Southward Bound

As we headed south over the last couple of days the weather got colder with each kilometre of road we clicked off.  We left Gunadah after a pleasant 21' night to get down the road to a free camp and 9' outside and 14' inside - and then the rain started.

In Gulgong, we visited an old Salvation Army Church which is now home to one of the biggest collections of Henry Lawson memorabilia. 

Henry Lawson

 

 After 3 days of no sun, we booked into the caravan park at Mudgee.  Without sun we get no solar power recharge.

We did a drive to the Wallemi State Forrest.  This is where, about 10 years ago one of the worlds rarest and oldest pine trees were discovered. 

 

The Forrest has some amazing rock formations also.  We took a drive into Dunns Swamp and considered coming back to camp for a few nights but were put onto another place in the Capertee Valley. 
 Some free camps are hard to find but really worth it in the end.  A few days ago we tried to find a free camp only about 6 kms out of Mudgee.  We ended up in a winery where we really struggled to get out with 21 ft of van behind us.  And this was following the GPS co-ordinates.  Today we tried again and ended up in someone's back yard and then eventually we nailed it.  Down against a creek with very nosy cattle for friends.  

                  

 

We also had our first camp fire since leaving Ravenshoe as well.

 

When on the road we meet some of the most interesting people.  A couple pulled in and parked about 50 mtrs  away from us in a motor home.  After a while he started throwing something up into a tree.  It turns out he is an amateur radio operator and he was throwing a spanner over a limb about 30 mtrs up to which was attached his antenna.  Tomorrow, being Anzac Day these radio enthusiasts call and talk to each other using morse code in commemoration of the radio operators of the First World War who used mostly morse code for communication.  Apparently there are radio enthusiasts who man decommissioned ships, every lighthouse and anywhere people communicated from during the war.  A large group of them do this every Anzac Day.

For those of us too young to know what this is - it is a Morse Code Machine

 

Tomorrow will be the first Anzac Day March in Mackay that I will miss in about 20 years.  However Mudgee will see us cheering on the March this year.

This morning we attended the Anzac March at Mudgee, a town in Central NSW, just west of the Great Dividing Range.  After the parade we had lunch at a quant café called "The Quick Brown Fox"  and yes it did have a small shelf of books.

 Mudgee has a population of about 11,000 but they put on a lovely March and service following the Dawn Service at 6.00am.

Tomorrow we head for Capertee Valley.

When Henry Lawson wrote his poem, Song of the Old Bullock Driver, in 1891 he became the first notable Australian to put into words the rugged beauty of the Capertee Valley.

The Capertee Valley is said to be longer than US's Grand Canyon by almost a kilometre. Capertee's sandstone escarpments soar to hundreds of metres in height and encircle the valley from south of Mount Marsden near the town of Capertee all the way to the short-lived mining town of Glen Davis, 20 kilometres to the west.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                               A lot of photos I know but it was just so rugged and beautiful
                                  Would have been so much nicer had the sun co-operated

 

We arrived at the Capertee Valley about 3.30 pm and the colour on the rocky escarpment on either side of the valley from  the setting sun was a sight to be seen to be believed.  It had the feel of the Grand Canyon though not so high and with the look, smell and sound of the Australian bush.  And certainly hundreds less people than there was the day we visited the Grand Canyon.  We stayed Saturday and Sunday nights and as we were leaving, the sun was bright but for the previous 48 hours it was overcast and even rained a little bit so we were disappointed that we didn't see it in all its glory.  We went for a drive on Sunday afternoon to find that we stayed in the wrong spot to get the great photos.  The spot we should have stayed at was about 5 kilometres further into the valley.  We will certainly be coming back one day to see this beautiful valley in all its glory.

 

 

One last panoramic shot of the Capertee Valley until next time

Our first port of call after arriving in Bathurst was, like all tourists, to drive round the Mount Panorama Track.  Stuart thought if he got started now by the time the race came up he might have a chance at the chequered flag.

 Next day we visited an historical home in the area which was built in the early 1800's called    .  The family still live in it and have a lot of very old furniture as do most of these homes but one thing that I did find was this nail.
The current owners grandfather came from England and was an archaeologist so I guess it was a case of being in the right place at the right time but what a find.

 

We have arrived in Orange and expect to have a few cold days ahead.

Traveling North

We left Mackay heading North.  Yes we were supposed to be going to Lightning Ridge but the car did a right turn on Highway 1 instead of a left hand turn - what can I say!

Stuart averted a near disaster today, our second day on the road when he spotted hundreds of green ants marching like little green soldiers off the tree we were parked near onto the van and heading towards our windows and doors like kids after the Mr Whippy Van.

Out came the Crawly Cruncher and I have sprayed every inlet with a white milky solution which impressed Stuart no end as he washed the van beautifully 3 days ago.

What is it about us and Green ants?  We had a similar situation parked under trees at Calen just north of Mackay 6 months after we got together.  Not a good finish to a great day

 We left the van at the tourist information centre in Ingham and went to check out Wallaman Falls. 

 First time for Stuart and last time I was there Brett was a baby.  He is now 42.  Wallaman Falls is in the Girringun Natonal Park and has a drop of 268 mitres.  By the time it hits the water it seems to be just a fine mist.

Wallaman Falls

Following that black line, we passed through Tully and into Innisfail where we camped the night On our way we checked out the Big Gum Boot in Tully which represents the mighty annual rainfall they have each year which averages 4490 mm, but the most they have had in one day was 1140 mm, which in the old scale is nearly 4 ft of water. However there will be no records broken this year as they haven't had rain for a while.

Next day we made our way inland towards  the tableland and stopped off at the MaMu tropical sky walk.  That tested our energy levels with a 2 1/2 klm walk with a 100. Step climb to the top of the rainforrest tower. 

As we were leaving we were lucky enough to spot a birdwing butterfly (the largest butterfly in Australia).

The beautiful colours of the fire one night

 

 

An interesting statue at the entrance to Millaa Millaa of a farmer trying to get a stubborn cow into the bales to be milked.
coming off the land my sisters and I all have memories of this happening.

Millaa Millaa Falls

Some lovely little water falls amongst the ferns and bracken

 

The man on the mend climbing over rocks

 

We made a base at Ivanhoe and stayed for 5nights.  A great spot at $15 per night.  From there we explored a great deal of the Atherton Tablelands including a large wind farm just out of Ivanhoe.  I've said it before but even at $1 million to build each one they would have to be cheaper and more sustainable than other forms of power. There were 20 in an area of about 10 acres with cattle grazing  all around.

We still haven't seen a cassowary yet but a fellow at the park had to slow down the other night as one crossed the road with 3 chicks.
In Herberton, we visited an historic village which sat on about 15 acres.  I have never seen so much stuff and so many buildings in one place.  A credit to the owner who spent millions maintaining it.
We decided to have a couple of nights at Lake Tinaroo and apart from a few March Flies it is great.  I put in our Red Claw Trap here to see if I can catch more than some weed.  And I did.  Three attempts and got 5 fish each under 12 cms long.
We went into Mareeba where we did the usual trip to the Tourist Information Centre and incorporated in that for a gold coin donation was an amazing trip down memory lane with a glimpse of the past from Aboriginal times through the 2 wars to the '60's?  I thought it was as good or better than the historical village in Herberton.  We eventually got back to Ravenshoe after getting grocery and fish supplies and joined our new found friends at the caravan park.  Good Friday Dinner consisted of Coconut Rice and Thai seafood Curry which was beautiful.
On our way through to Charters Towers we pulled into the almost deserted town of Greenvale where about 50years ago they mined Nickel.  The mine is now closed down and the railway tracks have all been taken up and sold for scrap.  Now there is still a swimming pool, school, police station, pub and caravan park and a population of about 150.
We came across thousands of termite mounds that were no higher than about 30 cms.  Either they are different to the ones in the Northern Territory which are up to  2 mtrs tall or this is the nursery stage and they all migrate over the border when they outgrow the nursery. Lol

We also passed a herd of about 15 wild camels as well and a couple of emus.

On our way through to Clermont we stopped off at Belyando Crossing.  The servo proprietor said they hadn't had rain for over two years.

We got to Clermont just in time for lunch and had sandwiches down at the lagoon.  This lovely spot just on the entrance to Clermont is a haven for wildlife and the odd photographer.

For those interested in Australian Military facts, there is a lovely memorial in honour of a local man called Billy Sing DCM.  Billy was a sniper in WW1 accounting for over 150 Turkish troops.

 

Annie and Dale put on a lovely barbeque dinner and then bacon and eggs breakfast.  But unfortunately Stuart's oldest granddaughter Deanna has moved to just north of Brisbane so we missed her but did catch up with Thomas and Kimberley and Stuart's son James.

After a few days back in Mackay we headed off, and with a quick stop in Rocky, it was westward ho! for us.

The further away from the coast we travelled the dryer it looks with only the occasional green spot where someone has irrigated.

We are both very excited to be back on the road again.

  

 

Back on The Road (almost)

I was going back through previous Blogs and Messages and have a big apology to make to my very special family in Ipswich.  While I was in Brisbane and Stuart was in hospital for 33 days I stayed at Shel's for the first part of the period.  Michael and Shel both drove me to and from the hospital for the time I was with them and I need to thank them sincerely for that.  Not however for the hazy mornings following the night before after a few wines.
  For the latter part of the stay I went out to my son and daughter in law Brett and Trina Leard and 2 special children Mia and Eithen who drove me backwards and forwards from Ipswich and sometimes putting me on a train to get to Wesley Hospital.  Even to the extent that after leaving a bag in the car when Trina dropped me off, she followed the train in another 2 stations to get the bag to me in case there was something important in it that I needed at the hospital that day.  Thank you so much Trina for your consideration even though you were in a hurry to get to the city for an appointment.  In my minds eye will always be the picture of you running along the platform as the train headed out, only to jump in the car and chase it 2 stations further on to get me the bag.  Its times like these that we are grateful for a loving caring family.

Just as a matter of interest, Mia is off to a State Competition for her Cheer Squad later this year and Eithen is in his own competition in the southern states for Wheelchair Basketball.  Mia has only been following her chosen sport this year and shows great potential.  Good luck my two little darlings and well done to their parents for the love and support.  Love you all.

 

After a late start last Wednesday, we got the switch fixed on the fridge and left the beautiful blue river city of Mackay about 3.30pm.

This was to be Stuart's first attempt at towing the van since his back surgery in November and I was anxious to see how a his back and legs would stand up to a few hours driving.

We got to Waverley Creek and stayed there the night.  Unusually the next day is when he suffers but as there were no side affects we knew he was all good.

We got to Yeppoon and had a lovely relaxing couple of days with friends Maree and Peter Cottrell.  Yeppoon is just 4 weeks out of Cyclone Marcia which crossed the coast about 30 kilometres north of the little Seaside Resort,  but still had devastating effects on the houses and businesses in the Yeppoon and Rockhampton areas.  I saw aerial photos of the State Forrest the other night which looks like a fire has gone through and the trees are all stripped bare.  There are now tons of small branches and debris lying on the ground and would be disastrous if a fire went through there now.  Homes left standing with only a few walls and the occasional unmade bed in rooms which were quickly abandoned for safer places to wait out the winds.

 

We went to Beaches Restaurant on Sunday night. This is attached to the resort at Roslyn Bay between Yeppoon and Emu Park where my grandson Ryan has just started his apprenticeship as a chef.  Sunday nights they serve a "Parrilla" menu which is  a Spanish Barbecue.  The food was lovely and we had a chance to catch up with Ryan and felt so proud of him in his uniform.

Not a good photo as lighting was bad but you get the picture

We are still headed to Lightning Ridge for Easter but had to detour back to Mackay to get work done on the fridge of the van.  All warranty work but a nuisance just the same.

Looking forward to Lightning Ridge as we haven't been there yet and over Easter they have a big Opal Festival.  Lightning Ridge mines most of the world's supply of Black Opal. 

Looking forward to catching up with Colleen and Geoff, two lovely people we met in Tasmania.

 

January 2015 - The last 6 months

I thought I had better give an update on the Hawke Happenings over the last 6 months.

Stuart finally bit the bullet in September to have the long expected back surgery that has been impending for the last 4-5 years.  After a visit to the spine specialist in Brisbane the surgery day was booked for November 20^th.  We flew to Brisbane and straight to the Wesley Hospital where he was admitted and operated on that afternoon.  After 8 hours surgery all lying on his stomach he eventually came out and for the next 10 days was up and walking (sorry) struggling to walk) but in incredible nerve pain in both legs, until the surgeon ordered a scan to show that the metal cage they had put around his spine had collapsed and they had to go back to surgery.  The first surgery was just over 8 hours resulting in a 12 inch scar on his back, and the second 10 days later was for just on 4 hours and he came back with a matching scar on his front only half the length.

We had a fight to get him out of hospital as what was to be a 7-10 day stint in ended up being a 33 days stay in hospital, getting him out on the 23 December, just in time for Christmas.

He is walking with a walking frame and has little strength in his back and legs but physio aren’t concerned and say he is on track.  We are looking at about 3-6 month recovery time frame.

Christmas was a great occasion with Stuart’s sons in from Clermont and up from Brisbane and Tracy, Tony (partner), Ryan and Joe up from Central Queensland.  We had a  Wonderful Christmas Lunch at Kylies and Peters house with a very traditional Christmas with all the frills, drinks, games and a trophy.  We then went over to Kathy’s for a lovely Christmas tea to top off a very memorable day.  As this may be our last Christmas at home for a while I will have to live on the memories.

As Stuart wasn’t quite mobile, Kylie and her family kindly allowed us to stay at her place for the few days before Christmas and the week following and then we were back to the Caravan Park.  With so many staying at Kylies, us included, our very good friends Jenny and John Varady kindly moved the van from the Park round to Kylies so Tracy and Tony could sleep in it, then came back and returned it to the Park again last Sunday.

This year I have officially retired with the contract to cater to Boarders at Whitsunday Anglican School finished.  An end to an era and a very happy 18 years seeing a lot of great kids come through our dining room.  We can now consider heading further afield and hope to be in southern climes for Christmas this year, with the hope to go west next year.

Our first scheduled stop will be Lightening Ridge for the Opal Festival where we will catch up with friends we met whilst in Tasmania.  From there, who knows.

To all our family and friends, we wish you a very happy New Year with the hope to catch up with all of you somewhere down the track.

26th August - To Brisbane via The Little Places

Today we set off on our next adventure.  We have to be in Brisbane on 20 September for Stuarts son in laws 40th so we have a while to get there.

We have travelled the coast road to Brisbane so many times and driven past so many places that we wanted to go in and see but were in a hurry to get from point A to point B.  This time we are going into the little places we have bypassed.

Tonight we stayed at Carmilla beach.  We obviously aren't the only ones wanting to see the little places as camping spots were hard to find between the Jaycos, many other brands and another New Age.

There were lots of these turkeys wandering the sand dunes

 

There was a lot of tree stumps half buried in the sand a snag for the small boaties.

The camp spots were in between sand dunes and patches  of green shrubs which afforded each camper a little bit of privacy but the sand was very loose and for the unsuspecting camper, a trap ready to bog you down to the axles. 

We found a spot where we wouldn't end up bogged and had a pretty good view of the ocean and while Stuart set up our chairs I had a lovely tarragon lamb with mustard and lemon juice (thanks Kath for the recipe) ready to go in the barbecue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tide was out nearly 750 metres and will be out in the morning but the view was no less spectacular for that.

Next morning we decided to wait for a while for the tide to come in a bit and make up a supply of whiskey from the raw alcohol we are carrying, as our supply is sadly depleted.

Our next stop for the night will be St Lawrence where I have a cousin living so hope to catch up with him, and also go into the only pub in the town to get a photo of the bar which has a long history with my mothers family.



I'd say if dear old Ma came back today she wouldn't recognise this bar which once graced a hotel in Rockhampton with the same name which her parents had when she was only about 10.

We got to Rocky at about 1.30 pm and after lunch with Tracy and her Nana tried to buy a tv cable and got so held up we stayed at a new free camp at Kershaw Gardens right in the centre of Rocky.

From Rocky we drove to the Caliope River where we stayed with friends Maree and Peter on the property owned by their daughter and son in law.  We had 4 very relaxing days catching up as we hadn't seen them since we left Tasmania.  Well 3 days actually as on day 3 Peter and his son in law decided to burn a small pile of rubbish from an old chook house when a whirly wind came through and picked it up and next thing we had a full fledged bush fire on our hands  with 4 of us old codgers and the owner of the 120 acre block to put it out.  We managed to keep the fire reasonably contained although by the time the Rural Fire Brigade arrived about 1/2 an hour later, it was within about 50 metres from the house and only about 3 metres from long grass which we would never have stopped. 

Before the fire deer were coming down to the dam to drink



Not a lot of unburnt grass between the edge of the fire and the house

Three tired fire fighters

Poor tractor just survived

 

Poor John (the owner) was trying to smother it with a blade on his tractor until it caught fire but being diesel wasn't going to explode and all that burnt was a fuel line before he got to it with our caravan fire extinguisher.  All up he lost about 8 acres So much for our first farm stay at  "Chateau on Ferguson"

We reluctantly said goodbye to Peter and Maree Cottrell and continued our journey up the coast to Agnes Waters and the town of 1770, where we couldn't get any free camps and ended up at a caravan park at 1770.

Sunset through the trees at 1770

1770 across the bay

Butterflies by the thousands all around the point of Bustard Bay

Beautiful sunset, wonderful company and a glass of wine.  what more could I ask for.

 

This little beach side town was so named as it was the first landfall made by Captain Cook in Queensland.
Our next stop was Lowmead, a little town just out of Bundaberg with a population of about 300.  The only significance this town has to us is the fact that my grandparents lived there for some years where my grandmother was nurse, midwife and at times doctor and sadly mortician to the townspeople and local aboriginal tribe and in her spare time played the piano at the local dance and raised 6 children through their formative years.  My grandfather worked in the town and I dare say frequented the local pub a few doors down the road.

One of these homes was owned by my grandparents.  I will need confirmation as to which one it was.

Lowmead School where my mother and her sisters attended school and where 60 years later my aunt went back to visit and found her initials in the bench where she sat and ate her lunch.



The dance hall where my grandmother played and where I am sure my mother got her love for ballroom dancing which she excelled at with my father as her partner in dance and later in life.



We got to Bundaberg and knew that we were about 1 tonne overweight in both van and vehicle so were looking out for a vehicle that would make us legal and not a danger to ourselves and others on the road.  Stuart spotted a Toyota Land Cruiser in the second hand yard with a canopy on which we need.

 On closer inspection we found that it had most of the things we needed in a tow vehicle and although we didn't want to outlay the money the price was right also.

Bundaberg is another one of those places just off the main highway that we never get to visit so as well as getting the vehicle we visited the Hinkler Hall of Aviation.  For the young ones amongst us, Bert Hinkler was born in Bundaberg in 1892, well before Qantas and Jetstar but was one of the early pioneers in the aviation industry.  At the age of 19 he was building and flying Gliders from watching the flights of the birds.  The most renowned achievement was a pioneer solo flight from England to Australia in 1928, and the worlds first solo flight across the South Atlantic in 1931.  Sadly he died crashing into the alps in Italy in 1933.  His home in England was pulled apart brick by brick and rebuilt in Bundaberg in 1983.

 

We also went to visit a place where there are mystery craters just out of Bundaberg.  Scientist still can't work out just how these craters were formed except that they are over 25 million years old.  They were discovered in 1971 by a local farmer and some of the theories are: part of a large meteorite, the roof of a Subterranean Lake, sinkholes from volcanic action, but no one has a clue.

They appear to be made by a giant human as some look like a mans left foot (size 48)

The colours in the limestone are amazing.  Some hold water and some don't

There are 35 so far and some still haven't been excavated

 

We arrived in Nanango for the Country Music Muster and will spend the next 5 days here before finally getting to Brisbane as planned.