Reset search
Novices on the roadNovices on the road
Edit route

Novices on the road

May - December 2022
  • Jacqui Zuidema
  • Jamie Zuidema
Outback and east coast Australia Read more
  • Jacqui Zuidema
  • Jamie Zuidema

List of countries

  • Australia Australia
Categories
Camper
  • 27.3kkilometers traveled
Means of transport
  • Flight4,627kilometers
  • Walking-kilometers
  • Hiking-kilometers
  • Bicycle-kilometers
  • Motorbike-kilometers
  • Tuk Tuk-kilometers
  • Car-kilometers
  • Train-kilometers
  • Bus-kilometers
  • Camper-kilometers
  • Caravan-kilometers
  • 4x4-kilometers
  • Swimming-kilometers
  • Paddling/Rowing-kilometers
  • Motorboat-kilometers
  • Sailing-kilometers
  • Houseboat-kilometers
  • Ferry-kilometers
  • Cruise ship-kilometers
  • Horse-kilometers
  • Skiing-kilometers
  • Hitchhiking-kilometers
  • Cable car-kilometers
  • Helicopter-kilometers
  • Barefoot-kilometers
  • 70footprints
  • 204days
  • 916photos
  • 56likes
FollowCalendarShareBucket list
Newest first
  • Novices on the road
    1
    111

    Warren Gorge

    June 15, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Hiked 5km through Warren Gorge, just out of Quorn, this afternoon after Jamie finished his zoom sessions. We saw an abundance of wildlife including goats on rocks, Wallabies, grazing sheep and what I think are Australian Ringneck Parrots. There seemed to be very few species of plants that thrive in that environment. We managed to avoid rain but saw a rainbow 🌈 It was a great way to finish the day.Read more

  • Novices on the road

    Quorn. Work stop #2

    June 16, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Quorn is a quiet town Mon - Thurs but gets busier in the later part of the week and weekends- all those tourists!
    The Caravan park is a lovely bush setting with compact but clean bathrooms and wonderful other amenities.

    Arriving on Queens birthday public holiday, we stopped at the Qandong cafe for coffee and to taste the Qandongs. Scones with Quandong jam and cream were delicious. we then checked into the caravan park, set up camp and went directly to the transcontinental to watch the footy. Unfortunately it was only Jamie happy with the result. 😢 We ended the day with a counter meal there.

    Silo art in Quorn takes the form of a digital display projected onto the silos. It was great, as was the sunset happening in the background. It was informative as well as a stunning light show.

    Whilst Jamie was working I did a few walks around town and gardens, shopping for necessities, chatting to other campers, the dreaded washing including sheets and towels. Don’t think I’ll complain again about changing the doona in a big bedroom, where you can walk around the bed😂.
    The weather was a little warmer both during the day and night. Up to 17oC.    Read more

  • Novices on the road
    1
    111111

    Wilpena Pound

    June 18, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    After a very easy drive up the highway to Wipena Pound we set up camp in an unpowered site but with access to camp amenities. The days were lively but the nights a little chilly especially without the use of our heater. When we return we are having a diesel heater installed. 🤣

    We then set off on a hike to the old Hills homestead and Wangarra lookouts. It was a beautiful walk through the Pond gap, along the creek to the homestead and then a fairly easy climb to the lookouts, giving us our first high view of Wilpena Pound.

    The next day was a busy one for us. It began quite leisurely but soon any thoughts of leisure were forgotten as we trekked up Mt Ohlssen Bagge. This was a 4 hour walk up a very high mountain. Well it felt like a huge mountain. The track was rough and I would call 2/3rds of the walk a cross between bush whacking and rock climbing. At times the track was not clearly marked and we lost the trail a couple of times. After more rock climbing and scaling the mountain top we found the track again to continue on our merry way- or not so merry in my case. It is confirmed I AM NOT A HARD CORE WALKER! Many might have known that already but for some reason I wanted to try a hard walk again- well the first one for over 20 years. Jamie very patiently put up with me or at least tried to ignore me. But I made it and it was definitely worth the walk. After lunch back at camp we headed out in the car along one of the smaller tracks to Bunyeroo Gorge, Razorback lookout, Brachina Gorge and Stokes hill lookout. A beautiful drive through gorge’s and creek beds and a few trips over hills and along ridge tops. It was beautiful. We finished the tour watching the sunset from Stokes Hill lookout. We finished the evening with dinner and Gins at the Wilpena Pound resort restaurant.    Read more

  • Novices on the road

    Blinman

    June 19, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Blinman was a short lunch stop on the way to Arkaroola. On the way we passed “the Great Wall of china”. Not sure what it was built for but it was an impressive sight and feat. Very interesting little town with an active community. Blinman does not belong to any shire so the residents all work together to get access to services. There is also an old Copper mine there which we did a tour of. It was restored and is run by the townsfolk. For lunch we had the choice of the town pub or the Bilman bakery. After a mine tour we opted for a traditional Cornish pasty from the bakery. The last 8th of the pasty is not filled with meet and veggies but instead apples giving us a complete 2 course lunch. 😀 It would have been very hard work being a miner or family member in this remote location. Very hot in Summer and in winter nights can get into the minuses. There were tourists all over the tiny town.
    After leaving Blinman, we also left the bitumen roads for a few days.    Read more

  • Novices on the road
    111

    Arkaroola

    June 21, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We arrived in Arkaroola on the 18/6 and left on 21/6/22. It actually rained a very fine light rain the whole way there. The dirt road was in reasonable condition and we found a campsite I. The pretty rough caravan park. This time we had power.
    Whilst in Arkaroola we did their Ridge top tour which was breathtaking. We were fortunate enough to seek Arkaroola after some good rains and the landscape was often green. Our driver and your guide Pierre was French but he looked the part, drove well was informative and entertaining as we scaled the cliffs , made steep descents and bounced through the creek beds. All whilst looking at the most spectacular landscape. Our cage of fellow tourists were fun which added to the trip. A definite highlight so far. We were late leaving and therefore returned after dark. It was cold by then and we did t take our jackets. 🤣. Apparently I didn’t learn from that same mistake the Pease family made when we went 30+ years ago. Imagine me not remembering that ! They offered tea and Lamingtons at the top but not too many took. Drink at the top!!! We again had dinner out. All that eating out is about to end though😢    Read more

  • Novices on the road

    Arkaroola to Marree

    June 22, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We left Arkaroola and drove on a very rough windy road over the Gammon Ranges,with lots of flood ways and creek crossings, most of which were dry. A couple of puddles here and there. We arrived in Copley and Brought lunch (pies) from the Copley bakery. We then drove about 6kms south to Leigh Creek where we stopped at Foodland to purchase some supplies. Our destination for the day - Marree.
    Along the way we stopped at the Farina ruins. Farina was once a town but now all that is left is the station. However the ruins are slowly being partially restored and maintained by volunteers who spend time replacing stone. There is however an operating bakery there. The bread is baked in the restored underground oven. We purchased some lovely sourdough bread and slices after making our way around the ruins which we can see are laid out in the town grid.
    By about 4pm we made it to Marree. It was very underwhelming and there was a lot less of a town than we expected. However the caravan park was good although water pressure was non existent. Just a trickle for a shower.
    A lot of dust to clean out of the van    Read more

  • Novices on the road

    The Birdsville track day 1

    June 22, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We left Maree around 9:30 on 22/6/22 to head out along the Birdsville track. We planned to stay one night on the track before reaching Birdsville on the 23rd.
    We were not prepared for the green that spread out before us as we began our trip up the track. The road was mostly gravel and a little stoney in places. There were also areas that were a little muddy and othered with deepish ruts in the track. Overall driving conditions were fairly good. We drove to Mungeraniee roadhouse for lunch. We topped up our fuel and the sat a while in the pub/roadhouse. Drank a refreshing bitters lime and lemon. Jamie ate an enormous camel burger 🍔 for lunch. I was glad I just ordered a toastie. We also had a plate of slices for dessert. A little unexpected lunch for us. Back on the road for another couple of hours and then we pulled into Clifton Hill camp area. This comprised of a toilet, a lot of rocks and couple or tiny trees or bushes. There was one other couple staying there.
    For the second day in a row we had to de-dust the van. It was covered with dust. We think it is getting in through the back where the bed folds out. It was more challenging to clean here where we didn’t want to use too much of our water.

    We sat by our camp fire, had a champagne and ate dinner whist watching the sun set in the desert. The daytime temperature was around 21oC and the evening wasn’t too cold.    Read more

  • Novices on the road

    Beyond Birdsville - The beginning

    June 24, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Another short travel day around 180kms. Birdsville- Bedourie. Bedourie means dust storm. Not much here in this little town which holds the shire headquarters for Diamantina shire, which has 3 towns and a total population of around 300. Bedourie is right on the edge of the Simpson desert. In the town there is a spa where the water comes straight out of a thermal spring and is 40oC. Very hot. Today was 24oC and my second day in shorts and first in bathers, yay. 😀 again there was plenty of water in creeks and along the side of the road but none across the road. The road from Birdsville to Bedourie was mostly sealed. They were in the process of sealing another section, but instead of closing half the road at a time they were creating a new road alongside the gravel / Sandy track.
    We stopped at the Cutaburra crossing over the Eyre creek. It was a lovely spot with so much bird life. It was a constant chatter of bird calls as we got out of the car. Saw a snake on the edge of the road as we drove out.    Read more

  • Novices on the road

    Mount Isa

    June 25, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    A long day of travel today about 500kms of mostly narrow sealed roads from Bedourie to Mount Isa. The road trip passed through 2 towns and the most exciting part was the 6 or so wedge tailed eagles we saw.
    Not a lot to see in Mt Isa. Big town with a lot of mining around it. Good amenities but not a lot else going for it.
    We didn’t book a caravan park and we’re lucky enough to get a site but for one night only. Mount Isa is the biggest town by far we have visited since leaving Victoria. Streets were neat enough but buildings old, rundown and abandoned. We had lots of warnings to lock up everything but no dramas.
    Our van electrics not working properly for the step and awning. Not sure if it has been caused by dust, rocks, bouncing around or all of the above. As no vacancies in any parks for Sunday night we’ll drive to Cloncurry and see if we can get it fixed there.    Read more

  • Novices on the road

    Mary Kathleen

    June 26, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    On the road between Mount Isa and Cloncurry is the abandoned or rather dismantled uranium mine and township of Mary Kathleen. All that is left of the town is the bitumen street layout and some slabs and footings from the buildings. It was a very interesting and lovely few hours of exploring from an unexpected find. It was also a fantastic free camp site but we only stayed for lunch as were booked into Cloncurry caravan park for the night. Definitely somewhere to go back to. There would have been 30 vehicles camping here across the site.
    The drive to Cloncurry is only about 120 kms but it is a good road mainly used by Road trailers and caravaners although it is Qld school holidays.
    Day was finished off well watching the magpies defeat the Giants    Read more

  • 2025© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Help Center
  • Legal notice