When I announced that we would be travelling around Australia, people from all over invited us to visit and stay if we were in the area. I’ve been collecting names and addresses — some from old friends and others from new ones that I’ve met online — and when we reached Bundaberg, we decided to give Nina a call and ask if we could park on their lawn for a couple days.

It has been great getting to know our lovely hosts, Nina and Andrew.

We stayed in the driveway of the Dunns' house because a lot of rain has made the lawn boggy.

The Dunns have three children: 5yo Keeley, 3yo Noah and 1yo Chelsea. Our kids have loved having some new playmates.

Our girls were happy to show their new friends the truck, and it became a favourite play centre for Noah especially.

And it was fun to jump on a trampoline again.

We met the Dunns' guinea pig family.

When all the kids were lined up for a meal, it seemed like there was a whole lot of them!

Nina kindly allowed the girls to pull out their craft supplies and get stuck into some scissor-work and gluing.

Nina enlisted the children to help her make yummy muffins.

The girls had so much fun together!

Our visit coincided with Bundaberg’s Christmas street parade, and Keeley was already participating on her school’s float. So we headed into town to watch the action.

Being out at night is always exciting. The atmosphere kept the kids alert.

Keeley's school's float was at the front of the parade.

It was exciting for Keeley to participate in the parade.

The girls held hands as they walked back to our vehicles.

It’s been really lovely to get to know the Dunns. Nina and Andrew have been very generous with their hospitality, allowing us to wash clothes and share communal meals. We’ve loved having a house to play in out of the rain, and the girls loved (of course) the exposure to different toys.

After being friends for just a couple days, it was still hard to say goodbye.