Bus Cleaned – Car Steamed and ready to go !
We collected a few scars on our around Oz trip and the car engine was so thick in RED dust we had to have it steamed clean ! The Bus is now cleaned up with a few extra additions to make travel life a little more comfortable We are now fully rested and ready for afew short trips starting this weekend when travel to Eastern Queensland in the hope of joining a new “Chapter” (local RV Club)
Heading Home via Annies shortcut !!
Our next 3 destinations were at free sites saving upto $150 ! We stayed overnight at an old abandoned railway station (Bogantungan) that has NO housing around for miles ! The place is well maintained including very clean toilets !.Overnight we could hear various wild life shuffling around in the very close wooded area (Annie was reluctant to go outside !) We met up with a lovely couple and they were heading North in their home made (well constructed) caravan We travelled thru a tiny outback town (Wowan) that is sadly dying ! a few derelict buildings,even an abandoned garage. Passing thru Monto (pop 1600) we stayed overnight at the back of a pub Mulgardie Hotel that has great murals painted on the outside and 2 of the patrons happen to be John Wayne & Marilyn Monroe !! The barmaid was from Sweden and travelling around Oz (we have seen so many European young people doing this,great to see) Her English was better than mine !! Moving on we decided to take the short cut home via a dirt,very bumpy and roller coaster track.Although it took a while to do the 100 kms or more the scenery was great and storm attacked streams and brooks were very evident.Half a dozen birds were all huddled together on one branch and I was fortunate enough to get pictures! We have had a great 3 months travelling,both Annie and me caught up with various families and were present for the birth of out latest grandson. Already we have planned for a further FOUR trips before the end of 2013 including a convey of RVs across the Birdsville Track in September.Hopefully we will fully fledged members of a Chapter before the next RV rally in October Great times ahead
Mount Isa on to Cloncurry
We arrived in the Isa only to find we couldn’t fit into the local caravan park and that was very fortunate for us ! Passing thru Cloncurry we ventured into a free camp site approx 1km down a dusty rocky road and we were awe struck with the beauty of the place.It was a dam and the surrounding lakeside and mountainous scenery was breath taking ( we will stay he a few days next time) The experience was a good excuse to use our generator.The bus was parked (unknowingly) on a camber and we kep rolling into the side of the bus too lazy to move the bus !!There was a lot of bird life around,the sunset was fantastic and very enjoyable stay
Looking Good
We have just booked for a Safari across the Birdsville Track and in the process of joining a CMCA chapter Sun Coasters first event in Widgee 27 may and the Rally in Narribri SO this later second half of the year is all about FUN for these re cycled teenagers Below is the itinary This Blog is designed to keep me informed as time goes on BUT great pictures are guaranteed
27 August to 19 September 2013 Birdsville Races – Broken Hill to Charleville
CMCA Member Safari
The 2013 CMCA Member Safari sets off from Broken Hill NSW on 27 August and travels 2,676 kilometres through outback NSW, SA and QLD. On this adventure you will explore beautiful scenery and historic landmarks, while being captivated by the excitement and thrill of race season, before concluding this extraordinary experience in Charleville on 19 September.
CMCA Member Safaris give you the opportunity to take a trip off the beaten track; you can have peace of mind knowing you are travelling alongside our experienced Road Boss and sweep vehicle, and with the added fun of having the companionship of other CMCA Members. The Birdsville Races are an annual event which began in 1882. The event, which raises funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service, attracts thousands of visitors each year; in 2009 the town’s population of 200 swelled to an estimated 7,000 people. Due to its remote location many visitors arrive to Birdsville by air and the hundreds of planes that fill the town’s runway is an incredible sight to see. Your Birdsville Races experience will begin at Broken Hill, an isolated mining town in far west NSW. From here you will travel west visiting Yunta and the Farina Ruins, which are situated on the old Ghan railway – where the Oodnadatta and Birdsville tracks commence. You will stop over at Montecollina Bore, one of the most popular outback campsites on the Strezelecki Track. Because the hot bore water overflows and feeds a series of dams, this wetland attracts thousands of birds and is a photographers dream. On Monday 2 September you will arrive at the famous Dig Tree, located at Cooper Creek in south west Queensland. The Tree, which is around 250 years old, marks the location at which Burke and Wills split their expedition party, leaving William Brahee in charge and with instructions to wait three months for their return. The camp ran low on supplies and after four months of waiting, Brahee decided he must allow the men to turn back. However, before they left he buried supplies beneath a tree, which has now become renowned as the tree under which Burke died. Brahee carved the date, camp number and instructions to ‘dig into the trees trunk’, remnants of which can still be seen today. Other attractions you will encounter include, Big Red the spectacular sand dune located in the Simpson Desert, which stands at 30 meters in height, and the Carcory Homestead Ruins. You will visit many small towns throughout the channel country of central west Queensland including Bedourie, Windorah and Quilpie. The Safari will conclude with a farewell dinner at Charleville, which is located 758 kilometres west of Brisbane. Charleville is the largest town within the south west region and offers a range of facilities and attractions for you to enjoy. Although this is an outback drive, an off road vehicle is not necessary. However, vehicles and trailers should be suitable for travel on unsealed roads of varying quality and should be serviced prior to your departure. A UHF radio is essential and GPS navigator recommended. Entry is $930.00 per vehicle, including camping fees and some meals. CharlevilleBroken HillBirdsvilleDate Day Town 26 August Monday Broken Hill 27 Tuesday Broken Hill 28 Wednesday Yunta 29 Thursday Craddock 30 Friday Farina Ruins 31 Saturday Farina Ruins 1 September Sunday Montecolina Bore 2 Monday Dig Tree 3 Tuesday Nullah Out Station 4 Wednesday Betoota 5 Thursday Birdsville 6 Friday Birdsville 7 Saturday Birdsville 8 Sunday Birdsville 9 Monday Big Red 10 Tuesday Carcory Ruins 11 Wednesday Bedourie 12 Thursday Bedourie 13 Friday Bedourie 14 Saturday Bedourie 15 Sunday Diamantina River 16 Monday Windorah 17 Tuesday Quilpie 18 Wednesday Charleville Don’t miss out on this amazing event..
Heading home stopping overnight at Winton
Winton is the Dinosaur capital of Australia,apparently because that’s where they roamed a lot in days gone by !!evident by souvenir shops plus the dustbins are shaped in a dinosaurs foot ! We had a meal in the local pub across from our campsite and the food was really good and cheap.We sat outside and as dusk fell 1000,s of birds were heading home and making a very loud noise.As we get further north the weather is noticeably cooler very evident from the number of grey nomads heading North !
Hi way Roadhouse Petrol Cows et al
We left Katherine and scrapped the car as we filled with diesel ! The road was a fantastic experience and we had to buy extra Jerry Cans as our fuel tank wouldn’t get us to our destination.We drove past such iconic places as Larrimar and Daly Waters cos we have spent time there before.We fueled up at the appropriately named HIWAY roadhouse (presumably because the fuel prices were high !) The single lane road to our next destination Heartbreak Hotel (really) and even provided a country singer who was very good,as usual all staff and customers were really friendly, was almost 400 kms of single,very bumpy uneven road and proved to be very interesting .We passed a few cows an some were fossiking among the remains of a long dead cow (I cant explain why that happened BUT it was eerie) Travelled down the Stuart and turned on to the Carpenteria road Interestingly one roadhouse uses 500 litres of diesel daily to keep the generators running !! One pub had wild pigs in captivity and he introduced us to the next weeks roast !! Along the way we witnessed a few eagles and hawks feeding on roadkill kangaroos
Katherine NT
I have mixed feelings about this town,Aborigines were sitting in both large and small groups and while waiting for Annie in the shopping centre I witnessed some of the indigenous people filling water bottles with white wine probably in an attempt to hide the alcohol from police (street drinking is banned in the Northern Territory) We went to the cinema for and evenings entertainment to view OBLIVION and were the only 2 people in thee ! Film was a bit confusing an I wouldn’t recommend it.We went for a few beers in the local RSL and the place was alive with servicemen enjoying this day to the fullest (ANZAC DAY) and so did we.WE picked up a couple of Darwin Stubbies for some friends in Hervey Bay and the size is depicted in the cartoon on this page.There is a very scenic river weir called Knotts Crossing (Katherine River)and is known for crocodiles to be in this area BUT people were actually swimming mid stream in the very fast flowing water totally ignoring the Danger Croc Signs ! We leave for Daly Waters today
Kununurra 2… Cows,Crocs,Uni Cyclist and other stuff
We arrived at Lily Lagoon an stayed a few nights simply because we really like this place,we parked up and quickly found that a crocodile was a mere 30 metres away from the bus !! More surprisingly was pitched tents from the waters edge even tho there is a 3 foot river bank. The fully grown croc was assisted by (w think) its smaller off spring !! We sat on the bank (very wary) and was amazed to see a turtle “cleaning” around the croc AND lots of very large fish swimming in close proximity! It is easy to see how good the crocs are at hunting and they seem to disappear when only a couple of inches below the surface.One of my favourite places in Australia is Ivanhoe Crossing and it didnt disappoint.Half across was a fisherman and we thought he;d caught a large fish BUT apparently he used it for bait! The fish he was catching is Barramundi (he showed us one of his catches and it was a metre in length !! This town has only been in existence since 1963 by virtue of the massive Ord River scheme.Time to move on and over the border into the Northern Territory headin for Katherine.Along the way we fuelled up at Timber Creek and stayed overnight at a top cheap stay at the Victoria River roadhouse and the scenery was brilliant ( Million year old mountains,very rocky,red and yet abundant in flora,ie trees and shrub) The Bar top in the pb was great (we think polished Ash) The barmaib was from Estonia and had signed up for a 3 month contract (travelling around Oz ,we have come across lots of young foreigners doing “The Australian Thing” she had not realized how remote this part of the world is (although splendid scenery) and is hoping her time spent here goes quickly !! We saw wandering along the road the biggest cow Ive ever seen ( we steered clear,oh dear!) and we bumped into a Uni Cyclist doing the trip around Oz for his sister,his bum must be very concrete like !! From his web Quote….
My name is Samuel Johnson. My sister has terminal breast cancer.She is the mother of two beaut boys and as such is keen for me to help her remind every mum in the land to be breast aware.How? Well, starting on the 15th of February, 2013 I will ride my unicycle around the entire country, hitting up hundreds of communities and every capital city.We are officially attempting to break the Guinness world-record for longest distance traveled on a one-wheeler(15,000kms)and are proud of our lofty aim to raise $1 million for the Garvan Research Foundation.(his amazing story can be found here.and he is a truly inspirational human being) http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/06/1073268026745.html)
Next we arrive in Katherine in the Northern Territory
Fitzroy Crossing to Kununurra
We traveled further North heading for Kununurra and stayed overnight at a free camp alongside the Mary river in the Kimberleys (WA has another river with the same name in the South,completely different river !) The temperature was heading for the 40 c mark,we tried to go the day without using the generator for our aircon in honour of the pioneers of yesteryear,sadly we didn’t last long !! The ongoing journey was fantastic and the scenery magnificent .Age old cliffs and ranges remnants from prehistoric times graced the skyline.We were stuck in the middle of a huge train transport convey and they restricted us to 80 km an hour and was a great opportunity for this driver to take in all the breath taking scenery along the way ! We are now camped alongside Lily Lagoon (that has crocodiles in its waters) ane the receptionist still had us on record from 3 years ago ! My,how times fly !! Also along the way we were privileged to see 2 small herds of horses,Australians call them Brumbies and they looked in magnificent shape (Annie managed to get really close without startling them)
Fitzroy Crossing a Favourite Place
We travelled onto Fitzroy staying overnight at Roebuck Roadhouse.In the late evening i ventured across to the ablutions and on the way back confronted by a large white dog (this area has recently been poisoned baited for wild dogs !!) After my momentarily freeze up is became obvious it was domesticated and I fortunately didnt need a revisit to the ablutions !!The trip onwards was fairly incident free and it was noticeable how very bloated recently killed cows were (sad) Looking at the size of some Roo Bars on the massive trucks NO animal would stand a chance if struck !
Fitzroy is a wonderful inland country town and mainly populated with Aboriginees(and we met a few of these guys in the Fitzroy Crossing Inn) The historic Crossing Inn sits on it’s original site on the banks of the mighty Fitzroy River, and is the oldest established hotel in the entire Kimberleys region.The Inn has welcomed travellers and locals since its establishment on 5th July 1897. Originally a “shanty inn and trade store” that served prospectors, bullock team drivers, cattle drovers and locals, it has operated on the same site ever since… although floodwaters have meant continual rebuilding over the years.
Floodwaters through the bars at the Inn are measured by bricks up the wall, and in 1993 this was recorded at 9 bricks high. We visited the Geike Gorge around 20 kms from here and met a runner thru the riverbanks in training for his management job in the Bungle Bungles (lucky man) Creatures spotted around the river included Dingoes,Crocodilemstorks,Eagles and green frogs !!
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 