Stu's Summary

It has been a fantastic six months and everything has gone as well as we had hoped. Aussie has been green the whole way round which I didnt expect (they have had lots of rain recently) and it has been colder than I expected.
I will go over a few of the practical things for those who may be interested.

Janice has done a wonderful job of the trip on on our blog which covers our feelings at the time etc.
We have as you know done a circle from Sunshine coast down to Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide up the middle to Alice, Darwin across the north back to Queensland and Sunshine coast.  That took 21,055km
and a lot of fuel. I have kept a record the whole way, consumed 3295ltrs of diesel at a cost of $5387, it sounds a lot but we averaged 15.6lts per 100km which isnt too bad towing a 2 ton caravan.
Generally the roads are very good and in the outback areas little traffic, the roadtrains were no problem at all, the driving was not stressful, we have cruise control on the Landcruiser and it was used particularly up the middle and across the top. Cities are cities anywhere, they are always busy and this is where the GPS came in very handy. If fact I would say they are a must. Mine is getting a bit old (4 years) and roads do change so next time a will buy a new one.
Aussie drivers do keep to the speed limits much more than NZ,  and on the whole seem better drivers.  I think the fines must be much higher. You can tow a caravan up to the maximum limit but I kept to about 90 most of the time. The towing has been a breeze, most towns make short term parking available for caravans, which makes sense because there are  lots of them and they spend money.
The campgrounds have generally all been very good, prices from $10 to $35.  We have tried to use as many free ones as we can and these have been great especially here in Queensland.  They are usually provided by the local council or Government Roads and generally have toilets and water, they are popular so we have tried to arrive at them by 2pm .  Security has never been a worry, we were a bit apprehensive when we started but now we are happy stopping anywhere.
Campgrounds provide all the services as you would expect,  but surprisingly,  very few,   provide a place to discharge grey water.  They are all happy to let you dump it on the grass by the side of the caravan. (In NZ binoculars would be out  to report you).  Dump points are provided for the cassette toilets at campgrounds and most towns, so this has not been a problem.
If anyone was to come to Aussie I would definitely recommend Telstra for phone and mobile broadband.
It  works just about everywhere, all small towns and most roads. We have the telstra prepay for the phone and top it up $30 at a time, it has cost us I think $180 for the 6 months.  Broadband is the same, we chose a prepay for 1 year and that cost $150, we have used half of the data allowance and have been very pleased with the coverage.
The caravan came with a TV antenna which winds up from inside and can be rotated and a booster amplifier. Initially I though we would need to purchase at satellite system but again TV is provided to all the towns along the way and so there has only been a few days without it, not that we are tv fans  but we have watched the odd DVD.  Aussie is upgrading its tv system from analogue to digital, our tv receives both and digital seems to cover 95% of the population.

           

         Looking forward to our next trip over to Western Australia.

Janice's Summary of journey March 2011 - September 2011.

Janice's thoughts:

As we come to the end of our journey for this year of 2011, it has been  six months of wonder, excitement & awe at some of the sites we have seen.  Australia is a land of many faces, many harsh, many tranquil, & most beautiful in their own way.  We have seen similarities to NZ & sometimes thought we were back there, but this country is so big & tough & resilient.  There is so much wildlife & the birds have been a delight - I must admit I never thought I would become such a birdwatcher but it has become a bit of an obsession every time I hear a bird to grab the camera & see if I can snap it in order to identify it.  My list of recorded sightings  is up to about 80 varieties, though naturally I have not been able to get a decent photo of all.  There are probably thousands more to be acquainted with, hopefully in the future.

Things I have missed are firstly family & friends, but also include our homemade bread, jam & marmalade, an oven, picking my own vegies & fruit, the art group at Ruawai & the exercise group at Paparoa.  Not least the pleasure of bushwalking without having to worry about 'nasties'.  What I haven't missed is the winter rains & housework, though strangely enough we started here in rain, & looks like we may end it the same way.

One of the most important things for me personally about being here in Australia,  is that I have reconnected with the country of my birth, an emotional journey at times, so I would like to finish with a verse of a poem I learnt at primary school in Oz & which I had entirely forgotten existed till it suddenly popped back into my head.  Strange how the right cue can unlock a memory filed away & long forgotten.

I love a sunburnt country,

   A land of sweeping plains,

          Of rugged mountain ranges
Of droughts & flooding rain

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel seas,

Her beauty and her terror -

The wide brown land for me.

Written by Dorothea McKellar.

 







18 August 2011 - Bundaberg to Sunshine Coast, QLD Australia

At Petrie Park



Mary River

             
               En route to the Sunshine Coast our overnight camp was at Petrie Park, another freebie beside the Mary River.  We were lucky to get a spot suitable for our van as a lot of it was not level but with a little jiggling we managed & it was OK for one night.  There was quite a nice sunset, & Stu took some lovely photos of a boy & his dad fishing by the river & silhouetted in the sunset.  There were quite a lot of birds, including whip birds, galahs, & kurrawongs though I couldn't photograph any.




Boy fishing Mary River





Jan watching sunset


  Next morning we set off,  stopping for a short break in the town of Gympie (Fiona from Sahara's home town).   At this stage we leave the Bruce Highway behind & take the tourist drive through some lovely country, heading to the showgrounds at Kenilworth which is a small village like Paparoa about 1/2 hour from Maleny where my son lives.  It is in a lovely valley surrounded by ranges & there is a caravan group from Maryborough having a rally there.  Still room for us though thankfully.   On a walk to the village we discover the local Cheese Factory which also makes yoghurt & ice-cream.  We resisted the ice-cream but indulged ourselves with yoghurt & cheese, both very nice.  The village has everything required for day to day living plus a cafe & a restaurant etc.  Really reminded us of home.
Next morning we leave at 9am to head to Caloundra on the coast to watch my two grandaughters (12 & 10) play netball.  They are both in their first season & really enjoying it, so it was quite nice to sit in the sun & watch them though the breeze was a bit cool at times.   Son Trevor was working so we tried to  rendezvous with him for lunch but after driving through all the Saturday traffic, just as we arrived he got a call-out, so that was that.  By the time we got back to Maleny, had afternoon tea with the children & their mum, drove back to Kenilworth, the whole day had gone.
Sunday morning we get an early start again to meet my son at his mate's property where we will store our caravan till next year.  Meantime my family will probably use it for a holiday in the summer.   Today Stu & I are taking the 3 children back to the caravan for the day & unfortunately it starts to rain - just what we need!  They are very keen as they also know there  is a great playground near the showgrounds, & the ice-cream factory is a great attraction too.  We duly arrive at the van & pile inside, have lunch, play games, & are grateful when the rain stops.  It's off to the playground, lots of energy expended including us two oldies.  Tyan at nearly 5 is all go & will try anything, so whatever his big sisters did, he did too.  Trouble is, he thought Nanna should do it too!!!  Luckily we had to stop before the ice-cream factory closed, so everyone was quiet for a while due to a lot of licking time.  Once again we drove the hills back to Maleny to return the children home, & were invited to stay for dinner - wonderful.  It also gave me time to listen to the girls play their keyboard & play another card game which we had just taught them.  They are all growing up so fast so it is really lovely to be able to spend some time with them & we will collect them from the school bus tomorrow afternoon while their mum is occupied elsewhere & I hope to have a short concert from the girls on their violins.  We will stay at the showgrounds in Kenilworth for another two days, then shift to another at Maleny to clean the van up before storing it.  After that will shift into my son's place for the remainder of our stay till 1st Sept & indulge in more family time.  However, there is another page to go with a summary from us both with thoughts on our journey & Stu will give some insight to those who may wish to do it themselves in the future.  

13th August 2011 - Bundaberg QLD Australia

Moore Park Beach Festival



Kites at Festival



Nice drive along the scenic route to Bundaberg passing very close to the coastal towns of Agnes Waters & 1770 (& yes, that is the name of the town).  Both are apparently beautiful spots but my driver & tour organiser said 'next time'???   There are beautiful farming properties along this route, mostly cattle.  We head for a caravan park at Moore Park Beach which happens to be just a short distance from my Australian daughter-in-law's mother on her cane farm.  Unfortunately on arrival at the park we discover there are no powered sites available, for the first time in our travels, due to a festival being held here on the beach for the whole weekend.  Also for the first time our batteries for the van were right down, so it wasn't very good, but we thought we would stay for one night on an unpowered site, see our friend, then move on to somewhere else.  So we duly spent the afternoon with Yvonne & a friend of hers, had a barrel of laughs, then she very kindly offered for us to bring the caravan & park at her place - great!  It's the best caravan park we have had, with a lovely lunch of Italian spaghetti bolognaise accompanied  by our red wine for lunch & lots of laughs for lunch.  Then Stu & I had a look at the Festival stalls, art & photography display & walked along the lovely long beach.  Only intending to be in Bundy for two nights, we were all getting along so well we extended it to three as Stu was very interested in the workings of the cane farm which Yvonne & her son now do together.  Next day Stu did a tour at the Bundaberg Rum Distillery, which he enjoyed, especially the two free drinks at the end,  while Yvonne & I did the girls' thing - coffee in town.  90% of Bundaberg Rum is consumed in Australia, 5% in NZ & the remaining 5%  to the rest of the world. Remainder  of the day was spent gathering bits & pieces of 'man things' around town then Yvonne cooked us a beautiful roast lamb dinner, the first we have had in 6 months.  She is a wonderful hostess, & we certainly did not expect such hospitality.    Following morning  Yvonne took us on a  grand tour of the cane farm, Stu armed with camera taking in all the details of the industry - a real man's tour.  Very interesting even for me.  It's certainly quite a hard industry to be in, with long days often started at first light & ending at sunset.  At present the cane is being harvested & is sent to the mill in bins on small gauge railway tracks which run through the farms & direct to the sugar mill in Bundaberg.  The mill dictates when they will take the cane & the no of bins.  They are constantly fertilising, ploughing & replanting.  Usually the cane plants can be re-planted for 4 years all going well, but the floods ruined a lot of the cane this year, so quite a lot was lost.  Burning off of the stubble is still carried out, but not as much as in earlier days though it is good for the soil etc.



Sugar Cane Harvester



A long day on the Cane Farm

 Stu did a few handyman jobs for Yvonne which were greatly appreciated & he of course likes to do it.  My son & Yvonne's daughter used to live here in Bundy too before they went to Maleny on the Sunshine Coast, so Stu & I decided to cycle to the area they lived in & see how it had changed. Yvonne gave us directions but as usual we took an unplanned detour, found the road was a dead end, found a rough track & luckily ended up in the right place.  Another 20kms to add to our total. Then we all had a BBQ dinner together on what should have been our last night, but were invited to stay another night which we were only too happy to do. Next morning we walked the beach.  In total it is 19kms long, but we only managed about 9km as of course had to return as well.  Both had sore heels as we are not used to such a long distance in bare feet - the only way to walk a beach in my opinion.
 This time definitely our last night, so we feel a bit sad about  leaving  as it's been such fun & delightful company.  Stu reckoned Yvonne, I & her friend Leda are like a lot of teenagers together, so perhaps it's just as well I am going before we all get into trouble together.  He has been very tolerant being with laughing women.  To top it all off Yvonne came to surprise us with a 'novelty, item that afternoon.  Her telephone in the house rang, & when she went to answer it she found a very tiny python snake wrapped around her handset!!!  She picked it up by the head with some kitchen tongs & brought it out to show us.  While we were trying to get photos she dropped it & we all scattered (what a lot of whoosies).  The poor little thing was most indignant when she tried to pick it up again, it's little mouth opening extremely wide & hissing at us.  In the end after getting a long stick, she took it down the back to the dam.  My worry was where mummy & daddy might have been??? 
As we have to get into Bundaberg early to have our caravan fridge looked at first thing next morning, there is no  time for long goodbyes.  Unfortunately the fridge thing took much longer than anticipated, so it was midday before we left Bundaberg & hit the road towards the Sunshine Coast.  


Blue Faced Honey Eater



07 August 2011 - Capricorn Coast QLD, Australia.

Blue Faced Honey Eater



Sunset at St Lawrence Wetlands

 It's us on the road again, heading south of McKay to another recommended free park.  The scenery is a bit boring today but we will reach our destination by midday so no great problem.  One stop we did take was to buy some home-made icecream at a little shop in the middle of nowhere which I remembered stopping at in about 1998.  We bought it in little containers which we placed in the freezer for our dessert, so we  salivated all afternoon with anticipation, only to find that it was sadly disappointing this time.  So either my memory failed me or they have changed the recipe.  That will teach us to be extravagent & buy unhealthy food!  Our destination proved to be a very pleasant surprise - a very large parking area with trees, picnic gazebos with free gas  BBQ's, lovely ablutions with hot showers ($1) & a big open area at the back on which the local community hold various events.  Topped off by a walkway to a lovely wetland area, what more could we ask for.  We managed to get a prime spot quite close to everything, with the sun & breeze in the right direction for a change.  In the afternoon we walked to find the little township we were told was quite nearby.  Took a shortcut we noticed over the close- by railway line which does still have trains on it  about once a day.  We had forgotten it was Sunday so nothing was open, but actually the buildings were so old that it was hard to tell if they did indeed open at all.  We took a different route back on a walkway track which led to the wetlands or back to the camp.  What a thrill awaited us - as we wandered along I spied a movement in the grass & on inspection found an echidna (spiny anteater).  I had never seen one & neither had Stu of course, but as luck would have it I had no camera.  They are a little larger than a hedgehog & with a slightly longer snout, & it wasn't a bit perturbed by us.  I vowed to return next day with camera in hand hoping for a miracle, but sadly did not spy it again.  We decided we need to get the bikes out again, so next morning took a ride to the funny little village again.  This time there was a slight show of life & we discovered that the village is split in two, both pieces some distance apart.  There is a rather nice heritage council building beautifully restored, an ancient looking wooden Post Office/gift shop/store, a deserted/closed Police Station, a very nice community hall, & lots of other very old bits & pieces which house an art & craft group, a library, and another store plus a tiny but very nice school.  Making a small purchase in the latter store we had quite a chat with the lady owner who was born & bred in the area.  She informed us that her shop was the courthouse once upon a time, built in 1870 & it has certainly seen better days.  I don't know how she would make a living out of it, though they are some distance from the nearest 'real' town. The area survives on the 3 C's - cattle, cane & coal, lots of the latter apparently, though we hadn't realised this or seen any evidence.  Later that day we had some new neighbours move in next to us, & on speaking to them discovered they were from a place called Mandurah in Western Australia.  Very early on in our journey in Victoria we met two couples together who were also from there, & on mentioning their names, realised that they all knew each other through cycling.  It is a small world.  I promptly emailed the others to tell them, so we now have 3 couples to visit in W.A when we return next year.  After quite a lot of conversation we realised we had quite a bit in common, especially photography, so the four of us took a walk to the wetlands at sunset to take photos.  I'm sure Peter's will be magnificent as he trained as a  young man in professional photography though he did not continue in the profession.  However he has one of the biggest lenses on his camera - I would need to become a weightlifter to carry it around.   Next day we cycled 15kms along the main road just for some exercise, & sighted a lizard sunbathing on the roadway on the way back.  He was about 1/2 metre long but scuttled away before I managed a photo.  The weather has been gorgeous, so it seemed a shame not to keep up the cycling  next morning, so an old meatworks site seemed something to aim for. (Stu's choice).   It turned out to be a lot hillier than we had realised but a good challenge though my gears got stuck  going up the biggest hill so I had to walk it.  It is easier to ride it than push a bike up it, believe it or not.  An old gentleman stopped beside us in his car & chatted with lots of history about the area.  He saw us cycling that way & had passed us going the way we had come, but next thing he had turned around & went back the same way as us, passed us, then minutes later came back again.  Dear old soul had gone home to tie up his dog in case he ran out at us & gave us a fright.  He also set us on the right path to the meatworks site, which turned out to be only a lot of old boilers etc left.  We followed the dirt road on &  came to an old wharf & the muddiest riverbank we have ever seen.  It is hugely tidal (8 mtrs we believe) & very mangrovy, so was a great reminder of the Kaipara.  We think our river at the bottom of the garden is pristine in comparison.
 After such a great place at St Lawrence, our next overnighter was a bit of a shock.  Just next to the road, with a nice picnic area & trees, toilets provided, but we had to park on the sealed area which was not all that large.  As we were there reasonably early we were OK, but slowly it filled up with nomads until we were totalling hemmed in, & then the road trains arrived as well after dark.  The traffic flowed along the highway most of the night too, so all in all it was NOT a restful night.
Departing next morning we head for Rockhampton & on one section of the highway experienced the most road kill of roos we have seen yet.  It is a very busy highway for road trains who drive through the night, so that is the result but it is  very sad to see.  Morning tea stop at a tiny little village called Marlborough, &  once again we wonder how they survive.  One tiny little store which Stu bought milk from & he said the woman seemed very sadlooking & there was very little stock.  However, no matter how sad the town looks, there always seems to be a park of some kind, usually with nice picnic tables etc. The wind behind us,  we had to hold the car back or we would have flown, really good for the fuel consumption.  Before we head into our next overnighter we do a tourist stop at the Capricorn Caves.  Although I had been there many years ago, I thought Stu may like to see them.  They are privately owned & quite interesting with a central cave called the Cathedral which is set up with church pews etc, & weddings are often held there.  At one stage all the lighting is turned off & the silence is like no silence experienced before, until they play us Michael Crawford singing 'The music of the night' from Phantom of the Opera.  Amazing acoustics & in total darkness really wonderful.
Arrived at 'Rockie', stocked up on food again, then drove to the Botanical Gardens for lunch.  The gardens weren't great but they had a very small free zoo there which we had a walk around.  They had a walk in aviary so I managed to get a few bird photos such as cassowary, fruit doves etc.  The zoo was in pretty poor  condition as they are about to start a total revamp.  They had some dingoes there & we were very amused by one of the zoo attendants taking  two of them for exercise on leads.  If we hadn't known they were wild dingoes I guess we wouldn't have thought anything of it.



Cassowary

 Rest stop for the night was at a place called Calliope, with a huge area on both sides of the river for camping - must have been at least 50 vans on each side.  We got a lovely spot in the afternoon sunshine, & though it was next to an historical village, it wasn't open.  I think it must only do so at weekends so perhaps we'll see it next time??   Thank goodness we didn't have a lot of road noise like that other night, so a restful night was a bonus.


Muddy River At Newport (St Lawrence)




The Cathedral in Capricon Caves



26 July 2011 - Townsville to Mackay, QLD, Australia



Swimming Net Seaforth Beach




Cane fields

 Driving down the coast through lots of cane fields again - could say boring, but in fact they look rather lovely in the sunlight with their purplish toned pampas-like flowers.  Actually the crushing season has started, so lots of 'cane trains' with many, many little carriages like little cages, which cross the highways & rural roads like a normal railway crossing.  It really pays to be watchful.  Also lots of tractors & trucks, all involved in the industry.  Also quite a lot of banana plantations with their bananas enclosed in plastic bags of multi colours, I presume for protection against birds & also to assist in ripening?  I'm sure I've told you beefore that bananas are like gold here, so at a market in Townville we saw little ladyfingers on sale, (the small, stubby ones) , for $6.50 per kg & there was a long, long queue to buy them.  I don't think I will complain about the price of our bananas again.  The roads are mostly flat to undulating & surrounded by the Hervey Ranges.  We stop the night in a freebie rest area, too close to the road for comfort, & so heard  the road trains overnight, plus railway ones as well.   Not the most peaceful spot but one can't complain about the price.  Next morning we reach Bowen by 9am, a coastal town, very old buildings, but very tidy as we find most old towns here to be.  They always seem to have a park or two & nice wide roads.  After our morning cuppa spot we reach St Helen's Beach, a small council managed camp beside a beach which proved to be mangoves at each end & extremely tidal.  The tide was way out, but again it wouldn't be safe to swim there anyway.  We did however walk the whole length of it & also wandered out towards the water over what looked like mud, but turned out to be very sandy.  There really wasn't anything of interest to see apart from massive armies of tiny blue crab hatchlings which I would have taken a photo of if I had taken the camera.
We only stayed the one night as there was really nothing to do, & headed for another freebie which had been recommended to us called Boulder Creek.  We thought the GPS had let us down as it took us right out into some cane fields, but finally found it & what a little oasis it was.  Would probably hold 12-15 vans, was right beside a beautiful clear, clear smooth bouldered stream, had a fabulous spotless toilet & just felt like heaven.  Everyone was extremely friendly & helpful, & we even found another couple of lovely kiwi's from Keri Keri there.  Right beside us was a really old school bus painted bright blue, with a young couple with their two delightful, blond little boys of nature, aged 2 & 4 who only wore clothes when it was cold.  The father (Rajendra) was from Sth Africa & his wife Fern was from Warkworth would you believe.  The boys have very different names which I thought were African, but the eldest is Nikau Jarra (one NZ tree & one aussie), while the little one is Jaiya.  They are a terrific couple & everyone loved them as they were so natural & genuine.  They have a house on the Sunshine Coast somewhere which they have rented out for a year to spend time with the boys & make a decision what they really want to do with their lives.  Naturally they are living very basically, but as a good friend told me before we left NZ,  'it is good for the soul' & we have found she is correct.  You realise that you really need so little in life to be happy & contented.  Anyway, they are coming to see her parents in Warkworth in the near future, so we have invited them to come & stay for a few days in a tent if they wish.  I can just picture the boys on our property.  They are so good & amuse themselves most of the time.  On the first afternoon we decided to take a bike ride along the little country road to Calen, a very tiny village just off the highway 18kms away.  The road followed the river & past cane fields & tropical forest  backed by hills, so was very nice.  Apart from about 7 kms of gravel, it was sealed, & nicely undulating. & the traffic  was minimal.   We had heard that the general store in Calen was unbelievable, so we HAD to buy an icecream in order to explore it.  It is owned by the funniest little lady of indeterminate age, & I have never seen so many magazines in my life - they must do an awful lot of reading in Calen???  She had everything from groceries & produce, to plumbing & electrical, some bits I am sure from the Ark, & newspapers I don't know how old.  The front of the shop was stacked with boxes & milk crates so you could hardly find the shop at all, The magazines even extended out there, placed very tidily on top of some of the crates etc.  It must have been a major exercise to take them all in at the end of the day.  However she was friendly & seemed quite sane & happy with her lot.  There are some very interesting people in this country.  Of course we then had to cycle all the way back to camp which proved to be a little harder on the return journey.  For some reason the hills all seemed larger & the downhill runs not so frequent, but we managed quite well & felt quite pleased with ourselves to do 36kms as we haven't cycled any distance for some time.  We were happy to laze around a bit the next day, reading etc.

Next stop was back on the coast at another council camp called Seaforth.  We are well ahead of schedule so decide to book in for a week for $90, mainly because there are national park walks we can do in the area, plus some more cycling.  En route we saw several red bellied black snakes dead on the road, so they are still around, especially in the cane fields.   On a visit into Mackay city that afternoon, we asked a nice young shop assistant if there were crocodiles this far down the coast.  She told us there were but not many but that very morning a saltwater crocodile of 1.5m had been sighted at a bus stop on the side of the road - obviously he was tired of walking.!  Apparently they think he came up through a drain.  Another story we have heard is that in the very spot we swam at Berry Springs just out of Darwin, a woman had been nipped by a freshwater croc.  Doesn't bear thinking about.  She must have stood on it or something, as they don't normally harm anyone unless threatened.



View from Eungalla National Park




Finch Hatton Gorge

 After Boulder Creek to a Council camp on the beach at Seaforth,  hot showers & toilets but no power, so it will be interesting to see how we last with just our batteries as we have booked in for a week.  Stu is confident it will be OK.  We will still be able to use the computer, as there are little gazebos here & there with power points which is very convenient.  They are available not just in the camp, but in the public picnic area as well, which enables picnickers to boil a jug etc. Alongside the free gas BBQ's of course, without which no aussie picnic area would be complete. They are really very spoilt here.  The camp is pretty full at present, many of the campers are obviously here for the winter.  Actually we keep forgetting that this is their winter as it is quite warm, though there is a cool south-easterly most of the time.  Certainly not warm enough for us to go swimming.  There are quite a lot of birds again, & while sitting in the sun outside, a gorgeous lorikeet came & seated itself on Stu's knee - of course by the time I got the camera it had gone.   There are a lot of whistling ducks & a few wood ducks & pygmy goose which wander around the camp continuously though they are no bother as no-one feeds them.  The birds who are a nuisance are the bush stone curlew who visit every evening  & make the most awful racket as if they are in pain.  A rather large bird with long legs, they are quite strange as they freeze if you approach them as if you won't see them that way.  Fortunately they don't continue their noise right through the night.  We managed to get some exercise by cycling around all the little roads & along the beachfront one afternoon.  We can see the Whitsunday Islands in the distance which brings back memories of our trip with friends when we chartered a yacht for 10 days about 4 years ago.  There are about 28 different beaches around this Mackay region, so we set off one afternoon to visit a few close ones like Halliday Bay - gorgeous little sheltered bay with caravan park, then Ball Bay with the most rundown caravan park I have ever seen.  Such a pity as it was an idealic spot, very tropical with all it's palms & rainforest as a backdrop.  Would be worth a fortune if it was resurrected.  Stu thought we may move there for a night or two to repower, but I wasn't keen at all!   Not cheap enough for the facilities provided.

We did visit McKay city one day to stock up on essentials, & used our bikes again for a couple of hours doing their bike trail.  This proved to be a bit dissappointing.   They have spent a lot of money on it & the initial stages are great following the riverfront, then through the botanical gardens, but then the track disappeared & we became exceedingly frustrated.  Luckily we found the i=centre & the very nice lady commented as soon as we walked in with bike helmets on 'are you lost?'   Apparently it happens very frequently & she said it was time something was done about better signage.  Even when we managed to follow the signs it took us through not so nice residential & commercial areas until we were finally back near the river again.  Like Townsville, there are large dollars being spent here.  It's a nice enough city,  the usual older heritage  buildings, but we were glad to head back to the beach & the peace & quiet.  Next day we drove to Eungella National Park & the Finch Hatton Gorge.  It's possible to see platypus there in the early morning or late afternoon, but having seen them before  we bypassed it to do a lovely rainforest walk  to some cascades which proved to be well worth the effort.    The drive to the top of the ranges to the lookout was very winding & we thought we would never reach the top.  A bit spooky  looking down at the valley way below.  We did take a couple of photos but it was pretty overcast so they weren't great but it was a spectacular lookout. Stu asked me if I would drive home to give him a break, which I was happy to do on the condition that he drove back down the mountain! 



Hillsborough National Park



Our week being up, we headed next day to Cape Hillsborough National Park, only about 30 mins drive.  The van park is again right on the beach & there are several walks to do.  Great facilities though we mostly don 't take advantage of most like the pool table etc.  The ablutions were fabulous & that's the important thing to me, & great to be able to change the bed linen & towels etc & get all washed & dry.  In the afternoon we walked over a ridge to another bay from which we had intended to return via the beach.  Unfortunately the tide beat us to it, so we had to climb all the steps back along the ridge track, very good exercise.  Have managed to add a couple more birds to my list, a Fig Bird, & my favourite yet, an olive-backed, yellow bellied sunbird (photo attached).  It's the tiniest little thing, full of chirps & cheeps, & has a long bill for accessing nectar.  It's colour is gorgeous & aptly named.  There were two or three continuously feeding on the lovely flowers in the gardens around the camp & I watched them several times for ages.  As long as you don't get too close, they ignore you.   There are kangaroos here too who frequent the beach at sunrise & sunset & one young buck thinks he owns the camp & lazes around on the grass by the clothes lines all day.  One night I went out by torchlight & there was a female with a largish joey with her, the latter very skittish & headed for some cover till I left again.  I just never get enough of the wildlife here, (with the exception of the snakes & crocs).

19 July 2011 - Atherton to Townsville, Nth QLD, Australia

Millaa Millaa Falls



Aussie Icon

 Here we go,  'On the road again', leaving Atherton en route to Townsville via the scenic route, which means hilly, winding roads, wonderfully green & very like Northland.  The farms look very prosperous & well cared for & the surrounding hills are not called 'The Misty Mountains' for nothing.  First stop is Milla Milla Falls - yes, another waterfall, one of three along this route.  It is a really lovely waterfall,  though since I last saw it about 15 years ago it's surroundings have been manicured somewhat  making  the access easier.  Second on the list is Zillee Falls, also quite nice, with Ellinjaa Falls the last & also the least interesting.  Back onto the main route which is quite tropical now, & where they are so protective of the fauna in the area that they even provide a special crossing over the highway for them.  There are several  'high wire overhead routes' which stretch right across the highway from trees on one side to the other side, enabling possums & other small creatures to cross without incidence.  Quite clever & apparently successful.  Cane fields become more numerous now, & also tea plantations.  Australia certainly is a land of many faces & industries.  The next town we enter is Innisfail which reminds us of Napier, in that it has a distinct art deco touch in the buildings.  A nice town, right on the reasonably large Johnstones River, so we amble around for a while & have a cuppa in the van before setting off again to Bramston Beach, about halfway between Cairns & Townsville.  There are still misty mountains quite close by & big fluffy 'candy floss' clouds hang over the highest peaks.  Council managed, the van park  though cheap has no power sites though there are toilets & hot showers if required.  We are lucky to get one of the two remaining sites & although we may have liked to stay longer, that is not possible due to a large group booked in for the weekend.  The lady manager turns out to be a 'repat' kiwi from Christchurch so naturally we chat about that.  She has visited since the quake & also has a sister in Warkworth.  Small world.  Anyway, the camp was very friendly & clean & our neighbouring vanners (from Tasmania) were very helpful with information of free sites to try on our way down the coast.  Always pays to talk to folk, as they are often a mine of information.  The beach proved to be quite long, so we explored one end in the afternoon, & the other end next morning, returning back along the road looking at all the variety of little houses, some permanent residences others obviously weekenders.  It would actually be quite a nice little place to retire, (no, not us), only about 30 minutes from Innisfail & 60 minutes from Cairns.  Could be a bit prone to cyclones though.  And after a lot of procrastination, I decided to start a painting!!!  Can't say I got very far, but do intend to do more next opportunity.  
Next day it's  Hi Ho, off again we Go.   Along the way it was cane, cane, & more cane  fields.  We saw a sign advertising Mission Beach which stated 'Get High, Get Wet, Get Laid'???  Kept us wondering for ages instead of looking at cane fields.    At the small town of Tulley we stopped at the i centre which was one of the nicest I have seen & a real credit to this little town which was one of those  hardest hit  by the cyclone,  & there are still houses & buildings having their roofs'  replaced & trees which suffered are very much in evidence.   It is a sugar town, with a large sugar mill which does tourist tours.  Stu would have loved to go through but will  leave it till next time.   Throughout QLD there are numerous roadworks, some entire new highways being built next to the old ones - often that appears to be the case, the original one becoming redundant or turning into a dual highway.  I must say that when they do it, they do it properly.  So many roads have been damaged by the floods,  so it has created a lot of employment if nothing else.

Continuing on we reach Cardwell, a very nice coastal town built  right along the beachfront.  We have since learned that the beach had wonderful palms & other trees along it before the last cyclone but is now bare & rather open.  Pity.    It looks out to Hinchinbrook Island, a very upmarket tourist resort.  Further on is Ingham, a very nice, larger cane town which looks quite prosperous.  They also grow pineapples in this area, & no doubt mangos as well.  I'm tempted by the 'Frosty Mango', selling their own manufactured ice-cream of all flavours, & thought we should have a treat.  However there was such a queue I didn't bother. We are heading for our next freebie rest stop at a place called Balgal Beach, but on arrival find it very small & it is already packed with vans.  Personally I was relieved as I didn't like the place anyhow.  We have several others to look at, & the next one at Toomulla Beach is fine, again on the beach, so we stay two nights.  A nice couple we had met before turned up at almost the same time, & it was nice to have a bit of conversation & company for a change.  They are from Warwick much further down & inland a little, actually near Toowoomba which was another town hit by the floods.  Actually, Fiona's  (ex Sahara) mother lives there, & now these nice folk have invited us to stay on their property if we wish.  Obviously if we make it there we will have two lots of people to visit.  Great!


Tropical Townsville




Castle Hill from waterfront




Northern beaches from Castle Hill


Further down the coast just north of Townsville, it's into an actual caravan park for a couple of nights to catch up with laundry & recharge the caravan batteries.  We seem to be able to go without power for about a week if we are careful,  which is really great.  Most occupants of the park seem to be semi or fully permanent, I suspect working in the area.  It appears that there is plenty of industry & therefore plenty of employment.  Townsville proves to be huge, though the business centre of the city is quite small.  There has been, & still is, huge money being  spent in the area & it will be a very nice city when completed.   I visited here about 14 years ago, & it has come a long way since then.  It lays claim to being the capital of Nth QLD, & I can see why.  There are huge subdivisions, obviously fairly recent, (before the recession I would guess).  A nice place to live I imagine, as it is on the coast, looks out to Magnetic Island just off the mainland & reached by ferry.  The city is surrounded by a large  range of hills, , has numerous wetland areas, & also national park bush areas.  Overlooking the city centre is Castle Hill,  a very prominent, large rock with the most amazing view of the whole area,  great for photos.  Unfortunately there is a lot of burning in the area, so a lot of haze in the air.  The road to the top is extremely steep & rather daunting coming down from the passenger side of the car.  The southern, newer suburbs looked very nice, with lots of palms, & bouganvilleas of amazing colours everywhere, accompanied by beautiful blossom trees of some description.  The temperature is nice in the winter, but far too humid for me in summer.  There is a wonderful esplanade right along the beach front with cycling track, - time for some overdue exercise one afternoon, which filled in a couple of hours.  Another afternoon we took another track along the river, but it proved to be disappointing & very difficult to follow, though we did get to see some of the suburbs, not by choice.  The southern suburbs looked quite impressive, with lovely palm trees, bouganvilleas of amazing colours, accompanied by beautiful blossom trees of some description.      Sunday morning was market day, so we mooched around a couple of those.  Saw some gorgeous things but couldn't be tempted to buy being restricted in getting them back to NZ.  What a pity???  Spent an afternoon on Saunders Beach where my son lived for a time  & walking along the beachfront I was able to find the house he rented.  Not a bad memory for an old 'lady' pensioner who had only visited once.  We had been told about a  wetland area on the Town Common, a large conservation area, so took a drive there - what a road.  I thought we were going to disappear completely down some of the holes & ruts.  Unfortunately it was a futile trip anyway, as there was very little to see once again but  we were there at the wrong time of day.  There were hordes of magpie geese, white egrets, & black darters, but no brolgas or jabiru storks as I had hoped.  Met a young local couple in one of the bird hides who were frequent visitors there, & she informed us that a lot of the birds had disappeared since the cyclone, many unfortunately killed, others to other safer wetlands.  I'm sure they will return in due course.

11 July 2011 - Atherton Tablelands QLD, Australia



Platypus at Yungaburra




Curtain Fig Tree



Off to another destination, travelling from Georgetown on a sealed road with many surprises.  Sometimes single lane, sometimes two lanes, mostly in poor condition & badly patched which reminds me of our roads around home.  We have left the flat lands & into hills with large sandstone escarpments & views of the Newcastle Ranges, through the tiny, neat  little village of Mt Surprise.  Shortly after we turn onto the Kennedy Highway (?) - at one stage a beautiful black & white horse slows the traffic ahead as it hovers near the road.  May have been a wild one as there didn't appear to be any houses in the area.  The laugh of the day was a roadside sign at one stage depicting a great big bull pushing a car over, presumably  meant to be a warning of cattle on the side of the road.  Unfortunately couldn't get a photo.  We wanted a short day after our busy one yesterday, so found an excellent freebie stopover again which was great till it turned to 2deg  overnight.  We were saved by some vanners next to us who had a lovely fire in a brazier going at breakfast time, so there was quite a little group huddled around including me for a while.  Thankfully it was a nice sunny morning, so we didn't take long to thaw out.  We have seen some amazing old characters along the way, like a very elderly old gent in a very small tent in that cold, cold night air.  Also another gentleman on his own, also not so young, who had a tiny trailer which had been built into his sleeping accommodation.  They were both very respectable & obviously enjoying their later years.  Another surprise that morning was when we saw  one of those great big 'bendy' buses parked among us selling all manner of goods including books.  Again it was a man on his own, though he did have a sign on the back 'woman wanted'  Apparently he goes to all the big mining camps selling stuff.  He is not the first we have seen with the same advertisement for a woman - the last one had a woman with him so we're not sure if he was greedy or wanted a change!!!

After leaving the camp we called into Millstream Falls a km or two along the road.  It is the widest waterfall in Australia but is not very high at all.  Still, we like to visit ALL the waterfalls.

Next stop is Ravenhoe, the highest town in QLD & part of the Atherton Tablelands inland from Cairns.  It is surrounded by rather misty mountains.  Because of its height it is the ideal spot for wind turbines, & the day being rather windy, we found it rather eerie standing right beneath them.  We also discover at the Info centre that there are 12 species of possum within a 10km radius of the town.  Some of them are most unusual & cute but nevertheless they can keep them here.  Stu finds an old steam train to photograph, much more his thing than mine.  After Ravenshoe the drive is through tropical forest which form large shady tunnels of trees over the road, & rolling hills of good farming land, much like NZ.  We soon reach Atherton which is quite a large town & is a large horticultural area, growing crops such as peanuts, coffee, mango, bananas, & vegetables & has wonderful red soil like Pukekohe.  Speaking of bananas, they do not import bananas into Australia, & because of the floods & a shortage of Australian ones, the price is $12.98 per kilo, sometimes even up to $14.98.  I am amazed that they sell any at all!  We stop to stock up the larder again before heading to another recommended 'freebie' which is HUGE!  It is a memorial park owned by the local council & can contain about 100 caravans if everyone parks sensibly.  There is a small toilet block & water which is not drinkable so only useful for showers etc.  Parking time is for 72 hours only to try & stop people staying permanently or long term.  Because there are so many vans there, it is quite safe to unhook the caravan & take off for the day to explore.  There are always some vanners who stay around all day, but most people put a very secure lock on the tow balls of the caravans so that they can't be towed away. We make the most of it by visiting Lake Tinaroo, a large man-made dam not far out of Atherton, which has an amazing canal system  irrigating the surrounding agricultural area.  We also visited some wetlands at Hastie Swamp which had 1000's of ducks of many varieties.  I'm sure there are other birds at other times but not at present unfortunately.    Stu wanted to visit the old heritage mining town of Herberton, which proved to be very interesting & well done.  We learned that it was because of the miners vote that Australia became the Commonwealth of Australia & not separate countries like Europe.  That was completely new to me. Many of the buildings in this village have been transported there from other places as well, to make quite an authentic mix of buildings from those times.  My favourite was the old school, not because of the building, but the lessons on the blackboards.  They had maths problems there that I still couldn't answer, & even the english grammer had me thinking hard.  In fact I realised one grammatical error I make quite often & I thought I was quite good at english.  Never too late to learn!  Also at Herberton is a Spy Camera Museum - I kid you not.  We didn't indulge in that one.
Itinerary next day was to visit the small town of Yungaburra & its attractions.  Firstly a large Strangler Fig Tree known as 'The Curtain Fig'.  Strangler Fig's start as a small seed in the fork of a tree & like a rata vine gradually send down their roots to the ground & gradually strange the host tree until it dies.  This one must be extremely old as it really is like a curtain of roots.  Had a short stop at Lake Eacham which proved to be rather boring, but the highlight of the day was to see if we could find some platypus at Petersons Creek in the centre of Yungaburra.   There is viewing platform right alongside the main road, but we were not aware of that, so took a walk along a small track by the creek itself.  To be honest I wasn't hopeful, but I was like a big kid, full of excitement when we actually spotted one.  They are the cutest little mammals & we soon learned how to spot them by the bubbles in the water now & again.  The creek is a bit murky (like Paparoa Creek), so apart from that & the way they hide under the banks, its not easy to find them.  After watching the first one for some time & managing a few shots, we continued on & saw a total of 5.  Finally arriving at the viewing platform we couldn't see any, so felt extremely proud of ourselves & directed some other couples to 'our' spots for which they were extremely grateful.  A great day completed.



Sunset at Walkamin

 Our 72hr stop completed, we moved onto a caravan park towards Mareeba.  It is only $22 per night, is the friendliest camp we have been in & spotlessly clean.  Even the grounds are immaculate with little gardens & nice flowering trees.  In the centre of the camp is a large outdoor kitchen, community area with comfortable lounge chairs, a very large fireplace, a 'freebie' table to put anything you no longer need (was even a cask of fruit wine there).  Also a jigsaw table with large easel board, books, videos, games etc.  They even had one of those great Ezy Cook ovens for anyone to use, & electric frypans etc.  Each evening the group of 'over winterers' get together for happy hour which we never attended only being here for two nights.

Our next  attraction to visit was  Granite Gorge which to be honest, we didn't know much about.  On arrival after quite a long drive out, we discovered that we had to pay  in order to do the walks through the gorge & Stu's first reaction was 'No'.  However, from the information site we could see lots of tiny rock wallabies being fed by people & I just had to do it too.  So armed with the appropriate feed supplied, down we went.  They are the most adorable little creatures who will come & eat from your hands with their little front paws holding on .  Naturally they all flock towards the person with the food & sometimes there is a bit of 'argy bargy' between them if one is a bit greedy.  There is always a little shy one who misses out so I tried to concentrate on those.  The most gorgeous of all was the little mother with her adorable little joey in her pouch who kept poking his head out to try & eat too.  Mother obviously didn't think that a good idea so kept stuffing it back in but we managed to get several photos.  When you stop feeding them they stand up on their little back legs & gaze up at you with their pleading little eyes.  They must have very full tummies by the end of the day, but the owner informed me that the food is good for them because they don't get enough carbohydrates???  Personally I am not usually a fan for feeding wild animals  but couldn't help myself on this occasion.  Stu reckoned they looked like big rats but they were amazingly cute.  Anyway, the feeding frenzy over, we set out to walk the gorge armed with map.  The rocks are huge granite boulders & I could imagine them polished into a kitchen bench or nice coffee table.  Actually although it was only a couple of kms, the 'walk' turned out to be a rockhopping operation, but lots of fun.  By the time we were finished we were quite hot & sweaty & glad to be heading back.   Called into Mareeba wetlands further on hoping to see Jancana & Jabiru.  Again we discovered it was a paying proposition, even to walk around the lagoons though they did have little boat cruises too.  However it was all too late in the day - 4pm, & they closed at 4.30pm.  Did see one little Jacana tripping around on the water lily leaves so that was a bonus.  Revisited the next day, paid to do the walks ($10 each) & again saw nothing, in fact there were only a couple of egrets on the main lagoon & swans, egrets, shags on the other, so a big dissapointment.  Photographed a few bush birds, yet to identify from our bird book.  Visited 'Coffee Works' thinking we would learn a lot about coffee, but it is mainly a cafe, gift shop etc, most items from overseas.  If you want to taste all the different coffees & chocolates it costs $19 per person!!!  Needless to say we didn't bother.  We did however treat ourselves to a coffee & cake (Stu's idea not mine),  & Stu chose chocolate cheesecake (very rich), which he regretted for the rest of the day, while I opted for Pumpkin & Ginger Cake (light & delicious).  & had no problem at all.  All in all it was a bit of a 'fizzer', but on the way back to camp decided it was time to do some painting at last, (much persuasion from me), so bought a canvas each & intend to go back to the last large freebie site just a few kms down the road & just paint for a day or two & plan our next move.  Are now at the stage where we are not sure where to go or what to see as we head down towards the Sunshine Coast on our last lap.  The weather is not so nice at present, overcast in the mornings, & windy, improving a bit through the day.  Luckily  at the wetlands yesterday it was lovely & actually quite hot but it is much more sheltered than where we are situated.    Mareeba boasts of having 300 sunny days per year so is a popular winter escape for the 'seniors'.  Incidentally, seniors do get a discounts at a lot more places here than at home & as they very rarely ask for cards, we have managed to get the advantage of that too although I'm sure it doesn't apply to 'foreigners'.



Rock wallaby with Joey



09 July 2011 - Cobbald Gorge, QLD Australia



Entering the Gorge





The Gorge

 En route to Georgetown & again on single lane highway,  & many dry riverbeds where signs state 'subject to flooding' - hard to imagine seeing their present state.  Georgetown is a very tidy little town, very quiet as it is the weekend.  Apart from pub & 'servos' nothing else is open.  We find the cheapest camp & settle in, basic but OK for a couple of nights & enables me to catch up on blog, laundry etc., & Stu gets permission to change the oil in the landcruiser which he has been worrying about.   Next day we head for the Cobbald Gorge on a rather rough road, glad we have been able to leave the van behind.  We call into the tiny 'township' of Forsayth, even smaller than Paparoa, & ate our picnic lunch.   It's only reason for being is that the Savannahlander train comes out from Cairns with tourists & finishes here.  There is the tiniest little railway station & a beautiful old Stationmasters house set in lovely gardens which is a B&B & tearooms, though I suspect it only operates when the train comes in.  Naturally there is also a small tavern, a few residences, a police station (can't imagine why)  & that's it.  In the past it was a gold mining town.  If we thought the first half of the road was rough, the second half was terrible, with deep ruts, corrugations & dust, dust, dust.  Thank goodness for a sturdy vehicle & no van on the back. 



Freshwater Croc


Cobbald Gorge is on a privately owned cattle station of a mere 335,000 acres!  Owned by 3 brothers, each running his own acreage, the gorge was only discovered about 20 years ago by the youngest.  No one seemed to know it was there, not unlikely in an area of that size & hidden by bush.  However it's potential as a tourist venture attracted the youngest, &  since then he has slowly been developing it.  It now has  motel rooms, camping & caravan parking, swimming pool, a  visitor information  building & very friendly staff.  There a two tours available, one  is an 'Outback Adventure' on the cattle station,  & our choice  the boat cruise through the gorge.  Initially we are taken by a humungous 4WD vehicle through rugged tracks into the bush for an informative walk/talk on flora & fauna,  history of the area etc by a very colourful, & likeable grass roots character who also becomes our boatman.  The gorge is hidden away with rugged sandstone formation, is extremely narrow, closing to a mere two metres wide in places, with spectacular 30 metre high cliffs on either side.  The overall lenght is about 6 kms consisting of a series of water-holes & rock falls.  Unfortunately only  the last 500 mtrs is accessible by flat bottom boat with a very small electric motor which avoids disturbing the tranquility.  It is fed by several springs which keep the water level constant allowing boat access all year round.  The water is clear & enables us to watch the little native fish darting here & there, & we spot a turtle sunning itself on a rock plus two freshwater crocs at very close quarters.  They are so much nicer & less threatening than those horrible 'salties'.  The whole experience is tranquil, the rock formations different from the other gorges we have seen, but unfortunately because of the narrowness, it is not easy to photograph & gain the real essence of the place.  On our return to the little boarding pontoon, I manage to photograh a beautiful Azure kingfisher, very bright blue head & wings, & apricot breast.  There was  a flock of black, redtailed cockatoos around,  quite magnificent in flight with their red undertail feathers, but exceptionally hard to photograph so sadly I missed out again.  Will continue to stalk them as we continue our journey.  The other animal which has fascinated me is the Brahman cattle with their big ears which hang down making them look quite miserable.  I did manage to snap those but they always seem to lift their ears when you get near.  They remind me a bit of donkeys - there are feral ones of those here too beside the feral camels (we've not seen latter yet).


Brahman Cutie