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  • Fiona Pitt
  • Fiona Pitt

Around Australia

An open-ended adventure by Fiona Read more
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  • Trip start
    June 15, 2019
    Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Bargara to Clermont

    June 15, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Lovely weather to start our trip. Lots of roadworks to the Gracemere turnoff then good driving to Clermont. Staying at the Clermont caravan park where we can hear all the entertainment from the camp drafting at the Showgrounds. Dinner at the pub.Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Clermont to Greenvale

    June 16, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Up early this morning with the camp draft at the neighbouring showgrounds starting before dawn. We went to Hood's Lagoon for breakfast to leave the tent to dry out after a very heavy dew. After 2 years of considering camper trailer, caravan or new car, we settled on the old 2007 Subaru and a 3-person tent! Up the Gregory Development Highway to Charters Towers with a morning tea stop at Belyando Crossing which was much quieter than when we were here 5 years ago. Lunch at Charters Towers and a chat with Information Centre staff about the road ahead. Camped at Greenvale.Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Greenvale to Croydon

    June 17, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    A bit of corrugated dirt road today on the alternate Savannah Way. We stopped at Copperfield Gorge for a walk, Forsayth for a wee break (green frogs in the loo) Georgetown for lunch and camped at Croydon. Totally new places for me but David did lots of work around here when we lived in AthertonRead more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Croydon to Karumba

    June 18, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    An easy drive today with a stop in Normanton for fuel and banking. Lots of roos out grazing on the sides of the road and cattle crossing. Good to see a couple of solar farms being developed in the area. Food is very expensive - dry goods such as rice and flour are kept refrigerated. Visited the Barramundi Information Centre and the port where David used to do the veterinary inspections for live cattle exports. Of course we ran into someone David knew from Bundaberg. All the caravan parks seem to have a free book exchange or donation to the Royal Flying Doctor Service :) Apparently it is much quieter than usual at this time of year. It got to 28 today but a nice breeze. Watched the sun set over the water - the war memorial is a slouch hat.Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Karumba to Mount Isa

    June 19, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    The neighbouring campsite assured us that their children would be up at 5.30 so we packed up the swag and waltzed down the Matilda Highway to the Mutton Hole Wetlands National Park (you could call it a billabong) for billy tea and breakfast with the dawn chorus. The wetlands is home to 120 species of birds either as residents or migrants having a break. The sign said canoeing was permissible but risky with canoes being referred to as 'croc bait'.
    Stopped for fuel at the Burke and Wills Roadhouse then lunch at Cloncurry, birthplace of John Flynn.
    Grocery shopping at Mount Isa and camped for the night.    Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Mount Isa to Tennant Creek

    June 20, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We're in the Northern Territory so have gained half an hour! Very minor stops for coffee and refreshment today at Camooweal and the Roadhouse. The country is much more open compared to the savannah. Hardly any dead animals on the road and few cattle. The termite mounds are deep red, compared to the grey of a couple of days ago. There are clusters of "dressed" ones on both sides of the border - a trend apparently started about 3 years ago.Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Tennant Creek to Katherine

    June 21, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    A very windy night! Temperature this morning said 8 but the wind chill made it feel cold until the middle of the day. On our way back north we stopped into the old Telegraph Station where there is a series of preserved buildings. In 1872 it took 7 hours for morse code messages to be transferred from Adelaide to England. Faster than my emails some days! Tourists on bicycles started coming in 1897.
    At lunchtime at Daly Waters roadhouse we were surrounded by happy jack birds, also called Apostle birds as they like to stay together in a group and do everything together. I counted 50 at our table. From here the country changed with many more trees and it certainly warmed up to 28. We got out for a stretch and driver swap at Mataranka. There was a giant termite mound in case you hadn't noticed them along the way and a great shovel sculpture.
    Today was our longest drive but the next few will be short ones.    Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Katherine to Darwin

    June 22, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Winter solstice - shortest day of the year and the shortest drive of our travels so far. We stopped at Adelaide River where there is a lovely rest area opposite the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery. The big tamarind trees have been there since the Second World War after the bombing of Darwin. There were more than 100 Japanese air attacks on the NT from 1942 to 1945.
    We continued on to Darwin where we are staying in a hotel so we can be walking distance from the city. I haven't been to Darwin since our plane-load of ten-pound poms landed long enough to be fumigated and re-fuelled before we continued to Brisbane. David has been here twice when he was on the National Rapid Response team and they did practice responses to exotic diseases - Darwin was foot and mouth!    Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Darwin

    June 23, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Sunday - a rest from driving today. We explored the city and the waterfront on foot, stopping for a leisurely lunch. It got up to 30 but not too humid - no hair curl! It was 17 overnight, which is cold according to the locals. The Aboriginal people recognise 6 seasons here - we are visiting in Wurrgeng, the coldest and driest. We saw some real Jabiru and some sculptures of them. After a nap in the air conditioning David went for another walk and I did the laundry so we are ready for the next leg of the trip. State of Origin tonight so I got some reading done.Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Darwin to Kakadu and back

    June 24, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today we visited a part of Kakadu National Park - a World Heritage area. We went to the Bowali Visitor Centre and learned a lot about the local flora and fauna and Aboriginal cultural practices in the area. Many displays had quotations from traditional owners and warned if the country wasn't looked after the ground would shake. Darwin CBD was partially evacuated today because of an earthquake just off the coast! We didn't feel it though. A pink flowering shrub that we noticed along the highway on Saturday is plentiful in the park - it's called Turkey Bush.Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Darwin to Nitmiluk NP (Katherine Gorge)

    June 25, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Back tracked down the Stuart Hwy to Katherine but with different stops. We diverted to Pine Creek where we had morning tea under a mango tree then on to camp at Nitmiluk Campground (Katherine Gorge).
    David went for a hike - the humidity was very low so lots of water needed. We had dinner by the pool but we passed on the kangaroo and crocodile and had a vegetarian pizza!    Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Katherine Gorge to Kununurra

    June 26, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Happy Jacks, Blue-winged Kookaburras and Sulphur-crested cockatoos were up early this morning. We headed for the WA border, eating all our fruit supplies on the way because of the quarantine regulations. Lunch at Timber Creek and a brief stop at a site commemorating the Durack family and cattle grazing. On to the incredibly blue Lake Argyle and finally our campsite beside Lake Kununnura where we watched a pelican fishing for dinner before we had ours. We gained an hour and a half today!Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    De Grey River to Dampier

    July 2, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Much greener today and some flowers along the roadside. Also ant hills with hard hats! It became an undustrial landscape through Port Hedland with salt mines and iron ore ships. We drove through Roebourne then had lunch at Wickham - both small towns. Through Karratha to camp at Dampier near the sea. It was named after the British explorer. The memorial to Red Dog of book, song and movie fame is at the entrance to town and there ia a Roaming with Red Dog Trail around town. The Burrup Peninsula, or Murujuga, which means "Hip Bone Sticking Out" in the Yaburrara language, is home to what is believed to be the largest collection of ancient rock art in the world.Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Dampier to Carnarvon

    July 3, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We left the Pilbara and came to the Gascoyne region today. A day of contrasts - we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn - many kilometres of dry red country with splashes of purple and white. We entered Carnarvon this afternoon - banana plantations!Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Carnarvon to Denham

    July 4, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    A lovely drive here with views of the seagrass beds and coast. We could see the rain clouds gathering so thought we might get a cabin for 2 nights but it would have been expensive so we pitched the tent. Rain and wind came so we sat in the car downtown, drinking coffee and reading. The tent stayed up though and the inside was dry so we had a cosy night.Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Denham

    July 5, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Clear skies this morning so we went for a walk along the heritage trail and bought our National Parks pass. The visitor centre has a lot of information about wrecks off the coast and a memorial to the HMAS Sydney. We drove to Francois Peron National Park and looked at the buildings that remain from a former sheep station. It didn't look like good sheep country! On the way back we stopped at Little Lagoon and David walked around it.Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Geraldton

    July 7, 2019 in Australia ⋅ 14 °C

    A catch-up day with groceries and gas to buy. We also decided to try to buy another swag but nothing suited so we bought a cheap doona to augment the sleeping mats which have proven to be a bit cold.

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Geraldton to Coogee

    July 8, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    We have to adjust to cold starts every morning now - about 10 degrees when we got on the road to continue south. Lots of flowering plants along the roadside so a slow journey so we could admire them. More sheep and cattle properties evident. We had lunch at a beautiful park in Gingin. Petrol in Perth was the cheapest for the whole trip so far but lots of starting and stopping so we'll use more. A quick stop at Cottesloe to stretch our legs then the final leg to Coogee.Read more

  • Fiona PittAround AustraliaTraveler

    Perth

    July 9, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Not much driving this morning - just to Cockburn station to catch the train into the city. We had a coffee at the London cafe then got the hop-on hop-off bus to see the sights. After the Mint, the WACA, Optus stadium and Crown Casino, we got off at King's Gardens and enjoyed a few hours. Great views of Perth and so many beautiful plants. Back on the bus, back to the train and back to 'home', which is a cabin at a caravan park for a couple of nights.Read more

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