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We tried to come to Elliot Heads on Tuesday but we had a long drive from Woodgate and would get there too late. So they put our names down for Thursday afternoon. It's a nice country clubhouse that was taken over by Waves club in Bundaberg. It was opened in 1977. Steve, Lynda and Cherryl were in the office. Brian looked after the raffle. All the ladies sat around to wait for the game. Some of them were organising afternoon tea. Lorraine told Jean Elliott Heads has the best afternoon tea around. There are two nice grass greens. We played on the far green. The Foundation Green 1977. Inside there's a photo that shows three greens. The third one lies fallow. Steve called the cards. It's Triples. Deb, Jean and Gary We're against Scotty, Christoff and Helen. Sandra, Malcolm and Liz Played Lionel, Graham and Jenny There was a big head wind. Nearly everyone but Jean was short. After ten ends we came in for afternoon tea. Great spread! Mal won a raffle prize. We went back out for the last ten. Jean scored one. Jean lost and Mal won. Jean kept looking over for Mal's photoworthy shots but didn't find any. Last end he tried his best. Elliot Heads - alas, Jean lost again!

We came to North Mackay on Thursday to put our names down. We found out they have an 8:30 game on Monday so we did that. We put the alarm on to get up early. It's a nice, big clubhouse. We chatted with Jim and Alan. MONDAY Sandra the Ladies' Ambassador made us feel welcome and explained everything. Wayne and Shane were in the office. The club is called Goosies. It's next to the Goose pond. There are two under-cover Tiger Turf greens. We played on the outside green. Today it's 2-4-2 Pairs. We played together. Against new bowlers Barry and Peter. Mal started well. Jean gave us three. Then another. Mal was playing very well. Another four. We won 29 to 7. It was a bit unfair because Peter and Barry are both new bowlers. They bowled very well but had some bad luck! Jean's been after a purple club shirt. She doesn't like the Melbourne Storm shirt she has. One of the ladies was wearing a purple shirt. It's not a club shirt but it's nice. She gave it to Jean. Goosies North Mackay - fun for us.

Our mate Keiran invited us to come to Mackay RSL Memorial Bowling Club for Saturday bowls. It's a cute little clubhouse. The past Men's and Ladies' Presidents are proudly displayed. The club is decked out for Blue's 80th. He's a veteran and former President. We'd met Keiran when we were in Daly Waters. He gave us his number for when we came to Mackay. Keiran introduced us to President Steve who presented Mal with a shirt 👕. Jean asked Steve if the had a badge for her hat. He said no but found her a pen. Everyone sat outside to wait for the game. There's a memorial garden. There's one grass green. It's an RSL so the green is a WW2 memorial. There's an old green that's now used for Croquet. Today it's two games of three-bowl Pairs. Ten ends. Mal played with Jim Against Steve and Stacey. Jean and Otto Played Mark and Sandy. Jean was doing ok. Mal put in some good bowls. We had a short break after the first game and came in for great company and chats about local crocodiles and all the dangerous animals in Northern Qld. Second game Jean played Mal's first opponents - Steve and Stacey. Mal played against Tim and Keiran. Mal scored when others were a bit short. Mal won the first and dropped the second game. Jean and Otto won two and scored the prize. Slade Point RSL Memorial - we loved the people!

We dropped in to Mackay City on Thursday to get a photo. We discovered they have bowls on today so we put our names down. It has a nice long bar. With a good trophy case. The ladies' club was opened in 1993. Barry and Geoff were at the desk. Mal chatted with Barry for ages. Then we sat with David and Jamie. It's a nice Tiger Turf green under cover. Jean will be happy! It's been down a while. It will be replaced in August this year. It's named after Dr C.E. Williams. In the 'B O'Sullivan Pavilion. The centenary was in 2023. There's a butterfly 🦋 in the garden for Ash, a dedicated club rep player who passed away from Cancer at age 21 😢. Today it's three-bowl Triples. Col, Jean and Mal played together Against Jan, Josie and Mary. It was nearly a dead heat. Mal just pipped Jean. We lost it though last opposition bowl. It was 11-zip on end six. We weren't getting any shot bowls! Finally we scored! Jean scored a toucher Then Mal consolidated before, with his last bowl, he took kitty again and gave them shot. That made the score 25-zip. We came in dejectedly at 3pm for smoko. The spread cheered us up. We went back out. Mal had given up by then but he finally scored a shot. Yay! Then we got a three! Alas it was a cricket score but we won six out of eight ends! 29 to 8. We came inside for drinks. Mackay City - terrible game for us!

We arrived at the caravan park at 12:10. Jean told Mal to ring Northern Beaches to find out what time they play. If it was 12:30 we'd miss out. It's 1. The bowlers hung out in the Sports Bar. We met Ian. He was expecting us. They'd had to make special arrangements as we were supposed to have our names down by 12. They fitted us in! They are building a new under cover green. The got a $500,000 Government grant. The new green will be ten rinks. It's a blue lagoon Tiger Turf. Like at Moree. Today was Triples. Two games of 11 ends. Kees, Felise and JJ We're against Peter, Jean and Nick. Mal, Keith and Dennis Played David, Sid and Ken. Jean was on fire. Shot almost every end. She was having a whale of a time! Jean's game finished 11 all. Jean's team won more ends so got to play in the winners' circle. Mal reckoned he didn't do any good bowls so didn't take photos. Jean finished first so stood at his head as he bowled his last bowl. She knew he could do it! Second game Jean was against Skip Ron, Jenny and Bill. Mal played against Jane, Bob and John He did his best. A few shots were exceptional. Jean's team had another win. Mal lost. Jean's team won the money. We sat inside and baked in the friendly banter. Northern Beaches - a win for Jean and a great day.

Pioneer Valley in Gargett is sporting club with a strong bowls focus. We popped in for a quick visit and got to plug in for a while. We had to drive on some dodgy roads to get there. We saw they have 15 amp power so thought we could stay here. We plugged in. We got our photo of the club sign for our map. We looked at the bar through the window. It's only open from Thursday to Sunday. Today's Tuesday. It's a grass green with a tennis court behind. Dave came down for a roll-up. Mal joined him. Mal reckons he won nearly every end. We'll have to take his word for that! We met the caretaker who said the council won't permit the public to camp there despite the facilities. We had to pack up and move on. Pioneer Valley - just a little visit!

We dropped in to Cutheringa on Thursday to put our names down for a Saturday afternoon game of bowls. SOUTH TOWNSVILLE First we stopped in South Townsville. They were closed but we got shown around by a couple of the staff. They are very proud of their crabs! CUTHERINGA We came back for our Cutheringa game on Saturday afternoon. We got there early and managed to watch a bit more of The Dunn Cup streaming live Suburban vs South Townsville. It's a Nth Qld 4's competition that's been going since 1937. There's a nice long bar. We're told they like a drink here! Bullwinkle covers the bowls. It's a nice trophy case. With a rhino! There are Dunn Cup photos. We heard about Dunn cup at Magnetic Island yesterday. Liz manages the bar and the money. The club's been around since 1947. We met Shane and his son Vincent. Vincent won the Triples last year when he was 10. They are the Cutheringa Rhinos. The rhino is over the bar. In fact they are everywhere! They gave us each a Stubby holder & cloth. There's one plastic synthetic green. Today everyone is at the Dunn Cup. Enough players turned up for a game of Fours. Mal played with Bill, Vincent and Dean (who's visiting from Vermont South in Melbourne) Against Mal, Shane, Jean and Peter. Jean had shot but Mal came in and stole it with a brilliant bowl! Jean was really happy with how she bowled. She got a lot of shots. She finally kept one. That's tough for a Lead in Fours. Mal waited a while for a photo-worthy bowl. Jean managed to keep another shot bowl! Going into the last end we were 14 all. Last bowl Shane took the kitty and gave them four. Pays to have back bowls! Great game though. After today we'll have a rest for a couple of days as we've done all the clubs in Bowen! Cutheringa - great close game and really nice people.

We're staying in Townsville for three days. We've nearly done all the clubs here so Jean contacted Toni at Magnetic Island via Messenger to get our names down for Friday afternoon Bowls. We caught the barge over. 40 minutes. It's a nice little clubhouse. It reminded Jean of Maldon in Victoria. The main difference is a view of the ocean. It has a nice outdoor area. Not surprising. We met Greg who organises things. Jean chatted with Ron, James, John and Ken (Noddy) who were visiting from Atherton. The synthetic green has a roll-over cover. It's a thin carpet which has a little bit of mould. We think that can be expected in the middle of the Coral Sea! They're getting a new one. It's the Herb Longmuir Green. It's triples today. Warren, Jean and Kelvin Played Mal, Ellen and Geoff. Geoff didn't want his photo taken. Mal was bowling well. The pre-game rollup helped a lot. Jean drew two for a team total of six. Jean just pipped Mal. We came in for cakes at Smoko. Everyone watched the streamed Dunn Cup game between Magnetic Island and Thuringowa. We came back out for another ten. Mal got his own back. Jean bought a shirt. It's a beauty. Mal bought a blue one. Jean team was 9 shots behind but made up 11 shots on end 18 and 19 of 20. Last end they were three up. Mal's team got 1 so Jean's won by two. We came in for party pies. We missed the 5:00 ferry we were booked on but made it for the 6:00. Magnetic Island - nice boat ride for a bowls game!

We've been wanting to come to Marlin Coast Bowls Club for a while. We'd been given the number for Crackers the Caretaker when we were somewhere in Australia. We wanted to meet him. We rang Crackers to find out when they have social bowls. We had a great chat. He told us to turn up for Friday afternoon rollups. It's a great social occasion. Crackers told us it was probablyTerry from Port Fairy who gave us his number. It's a nice little clubhouse. Crackers told us it's been renovated recently. First person we met was Chairman Dave. Then Crackers turned up. Outside is the Marlin Bar. There's a nice long, under cover area by the green. The green is Tiger Turf under cover. The Nev Sellwood Green. The sign is impressive. We had a rollup. Mal went first. He got one. Crackers joined us. Jean took her turn. She was happy with her bowls. And again Crackers was nearby. We came inside for drinks and trivia questions. Dave welcomed us and hosted trivia. We left after Trivia. Crackers walked us out. Marlin Coast- a special time!

We did a little tour of Cairns and visited two clubs. Stratford and West Cairns. SRATFORD We went first to check out Stratford. We thought we wouldn't get a game there. They were putting up a new shade out front. It's very nice. We met Darren (Dusty) who told us they were devastated by floods and are just rebuilding. There's a separate bar. A local artist painted the toilet doors. It's only the second club we've seen that has a photo of the King. The green is still recovering. The Les Adcock Green. The little shelters are pretty. WEST CAIRNS We drove around a couple of clubs to find West Cairns has Thursday afternoon Bowls. There's a nice mural inside. We sat at the bar and had a great chat with Canberra-born John. There's a nice memorial to a past TPI President Bill Hannan. Pete, Jean and Chris played together. Against Wayne, Dave and Locky. Mal didn't take any details or photos of his game. Jean's team got three first end then lost the next four. Skip Jean broke the drought with her last bowl of the end. Jean waited and waited for Mal to do a photo-worthy bowl. He finally scored two. That's all the photos we got. Mal won by 6. Jean's team was way behind all game. They only won four ends but second-last end they caught to be one behind. Then they lost by 5. Jean drove and missed the kitty by centimetres. We came in and had drinks outside. All the benches are named. West Cairns - we had lots of fun.

While we're at Proserpine we decided to drive the 50 minutes to Bowen to get a Sunday game and to see the other club Wangaratta. We got our map photo. The bowlers all hung at the bar. It's a very old clubhouse - 1923. It was donated by Mr and Mrs Ezzy. There's a nice trophy case. Carol and Col came for a chat. They've just moved here from Tamworth. There's just one green. It's Tiger Turf - Jean's favourite - under cover. They are the Bowen Bandits. It's triples today. They drew sticks. We drew the same rink - opposites. Wazza, Col and Mal. Played Alex, Jean and Carol. Jean started really well. She likes the surface but every time she drew a good shot Col drew better. She got a couple later but can't claim them. She was just positioned well! These two she claims! Mal did good bowls but they were always just out of the action. It's harder when he skips as he often plays weight. Good drawing here though - second and third. Mal did a beauty and took shot from Jean. We went in for smoko and bought shirts 👕. After smoko Mal did better. Jean's team had four and he drew a perfect shot. First half Jean's team was killing Mal's. Wha did they take in the break because they came up and won by 3. We all enjoyed it though. We came in for drinks. WANGARATTA No it's not Wangaratta in Victoria it's Wangaratta Qld. We stopped on our way to Bowen for a look. We got our map photo. We saw the clubhouse through the window. Some ladies were playing a Pairs championship. Bowen - what a great time we had.

Yet again we didn't plan to do more than take a photo at Proserpine but our caravan park was just next door and the members were very friendly. The bar is separate from the main clubhouse. Mike was the first person we met. He came out when we arrived and gave us the rundown on everything abut the club. He gave us a Proserpine scorecard as a keepsake. Ken came over for a chat. There is just one grass green. It's the Brian Cooke Green. There's an old fallow green. The plovers and doves enjoy it. The guys were playing club Fours. They are the Barracudas. AIRLIE BEACH We remember we came to Airlie Beach Bowling Club many years ago when we stopped here on a cruise. We walked about 30 minutes from the terminal on a Friday only to find the club closed. Today we came back more hopeful on a Saturday. Alas, still closed. Since we were here they've renovated and have a cover. Proserpine and Airlie - some good things.