4th July 2014 - To Melbourne to change vans

After a lengthy stay back in Mackay where we sold most of our furniture and took the rest to join  our belongings in a storage shed, we headed out on the first leg of our journey to Melbourne.

We will take possession of our 5th van and our last.  This one has more comfortable seats and a diesel heater.
Our first night was at the Nogoa River in Emerald where we joined about 30 other vans and tents etc.

I always said we would never end up under the bridge drinking wine but here we are.

The next day as we headed toward St George we came across a sight very seldom seen these days.  Some body was droving about 200 head of yearling cattle along the sides of the road looking for food.  By the look of their camp and the number of horses I'd say they were taking them a fair distance. 

 

 Droving cattle overland has become a thing of the past as most cattle owners prefer the faster motorised method of shifting cattle.  After we passed through Diranbandi heading for Hebal passed through some of the most arid country we have seen for a long time.  Most of it not fit for man or beast.

We camped on the banks of the Maquarie River but where we were it was just a small stream.  Stuart handed me a small piece of trivia regarding this little trickle.  It ends up in the ocean somewhere in South Australia.

Nice spot for a morning

We were nearly at the Victorian border when we saw something very unique.  Stuart had been complaining about the head wind being so strong it was knocking around our fuel consumption when we saw a bird take off and was strugglingii to get height and flying as fast as it's wings would go but actually going backwards.  It had to drop almost to the ground to make any headway., We arrived at the caravan park on the outskirts of Melbourne on night 6 from Mackay and were very happy to be able to use the reverse cycle air for some warmth.  I was freezing.

Next morning we headed to the caravan sale room to check out our van and organise a pickup day and time as they still had to fit the inverter for Stuart to run his C-Pap machine.

The day finally arrived and we picked up our " New Age " caravan on Friday 27th June.  It's been a long time coming and I really look forward to the first time we turn on the heater, as with the temperatures down in single figures it's a bit cold.

 

 

That night we went to the local Irish Pub for a celebratory dinner and a pint of Guinness.  On arriving back at the caravan to gale force winds and about 6' Celsius with drizzling rain, the key that we used to lock the van wouldn't play the game and unlock it again.  After several tries, with both hands neither of us could get the key right in.  The only alternative was a motel stay for the night with no clean clothes, no tooth brushes, no jamas and no patience.  Next morning the caravan people rang back and told Stuart to put the key in the lock and tap it lightly with a hammer to get it all the way in.  When I looked at what he was doing he had a 4 pound hammer in his hand.  I said it isn't all that bad, don't go smashing the van up just because of the door catch, keep the hammer for the salesman when we go back on Monday - but it was the only one he had available and after a few taps the key was reseated and turned easily.

Interestingly enough I was telling Brett about it and he said that at a caravan park in Scarborough in Qld a few weeks ago there was a couple next door to them with a new van who had the same problem and after a night in a motel for them the dealership gave them the same advice and after a few taps with the hammer, they also gained entry to their van.

We tested out our diesel heater on our second night.  What luxury - what comfort - while outside it was about 4' inside it was a lovely 19' all night.

We woke up to a very foggy morning 2 of the 3 days spent at King Parrot Creek just south of Seymore in Victoria

That would be right...... the day we left the camp the sun came out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visited the towns of Yea and Seymore in mid Victoria and though it was cold and very little sun, enjoyed the drive.  Yea is a boutique type of town with lots of eating places and a few knicky knacky shopping places.

Scallop Crepes with mashed sweet potato and vegies - and of course a glass of wine.

 

April 5 - The End Of 4 Months in Tasmania

 

 

Not real sure where this was taken but it was currently being lived in.  Stuart wanted to tell Kylie (our book keeper) that we had just bought a really good investment property in Tasmania but lucky for her we had no internet for a few days and by then the joke was a bit stale.

We got to Strahan after a trip through Queenstown where the road winds up through the the mountains where only 1 meter away from the wheels is a 100 ft drop.  As we went for a drive round the town including down to the football field which was all gravel Stuart asked me if I wanted to stay there for the night.  I said just get me out of there.  After that drive I was a nervous wreck.

We had booked our cruise on the Franklin River out to Hells Gates and a stopover at Sarah Island. 

The boat we went to Hells Gate in and had a stop over at Sarah Island

 

 

                       The light house at Macquarie Heads at the inlet to Macquarie Harbour on the West       Coast

We had driven along the beach to get to the other side of Macquarie Head to Strahan to try to get a feel of what the convicts could see coming in through the head

 

The closer to the opening of the head we got the more Salmon and Trout farms we found

 

These boats went round each trap and fed them a watery brine of fish food every day

 

On Sarah Island we were met by actors who re-enacted the convicts life for us.  seen here standing in front of the remains of the huge ovens

 

 

Ruins like this stood all over the island.  Unfortunately in the early 1900's authorities came and smashed a lot of the ruins because of the stigma Australians felt about their convict past.

 

 The cruise was wonderful but the walk around Sarah Island which was a Convict Penal Settlement between 1822 and 1833.  There were  about 1300 prisoners who were all second offenders during the period.  Most prisoners came from the convict settlement on the other side of Southern Tasmania at Port Arthur and to get to Sarah Island they had to pass through a narrow stretch of ocean and each convict knew that what awaited them at Sarah Island would be worse than Hell consequently they called this small gap Hells Gates.

These ruins are just that, ruins but with actors as guides it really brings it alive.

While in the area we took a drive to the Tahune Forrest.  There they have a walk along the tree tops  out to a balanced platform where you can look hundreds of feet down onto the river.

Stuart out on the last panel of the airwalk hundreds of meters above the ground

The view from the side of where Stuart was standing right out on the tip

Lake Gairdner was another pleasant  stay where we met some great people.  It was interesting getting the last 5 klms into the lake which was single lane, as gold had been discovered on property a few kilometres further from the lake and the road was windey and up and down (surprise).  There were a number of passing bays and we had to announce that we were travelling between bays 1 and 2 etc as there were trucks and trailers all day every day carting gold bearing rock out of the mine all the way to Beaconsfield about 140 klms away so each only did about 2 runs a day but they went all day.  It is apparently estimated they will get about 20 million in gold but will cost about 10 to extract it.

Stuart came back with a piece of firewood which really made me laugh as it was so big he could hardly carry it but after he got to it with the chainsaw and axe all was good.

  

Heading north we went in to Cradle Mountain and walked to the edge of Dove Lake which we visited last time we were in Tasmania about 10 years ago.  Back then there was about 6-12 inches of snow everywhere.  We also did a couple of walks there but  I was more keen to read about the history of the lakes and how they were formed from volcanos.

Cradle Mountain - shame it was a miserable day

Dove Lake

We had about 4 days in Sheffield where they were having a steam festival,  there were about 35 different steam powered vehicles from tractors to bailing machines to saws to everything powered by steam before fuel engines became the norm.  Peter and Maree Cottrell were there with us so we had another great time with this great couple.

At the Steam Festival there was a group who re-enact the Light Horse Brigade from the First World War
They showed how the soldiers trained at the use of swords and spears.

Two of the many steam propelled vehicles and farm implements on display

As our time in Tasmania was quickly coming to an end I was keen to cook some meals over the fire before we got back to Qld where the weather would be too hot for fires.

Tuna Patties Camp style which were amazing

 

As was the Shepherds Pie and Vegies a few nights later cooked in the Baby Q

After a few nights at Wynyard we came into Bernie where we parked right on the beach almost in town.  There was a display at the Bernie Art Gallery of Leonardo Da Vinci's inventions and really, the man was born about 600 years before his time.  Nearly all of his inventions were the prototype for modern inventions like the helicopter, machine gun, bicycle as well as the humble pulley.  Unfortunately, his Mona Lisa is not travelling with the display.

 

A hand driven cart

Made from his drawings all those hundreds of years ago.  Complete with a wooden chain

 

We set a record the other day for the shortest distance travelled from one overnight stop to the other.  We stayed in Somerset for a couple of days and then moved to our next spot Cooee Point in Bernie a distance of about 14 klms. Where we stayed for a couple of nights.

Bernie used to have a very large paper mill until it closed some years ago but they still have a paper making place where tourists can get a hands on feel of how it was done.

Also round the tourist information centre were paper mache figures which looked great.

 

Would have loved to get the detail in this elderly couple but the window behind prevented me from getting a good photo

 

For my craft friends, this quilt was in the foyer of the Bernie Tourist Information Centre and looked absolutely beautiful

 

 

The detail was incredible.

 

Looking towards Bernie from our camp spot at Cooee Point

A large freight ship just pulling away from Bernie

Also along the north coast is the little town of Penguin where all the rubbish bins in the main street looked like a penguin on the outside.  This one however wasn't a rubbish bin.

 

 

As we meandered our way towards Devonport where we are due to catch the Spirit of Tasmania back to the big island it was with a touch of sadness and regret that we still didn't see all of Tasmania dispite 4 months here.

To make up for this in a small way we travelled up the foodies way and visited a raspberry farm , a chocolate factory, a cheese factory and a strawberry farm.

The cheese factory was a return visit to get a tub of herb and olive marinated feta from Ashgrove Cheeses.  If ever you get a chance to try this you will agree it is the best.

We got to the small town of Westbury about 35 klms east of Launceston and spotted a familiar figure.  It was Claude The Mower Man.  Claude walks round Australia pushing a Victa Lawn Mower raising money and awareness for sexually abused children.  Stuart and I first encountered him in Charters Towers about 2 years ago where he was doing the same thing.  He said he was headed to the Biloela, Bundaberg area soon so look out for him and support his cause.

Claude the Mower Man

Tasmania is now a very happy memory and we are ready to face the next chapter of our life in another pocket of Australia.  However we face it with part of our hearts broken from the loss of our beautiful grandson Connor James Daly who passed away a couple of weeks ago.