FAREWELL TO AUSTRALIA

This will be my last entry for this section of our trip around Australia. We have been on the road since the beginning of May and in the past five months we have seen sights and experienced things that we would never have dreamed of six months ago. We fly back to New Zealand on 13th October and prior to that we will be spending the next 3 days cleaning out the van in readiness for it to be put into storage for the next 6 months and then we have about 8 days with Nicola, Adrian and the girls in Brisbane before we fly home. It has been an amazing journey but before I start reminiscing I will bring you up to date with what we have been doing over the past 2 weeks.

As I mentioned in my last blog Nicola and family were coming up to us for the Sunday while we were in Cotton Tree. It was a magic day weather wise and we all had a lovely time, so much so, that we decided that the girls would come up and have a few nights with us during the week. We had bought a tent to use when we go off road into National Parks where the roads are inaccessible to caravans, so it was good practice for us to put it up. They were rapt and we all had a great time. They were no trouble to amuse, as all they wanted to do was spend the time in the water. I thought Brodie would appreciate a day shopping with Nana but she even turned that down in preference to swimming. We bought them both a boogie board and it was definitely money well spent. The weather was brilliant while they were with us so that added to the enjoyment. Our photos bear proof to that.

The day they arrived was the day that New South Wales and Queensland experienced the worst dust storm for 70 years. We woke to news on the TV in the morning that Sydney was covered with red dust, limiting visibility in some places down to 100 metres. The pictures were amazing but as the day wore on we were told that Queensland would also get the dust storm. It was a very hot day with temperatures in the mid 30s and about noon the sky got darker and by 1.30 it was like a huge storm was building with grey skies and strong wind gusts. Queensland got the red dust but not the red glow as the sun was completely obscured. It was very eerie and the dust got into everything. Anyone with asthma or chest problems was advised to stay inside and eye inflammation was also a problem. All airports were closed and driving was also hazardous. The width of the storm was over 4000 kms so it covered all the east coast of Australia. The dust had been swept up by high winds in the centre of the desert area of the country that had been totally arid for months and the winds just carried all the soil and dust toward the east. It was an amazing sight and I have taken 2 photos to give you an idea of what it was like, before and after, both taken from basically the same spot. The first storm was followed by another 3 nights later but this was not so big and was overnight. It only covered about 2000 kms of the east coast. The dust covered everything and we had only cleaned the car and van a couple of days before so we were not impressed. The Queensland premier cancelled all water restrictions and people were allowed to hose down houses, cars etc. for the next few days. This country is really a country of extremes.

We are now in Kirra Beach on the south of the Gold Coast. We intended going to Southport but with school holidays and the park asking $50 per night for a powered site, we decided to move a bit further south. It's a lovely spot and we have been busy exploring all the Gold Coast beaches which are packed with families enjoying the great weather. I'm afraid the traffic in these areas though is horrific. It took us 2 hours to drive from Brisbane to Gold Coast on Saturday with traffic jams all the way and road works everywhere.

We have thoroughly enjoyed this trip, especially the journey from Port Augusta to Darwin and across the top to Normanton and Karumba. There have been loads of highlights and we will have lots of memories to take home with us. We have met some amazing friends who we will keep in touch with and hopefully they will visit us and we will catch up with them next year. I feel our biggest achievements have been our climb and walk around Kings Canyon and the walk around Ayers Rock. We loved all the National Parks that we visited, even though some of the locals tried to talk us out of visiting Kakadu! We will miss the fantastic bird life, especially the kookaburras in the mornings and we will also miss the noise of the sulphur crested cockatoos. These are real Australian sounds. We have seen amazing sunsets, crocodiles in the wild as well as snakes and other creepy crawlies; road trains with 4 trailers; roads that are barely wide enough for a mini but are expected to carry these road trains and allow for other passing traffic; beaches with golden sands that stretch for miles and no human near to enjoy them; cattle stations with acreages so big they would cover most of the South Island and take 4 or 5 days to cover; coal trains that have over 100 wagons and stretch for nearly 2 kilometres and lots and lots of road kill!

Australia has some unusual laws and these vary from state to state. South Australia does not allow shops to use plastic bags so everyone has to bring their own cloth or recycled bags to get their groceries and if they don't have one, they have to purchase them then and there. This seems to work very well and the state government only allowed a 6 month run in period. Northern Territory has some strange liquor laws, usually to stop the abuse of alcohol by the indigenous people, but I don't think these are really working. Although I have heard that out in the remote areas, they are having some great results. Queensland doesn't allow Sunday shopping everywhere, except in holiday areas, and this includes supermarkets. It's a real nuisance when you arrive at a place with an empty fridge and pantry!

We have travelled nearly 18,000 kms. on this trip and had no trouble with either the vehicle or van. Petrol prices have been more consistent this year than last, except in the Centre where we paid $1.68 compared with $1.25 in the cities. The caravan parks have increased their prices by about 20% compared with last year when they averaged out at $24.70 per night, this year they will be over $30 which makes a big difference to the budget. Next year we intend camping on road side camps a lot more and using the tent in national parks.

It is now farewell from us until about May next year when we will be starting our big trip to the west of this vast country. I hope you have enjoyed our news and I look forward to carrying it on next time. We are looking forward to getting back to New Zealand and catching up with Stephen, Sarah, Oliver and Nicky and all our other family and friends.

BACK ON FAMILIAR BEACHES

We are now in the last few weeks of the second part of our big trek around Australia. Things have slowed up a lot and we are now spending 10 to 12 days at most of the caravan parks we are staying in. My last blog came from Cania Gorge and this lovely spot in the National Park has been one of the favourite places we have stayed at. We went there on the advice of Sally and Kent who we met last year on our whaling trip from Hervey Bay. It certainly lived up to all our expectations and we are so grateful we took their advice. It was terribly dry in there and I'm sure it all looks better with everything green but it had a special feel about it. Jim and I went for our first bush walk for ages and saw some lovely caves with great rock formations and some amazing views over the gorge. Sally, Kent and their 5year old twin boys Callum and Connor came down from Moura to spend a night with us in their camper trailer. It was great to catch up with them all again and so kind of them to drive about 240 kms return to see us. Distances don't mean so much to Australians. That will be the last time we will spend in the bush on this trip and I will really miss the birds and animals.

We then drove to Hervey Bay where we had stayed last year and our first surprise was the empty caravan spaces in this beach side caravan park. It was much quieter than last year. We walked to the beach most days and just sat and read and swam. It's a very hard life!!

Noosa was our next stop and if we hadn't booked into Maroochydore we would have stayed longer there. This camp is right on the Noosa River at Noosaville and with all the boats and ferry traffic there is always something going on. This camp was really full and most of the caravanners were people who had stayed here for the past 12 years or so and stayed for 4 months on a trot. Needless to say it is a very difficult camp to get into as they all book their sites two years in advance. We just loved it there and spent most days sunbathing on the river and watching the locals enjoy themselves. Jenny and Warren, friends from Waikanae, came up and had a day with us from their apartment in Alexandra Headland. It was great to catch up with all the news and to have a day with friends. While we were in Noosa we went to see the storage firm where we are leaving the car and caravan over the summer months. This is a huge complex with outdoor and undercover storage available. Noosa Beach lost most of its sand during the storms earlier this year but it has now been replaced and there is big new board walk being built along the front of the hotels and apartments. The beach was very busy when we went there last Sunday and finding a car park takes longer than it takes to walk up both sides of Hastings Street.

We are now in Cotton Tree near Maroochydore. School holidays start here on Friday so most of the Victorians and people from New South Wales have headed off home leaving quite a few empty sites but I have been assured, come Friday evening, all those spaces will be filled with loving families. I heard one local call the school holidays “Feral Fortnight”. We had a trip to Surfers on Tuesday to pick up some mail and called on Nicola, Adrian and the girls in North Lakes to give them a surprise.
It was great to see them all again after nearly 6 months and to find them all happy and looking so well. They are all coming up here for the day on Sunday.

We haven't taken any photos over the past few weeks so this blog will have to be without any added colour. I don't know where we will be for the next blog but by then I hope to have some photos to add to my newsletter.

HIGH TEMPERATURES

Queensland is having the most amazing August ever in the weather stakes. Temperatures are 10 – 12 degrees higher than normal in most cases but with the high temperatures comes the danger of bush fires. They have already started down in New South Wales and there have been a few in Queensland and last week there was a fire in Canarvon Gorge and all the caravans in the park had to be evacuated. We had a few spots of rain today, just enough to dampen down the dust really but the state is in dire need of some really heavy rain. The temperatures dropped with the rain and after enjoying 30 – 35C for most of the last few weeks it has been a shock to get down to only 19C.

We are in Cania Gorge National Park which is inland between Rockhampton and Gladstone. It is a beautiful spot with masses of bird and animal life all around us. We were woken this morning at 3.30am by the kookaburra chorus that lasted for about half an hour and then about 4.30 the rest of the birds started their sing song. It was just beautiful. Where Stephen lived in St. Ives Chase a few years ago in Sydney they would be woken at day break with kookaburras and he reckoned that they would have their singalong so everybody was awake and then the kookaburras would go back to sleep having achieved their purpose. I just love the sound of them laughing. Last night our van had wallabies, possums and bettongs all around it just nibbling in the dirt. Jim was siting outside reading about 7.30pm and all of a sudden he let out a squawk. A possum had bitten him on the toe. He got a hell of a fright. Tonight the camp put on a camp oven roast dinner which was roast lamb and all the trimmings and vegetables and apple crumble and then we had bush poets and story tellers. It was a magic night.

Since my last blog entry we have slowly but surely wended our way south and have now crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and for the first time in nearly 3 months we have left the tropics and headed into more temperate climates. We loved our week in Airlie Beach and just spent most of our days on the beach or reading round the van. We went for a drive out to Hideaway Bay one day and found two lovely resorts with reasonably priced accommodation and situated on the most beautiful beaches with views over the Whitsundays. A real paradise.

Our next stop was Mackay where we stayed at one of the nicest camps we have yet stayed in that close to a city. Normally city camps are full of permanent campers and aren't the best but Andergrove Camp was very nice. We had never been to Mackay before and really liked it although we could never get our bearings. There are some lovely beaches around the city and the port has been modernised with lots of cafes, apartments and a long breakwater where you can fish or just watch the view. About 30 kms south from Mackay is the township of Sarina. We had a lovely day down there. The town is a sugar town with a huge sugar mill on the outskirts and next door is the second biggest ethanol distillery in Australia. This uses molasses from the sugar mill to produce the ethanol. The company has now installed a molecular sieve unit which enables the plant to produce 100% pure ethanol part of which is blended with gasoline. The balance is either exported to Japan where it is used in the manufacture of sake or to Philippines for the making of gin. It never ceases to amaze me what Australia manufactures. That afternoon we drove out to Hay Point where there is a huge coal port, one of the biggest in the world. You can look down on this massive development from a lookout and see the coal trains arriving on a regular basis. We passed 2 of these trains within 10 minutes of each other and they each had 100 wagons full of coal and drawn by 2 engines in the front and 2 in the middle. There are 2 wharves in this complex and we counted 28 ships waiting out in the harbour to enter. We were sitting on the beach just outside of Sarina reading when I heard a loud whooshing noise. We looked up and there within paddling of the beach were 3 whales just playing in the water. It was a great sight.
Rockhampton was our next stop where we visited the Capricorn Caves. These are ancient limestone caves which are privately owned. We went on a guided tour and the young tour guide was so enthusiastic. You certainly wouldn't need to suffer from claustrophobia as some of the caves were very tight and narrow but it was a great tour. There is a part of the caves that is called the Cathedral Cave where they have weddings and the acoustics are near perfect. We sat and listened to a tape of Anya singing and it was just beautiful. We drove out to Yeppoon and Emu Park. We had stayed there in 1997 but boy, has it changed. It now has high rises and apartments in each bay all along the Capricorn Coast and Rosslyn Bay has a new marina and boat terminal. This is where the ferries leave for Great Keppell Island. The growth in housing is amazing and there is now a 4 lane highway being built from Rockhampton to cope with this.
Last Saturday was our last day in Rockhampton and we'd decided to have a quiet day and get some groceries and have a swim in the pool as it was so hot. It certainly didn't turn out as planned. We had just locked up the van to go shopping when I heard men yelling and then loud hailers. I looked up and just five sites down from us there were armed police everywhere with police dogs barking and straining at the leash. Our neighbour went to investigate and we were all yelled at to get back inside. They took a guy from the unit, forced him to lie on the ground and then searched him, all the while holding the guns on him. It was very exciting but a bit frightening as it turns out. This guy had shot someone in a pub on the Thursday night and then in a domestic situation again later he shot another one. Neither died luckily but he is facing attempted murder charges. I don't know how long he had been staying at the caravan park but this was the top rating park in Rockhampton.
Later that day after our swim I went to step outside and slipped on the caravan step and fell down. As I was falling all I could think of was my back which was hitting the step and that being the end of our holiday. I passed out for a little while and came to lying on the grass. Luckily Jim was there and he was beside himself with worry as he thought the same thing. Gradually I starting moving all my limbs and was delighted when they all worked. I started to get up and found blood pouring from my elbow. It then started to swell and came up like a huge egg. I now look like my arm has been tattooed from top to bottom. It is black and blue from armpit to wrist and right across my arm. It looks a real mess. I was just so lucky that it wasn't a lot worse. Before you all think the same, I hadn't even had a drink!!
We have just returned from having a community morning tea of camp fired damper and billy tea which was really lovely. Some of the caravan parks really go out of their way to make things different and this park is definitely one of these. We leave here on Friday for Hervey Bay and back to the coast but I really love the inland bush and the bird life. Only 6 weeks till we return home so not long to go now. Probably only 3 more blogs.
My photos this time are taken from the restaurant on the beach at Hideaway Bay; Jim & I in the Cathedral Cave; and a king parrot standing in our awning and a little bettong that visited us on our first night here in Cania Gorge. Enjoy!

SUNSHINE, SWIMMING AND BEAUTIFUL BEACHES

We are now Airlie Beach in the Whtsunday Islands. It is a lovely part of Australia with tropical islands just a few kilometres off the coast from the mainland. We can see most of them from the foreshore and the marina here is full of overseas and Australian yachts and rich boys toys. Airlie Beach is the departure point for Hayman, Hamilton, Daydream, Whitehaven and other islands so the waterfront is the focus of the area. There are loads of specials on offer of overnight stays on yachts, tropical islands or just a cruise around. We went on a 3 island cruise when we were here in 1997 so haven't bothered this time but the temptation is there.
My last blog was written from Cardwell and we really loved it there. It is only a very small town but like lots of other small towns in Australia it is trying very hard to make its mark. Being so close to Hinchinbrook Island most of the activity in the town centres on trips to the island. I have to eat my words also after writing in the last blog that people aren't so friendly. The day after I wrote that we got talking to our neighbours, Jan & Pete from Victoria, who are heading north and we shared a few drinks with them and then the next night they bought over some other vanners they had met on their travels and our new neighbours, Veronica and Leo from Perth, joined us as well. We had a great night and the upshot of all this is that we have kept in touch with Veronica and Leo who are heading in the same direction as us and caught up with them in Townsville, Bowen and now Airlie Beach. We will definitely see them again as we head south. While we were in Cardwell we took a day trip down to Ingham which is a sugar cane town and with the season in full swing, all the cane factories are flat out. The cane cutters in this area originally came from Italy and there is a strong Italian influence in the town. We visited the cemetery and the Italian Catholics have chosen to be buried in mausoleums. These are like little houses with sliding glass doors and are mostly made of tiles. The inside is full of statues of the saints and photos of the deceased as well as the wreaths, some still with the same of the giver on them. The outside is covered with brightly coloured ceramic wreaths. You get the impression that the deceased families are all trying to outdo each other but it was a very interesting way to spend an afternoon. I have put up a photo of them. While in Ingham we drove out to Lucinda where the sugar storage factory is sited on the wharf which stretches 5.70 kilometres out into the Coral Sea. The sugar boats berth at this wharf and the the sugar is carried out to it in containers on castors. It is a great piece of engineering.
Our next stop was Townsville which has a population of about 100,000 and is the gateway to Magnetic Island. This city showed what could be done with a waterfront that could involve the whole family. They have built a walkway right along the waterfront with the ocean on one side and on the other they have built lovely parks; playgrounds for the littlies, a pool, waterslide, exercise machines, skate board park along with lots of restaurants and cafes. The best thing is they have built a lagoon that is filled with salt water and has a sand bottom but the water is filtered to stop fish, crocodiles, sharks and jelly fish getting in. This means that everyone can swim without worrying about all the nasties that get into the oceans in these parts. The day we went there it was just so busy with families all out enjoying the sunshine and themselves. You can skate and rollerblade along the walk way and play volley ball on the beach.It was a great atmosphere but of course Townsville does have the great weather to allow families to enjoy themselves, even in the middle of winter! While in Townsville we went over to Magnetic Island for the day. Stephen, Sarah and the boys had stayed there a few years ago and they just loved it so we thought we should check it out. It's a lovely spot, only about 20 minutes by ferry from Townsville. There are some lovely beaches on the island and the one at Horseshoe Bay was just magic with boats in the bay and whales playing out at sea. We really enjoyed our day over there. Townsville is also a good example of what happens to the town centre when shopping malls open out in the suburbs. There are lots of malls around the area but the main shopping is just dead. We were told there have been all sorts of plans put forward to change this but so far nothing has been done. There are just dozens of empty shops, bars, cafes all boarded up and waiting for demolition. We were really shocked by the emptiness of the CBD.
Bowen was our next stop and how glad we were that we stopped there. Bowen is a very small town but it has the most beautiful beaches where we swam every day. There are lots of little bays, all different, but the water was so clear and so warm. Bowen was the town that was used in the film "Australia" as Darwin. There are some lovely old hotels and Queensland houses and the town is very proud of it's association with the movie and there are posters and photos all over the town of locals taken with Hugh Jackman (lucky things) and Nicole Kidman. Thanks Peg for suggesting we go to Bowen!
We arrived here in Airlie Beach on Sunday and we are staying here for a week as we got a good deal with the caravan park. The town is full of young, foreign back packers and some of the grey nomads said they wouldn't go there as it was a case of "spotting anyone over 40" but we are loving it. There is a buzz all around town and the place is always very busy.We have met up with Colleen and Barry who we shared some of our travels with last year so we will have a few days with them and then they will move north and we will head further south. It's a great life meeting all these lovely people.

SOUTHWARD BOUND

We are now back on the East Coast and heading south towards Brisbane and looking forward to having time with Nicola, Adrian, Brodie and Kaley in October before we head back to New Zealand. We have lots of places to visit before then though. Our stay in Port Douglas was really lovely. The weather, most of the time, was kind to us and I was determined to have a swim in the ocean, crocs or no crocs! The beach at Port Douglas stretches for miles with lovely golden sands, blue seas and islands in the distance and the sea was so warm. It was lovely. Port Douglas is showing signs of the economic downturn with lots of empty shops; signs of re-development sitting idle and even one of the Quicksilver Reef Catamarans not going out to the Barrier Reef every day. The caravan parks were all full though and we have had to start booking ahead again to guarantee a site. It was very windy while we were in Port Douglas, in fact we have had winds nearly every day since we hit the east coast. The locals say it is most unusual. We visited the local markets on the Sunday we were in Port Douglas and what an interesting array of goods they had. The vegetables and fruit were all so lovely and fresh and lots of tropical fruits that we just never see in New Zealand.

Out next stop just down the road was on the beach at Ellis Beach. This is quite a small camp but it is on a prime site with the beach at its doorstep. It may be due to be closed in the next year or so and the land used for re-development. Ellis Beach is about 30 kms. north of Cairns. The camp was full all the time we were there, mostly with people from NSW and Victoria. They all come up north for the winter and stay for 3 to 4 months in the same spot. We have noticed that since we left the outback there isn't the same friendliness among the campers in the van parks on the east coast as there was up the middle. They have all come to the same park for years and all know each other so meet for drinks, coffee etc. among themselves. We certainly miss the the camaraderie of having a drink before dinner and telling everyone about our travels and listening to their stories.

Kurramine Beach was our next destination. This little beach town has three caravan parks in it and reminded us of Foxton Beach with similar beach houses and shops. The weather really packed it in there and we didn't even manage more than a quick walk to the beach to have a look at it and that was that. We spent a day in Innisfail which suffered the horror of a hurricane a couple of years ago. The lady at the Information Centre said she thought the town looks better after it as it got rid of so much rubbish. This is the art deco capital of Queensland and there are lots of old buildings that have been renovated and look great. The town isn't a patch on Napier though. It is the middle of the sugar cutting season now and the roads are full of huge trucks carrying the cane to the mills. The main highway between Cairns and Brisbane, the Bruce Highway, is criss crossed with little railway lines that ferry the cane to the trucks in wire wagons towed by railway engines specially built for this task. The railway lines are narrower than ordinary lines but they are everywhere and you have to watch out for the trains crossing the main highway at this time of the year. This part of the country is also great for growing bananas and there are paddock after paddock of banana plants with multi coloured plastic bags hanging from them covering the bananas. There are moves afoot to import bananas from Philippines and in shop windows; on road hoardings and even on t shirts there are signs saying “No to Banana Imports. Keep the Jobs for the Australians”

We are now in Cardwell on the coast just beside Hinchinbrook Island which is Australia's largest national park. We drove through here in 1997 and are amazed at the growth in this area since then. The town has built a huge marina with resorts, canals, restaurants around it. It is a very pretty town with the hills covered in dense rain forests and leading right down into the sea. There are loads of walking tracks which we hope to cover while we are here. We have already walked up to the look out which we both found quite strenuous as it is a while since we have much climbing. This area has the highest rainfall in Australia so everything is very green and the hills are usually covered in mist.

We had a day in Mission Beach where the beach is covered in golden sand and goes for miles. It is just like a tropical island. It is my favourite beach in Australia and it was just as I remembered it from 1997 and 2004. This area is popular for viewing the cassowary which is a large flightless bird similar to the emu or ostrich but larger. It has lethal dagger like claws which it uses if cornered. We were starting to wonder if this bird was a figment of someone's imagination as we had never encountered one on our travels. We were thrilled to be proved wrong this time. We saw one feeding in the scrub on the side of the road. Jim rushed out with the camera while I watched in fear and trepidation unless he was attacked. These birds are not renowned for their good tempers!! We got some good photos while the bird grazed quite contentedly.

The Prado and caravan have performed perfectly during the past 4 months but we did have a bit of excitement, if you could call it that, while we were on our way to Cooktown. We were travelling from Port Douglas over the Great Dividing Range via Julatten, towing the caravan and it was a very steep climb on a hot day. The vehicle's automatic gearbox oil starting overheating and the warning light came on. There was nowhere to stop as it was a very narrow road and nowhere to pull over. We carried on very slowly and luckily eventually came to a lookout where we stopped and let the engine cool down a bit. We had climbed bigger hills without any problems but it must have been the combination of the steep hill and the heat.

My photos this time show our friendly cassowary; the lovely beach at Mission Beach and the view from the Lookout overlooking Cardwell and Hinchinbrook Island

Our next stops will be in the Whitsundays and island resorts where we hope to have a week at Airlie Beach for a bit of R & R and that will probably be where my next blog will come from.

FAREWELL TO THE OUTBACK

We are now back on the East Coast of Australia after experiencing the Red Centre and the Outback of this great country. What marvels we have seen. This has been the most amazing trip of our lifetime. You think you have seen the ultimate and then around the corner there is always something to surpass it. The National Parks are just fantastic with great facilities and walkways leading to the most amazing scenery. It has been a totally mind blowing experience. I know we have the greatest scenery in New Zealand and it is all compressed into our marvellous little country but it is the distance and the vastness of Australia that makes everything seem so much bigger. The first day when we left Port Augusta on our way north on the Stuart Highway way back in May we were amazed to see a road hoarding advertising a superette 418 kms. away!! We thought it was a great joke, but it was true. There was just nothing for 418 kms. We haven't seen farmhouses as we know them in New Zealand all along the side of the highway. We have seen road signs to cattle stations that are over 100 kms. from the highway. These are huge stations with thousands of acreages and cattle spread over vast distances. The wet season was very wet in the top of Australia this year and in the Gulf of Carpenteria area it is estimated that there were over 10,000 head of cattle lost but they won't know until the muster is completed in a few weeks time. The Norman River was over 20 metres above normal and was 12 kilometres wide instead of about 300 metres. There were crocodiles swimming at the end of the main street of Normanton during this time. The locals showed us photos of all this but were very stoic about the whole thing. No wonder Australians are so competitive. They have to fight the elements the whole time.

We have had some difficulties with our communications this time. First of all we lost the Vodafone we bought last year so had to buy another but got the same number. What they failed to tell us is that Vodafone just doesn't work except on the East Coast so when we got Cooper Pedy we bought a Telstra phone which we thought would give us better coverage. It was a slight improvement but not much so when we got to Katherine we bought another Telstra phone, this time a NextG one, which according to the blurb put out by Telstra, will cover 90% of Australia. It certainly is better but we now have 3 phones! Last year I just used internet cafes or caravan park internet access to do my emails and blog but this time it has been much harder so after a lot of research among my caravan friends, we have bought a pre-pay wireless modem. This has been a great improvement and I can now use my computer nearly every day if I can get Telstra phone reception. These little hassles, plus losing all the data from our hard drive on the computer, have certainly made a hole in our budget.

Anyway back to our travels. We had our golf game in Mount Isa and what an experience that was. The course was just red dust and stone for fairways and the greens left a lot to be desired. Needless to say the golf wasn't a great success. The exercise was needed though. Mount Isa was very busy during our stay and all the caravan parks were fully booked out every night. The grey nomads are certainly making their presence felt on the roads around Australia.

Our next stop was Normanton which is a town of about 1,500 situated just south of the Gulf of Carpenteria. It was originally a mining town and it was hoped that the river would become the main port for the area but once the gold ran out, so did the big plans. The road from Cloncurry to Normanton was our first experience of driving on a single lane road, not 2 single lanes both going in the same direction but just a single lane road with red dust on the sides of it. If we met another vehicle, especially a road train, we had to pull off and just stop until they had passed as we couldn't see for the dust anyway. We went for a ride on the Gulflander train during our stay in Normanton. This is a vintage railcar that travels on a line that was built in the late 1880s. The train only travelled at 24 kms. per hour as any faster would be dangerous for the passengers. It was great fun and we stopped out in the bush by a billabong for billy tea and cake. The next day we drove up to Karumba which is a port town situated right on the base of the Gulf of Carpenteria. It is also known for great fish and chips and fresh prawns. We bought 1 dozen prawns for $12 to take back to the caravan and then bought some cooked barramundi and chips to eat on the beach while watching the sunset. What a sight. There were people all along the beach doing the same as us and having a great time.

Our next stop was Mount Surprise which is situated near the Undara Volcanic National Park. We stayed at one of the best caravan parks we have stayed in yet. It is called Bedrock Caravan Park and the owners have done a great job building this park up from just a bed of rocks 10 years ago. The facilities were 5 star and the staff and the owners cook meals each night, have a bonfire with entertainment and take guests on a surprise tour of the area. There are only 65 people in Mount Surprise so they are trying all different things to get tourism into the area. We climbed up the top of Kalkani Crater and walked around the rim of the crater. There have been lots of volcanoes in this area.

It was then onto Cairns where we were to meet up with Sue and Bev, 2 of my golf friends, and their partners in Trinity Beach. It was great to catch up with them and get all the news. We went out for dinner a couple of times and one night they put on a BBQ for us at their apartment. We were really spoiled with garlic prawns for entree and steak, chops, sausages and salads for mains. They decorated the table with candles, balloons, sparklers, party hats and we all had a great time. It was certainly a night to remember. We went with them to the Trinity Beach Hotel to watch the first Bledisloe Cup game. I had a silver fern flag in my bag but we weren't confident enough to brandish it about until the final whistle. What faith!!

Our last stop before we start the long trek back to Brisbane was a trip up to Cooktown. This area was only accessible by dirt track up to about 4 years ago but it is now sealed all the way. The road was very good and only a couple of parts near Cooktown where the road had been washed away by the heavy rain in wet season made for a bit of a rough ride. Cooktown is like the last frontier really but the little town is just full of history. This was where Captain Cook pulled in to repair “Endeavour”. There is a lovely old building that was a convent and boarding school for Sisters of Mercy from the late 1800s to 1942 when all the nuns were sent down to Cairns while the war was on and the USA army took over the building. The nuns thought they would return but the building was left to rot until about 20 years ago when restoration was started and it now houses a great museum. It's amazing what these little towns do to promote themselves. Cooktown is typical of old towns in Australia, especially in the outback, with at least 3 pubs remaining of the 65 it used to have!! There are at least 4 caravan parks in Cooktown and they were all full up the whole time we were there. It was certainly busy and on the road from Cairns to Cooktown we saw more traffic than we probably saw on the whole of the Stuart Highway.

We are now in Port Douglas and civilisation again. We really loved the Outback with the changing scenery, road kill, road houses, and camaraderie we enjoyed on the road. We have met some great people and friends and look froward to keeping in touch with them.

It should be beaches and hopefully sunshine all the way back to Brisbane now so until my next epistle which will come from somewhere on the Bruce Highway we say Goodbye.

DARWIN TO MOUNT ISA

We have now left the Top End of Northern Territory but before we move on there are a couple of observations that we have made. The roads in this area, in fact all of Victoria, South Australia and Northern Territory, are just marvellous. We dread crossing over the border back into Queensland because everyone says that the roads deteriorate from there on. In the Northern Territory the open speed limit on most roads is 130 kms. but we have seen no police cars or cameras to police this although there are signs telling us that they are policed. Most of the traffic we pass on the highways are other caravanners or road trains. These road trains are huge and most of them carry at least 3 or 4 trailers which are fully laden. We have been lucky so far and have only passed one that we have had to move off the road for. They take a long time to get rolling but once they do, they also take a long time to stop. We have seen a lot of road kill on the side of the roads and most of that would be caused by road trains. Today we saw 2 huge cattle beasts and last week we saw a water buffalo dead on the side of the road. They are just left there for the birds to dispose of. Most caravanners don't drive after dusk as the kangaroos come out to play about that time and they have absolutely no road sense.
In the Northern Territory at this time of the year (the dry) they have “burn offs”. These are controlled fires that burn off all the undergrowth that has grown in the wet season and could cause bush fires. We have watched these guys go along with a fire lighter and just light the scrub and let it burn. As a result we have seen the greatest sunsets up there. These burn offs occur more in the National Parks so most of the beautiful bush we should see has been burnt but it is also necessary for the natural regrowth of most Australian native plants. Most days the sky has a real smoky haze.
The other odd thing about the Top End are the termite mounds. There are thousands of these mounds all over the territory. These can be only a couple of inches tall or some are up to over 2 metres tall. In the Litchfield National Park there are Magnetic Termite Mounds where the termites build the mounds aligned north and south to minimise exposure to the sun and maximise temperature control. There are four type of termites, the first build their mounds around tree trunks; the next ones build theirs with round features, the third ones build theirs with pointed tops and then there are the magnetic termites. Here ends the geological lesson for the day!!
I mentioned in my last blog about going to the night markets at Mindil Beach. I had a paddle there and the water was so warm but no more. A large saltwater crocodile ( the dangerous ones) has been spotted on the beach. It is such a shame that no one can swim in the beautiful beaches around Darwin, and there are hundreds of beaches in the area, because of the crocs and the box jelly fish that can cause death from just one little sting. Darwin is such a beautiful city with 4 lane highways on its approaches and tropical trees and plants everywhere. There is so much history there with the Japanese invasion in 1942 and Cyclone Tracy in1974. It has been rebuilt twice as a result of these disasters and is now a very modern city with a very cosmopolitan population. We just loved it and hope to return there one day.
Because everything is dictated by the weather up this end of the country, lives are regulated by either the wet season ( November to April) or the dry (May to October). In the wet season there is a build up of humidity that is only relieved by the rain. Some rivers rise by as much as 10 – 12 metres and all along the highways there are flood channels to take the run off from the flooding. It must be a spectacular sight to see. Most houses don't have gardens as we know them as nothing will grow but what does grow is bougainvillea in all the colours you can imagine; scarlet, purple, white, peach, yellow. When they are all together it is a sight to behold.
Back to our travels. After leaving Darwin we then headed south to Berry Springs and stayed at a great little camp called Tumbling Waters Caravan Park. I would recommend this camp to everyone. The shower facilities were a little basic but the owners are just doing everything right. On the Saturday night they had crocodile feeding followed by free entertainment with music, singing and dancing and a free sausage sizzle served in the lovely beer garden then we all sat outside under the stars and watched the movie “Mamma Mia”. It was a magic night. There are warm natural springs at Berry Springs in a park surrounded with walking tracks. It was a great place to have a swim and it was there we saw our first live snake in the wild. It was right beside the walking track and was a brown snake. I thought I would really freak out when I saw my first snake but I was amazingly calm. Also in Berry Springs is the Territory Wildlife Park. This is a great nature reserve where you can walk through rain forests; watch birds of prey;visit an aquarium and just enjoy nature at its best. We had a lovely day there and the highlight was watching the eagle who uses a stone or rock that it picks up from the ground to drop on to the emu's eggs and break them. Very clever.
We then moved onto Litchfield National Park which features some beautiful water falls and swimming holes. The most popular water hole is the Wangi Falls where we spent a lovely hot day just sitting in the warm water. What a great life! We drove in a 4WD track to visit the Lost City. This is a collection of rocks and stones that have formed thousands of years ago and they look like ancient ruins of buildings from long ago. An amazing sight. We just loved Litchfield as we have loved all the National Parks we have visited but they are all so different.
We then had to retrace our steps back south on the Stuart Highway on the same road we had travelled about 4 weeks earlier. We decided to do as many kilometres a day as we could as we would be travelling along this same route next year on our way west. We travelled over 550 kms. a day for the next 3 days. It was very hard going, especially for Jim doing the driving. We stayed in road houses every night and didn't even bother to unhitch the caravan. These road houses consist of a pub, petrol station, shop, restaurant and caravan park. They are all different and some are much better than others. We stayed at Daly Waters again but this time at the roadhouse on the highway and when registering we were given a voucher for a free beer and wine and that night they had entertainment. The place was full with a tour bus being booked in as well and it was really jumping. What a great night we had. On the road between Barkly Homestead we came across a remote police station at Avon Station. This station is miles and miles from the nearest town and then it would only be a road house. We travelled over the Barkly Tableland which is a plateau just covered with Mitchell grass for as far as the eye can see. This is good beef country but we didn't see many cattle because of the vastness of the area. We did see a group of drovers though rounding up a group of Brahman cattle. It was a great sight to see; just like in the movie “Australia”
We are now in Mount Isa which is a mining town of about 25,000 people. It is in the middle of the outback and the mines are the mainstay of the area. They mine copper, zinc, silver and lead. The mine dominates the whole township with shafts and chimneys and vents all over the place. It is a huge complex with road trains and railway lines linking the output to the rest of Australia and the world. Today we visited Lake Moondarra which is a vast expanse of water in the middle of nowhere that supplies water to Mount Isa and the mines. It is a lovely tranquil spot where you can swim, fish and boat. Australia is certainly a land of contrasts. Tomorrow we are going to have our first game of golf on this trip. Up to now it has either been too cold or too hot. The temperature has certainly dropped since we left Darwin and we are no back into the low 20s which seem cold to us after what we have had. There is a cool wind blowing from the south most days and this comes from the desert which is over the side of the hills that surround Mount Isa.
We move on in a couple of days to Normanton and up to the Gulf of Carpenteria which we are really looking forward to. My next epistle will probably come from Cairns where we are meeting up with friends from Waikanae and Raumati. Really looking forward to that.