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.