NSW

We say goodbye to Jason and Debs and travel down the south reaching Coolangatta. Stayed at a caravan park at Miami Beach which is lovely. Nicer than Surfers Paradise. Frank from Kununarra called into see us this morning. Great catching up with him. Had a good look around Tweed Heads. This place is unsual as one half of the town is in Queensland and the other is in NSW so depends where you are standing what the time is. The time difference is 1 hour. Stayed at free camp south of Tweed Heads for 2 nights. Grabbed a shower at the BP service station in Chinderah. The NSW coastline is just beautiful...all the way down.

Byron Bay

Next, Byron Bay didn’t disappoint us, very busy busy with lots of young surfies everywhere. Lots sand and surf. Ballina is a nice town too on the coast. Stayed 2 nights here at a free camp and found the local swimming pool was open to casuals having showers there.

 



The Flooded Rugby Grounds

The weather forecast is not looking good....they say a storm is heading to the coast...we will keep an eye on it. Driving inland now away from the coast towards Grafton the rain has started to come. Passed Grafton we find a free camp just off the road. We thought that maybe we should head back to Grafton and stay at a camping ground but decided we would sit it out and carryon the next day down to Coffs Harbour. The rain was getting very heavy by now and the weather forecast was all over the news that a cyclone was going to hit from Gladstone to Newcastle...Cyclone Oswald. We hadn’t had a significant rainfall in all the time on the road so we came up with a plan so make a shelter to go over both back windows so we could leave them open at nights when it is so hot. Found a big Bunnings at Coffs Habour to grab our materials. Found a spot to stay at the local rugby league sports ground where we met Vern (the caretaker) and stayed there for $15 on power. The storm is starting to hit the coast at Bundaberg now and they are being battered by tornados and heavy rain. Rain rain go away...we have an ideal spot to make our blinds under the grandstand. They worked perfectly. It poured last night and was very windy.

Coffs Harbour in Oswald Cyclone

 

Vern picked us up the next day for a tiki tour around Coffs. The sea is so angry and brown. Lots of surface flooding around, lucky Vern has a 4WD. He even gave us some Marlin steaks for dinner...yummm!  The cyclone is still making its way down the coast towards us so we brace ourselves for another couple of nights. Vern picked us up again to go and watch the sea pounding over the sea wall in the harbour. The TV crews are there filming. Very spectacular. We stay with Vern at the rugby grounds for 4 nights...the cyclone has moved out to sea and we can finally leave our safe home and move on down to Port Macquarie.

Port Macquarie

Port Macquarie Point where they body board

Port Macquarie....we love it here! Body boarding mecca....Walking down the rivers edge is lined with rocks that have been painted by people. Some are monuments for people whom have died (I think from swimming/body boarding nearby). Body boarders were right at the point where the river met the sea. They would surf on the waves to their right and the river would push them back out to sea again. Fun to watch! The sea is still dirty with lots of debris but doesn’t deter them. Parked at the beach in a carpark and hoped that no one bothered that we were there. Being self contained helps.   Truckin on down the road we called into the Taree Information Centre where we were told its nice to drive through the Lakes and it was lovely. A big haul up the other side though. Stayed at Bulahdelah under the bridge by the river. Kids were jumping off the small jetty there into the brown looking river....yuck! Very noisy night with trucks, but safe and free!

We are continually being wowed.....Port Stephens is a place that everyone should visit. The bush seems to go right down to the sea. Beautiful golden beaches. Unfortunately the weather packs it in while we were having lunch so we continue down the track to Newcastle. The rain is so heavy on the highway we are reduced to driving very slow.

 

Newcastle Ocean Pool

Arrived at Newcastle about 3pm, where our GPS took us in through the port side where one of the largest coal unloading and loading facility in the world is. Found an awesome park right alongside the beach at Nobby Beach. The rain and wind eased so we walked along to the ocean baths which had 3 pools that you could swim in for free and shower there too. Walked up to Forte Scratching on top of the hill overlooking the bay. Noticed the storm had developed to the south and we had to run back to the bus below to avoid getting drenched. Just as we got to the bus a freak gust blew and nearly ripped our awning right off the bus. I was hanging onto it and the wind was nearly lifting me off my feet. Luckily we managed to retract it back in without any damage. Would love to stay here for longer too as the buildings around Newcastle are so old and beautiful. One block of flats we walked passed had steps down under the road to a door to get into. I can only imagine how horrible it would be to live in these flats!

BIG Trucks

Truckie Kerry

Off to Muswellbrook to stay with Kerrys cousin Wendy and husband Mike. Muswellbrook valley is surrounded by coal mines....everywhere you look you can see one! Wendy organised for all of us to go through the mine where she works driving the BIG 350Tonne capacity dump trucks. There is a bit of induction to do but we are soon driving down the ramps in a normal 4WD truck alongside these massive dump trucks. Kerry and I both get a ride in one of these huge trucks for a load and dump. This was such a highlight of our trip. These incredible huge trucks can be driven by people with just a car driving licence (with lots of training though). Once these trucks had their loads on board it felt like you were riding on a boat in the waves, they felt so spongy as they moved down the roads to the dump spot. This was such a highlight of our trip!



The BIG and the small

 

More Queensland

Gem Fossicking

While still in Mount Surprise we decide to go fossicking for gems. The local shop hires out the equipment, licences and a map to find the gems. Its a bit of a mission in the bus, mostly gravel roads for 43k’s and a river crossing to make too. We dug, shovelled and sieved piles and piles of gravel for 3 hours. I recon we nearly dug up a truck load of the river bank. We found one piece of Topaz, and a couple of pieces of smoky quartz. No sign of Aquamarine (my birth stone). Anyway we had a good laugh and it was good exercise trying to find our fortune.

We stayed another night here in Mount Surprise at The snake mans camp. Nice to have a shower and a relaxing drink after a busy day.

 

On the road again and found a nice camp west of Ravenshoe. On the way to Atherton we took in the Millaa Millaa which were lovely but the other two falls that we were going to visit, the road was closed (damn it). We go through Malanda which is a bonus. Stopped off and had lunch at Malanda Falls.

Malanda Falls

At the base of the falls the river had been made into a natural swimming hole, very nice spot. Atherton’s lookout is well worth going up to, great views. Next night we stay at a huge park outside of Atherton, the “Capital of the Tableland”. Its a war memorial park which you can stay, with a donation. The next day is Saturday 15^th September and we are meeting Peter and Vicki at Kris and Nicole’s house. They flew into Cairns that morning. First couple of days we just spent chilling out with them and watching movies, had a look downtown.

On Tuesday we all went to Cairns Tropical Zoo for the afternoon. This is the best zoo we have been to. They had everything you could think of including huge boa snakes. Even got to touch a baby American Crocodile. He was so docile, wasn’t worried about everyone around at all. Very chilled out he was.

That night I suggested we go to Kuranda for the day. You can drive there, take the train up the winding hill or take the gondolas. Since we were all abit strapped for cash i worked out that if 3 of us go up in the train and the other 3 go up in the gondolas then swap the tickets at the top then we all get to do the train ride and the gondolas. 

Kuranda Gondolas

We ended up saving $33 each by doing this. So we all drew our names out of a hat to see who was going to do what. Kerry, Nicole and I get to travel up in the train and down in the gondolas and Peter, Vicki and Kris get to go up in the gondolas and down on the train. (Kris thought that this was rigged as he got to have some lovely parent bonding time, lol ) We had a nice time wondering around the many markets at Kuranda. I have already been there 9 years ago so we decided not to do the butterfly sanctuary and bird world (Kerry’s not really a butterfly, bird guy). The gondola trip down was amazing drifting above the rainforest canopy and then overlooking Cairns and the coast.

Bye bye to Kris, Nicole, Peter and Vicki, we head off to Mossman to visit Julie Dovey (school buddy).



Port Doulas Lookout at 4 Mile Beach



Tree at Mossman

Port Douglas is where we meet Julie so she can lead us back to her house. Not sure if I remember where to turn off to her house as its tucked up in the rainforest off the beaten track. Kerry is very impressed with Port Douglas, it reminds us of Noosaville. It still looks the same as 9 years ago when I came to stay with Julie the first time. So good to see her again, nothing has changed, even the house looks the same, with the same frog in the loo. I had been warning Kerry about Julies house and her love of nature lol. Frogs, spiders(huge ones), lizards, geckos, even a bat (small insect eating one) that comes and goes every night lives in Julies house. I love it!!!!


We return back to Port Douglas to take in the Sunday markets, wow these were great, there were many different stalls and some cool buskers. One guy especially is amazing, he’s dressed in Hobbit type pants and ears. He has also smeared himself head to toe with a white clay substance.




Busking Hobbit

He stands playing an unusual set of Pan pipes and then freezes waiting for the jingle of more money to be dropped in his hat. Very Very cool! Drove up to Daintree the next day and watched the barge take vehicles over the Daintree River. Didn’t spot any croc’s though, usually there is some on the banks sunbathing.

Julie tells us of a music festival she and some friends are going to this coming weekend. We think its a great idea to go to. It’s called the Wallaby Creek Music festival and is held every year at this time at Rossville, 40 klms short of CookTown  ( approx 350 klms above Cairns )

This is a great spot where everyone camps at the venue for the 3 day weekend. We head up and do a couple of Geocaches on the side of the road (one is way off the road, in possible snake country! Crazy!) Came across a truck that was no fire, the two guys were standing on the side of the road looking very bewildered at why the truck has burst into flames....scary as the whole side of the road was in flames and the smoke was so thick it was hard to see the oncoming traffic. We stopped and asked the guys if they had a ride and offered them a bottle of water as this was in the middle of nowhere.

Wallaby Creek Music Festival

At the site there are heaps of spots to camp, with 3 yabby ponds which everyone swims in to cool off! The festival is a folk fest, unusual for us but was great, a awesome experience, with lot’s of different artists from all over. There were kid’s workshops, learning drumming, juggling, hulla hooping etc. Continuous live bands from 9.00am to 12.00pm and then there’d be random stuff until late, in the Jam Session tent.

Kuranda Bike Fest

We leave really early Sunday morning to get to Kuranda Motorbike Fest. Both excited to go to an Aussie bike fest only to be really disappointed. Nice setting beside a billabong and a restaurant and pub but not many bikes to view, none of our usual bike entertainment carryon’s. Kerry was impressed with a line up of Kawasaki K1 900  1975 vintage all eight beautifully restored. Off to stay down the road at a nice spot at Spewell at the Conservation Park. Nice and peaceful here right in the middle of the tropical rainforest. The next day we drive down the hill towards Cairns again but drive on pass to a small town called Babinda. This is a RV friendly town and has an amazing free park with toilets and hot showers for $2. We bike into town and check it out, found a nice old pub and stop in for a couple of cold beers. Got talking to a couple of locals that tell us what is around the town to go and see. The boulders are just at the base of the mountains and are a site to see. People have lost their lives here by swimming in these treacherous waters. The boulders are huge and have holes where the water flows through.


The Boulders at Babinda

The Boulders

We can only imagine how amazing this river looks when they have had lots of rain. We didn’t stay long as the March flies here are as thick as they come and they bite you. (I think they know we are Kiwis, they just loved us) This town is officially the wettest town in Australia. That night the rain came and in the morning we had a few issues with leaks. Off to the local hardware the next morning to buy some silicon to seal them up. There is a huge shed 2k’s north that we drive to and park up to dry the bus out and try and seal them off as more heavy rain is forecasted for the next few days. We park up that night in the same free park in Babinda and cross our fingers we have fixed the leaking problem. Yay....no wet sheets so far!


 

Townsville

Proserpine Sugarmill

Just down the road we came across a sugarcane museum, very interesting stuff. Sugar cane lines the road, you almost get sick of seeing it. Balgal beach is only a few kilometres north of Townsville and is a free camp right on the beach. We stayed here 2 nights and went to the markets which were mainly just people selling second hand stuff and baking. Very nice spot sadly you can only stay 2 nights. On Sunday we drove to Townsville to catch the markets downtown. Lots and lots of stalls selling anything and everything. Stayed that night at another beach called Saunders beach, not very nice here, the loo’s were blocked and flowing out the pipes....so we are out of there the next day. Townsville is nice but very spread out as the mountains (well hills to us) are around the town centre which has made the town spread around them.

 



Bowen

Bowen is our next stop...we found a nice Big4 camp right on the beach and spent the night writing emails to camping grounds from Townsville to Mackay looking for work. We like Bowen and its surrounding areas and would love to spend more time here. Very close to Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays Islands. Known for great snorkling and scuba diving....although the sea was stirred up and dirty when we were there sadly, so didn’t go in the water. Also it is one of the filming locations for the movie “Australia” starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. Drove to Airlie Beach the next day...we didn’t really rate this place, it is very much like Queenstown but by the sea. Lots of tourists. Much prefer Bowen. Stayed at Proserpine that night. Here there is a sugar mill right in the centre of town. The smell in the town is hard to describe from the mill, sweet and almost sickly. Nice we town with an amazing shop that was packed with everything you can imagine that was bright and shiny....very cool. Kerry got a call that night from a lady, Debbie that said she had work for both of us in Biloela at the Discovery Camp Ground and when could we get there, she needed us as soon as possible. Yay....our emails worked....we worked it out that if we set off first thing in the morning then we could be in Biloela that night (600 km). Unfortunately we will miss out on Mackay and Rockhampton but hope to come back to visit them. They have a site already set out for us with an on-suite attached all to ourselves. Most of the sites are for workers from the mines, roading, and gas lines with only a few sites left for the odd travelling grey nomad. These workers mostly men, very few women are fed breakfast, lunch and dinner so a kitchen is open from 4am til 8pm. 


Workers Accommodation at Biloela

 
I’m dunnie diving and Kerry is maintenance man. All meals are supplied so we eat lunch and dinners in the kitchen. Dinner is 3 course smorgasbord and changes each night. There are 3 chefs that rotate around the shifts. We are very spoilt as our cost of living is very small having meals, power, water and our site all for FREE. We’ll spend 6 weeks here working and saving to go home for Christmas and see family and friends. 
 

Callide Coal Power Generation Plant

Callide Coal Mine

Day off so drove to Callide Dam for a look. We were told how nice it is. Well.....think they need to go to NZ and look around to see what NICE is lol. Very boring dam! Is supposed to be great for fishing though. The Callide Power Plant is in the backdrop to the dam. We drove to the lookout behind it and could see the Callide Coal Mine in action. They were drilling and removing the top layer of another coal seam. Very interesting!

 

Phew.......6 ½ weeks working have gone really quickly so........we are back on tour yay!

 

First up we want to go back up north to Rockhampton to get a look at what we missed when we drove down to Biloela. You can see very quickly that Rockhampton is cattle country. There are statues of bulls everywhere. Just another city really so drove to Yeppoon. This is a beautiful seaside town a bit like Queenstown by the sea. Its not tourist season here now but we can only imagine that the small town would be bursting at its seams in the cooler months. Stayed the night here at a camping ground that was right on the beach.

Down the road is Emu Park where we stayed the next night, very similar to Yeppoon right on the beach. On the point overlooking the bay is a monument of “the singing ship” dedicated to Captain Cook and his ship which landed there in 1770. The monument was shaped like the sails of a ship with organ type pipes hanging from it that whistled in the wind, hence the name “singing ship”.

 

Dredge In Gladstone Harbour

Curtis Island

Gladstone next, to see Jenny and Chris McKee that moved here in August from Winton. We park on their friend’s lawn for a couple of nights. At the Information Centre we learn about free sightseeing tours of the area. Tomorrow is a tour on a barge up the harbour to learn about the industry that is going on in and around the harbour and Curtis Island. There are 3 companies building plants on Curtis Island to process natural gas that is coming from far and wide though the pipelines. These plants will process the gas from its natural state to liquid, then is pumped onto foreign ships and exported, Taiwan and China being the main destination. This city is so busy supporting the many different industries that are in and around Gladstone. Expensive to live here but many jobs. Rent for an average home is anywhere between $500 to $700 a week. Next night we visited Rodney and Linda Owen-Cooper also from Winton but been here 5 years. Nice to catch up with NZ’ers (they speak the same language lol). We drove coastal though Boyne Island and Tannum Sands to view all the coal ships out at sea waiting to be loaded. They can hold anything between 50,000 up to 120,000 tonne of coal and take on average 24 hours to load each vessel. The stock pile at the wharf was 2,700,000 tonne. Incredible! The town is up hill and down dale which gives it a nice feeling.



1770 Beach

Onto Agnes Beach and 1770 (the date Captain Cook discovered the area).....I have been waiting for this. We have heard so many good things about these towns and beaches.  Yes...they live up to their reputation. 1770 is beautiful and the sea is like a lagoon to swim in, so safe for kids. The camp is right on the beach with some tents pitched exactly that....right on the sand. Low tide brings lots of sand bars exposed on the other side of the inlet and high tide brings a whole different look with the sea so calm. At low tide we walked along the sand and millions and millions of tiny crabs scurried in front of us herding like sheep into a bunch only to disappear in a flash into the sand, know where to be seen. If you stood still long enough, they would slowly pop out of the sand in the millions again and scurry off. Wish we could stay here a week or more. We will definitely come back to 1770.

Bundaberg Distillery

On the way to Bundaberg, finally we see sugar cane again. Very rich in agriculture here as well as boasting about there Bundaberg Rum Distillery and also there Bundaberg fizzy drink distillery. We visited the fizzy factory and learned about the process of making their famous Ginger Beer brand and their other extensive range of products. Yummy Lemon Lime and Bitters is good with Gin lol. This town seems to be standing still and not going ahead like Gladstone. It feels like without the distilleries and sugarmill the town would not have much going for it. Bargara Beach is only 20 klms away, its coastline is beautiful and reminded us of the sunshine coast.

 

Hervey Bay also a lovely place to stay. We stayed here right on the water front at a camping ground. Beautiful wharfs all the way along the water front. The wind was blowing in badly while we were there, it had even dislodged a fishing boat from its mooring and beach itself right in front of our camp.  

Its  1^st December, only 12 days till we fly home to visit family and friends. The excitement is almost over shadowing our touring down to Brisbane. Kerry is looking forward to dusting off the bike that is stored at his mates place (probably have to steal it back from Jason lol) and blowing the cobwebs off, if you know what I mean. A couple more people to visit on our way down. Kerry’s cousins Richard and Allison in Gympie are next on our list, then Jason and Debs in Brisbane. Can’t wait to see them.

Nice time with Richard and Allison. Richard took us to Rainbow Beach and Tin Can Bay. The day was abit grey but bet its just humming here in the holidays. Here we could see the bottom of Fraser Island, so close.

We stayed with Jason and Deb’s for 4 nights. Had a nice time with them in Brisbane. Caught the bus one day and went to South Bank to the markets and the museum.

Kerry’s cousin Dean and Donna live in Thornside not too far from the airport and have offered us a parking spot to leave our bus while we are away in NZ for 36 days. Very spoilt being able to leave it right on the section behind the fence, nice and safe and secure. Couldnt ask for a better spot to leave it. Thank you soooo much Dean and Donna.

A $60 taxi ride later we are at the airport...yay...looking forward to visiting everyone we can.

Arrived in Christchurch for a couple of days...nice to see the grandkiddies, and other family. Off to Invervagas...stayed with Ed (Kerry’s dad) for most of our time. Rode the Hayabusa to Christchurch for Christmas, back to see everyone again. Rained the whole way up and back 4 days later. Borrowed Vicki and Peters car and drove to their crib in Kingston and spent a nice night there with Sarah, Cody and Mitchell. Back in Invervagas to do mountains of maintenance on the houses. Spent New Years quietly with Greg, Ang and Jonny at his house.

Time to leave again for Aussie...spent time with Mum and Joe before leaving on 17^th Jan early in the morning.



View of Brisbane from Mt Gravatt 

Back on Aussie soil...another $60 taxi to pick up the bus. Great to be back and the bus is all good, nice and dry and started first pop. Back to Jasons for 3 nights. Drove up to Mt Gravatt lookout today. Wow what a view of Brisbane City. Grabbed a bus and went to the Westside Markets. Walked a long way beside the river to get to the markets, mainly food and fruit and veges.





Leaving WA- Entering NT- and Queensland

7500 Klms Travelled to date!

 OK..... so 2 weeks work turned into 3 and ½ weeks work, we were also offered to stay on as assistant managers for a year....which we declined sadly! Kununurra is very remote and is a long way from nowhere especially NZ.

It wasn’t all work and no play at the Lake Kununurra Camping Ground, we had a couple of fun nights where we helped out with hamburger night on Saturdays at 5.30 people could come and bring their chairs and drink while we cooked their hamburgers for dinner. What a great way for all the camp to mill around and chat to other likeminded people and here all the different stories about their travels. Its amazing just how many people are doing the same as us, travelling around the country for months on end. Lots of people from South Australia and Melbourne come up to the top end to get away from the cold of the south.

Nepalese Ghurkhas

One group of 30 Nepalese men came and camped beside us. They were Ghurkhas – Singapore recruits these men from Nepal and trains them into Policemen. This is a kind of holiday for them. They were dropped into the outback and given supplies for 8 days, they had to make their way back in 3 different groups to a checkpoint at Lake Argyle. Here they had to canoe 55kms up the Ord River back to the camp. These guys were great fun. We joined them twice for a meal, drinks, songs and dancing. Most spoke good English.      

The Bungle Bungles

Lake Argyle



We had a good look around the district including a flight into the Bungle Bungles, via Lake Argyle, The Argyle Diamond Mine, the Ord River and Kununurra. The flight left Kununurra and flew into the Purnululu National Park home of the Bungle Bungles. There we landed and jumped into a 4WD bus that took us into the ranges where these beehive dome-shaped sandstone towers and breathtaking gorges hide. Here we walked 3kms in through these amazing shaped towers in 35° temperatures with our lunch and plenty of water until we came to an amazing place called Cathedral Gorge. This is a huge cave that had the acoustics of the Sydney Opera House (supposedly) which Kerry tried out with a loud scream. Had our lovely lunch there and then walked back to the bus. On the way back our tour guide assisted a stranded snake that was down a hole. He lowered a branch down for it to climb out when ready. We also came across another snake on the track but was a small thin tree snake. Spied a water monitor (lizard) sunning himself on the banks of a billabong. Back in the bus to drop others off at different parts of the park and had afternoon tea at one of the parks kitchens (yum cheese cake, which Kerry took 2 pieces of).

Argyle Diamond Mine

The flight back was amazing over the top of the deep gorges. Because we didn’t do the helicopter flight as well the pilot took us on a longer journey back over the bungles. We circled over the Diamond Mine which is the worlds largest supplier of diamonds. The company’s production accounts for approximately ¼ of the world’s natural diamond production. The huts for the workers were situated beside the airport for the mine and were all facing away from the mine so when they weren’t working they didn’t have to look at the mine every minute of the day. The runway for the mine was capable of landing a 747 plane. Heading north back over Lake Argyle the lake was like a mirror and the colours of the rocks were so vivid, orange rock and blue lake, beautiful. Landing back in Kununurra where our pilot tells us that we were his first passenger flight but he had done it many many times before.....pleased he told us that when we had finished the flight. This is where new pilots come to learn and get their flying hours up so they can go on to fly bigger planes and better opportunities. This is our last day here in Kununurra and what a way to finish our stay. We thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Lake Kununurra Camp Ground Crew.

Today is 22^nd August and we leave our lovely Kununurra and drive to Lake Argyle to stay the night. The camp is situated above the dam for the lake. Nice spot! The camp has a pool which we headed straight to for a dip to cool off. The pool is called “The Infinity Pool” because the edge of the pool overlooks the lake and it looks like you will swim off the edge. We had another swim before we left the next day. This place is a must to go to and stay. Just up the road from the turnoff to the lake is the boarder checkpoint to Northern Territory. We have no problem coming from Western Australia but if your coming from the other way your vehicle will be searched for honey, seeds, fruit and vegetables. You cannot take these into WA. As soon as we hit the other side NT the speed limit changes to 130kms. Wish we could go that fast lol lol. The time also changes to 90mins forward in time. We really notice the heat rising, definitely hotter and more humid. After parking up at a free site we discovered that the flies actually bite....they are like blowflies (big) and when they land they bite you. They are slow though and easy to splat and kill.

 


Florence Falls

Katherine is a pretty town, we walked around the markets today and visited the information centre. We decided to grab our supplies for a few days and head towards Darwin as we will come back through Katherine after the Kakadu National Park and we can have a better look around when we come back in a week or so. About 200kms up from Katherine is Litchfield National Park. No cost to enter the park but if you stay its $6.60 per person/night. This park is well worth going into. First stop at the Buley Rockholes for a swim. These rockholes are deep and about 4 metres across, fresh water cascades down into each hole. Plenty of rockholes for everyone to enjoy a cool dip. The Florence Falls were abit more of a challenge, a good walk down 175 stairs to the bottom of the gorge where the falls cascaded into a big waterhole. Lots of people here swimming. There were even big fish swimming around that kind of nibbled at your legs if you kept them still. Some young ones here that were climbing the cliffs and jumping off into the water. A bit dangerous really as there was hidden rocks under the surface and signs warning against this activity. We stayed at the Wangi Falls Camp that had nice separate camp sites, showers, toilets and BBQ’s to use. The Wangi Falls themselves were beautiful. Easily accessible for everyone to see, an easy walk. The back drop to this waterhole had 2 waterfalls that filled it. The water was deep in some places but mostly you didn’t have to swim far to a nice sandy bottom to stand on. This was our 3^rd  swim today, great for cooling off in the 35° temp. Decided that we would stay another night here as it was so beautiful and we wanted to have another swim in this lovely place.

Government Building Darwin

Olive Python

 

Off to Darwin only 115kms away. Driving downtown we came across the Government Buildings and had a look around the waterfront. A manmade beach had to be built because of the crocs and stingers that are in these waters. To the left of the waterfront is a wave pool for all to enjoy. This is crazy when they set the waves off in the pool. Everyone had a inflatable tube or a boogie board to use. It had a real looking beach and an area where the little kiddies can puddle too. A walk though the mall we came across a guy that had 3 snakes slithering along the ground and lizards. He was charging $5 for a hold of a snake which i decided to do after a bit of pushing by Kerry to do it....I think cause he was too scared to do it. The guy draped an Olive Python around my neck and told me to relax lol lol What an experience! He wrapped himself around me with his tail end wrapped though the top of my legs. He felt cool to touch and I could feel his muscles as he moved down my arms. Had a nice meal out for once at a Chinese Restaurant. Darwin didn’t really appeal to us so decided to move on towards the Kakadu National Park.

 

Just 40kms towards the Kakadu was “The Windows To The Wetlands” information centre. This is well worth calling into just for the displays and the building. Onwards to the park, boring for the next 200+kms. Called into Jabiru township which didn’t have much at all to see or do.  Stayed one night at a camp. Visited 3 different information centres that started to all look the same mostly lacking in a good grounds person, looked uncared for. We walked a few kilometres on tracks looking at Aboriginal Rock Art which we enjoyed. Walked the boardwalk at Yellow Water and spied a crocodile lurking in the weeds checking us out. One move in the water and I’m sure we would of been his meal. Well honestly we feel that the “Kakadu” should be renamed “The Kakadont”. It cost $25 each to enter the park and $5 per person to camp in there! Because we didn’t have 4WD most of the places we wanted to go were inaccessible. A long way to go and not really see that much....disappointing! We feel the Litchfield National Park was accessible for everyone and was tidy and well cared for.

Aboriginal Rock Art

 

Spent another day in Katherine looking around, and bought another Pawpaw from the markets. Yummm.  Decided to move on down the road as it was 1^st September and we have promised Vicki and Peter to meet them in Cairns on the 15^th and stay at their son’s (Kris and Nicoles) place for a week catch up. At Mataranka is a camp ground that has his own pond and has stocked it with Barramundi fish. Anyone can go and watch him feed these huge fish.

Larrimah Pub

Down the road about 70 kms is Larrimah. The pinkest pub around, all painted pink with a huge big pink pantha outside. We stopped off to have a beer but also next door to the pub is a free wildlife park with crocs, birds, snakes and the odd kangaroo. Awesome place for a break from the road. We have been travelling big km’s here, not really lots to see. Threeways is right on the intersection to either go east or south. Dont stay here at the roadhouse, the water was brown and the toilets and showers needed a good scrub. We weren’t impressed at all especially when we were looking forward to a shower and doing a load of washing. I think the last day or so have been the most boring so far. Not a lot to look at. Met a couple Allan and Beryl at a camp spot that had the same bus as us and had a look though their bus....wow it was lovely inside and has given us a few ideas if we buy a bus when we get back to NZ. Kerry got a few tips on fuel economy and tyre pressure. Though the border now to Queensland....yay! We made it to the other side! We camped beside a river at Camooweal.


Mount Isa

Mount Isa is our next town and we need to get some supplies. This town is incredible, the mine is right in the middle of the town. The lookout is the best place to view this amazing sight. The smell in the air is defiantly coal burning. Looks very dusty too. Not sure i would like to live in this atmosphere. We stayed at a free camp out of town but wished we didn’t. The road was so close and the traffic from the road trains just went all night. At times it sounded like they were coming straight for the bus. The next day we bumped into Allan and Beryl again and they told us to go check out an old town up the road 2kms back towards Mount Isa. Mary Kathlene is an old mining town that was once a thriving community. All that remains are hundreds of concrete slabs where homes and businesses once flourished. Very much a ghost town now. Not far is Cloncurry, this is where we turn left off the highway and head north. Some of this road starts to narrow and end up just one strip down the middle of the road that is seal. A bit hairy at times when on coming traffic doesn’t slow down much as we both pull over to the gravel on the side of the road. And yes, we end up with a broken wing mirror on Kerrys side. Very close to getting another stone on the windscreen.

At Normanton

We stopped off at Normanton where a giant crocodile welcomes people to the town. The information centre is awesome and a must to go in. Lots of history and photos of the area. Now.....Karumba....Queenslands best kept secret. I had to talk Kerry into going up there as its 80kms in and out the same road but so well worth it. Right on the Gulf of Carpentaria. The town is next to the Norm River but the best spot is right on the point of Karumba. We stayed here in the caravan park right by the sea. Went to the pub for a beer and pizza and watch the sun set into the sea once more. Wow wow wow. We could of stayed here for a week. Very much a fishing village for the Barramundi and Prawns. Shame we didn’t have more time to stay longer.

Croydon is home to the oldest shop in Queensland. It looks like “Open All Hours” shop with the groceries on the shelves behind the counter with a ladder to climb to get down for the customer. The other side of the shop had a small museum with old relics from days gone by. Cool old pub too across the road.

Wendy(Carpet Python) and Kerry

Mount Surprise lived up to its name. We had already decided that we wanted to go gem hunting here but to our surprise we found a man called Russell that had a museum and snakes where he puts on a show for tourists. We got talking to him and he gladly pulls out a snake called Kevin (Water Python) and soon drapes it around my neck. Next out of the box is Wendy (Carpet Python) to greet us which gets thrown over Kerrys neck. This man is very interesting and tells us all about the snakes and their habitat. Russell then puts Kevin in a pool of water and talks about the rainbow colours the snake gives off in the sun, this gives it the name of the “Rainbow Serpent”. We thought that this was all but he had one more surprise for us....Clarence a Black Headed Python. Kerry is quick to get this one around his neck. This snake is very scary looking as it has a black head and different looking body. Almost looks like two snakes. This snake actually eats venomous snakes in the wild but is not venomous.

 

 

 

 

 

Touring North

Tuesday 26^th June we are heading north. Stayed with Debbie in Forrestfield for 2 nights to catch up with her, Tracey and Grant before we head off. Not sure when we will meet again.
 

Sleeping Quaters

We were told the Submarine at the Maritime Museum in Fremantle is a must to see so make a slight detour south and west. Wow! What an awesome experience to go inside a real submarine. This sub was decommissioned in 1995. We had to climb up one end and walked right through to the other end. The sleeping quarters, kitchen and working space etc are unbelievably small....not my idea of fun or work. Stayed the night at Yanchep Camping Ground so we were nice and close to visit Francine Grosser. Was a bitter sweet visit as her sister, Danise whom was my bridesmaid in 1982 had just passed away last December. Nice to catchup on some buried memories but sad that Danise and I had not caught up in 20 years. Reminds us how precious life is and to live everyday to the fullest.

Road Signs

Two Rock

Two Rocks is just up the road and had some unusual carved rocks about the town. Found a really nice free camp spot and stayed two nights to rest up and chill out.



Kerry Planking on a Pinnacle(naughty)

On our way to Leeman we came across “The Pinnacles” in the Lesueur National Park. These strange alien forms are amazing to walk around. Scientist still to this day don’t know how they were formed.

Vicki and Petes landlord (Griff and Leanne) has offered his bach to stay in for a couple of days at Leeman, a small fishing town. The bach is a typical seaside weekend home away from home, like stepping back in time. We stay here for 3 nights to catchup with washing and I talk Kerry into highlighting my hair as it had grown out badly from the Wedding. Turns out very blonde lol lol will match the personality :}

Wednesday comes around very fast and we have to leave this cute bach....we travel East to Carnamagh where Griff and Leanne live on a farm that produces Canola Oil and wheat grain. We joined Griff, Leanne and Greg (Griffs nephew) for a nice dinner. Next morning Griff drives us around his huge farm and a tiki tour around the town. We leave around lunchtime to drive towards Dongara and found a nice free camp just before the town. Geraldton is a good place to get more supplies and visit the old gaol. It is definitely getting warmer especially at night now which is good.

Monkey Mia

Shell Beach



Wow...Denham is beautiful and well worth the 150kms drive to get there and another 30kms to get to Monkey Mia. Its like being on an island in Fiji if not better. The dolphins come right into the beach and they have feeding 3 times a day where the dolphins come right in to get fish. We were too late for feeding but it was still magical to see them playing real close. We stay at Flowlers beach 27kms south of Denham. A free camp right on the beach. On our way out from Denham is Shell Beach. The beach is entirly made of small shells 5mtrs deep. Very beautiful, the water is so clear but feels bit cold for swimming.

Heading towards Carnarvon Kerry noticed one of the back tyres looks flat, so had to change it at the Overlander Roadhouse. Good place to stop for lunch anyway lol. Our first flattie! Hope its our last! McIvor (Kerry, his new nickname) makes short work of changing it, so onwards north. Stopped at a camp called New Beach 9kms off main road, where Griffs Sister Kay and Des stay for 3months. Its a rough road in and very low lying so if bad weather is coming everyone has to get out or you will be stuck there until the road has dried out which could be days. They tell us that rain is forecasted tomorrow so i think we will high-tail it out of here in the morning to be sure we are not stuck.

Headed for Carnavon to get the flattie fixed at Tyre Power. Sorted more groceries and had a look around the town. Bought a snorkel and goggles each. Not the greatest place, seems run down with many empty shops. Our first lot of rain starts, getting windy too. Stayed two nights at free camp south of Coral Bay. Rotated tyres, modified the shower, fixed leaks and generally mucked about and relaxed for two days. Until.....I discover this funny thing next to my belly button which looks like a big skin tag....YUCK....Its a TICK sucking my precious blood. Panic set in to remember what to do to get it out. They burrow their heads into your skin and you have to be careful to get the whole thing out without breaking it off. We smothered it with every cream we could think of to suffocate it, then Kerry slowly pulled and twisted anticlockwise with the tweezers. Gross......dont want to get another one of those on me.

Coral Bay Sunset

Coral Bay and the Coral

Got up early (7.30am) and headed for Coral Bay. Booked into Bayview Holiday Park for the night. Here the tap water is from an Artesian Bore which is 830 metres deep and produces HOT water from the tap, no good for drinking but excellent for showers. The beach is beautiful, the water is warm. The coral is just off the beach so we grabbed our snorkel gear and headed to the beach after lunch. The coral and marine life here is better than Fiji and so close.  No need for a wetsuit. You can go out in day trips to swim with the whale sharks, turtles and manta rays. Could stay here for a week. Sat on the beach to watch the sunset.......Our new favourite place to be :P

We seem to keep bumping into the same people at some of our camp sites. Honey, Gerry and Belle the dog, are from Adelaide and have been leaving us their business cards on our windscreen whenever they see our bus....Our bus stands out like a sore thumb as we have not seen many of them on the road.

Salt Lakes Karratha - going towards Dampier

Port Hedland

Its Saturday 14^th July and we are just south of Karratha at a free camping spot and who should be there too...Gerry and Honey again. Saw a wild dingo today walking out in the open. Karratha and Dampier were not much to look at. Big salt industry with piles of the salt close to the road. We had lunch down at the beach in Dampier. Port Hedland was a very interesting place. The port was busy with big ships being loaded with iron ore and at least 12 ships waiting out at sea to come in and get loaded. Big metal conveyors and cranes everywhere. Fuel tanks, huge ones. Very dusty, red red dust, busy town. Trains with many, many carriages pulling iron ore. A record for how many carriages the trains had was 687 carriages that took 8 engines to pull to port. Most of the shops were now in the new part called South Hedland where they had to make a new town to accommodate all the workers for the port and mines around the area. We stayed a couple of nights north of Port Hedland in a really lovely spot by a river under some lovely trees....the weather is starting to get alot warmer now especially at nights.

Big drive today to get to the next camp south of Broome. Nothing to look at but bush one minute, then giant ant hills the next, to just brown grass. The mirages on the horizon are incredible to look at you could swear there was a body of water just ahead or in the distance, like a big lake or the sea.

Sunset at Broome - Famous Cable Beach

Broome today is 31° very warm indeed. A quick trip into town to have a look around and get some more supplies. A big difference in the culture here, lots of indigenous people everywhere. Cable beach is beautiful. We grabbed our rug and books and headed for the beach for a bit of breeze. The beach was busy and dotted with umbrellas for shade. We made a beeline for an umbrella that no one was under and set out or blanket and settled into some reading. About 15mins later guy came over to us and asked us if we were going to use the umbrella cause it cost to sit under them. $4.00 for some shade for an hour....we paid. lol We stayed around to watch the beautiful sunset into the sea....this will be the last time we see this as we are making our way east now. Another beautiful attraction to Broome they called the “Stairway to the Moon” which is when the full moon raises about the sea, and at low tide it shines on the sand and it gives the affect like there are steps up to the moon. We are either too late or too soon in Broome to see it. Will be a good excuse to come back another time.

Prison Boab Tree

On to Derby to see the Boab Trees.

What amazing trees these are. They look like something out of Lord Of The Rings....they look like they come to life and walk around. The prison tree was incredible to think police used to keep prisoners right inside the tree as a rest point while escorting them to Derby. Had lunch at the jetty which is open to King Sound which has crocodiles in the mangroves....didnt see any though. The town is not much to see. Very much an indigenous town. Only one way in, and one way out. After the Derby turnoff we came across a camp that had a much bigger boab tree right in the middle of the camp. We parked up right next to it and were sheltered by the hot sun. Onwards to Fitzroy Crossing where we needed to get more fuel. The visitor centre wasn’t open so we carried on north/east direction. The Fitzroy Crossing River must be amazing to see when its in the wet season and full flood. Halls Creek is another very indigenous town. Nothing here but a good visitor centre.

Big Croc at Farm

The scenery is better since Halls Creek with odd shaped hills and scrub. We decided to branch off and go up to Wyndham for a look. As you come into the town we are greeted by a large crocodile. The crocodile farm is a few kilometres out of town by the port but well worth the visit. At 11am the tour starts around the farm as the owner feeds these huge man eaters. The crocs come to him from around the area where these monsters have made themselves nuisances around humans. He is called by the DEC(Department of Environment Conservation) to come and remove these crocs and house them at the farm for breeding. These crocs are never released back into the wild. The young crocs are bred for their skins and shipped off to France, I guess to become nice shoes etc. Above the farm is lookout point where you can see almost 360° around. A stunning view of the five rivers that enter Cambridge Gulf.

In Kununurra now to stock up on supplies. We decided that this nice town would be a good place to stay awhile and seek out some work. On our way to the salvation army shop to buy some more books, we came across a employment agency. Popped inside and were offered a job each immediately at a camping ground. It must be my lucky day as well as getting a job I found $20 note on the foot path....yay!

Kerry and I are both working at the Lake Kununurra Camping Ground for a couple of weeks. Julie and David are the managers and have also offered us to park the bus here for free while we work here. Kerry as maintenance/grounds person and cleaning for me.

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