We felt it was time to move inland so we travelled to GAYNDAH where we had our first night bush camping on our own. On the way we called at the “Mystery Craters”, which are exactly what the name says: a cluster of holes in a farmers paddock and no one knows how they got there.
A little further on we stopped at Gin Gin (and had a pie for lunch) where the main street is so wide there is a park in between the opposing traffic. At Gayndah, we parked beside a weir not too far out of town and it was very pretty but the river needed more water. Smillie said they always park their caravan so nobody can park their vehicle close to your caravan door to prevent you getting out of the caravan while they burgle the Landcruiser. But they haven’t ever had any trouble so we’ll keep our fingers crossed and suss places out before we decide where we’ll settle for the night. Gayndah is renowned for citrus growing and some of the brochures said the weekend we were there was the Orange Queen Festival but unfortunately it was the following weekend.
Mystery Craters
A little further on we stopped at Gin Gin (and had a pie for lunch) where the main street is so wide there is a park in between the opposing traffic. At Gayndah, we parked beside a weir not too far out of town and it was very pretty but the river needed more water. Smillie said they always park their caravan so nobody can park their vehicle close to your caravan door to prevent you getting out of the caravan while they burgle the Landcruiser. But they haven’t ever had any trouble so we’ll keep our fingers crossed and suss places out before we decide where we’ll settle for the night. Gayndah is renowned for citrus growing and some of the brochures said the weekend we were there was the Orange Queen Festival but unfortunately it was the following weekend.
So we moved on not very far and we came to MUNDUBERRA, a small town and we decided to stay 2 nights and played golf with the locals in their Sunday afternoon tournament. They made us very welcome but as it was only our second game since arriving in Australia neither of us played well. We stayed in a lovely 4 year old caravan park, Three Rivers. It was a good place to ride our bikes around town to check it out.
So many Australian towns have such wide streets and a lot have reverse angle parking which is new to us.
We went to ROMA, (477km inland from Brisbane) as we’d met someone who’d been there a week before and there were 9000 head of cattle at the sale. But unfortunately on the day we were there, there were only 3000 as prices had dropped badly the previous week. We spoke to an old farmer who said he’d seen droughts a lot worse than this one but as this one is affecting the cities there is more publicity about it. He said “global warming” was a load of rubbish.
We visited an attraction called the “Big Rig” which explained all about the oil and gas exploration in the area. The Anglican church has many lead light windows and is worth visiting.
John got a surprise when he went for his shower one night. There were two girls in one of the men’s cubicles standing on the seat and looking over into the other cubicles. Not his scene but I think he might have wished he was a bit younger!
Talking of birds, the parrots at dusk made a tremendous racket as they tried to get their favourite perch in the trees above the camping ground.
Wednesday June 8 we drove to CARNARVON GORGE for three nights. Unfortunately John was getting a cough and cold but next day we did the 23km walk through the gorge. Thankfully it was level with 22 crossings over boulders on the stream. a very pretty tramp. We saw an echidna, King Parrots and other types of birds. Next day we only did a couple of small walks. The last 20 km drive into the gorge is very dusty so our vehicles got very dirty. The road would be impassable with recent rain. On the drive up to the gorge the land got greener and there were more cattle. This is because the land is fed from springs and is not as dependent on rain as other areas. The dearest place so far $26 per night.
The caravan parks we have stayed in have been really nice with most tiled amenity blocks and no metres on showers. Plenty of hot water. They have sullage drains for our grey water (not sewerage) and we just run the drain hose from our outlet in the caravan straight into the drain. Also the water is plugged straight into our water system and we have mains pressure in the caravan. Home away from home!
We use the Hema Road Atlas and we’ve at last gotten off pages 6 and 7. We started on them.
Only about another 100 pages to go!
Another book we use is “Camps Australiawide 3” which has all the free camping spots around Australia - it’s a really great book.
MARABOON LAKE, three times the size of Sydney Harbour, was our next stop. A very pretty lake where the outlet has been dammed - the Fairbairn Dam - to help irrigate the surrounding areas. It’s very low on water right now but the lake is used for fishing and water sports. We were not allowed to wash our vehicles there. The parrots were very friendly and came very close hoping for something tasty.
Next day we drove a few km to EMERALD where we freedom camped “under a bridge” well almost. Quite a few campers stopped there. It was next to the botannical gardens which were very pretty but unfortunately the road bridge was a bit noisy. However we stayed there two nights to help John get over his cold. As I was walking through the park and went under another road bridge a full can of beer was thrown, from above and behind me, from a car. Thankfully it landed just behind me and burst. So much for walking for the good of ones health. Wouldn’t have minded if I’d caught it but I didn’t see it coming!
It was Queens Birthday weekend and most of the shops (except chemist) were shut on Sunday and Monday, even the supermarkets.
Tuesday morning we headed for SAPPHIRE and RUBYVALE. The area is very rundown and they look like towns with lost dreams. Lots of old machinery lying about but we did call into one well run place and did some fossicking. Bought a bucket of wash (dust, mud and stones) and washed it and found some sapphires but none big enough to cut. Damn, I’d have liked a bracelet.
We stayed on a reserve with a couple of other caravans and in the morning it started raining so we moved to another rest area as we could have got stuck where we were. Not a good day for travelling so we stayed put. Will watch the State of Origin tonight.
John has given me his cold!
A fairly long drive today of about 300km to the tiny settlement of DULULU where we found a rest area to stop for the night. It was in the “Camps Australiawide 3” book and appeared to be a disused caravan park. There were about 10 caravans there that night. We walked to the local hotel for a couple of beers.
That was 5 nights in a row “bush” camping. A really cheap way to travel, provided your “travelling home” is set up with solar power etc.
BILOELA was our next stop for 2 nights, in a caravan park but only $16 p n. Checked out the “Silo” which was at the Brisbane EXPO and showed the agriculture and industry in the area. Drove to the lookout which gave a great view over the opencast mine and power plant/station. Biked into town.
Next stop was TANNUM SANDS where we stayed for 4 nights. A pretty place just south of Gladstone. Drove to Town of 1770, so called because Captain Cook landed there in ....?, ........no prizes for guessing which year. Also checked out Agnes Water, named after a schooner that went missing in the area. It is the last surf beach up the east coast because the Great Barrier Reef stops any further surf.
We did a 2 ½ hour harbour cruise and absolutely froze. Everyone (about 90 people) was cold. I cuddled the engine room vent and John cuddled me! It was a very interesting cruise as there are several large industries on the harbour as well as a major coal exporting facility. Amazing how clean the city and port is. All the coal is washed before it arrives at the Port.
June 23rd: We were lucky to get an unpowered spot in a camping ground in ROCKHAMPTON right on the Fitzroy River riverbank. But we were also next to a sign warning that crocodiles inhabit the river. There is quite a steep bank between us and the river and the camp manager says he hasn’t ever seen one but ............. I won’t go out after dark!
Rockhampton is the Beef Capital of Australia with bull statues all over the city. Lots of lovely old heritage buildings, gardens and a really nice riverbank walk with BBQ’s, tables and seating. Many places in Australia have free BBQ’s, either gas or wood which is often supplied. The Botannic Gardens have some magnificent trees including a very large Banyan tree. The zoo is in the gardens and is also free. It was disappointing to see the chimpanzees in too small a cage. But fun to see the uncaged Parakeets bathing in the waterfall.
The sun has been shining the last two days but it’s still very cold. The nighttime temperatures get as low as 4 or 5 degC and supposedly get to about 20 degC in the day but it’s certainly not shorts and T shirt weather. The wind is very cold.
Checked out the coastal towns of Keppel Sands, to Yeppoon - a really lovely area. John particularly liked Emu Point.
A lot of these areas haven’t been taken over by high-rise building yet and some are still small holiday places.
Travelled on to a “bush” camp at CARMILLA, right on the beachfront. A great spot with several caravanners camped along the way. But it rained the next day. Stayed two nights then on to MACKAY where we parked our ‘van on Gary and Marilyn’s (Jason’s parent’s in law) drive and enjoyed their great hospitality. They assured us they always have blue skies and sunshine during winter .......... but this year is different.
Mackay is prospering with coal mines in the area but the sugar farmers are still having a tough time.
JULY 2005
Monday turned windy and showery so we headed back to Mackay and booked into a Caravan Park. Weather wasn’t too bad. Stayed 4 nights and went with Marilyn and Gary to their friends to watch the 3rd decider “State of Origin” match. TV was on the deck and we all sat on their front lawn with various neighbours. Hot pies for dinner but unfortunately QLD lost so we didn’t get to use our plastic bottles filled with dried pasta, rice and glitter.
On to AIRLIE BEACH, a favourite of ours. We went out on Marilyn and Gary’s catamaran to Daydream Island in the Whitsunday group and caught the ferry back to Shute Harbour while they and Em and Mick stayed the night on the yacht. We were able to land on Daydream and be treated as guests of the Island. Lovely island and amenities. A great day out. This is the life!
Saturday 9 July was a gorgeous day - the first sunny and warm day we’ve had for a long time.
Our next amazing adventure was at HOME HILL where we stayed on Penny’s Uncle Ray and Aunty Rosemary Menken’s cane farm. Rosemary is the opposition National MP for the Burdekin District. Ray is Chairman of the local water board and gave us a great rundown of the water available to the local farmers. There is a massive underground lake (aquifer) from which the farmers can draw their water. There are also canals running from the Burdekin River. Any excess filters back down into the lake and it seems the supply is endless. We attended the Australian Hand Cane Cutting competition where Rosemary also joined in the competition.
Seeing a cane fire up close was spectacular, burns very high and quickly and goes out just as quickly - well that is the plan but they sometimes get out of control. John drove a tractor for Ray for a few hours, breaking up clods of earth between the rows of small cane. He also had a ride in a cane harvester which he thoroughly enjoyed!
14th July we backtracked to BOWEN where we had a new windscreen fitted to the Landcruiser because a large crack had developed result of a stone chip. Had some glorious weather here and the swimming and snorkelling was great. Stayed in a camping ground for a few days but this was the first time we’d experienced the “clickiness” of the “Southerners” who come from NSW or Victoria for the winter. They would say “Hello” but otherwise didn’t want to know us. Anyway as the windscreen fittings hadn’t stuck properly we had to stay until Monday and as the camping ground was booked out we moved to the local showgrounds which has basic adequate facilities, much more room and friendlier people. Cheaper too!
July 19
We called on Rosemary’s parents, Harold and Val Fox, in Bowen who took us out to lunch at Horseshoe Bay.
Harold and Val were previous owners of our next stop, MYUNA STATION, a 25,000 acre cattle station at COLLINSVILLE now owned and run by Penny’s cousin, Tony and Dominie Menken. (I think we’re going to run out of Penny’s relatives shortly but it’s been great meeting such a lovely hospitable family - Marilyn has done a great job as our ‘travel agent’). This is a small station compared to neighbouring stations of 200,000 acres but can be profitable with good management but does suffer during droughts.
Well, as anyone reading this will know we seem to attract rain wherever we go - sure enough 10 hours after we arrived it rained for almost 24 hours which was very welcome to the farmers. And this is in a place that hasn’t seen rain for many months! It was also extremely cold so out came all the winter woollies again!
The gravel road in was interesting with some very steep dips down to creeks. The setting for the homestead is extremely picturesque with flat land covered with trees on one side and the other with the Bowen River and hills in the background. There are resident crocodiles in the river - we saw them basking in the sunshine on the other side of the river including a big one close to 20ft - glad they stayed over there. The area has a certain charm and it is easy to see why people fall in love with it. The river walk is beautiful, so serene and peaceful with many types of birds and also resident wallabies.
After leaving Myuna Station our frig lost ammonia gas so we headed directly to Cairns to get a replacement cooling unit organised which took over 2 weeks to arrive. We had arranged for Kay and Gary to use our vehicles, which were at Port Douglas, while we did a Cape York trip so they had to suffer not having a frig.
