The start of 2008 (June really) and our first trip in out new 5th Wheeler.
Our new rig
Hopefully this is the first of many instalments to come. We have just completed a lovely leisurely week at Tin Can Bay. Played in the Sunday golf competition, terribly, but what can I expect after only 1 game in 6 months and after the shoulder operation. I was a bit stiff afterwards. It is a lovely course and was in good condition. Julie's niece, husband, and little girl arrived on the Monday and stayed for two nights. They were lucky as it started to rain the day they left, and did so for the next two days on and off.
The weather cleared Thursday morning which allowed me to play 9 holes that afternoon. Julie and I both love Tin Can Bay and we may spend a bit more time there in the future. The night before we left, Friday night, I took Julie out for her birthday. It was a lovely restaurant just up the road from the caravan park, and they have the best seafood chowder I have ever tasted.
We arrived in Hervey Bay today (Saturday 21 June) at about lunch time. We are staying in the yard of the people we bought our rig from, they are very hospitable and were glad to see the rig, which they had made. They have a huge house on a half acre at Dundowran, which is just north of Hervey bay. We plan to stay here until Tuesday.
(Friday 27 June) Our first night's free camp was at the Calliope River rest area (pix).
Calliope River & Rest Area
This is a lovely spot on the banks of the Calliope River, where you can stay for 48hrs. It has flush toilets, on the upper level with lights on all night. There was 32 other rigs of all sorts there that night, and you could have put another 35 rigs in, the camp area is that big. The river is salt and I have been told that it is possible to catch fish in it. Had our first camp fire since our trip in 2007. As Julie said now we feel we are really on our way and enjoying camping. The Bruce Hwy. from Apple Tree Creek to the Gladstone turnoff is in a shocking state, very rough and bouncy with heaps of hills.
It was a short run from the Calliope River to Byfield State Forest, about 200klm. There are three camping grounds in the State Forest which are accessible by conventional vehicle, the one we are in, Red Rock, (pix) is one of the few in the state to allow pets, but they must be on a lead at all times.
Byfield National Park - Red Rock Camp Ground
Byfield National Park, which is next door, has a couple of camp grounds, but you need a 4x4 to access them. We will be staying here a week, bushwalking, relaxing, and camp fire cooking. This is the first place where I have had to back our rig in. Very pleased with how I went, lucky I had a bit of room. This camp ground has plenty of water, boil before you drink, lots of shade trees, big sites with either a fire pit or a wood B.B.Q, and flush toilets. Like all National Parks and State Forests in Qld., you have to bring your own firewood. So far the weather has been really great.
As most of you know we are travelling with our cat "Kinky". Whenever he is out of the van he is on a lead. We generally take him for a walk every day, when we can, but we soon found out that he loves lying on one of our chairs. This became a nuisance when we wanted to sit down, so we went to "The Warehouse" in Rockie and bought him his own fold up chair.(pix). Do you think we spoil him??
Kinkie in his chair
Tuesday 1 July. Well tomorrow we leave this lovely place and am going to spend Wednesday night in Rockhampton catching up with some friends. Yesterday we drove to one of the other camp grounds, Upper Stony, where there are some lovely bush walks as well as some very good campsites. You have to book ahead for this camp ground as it is very popular as it has a beaut big swimming hole. It also has a hugh and very nice day use area, so it would be very popular in the summer months. We did two circuit walks, about 5k in all. They were very nice as one of them followed the creek and passed through patches of the Byfield Grevillia, and Byfield Fern. Both these species only grow in this area.
After Rockhamption, our next stop will be St.Lawrence, another free camp, however I believe you can get hot showers for a small fee. Anyhow here we are at St. Lawrence. (Sunday 6) Arrived on Thursday 3 July. It is a good free camp spot with flush toilets, good drinking water and $1 in the slot for hot showers. (3 minutes) We didn't know how long we would stay as we weren't sure what was here. It is a big camp area with some lovely walks out into the wetlands where there is a myriad of water birds of all types. There is informative signs through out the area. A short drive from the camp you come to a tidal inlet where you can catch good Flathead on the rising tide.
St.Lawrence Wet Lands
As it turned out there is a big Polo Cross competition this weekend with teams coming from two to three hundred kl. away. All the campers were invited to join in the social side, so we decided to stay all weekend. Last night there was a roast dinner, with desert, for $10. The bar was open with cheap drinks. After dinner there were Mud Crab races, which you could bet on, followed by a mini casino. They also raffled the mud crabs after the races. We watched the Polo cross for most of the day, and boy were some of the "A" grade players excellent horse persons. They even had junior competitions, with some players as young as 8.
This afternoon we are thinking of going to "barefoot bowls" at the bowling club. Neither of us has ever bowled before. Doesn't matter, it should be fun. For dinner tonight there is a sausage sizzle $2.50. Great weekend, with very friendly people. We will move on tomorrow, Monday. Another advantage of having the Polo Cross competition here, was that they turned off the money in the slot for the showers, so we all got free hot showers as well. (Bonus)
Monday 7 July. As it turned out we didn't go to bowls but went for a drive instead. About 4am it started to drizzle so it was a wet camp we had to pack up. A lot easier in the 5th wheeler than in the camper trailer I can assure you. Rained 90% of the way to Proserpine where we stayed overnight. What a rip-off place that park was, wont go there a again. Over priced with only mediocre amenities.
Yesterday, after a short day's travel with rain most of the way, we stopped at this "Mountain View Lake" holiday park just out from Giru.(Pix) A really lovely spot at the base of a mountain and national park with plenty of room. Big drive through sites with Power and all the usual for just $16 per night. We will move on to the rally at Townsville tomorrow where we will stay til at least Monday. We don't know where we will head after that.
Mountain View Holiday Park
Well what a hectic social life we have been having lately. Firstly at St.Lawrence, which I told you about, now at the rally in Townsville . Every one is so friendly, and when they knew it was our first rally they really went out of their way to make us welcome. Happy hour starts at 4pm, you then go back to your respective rigs for dinner, with after dinner entertainment starting at around 6.30pm. Saturday evening most of us (over 200) went to the local RSL where they put on a great dinner and show, All for the princely sum of $12 per head. There are about 180 rigs here of all shapes and sizes. We are one of 6, 5th wheelers. Some of the motorhome busses are hughmungus with a lot of the larger motorhomes worth in excess of $500,000 plus the car and trailer they tow.
Some of the Rigs at Townsville
While we have made a lot of friends, there are a few who will stick in our mind. Two of these are Peg and Ray. They drive a 35ft bus towing a car trailer. The bus has a bit of age on it, but the thing I admire about them is that they are both 84 and she has had a small stroke last year. The bus is their home and they have been on the road for over 20 years. A remarkable couple. Every one is trying to talk us into going to Mareeba for the "Christmas in July" rally, but I don't think so at this stage. While here I played golf in the Saturday competition at the Willows course. A very friendly place with a forgiving course, though a lot of bunkers.
There is a HF radio club rally after this so we will stay on for it for a few days. It goes up til next Monday morning. At this stage I don't know if we will stay the whole time, but we are now going to Innisfail for a few days to see the Hendles and Rod & Meg. After that Charters Towers (eventually).
Friday 18th. Well the clouds have finally started to clear up, after 4 days, so I shouldn't have to use the generator today to top the batteries up. Life is pretty relaxed at present and we are enjoying the warmer weather. Just using a sheet at night, but that is what North Qld. is all about. This rally is a lot more casual than the previous one with just social activities from 4pm onwards, with a break for dinner. Julie is currently playing disc bowls with a group, and I did some GPS exercises this morning. Very interesting. Other than doing the washing at a Laundromat and the food shopping the other day, things have been easy.
Toomula Beach Rest Area
Tuesday 22nd. We finally left Townsville yesterday in drizzling rain and it is worse today. We only travelled 60k to a lovely free camp at Toomulla Beach. It would be a nice spot with long walks on the beach except for the drizzle. You can supposedly stay here for 48 hours, but if you work it right this can be extended to at least 4 nights. Arrive Friday afternoon and leave Tuesday morning. As these free camping areas are run by the council, the ranger only visits Monday, Wednesday and Friday. His visit is completed by mid afternoon. Then on the Tuesday you move to the next one up the road for another 3 or 4 free nights. At nearly all these places there is flush toilets and drinking water, with 99% of people using Solar or small generators to keep the batteries topped up. There is always campers here so you are not alone. There are about 15 rigs at this one at the present time. The only downside at this place is that the 'phone reception is very poor with a lot of dropouts. Oh well you can't have everything. Tomorrow we will move on to Liverpool creek a Japoonvale for 2 nights, then 3 nights at Innisfail before returning to Townsville.
Thursday 24th. As we were passing through ElArish, we thought we would call in and see some friends. Peter and Gail Smith, ex ElArish auxiliary fire-fighters. We ended up staying the night in their front yard and having dinner with them. We were pleased to stop as it really started to rain heavy as we approached Tully, which didn't surprise us. Some things don't change. Thank goodness it had stopped by this morning, though every where you go the ground is still sloppy. Had a very short drive to Liverpool Creek rest area at Japoonvale (22kl). We were here just after 9.30am. We will spend the night here as it is a lovely spot with some relatively dry ground. Very clean flush toilets, tables, water and wood BBQ, and of course best of all, free. Another nice surprise, a pie van called in at lunch time. Sam's Pies, a name we knew well when we lived in Innisfail. It is still very overcast and I believe we are in for some more rain.
Innisfail from the Hendle's
