We started off 2003 at Cape Riche and headed east with our next stop at the Boat Harbour. Free camping with a BBQ, rainwater tank and a day use shed provided by the local Wellstead volunteers. An "Enviroloo" toilet has been installed at the river campsites before you get to the beach. We preferred the beach camping with the ocean outlook and used our "Porta Potti" instead. For two days a small, cute seal basked on the beach and rocks below our campsite before swimming away. Some campers fed him a few mulies and some fresh fish caught from the surf but most of the time he just sunbaked.
After a few days we had some noisy families move in near us so it was time to move. We drove to Millar Point Road campsite on Beaufort Inlet. A large body of water but not very appealing to us. Possibly good for net fishermen. So further down the road we passed thru Bremer Bay heading east along the coastal tracks and found a lovely bay to camp at. A few more scratches on the caravan and we lost the lense on one sidelight. It was worth it, we have parked on a grassed area overlooking the bay with dolphins swimming past a few times a day.
Les and Iris who have camped here for many years invited me out in their 17 ft boat for some deepwater fishing. Each trip out I managed to bring home one good fish for tea. I have caught a nice pink snapper, some Harlequin fish, Pike and Breaksea Cod and a couple of Queenies. Les also caught three Blue Gropers, one a massive 14.5 kgs.
While out fishing with Les and Iris at the Doubtful Islands the Leauwin sailing ship anchored beside us and the 30 or 40 crew members went ashore to look at the large seal colony living there. It doesn't matter how isolated you feel in the bush or on the water, someone always turns up next to you these days!
Sandy goes for her morning walks along HEBS beach and came across some pipe fish washed up on the shore. They look like seaweed until you get close. Around 60cm long and only 1 cm thick.
We took a day trip into Fitzgerald River N/P to Point Ann and Saint Mary River. Apart from the flora this area has been set up for whale watching with some nice gazebos, cliff top platforms and walks. For some reason CALM again feels the need to exclude caravans! and has set up the camps for tents only. We can only hope they don't get control of our entire coast otherwise you can throw your caravans away.
Iris came across some sea dragons that have been washed up on HEBS Beach. These are the common sea dragons but there is also supposed to be leafy sea dragons down here as well. Sandy found one a few days later which we have salted and stored away in our car. Wonder what it will be like in 12 months when we open it.
As most of this area is Crown land there are a few fishermen and squatter camps located in and around the dunes along the beaches between Bremer bay and Fitzgerald N/P. Some are open, dusty, and appear to be full of mice, spiders and birds. While others are secured, clean and quite spacious accommodation.
Up on the point behind the south east end of HEBS beach is a hole in the ground that is connected via caves to the cliffs located 200 metres away. On a good day you find an enormous amount of wind gusting up thru this hole as the swell rolls into the cliffs. Some of the cliffs around here are magnificent to see. Deep blue water in the coves below and on extremely rough days the water is blown right up to the top of the cliffs. At some locations you can see seaweed which has been washed/blown up the cliff faces.
We fished on the northern side of Doubtful Islands. Depending on the swell and wind the northern side can be quite protected. The first island is only 200 metres from shore and the water is around 6 metres deep. Between the first and second is a channel around 1 km wide and the depth is up to 40 metres. Between the second and third the islands are almost joined by rocks with only a trickle of water between them. On all the islands many seals and sea lions are sleeping/sun baking on the rocks or swimming and floating in the water.
We were told that a squatters camp "Drage's" was offered for sale 14 years ago for $8,000. It is located on its own private beach with a boat ramp to the water. What a way to enjoy life.
On the way thru Perth we had a shower/toilet tent made for us. So far it has worked well with plenty of room to fit everything in. 2m wide x 1.2m deep x 1.8m high. Our old green popup style shower tent was too small and the zip broke after 9 months of travelling.
We camped the night in Hopetoun after doing the shopping at Ravensthorpe. A quick trip around Hopetoun, picked up the mail and headed off to Hammersley Inlet. After the initial disappointment at seeing the inlet we found that the amount of birdlife made up for the lack of anything else. Lots of black swans, pelicans, ducks and numerous others. Also very secluded with only one or no other campers here at night. With a quick walk to the beach about a kilometre away I came across some rock formations that appear to be the norm for the coast along here.
On a day trip to Quoin Head we came across a sea eagle nest, around a metre wide and high. Mal the CALM Ranger from Ravensthorpe told us to look out for it. It is located 50 metres high on top of the rocks below the lookout.
Just past Quoin Head is a camping spot. It has a very steep drive from the clifftops down to the beach. Not really suitable for trailers or vans. CALM has supplied gas BBQs and toilets. This magical isolated spot would be a great place to camp, swim, hike and dive. With 2 beaches to choose from ( one over the hill a bit further west) and a river full of bream behind. Lots of white sand with walk trails to be found along the rocks.
Well that's it for this month, next were heading to Mason's Bay now that the school holidays are over.
Happy Camping
In the mud at Hammersley Inlet
We stayed at Mason Bay for a while but there was too much weed in the bay so the water wasn't very clear when snorkelling. Also the main fish being caught was herring which is not our fish of choice. We were shown how to dig for worms on the beach. They are terrific bait if you want to catch herring. Herring were also good bait for Sandy's rockcods, which she has for lunch. We dropped in to see Len on his farm, we had met him and his wife at the Blowholes near Carnarvon last year.
We next headed for Starvation Bay. As it was still overcast with a chance of rain we decided to keep going to Munglinup Beach. We met Peter and Dulcie who were camped here. They had been on the road in a caravan for the past 24 years with the occasional 6 or 12 month stop while working. We will try to meet up with them in 2004 to go gold prospecting.
Soon after we camped it started to rain so I put a bucket under the awning corner to catch some fresh water for showers that night. The bucket was 1/2 filled by the time the rain stopped but it was the colour of squid ink, black! The following morning at 2.00am the campers at Mason Bay were woken up and told to pack, ready to evacuate, as the lightning has caused numerous fires in the area. The ash from the fires must have collected in the clouds, which gave us the black rain the afternoon before. I had to wash the van, shower tent and car as they were all streaked with black rain.
A beautiful carpet snake/python slithered thru the camping area. I held its tail, while after much coaxing Sandy reached over me to touch its skin. It had a lovely pattern of gold and green. It was removed from the camping area to the bush a few kilometres away as there was a fear that it would be run over by one of the many cars travelling thru the area.
While at Munglinup we met Rex, a local farm caretaker, who not only supplied a few of us with a terrific pot of braised steaks one night, he also took us to his secret fishing spot on Oldfield River. Rex, Sandy and myself caught a dozen Black Bream in 40 minutes.
Sandy was the last to catch a bream but when she did she was so excited. First she had the fish then she couldn't feel it so she said she lost it, then it pulled again so she knew she had it, then she thought she lost it again but finally she landed it. All the bream caught were over 600 grams, we kept 4, baked 3 for tea that night which fed 5 of us and gave the rest away to other campers. The bream have white, tasty firm flesh which are great to eat. From the beach we caught cod, skippy and a snapper. While diving in the lagoon I caught an octopus which were now using for bait.
The camping area is back from the beach, nestled amongst some vegetated dunes. Plenty of bore water, cold showers and toilets all for only $4 a night.
From Munglinup we travelled on to Stokes National Park where we were going to leave the van while we went on to Esperance to shop. Unfortunately after a few years of drought the water levels were low with dried weed and rocks around the edges. It was still overcast which made us favour taking the van with us to Esperance. Esperance was really nice, the parks, buildings and facilities are clean and appealing to us tourists. The water is clear and there are so many islands offshore to make it look picture perfect.
We drove part of the Heritage trail along the coast to 11 mile beach where we turned around. After Esperance the next stop was Le Grand National Park, Le Grand beach camping area was full so we have camped at Lucky Bay. The park is named after Le Grand, an officer of the L'Esperance, one of the ships in a French expedition commanded by Admiral D'Entrecasteaux in 1792.
The landscape and waterscape is very scenic around here. While diving in the water I had over 20 metres visibility and the sand is so fine and squeaky. We had a few good, fine days which makes a break from the previous couple of weeks of overcast and rainy days. A number of kangaroos hop thru the camp looking for the few campers that disobey the signs saying "Do not feed the kangaroos"
At the top of Frenchmans Peak is a cave that extends right thru the peak. Great place to get out of the rain as the area inside is about 100 metres wide but very windy. 40 million years ago this area would have been submerged and this and other caves in the area have been either formed or enlarged by wave action and underwater currents.
While we were at Lucky Bay a sailing ship (Westward Bound I think) set anchor. I heard that this ship was following the course set by Mathew Flinders who also anchored here for five nights in January 1802. Before I wandered down to get a closer shot it had sailed across the bay to another anchorage.
From Lucky Bay we headed for Alexander Bay where we set up our camp. The following day we drove to Thomas River to see if the area was suitable for us as our next camp. While here we drove down the beach about 5 kms, when we got back off the beach I noticed a lot of grease on the rear wheel. 4 studs were broken/missing from the axle housing leaving only 2 holding it in. We made a slow trip back to Esperance where we had all 6 studs replaced at the Toyota dealer.
The coast east from here appears very similar and the talk is that they are mostly fishing spots not scenic camping areas. We have decided to camp at Duke of Orleans Bay and shop at Esperance before heading over the border bound for Fowlers Bay.
At Alexander Bay and Thomas River we found that a lot of the regulars drive along the beaches up to 30 kms before camping in the dunes. Hope they have tide charts as sometimes the water completely covers the beach. We walked about 3 kms to Alexander River where there were half a dozen campers set up for the long weekend.
Took the boat out and caught 4 rockcod for Sandy's lunch but didn't have any luck catching other varieties. The previous day Sandy caught a small stingray from the rocks and I caught a skippy from the beach.
We ran out of mobile phone coverage after we left Cape Le Grand so I will transfer this update when we next camp within mobile coverage.
Next stop South Australia
After staying at the Duke of Orleans Bay Caravan Park (minus 3 stars, give it a miss) we headed up Parmango Road to Balladonia and the highway east. We found the centre section of 40 k's of Parmango Road was rough limestone but the rest was fine. On the way we passed a few granite outcrops and stopped at Nanambinia Rock and waterhole for lunch.
We camped under the stars at Cocklebiddy Cave and star gazed late into the evening. The next morning I climbed down into the cave to the lake at the bottom. From the lake you only get a slight glow from the entrance.
Across the Nullarbor are lots of lookouts from Wilson Bluff around 80 metres above the ocean.
On Yalata Aboriginal land The Head of the Bight has been developed. This is where the Bluff finishes and the sand dunes start. To the west you can see the rocky cliffs and to the east the dunes.
On entering South
Australia we headed to Fowlers Bay and stayed in the caravan
park. Here Don and Marg caught up with us after leaving Perth a
week before. The Westward Bound sailing ship also dropped anchor
to take on provisions. We last saw it at Lucky Bay in Western
Australia and this was its first stop after crossing the Great
Australian Bight. Fowlers Bay Caravan Park was clean and a
pleasure to stay in. We met some fellow travelers here who gave
us some salmon after they had a good fishing trip on a beach west
of here. There are lots of tracks along the coast taking you to
secluded beaches and rocky outcrops for fishing.
Fowlers Bay has a Progress Association but no Council, rates or
building permits. A block of land on the waterfront costs $35,000
and one street back is $25,000.
After a couple of wrong turns we found the track into Clare Bay which was a terrific little lagoon that is land locked at low tide. We took Don's canoe out and while trolling picked up two salmon from a school that was caught in the lagoon. Later we attempted to catch some sweep from the rocks but only managed one.
We dropped into Point Sinclair (no camping) and Cactus Beach that is supposed to be a well known surfing spot.
Next camp was at Davenport Creek where we left the vans at Cockleshell Gully and took a day trip to the rivermouth.
We headed to Ceduna via Nadia Landing and Denial Bay to book into the caravan park at Shelley Beach. We picked up 20 blue swimmer crabs just off shore and the day before a dozen king george whiting.
We left Ceduna and travelled via Laura Bay and Smokey Bay to Acraman Creek where we found a quiet bush camp where we stayed for a few days. Later we travelled thru Streaky Bay to Tractor Beach to camp.
At the BP Tourist Info centre in Streaky Bay they had an enormous white pointer shark hanging in a display room.
At Tractor Beach we camped on a limestone ledge 20 feet above the water with terrific views over the water. The tides here are around 2 metres and in the morning at low tide we walked around to the Dreadnoughts. They consist of a soft sandstone that is being eroded by wind and water.
Were travelling short distances and only staying for one or two days at each stop as we have been told that the months of March and April are the good ones for the Eyre Peninsular. So far this have proved correct with some wonderful weather although a bit cloudy and windy some days.
Moving on via Sceale Bay to Baird Bay to camp. We came across the tip of Baird Bay 20 km's from the mouth. It was strange as it was all farmland with little or no trees and if you didn't know, you would think it was an inland lake.
We met a local who showed
us 3 fishing spots. The first was a few hundred metres from the
mouth where we picked up some metre long snook, then around a
kilometre north of the camp to pull in some salmon and halfway
back we stopped and caught some king george whiting. Very
friendly, he even loaned us some lures to guarantee a catch of
salmon and snook. The new park ($5 a night) is provided by the
local community and has toilets, water, bbq and a gazebo. It is
soon to have a lookout constructed on a sandhill adjacent to the
park. Dolphins and Sealions galore at the rivermouth.
The last vacant block was sold for $60,000 and there is a small
shed/house a street back from the water for sale at $90,000. No
more blocks are available, as the power supply cannot cope.
After travelling thru Calca we dropped into Murphy's Haystacks. These Pink Granite outcrops are over 1500 million years old and are spread over the top of a small hill.
At Venus Bay we strolled around the South Head Walking Trail to Needle Eye Lookout. We attempted to catch some squid from the jetty but only caught herring, whiting and a couple of crabs. This bay is very boat friendly with great protected fishing spots in the bay with a calm exit to the ocean. All the house sites built up the hill have northerly views over the bay. The southern head of the entrance to Venus Bay where we came across two dolpins swimming past.
We left Venus Bay and dropped into Talia Caves and beach on the way to Walkers Rock. A coastline of coloured sandstone and granite outcrops weathered by the sea. After going down the stairs a large cavern (the Woolshed), carved into the granite cliff by wave action, was revealed. The Tub is a large crater in the cliffs with a tunnel to the ocean. The access was via a log which someone had chopped steps into.
Were currently camped at Walkers Rocks just north of Elliston. On Elliston's Coastal Cliffs tourist drive they tell you that you can collect fossilised weevil cocoons, which are believed to be 100,000 years old. These are locally known as "clogs".
That's all for this month, next month will see another article in the West Australian Newspaper and us still enjoying the Eyre Peninsular and south coast of South Australia.
Still heading around the Eyre Peninsula. The west coast has very scenic cliffs and beaches with numerous bays along the way. After leaving Elliston we stopped in at Locks Well. 283 wooden steps have been built to get the fishermen down to the salmon surf beach. While watching, a few were caught but Don and I decided that it was too much exercise to climb down and even worse if we had to carry a few kilos of salmon back up. We decided to try at Sheringa Beach where we later camped. At Sheringa I fished all day and caught nothing and the next day Sandy fished all day and was rewarded with her first salmon. You could hear her for miles, she was so excited.
SA has many stone cottages and ruins around the countryside some restored with the original stone floor and log rafters inside.
At Farm Beach 40 or more old tractors are sitting in the tractor park waiting to launch and retrieve their owners boat. These are mostly working machines but some appear to be falling apart. Nearby was Gallipoli Beach where the Australian movie "Gallipoli" was made.
At Coffin Bay National Park we camped at Yangie Bay. We did a 20 km drive to Seven Mile Beach which took us over an hour. The tide was in so we couldn't go along the beach. Some of the fishing spots further up in the park are over 6 hours return. You have to know the tides as you could be stuck there till the tide goes down. We decided to fish at Gunyah Beach whose access is not via any tidal waters. We did have to cross some large sand dunes and the beach was a bit too soft to risk driving the car onto. BUT we did catch 9 salmon, with Sandy catching the 2 biggest ones at around 3 Kg each. The freezer is now full! No more fishing for a while.
Next stop was Port Lincoln for shopping and a bit of a tour. There is a lot of money in fishing when you see the boats in the marina and the houses built on the marina. After a couple of days we headed for Lincoln National Park dropping into Stamford Hill lookout on the way. We camped at Fisherman's Point on top of the cliff overlooking the water. We all caught some squid here, makes for a bit of variety. I also caught a yellowtail kingfish by hand! These kingies had trapped a school of whitebait on the sand/rocks below our camp and were almost out of the water eating the whitebait. I balanced on a rock and scooped one out as it went past, pity it was only 250mm long.
The weather had changed to gale force winds as we headed up the east coast of the peninsula. Dropped into Louth Bay and stayed at Tumby Bay. Don and Marg left us the next day as they will be heading north far quicker than us. The next day we drove via the coastal camping spots but with the gale force winds still with us and the fact that the campsites have no trees or protection from the wind we ended up in a caravan park with trees at Cowell.
Cowell is on Franklin Harbour where the main industry is oysters in the calm shallow bay. Jade is also mined nearby in 9 square kilometres of Minbrie Ranges known as the Cowell Jade Province. Green and some rarer black jade is for sale in the shops in town.
Whyalla has the BHP iron works right beside town. All the buildings and houses are dusted iron red, even the yachts in the marina are now dusty red.
We went for a drive out to Point Lowly, Point Douglas and Fitzgerald Bay. The bush camps have some trees for cover and rocky foreshores with no boat access. If it wasn't blowing we may have camped out here but decided to carry on to Port Augusta.
We decided not to stay in Port Augusta and spent the Easter Break in Warren Gorge. We set up camp on Thursday before the crowds came. We were camped near the creek but the sun didn't come over the hill till around 8.30am so guess what time I got up? Every night as the sun went down the black footed rock wallabies came to eat the grass in front of our camp and the resident Kookaburra dropped in for a visit.
After Warren we headed to Hancocks Lookout where we stayed the night watching the sunset and sunrise from this campsite.
The next day we travelled via Wilmington to Mount Remarkable National Park in the Southern Flinders Ranges. Left the caravan in town and drove to Alligator Gorge. Here we took a walking track via "The Terraces" and " The Narrows" to Blue Gum Flats and return. Very pretty. Next time when we do the Yorke Peninsula we will do the other side and camp at the Mambray Creek campground.
In the 1880's Peterborough had 3 railway lines from Jamestown, Adelaide and Broken Hill. The main focus of the town became the railways. With a railway workforce of 1800 men and 100 steam trains passing thru the town everyday. In 1969 the standard gauge railway line was completed and we saw all three lines Broad, Narrow and Standard gauge together. At each of the 4 entrances to town a different model steam train was erected. The Railway workshops now house the Steamtown tourist centre with a railway turntable capable of turning carriages of up to 85 feet long. Another exhibit is a 1925 Morris motorised inspection car, once used to carry the wages to the workers. Because the railway wheels were so large the rear roof had to be raise a foot higher. As is happening in most tourist ventures there is no Liability Insurance so the train trips from here have stopped.
We finished off the month at Broken Hill.
The Broken Hill Sculpture Symposium is composed of 12 sculptures done in 1993 by 12 artists from around the world. They are located on a hilltop west of the town in a place called the Living Desert. After we shopped, Sandy stayed home and I spent the afternoon visiting Art Galleries and talking to the artists. I spent 4 afternoons talking to various Broken Hill artists, very enjoyable and friendly people. We took a drive out to Silvertoun and walked around the small town with quick visits to the galleries.
Been here a week now and it's time to go. I've got lots of ideas for my paintings so it's time to go bush and try them out. Next stop the Darling River heading towards Bourke.
See you next month.
Menindee Lakes are normally home to a variety of waterbirds but due to the drought only Cawndilla Lake has some water, the rest are dry. We dropped into Copi Hollow which has a Caravan Park and water which was pumped from the lakes. The sign advised no swimming due to Algae Bloom present. This water is normally used as a water ski area. We didn't go to Menindee but stopped overnight at the main weir on the Darling River. Heading off the next day we followed the Darling on the east side until we stopped at Barraroo Station and asked the owner Craig if it was alright to camp a few nights. He was very friendly and gave us directions to the camp he uses on the river. We stayed 2 nights. The river was a surprise as the water was a light chocolate colour. Craig told us that this was normal as a few weeks before it was still green which caused a skin rash when you showered in it! The banks are a dry dusty clay which with a bit of water turn to sticky, slippery mud. The river is around 20 feet below the banks, which is the normal height, so it would be amazing to see it full during the wet.
At Wilcannia the only respectable buildings were the Courthouse and Police Station. The rest were burnt out, boarded up, vandalised or just neglected. It did not appear like a friendly place to stay. It is also home to the Baakandji tribe.
From Wilcannia following the river on the west side we stopped at Tilpa Weir. When we arrived at the camping site we counted 70 Pelicans on the water. We stayed here for 4 nights with 3 of those nights by ourselves. Very peaceful with lovely sunsets. I caught some shrimp for bait but only managed to catch some Carp. I tried painting the view but have canned it as I wasn't happy with it. I think the galleries in Broken Hill have spoilt me.
Unfortunately the river systems now hold more inedible carp than any other fish. If you are lucky you may catch Yellow Belly Perch or a Murray Cod.
The entire Darling looks the same. Find a camp and enjoy it but don't hang around if it rains, as the roads become impassable.
We dropped into Trilby Station near Louth to have a look. Nice grassed camping sites at $20 a night. We kept on going. We were told that Rose Isle station only charges $5 a head in the bunkhouse so some stations are reasonably priced.
We camped the night at Humes Creek camping area, 60Kms from Bourke. Humes Creek was Sturt/Hume's 1829 expedition's furthest point in the exploration of the Darling.
We arrived at Bourke and set up camp at Kidman's Caravan Park. We had to stay until Monday as we broke 2 more studs on the rear axle. This also happened in Esperance????? it's a worry. The town has a few restored historic buildings including the Courthouse built in 1900. It had a crown on the spire which indicates a maritime court, the furthest inland maritime court in Australia. The Post Office was built in 1880.
We also spent Sunday washing the caravan and car. This is the first place without water restrictions since WA. All clean again but it started to rain Monday, wouldn't you know it!!!!!
Bourke was established in 1859 as a Paddleboat destination and became a major inland port on the Darling river. The Paddleboats ran the Darling until 1931.
From Bourke we were going to visit Mt Oxley on the way to Brewarrina but we were advised to give it a miss as the access road was extremely rough and with the recent rain would be muddy as well. Brewarrina's claim to fame was the aboriginal fish traps which had disappeared or are very hard to see with the river flowing.
Next stop Lightning Ridge.
The miners now send all the opal dirt thru converted cement mixers which removes the mud leaving the opal exposed. All the old rock piles have also been processed. There is very little fossicking done by tourists because of this process. I dropped into the Department of Mineral resources who were very helpful. They supplied me free maps of the opal fields including a detailed one of the Grawin Opal Fields. This shows lapsed and cancelled mineral claims, which you can fossick on. Also supplied was a schedule of fees, for just under $1600 you can get a 5 year term on a 50m by 50m camp mineral claim which you can build a house on and mine. Unfortunately it could cost another $30,000 to get the mining gear together. We checked out a few art galleries, drove past some weird homes and toured thru the mining areas around the Ridge. We also visited a corrugated iron church built as a film set for the movie "Goddess of 67"
We went for a dip in the hot artesian bore baths run by the council just out of town. Very warm at 41 degrees and after 5 minutes you needed to get out to cool down.
After a night in Moree for shopping and another swim in a hot artesian bore pool we headed out to Gum Tree Flats. Here we met a couple who told us about a few more campspots further down the road and the travelling stock routes. We found this stock watering point and camped here for a few days. Talked to a drover who had been taking his cattle along these stock routes for the past 18 months as his land is in drought. What a strange lifestyle, he originally thought it was going to be for 6 months. Arthur from Pallamallawa dropped in and showed me some fishing spots. That night I caught my first Murray Cod thanks to his hint. I had previously caught a Yellowbelly and a large catfish but the cod tasted really nice.
Just out of Warialda we visited the collection of granite boulders called "Cranky Rocks" on the edge of Reedy Creek. The legend goes that a "Cranky Chinaman", in the early mining period, was chased from Warialda for his wrong doings. He leaped to his death from the highest of the rocks.
I tried fossicking at Warialda but just like Inverell all the public fossicking sites are not worth the effort as they are fossicked out. Plus I dont really know what I'm looking for. At Lightning Ridge we met John and Rosey who also later camped with us at Inverell. They showed us their collection of rocks. It seems if it is pretty pick it up!
Camping was available here for $5 a night with cold showers but we decided to travel on to Macintyre Falls. On the way we sheared all 6 studs from the rear axle again. There was a bang as we were slowly going up a steep hill and we lost all power. Changed to 4WD and used the front wheels to take us back to Inverell via an overnight stop at Warialda ($8 a night with hot showers). Toyota at Inverell repaired the damage, unfortunately we were now out of pocket by $1000! I will have to up the maintenance budget for any future problems.
While at Inverell we had minus degrees the first night. The next day we bought a small fan heater, which we ran all the next night. Thank goodness as it went down to minus 4 degrees and we had an icicle to the ground from a dripping connection on the front of the van. The hose froze up so we had to use our van tank water. Sandy stayed in bed and didn't go walking until later that day, the first time in over a year that she slept in! Later that day we stopped at Frazer Creek, while I fossicked for Sapphires (none found) Sandy went for her walk.
We stopped at Pindari Dam for the night. The camping spot was normally close to the water but with the drought the level was 100 metres below us. They were catching Redfin and Golden Perch but it was till cold so we moved on to Leslie Dam the next day.
Leslie Dam was a very popular campsite, the water level was low but some regulars I talked to said they had never seen it up near the camping areas. Some fish were being caught but not enough to entice us. This is one of 25 impounded waters in Queensland that are locally stocked with fish. You pay for a fishing permit and the monies collected are used to buy more fingerlings to stock the waters.
Heading on we passed thru Cunningham's Gap, which is in the Main Range National Park. We pulled into the parking area near the lookout and found that it was designed for cars only! We had to do a three point turn with the caravan to get out again. If the caravan was 3 feet longer we wouldn't have been able to turn around.
From the car park we took the Rainforest walking circuit and stopped at Fassifern Lookout. Along the walking trail we came across our first rainforest. Staghorns, Elkhorns, ferns and creepers. Very green and beautiful.
We decided to camp at Spicer's Gap camping area. Low range, 1st gear, 4WD and Sandy almost getting out before we got to the camp. Really steep. After reading all the pamphlets we found one that said it was not suitable for caravans. It was a nice camp area and the next day we drove higher to Governor's Chair Lookout but left the van behind this time.
From the Governors Chair we walked along the original rock road thru Spicers Gap. This was used by Bullock teams pulling drays laden with wool to port and returning with supplies for the Darling Downs.
We arrived in Brisbane and set up camp at Oxley Caravan Park to do some work on the caravan. Bit rough but only $77 a week and close to the companies I require to finish the modifications. I'm going to raise and shift back the bed allowing it to permanently stay down with room for a dining table and 2 chairs. At the moment with the bed folded down we don't have a dining table but with the bed up we have seating for 6. We will be here for 2 or 3 weeks and will also visit the Brisbane Caravan and Camping Show which is on in June. Dropped into Hudson Institute and met Juanita and others who have been helping us invest for our new lifestyle. It was great to meet her face to face and have a drink together.
We went touring on our first Sunday here and visited the Southbank Markets. Sandy was impressed with the man made beach in the heart of Brisbane, complete with sand and Lifeguards. Drove to Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens and wandered around for a couple of hours. Well worth the visit with Japanese Gardens, Bonsai, Palms, Bamboo, Cacti and many others.
On the way home we drove thru the steep hills of Paddington and wandered amongst the Retro and Antique shops. Juanita later told us that the roads were formed following the original goat tracks thru the village, which is the reason why they are so twisted and steep.
Next month we should be leaving Brisbane and heading via Emerald and Charters Towers to Cooktown.
Welcome back. I've almost finished the caravan renovations with only some new cupboards to build later on down the track. The bed, storage, chairs and table are finished and work well. We went to the Brisbane Caravan and Camping Show arriving at 10am and not leaving until 5:30pm! We checked out all the off road vans but no new ideas caught our attention. Lots of accessories on show and we bought some new chairs and some Red Claw traps. The chairs we had were folding sling style which don't appear to be good for our backs so now we have adjustable upright Coleman chairs which are very comfortable. We didn't have time to check out the Motorhomes, as it was we were navigating after sundown getting back to the park.
We drove into town and wandered along the Queen Street Mall, which is open on Sundays, down to the Eagle St Pier Markets. Most markets apear to have the same things these days but an enjoyable way to while away an afternoon. Further on we walked into the Botanical Gardens where the Big Picnic in the Park was being held. We listened to the bands for a while then headed back to our car. On the way we went past a Medieval Fair where most people were dressed in the old fashioned way. They also camped onsite and many tents were original medieval designs. It appears that Brisbane has a large following, as there were approx a thousand people in the spirit of the fair.
We left Brisbane and headed towards Emerald, on the way we dropped into Cania Gorge. On one of the many walks available we saw these some cliffs which are throughout the park. Most of the creeks were dry but the undergrowth was still damp keeping all the plants green. Cania Gorge had many palm trees and tree ferns that looked beautiful. Dripping Rock had fine ferns and moss growing all over it. What a stunning little grotto.
After Cania we stopped overnight at Mt Scoria which was a volcano many years ago. All that is left now is the central rock that was previously molten forming this hill on the flat surrounding plains. The climb up was very steep over the loose rocks. At the top we found hexagonal rocks, that when struck, produced a musical note similar to a church bell. As the molten rock cooled, the rock cracked similar to mudpans. Some of these rocks are believed to extend well down into the hill. They say that during thunderstorms Mt Scoria reverberates with the claps of thunder producing more noise.
Arriving at Emerald we decided to carry on and camp at Sapphire being in the centre of the Gem Fields. Looking thru the pamphlets we decided to fossick at Graves Hill Fossicking Area as the gem bearing gravel is only a foot below the surface. After purchasing a one-month family fossicking licence for $7.45 we left the van in the park and drove to Graves Hill. While driving thru the area, looking for a good place to dig near Mt Clifford, a fossicker waved a greeting to us. I decided to stop and have a chat, it was the best thing we could have done. Bob took us under his wing and began to teach us how to fossick for Sapphires. He showed us a spot where he said a yellow sapphire was found previously. We proceeded to dig the gravel out into a bucket Bob provided. Laughing at our small shovel and pick he supplied us with heavy duty mining ones. After we had 3 buckets of gravel he showed us how to use his sift which extracted all the rocks over 25mm. We now had one bucket of gravel. Loaning us his medium and fine sieves he showed us how to wash the gravel in his Wallaby. Once that was done we inverted each sieve onto his hessian-covered ironing board. If done right the heavier sapphires should now be in the middle on top of the gravel. It took us an hour to sift thru a bucket of gravel, Bob did 3 buckets an hour. Sandy found the first flake of green sapphire then some small zircons turned up. As you can read our garden sieve, toilet spade and small pick were not really up to the job and we would probably only have done one bucket a day! Over the two days we sieved around seven buckets of gravel. We were glad we didn't camp at the fields (only $2.50 a night) as we had hot showers in the park, we were both covered in mud and dust. The next day we took morning tea and lunch with us so we could really get stuck into it. Early in the morning we struck sapphire, a lovely one carat yellow. The rarest sapphire available. After more buckets were sieved, all up we found 15 zircons including one small red one that is being cut and faceted for us. In the afternoon I found our first Blue Sapphire which turned out to be a Parti colour, that is, blue/green/yellow all in the one stone. This was a massive 18.5 carats, over half an ounce. Unfortunately only one section was clear enough to cut as the rest was not transparent. The Gem Cutter is hoping to get a two carat stone out of it. These three stones are being mailed to us in Cooktown and we can't wait to see what they look like. Sandy has surprised herself again as she enjoyed her fossicking and may do it again one day.
After striking it rich in Sapphire we travelled on to Clermont where we visited Sandy's sisters friend Tammi. That night at the caravan park, which was full of gold fossickers, I dropped into the onsite Gold Prospectors Shop. Picked up a few pamphlets on detectors for later and had a yarn.
On the way to Charters Towers we passed a lot of Brahman cattle with cute floppy ears. Sandy wants one when we settle down one day along with another Scottish Highland like our Jock. In Charters we stayed at the new Oasis Caravan Park. Very clean, well spaced out park with a lot of thought put into it.
We stopped at Clarke River for lunch. Wandering down the river we came across some butterflies, hanging like fruit, in the trees. There were thousands of them and when disturbed it felt like you were in a confetti parade.
We whipped thru Atherton and only stopped at Mareeba to get some vegies and food. We will visit this area again on the way down but now were just heading for the sun at Cooktown.
Camped at the old Cooktown crossing on the Mitchell River. Spent two days here doing the washing, swimming and relaxing. Met another couple camped here with metal detectors. They took me out the next morning and taught me how to pan for gold. Sandy didn't believe me when I came home and told her I found gold in the stream. I now have in a bottle with about 15 flecks of gold worth about 5cents, but to me priceless! When we first arrived a couple, who were just packing up to leave, told us the water was still too cold for Redclaw (freshwater crayfish) so I didn't bother to put the nets in. The last night while spotting animals and insects with the torch we saw a redclaw in the water in front of our camp. Should have put the nets in!
The next morning while stopping at a lookout we met up with another West Australian couple who we previously met at Warroora Station in WA a year ago. In 10 years we may know a couple at every campsite we go to! We finally arrived at Annan River just outside Cooktown where Don and Marg were waiting for us. They left us at the Eyre Peninsular a few months ago to travel up the coast while we went inland.
That night with some Yabbies for bait we caught some nice Silver Bream from the old bridge crossing the Annan River.
At Finch Bay the locals go swimming at the Northern end away from the creek where the crocodiles live. At the southern end of Finch Bay hidden in amongst the forest overlooking the beach is a house with a terrific location and views but I wonder what the mossies would be like?
Trolling down the river over the next couple of days Don and myself picked up three Trevally and a Barracouda.
Don and Marg took us for a day's outing along Bloomfield Track to Cape Tribulation and to see if we can take the vans along this track. First stop was Weary Bay where we asked a local couple how they got on with the mossies. They said that after 6 months you don't notice them anymore!
We stopped at Bloomfield River, which looked like a tropical paradise without all the tourist shops of the lower coasts. Bloomfield Falls were a sight to behold. Pity no swimming as crocs are here too.
At the Fig Tree we walked down to Emmagen Beach where I picked up a coconut for later. Tropical rainforest right down to the shore, very pretty.
While having lunch at Cape Tribulation a friendly Lace Monitor dropped in for a visit. Sandy didn't appreciate the visit as she ate most of her lunch while standing on top of the picnic table. He was only about one and a half metres long and stayed as long as we fed it some bread.
Marg had been expecting to see a Cassowary as they drove up the coast but never found one. On this trip we saw an immature one in the park but it hadn't developed its blue head yet so now Marg is hoping to see an adult Cassowary.
On the way home (it always feels longer and rougher) we stopped at the oldest Queensland Hotel, the Lions Den Hotel. A lot of memorabilia stacked into an old timber and tin building.
All four of us went for a boat ride up the Annon River where we saw Charlie the 16 foot croc silently slip from the mudbank into the water. At this stage everyone decided it was time to turn around and head for home!
The next day I celebrated my birthday with a meal at the Cooktown RSL Club. We all had great meals and went for a walk to the wharf afterwards to finish off the night.
We had decided to travel north to Lakefield National Park and were told the rough 50 kms from Endeavour River will be a slow trip but quicker than taking the 200km detour. While at Endeavour River Caravan Park we took a drive thru Hope Vale Mission to Cape Bedford and the Coloured Sands. We had to walk a bit along the beach, thankfully the tide was out otherwise it would have been rough going in the scrub at the base of the dunes. Once there we could see where the erosion had cut into the sand hills exposing all the different colours. We collected 10 colours in a jar ranging from black thru to dark red.
Taking tracks east we drove past Elim Campgrounds out onto the hard beach below Cape Bedford. The tide was out and the wind was blowing, whipping up the waters.
While camped at Endeavour River Falls C.P. it rained each night and the last night it poured. With the rain, a cracked windscreen and a staked tyre we decided not to go to Lakefield N.P. It was not worth pushing our luck and because of the lack of rain in the previous years the fishing was not supposed to be that great either. So we turned around and headed south.
Dropped into Archer Point, a free camp below Cooktown. The camping area was nice but exposed to the wind, which was still blowing hard. Carried on and stopped overnight at Mitchell River again, increasing my gold to around 40 flyspecks with an hour of panning.
Travelling via Rifle Creek Camping area we arrived at Mossman and found all caravan parks were full. We got a one night camp at Wonga Beach and after shifting sites the next day we managed another 2 nights. Lots of tourists in the area filling up the accommodation, wish they would nick off. We drove up to the Daintree River thru the craft town and further on into the ranges behind, which were mostly cattle farming on very scenic land of rainforests, creeks and paddocks.
Tripping back to Mossman we drove to Mossman Gorge passing a lot of sugar cane plantations on the way. The Mossman Gorge parking area was overflowing with vehicles but we found a spot and luckily it stopped drizzling while we walked the tracks. In the streams the water is crystal clear while all around the vegetation is composed of a hundred shades of green.
Back in '84 Port Douglas had a pie shop of some notoriety, it has now been swallowed up with the variety of shops made especially for the tourists. Port Douglas is now one big resort built solely for tourists. The weekend markets were full of unique handmade crafts, which were enjoyable to see. We ran into our estate agent Jenny, who sold our house for us back in Perth. She may be buying a B&B here, it would be nice place to live depending on the weather in the other season.
We travelled south again to Cairns visiting the beaches on the way. We stayed in Cairns for 3 weeks waiting for the wind to drop so we could take a boat out to the reef and go snorkelling. It never happened, maybe more luck when we get to Townsville. I dragged Sandy along to the Cairns Ag Show and checked out all the cows, chickens, goats etc much to Sandy's amusement NOT! The 3 hours spent walking around the displays were enjoyable for all.
Back in '84 Kuranda Station was covered in huge specimens of ferns, today they are only small pot plants. The markets were on the local oval, today they are in purpose built stalls. How time changes things. I wonder what they will be like in another 20 years. Were both glad of our memories from the '84 trip including the steam train trip to Kuranda. Now they have diesel locomotives pulling 14 carriages of tourists.
We went to Rusty's Markets in Cairns and Sandy had a ball, as it was all fruit and vegetables. Tried a few funny tropical fruits such as a red spiky thing that had a centre like a grape, quite nice.
Sandy may have developed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome but she will continue her walking, as the doctor suggested, and hopefully will not deteriorate any more than she has in the last 6 months.
The hard drive in the laptop had started to make funny noises so I had to spend 3 days installing a new one. That's why this article is a bit late this month. Also installed a new bearing in the jockey wheel and had the car tyre repaired but now the gearbox is starting to make a noise. Oh well, such is life, as they say "if it's not one thing it's another".
Last time we were at Barron Falls Station we had to walk on the rail tracks to view the falls, not any more as they now have a large paved station for the tourists with lookouts.
Day tripping from Cairns we did a tour around Atherton Tablelands. On the way to Lake Tinnaroo we stopped in to visit the Cathedral Fig Tree and Mobo Creek Crater. The first campsite we came across at the lake was Fongon Bay, this would be a nice place to camp and fish for a few days if we came past again with the van. Continuing on along the potholed road past other camp areas we arrived at the dam wall of Lake Tinnaroo.
Hypipamee National Park provided us a view of a volcanic lava tube, which I think the sign said had a water depth of 80 metres or more.
Yungaburra was a small town with a lovely craft type shop. Many items took our fancy but no room for them in the caravan. The top floor was devoted to a private collection of fairies and gnomes some over 5 foot tall, quite impressive.
On the homeward stretch we stopped at Lake Barrine for a look, a bit late in the day for the 6k walk around the lake which we did last time we were here.
The last few days in Cairns we did the mangrove board walk near the airport and got eaten alive by the sandflies. We also strolled around the botanical gardens that had a terrific display of tropical plants and flowers. Some of the plants were totally different to anything we have seen before. I also got my Mariner Boat Licence, which allows me to legally drive my boat in all states of Australia, $100 once only cost. No licences are required in W.A. and N.T. but the other states do require them.
Next month sees us heading south for more sun and sand, we hope.
Were not travelling as fast at the moment as there are so many places to stop at. This month we see out August just north of Townsville. The gearbox is not so noisy at the moment so we will let that repair go for a while. Still cloudy but with the car battery now connected to the caravan we seem to be able to last a bit longer without pulling out the generator.
The Honda EU10i generator now has a $1600 recommended retail price, so I've heard. I have seen Repco advertising an 850 watt 2 stroke genni for $289! Only one campground asked what type of genni we have, the rest couldn't care less so long as they are turned off around 8:30pm. Our Honda has now done over 300 hours, a dealer said that Honda now recommend a head overhaul every 2 or 300 hours at a cost of up to $200. Maybe a cheaper 2 stroke would be a sensible cheaper option even if it does use twice the fuel (an extra $60 of fuel over 300 hours of running).
We are finding that a lot of caravan parks are starting to feel like retirement homes. A lot of the regulars stay for up to 6 months enjoying the climate in the north. Most travellers are 60 plus with the younger ones concentrated around the resort areas such as Cairns, Port Douglas etc. Queensland has passed new regulations so that there is no free camping in state govt areas such as MRD rest areas if there is a CP within 50 kms. Thankfully some shire councils are more sensible and provide free or cheap campgrounds in the shire so that they benefit from the tourists. What is needed is a string of caravan parks around Aus that charge $10 a night. A lot of parks are quite full and with so many new caravans being sold it will only get worse.
First stop after Cairns was Bramston Beach with a no power cheap Council Park on the beach. Had a lovely time here and Sandy saw another Cassowary on her morning walk. Took a drive to the Boulders Park, a delightful rainforest walk starting off over another suspension bridge, much to Sandy's horror. The water was crystal clear and we could see many tortoises swimming in the creek. Heading the other way we stopped at the Boulders Gorge lookout.
At Bartle Frere (Queensland's highest peak at 1622m) we walked the first part of the 15 km summit trail to Josephine Falls. Like Mossman Gorge a formed bitumen track takes you to the lookouts. Leaving the warm coastal camping areas it soon cools down as you drive high into the cloud covered rainforests. From memory I think the sign said they have 20 metres of rain here each year!
Heading up Palmerston Hwy we came to a turn off to Misty Mountains, which was opening later this month. Unfortunately we hoped to follow the road 50 kms to Ravenshoe but just 15 kms down the track they had closed the road. Misty Mountains consist of 130 kms of high altitude, rainforest, long distance walking trails. The track took us to the South Johnstone campsite and river. We were hoping to see a Platypus in the clear mountain waters but most are seen in the evenings in these waters.
At the beginning of the 26 km Gorrell walking track we were amazed at the vegetation. These tall treeferns would look terrific in any garden.
Just out of Ravenshoe is Australia's widest falls, Millstream which was flowing nicely.
We dropped into the Mungalli Creek Dairy for some cheese tasting and bought some lovely Fetta cheese, a bit salty for Sandy but I loved it. Further down the Waterfall Circuit were the Mungalli Falls, which had impatients planted in the rocks creating a colourful vista.
Just above Innisfail was the Ella Bay NP which had free camping but no caravans allowed. Many NP have very narrow, steep and winding roads not suited to vans and even if you did go in, there were usually no suitable sites.
We made a mistake at Etty Bay CP and payed for 3 days in the only unpowered vacant spot in the full park. The owner told us we could put our bread machine in the laundry. After putting the flour and water in the machine I found that they had glued all the power points off so that day trippers couldn't boil kettles with the parks power. A friendly camper allowed us to plug the machine into their power. The next day we decided to move on and asked for our money back, she became very aggressive as she would only give us our key deposit back because "She was running a business" and no parks would give you money back. I took the key back and told Sandy we were staying for two more days. 10 minutes later he turned up and asked if we had requested to leave and asked for our money back, we said yes. He demanded our key, threw the camping and key money on our table and told us we had an hour to get out. We were gone in 20 minutes, good riddance. We will go back to paying for the first night only until were happy with the facilities.
There are some good council parks such as Kurrimine Beach where we put the boat in and toured around North and South Barnard Islands. We also walked out to King Reef at low tide, about 400 metres offshore. At one fishing spot 5 miles out there were a dozen or more dinghies, they were all fishing for mackerel. We were after reef fish and caught nothing.
We expected Mission Beach to be a bit like Cairns but it is only a seaside town with a bit more accommodation and a few shops thrown in. Talking to a local at Hulls Head he believed this is an undeveloped area full of potential with Dunk Island and 20 other islands just offshore. The islands keep the waters relatively calm and safe for dinghies.
On the way to Lucinda we had a spectacular view of the majestic Hinchinbrook Island, Australia's largest island National Park. We stayed at Lucinda Beach which has a 5.7 km sugar loading jetty. The Caravan Park was very friendly with the long time regulars happy to talk to you and free sausage sizzle and live music on Friday nights. We put the boat in a couple of times and tried fishing everywhere but only caught one fish. Sandy caught a batfish, which were now using for bait as it was a bit strong to eat. One of the regulars were catching a few Grunters but that was in a mangrove creek with plenty of midges/sand flies and we were both sick of the insect bites we got at Hulls Head.
Stony Creek tumbles 70m off the Seaview Range before plunging 268m in a clear single fall through a rainbow-fringed cloud of mist. This is Wallaman Falls which has the highest, permanent clear drop waterfall in Australia.
Ingham had a remarkable cemetery with amazing southern-european mausoleums. Made of white stucco, marble, terrazzo or tiles with gothic-style windows and doors. Inside the mausoleums they have photos, flowers, crosses and ceramic figurines.
Balgal Beach near Rollingstone gave us a few more bites, both insect and fish. Sandy caught four grunters including the largest one while I only caught one. The next day she spent 3 hours down by the creek and caught nothing but got lots of insect bites. She's gone fishing mad since Ningaloo and gets withdrawal symptoms when she can't go fishing. Were now at Saunders Beach just outside Townsville and will try a bit more fishing here later. Queensland has changed a lot of camping areas such as Saunders only allowing 24-hour camping and Balgal is 48 hours.
Next month we hope to have a trip to the reef from Townsville if the weather is OK. Until then enjoy.
Well, if you know Sandy you know she has some great toilet stories, as she seems to spend most of her time near them or on them.
At Saunders Beach, just after dark, Sandy went to the toilet (about 100 metres away from the van). I was in the van when I heard her scream, arriving at the toilet I called out to her, asking if it was a spider (she's a bit spooked by spiders), furry or something else? She could hardly talk as she was still trying to work out what was climbing up the porcelain to see whom was squatting on their toilet. Frogs!
Heading down the coast the land dried out as we approached Townsville. This area receives a lot less rainfall than where the mountains are close to the coast further north. Townsville is a fairly large town, not really tourist orientated yet, more like a working town. We checked out the cruises to the reef as we missed out in Cairns. Only one ship, 130 passengers, 3 hours at the reef and you are only allowed to swim 60 metres from the mooring. Not what we were looking forward to, so will give Cairns a go next time we go past and hopefully we can find a smaller boat with less restrictions.
Just offshore is Magnetic Island. If the wind died down we were going to take the dinghy across, no luck. The island has houses, shops and heaps of backpacker type accommodation.
At the end of the Strand is the Rockpool, still saltwater but protected waters with a flat bottom. A lot of money has been spent on the Strand and is has been spent well, creating a lovely foreshore.
Further down the coast we stopped at Cocoa Creek which was recommended to us by the ranger at Alligator Creek National Park. Fish - nil, insect bites - hundreds. Moving on early the next morning we ended up at Horseshoe Bay CP in Bowen.
Horseshoe Bay has a protected area of water where we went snorkelling. The water was warm and Sandy managed to stay in for an hour. A small variety of fish to see with some very colourful ones. Later I went for a sauna while Sandy did some laps in the pool.
The wind is now blowing but the rain has stopped so we are now keeping the boat on top and touring down the coast. First stop Hydeaway Bay with a trip to Dingo Bay. While here I dropped into the local rubbish tip and changed the oil in the car. It doesn't matter if you spill a bit whereas the CP wouldn't be happy. I use a cheap $1 bucket to catch the old oil then pour it back into the empty container to recycled at the tip.
Airlie Beach and Shute Harbour were a drive thru visit only as the markets were on and parking with van was unavailable, besides there were too many people.
Conway Beach was a small town with the Proserpine River just around the corner. You can see how far the tide goes out. Most of the coast along here is very tidal and shallow with the deeper water out behind the islands.
A nice bushland setting caravan park was the Travellers Rest at Midge Point where we followed the ribbon walk thru the bushlands to the creek. We put the boat in and fished all day out behind the islands. Only got enough fillets for dinner that night. Like Lucinda CP the owners try to get everyone together by meeting for morning tea with drinks and scones supplied.
At Cape Hillsborough NP we camped under the trees overlooking the water at Smalleys Beach. A nice little group of 10 campsites.
At Mackay we drove out onto the rockwall around the port and counted 16 tankers offshore waiting to come in to pick up a load. While we had lunch we watched 2 tugs bring a ship in. Some divers informed us that there were no fish down there so we didn't bother to wet the line.
Sarina Beach CPark is now closed and no wonder with the attitude of the woman who served us. Another CPark closed even though it was a $12 park that charged $18.
Did some free camping at Carmila, 2 x cod and 2 x mulloway, not large but enough for a couple of meals. When the tide went out small blue/white soldier crabs combed the entire area rolling the top sand into balls extracting any food. There were so many crabs you could actually hear them scampering across the sand even though they were less than 1 cm across the shell.
St Lawrence had free camping but not near the river. We stayed on the river for a couple of hours with the line in the water, eating our lunch and talking to other tourists who dropped in for a look. In the afternoon we drove on to Yeppoon meeting up with locals, John and Rosie (who we first came across at Lightning Ridge). Over the next few days they gave us a terrific tour of the area, from Byfield State Forest in the north down to Keppel Sands in the south.
Just near town the creeks dry up at low tide leaving all the boats high and dry.
Large towns are only good for shopping, as there are too many people there, so we only stayed a few hours at Rockhampton to visit the Botanical Gardens and zoo. Rockhampton is supposed to be the Beef capital of Australia, expecting some terrific steaks, we were terribly disappointed. The porterhouse and rumps were as tough as old boots.
Next were a couple of days at Calliope River with an Historical Village just across the river.
Were still looking for a magical spot so maybe next month. Yeppoon would be a nice place to live with the many creeks, islands, hills and ocean bays available. You will have to buy quickly as the developers are starting to move in. A new $55 million suburb that will dramatically increase the population and a 12 storey block to be built on the foreshore.
All the best, next stop for us, Tannum Sands then Seventeen Seventy.
We started off this month staying at Tannum Sands in a park opposite Wild Cattle Island. Sandy had a great walking track along Wild Cattle Creek. The council has provided cycleways, toilets and picnic spots along all the waterways in the area. Took a drive back to Gladstone for shopping and sightseeing. Gladstone is a very industrial Port/Town but still having some nice parks and waterways around the Marina and University.
Heading south we stopped at Agnes Waters CP to check out the local National Parks to see if they were suitable for the van. First one was Eurimbula which was not suitable for the van due to low branches. To the south was Deepwater, which had soft sand tracks. We could have got the van into Wreck Rock campground but in the camping area were too many trees and the beach was a few hundred metres from the camping area. We do like a nice ocean view from our balcony. The next day we toured 1770 and they had a delightful CP on the foreshore. Well protected from winds with many people swimming and fishing also packed out with campers. 1770 is where Captain Cook first landed in Queensland in May, you guessed it, 1770
At Elliot Heads caravan park we had the Woongarra Marine Park right on the foreshore but the constant winds didn't allow us to do any snorkelling amongst the rocks. Offshore in around 16 metres of water was the Cochrane Artificial Reef consisting of sunken barge, planes and other vessels. On a nice day it would have been fun to have a look and try a bit of fishing but the winds are here to stay now.
Next month, just down the road at Mon Repos, the sea turtles start to come in to lay their eggs at the sea turtle rookery. They have set up boardwalks and government guided night tours to see them up close.
Bundaberg had a brewery, museums, arts and crafts but nothing that appealed to us. All the coastal suburbs are booming, Burnett Heads, Bargara, Kellys Beach, Innes Park, Coral Cove and Elliot Heads have many new architect designed houses. Volcanic action has left the foreshores with a marine park full of coral encrusted rocks. If the wind and waves died down then snorkelling would be easy off the shore.
Heading via Woodgate we towed the van in to Burrum Coast NP via 5kms of soft sand. With the campsite only a short walk to the beach we stayed a few days to enjoy the quiet solitude. We found out why you don't feed wild animals, the kookaburra above dropped in each night to eat some mince that we fed it. Later, uninvited, the kookaburra swooped in and stole some bacon from the neighbours breakfast plate. They tell us to"get some pork on your fork", he almost got a kookaburra on his fork!!!!
We were told later that if we headed north from Woodgate into the Kinkuna section of the National Park the road takes you thru the park onto the beach where no fees apply. This road is not supposed to be as soft as the end we camped at with camping spots right on the beach.
The larger towns we use mainly for shopping and Maryborough was no exception. A quick drive around town with a walk thru the park on the river. We filled the van with the weekly shopping and after a night in the local caravan park off again down the coast.
Toogoom is a tiny seaside community. On the far side of the water is an island of around 50 acres. The owner is slowly landscaping it for a future resort, which he will build there. Very pretty but the prices are high for real estate as you could imagine.
We camped at Poona, which is on the Great Sandy Strait. Here we were told that whiting eat sandflies and all along the Strait are tidal Mangroves, sandy flats, sandflies and whiting! But not many whiting were seen to be caught.
We had travelled to Fraser Island last time we went around Australia so decided not to this time. $120 from Hervey Bay for the Ferry and $35 landing fees on Fraser with $8 a night camping. When we went there, there was one resort and bush camping on the island, now there are 3 resorts, convenience stores, fuel, gas, ice, public phones and a Police Station.
Tin Can Bay was again very tidal so after a drive around town we headed on to Rainbow Beach.
At Inskip Peninsula we stayed at the M. V. Sarawak Campground, just a stones throw to the water with views to Fraser Island only a K away. Took the boat out a couple of times catching a small whiting and a herring. For some reason a large amount of seaweed was floating in all the waters near here. This clogged up the hooks preventing most people attempting to fish.
All road rules apply on the beaches with regular police patrols. We drove along the beach from Inskip Point to Rainbow Beach then on to and over Double Island Point. Still going south we passed the Cherry Venture shipwreck on the beach then took the track to Freshwater Lake where we had lunch. You can continue to drive down the beach all the way to Noosa. The sand, at low tide, is smooth and hard but the exits can be a bit sandy as you go over the dunes.
On our shopping day we detoured via Great Sandy NP, Cooloola Way and stopped at Harrys Camp on the Noosa River. One minute we had the whole camp to ourselves and then three boatloads of tourists from Noosa turned up for lunch. We decided to head out and found a small spot in the rainforest to have a quiet lunchstop. While shopping at Gympie we had thunder, lightning and hailstones. Back at the camp at Inskip they stayed dry with not a drop falling from the skies. The next day we copped it with a terrific display of lightning and a heavy downpour.
Sandy's cousins Gary and Sonya met up with us as they left Fraser Island on their 3 month camping trip around Australia. They took the beach all the way to Noosa while we went the long way via Gympie. At Noosa we all went for a tour around the town including the famous Hastings Street checking out the scenery, people and houses. All buildings have to be below 4 stories, combined with the many trees and Noosa NP makes Noosa feel very comfortable.
After leaving Noosa we camped at Eumundi where we had a fantastic display of lightning. My camera has not got the feature to hold open the shutter to take a picture of the lightning so I just took 75 photos catching 5 shots of the clouds lit up but unfortunately no forked lightning on the photos.
Thats a all for dis month
This month sees us at the Eumundi Markets which has around 500 stalls cramped into a small area. Nothing new same old samo. From here we went to the Ginger factory (nice Bundaberg ginger beer made with Buderim ginger) and the Macadamia nut works, typical tourist stuff. We had lunch at a delightful little locality called Cooloolabin and then a cool scenic drive along the Mapleton Forest Drive. We drove past the Cooloolabin Dam arriving at Montville via Mapleton. We were surprised at the views from the top of the Blackall Range where we had terrific vistas back towards the coast. The town of Montville was full of unique Arts/Crafts and unusual Novelty shops all perched on the edge of the ranges. Very pretty and good prices too but no camping parks so we camped just around the corner at Maleny.
After Maleny we drove along a tourist drive thru the hills of Reesville stopping at a lookout called Howells Knob. We had our first views of the Glasshouse Mountains. Next stop Aussie World.
Apart from the pub with its wacky signs and architecture the rest of Aussie World consisted of a beer garden and kids fun park. We were told to check out the men's urinals which consist of 3 x 44 gallon drums with the fronts cut off.
Later on we drove around and thru the Glasshouse mountains, they look bigger close up but a better view from the distance.
The Glasshouse Mountain Legend.
Tibrogargan, the father, and Beerwah, the mother, had many children. Coonowrin was the eldest, Tunbubudla (twins), Coochin, Ngungun, Tibberowuccum, Miketeebumlgrai and Elimbah. Tibrogargan noticed one day that the seas were rising. He called out to Coonowrin to help gather the other children for his mother, who was pregnant. Coonowrin ran away in fear of the rising waters saying that Beerwah could look after herself because she was the largest, not knowing of her pregnancy. This angered Tibrogargan so much that he struck Coonowrin (meaning crookneck) such a blow that it dislocated his neck. Tibrogargan was so furious with his eldest son, that even today he has turned his back and looks out to sea.
Went to Bribie Island and camped a night. Even the island has a new canal development for houses, we are seeing a lot of these as we head down the coast. The population appears to be mainly retired or soon to be. The waters in the Bribie Passage are very calm with whiting and flathead being caught.
More touring today, Deception Bay, Redcliffe, Scarborough and stopping at Clontarf. While camped at the free park in Petrie a Greg and Jenny from Bussleton, having seen our WebPages and newspaper articles back home, were excited to actually find us on the road. They were travelling around Aus with 3 sons (the eldest a teenager), all in a 17 foot poptop van.
I fiited a new fibreglass windscreen surround (the old one was rusted out) and had the cracked windscreen replaced while camped at Clontarf. The fibreglass manufacturer was just around the corner, at a cost of $450 it now looks great.
Took a ferry ride to Macleay Island to visit my cousin Ollie Knox. The group of islands is in very protected waters between the mainland and Stradbroke Island. Very peaceful and relatively cheap at the moment. If all the empty blocks were built on it would be another crowded suburbia but as it is there is around 1 house for every 5 blocks, mainly eucalyptus scrubland. $10 for the ferry ride or $50 to take your car, every time you leave the island. According to Ollie, lots of people buy but decide not to stay or build when the reality of island living sets in. Recently Hot Auctions have held some auctions on this and Lamb island, which is less than 300 metres away. Another camper told us that their favourite island is Coocheimudlo, which actually has sandy beaches instead of pebble beaches as at the other islands.
Next place to go was the Gold Coast but we just can't take any more people, we need some peace and tranquillity, so we headed south west. Bigriggen reserve just out of Rathdowney where we camped with lots of possums. Sandy thought they were really cute until the next morning when she stepped onto a wet caravan step. Yep, they had widdled all over the step and the mat! Sandy came home from her morning walk and told me about this bat on the fence that was watching her walk, everytime she went past it swivelled its head and watched her. On the way out we stopped and found that it had to watch her as it was caught on the barb wire fence. With leather gloves on we managed to free it and watch it fly away. Boy do they have big teeth!
We were told about a camp on the lower part of Lions Road called Paradise Valley. As I wanted to drive the scenic Lions Road we set up camp in this little park. Lions road travels thru Border Ranges National Park and the road was very steep and twisty. Part way along was a lookout where you could see the loop that the trains travel on. They have to gain height to get over the ranges and this is the way they do it.
At the Main Range National Park above the falls we saw some very colourful King Parrots and Crimson Rosellas. On the walk to the bottom of the falls amongst the rainforest we came across many water dragons. The birds were an amazing combination of bright reds, greens and blues. The area around here is high mountains with lush green valleys as far as the eye can see.
Next National Park and camping spot was Girraween. Nice camping with hot/cold showers and flush toilets for Sandy. First trek was via the granite arch then up to the Pyramid at over a 1000 metres high, I needed a few stops to catch my breath. A lot of places advertise a balancing rock but the one on top of the pyramid was a beauty. The next day after a short drive we took a walk to an underground creek and Dr Roberts waterhole. Granite boulders eroded from the overhanging cliffs had collapsed into Bald Rock Creek hiding it from view. The waterhole was one of those places that you can just sit and soak up the bush.
On the walk we passed thru areas that were full of noisy large cicadas, the trees were full of empty husks left behind after their moulting. The noise was so loud that you could hardly talk, not a place to dwell too long.
At Glenlyon Dam, with the promise of heaps of fish, we decided to buy a fishing permit and stay a couple of nights. Needless to say when the truth came out the fisherfolk were spending up to 10 hours on the dam with the biggest catch being 3 fish!!!! The owners had set up a TV and provided a free meal for all while we watched the Rugby Grand Final so in the end we had a good time. When the dam was first filled some limestone caves were flooded. Now the dam is so low you can walk back into the now dry caves again.
Next a long day travelling via country towns that had little to entertain us apart from historic buildings. Along the way we stopped at Glenn Innes standing stones. An array of 3.7 metre tall granite stones set as a monument to the nation's Celtic pioneers. The stone circles were built by the Celts as calendars and later developed religious significance. The main feature is the 24 stones representing the 24 hours of the day.
We ended up camping just out of Armidale at Dumaresq Dam where we had hailstones the second night. The locals talk about the temps getting down to minus 20 degrees as being normal over winter! We drove to the University Of New England to see the gargoyles on the building Booloominban but the brochures were wrong and not a goyle to be seen anywhere.
From Armidale we went via Dangars Gorge (only a trickle of water), Deeargee Woolshed (octagonal shed with 3 roofs, pagoda style) and Gostwyck's ivy covered church. Finally ending up in Uralla. The owner of the foundry at Uralla told us that the camping is scenic at the fossicking area. Free camping but after a couple of hours panning no gold was found. We camped on the high part of the soft riverbed with a terrific view down the creek and no other campers the first night.
The tour of the Brass and Iron Lace Foundry in Uralla was very informative for me. Built in 1872 and still a going concern. Something I learnt was that the cast piece was originally produced in wood. The room contains a heap of wooden cogs and other patterns. After the pattern is made it is placed in a "sand" box and tamped down to the halfway point. Then the top half is covered and compressed, once the sand mixture has set the wood pattern and top half is turned over with the bottom replaced with a more compressed mixture. Each casting use 3 molds, bottom rough, top good then bottom good.
The foundry machinery is run by a belt drive from an overhead pulley system, originally steam powered now electric. Drill presses, lathes, milling machines and more. All the original pieces, tools and patterns, have been catalogued by the Museum even though some are still in use.
We are now camped in Tamworth at Paradise Caravan Park, great park and only $75 a week unpowered. Tamworth is noted for its 2 weeks in January when it hosts the Country Music Festival. Campers have already started to set up in the park so that they have a good spot thru to the January festival.
While in Tamworth I finally started work on the overhead cupboards, almost finished just waiting for some doors now. Sandy has so much room now she doesn't know where to put anything.
Next month will see us visiting "The Dish" and the Western Plains Zoo. Till then enjoy and keep planning your trip.
We left Tamworth heading for the Warrumbungles. After setting up camp we had a terrific sound and light display of thunder and lightning much to Sandy's disgust. The next day we went to see the Siding Springs Observatory. The clouds had not lifted so we drove up the mountain with about 10 metres visibility. The views may have been great but all we had was whiteout. The obsevatory has a static display during the day with commercial users at night. It was interesting to see and read the displays.
From the here we headed west to Dubbo and our planned visit to the Western Plains Zoo.
The morning after setting up camp we arrived at the Western Plains Zoo at 6:30am for the Early Morning Zoo Walk. We visited the Black Rhinos breeding enclosures and the Giraffe night house then toured around the monkey islands. The tour lasted 3 hours after which we headed back to the caravan for breakfast. After lunch and the next day we spent touring around the zoo. We arrived at a lot of the exhibits during feeding time allowing us to see the animals up close. There are still fences around the animals but landscaped to be as unobtrusive as possible. A lot have water in moats to keep the animals in and others have earth mounds with hidden electric fences. The water in the main lake stops the monkeys escaping from their separate islands for Lemurs, Spider Monkeys and Ring Tailed Lemurs.
We stopped at the CSIRO Radio Dish in Parkes and spent an enjoyable couple of hours looking at the displays. This is the same telescope used in the movie "The Dish".
While there we had a go at the whispering dishes. These two huge paraboloid dishes enabled Sandy to whisper into one and I could hear her at the other dish 100 meters away. The same style is used in the main Dish to receive minute signals from out there.
We were given the wrong directions to Jemalong Weir and ended up staying a couple of days on a stock route beside the Lachlan River. This turned out to be a better campsite than the Weir which we later found.
There were heaps of trucks on Newell Highway as this is a direct route from Melbourne to Brisbane. You always had one behind you or passing you, bit spooky.
Near Warrandera we camped on the Murrumbidgee River. The area is full of River Red Gums which you don't camp beneath as they have a tendancy to drop their heavy limbs.
At Gulpa Island State Forest we camped on the Edward River at Taylors Bridge. More river red gums which after an overnight camp we found dropped a lot of moisture consisting of a sticky residue which necessitated a car and caravan wash at Echuca. The rivers and creeks were flowing at their maximum capacity as the lakes down in Victoria were being topped up through the Murray River system for the coming summer period. Throughout the forest were creeks, small lakes and swamps which were flowing back into the river system.
At Echuca we had a river cruise on the Paddle Steamer Emmylou. This is the same paddle steamer that I painted way back when I started painting when I gave up work. Even though it is a new paddle steamer it is driven by a restored 1906 steam engine. Sandy spent most of her time up in the wheelhouse talking to the captain. The captain had lots of stories to tell. He told us of a group of footballers who were camped beside the river and decided to drop their pants and moon the passengers as the Emmylou went past. Unknown to the footballers the Emmylou had a large group of tranvestites on board and the captain turned the ship and nosed up onto the bank. When the footballers realised who was making all the whistles and catcalls they upped pants and tore off into the bush never to be seen again.
Echuca has the worlds largest collection of working Paddle Steamers. The port has booking offices, shipwrights, blacksmiths, candy shops, steam displays moorings for all the boats.
Arriving in Bendigo I purchased a gold detector and we camped out on the fields at the Shadbolt Camping area. An hour and a half of detecting and I found my first 4 gram gold nugget. Unfortunately the next 4 days of detecting produced only buckles, bullet shells, horseshoes, lead shot and lots of scrap steel.
After 2 days it rained and our camp was getting very muddy so we shifted to Notley Camping ground which proved to be a less muddy camping area. It then rained HARD and we found about 3 inches of water flowing under our van. We decided to move on the next day heading for Melbourne.
Arriving in Melbourne we headed to the park in Springvale to set up camp. We planned to stay 2 weeks so the annexe went up which kept out the wind and kept us cosy. The weather was mostly sunny and we met up with our neices, Kristy who has just moved to Victoria with her friend Steve and Melinda and her friend Jules who were visiting family in Melbourne for Christmas.
We had the fridge repaired (faulty control unit) and I replaced two more broken studs on the rear axle. I bought 4 more spares as I don't trust them anymore. It seems the new ones I purchased in Queensland were installed with the wrong washers, spring instead of flat. I now replace them myself instead of trusting a mechanic.
We spent a day in town, toured the Mornington Peninsula and lookouts up near Arthurs Seat. We spent time in the Art Museum and looked around the War Memorial. We had lunch and coffee in St Kilda and visited Luna Park.
We caught up with all our jobs and will be heading to Ballarat for a few more gold nuggets then down the Great Ocean Road.