It's a long way to Townsville

Australia is a HUGE country!  We forget just how big it is when we stay in one place for a while.  Our last post was from Armidale, New South Wales, and we had travelled almost 800km from Canberra to get there.



After a few days of sunny autumn weather, we left Armidale and drove into the mist, along Waterfall Way.  The temperature stuck stubbornly to 11C and visibility was poor as we made our way to Dorrigo, where we stopped for lunch in the carpark of The Rainforest Centre.  We had planned to stop at the lovely Ebor Falls, but the carpark was full.  From Dorrigo we broke out of the cloud as we ventured down the windy road to the coast past the spectacular waterfalls that the road is named for. Our main reason for driving this way was to visit our grand-daughter who lives at Repton, near the mouth of the Bellinger River and about 30km south of Coffs Harbour. It was great to catch up with her and other friends in the area.  Once again we stayed at the Urunga Heads Holiday Park, a grassy caravan park right on the lagoon.




After a couple of days we headed north again and after a night camped at Woodenbong in the mountains we made our way over the border into Queensland.  From Woodenbong we made the short trip to Warwick, 85km away, to make some enquiries about getting some changes made to the stone guard on the front of the caravan.  Alas, not to eventuate due to our configuration.  Oh well, Warwick is a nice town to spend a night in.



Because we had plenty of time, we decided to detour to Yelarbon, about 50km east of Goondiwindi to visit some people we had met up with several years ago when we first started travelling.  Yelarbon has a great little Recreational Campground with lovely gardens which are maintained by volunteers.  From there we headed towards Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast.  We stayed at Cecil Plains, where the cotton on the side of the road looks like snow, and from there drove to Blackbutt, a lovely historic town at the top of the Blackbutt Range.

We spent 10 days in Maroochydore as Bushtracker completed some insurance and maintenance work on the caravan.  Once again, we stayed at the Alex Beach Cabins at Alexandra Headland.  Great walks around the lake, great coffee at the Surf Club and great fish and chips at the nearby takeaway!  It was a good opportunity to do "normal" things like see some movies and get haircuts.

After 10 days we were glad to get back onto the road for the long drive to Townsville.  It's funny that when we cross the border into Queensland, we always feel much closer to Townsville.  The feeling soon disappears when we see signs that let us know we still have 1,200km to go after we leave Maroochydore - we're not even halfway!!  This time though we'll be travelling fairly quickly (for us) and will cover the distance in 4 days, free camping all the way.

We travelled along the Burnett Highway and camped at the popular Ban Ban Springs Campground.  The springs usually run with fresh potable water but the lack of rain meant that the spring was not running.  The next morning, an hour along the road we stopped at the RM Williams Learning Centre.  This museum tells the story of Reg (RM) Williams, a bushman who started the iconic horseman's boots, saddles, clothing and accessories products in South Australia.  His factory was in Adelaide and he settled at Eidsvold in Queensland, where he lived for many years.  We continued north and planned to have lunch at Biloela - but it was shut for the Show - so ended up at the local KFC which was the only place open!  From there it was turn left at the Capricorn Highway.  We're into the dry  tropics now.  We camped at a lovely campground at Duaringa.  We watched as the local bat population flew off at sunset to hunt for food and the next morning the Lioness Club had a fundraising breakfast.  After breakfast we were back on the road and at Dingo we turned right onto the Fitzroy Development Road - otherwise known as the "Cattle Road".  Although we were driving through cattle country, many properties have destocked due to the drought.

This was a new road for us and we enjoyed the drive through Nebo and Glenden to Collinsville where we'd spend our last night before Townsville.  This is coal mining country and many towns are feeling the effects of the downturn in the coal mining industry.  From Collinsville we made our way east towards the coast and then north through Ayr to Townsville.

Are we there yet??? For the next few weeks - YES!!

Heading North.... for the winter....

We've had an interesting and lazy few weeks, doing not much!  Easter was spent with family in Canberra and was followed by 2 weeks house-sitting at Googong, near Queanbeyan.  So on the whole we had a very relaxing time, acquainting and re-aquainting ourselves with the pets in Googong - 2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 rabbit, a few goldfish and 3 horses.

A week ago we hitched up and are heading north towards Queensland.  We have a couple of weeks to get to the Sunshine Coast where we'll be staying for a few days while we get some work done on our caravan; so of course we're taking the scenic route, only travelling about 150 - 200kms per day.  We really do have an amazingly beautiful country.

We spent a couple of days at Boorowa, renowned for "The Running of the Sheep" each year in October.  This time we walked around the town and had coffee and scones at the Court House Arts and Crafts Centre which has a great cafe.




Our next stop was Wellington a lovely town which always seems to be further north than it really is.  We camped at the Wellington Riverside Caravan Park, a small park with grassy sites next to the river.




We took 2 days to drive from Wellington to Armidale, stopping overnight at the Premer Lions Park Camp Area, where we've stayed before.  Unfortunately we weren't able to have dinner at the pub because the pub was closed (last time here the food was great).



On our way to Armidale we passed a marker for the World's Larges Virtual Solar System Drive which is a scale model of our solar system with the Siding Springs Observatory marking the Sun at it's centre - about 100km from this location.  We've seen several of these markers over the years, seeing many of the planets.  This time it was Pluto's turn.

Armidale is in its full autumn glory.  We're staying here for a few days before we head towards the coast for a few days.  A picnic lunch at the Arboretum was followed by a walk along the boardwalk.  We really like this city, especially after we spent a few weeks here house-sitting in 2013.

Back to NSW - via the Scenic Route

We've taken a leisurely few weeks to make our way back to New South Wales.  What a joy it is to be able to take our time and just amble along, spending a few days, or longer, when we like the feel of a place.  When we left Inverloch we travelled eastwards past the turnoff to Wilson's Promontory and then through farmland towards Sale, one of the major towns in Gippsland.

We checked into the Sale Showgrounds Caravan Park for one week to give us time to explore the area.  The day after we arrived was the Monthly Farmers' Market so we stocked up on fruit and vegetables freshly picked from local farms and gardens.

A drive to nearby Maffra for morning coffee brought back memories of a few days spent there over 30 years ago visiting friends who lived there at the time.  One of the highlights of that holiday was taking our (then) young children to a dairy farm to watch the cows being milked.  This time we settled for coffee in the bakery and a look around a shop selling "old wares".

The Sale Botanic Gardens were begun in 1860 and are bordered by a lake which is home to several duck species, swans and water hens.  We walked along several paths, past the fragrant rose garden and through the trees.  We were followed around by a colourful peacock and we came across a life sized sculpture of the "Jolly Swagman" complete with a "jumbuck in his tucker bag".






We had a short day trip south to 90 Mile Beach and had lunch looking over the sand dunes.  The beach here is 90 miles (145 kms) of golden sand which stretches forever.




From Sale, we continued east, through Bairnsdale, bypassing Lakes Entrance where we stayed a few weeks earlier and made our way to Orbost, on the banks of the Snowy River.  The information centre is a refurbished "wattle and daub" building and we decided to stay for a week to give us time to check out the area.






We picked up a brochure giving comprehensive details of a day drive and set out the next day to explore.  First stop was the PS Curlip, an old paddle steamer moored at Marlo on the Brodribb River.  We drove around the small town of Marlo which is at the mouth of the Snowy River.  There are several lookouts to see the estuary and river mouth.

From there we made our way into the coastal rainforest to visit the Cabbage Tree Creek Flora Reserve and to walk among the cabbage tree palms.

Then we drove on to the Cape Conran Coastal Park with it's beautiful coastal scenery.  Pristine sandy beaches and rock pools make this park a popular holiday destination.  It's a pity that Vic Parks have greatly overpriced their camping "facilities".  Really all you get for your $35-$40 per night is a patch of bare ground  with a fire pit.  No water, or electricity and sometimes a long walk to the long-drop toilets.  The sites are generally not suitable for us as they are in well treed areas (therefore no chance to replenish our solar batteries) or are too small for our caravan.  A great pity as we'd love to camp there on a sunny site - at a lower price!

On our way back we detoured to the Yarram Gorge for another bush walk.  A hakea bush had interesting seed pods which looked like snails on the branches.

Back to Orbost and more exploring, this time along the Snowy River Trail.  We drove north along the Orbost-Buchan Road through farmland to Buchan, known for the limestone caves there which we've visited in the past. After a morning tea stop we continued north through Murrindale and Gelantipy and the quaintly named Seldom Seen.  As we turned eastwards, the sealed road ended and we continued on a well maintained, winding dirt road.  

Next stop was the Little River Falls and a few kms further on the Little River Gorge with it's amazing rock strata.  There wasn't much water flowing over the falls.  It wasn't hard to imagine what they would be like following a good fall of rain.  We stopped for lunch at the McKillop Bridge Campground on the northern side of bridge where the Snowy River and Deddick River meet.  This is the second bridge built on this site.  The first was completed in 1934 and was washed away by a flooded river the day before it was due to be opened.  This second bridge was completed in 1936 and the deck is 255m long.

Our drive back to Orbost was long a winding road through beautiful, rugged, tall timber rainforest.  We made the trip in a clockwise direction.  In hindsight, anticlockwise might have been better as we would have had the more difficult driving, through heavily wooded, very winding roads, early in the day.  On the whole a fantastic trip through the Snowy River National Park.

We only travelled about 60km after we left Orbost.  We drove about 35km east along the Princes Highway, then turned left towards the Errinundra National Park, through Club Terrace and into the Ada River Campground.

This is a truly magical place.  In the middle of mountain ash trees 90+m high, straight and reaching for the sky.  The campground has room for plenty of campers and it's easily accessible for caravans, camper vans, motor-homes and tents.  There's a long-drop toilet and there's plenty of sweet running mountain water in the Ada River.

What a mecca for wildlife.  Goannas about 1.5m from nose to tail patrolled the campground devouring any scraps left laying around.  In the evening, yellow-bellied glider possums glided among the tall timber.  We could hear the possums, and see where they have tapped into the trees to get to the sap under the bark.  Robert saw one possum, although we looked most evenings.  The birdsong was orchestral.  Bell miners "pinged" their songs all day and they were joined by eastern whipbirds, superb fairy wrens, eastern yellow robins and yellow tailed black cockatoos.  In the evening we were lulled to sleep by the "mopoke" call of the boobook owls.  We decided to stay for a while to soak up the atmosphere.

The first few days were quite hot so we cooled off in the afternoon in the waterhole at the Errinundra River.

We didn't spend all our time  hanging around the campground.  We drove into the national park climbing from 150m at the campground to 1,200+m at the top of the range.  We turned left at the "main" road towards Bonang which we'd passed through a few days earlier when we'd travelled along the Snowy River Trail.  This time we stopped at the Ellery Saddle, Ocean View Lookout with its views to the coast.  It was also an opportunity to access our emails and make some phone calls as it's the only place in the park with phone and wifi access.

A few days later we were on our way back up the mountain. This time to turn right at the top of the range towards the Errinundra Rainforest Walk.  We had had some wet weather so the 45 minute walk was cool and damp.  We walked amongst the trees and tree ferns, constantly picking small leeches from us as they dropped out of the trees or climbed onto our shoes.

Fallen logs were covered in moss and some trees had colourful fungi visible on their trunks.  We decided not to have lunch at the picnic area and continue our fight with the leeches so drove back to the Ocean View Lookout with it's large flat rock for our picnic lunch.  This really is "Soul Country" and once again we returned to our camp feeling very happy and rested.




After 11 glorious days we decided to pack up camp and continue on our way.  We had met some great people and shared many campfires during our stay in this magical place.    On our way out we saw several small dark furred wallabies and 5 lyrebirds.  We had also seen a young fallow deer with its light brown fur covered with white spots.  Some fellow campers had seen a large stag, which we had only heard.  Next stop was Cann River.  A small town where the Princes Highway crosses the Cann River and only about 50km from Ada River.  We checked into the caravan park for a couple of nights to power up our batteries.  At Ada River we had needed to use our generator to keep our batteries charged due to the overcast weather and huge trees around the campground so plugging in to mains power was very welcome.

We had a full day to travel the 45km to Point Hicks and return to Cann River.  This was where Australia's mainland was sighted during Lieutenant James Cook's voyage  in 1770 and is named after Lieutenant Zachary Hicks who sighted the land on 20 April 1770.  The walk from the carpark to the lighthouse is about 2.5km each way.

The forest in the Point Hicks area is ironbark gum trees.  Tall and straight and showing evidence of recent bushfires.  After a couple of days in Cann River, we've made our way north to Bombala in New South Wales.  We'll be here for a couple of days as we amble slowly towards Canberra.