After a bumpy old start to our Big Lap adventure (you can read more about that here), we continued making our merry way up Australia's east coast. A busy schedule of workshops lay ahead, along with plenty of exploring in between. There seemed to be a rain cloud following us almost everywhere we went, but aside from that, the world felt like our oyster.

Picking up where we left off, the family and I ventured into Pebbly Beach, just north of Coffs Harbour. If you've never been, it's wonderfully off the beaten track, involving both beach driving and a river crossing to reach the campground. It was the first real test of our caravan setup and excitement levels were high.

Thankfully, it absolutely delivered.

For the first time in what felt like forever, we struck beautiful weather and had much of the place to ourselves. Long beach walks, campfires, salty air and uninterrupted family time made it an instant highlight of the trip. In fact, Pebbly Beach has since become the benchmark by which all future campsites are judged.

From Pebbly, we made our way to Minnie Water. It wasn't far as the crow flies, but getting there involved a supply run through Grafton and a rather roundabout route. An art group in Minnie Water had reached out and invited me to teach a workshop in their beautiful beachfront hall.

What a treat it was.

The hall was light-filled and airy, the students were wonderful, and we used the local coastal banksias as inspiration for our paintings. Afterwards, a pie and coffee from the general store rounded out a pretty perfect day. Minnie Water itself was a delight to explore. It's exactly the sort of place we may have driven straight past if Kate hadn't reached out, and I'm so grateful she did.

Not long afterwards, I managed to squeeze in a very last-minute workshop in Ballina.

I'd received plenty of interest from the Northern Rivers region but hadn't been able to secure a venue. Thankfully, Ignite Studios at NRCG came to the rescue, and what an incredible space it turned out to be. Housed in Ballina's original fire station, it features soaring pressed-tin ceilings and the iconic bright red doors still intact.

It couldn't have been more perfect.

For this class, I gathered some tibouchina flowers as our subject matter. They're deceptively simple to paint and made the perfect inspiration for a relaxed morning of colour, creativity and experimentation. One of the unexpected joys of this tour has been meeting students who have learned from me online for years. There's something very special about finally putting faces to names.

A huge thank you to Ange for suggesting the venue.

After Ballina, we took a brief pause from workshops to visit friends before heading north to the Gold Coast for a weekend workshop with Artable at Broadbeach Art Society.

I genuinely think this must be one of the best-located art societies in Australia. It's right on the beach.

This workshop felt particularly special because it was one I was meant to teach the previous year. Unfortunately, the weekend before the event was when I suffered my major ankle injury and ended up in hospital. Needless to say, I had to cancel.

Returning this year felt like coming full circle.

The Gold Coast workshops will always hold a special place in my heart. They were my first interstate teaching invitation many years ago, back in 2016 or thereabouts. A huge thank you to Gillian from Artable for believing in me all those years ago and providing opportunities to share my love of watercolour with new audiences.

As always, the students were wonderful. Artable has a knack for attracting incredibly generous and enthusiastic groups. I particularly love the weekend format because it allows everyone to really immerse themselves in the process. Watching students grow in confidence over two days is always one of the highlights.

With Easter approaching, I intentionally left a gap in the workshop schedule so we could do some exploring.

We headed to Bribie Island and packed quite a lot into a single week. We camped on the eastern side of the island before moving to Beachmere, which served as our base for visits to Australia Zoo and Bluey's World.

A quick side note: we happened to visit Australia Zoo on Easter Saturday and Robert Irwin was doing the crocodile show. Needless to say, there was much excitement. It was every bit as wholesome and wonderful as you'd imagine.

After Easter, we moved up to the Sunshine Coast. It was absolute mayhem thanks to the school holidays, but we still managed some lovely quiet beach days before I returned to teaching at the beautiful Maroochy Bushland Botanic Gardens.

The Arts and Ecology Centre sits right at the entrance to the gardens and makes the perfect workshop venue. The Sunshine Coast had generated some of the strongest interest of the entire tour, so I scheduled two back-to-back workshops there.

Surrounded by an incredible variety of banksias, we took the opportunity to wander through the gardens and observe them up close before painting. The swamp banksia became our chosen subject and the work produced by students was simply beautiful.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: working from life, especially when surrounded by nature, always seems to bring out the very best in people.

Not long after the Maroochy workshops, a third Sunshine Coast event popped up.

In the early stages of planning the tour, Adele from Belli Beef had reached out about hosting a workshop, but at the time I'd already committed to the Botanic Gardens. With demand exceeding expectations, I decided to reconnect and see if she was still interested.

Thankfully, she was.

Adele's property in the Sunshine Coast hinterland is extraordinary. As a regenerative farmer, she's created a landscape where everything has been thoughtfully considered, from syntropic gardens to sustainable farming practices. Even the drive in was memorable, descending deep into a valley along a ridgeline with spectacular views in every direction.

We hosted a plein air watercolour workshop amongst her gardens, beginning in the orchard surrounded by pomelos, elephant apples and all sorts of fascinating plants. We sketched on location, gathered inspiration and photographs, then returned to Adele's incredible back deck to paint.

It was a morning filled with laughter, colour and connection.

After the Belli Beef workshop, we found ourselves entering completely new territory. Neither my partner nor I had spent much time exploring the east coast beyond Noosa, so it felt like the beginning of an entirely new chapter in the journey.

Before I finish, I should mention that I had also been in conversations with groups in Toowoomba, Roma and Mitchell during this period. Unfortunately, with Easter, school holidays and existing commitments further up the coast, we simply couldn't make the dates align.

I'm hopeful we'll circle back through those regions at some stage. They're places I'd genuinely love to explore, and if I can teach a workshop while I'm there, all the better.

One of the biggest lessons from this trip so far has been that some of the best experiences happen because someone reaches out. A local recommendation, a workshop invitation, a conversation that leads somewhere unexpected.

Minnie Water, Ballina and Belli Beef were all stops that may never have made it onto our itinerary otherwise.

I'm very glad they did.

This is us trying out our new inflatable kayak just north of Noosa. We had planned to take our kayak but our weight limits didn't allow for it. So we picked this one up along the way. Fun family adventures await!