when Paul worked for the United Nations.

Staying at their home and spending a few days catching up feels so special and makes us realise how lucky we are to have met them and remained friends over the last couple of decades.

All being well we plan to do some travelling around Australia in the future when we next visit and Paul has retired. In the meantime Paul gave us a tour around their recently purchased a Mercedes Van, which they are in the process of converting to a full kitted out camper-van, with all the comforts of home. After that they too plan to head off on their own travels around Australia.

Tomorrow we plan to head into Brisbane and take a walk along the South Bank, a cultural, social and recreational precinct that is awash with fantastic bars and restaurants.