Log 28-04 Emerald to Longreach

We left rocky at 8:30 & proceeded West to Emerald, stopping on the way at yet another delightful country town of Blackwater. The town may have been small but they had a shopping mall which included Woolies. We did a weeks shopping & then had lunch in the carpark. Continuing on we arrived at Emerald about 1:30 & proceeded to park in the car park of the botanical gardens. As we entered the car park there was a sign saying rodeo 6:00PM tonight. After a few enquiries we sussed out the venue & although it was just 3 O’clock we made our way there. We obviously got a great spot just outside the entry, investigated the scene & then retired back to Wherarwee, early dinner, then entry to the arena at 5 O’clock to make sure we got good seats right up against the fence. Not many people there so we just settled down to watch as they set up for the show. The show was fabulous, steer roping & throwing, wild bull & horse riding & a few novelty events. The grasshoppers were in their thousands, Liz wore long pants but I was in shorts & singlet. Thank God grasshoppers don’t bite! So, now I know why farmers always wear jeans, long sleeved shirts & hats. It was all over by 9:00 PM & as we turned around to leave we were amazed by the number of people that had turned up, at least 5,000, in such a small community. Leaving had it’s own problems as we became bogged in the carpark. After a bit of trouble we dug ourselves out (no one behind us could leave, but no one offered help) & went back to the botanical gardens, someone next to us in a hi-ace got up at 3:00 AM & must have slid the side door open & shut at least 50 times..

We decided on a longish trip to Longreach as our next step as we wanted to spend Anzac Day there, so we drove 6 hours arriving around 2:00 PM. Checked out times for the march & settled in for the rest of the arvo at a stop just 4k’s out of town, dropped the scooter off ready for the next day.

In to town for the march but we had been told the wrong time, it was an hour later so we went back to camp. Longreach is unchanged after all these years &, other than the Stockmans Hall of Fame & the Qantas museum, both of which I’d seen & Libby wasn’t interested in, there was nothing. So we packed up & drove back to Jericho (pop. 150) & parked on the bank of the river Jordan. Spent the rest of the day & the next day as it was just simply beautiful. Spent some time at the local pub, Mick, the publican told us all about the floods, the whole town went under with the water just up to the pub’s elevated floor. Reluctantly we left & proceeded to Anackie (even smaller), stayed at a park there to replenish water, charge batteries etc. Had a drink & dinner at the pub next door, another good night.

Well, today was different, we must be slowing down. We drove just 15k’s in all, first stopping at Sapphire where we went to Pat’s Gems. There we bought a bag of tailings for $30.00 & sifted through it. They guarantee that there are 2 cut sapphires’ in the bag. We found them & about 100 little baubles, 4 of which the girl in the shop said were worth cutting or polishing. Talking to others there we learnt that you can fossick for sapphires just out of town so we hired some equipment & went afossicking. We met some interesting locals out there & although we found no sapphires we had a rich & full day talking to people & inspecting their leases. Tonight, while Libby was sitting outside looking at the stars a wallaby came up & sat beside her, she called out to me to bring some bread, which I did & she had an enjoyable half hour feeding it, At one stage it even Put it’s front paws on her chest.

We decided to move on today so, after returning our implements we proceeded to Rubyvale where we missed the turn off to the road to Clermont. Libby was driving & the road we followed quickly turned to gravel, not much further on we splashed through a little creek & the road narrowed, a little further again was another creek & the road got seriously narrow so she wisely decided to go back. Backing the truck a way we came to a drive where we managed to turn around. We thought we would have to return via Emerald but found the road we should have taken. After many stock grates & about 10 creek crossings, most with water over the road we came to Theresa Creek, another crossing, about 15cm deep we thought. About a third of the way across we found the concrete causeway had sunken & we were in about 30 to 40cm of creek, we could feel the back wheels slew sideways in their attempt at traction but Libby kept going & we crossed safely. This part of the days travel as far as Clermont was very winding but with breathtaking vistas & many beautiful stopping points along the road. We stopped for the day at Isaac River rest area 108k’s N/East of Clermont, no facilities & just off the road but this’ll do.

Emerald, old & new road bridges

Emerald, flood waters to top of orange plastic

Now I know why cowboys always wear long sleeves & hat

Some of the spectators at the rodeo

Finalists in the Emerald sunflower princess
the winner had to remove the blindfold from
a young steer in the arena

The river Jordan, you can't see Wherarwee

On the bank of the river

Jericho drive in

A couple of local yocals in the bleachers 

On thefossicking fields

Log 22-04 Rockhampton

As Liz had to return home unexpectedly this week we left Tannum Sands & headed directly for Rockhampton. Upon arrival we booked tickets for her for Tuesday, then drove to Yepoon & stopped a little way South on the coast overnight looking out towards Great Keppel Island. Once again the rain is back as it rained all night, but it was cool &, with the sounds of the surf in our ears, we slept soundly.

Next morning, on the way back to Rocky, we stopped at a crocodile farm, what an experience, They showed a video first & then a keeper brought in an egg that was just in the process of hatching. Unfortunately in my haste to get out of the rain I had forgotten my camera so was unable to capture it on film. Just it’s snout was sticking out the end of the egg & the keeper rolled the egg in his hands gently crushing it to emulate the process that mother croc does. I about 5 minutes the hatchling was fully out, it was an amazing thing to see & even more amazing was the length of the hatchling which was about 25cm, from a 10cm egg! We then watched as he fed the crocks & I retrieved my camera, then took a photo of each other holding a 2 year old croc in our hands. On arrival at the Rock, we checked out the airport then relaxed for the remainder of the day at a caravan park.

Well, Liz is on the plane now so I’m going to stock up for the rest of the week & see what happens. I’ve found a campground called Red Rock in the Byfield state forest. There is a stream nearby where I thought I might swim but on approaching the stream I saw a sign saying ‘crocs live in these waters’, also after all the rain the creek was running at about 10 knots. So I settled in & checked out the other campers but they all seemed to know each other. Anyway it’s raining again so I’ll just settle down with a book. 2 days now & still raining so tomorrow I’m heading out.

Day dawned bright & sunny so I went to Capricorn Caves, These caves are on private property & have been since the early 1800’s. They’re just like a smaller version of Jenolan Caves but very interesting. Carried on to Yaamba, thought it would be like Yamba, NSW but hey, all I found was a pub & a café. But there was a nice camp spot adjacent the pub so I stopped there. In the afternoon 3 other motor homes pulled up so we all had a long happy hour & I also found out a lot of information about far North Q’land.

Good Friday today, so back to Rocky to pick Liz up this evening, on the way I stopped in at Kershaw Gardens, it’s like a botanical garden, beautifully laid out lots of water & many pathways, at first I thought I wouldn’t find my way back to Wherarwee but discovered the paths wind, serpent like, through the gardens but eventually come back to the start. After spending a relaxing 1 ½ hours there I continued on. Back at the park we stopped at on Monday I spent the remainder of the day on housework. Liz has left Sydney on time & should arrive back at 6:45 PM.

Tomorrow ……….. the adventure starts again!

At Byfield State Forrest

Capricorn Caves

Rootes growing through the limestone

Stalactites

The Cathedral, they hold weddings here,
I took the photo from where the quire stands

This photo doesn't do it justice

At last, I see the light!

There were several of these when leaving the caves

In Kershaw Park

Again

And again

Still more

Oops, I didn't realise I was going to be
in this photo

Log 17-04 Gladstone

Hervey Bay to Gladstone

We’ve spent 2 great days in HB, dropping the scooter off the back we’ve done sightseeing, shopping, markets ( Friday night & Saturday), they were disappointing, just baubles bangles & beads, AND womens clothing. There have been showers every day but other than that it’s been warm & sunny. Libby loves the place & would live here tomorrow, but I tell her this is nearly winter.

Sat 9^th, we drove to Elliot Heads today via any little town on the way, mostly they are just fishing towns with no real facilities for other activities. EH was different, great beach, kiosk open till late, windsurfing, paragliding, swimming, fishing, the lot. There was a nice grassed area adjacent to the beach with BBQ’s, picnic huts, toilets & showers. There were also signs saying no camping or overnight parking, but we did. Almost every place we come to now stops overnight camping, what is wrong with these councils, we buy food, fuel & do a bit of shopping. If we can’t stay it’s the small business owner who loses out.

Today we drove to Agnes Water. We have found a great little bush camp, all the bays are marked but you just pick the one that suits you, plenty of trees & native animals. A huge goanna shot up a tree right next to the van a couple of hours ago, chased by a dog that a camper had brought in. Bush turkeys roam freely, stone fish lurk in the surf, what more could a person want? We plan to stay 3 days & just do little trips on the scooter.

Well, that was a fast 3 days, but relaxing & great weather too. We’ve been swimming, sunbaking, going for short runs. Liz has had to have another cancer on the back of her hand cut out so we had it done while we were here.

Thursday now, we have a flight booked to Middle Island where we stay overnight in a tent, cook dinner on a camp stove & generally just bum about on the island. We have been told there will be 12 of us altogether, staying in 3, 2 man tents & 1, 6 man tent.  A great trip over on the 4 seater, single engine plane, Libby’s 1^st time on a small plane. She told the pilot NO doing 360’s! So he just took us for a ;ittle joy flight around the island. When we had all arrived our group consisted of 3 teeny bopper females, 7 boys in their 20’s & us ….. We had a good afternoon, walking the beach & splashing in the almost calm sea. Dinner was provided but we had to cook it, it was a stew so all the ingredients were thrpwn into a large pot & simmered for 2 hours, Libby was volunteered as the cook. Dinner was plain but went down well as we were all hungry by then. Some of the boys gathered some driftwood & Adam Sandler set it it up. He made a great fire. We retired about 9:00 PM but the other kids partied on till 3:00AM so no sleep for us. Libby was really p…ed off especially as we had got the kitchen area fairly neat before going to bed but the next morning it was a mess. Libby spent the morning sitting on a chair on the edge of the sea with her feet in the water while I went for a walk up to the lighthouse, met the keepers, had a cuppa with them & learned the history of the island. We took the 1^st flight out, let the pilot know how we felt about the difficulties of trying to fit in with 10 young adults & suggested they  tried to group people by age in future.

We arrived back at camp, showered (there was only water in some containers on the island), had lunch & left for Tannum Sands, driving through a tropical storm on the way.

Another beautiful place but the locals tell us that the world has passed them by, we can't see that as Camp ground prices are extremely high. Both Liz & I have multiple sand fly bites, probably from the island. There is a local repellant made around here, it's 1 part metho, 1 part baby oil & 1 part detol. It doesn't stop them biting you but there is no itch & our skin looks really good. As usual I'm the worst off with legs, arms, back & even my scalp covered in welts. We apply the mix about 3 or 4 times a day.

The jetty, Harvey bay

Us at Elliot Heads

The view from our bedroom window

Local resident at Workmans Beach Camp grounds

The river at the town of 1770

There was plenty of shade in the grounds

Another view of the grounds

The flight to Middle Island

Our accomodation on the island

The camp kitchen, yuk, everything's covered in sand

His name is Zahi but we all called him Adam

Mermaids live on this island

view of island from lookout

2 of the teeny boppers

The lighthouse on the flight home

Log 07-04 Fraser Island & Hervey Bay

We left Noosa with many fond memories & we would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have put us up & put up with us on our journey.

Taking many back roads we checked out Tin Can Bay then on to Rainbow Beach where we camped on the beachfront for 2 nights. It’s a great spot, friendly people, great little club overlooking the beach & Fraser Island nearby. We booked a day tour of the island which took us along the road to Inskip Point, then over on the punt & up the inland road coming out onto the beach just before Eurong where we stopped for morning tea. Then it was on to Central Station for a board walks through the rainforest & by a little creek. Then back to Eurong for a smorgasbord lunch after which we travelled along the beach to the coloured sands (about two thirds the way along the island). When I was here 20 years ago the speed limit on the beach was a nominal 100 KPH all the way, it’s now 80 KPH with some parts 30 KPH. I was amazed that about 2 metres of sand had eroded from the beach but the coach captain said the sand comes & goes constantly changing the level. Returning along the beach we saw a couple of dingoes on the dunes, they just ignored us. Crossing back on to the mainland the tide was now low enough for us to return via Rainbow Beach. A great day & we only had a couple of showers (heavy ones). After an ale at the club we retired back to ‘Wherearwee” for the night.

We thought we might stay for another night but as it was drizzling this morning we took off for Poona, another beautiful little spot overlooking Fraser. The sign on the boat ramp said take care as their were crocks in the area but there were people standing waist deep in the water. Another sign reminded us about the stone fish that lived in the area. We next travelled on to Boonooroo but didn’t like it so we drove on the Hervey Bay. We are in a great caravan park right on the edge of the ocean & as I type this out I am looking across the bay towards Fraser.

Wild brumbys near our beach campsite

Our vehicle for the trip

Eurong resort

Fraser vegetation

On the boardwalk

Lake MacKenzie

Wreck of the Maheno 1935

Through the porthole

Fraser coloured sands

Eli Creek 1

Eli Creek 2

Scarness Caravan Park Hervey bay