I apologize for the lack of photos throughout the blog but as they are so slow to download I left them out.
MALCOLM and DIANNE

24 10.07

HOME

There was 12 mm of rain although it didn’t rain thro the night, left by 0700 and went into rain and strong winds about Olary and Yunta. There was some water over the road but the signs of a lot of flooding on the previous day were evident. We called into Peterborough and also Terowie and had lunch at Burra. The crops from there down were a lot better than expected and some very good, the rain would have helped.

We arrived at Grant and Beks about 1400 and Youngy was there to greet us. We went to Andre’s for tea with P and B there as well. The kids were very excited especially Victoria.

It was good to be back home after14 weeks and approx 10,000 ks and apart from the gearbox at Roxby not another thing at all going wrong. I was very impressed with the AVan which stood up to the rougher roads around Birdsville very well. It did let in a lot of dust in the early stages but after we laid coverings over everything it was a lot better. The plastic over the back window of the Prado was a great idea as the top of the spare tyre was covered in rocks with one about fist size, also the pack rack was great .Before leaving I had wondered if it was too big but on the road it was exceptional, also the canvas bag was good and perfectly water proof. As for the Cooper tyres that a lot of people either love or detest there was not a sign of any of the chipping tearing or ripping off of lugs and in the sand of Fraser Island they were great. The Prado was exceptionally comfortable and we did about 18 Lts per hundred and with the two tanks made for long range driving. Although we did not do any night driving the lights are lousy, I don’t know if the ARB bar blocks it at all but for a new vehicle they could be a lot better. Before another trip I will take the UHF out of the glove box and put it in my reach as Di is not interested and I need to have it closer to adjust volume at times.

23 10.07

BROKEN HILL

Arose to a cooler morning but still cloudy which turned to rain later in the day. Arrived in
Broken Hill about 1030 and booked into a Top 10 Park (first paid one since leaving Fred’s).

We went out to Silverton and looked at some galleries in the town; the old goal at Silverton has a very comprehensive collection of memorabilia pertaining to the old town and the mining history. This is where a lot of films have been made including Mad Max and Priscilla.

As it rained steadily most of the day we spent a lot of time in the van which is a bit squeezy without the annexe.

22 10.07

WILCANNIA ( west of there anyway)

We were up and gone by 0600 which was good as it was quite hot later in the mid 30’s, saw lots of kangaroo’s and emu’s and then around Cobar hundreds of wild goats. The country from Wyandra down past Cunnamulla is very flat and very very dry, we stopped at Cunnamulla which is on the banks of the Warrego River and is the home of the “Cunnamulla Fella”, a bronze statue in the main part of town.”He” was made famous by Slim Dusty’s song of the same name (I think). This is a really nice town with lots of green lawns and gardens which is in contrast to the surrounding countryside. The railway terminates there and the station is one of three in NSW with a closed roof.

Further south we crossed the border at Barringun where I found another cache, it was quite an easy one but there was a red herring as well as someone had left a porno magazine in the same place which was dispatched into the bin nearby. Bit disappointing as this is a pastime enjoyed by children and women folk. I was pleased to find this one as I was the second to find it and had been beaten by only one day by someone else, rather amazing due to its remote location.

We stopped for lunch at Bourke which has the feel of Wilcannia about it with broken windows and boarded up buildings. Down by the river there were a group of people gathered and admiring a gold cup which we found out next day on the news was the Melbourne Cup which is touring the west.

As it was very hot and we didn’t want to stop too early we pushed on and stopped at a truck stop west of Wilcannia after a 13 hour day. It was still in the mid 30’s and was deadly still with no air at all, but this changed at about 2300 when it blew up a gale and blew dust everywhere, we had a blanket on by morning.

21 10.07

WYANDRA

Woke with the kookaburras at dawn and had a hot shower with plenty of water in the basic showers at Wallumbilla Showgrounds, the birds near the billabong next to us were plentiful, a very nice spot considering the price which was nothing.

Went on to Roma where we stopped at Macca’s for breakfast and rang the kids and Bill B. We have decided we will push on for home so we didn’t stop there as planned. The country in that area is extremely dry with crops of wheat and barley dying at the flower stage and no feed to speak of. Literally hundreds of dead kangaroos on the sides of the road, at one stage there would have been 20 per kilometre, also dead emus.

Stopped for a late lunch at Charleville at a park where there are “rainmaking machines, these were a German invention that shot gases up into the clouds to make it rain! Needless to say it didn’t work. Had a hunt for a cache at same place without success.

Turned south there and went down to the very small town of Wyandra which has another free campsite again with hot showers and power, albeit very open with no trees and bare dirt ( at least there was no bindii like the last place). There were two other couples there both in motor homes, so had drinks with them. The showers were a bit different as they were two showers in one room so it was a share situation.

Today was Aunty Nell and Uncle Jim’s 80^th birthday and both A and V and Grant and Bek went to it which was good as Carol was down from Darwin and was able to speak to Bart about his move there.

20 10.07

WALLUMBILLA (east of ROMA)

After having a quick drive around the town and finding the butcher is not open on Saturdays we went back to the park and hooked up to leave when Helen to owner came around inviting everyone to join in morning tea with freshly cooked scones. There were about six couples there and again everyone was extremely friendly and the cones were delicious. Dianne spoke to Helen and asked if she was a Christian as there were scripture verses in the shower block. She was, and Di was able to encourage her especially as they are really in a dire state due to the drought on their farm.

We left about 1130 after doing another tour of the town , visiting the Catholic Church with the inner walls covered in murals and a good collection of old engines and tractors( not in the church!). We travelled north and came to Jandowae, Chinchilla ( where we had lunch an Di rang home), Miles and then stopping at a free camp in the showgrounds at Wallumbilla. This was quite comfortable with hot showers and even some power for the early arrivals, as there was only one other camper we were in luck. We stopped at the tourist info centre and were regaled by one of the local women who was character to say the least. The days have gradually become warmer again after the change that came through when we were on Fraser island and although it was a two blanket night last night it will be one sheet tonight.

19 10.07

BELL

Fred and Pam went back to Brisbane about 1030 this morning after Fred had gone to his physio appointment in TCB. I went in with him and bought some groceries for our homeward trip. Di had an appointment with her for her foot which has been troubling her for some time, so after that we left about 1300. We had a great time with Fred and Pam who made us very welcome.

We filled up with petrol at Gympie and then went back out to Kilkivan passing Fat Hen Creek where we had stopped on the way down. Travelled on past Kingaroy and stopped at a free camp at Kumbia which was very nice with power on a honesty basis and coin in the slot showers and a very clean free BBQ. However, over the fence the neighbour had a pile of rubbish burning that was sending stinking smoke all over the site, so we went on stopping at a caravan park in Bell, that’s ok I have never heard of it either. Anyway it cost $20 and had lawns with clean facilities, we were invited to the “happy hour at six and were made very welcome by the folk there. I said how we were intending to stay at Kumbia and was slightly chastised by the proprietor who said that she and her husband are running the park as well as their farm in an attempt to tide them over the drought and that teach van that stops there is one that the local parks don’t get. I can sympathise with her but we the traveling public also like to have these freebies as well. Anyway the other people there were waxing lyrical about the sites to be seen in the district and said we should stay another night so we may.

16/ 17/18 10.07

FRASER ISLAND

After arranging the night before to get up “early”, Fred woke us at 0415which didn’t impress, however we got going and arrived at the Inskip ferry by 0630. It was a lovely morning with flat sea’s and warm. I had done some driving at Rainbow Beach but was still very apprehensive about this “beach driving”. We drove the beach up until Dilli Village where we went into the lakes road system. Yeah, right, roads! More like two wheel tracks in the scrub with scant room to pass another vehicle. Luckily we didn’t meet much traffic and when we did it was OK but there were some area’s that you would have to back up some distance, sometimes up hill in very loose deep sand, if you did. The tracks very very rough with large roots from the trees making it difficult to transverse and in the “really steep” parts there were timber slats and or rubber matting laid down. Drove a lot of it in low range but later found that it was OK in high.

Travelled to Lakes Bomanjin, Birrabeen and McKenzie all of which are magnificent, especially Lake McKenzie. The timber in that area and in Pile Valley is very tall with some huge trees left over from the logging days which make you wonder how big the others were if these were left.

Arrived at Eurong Beach Resort and booked into a top floor double bedroom apartment with lovely views over the huge pool and onto the beach beyond. It was all very comfortable although the girls reckon the cleaner had not done a very good job.

Fred and I went up the beach a few k’s and did some fishing were he caught some small dart and I jagged a 4foot Shovelnose Shark. Literally jagged him as after it was landed which took at least 20/25 minutes, I found that he was foul hooked in one of his wings but he had two hooks in his mouth! One unlucky or slow learning shark so we let him go to try again another day. There were small planes on the beach and again whales out in the ocean displaying their splashing techniques.

Second day Fred and I were up early and drove up as far as Happy Valley and fished on the way back with limited success only catching some very small dart. About lunch time the wind changed and it blew up a smart southerly and blew its guts out. We had seen whales earlier and also a light plane using the beach as the runway so Di and Pam decided they would go with us this time which was good as there were whales only a little way out from where we wereattempting to throw the lines into the wind but with that and the rip of the tide it was useless so we went for a drive up the beach to the Maheno wreck. This ship has been lying there slowly disintegrating since the 1930 ‘s and is an area that they are known to catch tailor. There were some diehard fishermen there and one had actually caught a tailor as we arrived, but most were catching dart which were a lot bigger than the ones we had caught earlier. I had a broccoli box with ice and a lot of bait left over so I gave it to one of the chaps there who in turn offered the tailor but one fish is not any good to anyone. It was interesting to note that they were all using Alvey Reels and were fishing a lot lighter than we would in the lower states for salmon. They use three gang hooks and pilchard but only a small ball sinker and keep belting it out.

By this stage I was getting quite used to the sand driving and feeling a lot more confident, the Prado with the larger Cooper tyres handles these conditions magnificently, in fact when we got back of the beach at Eurong after going through a long stretch of very soft and deep sand I went to take it out of four wheel drive when I discovered it had not been in all of the way up and back! Pretty impressive. I suggested that we go back to Hook Point via the inland road and nearly had my head knocked off by the passengers. It was bloody rough but at least I had the steering wheel to hang onto!

Wendesday evening we had a buffet meal at the resort which was quite good for a remote setting. It is interesting to note that all material from toilet paper up is brought over on the barges in large European made fourby and sixby trucks, ther are dozens of big all wheel drive buses and hundreds of Toyota’s Nissens etc most of which have the mandatory fishing rods on top.

We awoke on Thursday morning early to find it blowing even harder which had pushed the sea’s in a lot further than anticipated which made the driving a bit harder as we had to take the upper beach with the softer sand. There is an inland road 12 K’s north of Hook Point which was marked on our map as “bitumen road recommended for fourwheel drives”, yeah right, it may have been once but it wasn’t anymore, but it was least dry which wouldn’t have been the case on the beach.

As it turned out it was blessing as we met a young woman on the road who we had spoken to at church last Sunday. Her name is Jennifer and that for the last six years been going to the island and had been taking photos of dingoes, strange we thought. Anyway as we were going along this road we saw her on the side taking video footage. On stopping and remaking the connection she told us that there was a bitch and 7 pups there and she had been filming them. As we were talking to her one of the pups, named Coconut, came out of the scrub and onto the road right next to us. She said that she was writing a book and also filming a documentary on the dingoes of Fraser Island. As she has been doing this for so long she has probably more idea of the dingo population there than the local Parks people, although she didn’t say this.

The ferry back over to Inskip was a bit rocking and rolling but wasn’t too bad. We stopped off at Rainbow and washed the car at the car wash and arrived home about 1030 after a fabulous three days.

14 10.07

CHURCH at COOLOOLA COVE

Fred and Pam left for Brisbane this morning and are stopping over night as Pam has an appointment tomorrow.

We went to church in the Community Church here in Cooloola Cove and were may very welcome by the folk there. The pastor and his wife Gary and Heather Everson had been at Endeavour Hills church back at the time Rodney died ( Rod was my brother in law who died 16 years ago). We stayed there for a cuppa and came home and made some phone calls down south.

After lunch we went to Rainbow beach to buy a Fraser Island pass for Tuesday, cost $35 for 1 month pass. Went down to Carlo and arrived as a charter came in, 10 blokes at $200 bucks each and a fair pile of fish, they all thought it was worth it.

13 10.07

HARRYS HUT

Had a big drive today, went down to Noosa and Maroochydore via the back roads via Harrys Hut.

This was over some dirt tracks to the head of the Noosa River going through the Cooloola Sand National Park, a very pretty and interesting trip. The water in the Noosa River at Harrys Hut is very stained by the tannins from the Melaleuca’s in the area and as it runs off the National Park which is all sand it is very clean although looks dirty.

Further on we went to Boreen Point which is on a large lake but as it is in the same river is also is brown, we stopped there for lunch.

We then went on to Noosa which is very crowded with lots of holidayers and lot and lots of accommodation of all kinds. Went on to Sunshine Plaza which is a big centre built over tributary of the river and very flash with restaurants looking over the water below.

Came home along a similar route to the morning, lots of dirt road with some kangaroos and two mobs of cows on the road we had to stop for. Had a great day.

11 10.07

Freds

Quiet day, went into TCB and bought lunch, fish which was very nice at a small eating place. Later went to look for a cache down by the dolphin feeding area, it was close to a takeaway shop and the girl was watching from inside, she came out asking if we were “looking for some internet thing as a chap was here last week and nearly wrecked my garden”! Well we had to fess up and then I had a look around and found it, my third. Looked for a couple others but it is pretty hard without a proper GPS.

12.10.07

Another quiet day with Dianne laid up with a very sore foot, it has been bad for some weeks but was worse today. I did the washing and then Di went to the physio after lunch which helped a lot.

10 10.07

BIRD WATCHING AT FREDS

Went bird watching today with Dorothy a friend of Fred and Pam; she is very passionate about her vocation and does an official count each month. The birds of interest, Eastern Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Greenshank, Redcapped Plover, Red necked Stint, Gull Faced tern, and a pair of Pied Oyster Catchers, were in the upper reaches of Cooloola Cove on a large area of swamp land. We had to walk quite a distance along the shore line, sometimes wading in the water; it was all very interesting as these birds migrate here from Siberia.

In the afternoon Fred and I went to Rainbow Beach fishing where Fred caught two Dart and a Bream in the surf and I caught zip. There were whales out in the bay that made it very entertaining by whacking their tails in the water and leaping out with a great amount of splashing. The girls went into TCBay for coffee.

09 10.07

RAINBOW BEACH

Awoke to light drizzle and the threat of rain but it cleared to a nice warm day.

Went into Rainbow beach and had lunch at the local bakery then to the bait shop for some things and drove up to Inskip Point where we had a chat to the young fellow there about going over to Fraser Island( we have booked to go for two nights next week). From there we drove down the beach nearly to Rainbow Beach stopping on the way to fish. The sand was very hard and easy to drive on as the tide was low. Di and Pam sat in the car while Fred and I threw some bait away until we both caught a flathead each. We were using beach worms and prawns bought from the bait shop, Fred caught his ( a small one) on prawns and I put on a shiny 80 gram lure and pulled a big flathead from the surf, a chap down the beach caught what looked to be a nice tailor.

Later Fred and I went to a creek in the upper reaches of Tin Can Bay where I caught a small Bream. On the way in we stopped at the Aboriginal Bora site and found my second Geocache, we had looked for it a couple of days ago but this time we were successful. Who needs a GPS!!!

10 10.07

BIRD WATCHING AT FREDS

Went bird watching today with Dorothy a friend of Fred and Pam; she is very passionate about her vocation and does an official count each month. The birds of interest, Eastern Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Greenshank, Redcapped Plover, Red necked Stint, Gull Faced tern, and a pair of Pied Oyster Catchers, were in the upper reaches of Cooloola Cove on a large area of swamp land. We had to walk quite a distance along the shore line , sometimes wading in the water, it was all very interesting as these birds migrate here from Siberia.

In the afternoon Fred and I went to Rainbow Beach fishing where Fred caught two Dart and a Bream in the surf and I caught zip. There were whales out in the bay that made it very entertaining by whacking their tails in the water and leaping out with a great amount of splashing. The girls went into TCBay for coffee.

11 10.07

Freds

Quiet day, went into TCB and bought lunch, fish which was very nice at a small eating place. Later went to look for a cache down by the dolphin feeding area, it was close to a takeaway shop and the girl was watching from inside, she came out asking if we were “looking for some internet thing as a chap was here last week and nearly wrecked my garden”! Well we had to fess up and then I had a look around and found it, my third. Looked for a couple others but it is pretty hard without a proper GPS.

12.10.07

Another quiet day with Dianne laid up with a very sore foot, it has been bad for some weeks but was worse today. I did the washing and then Di went to the physio after lunch which helped a lot.

13 10.07

HARRYS HUT

Had a big drive today, went down to Noosa and Maroochydore via the back roads via Harrys Hut.

This was over some dirt tracks to the head of the Noosa River going through the Cooloola Sand National Park, a very pretty and interesting trip. The water in the Noosa River at Harrys Hut is very stained by the tannins from the Melaleuca’s in the area and as it runs off the National Park which is all sand it is very clean although looks dirty.

Further on we went to Boreen Point which is on a large lake but as it is in the same river is also is brown, we stopped there for lunch.

We then went on to Noosa which is very crowded with lots of holidayers and lot and lots of accommodation of all kinds. Went on to Sunshine Plaza which is a big centre built over tributary of the river and very flash with restaurants looking over the water below.

Came home along a similar route to the morning, lots of dirt road with some kangaroos and two mobs of cows on the road we had to stop for. Had a great day.

08.10.07

FRED’S 2^nd DAY

Fred and Pam went down to Brisbane today as Pam had an appointment with the skin specialist in regard to the surgery she had recently on her face.

We did all of the washing and went into Tin Can Bay for a look and did some shopping. A very quiet day all round.

09 10.07

RAINBOW BEACH

Awoke to light drizzle and the threat of rain but it cleared to a nice warm day.

Went into Rainbow beach and had lunch at the local bakery then to the bait shop for some things and drove up to Inskip Point where we had achat to the young fellow there about going over to the Fraser Island( we have booked to go for two night next week). From there we drove down the beach nearly to Rainbow Beach stopping on the way to fish. The sand was very hard and easy to drive on as the tide was low. Di and Pam sat in the car while Fred and I threw some bait away until we both caught a flathead each. We were using beach worms and prawns bought from the bait shop, Fred caught his ( a small one) on prawns and I put on a shiny 80 gram lure and pulled a big flathead from the surf, a chap down the beach caught what looked to be a nice tailor.

Later Fred and I went to a creek in the upper reaches of Tin Can Bay where I caught a small Bream. On the way in we stopped at the Aboriginal Bora site and found my second Geocache, we had looked for it a couple of days ago but this time we were successful. Who needs a GPS!!!

06 10.07

FAT HEN CREEK

Left 1770 after watching all of the campers “decamping”, amazing , everyone got up pulled their camps down and were gone by nine o’clock, must have lost about 60% of the park, school holidays finish this weekend. Spent some time chatting to the folk from Mt Gambier and left after 1000.

Travelled down to Bundaberg on the smell of an oily rag, found a servo 30 k’s out so pulled in , put the spout in and waited, and waited, asked Di to go in to see them to find it was closed on Saturdays! So kept going and put in 176 litres at Bundaberg-tank only holds 180. Went to the Rum factory and bought some bottles and went on to Gin Gin where we had lunch. From there we went down to Biggenden and stopped at a camp site from the Camps book at Fat Hen Creek, toilet only with two other cars there.

07 10.07

TIN CAN BAY

Had a good night although there was a bit of traffic on the road and it got a bit cool toward morning, left by 0830 and went in to Gympie which is a very hilly town with a lot of old well preserved buildings. Looked to do some shopping at Coles etc but was too early so went on to Fred and Pam’s arriving about 1100.

Spent the afternoon chatting and later went for a drive to an old aboriginal “Bora ring” which is a ring in the earth where they carried out traditional dancing. Went down to a creek in the upper reaches of Tin Can Bay over some rough sand tracks which were a bit boggy in places from the recent heavy rain they had there( 8 inches) good 4 wheel driving territory.

05 10.07

1770

Travelled from Yeppoon to Rockhampton where we had a drive around, some very nice old buildings that have been restored.

Called into Gladstone which is a very industrialised city with power station, coal loading facility and many other large industries. We went to the marina and got a real surprise as there is a lovely park overlooking the coal loading wharf and the marina, lots of lawn and free BBQ’s and very clean toilets. We stopped there for lunch and cooked toasted sandwiches on the very clean BBQ’s. Whilst there on of the three ships loading coal was escorted out by two tugs.

YEPPOON

Left St Lawrence by 0930 after having a look around and driving to the river flats for a look. These flats are quite large with a small runnel of water with the tide out. We were over looking the rail bridge where a train passed over while we were there. There were a lot of trains going through during the night but it was a very good camp spot with excellent clean facilities, a dollar in the slot hot showers free gas BBQ and lawned areas, although not for camping on. The area is used for polo

We rang back home and spoke with both Andre (in hospital) and Ness, things seem to be in a reasonable state but we will need to monitor the situation in regard to our plans. (Rang again in the evening and things are a lot better so will continue down to Fred’s and see).

matches and has a lot of stables and yards there.

03 10.07

ST LAWRENCE

Left Bert and Irene at 1530 and travelled down to St Lawrence and stayed at an excellent free camp with great facilities and dollar in the slot hot showers, absolutely fantastic. Probably better than the town which is very basic, called into the general store which we had seen last trip (12 years ago) and had always regretted not going into, but it wasn’t that good.

WE had a phone call from Ness just after arriving to say Andre’s operation on his ear didn’t go as well as we had hoped and he is in high dependency. This has put a cat among the pigeons and means we may have to change plans.

This morning Bert and I went out to visit a friend of his who has a collection of old stationary engines and also old outboards, rather incredible as he only began 10 years ago. Di and Irene went shopping!

02 10.07

MACKAY

Well it actually rained all day albeit very lightly.

Bert and I cut the drain hose from the sink to find that it was full of silicone from day one( no wonder the BLOODY THING WOULDN’T WORK!!!!!, over two months of trying to get it to dribble out, reminded me of me).)

After lunch Bert took us for a drive to Hay Point and Sarina. Hay Point is a huge coal loading facility that receives 30 trains a day most up to 2 kilometers long. There were 48 ships waiting to be loaded and as it was a rainy day there may have been more on the horizon we weren’t able to see.

On the Wyt home we went through the city and down to the harbour area which has avery long breakwater protecting a new marina , great fishing spot.

That evening we went to a local club with a group of their friends for a meal.

30.08.07

Halliday Bay

Went through Proserpine to Peter Faust Dam which is 30 k’s upstream from the town, the park there was the old works camp that had been set up to service the building of the dam wall and didn’t look that inviting so moved on. The construction was interesting as it is a rock wall with a clay core, similar to the Ord River Dam.

Stopped at Seaforth and then on to Cape Hillsborough then back to Halliday Bay which has a lovely beach but the park was basic to say the least, still there was plenty of hot water and cost $20 which was OK. Went for a swim.

For some reason today the GPS has decided to not find any satellites so not sure if it is going to work.( It didn’t work for two days and then righted its self)

01 10.07

MACKAY

Travelled through very pretty country from Halliday Bay to Mackay where we went up to the Northern Beaches some of which were very nice before we arrived at Bert and Irene Place’( ex Wudinna and Rodney’s sister). They made us very welcome and put the van onto the front l

Bert and I did some repairs on the jockey wheel that had broken earlier. It was cloudy today with the threat of rain, first cloudy day for weeks.

awn.

28.09.07

AIRLEY BEACH

Left Ayr early and travelled down to Bowen, very interesting country, sugar left behind and into very dry open timbered cattle country and then into very rich market gardens with acres of tomatoes at Bowen. Then closer to Airlie Beach it became very green with rainforest similar to the Mission Beach area and of course more sugar cane.

Stopped at the northern beaches at Bowen which were really quite spectacular, the tide was full it was flat calm and it was beautiful, white sand clear blue water and a warm sun.

Had a fish from some rocks into the clear water overlooking the Whitsunday islands but came up with the same result-zipo.

Went on and booked into a Top Tourist park in Airlie Beach, wow, has that changed in the 12 years since we were here last. The hill overlooking the town is wall to wall units and resorts, the main street is full of young people and the pubs are full. They have what appears to be a Qld thing, a swimming pool on the foreshore (similar to Cairns and Townsville), it was absolutely packed with young people.

We stayed at there as it is the AFL grand final tomorrow and we didn’t want to be in a more secluded place where there may not be a TV.

As I was taking the van off the wheel on the jockey broke off so will have to make do until I can have it repaired.

29.09.07

GEELONG WIN THE GRAND FINAL

Oh dear oh dear what a hiding, Port Power were never in it. Did some shopping in the morning and then to the local pub over the road from the park and watched the footy on the big screen til half time. Watched the second on the camp TV with a few others including the bus load of kids we saw at Charters Towers,( they leave here at 0400 on Monday and go direct home at Warnambool arriving Tuesday afternoon).

Went to the main street after tea and made some phone calls as reception not good in the park. Rang Irene Place and will stay with them when in Mackay.

27.09.07

AYR

Up early and showered by 0700 as Debbie (Ness’ friend from Adelaide) who lives in Home Hill was calling to see us on her way home from working at the local hospital. She duly arrived and is very pleasant and invited us to the farm later in the day.

We went for a drive out of the town and finished up in an area known as Rita Island, though you couldn’t recognise it as an island it is one a few that are formed in the delta of the Burdekin River. It is very rich river flats soil with mostly cane farms with some other crops, we drove a lot of by roads and came to a very pretty billabong with large mauve waterlilies on it, unfortunately the road crossed over a ford but Di was not keen on crossing. Turned back and then spoke to a chap living there who pointed out another route which was lucky as we then saw cane being cut into trucks which in turn took the bins to the rail siding and rolled them off onto the tracks, picked up two more and then back for another load. There are hundreds of kilometers of rail tracks.

After lunch to the farm at Home Hill( I am being suitably vague about its location as you will understand later), there I had a guided tour of the property which is predominately sugar but some of the surrounding properties have green beans sweet corn and millet. I was shown how they water the crops with long lengths of plastic fluming; they have an unlimited supply of water.

They were going to show us a burn of the cane or take me to the river to catch a barra, as I have seen fire before I opted for the river. This is where it gets a bit cloudy but suffice to say we fished at a place where we shouldn’t. My offsider got one with his third cast and later caught two more and I didn’t get a BLOODY THING!! Back to the house for a lovely roast lamb and barra cooked on the BBQ and home by 2200, a very pleasant day.

25.09.07

CHARTERS TOWERS

Very quiet and lazy day, did the washing, bought the paper and read it, that’s it.

Did go out to a Chinese all you can eat restaurant for tea.

Did call in and talk to a chap about GPS’s when I bought the paper.

Yesterday on the outskirts of the town there was a road sign to “Mount Cooper”, I asked about it today and it is a small hill probably like “our” Mount Cooper in SA.

26.09.07

AYR

Up early and went to the weekly cattle sale at Dalrymple Sale Yards to find they didn’t start til 0900 so went into town and bought the paper etc. Stayed at the sale for half an hour and found it very interesting. Cattle all sold by cents per kilo and then they are taken down to the scales where they are weighed, either individually ore by the lot depending on how they were sold. Spoke to some locals who said the prices were down

On the way we stopped at a rest area on the Burdekin River where there is a very old steel bridge over the river, a truly magnificent structure and a nice camp area however the toilets were not that clean.

On the way we stopped at a rest area on the Burdekin River where there is a very old steel bridge over the river, a truly magnificent structure and a nice camp area however the toilets were not that clean.

We went into Home Hill crossing over the amazing steel construction of the bridge over the Burdekin River. Rang Debbie’s mother (friend of Ness’s) who rang us later in the afternoon to say she had been doing night shift at the hospital. She will call in to see us tomorrow on her way home after her shift.

We stopped in the park in Ayr and nearly walked when the woman in charge got a bit rippy with us “As the office is not open til one o’clock and it says that on the notice by the door in three places”. Anyway we stayed and it only cost $18 and was a nice park with good facilities.

24.09.07

CHARTERS TOWERS

Stopped off a the clothing outlet in Townsville and bought some more shorts on our way to Charters Towers. We have defiantly left the rainforest behind and are now back into the savannah woodland which is very dry. Arrived about midday and booked into a Top tourist park and have a spot under a huge mango tree which is complete shade, and dropping flowers everywhere.

Went for a drive into the town which has a very rich past, this is borne out by the local architecture with a lot of the old buildings having been restored. Was once the second largest city in Qld at the height of the gold boom

Drove up onto Towers Hill which overlooks the town, they are old mines and bunkers built during the war to store munitions for the RAAF which was based in Townsville.

Came back to the park to find a lot of other campers had arrived AND THEN a bus arrived with 40 teenagers from Warnambool. I spoke to the staff and they are doing a 17 day trip from home to Ayers Rock Alice Springs Mount Isa Cairns Airlie Beach and then home, FROM THERE 39 hours direct!!. They have two drivers and just keep going, i.e. Alice to Mt Isa in one hit. Apparently the year 11 do a trip each year.

Anyway they are all very well behaved and did not make too much noise.

22.09.07

TOWNSVILLE

Packed up and moved camp to Rowe Bay Park which is pretty full but no traffic and on the very nice beach, realised we didn’t redeem our key money so went back for it. Called at a couple of computer stores on the way to see if I can get the TV card to work but no luck( there is a problem with the software).

Later in the afternoon I had to go back to Stocklands Shopping Centre to find an optometrist as the lens fell out once again (had to have it repaired in Cairns and about three times before we left). Di bought some T Shirts whilst there. Stopped off on the Strand to watch the Offshore Speed boats practice but must have been too late. This is the first time these boats are racing here in Townsville and we saw some coming into town on semi trailers, they are huge and cost up to $1,000,000 each.

Listened to Port Power make road kill of the Kangaroos ( went for a walk at ¾ time as it was too depressing).

Watched John Doe a Garry Cooper movie on DVD, quite good black and white movie.

20.09.07

TOWNSVILLE

Left Balgal beach in brilliant sunshine and calm seas and went down to Townsville were we booked into a Top Tourist Park, didn’t know at the time but it is near the airport and on a busy corner and the sewers stunk, apart from that the internet was dreadfully slow but the sand flies were not too bad.

I booked the Prado in for a service on Friday and then went into the city for a look. It has changed a lot since we were last here and the drive along the Strand is very nice indeed. It is really a very pretty city on the foreshore but when you get back it drops away considerably. Its a very large busy city with a lot of local industry and a busy port.

21.09.07

TOWNSVILLE

As stated prev day this is not the quietest park, lots of noise with planes trains and motor bikes.

I have been having some trouble with the computer in that the c drive was beginning to fill right up so I took it to a computer shop today and the young fellow there transferred a lot of files over to the D drive, all for no cost which was very good of him. The wireless connection here at the park is next to useless so have not had much joy with it.

We went to the top of Castle Hill which is right in the centre of the city and gives spectacular 360 views, although it was very smoky and not that clear.

Took the Prado in to the Toyota dealer at 1400 for a service and walked the very large shopping precinct over the road looking for a new chair which we bought at a place that was full of fishing gear and camping, rather incredible.

Back to the noise of homeward traffic in the park, might move to another tomorrow.

18.09.07 and 19.09.07

BALGAL BEACH

Left Ingham after Di went to the physio to have her ankle seen to, wrapped it up and told her to wear her new shoes with the orthotics ( she had been doing that anyway) and charged her lots of moola. Any way its seems to be better..

Travelled down to Balga Beach which is near Rollingstone and stayed in a very nice council free camp site, just a toilet (clean) but no power or water. Remembered why we stay in paid parks when it got dark and all of the generators started, don’t by a SCORPION, bloody noisy!!

Anyway it was a lovely spot with a lawned park overlooking the beach and a boat ramp into the creek nearby, had every potential to catch fish in both places but no luck. I fished both the creek and the beach.

There were professional netters working out of there and they were returning with Spanish mackerel and queen fish, I spoke to local chap fishing from the beach and he said he caught a queen fish the previous day. There were a couple of queenies and a lot of mackerel heads washed up onto the beach.

17.09.07

INGHAM day 2

Spent a very quiet day as Di had hurt her ankle and was having trouble in walking: made an appointment with a physio for next day. Did some basic shopping and went to the new Woolies that had only opened today, jazz band and an accordion soloist and lots of people.

Spent the afternoon in the cool of the hotel verandah using the free wireless internet connection and caught up on the blog.

There are a lot of sugar trains here and there is a line just down the street from the park, I walked down and counted 197 carriages on one: these were the small cane trucks but they would be about a kilometre long.