Nov 2007

We are staying at Gympie which is 160 Km north of Brisbane decided to treat ourselves to an ensuite site. We’ve not had one since Broome and felt we deserved to treat ourselves. The main reason for staying here instead of going all the way to Brisbane was firstly to break up the trip, and secondly to give us give a place to stay which is close enough to Australia Zoo.

We spent the day there and were impressed by the cleanliness of the enclosures and the facilities for the visitors. Stand outs for us were the tigers, kangaroos (which we hand fed), and the otters. However, it is very tourist oriented and the live shows were simplistic mainly aimed at kids, and those who don’t have a clue about animals. We felt like we were watching the Wiggles rather than a wildlife show. If you want to find out more info, click onto their web site here

We are starting to get close to Brisbane now (just over 600 K’s) and we wanted to have a couple more stays before we got there. One of these places is a town which has the distinction of being the only one in Australia to have a number as it’s name – 1770. Those of you with an eye for history will understand the significance of this number as it is the year Captain Cook first came to Australia. There is a small monument here commemorating where he landed and there is a festival every year in May commemorating this event. The town is referred to as the birthplace of Queensland as this is the first place where the British came ashore.

1770 is located on a peninsula which has very steep hills at the end of it, and this provided a good opportunity for Denise and I go exploring. We ended up on the edge of a cliff admiring the stunning view across the ocean whilst watching the water crashing over the rocks. It was one of those experiences which recharges the batteries and makes it hard for you to leave.

Rockhampton is located on the Tropic of Capricorn, so this will be our last stop in the tropics. This is almost at the exact place on the east coast as Coral Bay in on the west coast, but the difference in landscape shows how diverse this country of ours is.

Any hope we had of drying our stuff evaporated (pardon the pun) approximately 40 Kilometres north of Rockhampton as we passed through some of the heaviest rain we’ve encountered on this trip. By the time we reached our caravan park site, the rain was falling lightly until the time we needed to start setting up when it proceeded to bucket down. It rained non stop at this rate for another 8 hours well into the evening with me running around in my spray jacket getting things tied down. I was told by someone in the office that Rockhampton had received nearly 100mm of rain in the past 2 days!

However, the rain did finally stop and after we get settled had a nice dinner at the bistro on site which was a nice way to finish the day considering our aquatic activities. This caravan park had a bath in the ablution block and we all indulged in a good soak, something we haven’t had since we left Perth just over 3 months ago.

We are staying in Rockhampton for 3 days, and it did not rain any more which gave us the chance to get everything washed and dried, and before long were back in business. We did a lot of relaxing on this stop and met some nice people from Tasmania and Canberra and spent a pleasant evening with them swapping tales and enjoying each others company.

Denise and I were lucky enough to be able to vote in the upcoming Federal election at the Electoral Commission office, so it’s good to have that one out of the way. It’ll be great to travel soon without having to see all the electioneering nailed to every second tree we go past!

We also spent an afternoon looking over the seaside town of Yeppoon which is approx 60 K’s from Rockhampton. We had lunch in a tavern which offered counter lunches for $10 each which was excellent value considering some of the places we have eaten at to date.

We decided to stay in Mackay for 3 days just to slow the pace down a bit, as the constant packing and unpacking gets a bit tiresome after a while. We stayed in a Caravan Park in North Mackay which was close to shops and the city itself. The park was teeming with all sorts of birds, but ducks were the prominent ones and lorikeets joined them for a daily feeding just after 4.30 in the afternoon.

We also drove south of Mackay to a town called Sabina where there is a museum and replica Sugar Mill which we thought would be good to look at seeing we’ve been in sugar cane growing country since we started heading south from Cairns. Unfortunately we were 10 minutes late for the tour and as the next one didn’t start for another hour and a half, so we decided to cut our losses and head back to Mackay. We had a look at some of the beaches and ended up at a pub on the top of a hill overlooking the the ocean and some of the numerous islands which form part of the Whitsundays.

On the last day of our stay, the clouds that had been threatening some rain finally came good and gave us a good soaking. It’s obvious by the surrounding countryside that water is not a problem, and with the wet season upon us it’s time to get the brollys out. Unfortunately we had so much rain overnight, that the roof of the annexe collapsed under the weight of the water on it and soaked Danii as she was asleep. In fact the whole annexe was soaked, but we had a few hours of sunlight before we left and we able to get most of our gear dried out. However, there were some items which we couldn’t get dry in time, and we had to leave it in a damp smelly heap in the boot of the car with the hope that we can get it dried out at our next stop, Rockhampton.

After saying goodbye to Cairns, it was time to head southwards with our first stop being Townsville. We only passed through here on the way to Cairns, so we are staying here for a couple of days to have a look. We used our time in Townsville to relax and had a look around the CBD and watched a movie (Saw IV) to get out of the warm weather.

After 11 days of overnight stops (except for 2 in Mt Isa) it was time to stop for a while, and Cairns was it. This is one happening place. On our first night we went to the Night Markets which are open 7 days a week from 4.30 to 10 pm. This was located on the foreshore precinct which was buzzing with activity, with shops and various eateries open. We settled in an Irish pub for a few relaxing drinks to finish off the day.

As we wanted to see a few sights while we were here, we spent one day at the Kuranda Wildlife Park which is only 30 Kilometres west of Cairns over the mountains. We were treated to a stunning drive there, as we wound though numerous hairpin bends through the rain forest. We were lucky as there were not many visitors and virtually had the park to ourselves. There was all types of animals including, Lions, Tigers, Bears, Rhinoceros, Deer, Ostriches, Hippos, Monkeys, Goats, Peacocks and a Dingo Pup. It was a great day and recommend you visit if you’re in the area.

The next day we went on the Skyrail to Kuranda which is a 7 Kilometre Cablecar ride over the rain forest canopy in the mountains overlooking Cairns. There are 2 intermediate stations en route where you get off and explore the rain forest where there is an Interpretive Centre and guided tour by one of the Rangers. To say it was stunning is an understatement. As we left the second stop the rain clouds came over the mountains and we were in the midst of the rain as it was falling on the canopy below.

At the end of the Skyrail was the town of Kuranda where we had lunch at the local pub and spent the rest of our time there checking out the numerous markets. There was also a bird and butterfly sanctuary to visit, but we did not get to see them due to a lack of time. It was time to hop onto to the Kuranda Scenic Railway which wound it’s way down the Barron River Gorge for one of the most picturesque railways in Australia.

All in all, Cairns has been one our best stops since leaving Perth and we were sad to leave.

In the morning just as we had packed up and was ready to head off, I noticed the tread had come away from one of the tyres. We couldn’t travel on this, so after a bit of driving around, found a tyre shop to replace the tyre. It turned out that the other 3 tyres had very little tread and would be lucky to last another 5000 kilometres! So I bit the bullet and forked out for 4 new tyres for the van (and $400 later), but as this is our home and we will be travelling through a lot of isolated countryside, so it made good sense to do so. This is now the 6th tyre we’ve had to replace since leaving Perth (2 for the car as well as these 4 van tyres). In the end, we didn’t leave Mt Isa until just before 1pm which meant we were going to be late at our next stop, Julia Creek.

Julia Creek is a small town in cattle farming country on the Barkly Highway which runs from Mt Isa to Townsville on the coast (just over 900 Kilometres). We will need to make 2 overnight stops with Julia Creek being the first. As the sun went down we were treated to a beautiful colour display in the sky as the clouds were building to a storm as the sun was setting. However, the storm did not eventuate, and after sunset we were treated to a beautiful full moon which highlighted the night sky for us. We sat outside with a couple of drinks soaking up the atmosphere for the rest of the evening – it doesn’t get much better than this.

After another 250 Kilometres travelling west along the Flinders Hwy (Barkly Hwy), we pull into the town of Hughenden which is our next overnight stop. After setting up we head into town to stock up supplies only to find the whole town shuts down at midday on a Saturday. Having arrived there in mid afternoon, there was nowhere for us to buy food for tonight’s dinner. We noticed a couple of pubs and a Chinese restaurant so it looks like we’re eating out tonight. We decided on Chinese and it tuned out to be one of the best Chinese meals in a while – quite the little gem in an oasis.

In the main street there is a quaint little shelter made from windmill rotors and a café called F.J. Holden which is a 50’s style diner with an Aussie flavour. It’s actually owned by F & J Holden!

After getting all packed up again, we jumped back onto the Flinders Hwy and continued west. This is the main highway between Mt Isa and Townsville on the coast, but the section is this part of the country is one of the worst pieces of bitumen we have driven on so far. The road has a lot of dips and on a couple of occasions, the tow hitch bottomed out on the road. I had to drive the car a lot slower which was going to make for a long journey, as our this stretch is almost 450 Kilometres.

We stopped at Charters Towers for lunch, a delightful town which is the last major centre before the coast at Townsville. After depositing the car and van on the main street, we had some good old fashioned pub grub. One thing we couldn’t help but notice was the pokies which you won’t find anywhere in WA (except for the casino). Unfortunately it spoiled our dining experience with the incessant ker-chinking and blipping of the machines. Despite that, we had lunch and set off on our final leg.

After the long drive from Hughenden we finally arrived at our destination, Rollingstone which is a beachside village approximately 60 Kilometres north of Townsville. After setting up and a BBQ tea, we sat on the beach and watched the moon rise over the ocean, a strange sight for west coasters! It was lovely and a perfect way to end a long day travelling.

The wind we encountered overnight has not let up so we are fighting a brisk wind all the way towards Queensland. Added to that is the slow climb onto the Barkly Tablelands and as a result, the car is using more fuel than normal. After travelling for just over 250 Kilometres, it’s time to move our clocks forward half an hour as we cross the border into Queensland.

Just 13 Kilometres over the border was the first town in Queensland, Camooweal where we stopped for lunch. We set off again and just after 200 Kilometres, arrive in Mt Isa which is a large regional centre because of the mining activity there. We were feeling pretty tired after nearly 6 hours of travelling and as soon as we had unpacked enough, set ourselves into relaxation mode. This has been the longest distance we have travelled in a day since we left Perth just over 12 weeks (87 days to be precise) ago.

We spent our free day here looking around the town and doing a spot of shopping here and there. Despite it’s size, it has a laid back feel about it but was quite warm which is fairly standard for this part of the world. Just behind the caravan park was a lookout which we climbed and had a good 360 degree view of the area.

It's time for us to keep moving towards the east coast and the nearest coastal town is Townsville just over 900 Kilometres from here, so there are a couple more overnight stops to come.