Great mates, GemLife bromances

Bro’ bonding at Bribie

Bribie Island residents Clive Redgate and Gary Low met when Clive and his wife Caroline moved to the resort last year and were immediately welcomed with GemLife hospitality.

Clive and his wife Caroline moved to GemLife Bribie Island on a whim in 2019 and haven’t looked back since.

“We drove past the resort one day and decided to take a look. We loved it so much we didn’t even bother looking at anything else,” said Clive.

The Redgates and Lows bonded over beers and Gary was more than happy to lend a helping hand whenever he could to make the move easier.

After his wife’s health scare earlier this year, Clive said he was grateful for the friendliness and caring spirit of Gary and other residents at the resort.

“My wife was in the hospital earlier this year after catching coronavirus and during that time, while I had to isolate, Gary and a few others would buy our groceries and see if there was anything I needed,” said Clive.

“Gary has a heart of gold. While I was isolating Gary would come visit and I would sit inside the house and he would sit outside and we would have a visit and a beer. After I finished my isolation period we would take turns going to each other’s garages every night.”

“That’s just what mates do,” said Gary.

The friends make the most of the facilities and scenery around the resort, enjoying fishing and bowling. “We like using the cinema in the country club and we like to go for picnics by the lake, there’s always something to do,” said Gary.

The friends are excited for coronavirus restrictions to ease up and are hoping to celebrate with a trip to Longridge at the end of the year.

“We’ve just purchased a motorhome and as soon as Caroline recovers from her knee surgery we are planning a trip out west with Gary and Mary Anne so there’s a lot to look forward to,” said Clive.

“GemLife is a really great place. There are so many wonderful people at the resort and everyone helps those in need. People genuinely care here.”

Highfields’ handymen

Neighbours, John Poplawski and Alan Patterson, can often be found tinkering away on John’s van or relaxing over a morning cuppa in the country club at GemLife Highfields.

The friends met on a mystery tour event for prospective GemLife home owners late last year before deciding to move to the resort.

They bumped into one another again a few months later at a home owners event where they discovered they would soon become neighbours. John and his wife Marg moved into their home at the end of August last year, and Alan and his wife Denise moved in next door in March.

“John and Alan are both fairly quiet and prefer visiting in small groups and working on the van and visiting the residents’ workshop instead of large social gatherings and events,” said Marg.

“We kept ourselves busy during the COVID-19 lockdown. Alan is a retired diesel mechanic so he offered to help me revamp my van,” said John.

As restrictions begin to lift and the Highfields country club opens back up, John and Alan and Marg and Denise are looking forward to making use of the facilities, playing tennis, bowling, snooker and darts.