Looking Back 2006
Across from our campsite at Customs House was a man made channel connecting the Murray River to Chowilla Creek. The first 100 metres were lined with rocks to prevent erosion from the rapids and the water was flowing at about 10 knots. It was only 2 to 4 metres wide with a few log obstructions and a couple of whirlpools at the corners. It flowed about 1 kilometre before slowing down upon reaching the Chowilla Creek. It was quite tricky going down in the dinghy but even more fun, for me not Sandy, coming back up at about 3/4 throttle. At one of the whirlpools the water depth dropped from 5 feet to 20 feet, I wonder if any Murray Cod lived there.
After leaving South Australia we followed the Old Mail Route Road along the Murray River stopping at Ned's Corner Station for a couple of weeks. We found a semi sunny spot away from the dangerous Red Gums on the banks of the river. A very peaceful time as we rarely saw anyone with only the occasional fishing boat or houseboat motoring down the river. We caught shrimp and yabbies for bait but only managed Carp again. Even the few locals we talked to were not catching any of the good fish. The temperature is still hovering around 40 degrees and we are swimming quite regularly throughout the day keeping cool. The river temperature has increased to 28 degrees so this may be why the fish aren't biting. I finally caught something other than a Carp, a Long Necked Tortoise! Still nothing to eat.
Lock 9, further up the river had its camping area closed, which is the reason we stayed at Ned's. I talked to the Lockmaster and found out that he works for South Australia Water Corporation looking after the Lock in NSW and lives in a house next to the lock in Victoria!
We stayed at the Apex Riverbeach Caravan Park in Mildura and I think the whole town population swam and partied till midnight as it was so hot still. We experienced a very bright and loud thunderstorm the next night as it traversed directly overhead scaring the daylights out of Sandy and the white Cockatoos! I don't know who screeched the loudest.
I took Sandy to the Gem Cave where we were entertained listening to a talk on how they make jewelry from casting thru to polishing stones. After this we drove via Kings Billabong along the river back to Mildura. Many campsites available but they were mostly under the trees.
At Red Cliffs, stands the proud "Big Lizzie". Originally built to carry wool but being unable to cross the Murray River it was used extensively to clear timber from the Returning Soldiers Settlements in Victoria. I think the top speed was 2 mph! What a unique vehicle.
Travelling further up the river we found a lot of campsites but all too shady for us. Finally we stopped at Watts Bend which even included a sandbar for swimming, great. The nearest two towns were Nangiloc and Colignan which if you have another look are the same word spelt backwards! The river current is getting stronger as we travel upstream and now that the Darling River doesn't flow into the Murray the water colour has changed from dusty brown to a clearer algae green.
Sandy woke me at 3am and the caravan was full of smoke. We took the torch outside and the forest was thick with smoke! We couldn't see or hear any fire and decided that it was from the bushfires at the Grampians, 100's of kilometres away which turned out to be true. A bit scary when the only way out is back thru a state forest.
Travelling on we went via Boundary Bend to Passage Camp then to the Murrumbidgee River Junction.
200 meters upstream we spied a sandbar. With a bit of maneuvering we got the van down next to the river above the bar. The next day a ranger dropped in to advise us that a total fire ban was in force, which included no gas stoves to be lit in the caravan!!! The sandbar was on a bend and the river was quite narrow causing the current to flow quite fast. No use swimming here as you are washed away down river if you try, just dig your toes in and get cool.
A small detour now away from the river for a bit of Gold detecting. We are camped at a park in Tarnagulla surrounded by state forests full of gold, all I have to do now is find some. The camper next door has just found 2 x one ounce nuggets!! So far I've only got one small one at 1.9 grams. I swapped some of my old gold for some new bits for the detector. 2 mono coils, a digital gauge and a speaker enhancer. I've got to learn to slow down when I'm detecting.
Well I found another small gold nugget bringing the grand total to 2 for Tarnagulla. Some of the detectorists are quite friendly, which is very nice, and makes for a pleasant time. I have a leaking shock absorber on the caravan so I have ordered a new set of two from Bendigo which we picked up on the way out.
We headed to Echuca to set up camp on the river at Braunds Bend with 40,000 other campers to watch the Southern 80 Ski Race. 3 days of racing with the main event covering 40kms from Torrumbarry Weir to finish at Echuca.
BULLDUST!!! The tracks along the river where most of the camping is done is made of dry river mud and when cars travel along the tracks the dust rises. When HUNDREDS of cars travel on them the track turns to rivers of dust up to a foot deep. All the campers vehicles and tents were covered with dust, some cars were so covered you couldn't see the colour of the car. After we left I had to clean my solar panels and got an extra 2 amps out of them.
All the boats towed two skiers and the V8 boats exceeded 100 Miles Per Hour! As in any motor race the noise from the boats were awesome. The river was closed during the races so no houseboats were sighted until after the events. The 40km event was covered in just 20 minutes by the leading boats who hardly slowed down for the numerous bends in the river. Spectators lazed in the water, on tree trunks or just watched from the banks like us. Our awning finished a metre from the edge of the river bank. It was quite impressive but I think we will leave it to the enthusiasts next time. The campers beside us raged all night every night and went to bed as the sun came up. Pity I had to run the generator to charge the batteries first thing in the morning!!
Most of the Murray River is a reserve with free camping available at the end of every river access road. A delight for us bush campers. We found many spots with sandy beaches and open sunny areas.
After leaving we continued up the Murray River looking for another suitable camp site. Christies and Betties Beach did not have enough sun for us so we carried on to Barmah State Forest. Later on we found out that the forest was only reopened in late December as it had been purposefully flooded to water the trees. The river is now only a foot below the surrounding grounds. Further down river the water was usually over 3 metres below the ground level. The camp spots are beautiful and we will come back here again to spend a few weeks in the forest, it will become one of our favorite spots. The NSW side equivalent is Picnic Point which has 3 caravan parks along this stretch of river. Hut Lake was a picture with wild horses, a few cows and lots of birds including black swans.
We continued following the river and followed one track up onto a levee bank which we followed for 4 kms. Sandy wasn't impressed as there was no way we could get off it as it was about 2.5m high on both sides and only just wide enough for the car and caravan. I don't know what we would have done if it was somehow blocked.
We ended up camped at Ulupna Beach in the Ulupna Island Reserve where Sandy found two Koalas on her afternoon walk, one with a baby.
Moved on to Cobram but found the fruit pickers had taken over the river camping so ended up camping at Bourkes Bend. Here I replaced all the bearings on the caravan and repacked the bearings on the car. Swimming was good from the sandy beach but the river is now flowing quite fast and is getting a bit cool.
Yarrawonga and Lake Mulwala, then other smaller towns, Rutherglen and finally stopping at Police Paddocks on the Murray again. I finally caught two Murray Cods just as were ending our river trip. Unfortunately both were a tad undersize at 40cm so they swim free for another day.
Wodonga, Lake Hume and Tallangatta where we camped the night before hugging the lake around the east side looking at the views of long dead redgums in green pastures surrounded by the drier pastures of the hills.
Bellbridge, Bethanga, Talgarno and finally camping the night at Burrowye Reserve on the Murray west of Walwa. No shrimp in the river and using plastic lures didn't attract any fish to my line. That finishes our fishing on the Murray. Total of 1 Yellow Belly! Were either not good fisherpersons or "There's no fish in the Murray!" as Sandy has quite often said.
Leaving the Murray at Corryong we visited the Murray 1 Snowy Hydro Station for a quick tour before travelling on and up into the Kosciuszko National Park. We camped at Clover Flats before climbing higher, mostly in first gear then down again to Tumut Ponds Dam.
We climbed up to Australia's highest town at 1488m, Cabramurra, but it turned out to be more like a ski lodge than a town. We topped out at 1610m on the way over the ranges and then into first gear again going down the other side. Near Cooma we ascended Mount Gladstone Lookout but the poor Nissan couldn't make it up in first gear so engaging low range we made it to the top for views over the town.
On the last day of the month we dropped into the Bega Cheese Factory for some tasting, filled up with petrol and arrived on the east coast at Tathra where we are now camped.
Not sure about camping for the the next month or two as no generators are allowed in the National Parks. We may have to stay in caravan parks if the skies become cloudy. We'll see. This park at Tathra is only $16 a night but other parks up the coast have prices of up to $50 a night. A bit of a shock after 3 months of free camping in Reserves on over 2000 kms of Murray River from Murray Bridge in SA to Corryong in NSW.
While at Tathra we tried fishing for sand whiting in the surf. A friendly fisherman donated some of his beach worms to us and that afternoon he tried to show me how to catch my own. Unfortunately after 2 hours I could only manage to catch one worm. The next day I caught the first whiting at around 45cm then Sandy caught (or tangled on to) a yellow braided line. We pulled in around 100 metres of line and to our great surprise there was another whiting flapping around on the end of it!!!
Next stop was at Bermagui in time for the Seaside Festival weekend. The day started off with the Blessing of the Fleet then the fair started on the main oval. The day was made up auctions, art shows, street parades, food and craft stalls finishing the day off with a fireworks display 200 metres from our caravan site. How lucky can you get.
Blue Pool is made up of two man made pools that are flooded at high tide. A sign warns you not to swim in them when the sea is rough as you may get washed out to sea. The pool is located just behind the park but the weather was too cool and windy for any swimming.
Continued on to Dalmeny via historic Tilba in which every shop was for the tourists. Dalmeny caravan park was donated to the council to be kept as a basic campground. Unbeatable ocean views and a brand new ablution block made for a very nice stay. One evening we suffered a sudden wind, rain and lightning storm that lasted about 30 minutes. We managed to get our awning down during the storm and we were both drenched as soon as we stepped out of the caravan door. Three other campers weren't so lucky as they had their awnings whipped off their vans. All the tents in the park were flattened and we helped one camper and his son put it their tent up again after the storm passed. The campers were very friendly and were hoping we would stay longer than we did but we have to keep moving to follow the sun.
From our camping spot near Moruya we drove North to the small Mogo Zoo to see their endangered animals that are being bred to increase the species survival hopes.
Next stop was a detour away from the coast to the Exhibition Showground's campground at Canberra. Sandy says that I need a bit of culture and she's hoping to top me up here. No chance.
Every camper here is doing the rounds of the venues, with such a variety too see. CSIRO Discovery Centre, National Museum of Australia, Old Parliament house, New Parliament House, National Art Gallery, Sound and Film Archives, Australian Sports Institute. Australian War Memorial and many others.
Sandy enjoyed trying out the downhill skiing video machine. We were the only people on our tour of the Australian Sports Institute and Sandy pumped the tour guide, who was training as a rower, on all training aspects at the institute. I won tickets to the Playhouse, seeing David Page in "Page8" a one man show on his life. An enjoyable show. On the way to the Art Gallery I dropped into a free art exhibition in the park with hundreds of paintings on show. There seems to be something on all the time here. In just over a week there has been an Antique and Collectible Show, a Gem and Fossil Show, Lifeline 2/Hand Book Sale, Home Expo and Italian Auto and Machinery Show.
The Australian War Memorial took a full day to tour with so much to see. They have many airplanes on display and a terrific sound and light show featuring a Lancaster Bomber. You can't believe how they can fit so much in the building which doesn't look that big from the outside.
We've seen everything we want to here for now. It's only going to be 2 degrees tonight so were leaving tomorrow before it gets any colder and Sandy ices up on her early morning run. If the cyclones are finished we might be heading north fast according to Sandy, looking for some heat. We will be in Sydney in April to check out the Caravan and Camping Show, hopefully it will be as good as the Brisbane one we to a few years ago.
We left Canberra and took a slow trip down the mountains to the coast arriving at Depot Beach in the Murramarang National Park. Both Depot Beach and Pretty Beach are in the National Park and have powered sites but only Pretty Beach has views to the ocean from the campsites.
The camping areas are full of animals. Kangaroos, parrots, possums and kookaburras. We had six kookaburras around us at one stage. One posed on the fence in front of us and I got so close to take a photo I didn't realise that two more had flown in to have their photos taken as well, so friendly.
We didn't get to see any but the kangaroos are supposed to swim in the surf along here. There are many photos in the tourist papers with pictures of the swimming roos.
Over the next few days the swell caused by the cyclone caused lots of damage along the coast. The sea pool at Ulladulla which was emptied for winter, stands three metres above the ocean. Overnight this Olympic size pool was filled to overflowing by the enormous waves coming into the bay. We drove north along the coast and were amazed as we watched these six metre high waves at Mollymook in the photo below. Around a hundred spectators watched with us as a few surfers attempted to ride these massive waves. The caravan park at Lake Conjola was flooded and a lot of the campers were busy trying to dry out their camping gear. According to a local couple we were talking to there was a fenced sand dune, four metres high, set aside for nesting birds, along the coastal entrance to Lake Conjola. Three quarters of this dune, about 200 metres, had disappeared overnight with the onslaught of the sea. Another local remembered this happening once before about thirty years ago. This night we had drinks while watching the high tide and waves wash up to the Ulladulla boardwalk and top up the sea pool again.
We had run out of time as Easter was upon us. With no bush camping in the area we finally found a caravan park at Nowra with a site available to us where we stayed until after Easter. We took some day drives along the coast and found a lovely campsite at a place called Honeymoon Bay which is on Navy Land in Jervis Bay. You can camp here on Friday and Saturday nights only. Other towns like Huskisson are located in beautiful spots along the coastline. Outside holiday times the park rates would drop down to more realistic prices.
We went to the Kiama seaside markets which is located around the natural fishing boat harbour. The markets were the same as all the others and the beach was all black rocks with no sand. Still it is a very scenic place to visit.
I was spoilt in Canberra with free entries or free entry the next day if I didn't see everything on display at the various attractions. Not so at the Naval Aviation Museum at Nowra. I was there for 3 hours when they turned out the lights and asked me to leave as it closed at 4:00pm. I asked if I could return the next day for an hour to finish it off and they told me I would have to pay another $12.00 entry fee!
If you ever get to Nowra, try the Services Club on the Highway. We were told that the Buffet meal was good value and it was. All you can eat seafood (prawns, oysters, crab and fish), roasts, Asian foods and deserts galore, only $16.50 a head. Yummy.
We planned to go to the Sydney Caravan and Camping Show and booked into a park in Rouse Hill. The next morning we arrived bright and early to the show at Rose Hill. There were no new products that caused us any excitement but we still spent the whole day wandering around. We did pick up a discount voucher for the Tassie ferry that saved us $200 when we booked our trip for November. Brisbane's show that we went to three years ago appeared to us to be far bigger and better than this one at Sydney. Kedron had produced a new van "Top Ender" which was quite impressive and maybe the only one we would consider updating to. It was packed with features galore and included such luxury as leather upholstery. The show price was under $100,000 which is still far too expensive by our standards. Other manufacturers had so called "Unmade Road" packs that only consisted of off road tyres and raised suspension!
Still heading North trying to find some warmer weather we stopped at Gosford to pick up a new sink tap for the caravan. As we were backing out the stub axle on a caravan wheel snapped. Only 30 minutes before I was doing 100kmh down the freeway. LUCKY!!!! We had previously booked into a park in Belmont about 60km away so we had a nervous trip with the van only having 3 wheels. The trailer shop in Gosford has ordered us a new trailing arm from Preston Chassis in Melbourne so now were just waiting for that to arrive and be fitted then we will head north again.
Late breaking news. Preston Chassis are finally going to send the new component, 6 days after it was ordered. Now we have to wait three more days for it to arrive. Narara Trailers and Towbars are going to bring it up to Belmont when it arrives and fit it for me at the caravan park. Good old fashioned service.
Still in Belmont.
While waiting for the axle to be repaired I had to fix a slow leak in a tyre tube. In doing so my ARB compressor couldn't take the strain of pumping my tyre up to 75psi and melted! I made a few phone calls and decided on a Blue Tounge compressor which is made in USA ? by Warne who also make winches for 4WDs. I actually bought the Twin Tounge as I thought the quicker it blows up the tyre the less it is going to overheat. I have used it this month and it took 20 minutes to inflate both the front two tyres from 20psi to 50psi and the back two from 45psi to 75psi. The old compressor took at least twice that time.
Narara T & T has replaced the axle and we are on the road again, hip hip hooray!
Heading north we were going to stay at Croki which was a small town on a river. Being out of season, an old caravan park and only a few campers in residence we were not prepared to pay $25 a night. A little further down the road we stayed at a new caravan park, Stoney Park for $19 a night. A good decision.
Another park we stopped at on the way north was on the river near Iluka at Brown Rocks Caravan Park. A lovely little park with the promise of good fishing in the river. Only $16.50 plus power. The next morning we decided to carry on North and stop in here on the way down later in the year. Boy were we surprised when they wanted to charge us $1.50 per kilowatt of power and the meter said that we had used 3Kw! No air conditioner, no heater and fully charged batteries from our solar panels. I didn't even connect to power until 5pm. We couldn't afford to stay here full time as I'm sure we would be using $10 of power a night!!! I asked the next caravan park how much power the residents use and he told me about $10 a week with air conditioners, freezers and fridges. Iluka's caravan park wasn't much more expensive and all the power you wanted to use.
After five days travelling from Belmont in NSW, we arrived at Inskip Point, Queensland on the south end of Fraser Island. We will spend the rest of May here.
There were not many fish being caught off the beach or from the boats. Later we heard that they were catching some whiting and bream down closer to the the ferries. We went trolling after some schools of Tuna which were chasing baitfish in the channel.
I actually caught one, our first Tuna. It did pick on my smallest rod and lure, (not our heavy boat rods) which didn't quite handle the power of a 90cm Tuna. The rod snapped but I still managed, 20 minutes later, to get the fish in the boat. I took my beach rod out with me a few days later so I could cast to the school of tuna which normally disappeared when we got too close. I caught another one, slightly larger than the first tuna, which had the beach rod bent over double with the tip in the water for most of the 25 minutes it took to get it in the boat. We shared this one around with the other campers and the next day they all said it tasted great and looked forward to some more. The tides were higher and the moon disappeared and so did the tuna until the day we packed up the boat then another school of tuna came through just to tease us.
We've had a lot of rain while camped here at Inskip but the weather has been a lot warmer than what we experiencing down in Newcastle. Sandy's been out in the sun absorbing the rays when she can.
We have camped in an area that is good for solar panels as most of the camping here is under shade. Mobile service disappears occasionally and we only receive Channel 7 via digital (occasionally) or satellite. Unfortunately Channel 7 is scrambled via my satellite so I've sent an email off to Optus and they tell me Central 7 has turned me off so I've now sent an email to 7 asking them to turn me back on again. You would think that they don't like us watching their station!!!! SBS, 9 and 10 are fine from the standard TV antennae. We have plenty of books to read and I've been studying the Photoshop Tutorials from the book I bought earlier this year. The campground is run by the National Parks and costs $8 a night. The only facilities are the environmental loos which work well. I have launched the boat from the beach right in front of the camp.
Next month heading North to Woodgate, Burrum Heads National Park.
We left Inskip and after shopping in Maryborough, then headed for Woodgate. Three years ago when we were last here we were told that there was a good camping spot north of Woodgate. The only information I had was to take the road north into Burrum Heads National Park which will lead you to a camping area on the beach. We found the road and followed a couple of tracks which lead to private properties and we had to back out, caravan and all! We followed the main track and eventually came to Palm Beach but found the access track over the dunes too soft for us. Continuing on we eventually succumbed to the soft sand and buried the car and van. I tried to wedge some planks under the rear wheels but only made a lot of noise with the wheels spinning and no forward movement. The A frame of the van was so low it was grading the sand. I then tried to lift the rear of the car to get some clearance but the jack bracket I bought in Perth for the Nissan started to bend without lifting the car. As I was scratching my head wondering what to do a couple of guys and their children came by on the way to their camp. They had to get the children settled in their camp before dark but they promised to return and try to help us get out. Meanwhile Sandy wasn't looking too good, I don't know why! My last attempt was to disconnect the car and tow the caravan out with a snatchem strap. I wasn't sure if we would get the van reconnected to the car if this didn't work. Well the car, with tyres deflated, drove out easily without the caravan. The caravan was a different matter, the A frame just dug in deeper when I tried to tow it. So I placed a plank of wood under the van coupling / A frame, looping the chains around the wood, which held it in place and stopped it sliding away. It worked great. I towed the van around 150 metres to firmer sand. Thirty minutes after the guys left I had jacked the caravan up ready to reconnect it to the car when the two guys returned. They were surprised to find us out of trouble as they thought we would be stuck for longer. They recently got their camper trailer bogged on the same track and with a lot of effort and two vehicles they extracted it. They followed us for a couple of kilometres to make sure we got through another soft section, which was very nice of them. By this time it was two hours after sunset so we found a place on the edge of the track where we could camp the night. A quick flannel wash saw most of the dust and dirt removed before I cooked pizza for tea. I didn't get any photos for the web as our minds were on other things at the time as I'm sure you can understand.
We arrived at Norval Park after shopping in Bundaberg. This free camping area is maintained by the council with bins, toilets and washing water. Not too bad for a layover, if the weather was kinder we could have launched the boat, as we were told of a couple of reefs offshore with good prospects for catching some fish.
Next stop for us was two days at Carnarvon Gorge. The only campsite is at the caravan park at $30 a night! We hiked a few trails to check out a sample of the gorges, Mickey Creek, Ward's Canyon and Moss Garden.
Carnarvon Creek was flowing and it was very green near the water but the rest was tinder dry. We were told that further up the gorge the walls closed in but near Ward's they were still hundreds of metres apart. It didn't make it as interesting as other gorges we had seen on out travels and camp fees were more expensive. We would have stayed longer if the fees were reasonable.
Via a shopping stop in Emerald we made our way to Sapphire to meet up with fellow travelers, Lyn and Trevor, who we have previously come across in Cairns and Port Hedland. We settled into the park and the next day travelled to Glenalva to try fossicking for sapphires. Using their equipment we dug a few buckets of wash but found nothing. The next day we hired some gear from the park, Blue Gem, then went to the same place we were at 3 years ago, when in two days we found a yellow and a blue sapphire. We think we were close to the same spot and set up the rock slide and willoughby and started digging wash. We found a couple of small sapphires and quite a few zircons.
We had Lyn and Trevor and a few of their friends join us and over the next two weeks on the days that it didn't rain we moved buckets and buckets of soil. Almost everyone found a gem quality sapphire that was large enough to be faceted. Except us! Most of the stones we found were only 1/2 to 1 carat in size with a few zircons at 3 carats. We found 85 zircons, 11 green sapphires, 4 blue sapphires, 4 sapphire bombs and 1 quartz crystal about 15 mm long. Except on the last day of digging when in the afternoon we dug up a massive 33.5 carat green sapphire, woo hoo!!!!! It has too many flaws to be faceted into a large gemstone but will look great if we ever have it polished for a pendant.
The 30th of June arrived, my 50th birthday. Sandy woke me with a heap of cards and a surprise birthday greetings video from everyone at home in Perth. My niece Melinda was the photographer and editor. It was a great way to start the day, tears and all. At Happy Hour that night we had our group of fossickers turn up, Lyn and Trevor, Zelda and Phil, Lorraine and Tom, Maureen and Les and about 20 other campers from the park. I received a loud rendition of Happy Birthday from all. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy. Later, after a big T bone steak and chips at the camp kitchen for tea, Zelda had made me a chocolate mousse and Sandy made me my favourites, Vanilla Slices. I had a great day with thoughts from home and company from new found friends here at Sapphire. Another 50 years to go!
In July we travelled to Clermont with Lyn and Trevor to see if we could find some Queensland gold. Two weeks later I found my one and only piece, 0.2 grams!!!!! about $5.00 in value. Lyn and Trevor only lasted a week with no gold found, they headed for Topaz country at O'Brien's Creek. I only found my small piece because I met Joan while I was out detecting and she showed me how to look for small gold. She was always telling me to slow down, I know I go too fast but its hard. I keep looking for the next likely gold spot instead of concentrating on the ground I'm currently detecting on. It seems that most gold found here is very small, up to around 2 grams. A few large ones are still found but possibly not in the general detecting areas as local landholders occasionally let detectorists onto their property. We found out our friends John and Rosie are heading back to Yeppoon from a six month rock collecting expedition in WA / NT. We arranged to meet them back at Sapphire as they intended to try their luck finding the elusive gemstones.
As we had to wait a few days for John and Rosie to turn up I booked myself into a faceting course with Jim Nesbitt from Outback Gems in Sapphire (07 4981 0301 / 0417603970). Over six hours he teaches you how to cut and polish each surface of a gem to a Brilliant Cut, the same cut used on a diamond. Trevor gave me a Topaz to use for this course. My 3.4 carat cut Topaz. Only $90 for the lesson and I now have a faceted Topaz gemstone cut and polished by me, Wow!! While at Sapphire I had our green sapphire we found last month free form polished, the sun reflects back from silver inclusions in the stone, it looks great.
We dropped into Sapphire's refuse tip looking for copper wire for Sandy to practice making some wire jewellery. We found a few transformers with fine wire but no heavy wire. The couple in charge offered to bring in some salvaged copper power wire which we picked up the next day. It was exactly what we wanted and Sandy made her second bracelet in copper which she gave to the lady at the tip.
We caught up with John and Rosie for a few days then left them at the gem fields while we travelled to Stanage for some fishing. Stanage is a small fishing village 100ks up a good dirt road with the turn off from the main highway between Mackay and Rockhampton. The camping is by donation and the camping area has rainwater tanks and toilets. Generators are allowed and the concrete boat ramp is just around the corner. They have a tavern, shop, fuel and marine store. A very pretty place to stay. They are catching salmon, cod, bream and lots of school sharks. We are only catching sharks at the moment, maybe tomorrow.
Next month we drop into Yeppoon before heading to NSW as the weather should be warmer now down south.
The first week in August had strong winds so fishing was not the best but we tried. A couple of fellow campers took pity on us and gave us a mulloway they caught. We were fishing in the same place as they caught their fish but we moved as it was pretty rough. We should have waited as about 2 hours later the tide stopped, the wind dropped and the mulloway were on the bite for an hour.
We headed down to Yeppoon to catch up with John and Rosie (June at Sapphire). We had a lot of gossip and many a meal together over the week that we stayed there. John was slicing the zebra stone he had bought in WA so I joined his Lapidary club and faceted a piece of Crystal Quartz (4.5 carats) that Trevor and Lyn had previously given to me at Sapphire.
I also, under instruction from John, cabbed a piece of Matrix Sandy had found earlier at Andamooka. Cabbing is shaping and polishing and is used on stones and opals. Later we will try setting these pieces into some jewellery, meanwhile we get ides from the markets we go to.
Rosie invited me to the art class she attends and I had my first lesson on decorative art (folk art). I learnt a few things such as making sperm shapes S (Rosie's description, not mine) which I will have to practice. Also how to keep the paint from drying out on a sponge covered in baking paper.
While at Yeppoon John attached a ring to the sapphire we had polished last month and Sandy is now proudly wearing it every other day.
I sold my Christies Honda Battery Charger at Bundaberg. It does a wonderful job charging the batteries quickly but it was so noisy. I still have a GMC Bunnings $89 generator which is still going strong with nearly 200 hours of use. Later I may purchase a 30/50 amp battery charger which will run off this generator and charge the batteries just as quick.
Arrived at the Gold Coast. So many people!!!! We took a day trip to the mountains driving into the Tamborine National Park and walking to Cameron Falls in the Knoll section. A lot of bushfire smoke in the air this week and the views were somewhat hazy.
After a coffee and hot chocolate in Lamington National Park we walked to Bellbird Lookout. Unfortunately the rangers had been tree lopping in this area and covered a direction sign. We followed a wrong track for 15 minutes before turning around. We found the right track and the lookout only to see more smoky haze. The rainforest, wallabies, and birds were nice to see.
We have now crossed over into NSW and have camped at Hastings on the beach. A nice park with views to the ocean from our camp spot. Rain, rain and more rain. When it stops we will get out and do something. Meanwhile we just read a book, play on the computer, get the financials up to date and talk to other campers. We hope the rain will lighten and more sunny days will appear this spring on the northern coast of NSW as we head south.
We caught the ABC Four Corners program on the Ningaloo Coast. Its a pity that the current conservation being done by the pastoral owners and campers alike were not emphasized and the message was that only the Government/Calm could look after it. What a lot of bull**** ! Sandy's still fuming.
More touring around the area, up into the hills and down the coast. Plenty of rainforests and steep, winding roads through National Parks. Nimbin was unusual with cookies and grass being sold from footpath vendors. I expected a few unusual crafts to be for sale but what was for sale was disappointing with a lack of originality in the products. Many lookouts along the coast with a lot of fancy new houses everywhere. We managed to see a couple of whales flow past the Cape Byron Lighthouse while we were there. Tried a few local markets but no excitement there, lots of typical market junk.
Ballina had a walking track for Sandy right behind our caravan, too easy. The track continued out onto the river groin where I watched the fishing fleet go out near sunset.
Broadwater, Evans Head, Bundjallung National Park, Iluka and others before arriving at Brooms Head. This place was recommended to us by travelling friends Mandy and Barry who love the spot. We found site 7 had great views but the northerly wind that was blowing was rocking the van for two days. Thankfully it swung around to he south for the rest of our stay here and it was a magical spot.
Sandon River just down the road was cheap National Park camping but it was packed with easily over 50 campsites occupied. Like all parks we have looked at in NSW no generators allowed. With the overcast rainy days we have been having these camping areas are only good for one day as the fridge uses the battery power up.
While here I made up a bracket for the angle grinder so that I can cut rocks with the diamond blades I picked up from Rubyvale. The hardest part was protecting the motor from the water needed to use the blade but an old tupperware container fixed that. I've tried cutting some boulder opal and it was like slicing butter, next a bit of rainbow opal Sandy found in Andamooka.
I was having a chat to some neighbours when Sandy came out of the caravan looking a bit distressed. She ran around to the tap before she told me she could hear some water running somewhere and thought that the hose had popped off as it had before. I ran back and could hear the water inside the van when I opened the door!!! At about the same time the water started to run out of the front cupboards. The hose had broken off the sink tap and 4 cupboards and were quickly filling with water. After turning off the tap we pulled everything out as quick as possible and didn't sustain too much damage. Lucky it didn't happen the day before as we were out all day, what a mess that would have made. We turned on the heater for the rest of the day to dry the cupboards out and it felt like we were in Broome as the temperature was now over 30c in the van.
Travelling south again we passed through more small seaside towns, they are all blurring into one. Rocky headlands, quiet coves, sandy beaches and houses galore. No more quiet beachside camping spots around here. We camped at Corindi Beach Holiday Park and had drinks on the cliffs only a stones throw from our van. Around 10pm that night Sandy found a tick in her neck, drama!!! I tried putting metho on it and it didn't let go so we went to make a phone call for advice. The lady in charge of the park was so helpful allowing us to use their phone to ring the hospital. The triage nurse said to hold our metho soaked pad on the tick for 5 minutes then pull it out with tweezers if needed, don't worry about the head breaking off as that rarely happens. After a few attempts with the tweezers the tick eventually popped out. A week later Sandy got a couple of lumps in her neck and a visit to a doctor confirmed it's just a reaction to the bite, not to worry. We bought some alcohol swabs from the chemist for next time as that is recommended with metho next.
After shopping in Coffs Harbour we toured the hills going past the Dorrigo Sewerage farm where we saw a tree made from old porcelain toilets with a sign saying "LAVATREE Species - Pissina Flushturdum" further on was Dangar falls
The next day was via Nambucca Heads above. Through more heads and points and other seaside towns. All the rest were just a blurry memory. We followed the tourist drive which followed the coast traversing many potholed, gravel roads. As it had been raining we picked up a light spray of mud which over three days built up to a thick coating covering both the van and car. Later on after the gravel roads were behind us we went to a car wash and blasted the mud off, what a mess.
School Holidays and a long weekend caught us at Nelson Bay. $38 a night so we only stayed one night then booked into a park at Belmont we used on the way up, which had gone from $20 then up to $30 a night now! The other parks were fully booked out so not much choice.
Disaster!!!!!
Thankfully only a minor one, we split a rim. In April, on the way North, we broke an axle on the caravan at the Windsor dealer in Gosford. Now within a few hundred metres of the exact same spot, after travelling many hundreds of kilometres to Queensland and back, we heard a bang and felt some vibrations. Stopping the car we checked around our rig and found nothing. We picked up our new replacement tap at the Windsor Dealer again and drove a few k's towards the freeway entrance. Just before entering the freeway we were up to 70kmh when we felt and heard the vibration again. This time after stopping we found the centre of a rim coming adrift. Later, after removing the tyre from the rim, we were amazed at how close the rim was to self destructing especially if we made the freeway and the 100kmh downhill runs!
In Sydney we stayed at the Lane Cove caravan park and bought a weekly bus/train/ferry ticket so we could easily get around town. First stop was the Sydney Aquarium where Sandy found her favourite sea friend a turtle. Then a Deep Sea 3D movie at Imax (more turtles for Sandy) followed by a visit to the National Maritime Museum. We arrived just in time for a tour onto Kay Cottee's yacht, the First Lady. 186 days for her to solo navigate the globe. We were allowed to go onboard, after removing our shoes, and had explained to us how she lived, where she kept her provisions and the hardships she endured on the trip. We both enjoyed this experience.
The next day after walking over the Sydney Harbour Bridge we caught a ferry up the river to Parramatta and back enjoying the views of majestic river front houses and luxury moored boats.
That afternoon we went to the Sydney Tower and enjoyed the hologram displays followed by virtual reality movies with real motion seats and wrap-a-round screens then up the tower to the 360 degree views. This place called Sydney is big, give us Perth any day.
Saturday saw us checking out the Paddington (jewellery and clothes) and Paddy Markets (100's of stalls full of Tshirts and junk) with Rob and Carolyn from WA, one of the many West Australian campers at the caravan park. There must be at least a dozen of us sandgropers in the park.
We went back to Darling Harbour and visited Sydney Wildlife World with some free tickets given to us by some friendly campers. Most of the animals were the same ones we have camped with these past 5 years, the exception being the butterflies and thankfully the snakes.
After leaving Sydney we travelled via the Royal National Park to Stanwell Park where we saw the new coastal road and unique seabridge near Coalcliff. Stanwell Park is a renown hangliding launch area.
Skipping over the the towns we had previously seen we ended up at Eden where we sighted more whales migrating down the coast. The whales are the main tourist attraction here. Eden being an old whaling station town in years gone by.
While here the tap fitting started leaking again. I found that an O ring in the water pressure reducer had split. This meant the low pressure tap fittings couldn't take the higher pressure. That is now fixed so we shouldn't have any more water problems for a while.
We drove out to Boyd Town, a failed business enterprise of the 1840's, and then on to Boyd Tower on South Head, Twofold Bay. Built for Ben Boyd around 1847 it was to be a lighthouse but never finished and was used till 1930s as a lookout by the local whalers.
This was our last campsite in NSW, crossing the border into Victoria we stopped at Mallacoota. A few travelers had told us that this is a good place to stop and they were right. Located on the waterfront of the estuary with many beaches and rivers close by. Pity about the cold winds at the moment, in a few months it would be a lot nicer. With over 500 campsites in the council park, a lot of Mexicans (Victorians) must think the same as us.
At Orbost we drove the Snowy River Country Trail, 300 kms. It was steep, twisty and narrow so we couldn't take the van. A long day travelling but the forest and views were great to see. At the top of the drive we went over the wooden MacKillop Bridge which crosses the Snowy River. Between the bridge and Orbost there are only a few places you can access the river.
Lakes Entrance was the next port of call. A pretty town surrounded by water. The caravan parks looked very busy and as we are not fishing at the moment so we carried on to Holland's Landing after a few hours taking in the sights of the lakes area. The Victorian fishing licence costs $22 each for 2 weeks and not many fish are being caught by the boaties. It's cheaper for us to buy some fillets.
Holland's Landing Caravan Park was a mistake, suitable only for fisherpersons. $18 a night, midges and mossies galore, bore water, bull dust, no power after 10.30pm and you couldn't even boil a kettle as the power was only for lights. They were happy to take our money without telling us any of this.
Port Albert was a nice surprise, caravan park on the water with many old wooden boats moored here. Fishing jetties, boat ramp and a concrete walking track for Sandy along the foreshore. If you want a seaside retirement in Victoria then get in here quick as I'm sure it will boom soon.
We finished this month at North Walkerville in a council park on the foreshore. Lovely views across the water to "The Prom" (Wilson's Promontory). We have decided to stay in this quiet little scenic spot till Tuesday when we drive into Melbourne to set up camp for a few weeks and experience the "Melbourne Cup" horse race.
Arrived in Melbourne, picked up our niece, Melinda, from the airport, dropped her at the train station, picked her up from the train station, assembled a fascinator for Sandy's hair, put some bets on at the TAB and went to the Melbourne Cup. That was the first week in Melbourne.
On the day of the cup our group (Myself and five beautiful girls Sandy, Melinda, Kristy, Tracy and Norelle) met at Flinders Station. There were a lot of people, ladies with hats or fascinators, gents with yellow roses (yellow rose being the flower for this event of the Spring Carnival). After a short ride on the train we arrived at Flemington, found a spot on the grass near the finishing post and staked out our turf with Tracy's picnic rug. The day was overcast, quite cool but Melinda still managed a bit of sunburn. Sandy kept her jacket on all day and still froze. Quite a few of the race going ladies had very light summer dresses on and you could see the goose bumps from a 100 metres away. Reported on the news the next day, over a hundred of these lightly clad ladies were treated for hypothermia! Thousands of bottles (plastic) of champagne was consumed by the enthusiastic crowd of race goers. The girls (not us oldies) joined in the drinking. We saw a wide variety of costumes as not all were dressed in suits or dresses. Cavemen and women, superman, tigerwoman, clowns, hospital gowned doctors and many more unusual attires. People watching was a good part of the entertainment. Sandy's horse, Pop Rock, was almost a winner but Melinda's horse won by a whisker. We arrived home at 6pm, a full day experiencing the "race that stops a nation".
We woke up to Morning Sunrise with Grant (the weatherman on Channel 7's Sunrise) broadcasting from Mt Baw Baw, in the snow, 2 1/2 hours out of Melbourne. They had 30mm of snow overnight. We had never seen, touched or been in snow, only sludge. Lunch was packed and we were off to play. Magical, the only way to describe the feeling as we drove up to Mt Baw Baw. First there was a bit on the ground under all the trees with the road just a clean pathway up the mountain. Then the trees had snow on the branches as well and finally everything was covered with snow. It was so thick and light and looked like a winter playground. Almost everything was closed as the season that didn't happen this year was finished and we walked around town and up onto the slopes. Walk off the tracks and you sunk a foot into the virgin, blue tinged snow. We saw quite a few rabbits and an echidna negotiating their way across the cold blanket of white. Sandy said she had frostbite on her face and feet (ears were warm under the beanie) so we had a hot coffee and chocolate in the bar that had just opened for the unexpected tourists arriving. This was the end of a very bad season with only 20mm (in total) of snow previously falling according to the waitress. We felt like staying longer as it was so different to anything we had seen before but we did stay for over 2 hours and arrived home at 6:00pm.
A week later and we had 36 degrees in Melbourne.
A camper here at the park had a good looking lightweight aluminum 2 step for his caravan. We went to the RV Superstore and bought one for ourselves. Only $35 and it beats the pants off the plastic Fiama step that we and nearly everyone else uses.
Also managed a good bargain with 4 new tyres for the caravan, that had recently been traded in from a new Landcruiser, for only $170 each!
We've seen the markets in Melbourne, bought Sandy an MP3, did a few repairs on the van and car and relaxed until we boarded the ferry to Tasmania.
The crossing was as calm as can be but Sandy still couldn't sleep, smoke, walk or go to the toilet without feeling very sick. She hadn't taken any sea sickness tablets and is not looking forward to the trip home. I managed to sleep a bit on the hard floor as the cruise seats were impossible to sleep in. Experienced travelers now tell us that they sleep on the softer sofas out in the public area, stake your seat as soon as you get on the boat. The trip home will be during the day so I will keep Sandy company for this coming trip.
Our first view of Tasmania was Mersey Bluff as we entered Mersey River arriving at Devonport after crossing Bass Strait.
A few days at Mersey Bluff Caravan Park and a trip to Sheffield to catch up with fellow travelers we met 3 years ago, Ross and Jackie. Now we are heading off down the Tamar Valley on our journey around this scenic island.
We travelled the west side of the Tamar Valley taking in the views from West Head all the way to Launceston. Visiting the gold mine site at Beaconsfield and camping overnight beside the Batman Bridge at a free camp site. We were surprised to see numerous fields of opium poppies, evidently grown and used for medical purposes with signs warning unauthorised use may cause death!
Another leak in the van and after advice from a caravan supplier we picked up a new better quality water pressure reducer from a hardware in Launceston, hopefully no more problems.
Launceston was full of century old timber houses and elegant stone town buildings. Cataract Gorge was right beside town with a good walking trail around it. Sandy overcame her fear of heights, gingerly making her way across the Alexandra Suspension Bridge at the beginning of the trail. At the first basin a swimming pool has been installed, you could tell by the number of people it is a popular place to relax when the temps heat up a bit. The north side of the gorge was green and moist in the shade while the southern return track was showing the dry conditions they are experiencing here with little moisture and mostly dry vegetation. Sandy had a go on the nearby Cable Hang Glider and loved every minute of the short flight off the quarry face. The screams of excitement were mingled with a few fun expletives on the way down!
Evandale was a delightful Georgian village from the 1820's. This town also hosts a penny farthing championship in February, we may try to return as many good words have been said to us about the event. At the town of Perth we found the century old Police Station for sale, including jail and stables. Just unusual enough for us so that we would love to own it, pity about the cold climate.
We saw a picture of the zig zag road to Ben Lomond Ski Village and decided to go for the trip. The road is named as Jacob's Ladder and it is a single lane gravel road that twists back on itself many times as it climbs to the top. Today was cool and the clouds were sweeping thru the timber ski village. Not snow but still a cold feeling watching the clouds skit past.
After a free camp at Scottsdale we drove up to the small seaside village of Bridport then via Gladstone on to Cape Portland and Little Musselroe Bay. These last two places were quite delightful but as we wanted a place to stay for Christmas we decided that it was a bit remote. It would have been around 200kms return to pick up food from Scottsdale or St Helens and 60kms to Gladstone for water. If it wasn't for Christmas we would have stayed for a week and put the boat in, as the water looked good for fishing with reef and islands just offshore.
On the way to the Bay of Fires we stopped at the Weldborough Myrtle Forest, a short walk but very pretty. Interpretive signs explain the history of the forest in children's language. Worth a stop on the way thru is "The Shop in the Bush", advertised as Tasmania's top bric-a-brac shop and they could be right. Nowhere near a town, it nestles on the side of the road with such a variety of goods for sale dating back to the 1800's. If you like curios, books, old jewellery or the rare and unusual then have a look.
On a day trip out from the Bay of Fires we took in St Columba Falls, Ralph Falls, the tree carvings of Legerwood and then Derby. Ralphs Falls plummet down the fluted cliffs of Mt Victoria. The longest single drop waterfall in Australia (cliff top to valley). Derby had a Tin Mine Historical centre with buildings and displays but it shut at 3.30pm and we arrived at 4. Closing time seems a bit early for a tourist attraction.
Following WW1 a row of pine trees were planted in memory of fallen soldiers at Legerwood. When the trees were deemed unsafe the community raised funds to have chain saw sculptures done on the tree trunks in memory of those soldiers. An imaginative memorial to the soldiers.
We set up camp at Swimcart Beach in The Bay of Fires just two weeks before Christmas hoping to beat the rush of campers we had heard about, also the fires had just started south of here at St Marys. The Bay of Fires was named as such because the early explorers could see numerous aboriginal fires along this coastline. The rush never happened, we think the fires kept people away until Boxing Day when they arrived in droves. Ross and Jackie, fellow travelers, who have now settled in Sheffield dropped by for a few days and lots of catching up was enjoyed by us all. We had a lot of maintenance to do so we made use of the time sitting still. My car started losing power and I ordered a new fuel filter but the next trip into town it was even worse so a visit to the mechanic was required. After phoning a diesel mechanic he was informed that there is an inline filter in the injector pump inlet. This was found to be full of dirt and promptly cleaned. I had to do this a second time before heading south.
Binalong Bay would be a good place to buy a house if you wanted to live here, too cold for Sandy. A North facing bay with St Helens facilities only 10ks away. One 3 bedroom house with ocean views was advertised for $240,000! A lot cheaper than the mainland. St Helens area is Tasmania's holiday coast as it has a warmer climate than Melbourne being protected from the southerly winds.
A few days before we left Jason, Amanda and their seven children camped near us. I was invited to go crayfishing in his new 5.4m Stacer boat. Up at 5am we fished for cray bait (gurnards) then dropped the pots. Another couple of hours fishing saw us catch a variety of reef fish. The next day (and our last) along with another camper, Alan, saw us hauling in the pots catching 2 crays. These were later cooked by Amanda and given back to us for our tea. Both Jason and Allan had been catching crays for a while and were happy for us to have them. They tasted yummy, thank you very much Amanda. We also caught 15 flathead and 7 squid. Jason liked his flathead so I filleted them for him and we kept 4 squid. I donated a squid jig to Jason as he had never caught squid before and two of his children love them.
While camped at Swimcart we also met up with Keith and Bear (the huge dog) whom we had last seen at Christmas in Moorook, South Australia. A small world for us campers. He had been camping and diving in Tasmania for the past 10 months.
Travelling south we passed thru the towns of Scamander, Falmouth and Four Mile Creek which were hit by the recent bushfires. On a few properties we saw piles of corrugated iron which were all that remained of what was once their houses. The forests were reduced to ashes that will take many years to recover, it was sad to see the destruction.
Freycinet National Park camping area was full so we parked the van and trekked up to the Wineglass Bay Lookout. Camping in the National Park is done by ballot, 12 months prior, so finding a vacant campsite is impossible. Later we backtracked to Friendly Beach and set up camp for the night.
Travelling thru Swansea we noticed that a half crayfish and chips was $32.50!!!!! must be tourist prices. At Triabunna we had a $2 shower at the Tourist Bureau on the wharf. St Helens also had a hot shower on the wharf but theirs were free. Mayfield Bay free camping area was full, as could be expected on this Christmas/New Year week but it was right on the highway so we may not have stayed anyway.
We arrived at Sorrell Tourist Information and asked about accommodation at Port Arthur. They kindly rang around and found us a site at the National Park, Fortescue Bay, where we camped for 2 days (including New Years Eve) before heading on to the caravan Park at Port Arthur. While camped in the park I had to remove and drain the main fuel tank, drain the sub-tank. Also clean the inline filter every time I returned from a drive. The track in was 12 k's and corrugated which stirred up the fuel we put in the tank at the United service station in St Helens. A black algae type sediment is blocking the inline filter. I ran the 80 litres of fuel thru a filter which separates water from the diesel and we ended up with about 2 litres of a yellow liquid which wouldn't go thru the filter. The diesel was a bright green. The yellow and the green didn't mix but the yellow appeared by feel and smell to be diesel. I'm not sure what I'm running on at the moment but when I get to Hobart I will see if I can get some diesel additive which may help me remove the final bit of contamination.
The coastal waters appear very protected with many coves and bays providing sheltered anchorage for yachts and boats. The mountains are now running right down into the ocean, very picturesque.
New Years Eve was a quiet affair this year, in bed by 10.30pm. At midnight only a few revelers were heard by me, Sandy was fast asleep.