Caravanning and RVing in Australia

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Day 54 August 1st. On the road again at last. No destination really planned but I thought I'd make it an easy day till I find my feet again as it were.

Took the van to the car wash before leaving Katherine so it looks much more presentable although the stone damage to the front looks a bit sad.



Out of town by 10.30 and a leisurely drive down to Maturanka where I visited the Homestead, had a cursory look at the replica of the homestead made famous by Jeanie Gunn in her book 'We of the Never Never', and had a bite to eat.










Then decided that I'd gone far enough so drove out to Elsey National Park for a night in the bush





I went down to the boat ramp on the river and that was a mistake because it brought back memories of Anne and Don and me paddling off down the river in a canoe with Vi standing on the shore videoing our departure. A good memory but I do miss her!
















The fridge wouldn't light on gas so I used an old trick - I took the bottom vent off, pushed the control in by  jamming the fly-swat handle against it and trapped it in the fridge door. Then used the gas lighter to light the pilot. It works!

I'd stopped travelling by 2.30 and the solar panels are out but the batteries were full after just 30 minutes charging. 

Perfect weather with clear blue skies and warm sunshine. In fact a bit hot when I walked down to the river.

Day 55
This was a full on travel day with nothing very remarkable to write about during the day's 400+km. It was mostly through low woodland with no distant views. I saw a roo on the way back from Elsey NP to the main road but very little wildlife after that apart from lots of birds. At Daly Waters I made the decision to take the lonely and quiet road to Cape Crawford and from there to Barkly Homestead. It's about the same distance as the main road but very different.

However things looked up after I'd found a nice little campsite beside an almost dry river. There were just two other vans there and one couple invited me for 'happy hour'. We got on famously and next thing out came an unopened bottle of Rum Port - a delicious drop and tongues wagged freely. They had a fire and a camp oven with a 'stew' that smelled delicious. It tasted good as well because they came over and invited me to share there repast. A lovely evening.

Day 56



Another travel day. There's no lpg from Daly Waters to Barkly Homestead - a distance of some 5 or 600km so I used my old trick of using petrol for the first stint and topped it up at Heartbreak Hotel, then used the tankful of gas till it ran out and completed the trip to Barkly Homestead on petrol.










It was hilly and interesting around Cape Crawford but then very flat on the Barkly Tablelan
























 I stopped to take a pic of an old wrecked caravan - I wonder what the story was with that to have caused it to be abandoned.

The only thing of interest were the cattle  - there were no fences so you had to watch for straying beasts! A few km from Barkly and the mobile came to life - a text from Sue. Just after I'd answered it it rang again - son Chris on the line. Perfect timing!


After I'd refuelled I found a spot to park and fired up the computer to check on all the email I'd missed over the past three days. It was daunting - but I picked out the most important to answer, rang Sue and Jackie and then got back on the road.

I'm in a rest area about 40km on from the Homestead so I should make Mt Isa tomorrow. Then I'll prop for a couple of days and really catch up.

Day 57  


This didn't start out as a good day! It would have been our 56th Wedding Anniversary and I was feeling a bit down. Then I turned on the radio and found it was Mt Isa Rodeo week and the town was full to bursting. As soon as I got mobile reception near Camooweal I rang every caravan park in Mt Isa.

All full - sorry! I particularly wanted to stay in the Isa as Tony and Denyse Allsop - fellow Caravan World scribes - were in town and I wanted to catch up. Also I had arranged for mail to be sent there and if it hadn't arrived I'd have to bush camp somewhere and go back in next day.



Every cloud has a silver lining they say and that's how it was. The mail was there! When I went to the park where T & D were staying the manager Allen, was someone I knew from Caravan Shows and he found me a powered site although they were full.

Not only that, but he had invited T&D for a bbq and then included me, It was great catching up and then the five of us enjoyed a lovely evening together with great food and many caravanning tales.

Day 58 I filled both water tanks before leaving the site and as the sprinklers were on near the tap I got a free cold shower!

A reminder came from Rachael so I wrote a "On the Wallaby' column before moving off and sent it to Caravan World. I then went back into town and mailed a story with pictures for the CW Yearbook and did some shopping. It was nearly 11am before I finally got away and all the way to Cloncurry I kept meeting horse transporters on the way to the Rodeo.


I spent the evening in a rest area north of the Burke and Wills Roadhouse where the price of LPG was one of the highest yet at $1.20 a litre.


Here's where I set up the satellite dish for the first time in weeks and found there was no reception and had to wait while it was re-activated. Then it was good although I'd left the transformer switched on from the night before. You can't charge batteries from themselves although the inverter had a good try and got a bit hot and bothered in the process.

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Day 59 Like I said - today was laundry day and the washing was dry in less than an hour! It was nearly the day I bought a web cam - there was one advertised on the laundry notice board for $30 and it had very little use. The lady had bought a new laptop with in-built camera. Unfortunately it wasn't Mac compatable. Didn't really need one anyway!

This was really a rest day and I didn't do a great deal except go to the pub for dinner where a nice couple invited me to share their table. The barman looked a bit surprised when I ordered a bottle of Wolf Blass shiraz and only ONE glass! I said, "I'm walking home so don't worry!"

Day 60 I decided to move on today - I still have plenty of time before the muster on 24th Sept. but I do want to spend some time on the FNQ coast before going south.

Remember the old saying - "Never smile at a crocodile!"

I'm bush camped tonight in a lovely quiet rest area about seventy km east of Croydon and there are plants near the river that look like chocos. I'm not game to try one - particularly as I don't like the cultivated ones either!

With at least two hours of sunlight left when I stopped driving, I was able to get out the solar panels and put some charge back into the batteries  This meant I could set up the sat dish and watch a bit of telly tonight - it gets easier each time to set up and find the satellite.

I felt a bit tired tonight when I stopped driving - I suppose it's a result of the cellulitis and all the drugs they pumped into me to fight it. The old body ain't what it used to be!



Day 61 






This was a day mostly spend on the Savannah Way - the highway that I remember from a trip I did on my own long ago when it was unsealed for most of the way. Nowadays it's mostly two lane sealed road and even the single lane is quite good.

You still have to watch out for cattle on a road that doesn't have a great deal of scenic attraction except when traversing the Newcastle Range when it becomes quite dramatic.

At the end of the day I finished up on the Atherton Tableland before descending the Dividing Range and spending the night in the Henrietta Creek Campground in the Palmerston National Park. Here I was amazed at how the trees and undergrowth has recovered from the devestation of Cyclone Larry.

Day 62
I didn't feel like breakfast this morning - it was quite cold where I was and I wanted to get out of the trees and into the sunshine to warm up. I heard the cold forecasts for the rest of Australia but that didn't make me seem warm.
When I came out of McDonalds in Innisfail having consumed a multi-grain roll with bacon, cheese, beef and an egg, I felt great and starting to be warm.

 I wasn't impressed by a car and caravan parked across the road with a very poor towing set up. The inadequate round  bars should have been replaced with a HR Weight distributing hitch in my opinion - the steering must have been dangerously light.

Murphy took a hand this afternoon when he led me under a low bridge. There were warning signs but it looked OK to me. Unfortunately it wasn't and I hit the rear four-seasonts hatch and tore one side out. I'm afraid it will mean a visit to a caravan repair shop tomorrow because in the unlikely event of rain it would let the water in.

Day 63
This has been a roller coaster of a day! It started badly because when I rang CIL Insurance thay could find no record of a policy in my name. This was despite intensive searches so I don't know what's happened there as I've been with them for a great many years.

I found an excellent caravan repair place in Townsville and TomTom took me straight to them. Fortunately they had a new hatch in stock and the time to fit it. When I got back it was all finished and ready to go. The price of $590 was not too bad but when I get home I'll be looking up my policy and trying to claim it back.


I went sightseeing with a drive up Castle Hill and did some shopping while they worked on the van.

The monument was originally in Sydney but is recognition of the role that Capt. Robert Towns played in the founding of
Townsville.
 
The day was now getting a bit spent so I abandoned my plan of getting to Seaforth or Smalleys Beach and decided to stay in Bowen - maybe for a few days. However when I got to Queens Beach where we used to stay and go to Bingo on Fridays, I'm afraid the lump in my throat was too great and I drove straight past. The other parks along the eastern beaches were all showing 'No Vacancy' signs so I settled for just one night out on the highway at the Bowen Caravan Village where I've got a drive through site and can head off with a minimum of fuss in the morning.

Day 64 I had a good chat with park owner Russell before leaving. I wrote the park up a couple of years ago and my story is still on their office notice board.

In Proserpine I went to the Post Office and posted two books - one to a customer and one for the monthly prize for GoSeeAustralia.




It was a bit windy today and as I approached the Proserpine Sugar Mill the smoke from the chimney was almost horizontal. I did a bit of shopping and then headed down the busy highway to the Seaforth turnoff.

When I got to Smalley's Beach every site was full - there are only ten all together. Fortunately the nice people on my favourite site 2 invited me to share their site so here I am and I can hear the waves breaking on the shore so the tide must be nearly fully in.


I wasn't sure I'd get internet coverage here as it's been difficult in previous years. However with just my short external antenna I got on OK and to test it I used MSN Messenger for a three way conversation so it should be alright for the Board Meeting on Sunday night.

It's cold here with a wind chill factor and tonight I put on long pants for the first time in weeks. I'll be in bed early tonight to get warm.

Day 65 Not too much to write about today - just a peaceful, restful day. I did give the top of the gas stove a good clean. The top is held down with springs so is not easy to get too normally and it had reached a disgraceful state! With travelling every day for a while, housekeeping had been a bit neglected. Now I've come to a halt for a while and can catch up with a few things.

The neighbors are leaving tomorrow so I'll be able to move on to my favourite site when they go. They are nice people and we have shared experiences each afternoon while looking out at the incoming tide from under their awning.

Day 66

Today after moving to the site above, I went into Seaforth to get rid of rubbish, collect some water and do some shopping. The old rubbish tip has gone and there's a new modern Refuse Station. It's only open Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday so today being Thursday it was locked! There are bins in town though.

There have been changes at the campground as well. You have to pay at the store who then issue a card to open the boom-gate so no driving round to see if there's anyone in that you know. The fees have gone up as well - it's now $17 a night (up to 6 people on a site though) or $77 a week which I think is reasonable. There's no power but there are toilets and coin operated showers. A new amenities block is under construction - I guess that will mean another rate rise next year.

For two days I've had no trouble getting an internet connection and then tonight I couldn't get one at all. I thought maybe something was astray with the computer but I jumped in the car and went to somewhere I know there's a NextG signal and it worked fine. I'm a bit concerned because there's a Board meeting this Sunday and I don't want drop-outs. I'll go into Mackay tomorrow and investigate a better antenna.

The shop didn't have anything I wanted for dinner so I settled with a 3-egg omelet with bacon, onion, celery and capsicum filling with bread and butter. Gee - it's a hard life!

Day 67 The cupboard wasn't bare but the choices were limited so today was a shopping day in Mackay. No.1 on the list was a more powerful antenna for the wireless modem and I found one that's twice as powerful as the one I've been using. Stupid thing is the old one worked perfectly tonight but I'll still hook the new one up for Sunday's meeting.







My Bunnings directors chair is looking a bit sad with tears in the back rest so I bit the bullet and lashed out for a u-beaut padded chair from BCF. (I couldn't remember the initials until a neighbour told me it stood for Boating Camping Fishing!) It's very comfortable and the back rest is easily adjustable just by lifting the armrests.

It certainly is a huge store and I spotted their price for 9kg gas refills - $22. I was lucky as I had an empty cylinder with me and had decided against a Swap 'n Go one for $34.50 at a servo on the way there.

I wake in the mornings to the sound of kookaburra's raucious laughter - I wonder what they find so funny? There are kangaroos here as well but they stay hidden most of the time.

I set up my Hot Ozzie Barby for the first time this trip and cooked a floured flake fillet, scallop potatoes, onion rings and button mushrooms. It was yummy - my appetite is finally returning after weeks of no interest in food - or dare I say it - red wine!



Day 68 Today I spent a bit of time preparing for tomorrow night's meeting of the Australian Caravan Club's Board. Printed out all the reports, minutes and agenda. Then I couldn't open a picture of a proposed ACC flag so Skyped the secretary and got him to email in a form I could open.







After watching this marvellous sunset I went into Seaforth and had dinner at the Bowling Club - yummy pork chops with Hollandaise Sauce!

Rex and Dawn from the next site were there as well so I joined them for dinner - good company. Then I made my annual donation to the Bowling Club via the pokies!

Day 72
I won't bore you with what I cooked and ate today.

The mail was in when I went to Seaforth but my mundane trip was livened up by the nefarious Murphy who had been laying low for a few days. I offered to pick up some bread for some new neighbors and said I needed some myself. I hadn't reckoned on leaving my wallet in the van!

In the shop I put a sliced loaf on the counter and counted out my small change. I had $3.45. The loaf was $3.85! Oh dear - what to do? There's another shop in the little township and I asked them how much their cheapest bread cost. "$3.40 for the Bushman's," she said. What a relief - at least I could deliver the loaf to the neighbors and I didn't really need any till tomorrow myself.

The mail was thrilling - not. Bank statements, an invoice for  lpg cylinder rental at home, CentreLink information about exchange rates used to determine UK Pension rates, a remittance advice from Caravan World  and not much else.

Day 73

While there I remembered Vi's love of poker machines so invested $20. She would have gone home with $4 profit but weak-willed me put it all back in!

By the time I'd done my weekly shopping in the Mt Pleasant Coles it was mid-afternoon and by the time I got back to Smalleys Beach it was time for a cup of coffee before putting all the shopping away.

I saw a couple of dolphins in the sea as I sipped, but by the time I'd got the binoculars they had disappeared.

Food news? Sausages in bread with tomato sauce - don't forget I had rare rump steak for lunch!

Day 74



Kookie's one of the choristers that greet the new day with raucous laughter. He and his mates come when I'm having afternoon coffee and expect to get a share of whatever I'm nibbling.

 Sometimes they are lucky! There was an interesting interlude this morning and I think Kookie would have been chuckling if he saw it.

A couple came in with a big motor-home towing a trailer with a 4x4 and boat on it. Instead of doing a recce on foot they drove partly in and then realised the road didn't go anywhere and they were stuck unless they turned around or backed out and there wasn't room for either!

I eventually went out and offered some advice - if they drove up to site 4/5 there would be room so they could drive in and reverse out the other way. It worked and they drove off muttering that 'Camps 4' had said 'Suitable for big rigs'. Yes - but there's 'Big' and there's ' B..... Big'!

Would you have driven up here without looking first?

Back to winter today and in the afternoon I had to put the awning in as the wind was getting strong and boisterous.






Day 75- Day 76 - Day 77 I've linked these three days together because not a great deal happened on any of them. They were Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I went to the Seaforth Bowling Club for dinner on Saturday and while playing the pokies for a little while, a fellow came across and said, "Are you Lionel?" Turns out we had a chat at Cooktown last year and he lives one street over from Smalleys Beach where I'm camped. He arranged to come for a visit on Sunday afternoon and we had quite an interesting couple of hours chatting about caravanning and travel. He's coming again tomorrow for another 'Happy Hour'.

Day 78 This morning I made what should have been a nice lamb curry but somehow it didn't taste right when I sampled it. It seemed to have the right ingredients but was lacking the right flavour.

Alan had arranged to come over again at 4 o'clock for another chat and at 3.30 I realised that the missing ingredient was coconut milk! There was none in the cupboard so a rush trip into Seaforth was made and the taste was right. There's enough for another night as well as plenty of rice.

Day 79
There were a few things I needed so that meant a trip into Mackay. I didn't go the direct way but took a quiet back road through canefields and wooded hills to Habana and then on to Mount Pleasant shopping centre. There's a few km of unsealed road on this route but it wasn't the Oodnadatta Track!

I had a Coles fuel discount docket so filled up with lpg at a Shell servo before leaving Mackay. It was 74 cents/litre less the 4 cents discount and when I checked at Coningsby on the way home it was 84 cents/litre and no discount. That was the same place that wanted $34 for a swap 'n go 9kg gas cylinder and I got it refilled for $22 at BCF in Mackay.

Day 80 I had a call from my friend Roy last night. It was really quite awkward because I had the mobile connected to an antenna on the roof of the caravan with the lead coming in through a window and as the battery doesn't seem to hold charge too long I also had it plugged in to the charger. This has a short lead and it meant I had to stand up while we chatted. That didn't do my leg much good so we didn't talk as long as we wished - never mind Roy - there's always another day.

I found out on a forum that Telstra had announced some new plans so I rang up and checked. I was on a Mobile Broadband that only gave me 200mg a month for $48. Now I have swapped to a plan that gives me 3gb a month for $44 for the first year and then it goes up to $89/month. My useage has always been far more than 200mg while travelling and I was always hit for a huge excess. Hopefully that's a thing of the past. I also had a high mobile bill while on the road as all calls to my home phone are diverted to the mobile plus I use it to call our daughter in Adelaide at least once a week. The helpful Telstra lady changed this over to a plan that will save me money as well so that's good. Fortunately Sue in Victoria has Skype so we can talk for ever at no cost except for computer useage.

I like this place and have decided to stay here at least until after the weekend. I'm leading a pretty lazy life at the moment. Coffee and pills when I wake up around 6.30 - 7am. Read a bit. Get up and put on the dressing gown and go out and light the hot water system. Fire up the computer and check uemails while the water heats up, have a shower, ponder what to have for breakfast, go outside and watch the sea while I eat. After that it's a choice of more computing, reading, going for a walk on the beach, driving into Seaforth to get some water and dispose of rubbish and so on..... not too exciting but very relaxing.

Day 81
I'd thought that I might go into Mackay today and do the washing but when I got up and found the gas had run out and the fridge was not working that decided it. After I'd changed the gas cylinder over, the fridge wouldn't re-light so I had to take the panel off and light it that way again. I don't know if you remember but I jam the handle of a fly swat in the fridge door to hold the selector in while I go outside and use a gas lighter to light the pilot light. When you are on your own you have to improvise at times.  Only a pork chop in the freezer showed signs of thawing so that settled what's for tea tonight! My Hot Ossie Barby has come into its own here at Smalleys Beach

I rang Keith at the Mornington Caravan Park to ask him to send my mail to Seaforth again and he told me there's a large package from Telstra. I wonder what it is? It came by courier so he can't just re-address it. I then rang daughter Sue to ask her to get the package and open it to see if it's anything I should have that she could post to me. I did upgrade my mobile broadband plan so I wonder if it's a new modem. Time will tell.

The solar panels did a good job today so I had plenty of power to watch Poirott. It was the last as the series so Friday nights won't be the same.

Day 82



Even with the tide right out the seascape here still has charm.

Water birds are busy getting a living on the mudflats or swooping low over the receding water.

I sit for hours watching them in between reading or sipping coffee.

It's a hard life!

I did write my 'On the Wallaby' column for the November edition of Caravan World and sent it off this morning so I wasn't completely lazy.




Today as I watched, a large family got out of a 4x4 in the carpark and took their two dogs down to the beach where they let them run free. This despite the signs at the entrance to the park.

I don't suppose either the dogs or their owners could understand the sign!

They were probably doing no harm - but the rule about no cats or dogs in National Parks was made for very good reasons in the interest of protecting our wildlife and should be obeyed.

That's today's moan over!

Day 83 Last day of the month so tomorrow starts a new page.







After looking at the little Seaforth Market and buying a couple of books and a cake for morning coffee, I went to have a look at lovely Cape Hillsborough and took a few pictures.

Cars can go on the wide and firm beach to launch boats but that's all.

On the way back I spotted this land for sale with approval for 90 sites plus cabins and two amenities blocks.

It has beach frontage but the sign didn't mention sandflies and mozzies from the nearby extensive mangroves.

If you have a million or two lying around idle, you might like to have a look at this opportunity

This afternoon I had a sudden brainstorm - why not go on the Tag-along Tour being organised by the ACC Sunshine Nomads?

It sounds a great tour and starts at Roma in Western Queensland next Sunday and after 17 days touring outback areas finishes up at Casino, NSW, for the ACC Muster and AGM. An email confirmed I could go so a few more emails had to sent to people I'd hoped to see on my way down the coast but now by going inland I'll miss them.

Vi and I worked as school photographers in the area where we going, so once again memories will be stirred up - but some funny ones as well like the rushed day at Charleville when I spent the afternoon taking class photos with no film in the camera and had to do them all again! We had to drive to Augathella that night ready for action first thing in the morning. 

I'm looking forward to travelling the same area plus quite a few more places in the company of like-minded caravanners. You will read about it here!

By the way I've found why some of my diary pages were hard to read in Internet Explorer. (There were fine in all the other browsers I tried - but IE played up.)  I've fixed Page 2 and 3 and Page 4 will be fine. I may find energy to fix the first page tomorrow.

Day 84 - a new month so a new page!

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