Blog 10 - 29th May to 3rd June 2013

Wednesday 29th May - Departed Theresa Creek and drove the short distance into the town of Clermont - we had been told that the show was on and that Wed was the last day - little did we know that it was also a district public holiday for the show, and that the town would be almost deserted with most shops closed, and everyone out at the showgrounds. After paying our $5 per person at the gate, we ventured in and parked beside some vehicles with working cattle dogs and border collies in the back - soooo cute. The show was a mini version of the Easter Show, with lots of rides, show bags, and animal competitions. There was also cake judging, kids art displays, and woodchopping (which was interesting to see both young and old blokes taking massive chunks out of the lumps of wood). There were also a kids animal petting zoo, camel rides and show jumping in the main arena. A great day and fun to see how the country people celebrate their shows. From here we headed for Moranbah, a town built for the local coal mines simply to house the people about 35 years ago - currently a population of about 7,000.

Thursday - left Moranbah and headed for Sarina back on the coast. On the way, we passed some mountains that were poking up from the plains - obviously volcano plugs that had not been eroded away yet.

Stopped off for a coffe at a very small town of Coulston River, and got talking to the lady who also made leather products, and her husband made carvings in the leather. Di bought a nice belt, and I got a new parrotfish leather wallet - quite unique. From here we drove down the mountain and into Sarina, just south of Mackay and then went out to the coast, and had a quick look around Campwin lookout across to Grasstree Beach.

Had lunch on the grass by the beach,

and then went to Hay Point where the coal is loaded onto the ships at Dalrymple Bay. Did a very steep walk up the hill to the lookout to see the coal loading operations - massive - 85 million tonnes per year gets exported. From here we drove back inland looking for a place to camp - found a good spot behind the General Gordon hotel in Homebush for $10 and had a few drinks with the locals before bed.

Friday - left the hotal and headed to Mackay to have a look around. First stop was the Artspace gallery, which was a bit like the contempary art gallery (weird crazy stuff they call art), and then went to the beaches north of the town, starting at Shoal Point where the tide was out.

Next stop was Bucasia at a park, and then onto Eimeo which had a great pub on a headland. Then down the coast to Dolphin Head for lunch before back to Mackay beach to watch the kitesurfers while we waited for a call to pick-up the trailer. Along the way somewhere, a stone had crashed into one of our solar panels, and while not destroyed, it was not good and would not last long - so another $700 to get it replaced. Picked up the trailer at 4.15pm and raced out to Kinchant Dam west of Mackay. A fantastic campsite with the lake about 20 feet from our doorstep, and the views were picture postcard - really nice after a busy day.

The white peacock was a bonus - never seen one of these before.

Saturday - left the dam and headed for Eungella. How do you think this is pronounced??? We thought "uengela" would be about right, but the locals laughed and told us it was "yungallah" - who would have thought. This is similar to Katoomba, where the locals would go up to the mountains for a weekend away. The views were nice back across the farmland in the valley.

On the way back, we stopped in at Finch Hatton Gorge, and went for a walk to a waterfall - wish I had of taken the swimmers as it looked very inviting

- would recommend it if you are ever in the area. From here we went a bit cross country heading for Proserpine, and then Airlie Beach to see what had changed in the 11.5 years since our honeymoon there.

Booked in for a day snorkelling around the islands for the next day.

Sunday - got picked up by the bus in the morning, and checked in for the day snorkelling. After a fast trip out to the islands on the ocean raft,

we arrived at Bat Cave bay, and hit the water - the QLD'ers said it was cold at about 24 degrees.

Lots of nice fish to see, and some good coral too. Back on the boat to the next spot - Mantaray Bay, which had lots more fish, and they fed them while you were in the water. Some big ones too. Back on the boat, and around to Whitehaven Beach, for a walk to the Hill Inlet lookout - awesome views.

 

Back down to the water for lunch on the sand, before our trip back to Airlie Beach - a great day on the water.

Monday - left the coast, and headed north, travelling through Bowen, Home Hill after a stop at Inkerman lookout.

Then thru Ayr before arriving in Townsville. Will spend tomorrow exploring Magnetic Island and having a look around town.

More to come soon.

Di and Hammo

Blog 9 - 20th to 28th May 2013

Monday 20th May - today we spent the day exploring around the area, with the first stop being Boyne Island aluminium smelter - well a drive around the carpark anyway. From here into the town of Gladstone, and up to the QAL lookout, where the bauxite is turned into alumina - massive plant spanning many hectares. Then onto Barney Point beach, which was small and rocky as the tide was out. From here onto Bishops lookout, which overlooks the harbour and all of the industrial facilities.

Met an old timer here who had lived in Gladstone all of his life, and he gave us over an hour history lesson and info session on what was what in town. He had certainly seen some changes, with the population increasing from 7,000 to over 60,000 during his life. Lots of activity going on in town, with 3 gas plants being built, the alumina plant and smelter, the coal loading facility, and the cement works too. Next stop was a quick drive along the spit to Spinnaker Park. On the return trip, passed 2 guys in a Patrol bogged on the footpath, so hooked up the snatch strap and yanked them out - didn't even need my Superman undies. Then went to the highest spot in town, Round Hill lookout, where you can walk around the communications towers for a 360 degree view. Stopped in the park for lunch, and then onto the botanic gardens (a bit lame). Back to Tannum Sands, and then walked to the pub for dinner - massive plate of ribs almost stopped me.

Tuesday - left Tannum Sands, and headed for Rockhampton. Drove along the tourist drive out to the coast, stopping at Emu Park for the Captain Cook memorial - singing ship out on the headland looking out over Great Keppel Island.

Then drove along the coast north, and stopped again at the Rosslyn marina for some info, and then through Yeppoon and 30km's out of town to Byfield National Park where we camped the night, along with some grey nomads and a family travelling around for 8 months with their 3 kids - it can be done.

Wednesday - chatted to the family for a while before heading off again, this time into the town of Byfield for a coffee. Then back to Yeppoon, stopping at some lookouts

and then the marina for a look at some boats we will never be able to afford.

Back to Yeppoon for lunch and supplies, before heading 35km's north of Rocky to Yaamba rest area. A nice spot right beside the Bruce Hwy. Went to the pub for dinner and met many in the pub, including "giggling George" - a funny old codger.

Thursday - Drove back into Rockhampton, and went to Mt Archer lookout, but the clouds had set in, and we could see nothing. Then into the centre of town to the art gallery, but this was closed for renovations - a bad start to the day. Then onto the zoo (smiling goanna!!!)

and botanic gardens.

Lunch down in the park overlooking the lake. Started heading for Emerald, stopping the night in Duaringa at the free rest area beside the park and info centre - nice place with free showers. Had a quick walk around town before dinner.

Friday - on the way to Emerald, we stopped in at Blackdown Tablelands National Park, and went for a walk along the Mook Mook track out to the lookout.

The creek running beside the walking track had carved out some amazing deep holes in the rocks,

and then it dropped off the edge over a large waterfall. Very impressive - hope the photos show how nice it was. Decided it would be too cold to stay here the night - over 800 metres above sea level - so headed into Blackwater, and then north to Bedford Weir - another free camping area run by the council that had hot showers. Now this was a fantastic spot to stay, and we ended up staying for 3 nights.

Saturday - a nice lazy relaxing day, with Di doing a painting of the weir.

Then back for lunch, before a walk down to the lake and went for a swim - temp was nice, but the water was very cloudy.

As we couldn't have a fire, the caretakers had offered to cook our roast in their oven - they even made gravy for us - how lucky are we!!!!

Sunday - woke up to another nice day, but it was also to be a lazy day too. Spent some time looking at the caretakers photos, and Di did a drawing of some brolgas. Then Lyn (the caretaker) showed us through her photos of the area on her laptop, and burned us a dvd of lots of them. Went for a walk before dinner down to the weir. Sunday (and Wednesday) nights are happy hour, where the caretakers cook 4 kinds of soup and cornbread and damper, and then provide 4 types of desserts for $10 per person - what a great deal - and we dragged lots of the oldies into a game of bocce on the grass. Then they put on a movie to watch into the evening. Spent some time chatting to our neighbours, Margaret and Jeff - a lovely couple in their 80's who tease each other like we do.

Monday - left Bedford Weir, and back into Blackwater to do some washing and shopping, before heading for Emerald. Had lunch in the park, and then went for a walk to see the BIG painting of a sunflower by Van Gogh,

and the mosaic pathway. Then a short walk to the railway station, and finally drove to the free campsite beside the botanic gardens, but also beside the highway. Had a stroll thru the gardens, and then had a coffee at the shops. Decided to have another night out on the town, with dinner at the Star Hotel. Just happened to be skimpy waitress night - what a shame!!!

Tuesday - headed a bit further west, turning at Anakie for Sapphire and Rubyvale. Stopped at the Bobby Dazzler mine, and did an underground tour.

Had a coffee in town overlooking the park, then decided to fossick for some gems by buying a bucket of wash for $10 each and putting this thru a sieve to look for the sparkly bits. Managed to find some green and blue sapphires, and a zircon or 2 - not quite enough to retire yet, but given we had no idea what we were doing, not a bad result. Lunch back in the park, before heading north to Theresa Creek dam camping area.

Di managed to get a photo of some small turtles in the lake.

Met up with some people from Bedford Weir, and chatted to them over happy hour - they kindly offered us some of their red claw to nibble on.

Who's the hottie with short hair????

More soon

The Hammo's

Blog 8 - 10th to 19th May 2013

Friday 10th May - after breakfast, decided to head into town and do our laundry for the week, before heading out to the Maleny Botanical Gardens.

 

 

What an awesome place!!!!! This South African guy has bought a big block of land, and his passion is gardens, so he decided to build one for his own satisfaction, but the locals convinced him to open it up to the public, so he spent some more money to make it even better - what a superb job he has done, and he has plans for lots more before he is finished. A lovely guy - we got to talk to him for a while after we had walked through - and his thoughts were that he couldn't keep it all to himself, he had to share it with others - well worth coming to the Sunshine Coast just to visit this. From here headed to Montville, a lovely little village in the mountains. Had a look around and some lunch. After driving down to Palmwoods, got a call from Travelander saying our trailer had been repaired, so we could pick it up. A quick trip to Maroochydore, and we had our home back again - was starting to lose the appeal of a tent after 8 nights and some rain. Camped back at Maleny showgrounds that night.

Saturday - we had plans to meet Amy and James back out at Booloumba Creek camping area, so packed everything (after re-packing things back into the right spots in the trailer and Triton), and headed for Kenilworth for some final supplies and top up with water. Were lucky to find a spot at Booloumba No 4 and saved a spot for the Martin's and MacRae's. Rained in the afternoon, but stopped for the fire that night, which we all sat around until it was late.

Sunday - we awoke to an overcast day, and while the Martins did family stuff, we decided to drive to Booloumba Falls and walk back to get some photos (someone forgot the memory card last time).

 

While it continued to rain, I could not miss a swim, so dived in, but it was nearly Bendethra temp, so didn't stay in long. Would be a lovely spot on a hot day. Went back to camp and had lunch, and then met up with the MacRae's for a family get-together. Most people at the campsite left to get back to work, so we had a nice quiet night and had a roast dinner cooked on the fire.

Monday - went for a swim in the creek before leaving Booloumba

and drove back via Maleny to Kondalilla Falls, and did the walk for about 3.5km's.

 

Well worth the effort, but all uphill on the way back. Very muggy and humid, so very wet shirts. From here went via Bli Bli with lunch by the water, before booking into Noosa River caravan park.

Drove back to Peregian Beach to Amy's parents for dinner - a lovely night.

Tuesday - washing in the morning, and then some exploring of Noosa. Drove along Gympie Terrace, and then Hastings St, and thru to the Spit, back along the beach.

Then to the headland NP, where we did a walk.

 

 

Also did the Noosa lookout over the town. After dinner, went for another walk, and had dessert and coffee overlooking the water.

Wednesday - left Noosa, heading north. Stopped at Boreen Point for a look, and then drove to Wolvi, where the lookout was spectacular after a steep drive up the mountain.

Then to Gympie, with lunch just north. Continued to Childers, and stopped just north at Apple Tree Creek rest area beside the rodeo arena.

Thursday - lots of rain overnight, and continued into the morning. Plan was to visit the bird sanctuary across the road, and then the reptile park, before looking around town, before coming back to the rest area for the night. The bird sanctuary was fantastic, with lots of birds siting on our arms and shoulders, with a green parrot determined to adopt me for good.

 

 

The little yellow birds, whilst very cute, had a sharp bite and drew blood.

 

A great place to visit. From here, went back to the reptile park, where we were the only visitors for the day, so got a private show due to the horrible weather. The snake show,

then a private tour of the lizards and turtles,

 

then a poisonous snake show with the owner, then thru the snake house, and finally a croc feeding show

- these people are crazy!!!! Back into Childers, visiting the art gallery and the memorial for the backpackers fire. The weather was awful, so we decided to book a room at the Grand Hotel for the night - first time in 8 weeks not sleeping under our tent.

Friday - left early and had breakfast back at Apple Tree Creek rest area, before heading for Bundaberg. Booked in for the distillery tour to see how rum is made

 

- didn't make it taste any better - vile stuff. From here we headed west towards Eidsvold, stopping at Gin Gin for a refuel, and then detouring via the Boolboonda tunnel where the old railway used to go.

From here we went through Mount Perry before camping at Ceratodus rest area beside the Burnett River. The flood had gone through recently, and there was debris about 20 feet up in the trees, and the river was about 30 feet below us - must have been a massive amount of water. Sat around the fire late into the night chatting to some oldies.

Saturday - headed for Monto for some food supplies and a coffee. Drove out to Cania Gorge NP, and did a 3.5km walk to Bloodwood Cave, Cania Groge lookout, and Dragon's Cave (can you spot the dragon below???).

Lunch by the river, before driving further to Cania Dam.

Backtracked to the main road, and continued to Coominglah Range rest area up in the mountains, 22km's north of Monto. Being at about 600 metres, it was a cold night, so the campfire was great - we chatted to some more oldies into the night.

Sunday - left camp late, and drove to Bileola. Did a bit of shopping, and then onto Callide lookout for a view over the coal mine and power stations. Stopped at Calliope for lunch, and continued to Gladstone, and then Boyne Island and finally Tannum Sands beach caravan park for the night. Had a walk along the foreshore, and I went for a swim then back to camp for the night.

Nowhere near as cold tonight as what last night was, so making the most of it typing up the blog.

More to come soon

Di and Hammo