Tuesday 13 August 2013

0051 Rosedale to Gold Coast

A very heavy dew this morning - It was almost as if it had rained.  But we got packed up fairly quickly, found the showers were actually quite good !!, and hit the road at about 8.30 am.

We were already on back road, and somehow we managed to stay on back roads for the next 2-3 hours !!   We got down to a single lane black top road, and then this then became a dirt road for about 20 kms !!  We started to wonder if we were on the right road !  Finally, just before Gympie, we got back on the main road, and then went into Cooroy for a bite to eat and a coffee.   Found a delightful little country town, so went to the bakery, had an excellent home made pie, and then did some veggie and meat shopping in the little greengrocers and the butchers, so we wouldn't have to shop as soon as we got home.

0050 Yeppoon to Rosedale

All good things have to end sometime I suppose, and it was time to leave Solitaire and Jamie and Susie, an after a blissful 3 days out at Keppel Island, head back do the rod towards the Gold Coast.   After having another shower in the marina facilities (too good n opportunity to miss !!), we then had a great breakfast and coffee there with Jamie and Susie before we hit the road south.  Thank you both SO much for a delightful time on Solitaire - Laughs like that are hard to come by - You are good friends.

0049 Yeppoon 8th - 11th August

Thursday 8th August.
Very leisurely morning as we were going to be here for 2 nights, so for a change there was no packing up to do !!! 
Jamie and Susie came over at about lunch time, and we just had sandwiches and some wine sitting in the camp site.   We only carry two of everything in Troopie, so as we only had 2 chairs, the girls got those, and I sat on the ground, while Jamie got the throne of honour - The Porta Potti !!  This is a very important part of travelling, especially at about 3 am on a cold morning when the camp site loos are a looooooong way away !!

That evening we went to a good little Thai restaurant in Yeppoon, and decided that as the weather forecast for the next few days was good, we would venture out on Solitaire the next morning, leaving Troopie parked in the marina car park.   So after meal and wine etc, we went back to the van and slept like logs, preparing ourselves for a life on the ocean waves for a few days.

0048 Jericho to Yeppoon 7th August

Leisurely wake up in Jericho, good showers and toilets for a showgrounds, cool morning so we had porridge, and then headed out.  On leaving the campsite we were confronted with one of two bad aspects of “free campers”.  We too like to free camp where possible / suitable, but there are certain rules to follow in doing so.  Do not free camp near a town or a paying campsite – It only gets people upset.  And don’t use the facilities of paying campsites without paying.  So coming out of the campsite, we see a motorhome parked outside the campsite, with the couple heading into the campsite with towels etc for a free shower and use of the toilets.  Everyone there had paid for these showers, so it got all the campers upset, plus the people in the motorhome had a shower and toilet in their motorhome anyway.    Just not on, and eventually ruins it for everyone else, and gets a lot of local people “anti” free-campers – and rightly so.   Rant over.

0047 Longreach to Jericho 6th August

No, I didn’t know there was a place called Jericho in Queensland until today either !!!  Ah well – We live and learn. 

Very pleasant campsite in Longreach – it was big, and there were a lot of people there, but where we were located – In the unpowered section right next to an (unfortunately dry) billabong, there was hardly anyone.  And the showers and facilities were probably the nicest of any camp site on the whole trip.   I cooked a fry- up breakfast that, though I say it myself, was yummy, and then we packed up, filled up our built-in 50 litre water tank, and then set off into Longreach to the Stockman’s Hall of Fame. 

0046 Winton to Longreach 5th August

Jumbuks and dinosaurs !!!  As so often happens when you travel on the open road, things are always different from what you expect !!  And often better.

We packed up camp and headed into the Waltzing Matilda centre in Winton. As mentioned yesterday, all around here is where Banjo Patterson got the idea for and composed the song, but Winton is where it was first performed in public.  The centre is excellent, but there is only so much one can talk about a song, so it ends up being more a Winton Museum than a Waltzing Matilda Museum.  Nevertheless, it was most enjoyable, taught us a lot, and I would recommend that anyone travelling through Winton should spend time to visit.  It is right on the high street.

0045 Cloncurry to Winton 4th August

While at the Cloncurry rodeo last night we had found out that they had a breakfast and bush poetry readings taking place from 8 am till about 11 am, and as I love my Banjo Paterson poetry (remember Mulga Bill’s Bicycle when I fell of my bicycle in the USA last year ?), and am not impartial to a good breakfast, we packed up early at Wal’s Camp, and went back down to the rodeo grounds.

0044 Mt Isa to Cloncurry 3rd August

The roadside camp was really very good – if they were all that good, we wouldn’t need to go into camp sites. They were having some cycle race from Isa to the border – Some 75 kms – and as we were at the 50 km mark, it was a refreshment / change over point, so as we had our breakfast, suddenly lots of shouting people !  In the middle of no where !!

0043 Barkly Homestead to Mt Isa 2nd Aug


0042  Barkly Homestead to Mt Isa  2nd Aug

Happy birthday to me...........
Lazy morning getting packed up and having breakfast, and GREAT showers !!  We then set off up the side road to Sophie’s – It was black top, but there was only one lane, which meant you have to put 2 wheels off into the dirt when you pass oncoming traffic. And there was a surprising amount of traffic because this road north leads to the Gulf of Carpentaria where there is a lot of good fishing, so lots of people go up there camping.  And they all seemed to be coming back !!   Also lots of cattle on the road, and quite a few dead ones too – Bad road for livestock out there.  Lot of nothing too, as you can see from the photos. 

0042 Daly Waters to Barkly Homestead 1st Aug

More amazingly boring roads !!  Lots of road kill, with the usual swarms of kites having a feast !  After an hour or two we came to Newcastle Waters which used to be an important stop on the route north, with water available.  Now it is totally deserted and abandoned, except for a property which is the homestead for the cattle run on the surrounding country side – And ironically we were to learn later that a friend of ours whose boyfriend is a stockman / drover comes and does contract work on this property each year ! 

0041 Cooinda to Daly Waters 31st July

Up, breakfasted and packed up after a good shower.  (We seem to be rating this trip on the condition of the showers in each campsite !!! Cleanliness, hooks to hang things on, water pressure, water temp, etc !!)  Drove for a couple of hours with nothing major to see as Cooinda was really the last major attraction in Kakadu – There were a couple more walks to Aboriginal Rock Paintings but we felt we had kind of “done them” by now !   Got to leave something for next time, right ??   When it was about time for a coffee break we arrived in Pine Creek so stopped at the Lazy Lizard Tavern.  As usual, fascinating inside features, complete with wooden hand basins in the loo carved from a solid tree trunk !!  And also as usual, a European back packer behind the bar – This time French !!  I think the only Australian who has served us on our whole trip was in William Creek several weeks ago, and he was the only Aussie amongst 3 Euro backpackers in the bar !!  Anyway, as usual I digress.   They offered scones and jam and cream, so how could we refuse ?  They were delicious – A bit more like corn bread than scones, but delicious just the same.

0040 Jabiru to Cooinda 30th July

Whilst packing up and eating breakfast, we were surrounded by a flock of white cockatoos, screeching and squawking as they fossicked for food right beside us.  We then drove into town, visited the famous Crocodile shaped hotel where they have some great aboriginal art and displays, before heading to the local supermarket to stock up on a few supplies. Then down to the bakery for some fresh bread and something to munch on (!!) before heading out to the Ranger Uranium Mine which we had been told was worth a look and even did tours.  However we found the tours had been stopped a couple of years ago so just did a drive around the little bit we could – The size of the operation is immense.  Obviously a political hot potato as well, and often in the news, so good to get a quick look.

0039 Corroboree to Jabiru 29th July

 Up fairly early in the beautiful cool of the morning, a quick breakfast and shower, and a view of some local water buffalo and wild pigs on the property, and then we hit the road towards Kakadu NP.   First stop a half hour up the road was The Bark Hut Inn, for a coffee. Just as we were leaving, Warren pulled up on his motorcycle, so we had a quick chat, and then were back on the road (after one false start after we realised Janet had left her handbag behind !  Luckily we had only got about 2 kms up the road before she realised !!   We entered the National Park, but the vegetation was just the same old scrub as before – Most unimpressive.  Then suddenly it changed to open wet lands – An amazing change, and then not long afterwards all the vegetation changed to a type of palm.  

0038 Darwin to Corroboree 28th July.

Not really a very good camp site in Darwin – Close to full due to the local Agricultural Show,  it was also the most expensive on the trip so far at $49 for 2 people for one night.  A powered site was only $52 !! (But none available  !!).  But they seem to be trying to do away with unpowered sites round here, apparently because (some) backpackers come in, use all the amenities, make a mess, make a noise, charge all their computers and phones on their electricity, and then leave.  Unfortunate, but the few are ruining it for the rest.    Anyway, met a very nice S African / Kiwi / Australian guy, Warren, from Melbourne doing a similar route to us but on a BMW motorcycle, so chatted to him last night and this morning, and then we slowly packed up, filled the water tank, and set off to explore Darwin.