Trip 37 - Croydon

WORDS BY: Fina

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don
On our way to Richmond, we decided to stop in for a night at Croydon approximately 300kms from Mount Surprise travelling along the Gulf Developmental Road through Georgetown. We will do the next 350kms to Richmond tomorrow.

While in Croydon we visited the Croydon Hotel where we met a lovely couple, Robert and Lisa, who are also travelling Australia but only doing the Australian coastline right around in three and half months. We left Croydon early Thursday mnorning and headed down a closed tract to road trains to Richmond.

An early night for a big drive tomorrow.

As we only stayed in Croydon one night, this is a really short story.

Don't forget to check out "more photos" on the right hand side.

Till next time, take care ...

Trip 36 - Mount Surprise

WORDS BY: Fina

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don

We left Mount Garnet on Saturday 9 May 2009 for Mount Surprise where Don is keen to do some topaz fossicking at the O'Brien's Creek Topaz Gemfields. With only 122km to travel we took our time packing and of course, saying our goodbyes to Marcus, the publican of the Mount Garnet Hotel. Thanks Marcus for making us so welcomed, for allowing us to camp at the back of the pub and for the 4 gigs during the week.

We were originally going to travel to Mount Surprise the back dirt way but with the last 4 days of rain opted to travel down the Kennedy Highway instead passing the Forty Mile Scrub National Park and the Undarra Volcanic National Park.

The Forty Mile Scrub National Park features ancient and recent volcanic flows, open grassy woodland, the headwaters of several creeks, and a rare, isolated pocket of semi-evergreen vine thicket. The Undarra Volcanic National Park contains the remains of the Earth’s longest flow of lava originating from a single volcano. Caves within this lava tube are fertile pockets in which rainforest plant and animal species thrive.

After arriving at Mount Surprise and having a quick look around town, we headed out on a dirt track to O'Brien's Creek Camping Ground approximately 45 minutes from Mount Surprise. The campground is close to the gemfields where you can dig for topaz, smokey quartz and aquamarine.

The campground is a beautiful spot to camp along the river with toilets and hot showers. As ususal we camped right next to the river so we decided to stay 4 nights leaving us 2 days to get to Richmond for gigs on Friday 15 May and Saturday 16 May 2009. The campground and gemfields are located on a private cattle station property with thousands of braham cattle along the dirt track. You must also be aware of the kingfisher kookaburras who swoop to grab meat off your fork however they are a beautiful blue colour unlike the ones found elsewhere.

Mount Surprise is a tiny settlement (no more than a pub, a couple of cafes, a railway station and a service station) located 319 km south-west of Cairns and 393 km east of Normanton on the Gulf Development Road. It is 453 m above sea-level and its annual rainfall is 802 mm. Its current industries include cattle, tin mining and gemstones.

Don of course dug holes for most of the three days and found some topaz and now has another jar of topaz. More rock to cart around Australia!

We also met Alf and Peter who were having a bachelor weekend away from Cairns. Peter owns a Japanese imported quad bike and Don and I had some fun on this until the caretaker informed us that we weren't allowed to ride it. Bummer!

Don't forget to check out "more photos" on the right hand side of this website.

Till next time, take care ...

Trip 35 - Mount Garnet

WORDS BY: Fiina
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don



On Thursday 30 April 2009 we headed out of Buggery Bend to Mount Garnet Travellers Caravan Park for my gig on Friday night.


Located approximately 165 km, 185 km or 205 km (it depends which route you want to take - the time is about the same) from Cairns, Mount Garnet is one of those towns that is easy to pass through without stopping. To the traveller it looks like nothing more than a pub, a service station and a few shops and houses in the middle of nowhere. Why slow down? There's nothing to see.

Mount Garnet was first settled around the turn of the century when copper was found in the area. Within months the Mount Garnet Freehold Copper and Silver Mining Company Ltd had built a smelter and was busy hiring men to dig the valuable mineral out of the ground. Mount Garnet today is still a mining town with companies such as Kagara mining for copper and zinc. The more recent mine workings, close to town, are the most dominant working force, which supplies zinc and copper and is estimated to have a live expectancy of approximately 20 years or longer.


At the caravan park we met a lovely couple, Dave and Elly, who are also travelling and working their way around Australia. We spent our first day in Mount Garnet with them talking, drinking and having dinner together at the camp kitchen.


The gig at the Mount Garnet Hotel on Friday night was so successful that Marcus, the publican, offered me another three gigs within the next week with free accommodation at the the back of the pub. Now I couldn't refuse that offer! So we stayed at the caravan park for 3 nights and then moved on Sunday (again) to the back of the pub.

Mount Garnet is also home to the annual May Day weekend horse race and rodeo meeting every year. This is classed as one of the biggest country race events in Australia. We heard that approximately 10,000 people normally go to the races and rodeo so Don and I decided that we wouln't go out there but instead just stay at the pub and meet and greet the rodeo people from there. Althought Mount Garnet houses a police station and 2 police officers, another 20 police officers were called in for the big weekend for randon breath testing and drug testing at the showgrounds or in town.


Living at the pub is actually quite different from either living in the bush or in a caravan park. People just want to socialise constantly which means either sitting in the pub or people coming at the back of the pub to our camp to chat.


During our week here we also went for a few drives around the area. One particular drive was to the back of Mount Garnet down a dirt road. It took us to some lovely dams with white lillies. We actually were following a particular sign "Xtreme" thinking that it would lead us to some 4WD extreme tracks. Unfortunately, we didn't know that Xtreme is actually another mining company and finally found the mining sign with no entry without permission. Bugger!


The private function on Sunday night for a bunch of rum drinking doctors was not all that successful. Only a one hour gig and no money in the box. Oh well, you can't win them all.


On Monday night we found an injured baby kookaburra at the front of the pub. So we took it into the camper overnight to save it from any dogs or cats. Cookie, as we named it, can't fly and won't eat anything so the next day we found the local wildlife carer, Kim, who was more than willing to take the Cookie off our hands. Although I am sure Don wanted to keep it and have it travel with us.


As we have thinking about buying a satallite dish for TV we decided to help our new found friends, Dave and Elly, set up their dish. Unfortunately, with a cloudy day and no knowledge we had no luck tracking the satallites so Elly is going to call a technician to see how it is done. Apparantly, it is meant to get easier each time you set it up.


One of the mine truck drivers that we met at the caravan park, Neil, also introduced us to Ken, the president of the Cairns Gem Club. He spoke to us about fossicking for topaz at Mount Surprise and even drew us a mud map of the places to dig. Thanks Ken, we will be heading out to Mount Surprise on Saturday.



On Wednesday night I did another free gig in the main public bar area and I raised $70 just by having the box out. I kept on telling the patrons that rather them putting their $2 in the jukebox that they should put the $2 in Fina's box. Oh, is that naughty!



My last gig at Mt Garnet Hotel is on Friday night. They are expecting a big crowd since the football will be on. Thankfully this gig is a paid one.


We also went for a drive to Atherton to catch up on supplies and to buy another camera. Don is really missing taking photos and doesn't even want to stop at any waterfalls or tourist attractions because he doesn't have a camera. So at the moment, I am grabbing any photos I can from the internet. What a wonderful resource. What did I used to do without out? However, we did end up buying a camera in Atherton for half the retail price. Not a bad bargain.


Atherton is the hub of the Atherton Tableland region in Queensland, Australia. Its population is approximately 5,800 persons. The climate is tropical. Atherton was named after one of its founders, John Atherton, and it became a town on February 23, 1886. Built on the side of an extinct volcano it is surrounded by several small hills known as the Seven Sisters. These volcanic mountains attract tourists.


On our way to Atherton you can't miss Windy Hill Wind Farm which is Queensland's largest wind farm with 20 windmills producing enough power for 3500 homes. Windy Hill Wind Farm is located about three kilometres from Ravenshoe, which is situated 920 metres above sea level (highest town in Queensland,) on privately owned Atherton Tableland dairy farmland. It is capable of a generating capacity of 12 megawatts, and the number of wind turbines is 20. These windmills generate electricity that supplies the state grid on a fulltime basis. There is a car park and viewing area just near the turn off to the windmills and also a café nearby.

Don't forget to check out "more photos" on the right hand side column.


Until next time, take care ...

Trip 34 - Buggery Bend

WORDS BY: Fina
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don


Buggery Bend on the Walsh River is halfway between Innot Hot Springs and Mount Garnet. It is on private property but locals assure us that as long as we leave the place the same or better than we found it, we can camp there. We found a beautiful spot on the river camped on the pebbly sand. It is very peaceful with only us here except for the mooing of cows, the chirping of birds, the buzzing in your ears of ten million flies and of course, Don still watching his DVD movies over and over again.

With some soft pebbly sand to go through to camp, we again got bogged. I just think we weigh too much. So out with the winch again and another conveniently placed tree and we had the camper up before you knew it. Just might have to winch back out of here.

The yabby pot came out but no such luck. The fishing lines came out but no such luck. So we just enjoyed the peace and tranquility of camping alone in the bush.

We spent 4 nights here and even had KFC chicken (home made of course) and MacDonald's hash browns, again home made. See, who needs the big takeaway places when you can make exactly the same in the bush. If you want the recipe for KFC chicken or hash browns, just email me.

Until next time, take care.

Trip 33 - Innot Hot Springs

WORDS BY: Fina

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don

After leaving Dimbulah on Friday 24 April 2009, we headed towards Petford and Lappa Junction to hopefully meet Tim (affectionately known as Yappa from Lappa, because of his voluminous speec habits) and travel the rail trail from Lappa to Mount Garnet. Lappa Junction pub is still a pub but unfortunately sells no beer. It was built in 1906, the former Espanol Hotel, has no licence to sell beer anymore. The hotel is now a museum and don't forget to BYO beer if you want to visit and talk to Yappa.

For a donation, drop-in to see the old railway maps, old tools, jars of snakes and insects, beer paraphernalia, and you might even get a few free beers from the publican, Tim (affectionately known as Yappa from Lappa, because of his voluminous speech habits).

Unfortunately, the day we visited Yappa was no where to be seen. We did however find his friendly blue heeler dog and the track to Mount Garnet along the railyway line.

This trail goes through magnificent ranges with sweeping views of the isolated countryside. Ancient frangipani and mango tress mark the site of old stations and homesteads. Heritage items include narrow rock cuttings and old stone bridges. The trail passes through remote areas. There are no services along the trail. Carry plenty of water, food and fuel. The line was privately built in 1902, taken over by the Queensland Railways in 1914 and closed in 1960.

The 52kms of dirt, sandy and rocky track took us approximately 5 hours but we did not rush and enjoyed the green lush scenery after the wet season. With the wet season definitely over, only small amounts of water were left in the river crossings however one larger one still had water up to a foot deep. The soft pebbly sandy bottom got the truck and trailer bogged, but with a tree placed conveniently right in front of us, a quick winch got the truck and trailer out of the creek in to no time at all. We went in 2nd gear low but with our weight we should have used 1st gear low. Oh well, the winch was bought for a reason and it paid off this time!

As we passed through Mount Garnet on the other end of the trail, we bought hot chips for Don while I pumped up all the tyres. We were going to stay here until my gig on Friday but decided to visit Innot Hot Springs just down the road for a few days.

Innot Hot Springs, just west of the Atherton Tablelands is famous for its unique natural thermal mineral springs. Up until the 1900's, the mineral water was bottled in the old Innot Bottle and sent to Europe for use in medicinal purposes. Mules also hauled the water over the Cardwell range to Townsville for bottling at the Innot cordial factory. The water of the thermal mineral spring has proven its healing qualities for over a century. The spring has been developed so that persons who wish to use the waters may benefit.

We stayed at the local caravan park with 5 mineral pools from cold to hot (3 indoor), spa pool, tennis court and laundromat. We camped right beside Nettle Creek, where the mist from the hot water springs up in the morning.

Of course we visited the local pub where locals told us of numerous free camping sites. All free camping sites are located on the Herbert River either south of Innot Hot Springs.

So on Sunday 26 April 2009, we broke Don's first rule, and moved on a Sunday to one of the free camping spots.

Until then, take care.

Trip 32 - Dimbulah

WORDS BY: Fina

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don

After leaving Maryfarms on Thursday 23 April 2009, we heading toward Mount Garnet for a gig on Friday 1 May 2009. On the way, we stopped in Dimbulah. With a population of almost 1,500 Dimbulah is a friendly, close community of farmers, council works and fruit pickers. 47 kilometres west of Mareeba, Dimbulah is an aboriginal word meaning "Long Waterhole" and is possibly attributed to the fact there is a river nearby called the Walsh River.

Dimbulah is a small agricultural town in a former tobacco-growing region and mining area. The main industries today are tea tree (for oil), mangoes, sugar cane, cash crops (pumpkins, herbs etc), cashews, and cattle. The town enjoys a relatively good environment and has most amenities including an Olympic standard swimming pool, hotel, supermarket, a variety of general shops, plus a large number of businesses. Dimbulah is a very popular stop or destination for motor bike riders out for a leisurely ride.

We stayed at the local caravan park for one night only as we were keen to do a 4WD track down to Mount Garnet. So to find out some information, we visited the local watering hole. It's amazing, especially since I am not a drinker, that as soon as we arrive in a small town, out first point of call is the local pub. There is no better knowledge than valuable local knowledge. We have learnt that any local pub in any small town is the Information Centre, Employment Agency and Free Camping locations.

One of the locals informed us that we must stop at Lappa just past Petford and talk to Yappa (Tim) about the track from Lappa down to Mount Garnet. So tomorrow, Lappa it is.

Until then, take care.

Trip 31 - Maryfarms - Updated

WORDS BY: Fina
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don

With Tropical Cyclone Hamish hovering over the east of North Queensland, we decided to try and outrun it from Mackay to Maryfarms. Leaving Mackay at 6:40am on Saturday 7 March 2009, my best friend, Ness was checking out the Bureau of Meteorology website the whole time and texting us of the current situation.

From Mackay we travelled up the Bruce Highway on the coast until Innisfail where we then turned left and headed inland towards Atherton and Mareeba. We had outrun the cyclone and we made it to Maryfarms at approximately 4:30pm. Debra’s instructions to find the farm was drive 15km past Mt Molloy towards Cooktown until you come to Station Creek. Exactly 3km past Station Creek is a dirt track marked 5828. The dirt track to the house is approximately 1.5km long with one creek crossing and one locked gate. Neil and Debra own a 300 acre Mango farm. They are going south for their daughter’s wedding in Noosa and then onto Victoria to see Neil’s family and will be away for approximately 5 weeks.

As their neighbours had invited us over for dinner, we set up camp quickly and then headed out to Dave and Robyn’s house for dinner. Again lovely people that we will be able to call on if anything goes wrong on the farm while Neil and Debra are away. Unfortunately there is no mobile phone or internet reception on the farm however at Mt Molloy, just 15 minutes (20kms) down the road, we do have mobile reception. Neil and Debra have a land line in the house but we are only to use this in case of an emergency or call the neighbours.

On Sunday 8 March 2009, we started learning all about the farm. The power for the house runs from solar panels but has a huge diesel generator as backup power. The twin tub washing machine runs on a smaller one and the diesel irrigation pump pumps water up from the river to all the plants via a sprinkler system. All the generators including the water pump are diesel based but Neil has worked out a way to use old filtered fish and chips cooking oil that they collect from the surrounding areas. They are even using the oil in their diesel Nissan Pathfinder. All seems to work well and they hardly buy any diesel – what a cheap way to go! Not sure about the long term effects on the car motor though. I will have to read more about it on the internet.
While here we have to make sure that the plants receive at least 20mm of water every 3 days either by pumping the water from the creek or rain water. March is still considered the wet season up here so we may not need to pump that often.

Neil and Debra also own 3 kelpie dogs – 1 male, Toby and 2 females, Tara and Lily. So we just have to look after them, make sure they have water and feed them every night.

Our other job on the farm is mowing the couple of acres or so around the house and plants either by two rideons or a push mower. Don really loves the rideon and now you can’t get him off it. With his farm clothes, farm boot, camel back full of water, ipod in the ear and ear muffs, he is thoroughly enjoying the mowing.

Their hot water system for showers is heated by a wood fire combustion stove. Once the fire is lit the water stays hot for approximately 3 days.

Sunday afternoon Neil and Debra took us up to Mary Falls for a swim in the watering hole. Interesting dirt track and a beautiful swimming hole surrounded by boulders and mountains. The crystal clear refreshing water was definitely welcomed after quite a humid day. However, on our way out I slipped on a rock and landed on the inside of my left knee. Quite painful so Nurofen gel and Nurofen Plus are helping a lot.

Neil and Debra are leaving for their trip on Tuesday 10 March 2009 really early so they invited us over for dinner on the Monday night. With Neil being a baker for 30 odd years they made us real homemade pizzas for dinner. Absolutely the best pizza we have tasted in a long time.

On Tuesday, Neil and Debra left for their 5 week holiday. Don and I moved the camper and set up properly for a long stay. We also took a drive out to Mt Molly for some small supplies and to meet the publican of the National Hotel, Scott Peters. During our stay in Brisbane, I happened to score a gig here on the 9 April 2009 so I went in to meet Scott and confirm the gig time. While there Don had some beers and Scott was kind enough to let me use his power to check my emails and also to make some phone calls.

Wednesday was the first time that we started the washing machine generator to do some washing. After about 10 minutes of cranking we finally got it started and twin tub was working great. The crank requires a lot of muscle so Don comes in handy for that.

Our first week on the farm was mainly mowing the lawans. As I have said before, Don loves his rideon with ipod music in the ears, he mows every bit of grass that is too long. Since my rideon has broken down with some sort of electrical problem, I am resolved to the push mower mowing the bits Don can't get to with the rideon.

We also visited our neighbours, Dave and Robyn frequently giving them bananas which are coming out of our ears. Another neighbour, Jean, is the most fascinating country woman you ever meet. Her yarn telling of the days she managed cattled stations are truely amazing. I told her she must write a book of her life.

The local pubs at Mt Carbine (10kms north of us) and Mt Molloy (20kms south of us) are great places for meeting locals and socialising.

Another couple who live in Mt Carbine, Phil and Joyce, own a one acres property in Mt Carbine Village and travel Australia whenever they can get away from their cleaning business in Port Douglas.

My leg is getting better every day as I am trying to use it more and move without a walking stick.

As we don't have much to do on the farm apart from feeding the dogs, mowing the lawns and watering the plants, the rest of our days are pretty much ours. Don has been catching up on watching movies and sorting out his opals which I have been catching up on my reading and website.

On Friday 20 March 2009, I did a free gig at the Mt Carbine Hotel. Mark, the publican, and his wife, Janelle, provided bar snacks and various raffles. I also had the hat out for any donations. I ended up gathering $97 - not bad for a free gig. Good to know that more paid gigs are coming up soon with Mt Molloy pub on Thursday 9 April, Jullaten Tavern on Saturday 18 April and Richmond Pub on Saturday 6 June 2009. I am still making heaps of phone calls and emails to try and get more gigs around Maryfarms as well as when we start to travel from Maryfarms to Quilpie at the end of April. We will have 2 months to get to Quilpie so we are just going to take our time and enjoy central Queensland a bit.

Update - Friday 27 March 2009

Our life continues in Maryfarms with more mowing, more watering and feedign the dogs. Apart from those few chores we are quite bored so we go the local pubs to socialise or drive to find a track which takes us somewhere or swim in one of the many natural swimming holes around the area.

While here I have managed to book some gigs around the area in Mt Carbine, Mossman, Cooktown, Mt Molloy and Jullaten. The soloist / karaoke gigs are very successful. I have also booked more gigs for our journey from Maryfarms to Quilpie during May and June.

I also did a soloist gig for just one and half hours at the Mareeba old people's home. You should have seen the men and women's faces light up when the music started. Some of them may not be able to walk or talk but they were certainly tapping their toes, smiling, clapping their hands and wiggling in their wheelchairs. This was such a satisfying gig that I definitely need to do more community service gigs like this one. I even had Keith as backup on the bongo drums and no matter what song I sang or whether he knew it or not, his rhythm and beat were impeccable and he ever missed a beat. Quite remarkable for someone in their 70's. Thanks Keith for the backup.

My ride-on Rover's electrical issue was fixed so I had full reign of the two acres while Don's ride-on Husqvarna was still being welded. Both mowers were being fixed by our very kind neighbour, Dave.

However, after mowing all the yeard with only the driveways left, my ride-on Rover blew up. I mean literally blew up with a big bang, lots of smoke and oil pouring out of the engine on all sides. Later, Dave's explanation of what happened was "Counterweight left the crank shaft and went through the block". What a mouthful but pretty much a new motor is required. We will have to give Neil and Deb, the owners, the bad news next time they ring.

Update - Wednesday 1 April 2009

Twelve months on the road today so we are going fishing with our other neighbours, George and Jean. They have a secret fishing spot on the Mitchell River, the second largest water shed behind the Murray-Darling system. Our first cast was using cheese blocks as bait to catch some small black bream or catfish, then use these fish as bait to catch the big suckers. We all caught fish including four big ones and eight smaller ones. George got the big fish of the day being a black bream and I got the smallest fish of the day, a spangled perch about 2in long. We caught many catfish as well but they all went back or the smaller ones were used for bait. What a great day, good company, great spot and terrific fishing. All too easy!

In our spare time (of which there is lots) I have been reading a lot of biographies of some Australians living on outback stations and how they cope. Very interesting to the point where I feel we have stepped back in time living on this farm with no running water (our water tanks are filled up from the river) and no power (everything is run by generators). Certainly a lot different to how we have normally been living but still very interesting and certainly all part of the adventure.

Update - Tuesday 28 April 2009

On Wednesday 8 April 2009 we went fishing and gold fossicking on the Palmer River halfway between Maryfarms and Cooktown. Unfortunately, there was no fish for the water was too shallow and definitely no gold only mica known as "fool's gold". On the way home we stopped at the McLeod River for another fish (no, the McLeod's Daughters do not live here) but only caught a couple of small black brean that we kept for bait.

On Good Friday we spent the day at Phil and Joyce's place, locals of Mt Carbine. Then we were invited to Stretch and Irene's place, other locals of Mt Carbine, where I did a free gig. It ended up being a great party and night with Mark (the Mt Carbine Hotel publican) on the harmonica as backup. Unfortunately, at the end of the night, our car wouldn't start cause of a flat battery so Irene had to jump start us. I will have to look into this problem after Easter.

So on Easter Saturday, we took a drive into Mareeba to Repco to see whether it was the alternator. If you remember the alternator was replaced in January in Woolgoolga. Or it could be one of the two batteries. Unfortunately, with all the local auto electricians closed over the Easter break, we left Mareeba with the hope that by turning off the Engel in the back of the car, the car will start until we are able to get back into Mareeba on Tuesday.

So Easter Saturday night we spent at George and Jean's having a BBQ with some other neighbours that we hadn't met yet. By Saturday afternoon, I felt a head cold coming on, so Easter Sunday was spent in bed blowing my nose, coughing and taking drugs. I really felt like death warmed up!

Neil and Deb (the owners of the Maryfarms property) should be home some time after the Easter weekend so after my gig in Julatten on Saturday 18 April 2009, we will leave Maryfarms to head south towards Quilpie. So far we are going to take the opal trail down to Quilpie over a 2 month period and I have approximately 9 gig booked so far for the journey.

Wednesday 15 April and Thursday 16 April 2009 was spent mowing the lawns and tidying up the place for Neil and Deb's arrival. As it was they rang on Friday morning to let us know that they would be home Friday afternoon. Great planning, don't you think! The 3 kelpies, Toby, Lara and Lily were very excited to see their owners back home. As they arrived late afternoon, we invited them over for dinner at our camp. They had a great holiday and travelled 10,000kms in 5 weeks. In contrast, we have travelled 25,000kms in just over a year. Just goes to show how slow we are doing our trip with no rush and no plans in the future to finish any time soon.

The gig at Jullaten on Saturday night went really well with approximately 10 singers up singing and having a great time. It is a lovely old wooden tavern with lovely Bec and Antony as the managers.

Since our time to leave Maryfarms was coming up soon, on Monday 20 April 2009 we decided to do the usual maintenance such as oil change, checks, lubes, tyres, etc.

On Wednesday 22 April 2009, we started to pack up so with everything almost packed for leaving tomorrow, we decided one last night at the Mt Carbine hotel with dinner was on the cards. Thanks very much to the publicans of Mt Carbine Hotel, Mark and Janelle, for a warm welcome into the community.

We are still having problems with our camera so not many photos yet. Hopefully we will be able to purchase another one once we hit a major town.

Don't forget to check out "more photos" on the right hand side of this website.

Till our next trip, take care.

Trip 30 - Mackay

WORDS BY: Fina

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don

On Friday 6 March 2009, we left Bundaberg and headed further north again as far as we could. We ended up stopping in Mackay and stayed at the Andergrove Van Park.

After setting up camp for night, a swim in the pool and a nice long hot shower we settled in for the night for an early start tomorrow.

Don't forget to check out "more photos" on the right hand side of this website.

Until next time ...

Trip 29 - Bundaberg

WORDS BY: Fina

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don

With only half a day travel left, we left Caloundra and drove as far as we could. Around 4pm we decided to stop in at our 4WD friends, Gavin and Hayley in Bundaberg. It was great to catch up with them again as they had left Brisbane for Bundaberg 6 months before we left on our trip last year.

While in Bundaberg, Gavin has started to build their own camper trailer made out of polypropylene which will make the trailer exceptionally light. He has almost finished it as they are starting on an extended trip this year sometime. Hopefully they will be able to meet us in Quilpie for a while.

Thanks Gavin and Hayley for putting us up for the night.

Don't forget to check out "more photos" on the right hand side of this website.

Until next time ...

Trip 28 - Caloundra

WORDS BY: Fina

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don

As the camper trailer had to be in Caloundra at 7am Wednesday morning (4 March 2009) we said our goodbyes once again and headed off early. We dropped the camper trailer off at Australian Offroad Camper Trailers and they said that we could pick it up sometime on Thursday. So we booked ourselves into a cabin at the Hibiscus Caravan Park in Caloundra overlooking the water.

With some basic shopping done, I just relaxed on the patio of the cabin looking over the water reading a book while Don tried his luck at fishing off the pier. Unfortunately, no luck with the fish.

On Thursday 5 March 2009, we picked up the camper trailer around lunch time and started heading north to Maryfarms.

Don't forget to check out "more photos" on the right hand side of this website.

Until next time ...

Trip 27 - Brisbane

WORDS BY: Fina

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don

On Monday 2 March 2009 and with only a couple of nights up our sleeve before heading to Caloundra as I had booked the camper into the manufacturers on Wednesday 4 March 2009 to get the hardfloor shower floor installed, we decided to stop in at Brisbane to see my son, Daniel and my grandson, Rhylee.

Also the truck was still heating up a bit on load, so I booked it in at Red Devil Radiators in Lawnton. They had the truck for one day clearing the mud blockage that had taken over the radiator. In the end the radiator was 60% blocked and $375 later will hopefully end my overheating problem.

A big sorry to all family and friends who did not get to see us during these brief 2 days. We will be back in Brisbane and promise to catch up with everyone then.

While we were there, Daniel got another tattoo “Only Trust Yourself” on the back of his forearm. Lovely writing and beautiful saying.

It was great to see Daniel, Rhylee, Ness and Janine and of course their ferals. Rhylee is very well behaved 4 month old boy who is just happy sitting around, drinking his milk and sleeping. Hardly ever crying or whinging, he was a joy to be with.

Don't forget to check out "more photos" on the right hand side of this website.

Until next time ...

Trip 26 - Yamba

WORDS BY: Fina

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don

During our time in Woolgoolga I joined a number of internet resources. One is Aussie House Sitters where you can find houses to stay in while the owners go on holidays. Generally it is free camping and all you have to do is look after the house, maintain the lawns and gardens and feed any animals. I managed to score a house sitting position in Maryfarms from 10 March to the end April 2009. Maryfarms is located in far north Queensland, 50mins north west of Mareeba or 50mins south west of Mossman and only 15 mins north of Mt Molloy.

Another resource is Work About Australia where they advertise jobs all over Australia but mainly in the more remote places. We have also scored a job in Quilpie from beginning of July to mid September 2009 at the Channel Country Caravan Park. We will receive $300 a week for both of us, plus a powered site plus meals at night. The job entails cooking twice a week where we will get $4 per person that attends dinner. Don will also be doing opal tag-a-long tours at $10 per person. I will also be entertaining at night with a hat out. They do have a full time cleaner on board but just in case she can’t make it we will be cleaning the cabins for $18 per hour. We are both looking forward to the experience.

The other resource I located is WWOOF which stands for Willing Workers On Organic Farms. This entails giving the owners of the farm 4 hours of your day. In turn the owners will feed you 3 meals a day and well as accommodate you for free. Usually the minimum stay is one week but length of time is negotiable with the owners.

With these 3 resources, it will give Don and I a variety of things to do while we travel.
So after our stint in Woolgoolga, we decided to head north for our house sitting position in Maryfarms. As we still had a couple of weeks up our sleeve, we decided to stop at Yamba on Tuesday 24 February 2009 where our friends Ryan and Mel and of course the ferals, were staying for a few days. We camped while they had a gorgeous cabin at the Clarence River Resort Caravan Park. Our time with them was mainly spent in the caravan park swimming, fishing, walking, relaxing, talking, drinking and looking after the ferals.

After 3 nights Ryan and Mel left, we decided to hang around a bit and check out Yamba and some geocaches.

Also a couple of couples that we met in the Caravan Park invited us out for dinner one night at the local Yamba pub so we all hopped into the courtesy bus and had a great night.

Our time in Yamba was only 6 nights but it was a very relaxing time. Next stop Brisbane to visit my grandson, Rhylee.

Don't forget to check out "more photos" on the right hand side of this website.

Until next time ...