Around Australia

“ An open-ended adventure by Fiona

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Fiona Pitt

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Traveler Around Australia
- Jun 15, 2019, 7:38am · ☀️ 13 °C Altitude: 267 m
  Australia Queensland Isaac Clermont -22.82519, 147.6397522°49’31” S 147°38’23” E
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Day1
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
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Traveler Around Australia
- Jun 16, 2019, 6:02pm · ⛅ 22 °C Altitude: 455 m
  Australia Queensland -19.00013, 144.9781319°0’0” S 144°58’41” E
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Day2
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
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Traveler Around Australia
- Jun 17, 2019, 10:25am · ⛅ 25 °C Altitude: 128 m
  Australia Queensland Croydon -18.18904, 142.2298518°11’21” S 142°13’47” E
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Day3
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
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Traveler Around Australia
- Jun 18, 2019, 6:04pm · ⛅ 25 °C Altitude: 7 m
  Australia Queensland Carpentaria Karumba -17.48295, 140.8382917°28’59” S 140°50’18” E
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Day4
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
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Traveler Around Australia
- Jun 19, 2019, 7:56am · ☀️ 10 °C Altitude: 361 m
  Australia Queensland Mount Isa Pioneer -20.72439, 139.5090520°43’28” S 139°30’33” E
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Day5
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
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Traveler Around Australia
- Jun 20, 2019, 3:58pm · ☀️ 19 °C Altitude: 378 m
  Australia Northern Territory Barkly Tennant Creek Burton Park -19.64622, 134.199819°38’46” S 134°11’59” E
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Day6
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
Enjoy the NT!
6/20/19Reply
Great travelling you two. Enjoy. One day I might brave the Barkley again
6/20/19Reply
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Traveler Around Australia
- Jun 21, 2019, 7:35am · ⛅ 12 °C Altitude: 133 m
  Australia Northern Territory Roper Gulf Mataranka Stan Martin Park -14.925, 133.0683314°55’30” S 133°4’6” E
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Day7
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
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Traveler Around Australia
- Jun 22, 2019, 11:01am · ⛅ 24 °C Altitude: 59 m
  Australia Northern Territory Darwin Larrakeyah Harriet Park -12.45467, 130.8368712°27’17” S 130°50’13” E
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Day8
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
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Traveler Around Australia
- Jun 23, 2019, 10:36am · ☀️ 23 °C Altitude: 49 m
  Australia Northern Territory Darwin Larrakeyah Harriet Park -12.4547, 130.8366312°27’17” S 130°50’12” E
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Day9
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
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Traveler Around Australia
- Jun 24, 2019, 10:57am · ☀️ 24 °C Altitude: 49 m
  Australia Northern Territory Darwin Larrakeyah Harriet Park -12.45462, 130.8366212°27’17” S 130°50’12” E
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Day10
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
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