On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me...

Absolutely nothing.

But Father Christmas was better to me than I expected this year so I suppose I mustn't grumble.

I won't go into detail about how I spent Christmas, I expect it was much the same as most of yours. Apart from one thing - barbequed turkey anyone?

Of course, as you all remembered, the 26th was my Birthday and now I am old. But not much wiser. I celebrated with my uncle and aunt and baby cousin, with brunch at a very swish restaurant overlooking the bay in Mooloolabah and in the evening my uncle took me to see Sherlock Holmes at the cinema. Probably he was the wrong person to take to swoon over with Robert Downey Jr with, but never mind. He'll get over it.

I've also had a proper trip to the beach with sunbathing and everything, though not swimming, because the waves are of the tidal variety at the moment, apparently owing to a cyclone hitting Western Australia's shores.

Today I headed back up into the Blackall Range for a bit more of a look at the Hinterlands. Probably I should have looked at the weather forecast first. But it's Australia, you assume it's going to be sunny. It wasn't.

The first stop along the Blackall Range Tourist Drive (I borrowed my cousin (not the baby one)'s car) is Mapleton, which has quite a nice National Park with a waterfall. I had planned to go and look at the waterfall and then carry on to the next stop but the tourist board told me that there was a short walk around the park which would take only 45mins. The sky was looking deceptively blue at this point and the 'Wompoo' circuit looked like a good cover for doing very little exercise. When it started to pour and I had to sprint the remaining 800m dodging broken branches and muddy puddles, it seemed like I'd made the wrong decision. I wasn't going to be fooled when it came to the next available waterfall in the Kondalilla National Park at Flaxton. This time I got out of the car, took a picture and got back in. Like the true explorer I am.

Montville (see 17th December) was very very very busy, despite the rain so I didn't get a further chance to have a look. I did however make my way to Maleny another arts and crafty town, much less twee than Montville and slightly less touristy. And with about 6 more bookshops. :)

On my way back to Maroochydore I detoured through Woombye with the specific purpose of seeing The Big Pineapple, which essentially does exactly what it says on the tin. You may think that big pineapples would be something of a niche market, but this is not necessarily the case. My guide book tells me that The Big Pineapple inexplicably attracts visitors as nectar does bees.

I suppose now would be a sensible time to wish you all a Happy New Year. I myself will be celebrating NYE 09 at Woodford Folk Festival which is quite exciting!

Much love xxx