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Far North Queensland & Beyond
  • Sommer Days

Far North Queensland & Beyond

4 months Long Service and Annual Leave 2023 Meer informatie
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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Butterfly Falls, Limmen National Park

    4 juli 2023, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Tuesday 4th

    Had a great night’s sleep, and while we were having breakfast, a helicopter flew low and landed near our camp. We guessed that it was ferrying some tourists from Lorella Springs who were doing the walk around the Lost City. Great way to travel. Lorella Springs is closed to the public but only open to tour group operators.

    About an hour’s drive and a couple of creek/river crossings and many corrugations and bull dust later, we arrived at Butterfly Falls, another Limmen NP campground that requires a booking. No internet. How can you do a booking? Years ago, when we camped at National Parks, we used to just arrive and complete a form and pay cash into an honesty box. Much easier way to do it. We have spoken to many people about this, who agree.

    We camped in the ‘overflow’ camp site No. 3, and later spoke to a young couple who we met at King Ash Bay who were in ‘overflow’ camp site No. 1. They said that they booked online and were told that the campground was fully booked until mid-August. We counted 4 vacant campsites that night. How can you book online when you don’t have internet? We have heard this often, that sits are booked but people do not turn up, possibly due to change of plans/car trouble, etc, but because the site is booked, no-one can technically use it.

    Butterfly Falls Campground. This is a pretty, cool little oasis with fresh water that you can swim in, and a constant trickle of water over the waterfall. It is surrounded by water lilies and has a gentle sandy bank. We paddled but did not swim as it felt too cold. Heard the squeals of kids later having fun and enjoying the swim in one of the only waterholes which is safe to swim in as it is crocodile free in the area.

    Beautiful outback Northern Territory sunset over the surrounding hills.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Limmen Bight Fishing Camp

    5 juli 2023, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Limmen Bight Fishing Camp

    After a good night's sleep, we drove from Butterfly Falls in the Limmen National Park, to the Limmen Bight Fishing Camp, which is located on the banks of the large Limmen River. The road in was pretty average, sandy, corrugated and narrow, and we arrived at the office and spoke to Patsy, the aboriginal owner who directed us to the campsites on the banks of the river about 6kms down the river. $10 per night.

    The campsites are spread out and we were lucky to get one of the last sites, as people had just left the day before. We are right on the sandy boat ramp and have a nice view of the river. There are caravans and campsites set up and spread apart for a couple of kms.

    Not long after we arrived, our neighbour Lizzy came over and introduced herself and her husband Bill and gave us some frozen fish bait. They are from Albury and have been here for 4 weeks and have been coming here for the past 14 years. There are a lot of long-term campers that come up each season, and a lot of them know each other from being regulars.

    I mentioned to Bill that we are almost out of beer as we have not been near towns for quite a while. Bill said he has some beer we could buy as he has not been well and has not been drinking and did not want to carry it all the way back to Albury when they leave next week.

    They were on their way to the house/office to get some water and said we can come ‘shopping’ at their camp when they get back. Lizzy said that they pay $50 a week to camp there, and that includes all the water which they get from the house/office area. They brought back 200lts in various containers which Bill then transfers to his caravan water tanks, and they do this every week that they stay here. They said you can also buy fuel for the boats and frozen bread.

    When they came back, we went over to their camp. Bill’s tunnel boot (aka Dan Murphy’s) was an Aladdins cave, full of alcohol. We had never seen anything like it before. Boxes of wine, wine casks, slaps of beer etc. It was choc-a-block, better than our bar at home! Theo brought 2 slabs of beer for $100, cheaper than retail. Theo was happy and Bill was happy.

    Lizzy asked me if I needed any groceries, or wine, so we may shop with them again before we leave. Lizzy said that they usually come fully stocked for a stay of 4 months and are leaving early because of Bill’s health. They are heading back home to Albury for some medical appointments and some tests.

    I thawed out some frozen barra and we had it on a bed of rice for dinner, then the neighbours on the other side, Judy and Rod from Stawell came over to introduce themselves and say hi. Chatted to them for a while before it got dark and then we came inside. Luckily no mozzies or midgies tonight, hopefully due to the slight breeze.

    Theo has decided that he will put his tinny in tomorrow, after being reassured by Bill that the crocs don’t usually hang around here, as they are usually further up the river, but to always be alert. We won’t travel too far in our little tinny, but it would be good to fish further than the bank. Who knows, we might catch dinner! Update. Guess what, Theo did catch a bream for dinner. Yay!

    We are so settled in here that it looks like we will be staying for a few days. We have enough food, water, now beer, hopefully fresh fish for dinner, nice neighbours and for $10 a night, you could be in worse places (like cold Victoria) LOL.

    Update: Today is Friday 7th July and this is our 3rd day here. We feel so relaxed and have been made to feel welcome by all the campers. If anyone needs anything there is always someone who will help. We have run out of fuel and oil for the 2-stroke boat motor. Lizzy said that Trevor might have some fuel and Russell and Jude may have some oil. Theo transferred 20lts of petrol from Trevor’s jerry can and paid him $50, and we brought some oil from Jude but it was not until we got back to our camp that we realized the oil was not suitable for marine motors.

    We then drove the 6kms back to the office and asked Patsy if she had any oil, and she found a container of oil. She did not know the price, but we said we will fix her up tomorrow. Also brought some frozen bread for $5 a loaf and took some back to Lizzy who also wanted a loaf.

    The homestead/camp office had to be seen to be believed. We have stayed in a few aboriginal camps and they have all been the same. Old machinery, broken down things, bits and pieces, long grass and rubbish etc everywhere, and this was no different, but I guess that is how they live. In the shed was a brand-new Ranger buggy, but the shed was chock-a-block full of pieces of machinery, old parts and broken old stuff etc. The large room next to the office was so full of things that there was no free bench space at all. There was junk everywhere, and surprisingly, a couple of kids were watching TV in amongst it.

    Fortunately, it was a completely different world when you drove down to the fishing camping ground. Clean sites, no rubbish, and great views of the Limmen River, and we believe, great fishing. Yet to be confirmed.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Limmen Bight - A pain in the bum!

    7 juli 2023, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Today is warm, but very windy. Trevor and Glenys were helping Bill pull his tinny out of the water in preparation for them packing up and leaving next week. While we were talking to them, Trevor said he will teach Theo how to throw the cast net. Seems he was doing it all wrong and almost wrapping himself in the net. Now he knows the right way. Thanks Trevor.

    As we now had fuel, we headed out, eager to catch some fish. Well, we caught a couple of catfish, got hooked on some mangroves, lost a line, got windblown, and then somehow Theo got a fishhook caught in his backside when he fell backwards onto the open tackle box. Ouch. Now that really is a pain in the bum!

    Back to camp where I cut off the hooks from the lure but could not get the hook out of his bum (upper bum/lower back). Walked over to Lizzy (retired nurse), who suggested that Sal at the next camp may be able to help, as she was also a nurse (Margi and Greg, Sal and Bill from SA). So, we trotted off to the ‘emergency room’ at the next camp.

    By this time, Theo had a couple of cans of anaesthetic (4X beer). Amid much laughter, Greg gave him a nip of scotch, Sal applied some ‘Anusol’ to deaden the area, and then truckdriver Greg put on his surgeon’s headlamp, and while Bill was chatting to Theo about our trip and distracting him, Greg pulled the hook out (backwards). Ouch ouch, ouch! Great way to meet the neighbours.
    If the situation had been more serious, it may have meant a 10 hour round trip to the closest medical facility at Borroloola.

    Saturday was a windy day, but we put the tinny in anyway and headed up the river, dropping the anchor and the line at various intervals. Only caught one catfish (Rod said it was called a Golden Cobbler up here). Theo leant over the side to retrieve his lure which was caught in some mangroves, and his phone dropped out of his pocket in shallow water.

    Luckily, he acted quickly and retrieved it, and it seems none the worse for its quick dip in the Limmen River. Not a good thing to do, as we had seen 3 crocodiles while cruising the river in the past couple of days.

    Sunday, we woke to another windy day, so decided to pack up and leave. It is no use waiting for the wind to stop as it may go for days/weeks. We said our goodbyes to our neighbours, and wished Bill all the best. They were leaving early Monday morning and had a long drive ahead back to Albury and medical appointments. Such a lovely couple, and never heard Bill complain once, although they knew he was quite unwell.

    All the neighbours came over for a working bee, and helped them pack up their camp. Russell even offered to drive behind them as far as Mount Isa, but they said they would be okay.

    While we were saying goodbye, John and Jenny arrived who we had not met before. They also had a Goldstream pop top and were camped further down the river. We were quite eager to get on the road, so did not talk for too long.

    We loved our stay at Limmen Bight Fishing Camp. We came for one night and ended up staying 4 nights, and it was made all the more special because we were made to feel so welcome by Lizzy and Bill, Rod and Judy, Greg and Margi, Bill and Sally, Jude and Russell and Trevor and Glenys. We may come back some day.

    Unfortunately, the road through the National Park is in quite poor condition with lot of corrugations and dust, and this may affect our decision to return. We are so over the corrugations (literally).

    We drove for a couple of hours and stopped for the night at Yurrlmundji Campground on the Roper River in the Limmen National Park. It is near the river, but the river is not within sight as it is beyond the treeline. There are toilets, but no water. Once again, you are supposed to book online. We didn’t have a booking, and there was no one else there. We had the place to ourselves.

    We have not had internet for a week. Only have one tank of water left, so will use it sparingly until we can fill up again. Getting a bit low on some food items. Heading towards Roper Bar tomorrow.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Roper Bar to Katherine

    10 juli 2023, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Had a great night’s sleep, and when we awoke at 9am, we packed up and Theo noticed that the cross arms of the lifting mechanism of the roof at the front of the caravan have broken its mount and come loose. He has attempted to reattach them a couple of times, but this time one arm has sheared the bolt which meant that the roof was not closing as it should and had moved slightly sideways. This has been exacerbated by the corrugations and we believe the lack of engineering, which is a bit poor, as this is an off-road caravan.

    We drove for about an hour over the last of the dust and corrugations, leaving the National Park, and then headed to Roper Bar. Roper Bar has fuel, which was the main reason for our detour. It has a camping ground and an airport and not much else and is surrounded by aboriginal communities.

    The petrol bowser had a padlock on it and was $2.80 per lt. The Tall Guy (Aussie) running the store was very nice, but there was virtually nothing on the shelves in the store. He said he has been there 5 years and it was run down, and he is trying to build it up. Hmmm. Looked pretty run down to us still. We brought a frozen loaf of bread, then headed to the camping ground where Tall Guy told us we could get some water.

    The water is from the Roper River but is fine for washing and showering. When we told him we were heading to Gove, Tall Guy said that he has a good mate who lives at Gove, Vincent Nathan, and if we need anything to ask him.

    Roper River is the second largest river in Australia and there is a natural rock causeway that breaches the Roper allowing access to eastern Arnhem Land. The Roper River had a great deal of water traffic in the 1870’s as cattle stations sprang up across the Gulf Country. A police station was constructed in 1937, and the site now lies in ruins. We stopped and wandered through the ruins trying to imagine the harsh life back then.

    Explorer Ludwig Leichhardt crossed the Roper River here in 1845, and the crossing was originally called ‘Leichhardts’ and later became known as Roper Bar. In 1871 a supply depot was established to provide supplies and materials during construction of the Overland Telegraph Line (OTL) between Adelaide and Darwin. There is a history of frontier policing, river flooding, and attacks on aboriginals when relations soured with both whites and unknown number of aboriginals being speared. Hard to imagine the harsh history today, looking at the beautiful river fringed with pandanus and fast flowing water flowing over the concrete causeway.

    As tempting as it was, we paddled a short distance on the concrete causeway to cool off, keeping an eye out for crocs. The road on the other side of the causeway led to some restricted aboriginal communities.

    There was a nice campsite high up but right on the river, and although it looked tempting, it was still early, and we need to keep moving towards Katherine.
    We continued along the Savannah Way on the dirt and corrugations, which then became bitumen as we got closer to ‘civilization’ of Mataranka and Katherine. About 3pm, we found a nice camp for the night off the highway at the Mount Price rest stop.

    It is well off the road and has a picnic shelter, bins and a water tank. As we were fully charged and had filled our water tanks at Roper Bar, I did a couple of loads of washing and gave the floor and shower a good wash while Theo did some caravan repairs.

    Theo pumped up 6 of the 8 tyres (he had lowered the tyre pressure to 25 on the car and 30 on the van a week ago before we hit the dirt and corrugations), and then the ‘Kings’ portable air compressor overheated and shat itself. Luckily the caravan has a built-in compressor used for suspension, levelling and roof lifting, and he completed reinflating the final two tyres using the van’s compressor.

    Looks like we will have to replace the compressor when we arrive in Katherine, as well as re-stocking the pantry and fridge. Our stocks are getting low, as the last major town we shopped in was Mareeba over a month ago.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Katherine

    12 juli 2023, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The Mount Price camping area was a great little campsite. We were the only ones there. Must remember this for next time.

    We must have got bitten by midgies/sandflies on our last night at Limmen Bight Fishing Camp, and didn't notice them at the time, but hours later they started to itch. Theo counted 30 plus bites, and I had about a dozen. I am allergic to them, and the bite area swells to the size of a 50-cent piece. We both took Telfast which eased the irritation somewhat. Usually within a couple of days the itch has gone and only the red bite mark is left, which takes 7-10 days to completely disappear. We must remember to spray Bushman's so we don't get bitten.

    We had a short drive today, stopping 3 times at roadworks, before arriving in Katherine. Katherine is 317kms south of Darwin and covers an area the size of Victoria. It is the 4th largest town in the Northern Territory.

    We are camped at the Manbulloo Homestead, (where we camped in 2012), about 10 minutes drive from the main street of Katherine, on an unpowered site on the fencline under some large shady trees. Luckily our solar is fully charged because we are getting no sun on the roof. We will be okay for a couple of days.

    We needed to re-stock on food and buy a new portable compressor, in preparation for more off-road travel in the next few weeks. Woollies was so busy with queues at all the checkouts. It was a madhouse, as was the carpark. It was a bit of a culture shock from the past few weeks where we have been in relative isolation. After shopping, we were glad to get back to quiet of the caravan.

    Now we are back on the sealed bitumen and the main highway, the roads have lots of caravans and travellers on it, and people are travelling north to Darwin, south to Adelaide, west to Kununarra and east to Arnhem Land or Qld. Katherine is like the hub of the wheel.

    It has a population of about 11,000 people and was a major supply and maintenance hub during World War 2. Interesting fact: In 1942, nine Japanese aircraft flew over Kathrine and dropped about 90 bombs. The majority fell on the Katherine airfield and one resident was killed. Following the attack most residents were evacuated south.

    RAAF Base Tindal is a Royal Australian Air Force Military air base and civil aviation airfield located about 15kms outside Katherine. Every year it hosts major exercises featuring visiting aircraft and personnel from around the country and the world, including ‘Pitch Black’. When we were in Darwin in 2012, Theo was so excited to go to the open day at Darwin Airfield and look at all the military planes and equipment. While we have been here at Manbulloo Homestead, he has got a buzz every time he hears an airforce plane flying overhead.

    Katherine also has Hot Springs, which consist of a number of crystal-clear pools winding through the trees and then out to the Katherine River. We spent a couple of hours relaxing and enjoying the 32-degree temperature of the water.
    In the back of our mind was the news we heard a few days ago of a crocodile sighting at Bitter Springs, where the area was closed temporarily. Also in the news in the past few days was the crocodile attack at Wangi Falls in Litchfield National Park, which we visited in 2012.

    The camping ground had live entertainment tonight, a musician, who plays the trumpet and sings, and we could hear the music from our site, then decided to walk over and sat for a while listening. After that, we spent some time chatting to Jenny and Paul (Goldstream) who we met at King Ash Bay. We exchanged details, and Theo now has a couple of new friends on Facebook! They are heading to Darwin and then to WA, so our paths may not cross again on this trip, but we will keep in touch, and it will be interesting to follow their journey.

    Tomorrow, we pack up and start our journey on the East Arnhem Highway heading towards Gove.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    On the road to Nhulumbuy

    13 juli 2023, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Katherine to Mainoru

    Once we had breakfast and packed up the van and car, we topped up the fuel tank in Katherine and drove the 50 odd kms to the turn off from the Stuart Highway on to the Central Arnhem Road (CAR). A permit is required from the NLC (Northern Land Council) as this is a restricted aboriginal area. We arranged our permits about 12 days ago and have them on our email. The permit requires you to state where you are staying while in East Arnhem Land.

    We have a booking at the Gove Boat Club at Manyimi Campground from the 15th, but as we have 684kms ahead of us, and did not know what to expect regarding the condition of the road, we allowed 2 days with 2 overnight stops. We are staying at Mainoru on the first night but not sure where we would be on the 2nd night. There are only a couple of places that you can camp on the way up to Nhulunbuy/Gove, besides gravel pits, as you are not allowed to enter aboriginal communities.

    The first 50 or so kms of the road was bitumen and then we pulled over just after the aboriginal community of Beswick where we let the tyres down before driving on the unsealed road. The road went from good to not-so-good, on and off, with rocky sections, corrugations and dust, and we arrived at Mainoru about 3pm. Mainoru is a little oasis in the outback. Green grass, plenty of sites which are spread out, fuel, a small takeaway food menu, bar, outdoor area with tv, small laundry, toilets and showers and a lovely little decking area overlooking the river filled with lily pads. $30 per night unpowered.

    We enjoyed sitting outside on the balmy NT evening watching the sun go down and colour the sky with reds and oranges before becoming softer pastels as the dark descended. The sunset looked amazing as if it was backlit by fire silhouetting the trees, then the stars came out. We had an early night as it had been a big day for Theo driving, dodging corrugations, bulldust and potholes.

    The campground had settled down, the kids had gone to bed, campfires were nearly out, then about 10.30pm a car comes in and parks very close to our van, and for 2 hours they set up their camp, with their tent being zipped and unzipped, airbeds being inflated, car doors opening and shutting, tent pegs being banged in etc. They settled down about 12.30pm and only then did I manage to fall asleep. Theo slept through the whole thing.
    They ignored us and we ignored them in the morning as we packed up before we headed off. The campground was huge, and there was a lot of areas they could have set up their tent, not sure why they chose to set up so close to us at that time of night. I do think that they were trying to be quiet, but at that time of night when everything is still, any sound seems loud. It was very annoying.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Nhulumbuy

    15 juli 2023, Australië ⋅ 🌬 25 °C

    We were on the road by 9am, after saying bye for now to Pat and Rick.

    The Central Arnhem Road (CAR) went from very, very good to goddam awful, with several memorable sections having extremely bad corrugations. Just when we thought that we could not drive over another corrugation, about 30kms from Nhulumbuy we drove onto the bitumen, and it was a smooth trip from then on.

    Nhulumbuy (pronounced Nool-un-boy), is the name of the town and Gove is the name of the peninsula, the two names are often used. We are staying at the Manyimi Campground next door to the Gove Boat Club, which is about 10kms from township of Nhulumbuy.

    Bit of history. Cape Arnhem is named after the ship the ‘Arnhem’ which sailed into the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1623. The ship was named after the city of Arnhem in the Netherlands.
    Matthew Flinders met the Macassan trading fleet near Nhulumbuy when he was circumnavigating Australia in 1803.

    In 1963 the Federal Government approved the use of the land for a bauxite mine and a deep-water port was established in the late 1960’s and was managed by Rio Tinto. The refinery closed in 2014. Rio Tinto’s mining operation in Gove will be done by 2030, the mining will be finished, and the bauxite machinery pulled down and scrapped. On our way in, we drove past large areas of open cut bauxite mines.

    Nhulumbuy has a population of 3,500 people and is the fourth largest settlement in the Northern Territory.

    We travelled such long way to get here. Nhulumbuy is 4000 kms from Melbourne as the crow flies, but we have been zig-zagging our way here and have covered nearly 12,000 kms so far. This is one of the most remote travel destinations we have been to in Australia, besides Cape York. As we were driving in, we felt that the road was worse that the road to Cape York although it is being continuously graded, and depending on when you travel depends on your opinion of the road.

    We had a quick drive around the town, and we saw several schools including a Christian college, a primary and a high school, large hospital, medical services, Amcal chemist, Thirsty Camel and BWS, hotels, huge public swimming pool, bakery, several sports ovals, Centrelink, Government offices etc. Unfortunately, no Bunnings, but there is a well-stocked Woollies supermarket!

    Our campsite at the Manyimi Campground was great. We have a waterfront view of the beautiful bay, we are right next door to the Gove Boat Club, where meals and drinks are available, and the day we arrived there was a car show and music, so we went over to the Boat Club to check it out and spent an hour or so chatting to locals. Great timing.

    Pat and Rick are our next-door neighbours, and arrived shortly after us. They are here for 3 nights, same as us, so we will be in for a few drinks and laughs.

    We are hoping to get the tinny out on the beautiful little bay. Danny the caretaker tells us that there is a small crocodile in the bay, but he stays on the other side. Danny also said he caught two coral trout in the bay in his tinny which is smaller than ours, so Theo is keen to get his boat in the water.
    The water is so clear and a magnificent colour aqua-blue. It looks very enticing, but we always remember that there are warning signs and crocodiles are in the area. Fun fact: Since 1979 there have been 2 fatal crocodile attacks at Nhulumbuy.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Gove

    20 juli 2023, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Sunday 16th

    Sunday was washing and cleaning up day.
    We discovered this morning that our portable induction cooktop, which I use all the time was not working. We don’t think it liked all the corrugations on the road up here. Theo (aka, Mr Fixit) pulled it apart and was able to repair it by borrowing a portable soldering iron from the neighbour behind. I am so happy that it is now working as I am pretty sure that we would not be able to replace it here.

    Rick then mentioned that he had a problem with his electric hotplate in his caravan, so he and Theo spent an hour or so crawling around under the van and in cupboards and managed to locate the problem. It is now working. Rick was so happy, he shouted us drinks with our dinner at the Boat Club.

    Tomorrow, we plan to drive out to the Yirrkala Art Centre, about 26kms from here, as I would really love to bring home some local art. Then maybe fishing in the afternoon.

    We have eaten at the Boat Club the last two nights, but it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays so will eat at home tomorrow night. Bugga, that means I have to cook!

    Tuesday 18th
    We have been asking the caretakers if there is any chance of extending our stay, and today Danny said that we can stay 3 more nights, but tomorrow Tuesday they are full. He offered to let us move next to the camp kitchen for one night, then move to Site 12 for 3 more nights. We packed up and moved to the grassy area next to the camp kitchen, and Pat and Rick packed up to leave.

    We sadly farewelled them, as they could not extend, and exchanged details so we can keep in touch. We had such a great time with them and loved their company and had so much fun and so many laughs. We were all like-minded, and Theo and Rick had a real ‘bromance’ happening. Rick said he ‘had a mate who drove a Ranger, Rob, he’s a good guy’, so many times that we finished the sentence for him every time he started talking about Theo’s ranger. Rick was a retired engineer, world travelled, with several degrees and interests, and Theo hung @#$% on him and Rick hung @#$% on Theo. All in fun, and we were always laughing. Pat said on leaving that she felt that we had packed 6 years-worth of dinners into 4 nights.

    As we are now staying longer, we had to go online to sort out our NLC transit permit which expires on 22nd July. Turns out it was easy, I found the number and rang the office, quoted my permit number and it was extended over the phone.

    Also, a Liquor permit is required to buy take-away alcohol. We did not arrange this before arriving as we thought we were only staying 3 nights and brought enough alcohol with us, but when we extended our stay, we needed to buy some more beer. The permit is issued by the Dept of Industry, Tourism & Trade in Darwin. Information is online, but the application form needs to be printed, scanned and then emailed with a copy of your driver’s licence.

    We don’t have a printer, so I rang the office and Jodie suggested that we could get the form from one of the offices in town. We went to the Visitor Centre, and KK was very helpful. I completed the form, she copied my licence, then we went around the corner and put the application form in the letter drop box. 3 hours later, I received notification by email that my permit had been approved. Now all I had to do was produce my licence in the bottle shop and it would be scanned to see the status of my permit. Easy. And no restrictions on what we could buy. Thirsty Camel, here we come.....

    While waiting for our site to be vacated, we went out in the boat, and dropped the line in for a couple of hours but had no nibbles. The water got very choppy, so we headed in. I got drenched every time we hit a wave, and really appreciated the long hot shower when we got back to camp.

    In the afternoon, we drove past the wharf and walked down to the beach and fished from the rocks, but nothing was caught except a small turtle wanting to eat our squid bait for a quick meal. We let him have the bait and released him to go on his way. This is the second turtle Theo has snagged on his fishing line, the first one was at Etty Bay about 12 years ago.

    After a long walk along the beach, then dinner and drinks at the Club, we had an early night. During the night we both became very itchy and realized that we had been attacked by sandflies. We wondered whether we got bitten while walking on the beach, or at the Club but are now pretty sure they may have come through our flyscreen door or windows during the night on the new site.
    We both counted over 35 bites. Theo’s bites are itchy red lumps, but mine are driving me out of my mind. I have an allergy to them, and they swell to the size of a 20c or 50c piece. Itchy as hell. We went to the chemist and got some cream and antihistamines, and then had a lazy afternoon.

    We turned on the air conditioner for the first time ever, and we had it on all afternoon and plan to leave it on tonight, so we don’t have to open the door or windows. We didn’t get any bites at our other site which had full sun, but the new site has more garden and is close to a sandy track. I sprayed some barrier/surface spray on all the fly screens and door and am not taking any chances with the horrible little insects coming inside.

    Early morning and late afternoon, we now coat ourselves with Bushman's, Heavy Duty 40% Deet, turn on the Thermacel, light mozzie coils, or all of the above.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Banubanu Resort, Bremer Island

    21 juli 2023, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Friday morning, we awoke after having a pretty good night’s sleep as we had slept with the aircon on all night. The sandfly bites are starting to ease a little bit, although if I accidently knock one, it starts to itch again. They are now just hard little red lumps, which will take a few weeks to disappear completely.

    We set the alarm as we have booked as daytrip to nearby Bremer Island, Banubanu Resort. It is very popular, and we did try to book a trip earlier in the week, but the next available date was today. The transfer ferry left at 9am from the boat ramp, only a short stroll from our camp, and ferried the 20 passengers to the island in about 40 minutes.

    When we arrived on the island, we jumped off the ferry onto the beach and walked up the sandy path to the restaurant where we were surprised to see a table with our name on it overlooking the bay. We had a quick drink, then changed into our swimmers so we could take advantage of every minute we were on the island.

    The island is quite large, but over half of it is restricted aboriginal community. The Banubanu resort is not a large area. There is a restaurant, a bar, a plunge pool and six beach front safari tents, one being a ‘penthouse’ up on the hill overlooking the water. We heard that it costs about $1,700 per person per night to stay on the island, which includes all meals but no drinks.

    Theo could not wait to get in the water. He is a just like a fish, and I reckon he should have been born with gills! He loves the ocean and snorkelling, and could snorkel all day. I snorkelled for half an hour, then got out and walked along the beach, then signalled him to get out so we could have lunch. If he had his way, he would have stayed in the water and skipped lunch.

    The water visibility became clearer as the waves settled in the afternoon, and we swam and snorkelled again after lunch.

    We have snorkelled at the Great Barrier Reef, the outer reef, Low Isles, Fitzroy Island, Bora Bora, Tahiti and Hawaii, and I felt that visibility was much better in other places. It all depends on the weather, and we were told that there had been a bit of wind lately churning up the sea.

    Nevertheless, Theo enjoyed himself. He saw parrot fish, a barracuda, stingrays, stripy fish, but no nemo. Also, the coral was broken and grey and not very colourful.

    The first time I ever snorkelled was at Low Isles and I was blown away by the bright colours of the coral and the fish, and I felt like I was swimming in an aquarium. Nothing since has compared to it.

    We had a steak sandwich with chips for lunch and a Corona beer each, cost $88. Boat trip cost $240. Part of the fee covers a permit fee that is paid to the custodians and traditional owners of the island. It is not a cheap day out, but although we enjoyed it, it is something we will probably not do again. It is the most northerly place in Australia that we have snorkelled and swum in the sea. Most beaches are out of bounds due to crocodiles and stingers (in season).

    Saturday, and we took the tinny out for a fish. Theo caught a couple of undersized fish (possibly snooty grunters), but we could see storm clouds coming overhead the wind picked up making the waves choppy, eventually, the sky blackened, and we could see rain on the horizon, then it passed over and the sea calmed, but we had enough, and we headed back.

    Over the weekend, the weather has gone downhill. I tried to book Theo into a fishing charter, but they are all booked up and are having to move customers to other days because of the strong winds, so looks like he has missed out this time.

    Strong winds and cooler days, temperatures of about 24 degrees, but with the wind makes it feel cooler. Nights down to about 21 degrees in the van. Still comfortable for sleeping, but we are starting to feel the cold.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger
    2

    Last days in Nhulumbuy

    25 juli 2023, Australië ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    We took advantage of the cooler weather to explore some areas that we had not had time to visit.

    We walked around the Town Lagoon (Gaynaru Wetlands), and drove about 15 minutes past the golf course to Galaru (East Woody), Dharrpamiwuy (Middle Beach), Wirrwawuly (Cape Wirrawol). Not much is open in town on a Sunday, only Woollies and the servo. We spent a quiet afternoon staying out of the wind. The nights have been cooler, and we have not had to use the air conditioner.

    Monday, and the wind is still strong, so we explored further afield. We drove out on the Central Arnhem Road about 30kms to the turnoff to Barinura (Little Bondi Beach), Numuy (Turtle Beach), Garanhan (Macassan Beach), Binydjarrna (Daliwuy Bay), and Wathawuy (Goanna Lagoon).

    Each of these locations has a small number of remote camping sites which need to be booked and paid for online. You cannot book a campsite unless you have a Dhimurru Visitor Access Permit, which allows you to travel into restricted aboriginal areas.

    To travel into these restricted areas, you need a Dhimurru Permit. We purchased a 3-day permit to allow us to travel and sightsee. Even though we had heard from other travellers that no-one checks, I was concerned that if something happened to the vehicle/insurance, we at least did have permission to be in the area. Easy process online, permit issued immediately on payment of $39 for a 3-day permit. Update: no-one checked our permit.

    I do love sunsets, but we have not seen a nice sunset while we have been here, because the bay that the campground is situated on does not have the sun setting over the water, so tonight we took a short drive and found a spot on a sand dune not far from the caravan park, where we watched our first Nhulumbuy sunset, while enjoying some prawns and a drink while watching the sun set behind the clouds. We mostly sat in the car as it was still too windy outside.

    The weather has been cooler (about 24 degrees during the day), but the ‘feels like’ temperature is about 17 degrees due to the strong winds. We have had a couple of quiet days due to the change in weather, and at one stage even thought we might leave a day earlier than planned. The forecast for Tuesday is getting better and by Wednesday the wind should have dropped and the rough seas should have eased, so we decided to sit it out. This also gave Theo an opportunity to give the van a general check over and grease and adjust the brakes, and other small jobs.

    Tuesday night, we went to Middle Beach to watch the sun set and were lucky enough to see a pod of dolphins swim close to shore. We then had dinner at the Walkabout Tavern in town, which is just a typical pub.

    In Nhuhulbuy, you must produce your ID on entering any licenced premises, and it is scanned. It was a pretty ordinary/standard pub meal. We have been eating at the Boat Club and the meals there are very nice.

    Tomorrow, Wednesday is our last day here, and we hope to go fishing in the tinny. It has been tied up to the boat ramp for the past 10 days. It is pretty safe here, but we have padlocked the motor up and removed all the fishing gear just to be sure.

    Wednesday, and we woke to a much better-looking day, had an early breakfast, then went out on the bay and did not come in until about 2pm. Theo hooked up 5 small sharks, which were all returned to the water, but nothing else despite trying several different locations. We saw a couple of large turtles, but did not see any crocs.

    It was nice to spend our last day relaxing on the water, but all good things must come to an end, and it was time to bring the tinny in, wash it down, pack everything away and get ready to leave tomorrow.

    We enjoyed a last dinner at the Boat Club with our new neighbours Karen and Trevor from Orange, who arrived last night and are staying for 3 weeks, then we headed back to the caravan for an early night. It is so nice having the Boat Club next to the camping ground, no need to drive into town for a meal.

    We have enjoyed our 11 day stay in Nhulumbuy, fishing, exploring and simply relaxing. We believe that when the mining operation ceases in 2030, there will be lots of changes in the town, and some have started already. I will do another entry regarding the mining operations in Gove shortly.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Rio Tinto

    27 juli 2023, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Our stay in Nhulumbuy has given us a more understanding of the town, why the town is here, and where it’s future is headed when the mining ceases in 2030.

    Between talking to residents and researching online, we left Nhulumbuy with a bit more knowledge of the town and also some concern for its future.

    The Indigenous people of North East Arnhem Land have lived in this region for 50,000 years. The Traditional Owners are the Yolgnu people. Fun fact: Yothu Yindi come from this area.

    During World War 11, approximately 4,000 personnel were stationed on the Gove Peninsula.

    Nhulunbuy is a mining town. It was established by Swiss consortium Nabalco in 1963 on land leased from the Traditional Owners, the Yolgnu people.

    Nabalco. which later changed its name to Alcan, had an agreement with the Commonwealth Government to mine the area for bauxite – the raw material of aluminium, which helps produce the world’s trains, cars and cans. Rio Tinto took over the Gove Operations mining lease in 2007.

    In 2013, Rio Tinto announced it would be mothballing the refinery, and slashing its workforce, causing fear for the future, for the residents of Nhulunbuy and surrounding communities. A local that I spoke to said that ‘Rio Tinto came into the town and stuffed it all up’.

    In the following year the town’s population of about 4,000 dropped by nearly half, and as businesses and supermarkets closed, and houses were left empty, the exodus began to take a toll on the mental health of those who stayed behind, according to the local doctors.

    Rio Tinto is preparing to stop digging out bauxite by 2030.
    The mine is still operating but the processing plant has now been shut down and has ceased operation and the refinery is slowly being dismantled, scrapped, stockpiled and ready to be shipped out.

    There is no publicity or PR for Rio Tinto, no information boards or mine tours, only what you read online or learn from locals. We drove past and took photos of the refinery being dismantled and the stockpiles of scrap. Someone from the mine stopped and watched us while we took the photos and waited till we moved on.

    Over its six decades, Gove Operations has generated thousands of jobs for the Territory. It is believed that the confidential Gove Agreement was worth around $700 million to the Yolgnu communities in mining royalties on whose land these haul trucks and conveyor belts run. When the mining operations end, so too will the royalties.

    In spite of the millions received in mining royalties, Census data reveals East Arnhem Land is still one of the 10 most disadvantaged local government areas in Australia.

    The ceasing of mining is likely to have impacts on community, business, government services and the broader Gove Peninsula. When the mining and related leases terminate or expire, the Traditional Owners of the Gove Peninsula will have full control of all the Gove Peninsula area.

    Vast chunks of infrastructure could potentially depart, there are concerns the supermarket and bank could follow suit, despite assurances to the contrary. People are worried the hospital could be in danger. The NT government says it will assess what the “impact of Rio’s decision is on the future health demands of Nhulunbuy and the east Arnhem region”.

    People also worry about what Rio Tinto will take away, because Nhulunbuy is a company town in almost everything but name. The power station, the port facilities, the warehouses, the fuel storage facilities and the airport all sit on Rio Tinto’s lease.

    Nhulunbuy is a slightly surreal place, a piece of white real estate in black Australia. We drove down streets of neatly trimmed, green front lawns with boat trailers and 4WD’s in driveways.

    The town’s population is predicted to slump by as much as half when all the Rio Tinto workers and their families leave.

    The effects of the exodus are already being felt. Qantas, which is to cease its regional flights to and from Nhulunbuy’s airport, has put up its company-owned houses for sale. Qantas is halting its Darwin-Gove-Cairns route.

    A large number of houses lie empty, and more will follow. Locals talk about a family spending $700,000 on a house that is suddenly worth $250,000. And the residents fear more changes to come, “If the Yolngu people come in, it will change things a lot around here. It’s 99% white at the moment … we’ll see the crime rate go through the roof, it’ll be like Alice Springs or Tennant Creek here.”

    Another legacy left by the refinery is an environmental one. Conservationists worry over whether contaminated wetlands can be returned to a semi-natural state, as well as the risk of a dangerous spill of the caustic soda used by the plant.

    The Central Arnhem Road is a long, dusty, corrugated road and the only road in and out of The Gove Peninsula and Nhulumbuy which is accessible to visitors.

    A permit is required from the Northern Land Council to travel the Central Arnhem Road, for which there is no charge.
    A visitor access permit from the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation is required to access recreational areas including beaches, and fees vary depending on length of permit. An additional camping permit and fee is required to camp in these areas.
    A Liquor Permit is required to purchase or travel with alcohol, there is no fee, but there is a time limit on the permit.

    The Yolngu are starting up some businesses to prepare them for the future. We passed by a sawmill and heard that there should be up to 20 staff working, but some days only a couple turn up as the rest go walkabout.

    We spent 11 days in Nhulumbuy and we enjoyed a relaxing stay, fishing and exploring the area, and we feel privileged and glad that we had the opportunity to visit this extremely remote part of Australia that not many Australians get the opportunity to do.

    Nhulumboy is a white mining town and the town’s future is unknown. We would like to remember it the way we saw it. The chances of us returning are remote.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    The road out of Arnhem Land

    28 juli 2023, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    We packed up the caravan, and headed south, trying not to think about the condition of the road that lay ahead of us.

    Funny though, once we started driving, the road did not seem as bad as we remembered it to be. The grader had been hard at work in sections, and it is also possibly we were used to the corrugations and dust by now, so there were no surprises.

    First night on the road, we planned to stop at Rocky Bottom Creek, which we enjoyed on our way up, camping next to the quickly flowing, clear shallow little creek. We passed burning off with flames and smoldering sections on the side of the road, and the smoke got thicker as we got to the turn off. We were very disappointed to see that burning off was in full swing in the camping area, and our site, had flames licking the trees and creek bank. Bummer! Not staying there tonight.

    Where to now? We had not planned on driving the extra 150kms to Mainora, so we found a quiet gravel pit to spend the night. I know that gravel pits don’t sound very exciting but are one of the only options on this road as the allowed camping spots are limited. The pits are usually well off the road and if you find a pit with no recent activity, they are a quiet place to camp for the night and you can get right off the road and out of the dust. Technically our transit permit only allows certain spots to camp, but plenty of people use gravel pits for an overnight stop as is evident by the campfire ashes on the ground.

    Friday morning, and we still had about 350kms to travel to get to the Stuart Highway. We are taking our time, averaging 60-70kms per hour, which is pretty good considering the corrugations and bulldust. We passed a herd of donkeys, and the odd wallaby that jumped across the road in front of us playing chicken.

    We stopped to refuel at Mainora, and then drove about 70 odd kms further and found a camp for the night at Jurassic Lookout, which still left us with about 120kms to the Stuart Highway.

    Locals believe that you can imagine dinosaurs roaming below and in the distance. We sat for a few hours, taking in the beautiful valley, and spotted some donkeys and cattle in the far distance. A passing traveller stopped and asked us if we saw the herd of about 40 buffalo just before the turn off, which we unfortunately missed.

    We were sitting quietly enjoying the view when we heard an extremely loud roar which was getting closer. I don’t know why, but I ducked my head, expecting to see a huge out of control truck bear down on us, then looked up and it was two F18’s very low overhead doing maneuvers from Tindal Air Force Base. Theo was beside himself. It was like we had penthouse, front row seats watching the jets disappear through the valley and over the horizon.

    Left overs for dinner, and an early night. There is a young couple in a roof-top tent towing a tinny camped nearby, so we are not alone.

    The night was very warm, and Saturday morning we awoke and after a leisurely start to the day and breakfast, then we continued on our final leg on the Central Arnhem Road.

    We had been told about a good aboriginal art shop at the Beswick (Wugulaar) community called Djilpin Arts, but unfortunately it was closed because it was Saturday. I still haven’t found my piece of art to take home.

    Our Central Arnhem Road Transit Permit expired a couple of days ago. I forgot to renew it when we extended our stay at the Gove Boat Club and did not realize it until we were on the road and out of phone reception. Oops. Pretty confident that no-one will stop us to check.

    We drove the final leg on a sealed bitumen road, then into Katherine where we found the dump point and topped up our water tank. We have paid for water on previous trips, but this is the first time on this trip. Behind the Visitor Centre, you can fill up your water tanks, cost $2 for 100 litres (although the sign did say 80 litres).

    We had two full water tanks, and our third tank was not empty, so it only took about 60 litres to fill it. We let the camper behind us use the rest of our allowance.

    We are headed for a WikiCamp just out of Katherine on the Katherine River for a couple of nights called ‘The Rapids, and we are not sure if we can get water there.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Return to Katherine

    29 juli 2023, Australië

    We are staying at 'The Rapids' in Katherine.

    ‘The Rapids’ is a camping ground on a 600-acre private property/hobby farm, which has its boundary on the Katherine River. Camping is $15 per night unpowered. Campsites are spread out, but unlike Curraghmore Station, they are not actually on the river.

    We set up camp, then walked to what the owners call ‘The Beach’. The Katherine River is a huge river which floods every year, and it was a long walk down a hill, through overhanging bushes and dunes and sandy tracks to get to the water.

    The river was not fast flowing in this section and looked a bit dark and crocy and not at all appealing, so I don’t think we will be swimming here, although apparently it is safe to swim and the owners swim there. There was the standard crocodile warning sign on the gate at the property.

    The campground has Happy Hour at 5pm every night, so we drove the 3 and a half kms to the house and chatted to other campers around the campfire before coming back for dinner.

    Sunday was a rest and relaxation day. Did 3 loads of washing which dried within the hour. Theo did a maintenance job on the car, then we drove further down on the property to look at the rapids, after which the property was named. This is a much nicer section of the river, but the water was flowing too fast to swim.

    Sunday Happy Hour is a shared a camp oven/damper dinner which owner Alysia and her husband Marcus put on for the guests. Cost is $20 per person. There were about 18 people there. Alysia cooked 2 huge camp ovens, one of pork and the other curried sausages plus some rice and damper and there was plenty for everyone and heaps left over.

    Marcus is a songwriter/poet and plays the guitar. He sang a few songs and told some stories of his earlier days in the area. He is 60 and a builder, Alysia is 40 a teacher with School of the Air in Katherine, and they have 2 kids 17 and 14. They have been advertising their property on WikiCamps for 3 years and have been getting great reviews.

    Monday morning, we decided to drive back to Beswick (also known as Wugularr) on the Central Arnhem Road to look at the art gallery. It took us about an hour and a half, about 118kms to get there, all on good, sealed road, although there were a couple of sections with road works which held us up. Beswick is the end of the bitumen road before the dirt and corrugations begin. It is a small community of about 500 people.

    We were just in time for a guided tour by Travis (aka ‘Long Grass’) of the art gallery, with some beautiful pieces of art on the wall. It even has the didgeridoo that was played for Queen Elizabeth when she visited.

    We then went to the shop where local art is for sale. Our tour guide, Travis had a small painting and also some painted clapping sticks that he had done. His art mentor, an elder called Tango had painted a didgeridoo, and we got him to explain the pictures to us and he allowed us to take his photo.

    Dave, the overseer of the art gallery and shop played a short piece on the didgeridoo for us, as Tango, the maker of the didgeridoo does not 'blow', which is the word used for playing the instrument. Women are not allowed to use or touch the didgeridoo, but what we do once we pay for it is our business.

    We were pleased that we had purchased some art directly from the artists of Arnhem Land. It was bubble wrapped for safe travel, and now we will find a safe place to transport them home.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Katherine (Nitmiluk) Gorge

    3 augustus 2023, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We have been to and driven through Katherine before but have never stopped long enough to explore Katherine. It is quite a nice little town, a hive of activity being the hub for travellers and trucks heading north, south, east and west, and seems to have most things you need.

    Our days have been spent relaxing, exploring, had a couple of swims at the hot springs in town, shopping for supplies, and just enjoying being on holidays but mostly just loving the warm weather. The days are warm, about 33 degrees, clear blue skies, and the nights cool down to about 15-19 degrees, which is great for sleeping.

    We drove out to Katherine (Nitmijuk) Gorge and boarded the boat for the 11am two-gorge cruise. There were about 60 people onboard the boat. We cruised the first gorge but as there is a rock bar preventing the large boat going further, we all disembarked and walked past some aboriginal art high on the rock walls and got into a smaller boat to cruise the second gorge.

    The tour guide told us that a few movies have been filmed here, including ‘Top End Wedding’, ‘Jedda’, ‘We of the Never Never’, ‘Rogue’ and in the 1990’s a NT ad featuring Daryl Somers floating down Katherine Gorge on a lilo saying ‘You’ll never never know if you never never go’.

    It was a pleasant couple of hours on the water, and when we returned to the jetty, we walked up to Baruwei Lookout about 2kms return walk. We were pretty hot and sweaty and as we approached the top of the stairs to the lookout, we heard laughter and squeals, and found out that Andrew had just proposed to his girlfriend Jade about 30 seconds before we got there. We were excited for them and happy to share their joy and we took their photo for them. They were from Sale in Victoria.

    While in Katherine, we are enjoying staying at ‘The Rapids’. It is aimed at over 50’s and specifies no children, so is nice and quiet except when everyone gathers for Happy Hour/s every night. LOL.

    Some nights the owners join us, but it is usually the caretakers Tracey and Steve and whoever happens to have arrived that day.

    We came in for 2 nights and will end up staying for 7 nights before moving on.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Last day in Katherine

    4 augustus 2023, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Update on the rooftop tinny. When we first arrived in FNQ and NT, we were a bit unsure where we would use the tinny, and if so, how much we would use it. We tied it up to the jetty in Gove for 10 days and used it often there, and we also used it at Limmen Fishing Camp.

    Not too many fish dinners were caught, but we had fun. Theo had pretty much made up his mind that he would sell it when we got back home, as he wanted to upgrade both the size the tinny and the motor.

    Tinny update: we don’t have to take the tinny back home, as we sold it to a young guy here in Katherine, working at Hose Power, Andrew Elliott.

    A few days ago, we went into Hose Power to get a hose for the compressor and one thing led to another and Andrew said he was looking for a tinny, and Theo said he had one that he was thinking about selling. We have extended our stay here until Saturday, as Andrew does not get paid until the end of the week, but we didn’t need much persuading to stay longer and explore more of Katherine.

    Twelve years ago, when we were in the NT, we were lucky enough to be there for military exercises called ‘Pitch Black’. This trip we have been here in time for military exercises called ‘Talisman Sabre’ which started on 22nd July and finished today, 4th August. It is a multinational military exercise led by Australia and the United States across 6 locations in Northern and Central Australia, and USA. The exercises switch between Australia and US every 2 years. Other countries attending as observers are Fiji, France, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, NZ, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, UK, Canada and Germany. There is a lot of jets flying overhead and between Katherine and Darwin. Unfortunately, the Army Taipan helicopter that crashed and disappeared on 28th July near Lindeman Island Qld was part of Exercise ‘Talisman Sabre’.

    We first heard the jets when we stayed in Katherine on 11th and 12th July, again when we were on the way back from Nhulumbuy when we were camping at Jurassic Lookout on the Central Arnhem Road. While we have been back here at Katherine, Theo has loved the roar of the jets flying overhead and has been sitting outside with binoculars and camera in hand oblivious of anything happening around him.

    We have enjoyed our Happy Hours every night with fellow campers, some move on, and others stay longer like us. We have spent the week with Wendy and Pete but they are moving on tomorrow also, heading north to Darwin. Wendy gave us a large slice of her beautiful home-made chocolate cake today and we had it for supper tonight. So yummy. Thank you so much Wendy.

    While in town, we walked on the old disused railway bridge spanning the Katherine River and tried to imagine the devastating 1998 floods when the bridge was under water. Quite amazing.

    Our host, the owner of the property Marcus Bader has written a book, which has not been published yet, and is happy for me to download it onto a USB stick, so I am looking forward to reading it.

    We went to the Katherine Museum today which was very interesting and spent a couple of hours there looking around, and I brought a couple of books about the area, so have quite a bit of reading to do. Maybe we need to stay away longer……    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger
    2

    Bitter Springs, Elsey National Park

    5 augustus 2023, Australië

    Saturday 5th August
    After packing up, we filled our water tanks and chatted to owner Alysia, and also Wendy and Pete, who came over to say farewell. They were also leaving today heading to Darwin. Hope we can catch up with Wendy and Pete again as we spent a week getting to know them at Happy Hours and enjoyed their company. They are permanently on the road in their van and said that they may come to Melbourne, and it would be good to see them.

    Alysia was lovely and said we are welcome back anytime, and we are now part of the family. Next time we are up in Katherine we will be sure to call in and stay. Not sure if I mentioned before, but it was $15 a night unpowered. It was a pity we did not get to say bye to the caretakers, Tracey and Steve who had left early to the Saturday Markets. Marcus has written a book with has been edited and is ready for printing, and I feel very privileged that he allowed me (and also Pam) to download a copy of his yet to be printed book on a USB stick. Some reading for a later time.

    We had a quick stop at the Market in town (nothing to see here…), and then we were on our way heading southbound. We were not planning on a big day, either stopping at Larrimah or Bitter Springs for the night, about 180kms, depending on where we stay.

    We arrived about lunchtime to Bitter Springs, and it was the first time we had swam there, although we had driven through before and stopped briefly.
    Bitter Springs is a series of naturally fed thermal pools located within the Elsey National Park, located a couple of kms from the highway and the township of Mataranka, and set among palms and tropical plants. Spring water rises from underground at a rate of 30.5 million litres per day, and the water is warm usually about 28-34 degrees.

    Bitter Springs made the news last month when the NT Parks closed access to the park after a Ranger spotted a 2.5mt saltwater crocodile in the management zone (not in the swimming area.) The park was closed for several days until it was safe to reopen.

    We were glad we had our caravan with us so we could change into our bathers before the short walk to the springs.
    The springs are very natural and unspoilt, unlike Mataranka which is extremely popular and smaller and has a man-made structure around it.

    Bitter Springs gently meanders about 500 mts, as you float downstream with the natural flow of the crystal turquoise water for about half an hour, get out, walk back on the path and repeat as often as you want. We got our snorkel and goggles out of the car and on our second circuit it made a huge difference to see the clarity underwater. We got to enjoy both the float on the first time and the underwater view on the second time.

    There were lots of little fish, and several small turtles in the water. When you get out you feel clean and refreshed. We both felt that this was equal to snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, minus the coloured fish and coral, and minus the salt sticking to your skin when you dry off. The good thing about Bitter Springs is that the water does not get churned up with the weather like the Great Barrier Reef, and it remains at a constant temperature.

    While we were exploring and relaxing in the water, we got chatting to another couple. Usual question is where are you from, and where are you going. Raelene Potter was a teacher at Melton Secondary College in 1988 and worked under Doug Smith the principal. Doug was a teacher at my high school (Oak Park) and also the principal at the school my kids went to (Melton Secondary (kids used to call him Papa Smurf). Raelene also has a couple of friends who grew up in the area I grew up. Small world. Would have loved to chatted to them longer and see if we had any mutual acquaintances.

    It is a very calming and relaxing thing to do, and we will definitely be back someday.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Heading to Queensland

    8 augustus 2023, Australië ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    After leaving Mataranka, on our journey southbound, we camped at the WW11 Gorrie Airfield, which was about 60kms from Mataranka (free camp).

    When you turn off the highway, there is a closed cattle gate and grid. Drive over the grid on the dirt track for about 1km, and turn at the track where there is a hubcap nailed to the tree. The runway is about 2kms long, so there is plenty of space for everyone and lots of firewood. There are lots of tracks in the area, and possibly some remnants of the base, but we did not unhitch to explore. Apparently, you do have to be careful as you can get lost with all the tracks.
    When the Gorrie Airfield was completed in 1943, it was known as one of the largest and busiest military bases in the pacific during WW11. In 1943 at its peak there were some 6,500 personnel stationed at this location. It was a highly secretive RAAF base visited by General McArthur. Hard to imagine this being a hive of activity. There was about a dozen caravans spread out along the runway settled in for the night.

    For the first time in ages, we had a campfire as there was plenty of wood around and hardly any insects. Beautiful Northern Territory sunset, clear starry night, camp oven stew cooking on the fire, a perfect end to a perfect day.

    The little town of Larrimah is about 10kms further south on the highway and we spent a little while exploring the museum and reading all the history boards. The Larrimah Pub was originally the WW11 Officers Mess servicing the nearby Gorrie Airfield, and extensions were added from the dismantled Birdum Hotel. Larrimah later became a busy rail and road terminus until the railway closed in 1976.
    You cannot miss the large Pink Panther and the 15’ stubby, and there is all sorts of memorabilia and pink panthers in the pub. We brought a hot pie for lunch and then continued on the road.

    We passed the turnoff to Daly Waters, but did not go in, as we have been there before. We did enjoy our stay in 2012, and enjoyed our meal and listening to the bush poetry and music, but have heard from other travellers that it is extremely busy now, and there is an overflow caravan park, easily housing about 200 caravans a night. Far too busy for us.

    Bit of history about Daly Waters. It was a refuelling stop for the London to Melbourne air race of 1919, a refuelling stop for the early Qantas flights to Singapore, and a World War 11 Airforce base. The main attraction for tourists is the famous pub which is decorated throughout with banknotes and other memorabilia left by visitors from every corner of the globe. Outside and across the road are all sorts of unique things including a museum and an old helicopter on the roof of a shed. Worth a stop if you have not been there before.

    An update on the tinny we sold in Katherine. Theo asked Andrew to send him a photo of any fish he caught in the tinny. So far, no fish photos, but Andrew did send Theo a couple of photos of the bike/trailer he made to tow the boat until he gets his license back, and also the tinny in the river. He sent a really nice message thanking me for taking concern in him. I think he just made a couple of bad decisions in life, but seems to be heading in the right direction now, and he was over the moon and extremely grateful that we sold the tinny to him. We are so happy that it has gone to a good home.

    We have decided that we will travel east from Three Ways on the Barkly Highway towards Mt Isa, then making our way south possibly via the Birdsville Track. We have 3 weeks left.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Back in Queensland

    12 augustus 2023, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We drove through the little town of Elliott on the Stuart Highway. Had to stop and take a photo for grandson Elliot in Canada, then continued on until we got to Three Ways where we refueled, and then headed east on the Barkly Highway.

    There is not much in the way of camping options on the Barkly Highway unless you stay at a roadhouse, and they are few and far between. We found a site for the night, where there was a microwave tower and a clearing, set up and enjoyed a great view over the valley towards the horizon and watched the sun setting before coming inside. There are 4 other caravans camped here tonight. Bit of road noise from the trucks on the highway at first, but it did not bother us as they don’t usually travel a lot after dark.

    The next morning after packing up, we continued heading east and refueled at Barkly Homestead, which was such a nice clean, green oasis on the rather long and boring straight road.

    Crossed into Qld and lost half an hour as we had to adjust our watches, (the phones adjusted automatically) and then we found a camp for the night on the Camooweal Billabong. We were surprised just how popular it was, and campers were spread out over a couple of kms with heaps of caravans set up for the night. There is a limit of 48 hour stay, but not sure if this in monitored. It was a pleasant balmy afternoon and we enjoyed watching the brolga’s dancing on the edge of the water, and the sun set with the beautiful soft pastel colours over the lagoon.

    Tomorrow we will head into Mt Isa to restock. Will not be staying at Isa because this weekend is the annual Rodeo, which we did not realize, and I am pretty sure it will be busy in town.

    I woke early, just in time for the sunrise over the billabong. The sky was spectacular with reds, oranges and yellows changing to soft blues as the morning awoke. It was the first sunrise I had seen on this trip. Theo slept through it.

    As we were driving out of the camping area, I said a thank you out loud to the town of Camooweal for providing a dump point and water filling tap and a lovely camping area with bins for travellers.

    We went to the servo in town on the way out to fill up and there was a notice on the door to the travelling public from the Camooweal Business Community. It advised that they do not support the closure of the billabong for free camping and believe that the decision was been made by the traditional owners and the Mt Isa Council without any community consultation and believe that it will be of significant detriment to tourism and the economy of the town. Looks like this area will be closed and if so, a lot of people will probably just drive through the town without stopping. Shame.

    We stopped in Mt Isa for a couple of things, including a driving light protector which was lost on the road somewhere. We got the last one on the shelf. Supermarket and bottle-o and we were on our way to Mary Kathleen, about half-way between Mt Isa and Cloncurry, approx 65kms out of town.

    Mary Kathleen was a uranium mining settlement that is now abandoned. It was an architect designed town with a post office, cinema, police station, sports oval, school, hospital, swimming pool, banks, churches and a general store. By 1961, 1000 people lived in the town. When it closed, in the early 80’s, all the buildings were removed and now the site only has the remains of roads and concrete pads. Mary Kathleen is now just a ghost town.

    There is a signboard in what was the town centre, with great information and photos of the original town. About 6 kms drive on a very rough and potholed road, you can drive to the mine pit and see the most beautiful blue water. Although the water looks impressive, you cannot touch it as it is radioactive. It makes for a great photo though.

    The land has been rehabilitated and cattle graze there. Apparently since rehabilitation, it has been found that the tailings repository has seen seepage of radioactive waters at rates much higher than initially predicted.

    We have stayed here a couple of times before, for one or two nights. It is a beautiful camping area, down by the dry creek with plenty of shady trees. Not much firewood on the ground though.

    On previous stays we have seen camels, cows and the ghost of Mary Kathleen (after one too many drinks around the campfire)!    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Birdsville

    14 augustus 2023, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Sunday morning. We could have stayed longer at this lovely campsite, but we had to keep on the move. Drove back to into Mt Isa, got some supplies and fuel and by the time we were back on the road, it was midday.

    The Diamantina Development Road, between Mt Isa and Bedourie is in very good condition considering it is an outback road, but it is long and boring. There is not much to see as you pass through a lot of cattle country and stations.

    We had one fuel stop on the way, at Boulia, and then it was time to start looking for a camp for the night as we had driven over 4 hours. The camps were few and far between. I really hate looking for a camp after 4pm, as it is getting late, and we are getting tired. There had been a lot of rain recently and although the ground was firm, there was a lot of thick undergrowth on the side of the road, making it impossible to just pull off the road.

    We eventually found a designated site (WikiCamps) which had a picnic shelter and bins. There was a dirt track leading the river, but there were already 3 caravans closer to the river, so we camped near the picnic shelter. Soon, 7 more caravans pulled in after us, all from the same group, and they formed a wagon train on the track leading to the river. We had seen this large group pulled up on the side of the road as we drove through Boulia and were to see them again at Birdsville.

    Fish for dinner and afterwards while I cleaned up, Theo sat outside just on dusk, then he said he was being attacked by mozzies so came inside very quickly.

    We kept all the lower windows closed in the van and only had the top windows in the pop top open which stopped insects coming in, and also allowed the warm air to escape and the van to cool down during the night. Had a great night’s sleep and I didn’t even hear the 10 vans leave, as they passed close to our van on their way out at 8am.

    Monday morning, and we continued on our way south, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn, and stopping at a couple of sites on the way including Carcory Homestead Ruins which was abandoned by Sidney Kidman in 1906, and arrived at Birdsville just after 1pm where we checked into the caravan park for the night. $20 unpowered.

    The last time we were at Birdsville, about 8 years ago, there was only about 5 vans in the park, today there would have been about 60-70 campers spread out in powered and unpowered sites. We have noticed that there are so many more caravans and travellers on the road now.

    After lunch, we took some snags and bread with us and drove the 42 kms out to Big Red, to relax and enjoy the afternoon and watch the sun go down over the Simpson Desert sandhills. The flies were far too friendly and we resorted to wearing an old fly net each (having left our newer, better flynets in the caravan).

    Spent a couple of hours watching cars driving up Big Red. Some took several attempts to get to the top. About 45 minutes before the sun set, a large all terrain outback tour bus drove up the sand dunes and about a dozen people got out and the driver set up a table and chairs for his guests to enjoy the sunset.

    Big Red is over 30mt tall (stands as tall as the Statue of Liberty), and is the edge of the Simpson Dessert, and part of a series of 1,140 parallel sand dunes stretching across the desert. The dune is red from rusting iron particles in the sand and provides a challenge for 4WD enthusiasts.

    Big Red is also the backdrop to the Big Red Bash, an annual 3-day music festival held in July every year. The Birdsville Races are held on the first Saturday in September every year. These are popular outback events and people travel from all over the country to attend.

    Fun fact: we took a sample of the sand from Big Red on our last visit and colour-matched it and painted the end wall of our pergola, as I wanted an earthy outback colour. I called the colour ‘Birdsville Red’.

    We cooked our snags and enjoyed them while having a cold drink and watching the changing colours of the outback sun setting on the horizon, then drove up and back down 'Little Red', a smaller sandhill before driving back with the setting sun in the rear vision mirrors.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Birdsville Track

    17 augustus 2023, Australië ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    We ended up spending 2 days and 2 nights at Birdsville. One night was spent at the caravan park, then Wednesday morning we checked out and drove around the town sightseeing (didn't take long, not a big town), before finding a free camp for the night on the Diamantina River which was a couple of kms outside town. The flies were extremely friendly.

    In 1883 there were 3 hotels in Birdsville. The Royal Hotel was built, along with the Birdsville Hotel and the Courthouse Hotel. The Royal Hotel operated for 40 years, after that it was leased for use as a hospital until 1937. In 1978 the property was listed for preservation and restoration. Nothing has been done except to surround the structure with a falling down fence and a faded information board. I took some photos of the sad looking ruins, hopeful that someday they may be restored. The only hotel still operating today is the Birdsville Hotel.

    Today, the Birdsville Hotel is extremely popular and is an iconic outback pub. The kerbing, gutters and sealed road is an improvement on last time we were here.

    Fun fact: memories of our last visit to Birdsville about 10 years ago. We won the meat raffle at the pub, and the winning ticket was pulled out by yours truly. LOL.

    We also saw the Artesian Bore Head, where the water pours out at 98 degrees celsius, and is well signposted and fenced off with warnings.

    Birdsville’s water comes from a bore sunk in 1961 to a depth of 1292 mts. Artesian/bore water is essential to life in the outback. The Great Artesian Basin is 2032 kms long and 1450 kms wide making it one of the largest underground water supplies on earth.

    At almost every outback town where we have filled our caravan water tanks, we would have been using filtered bore water for showering, washing and cooking. There was a slight difference in taste to our tap water from home, but we haven’t had any water which tastes unpleasant.

    We drove past the Birdsville Racetrack but didn’t go in this time, as they were preparing for the famous race meeting in a fortnight’s time.

    We enjoyed another outback sunset watching the birds on the river and the changing colours in the sky. Never get tired of the sunsets in the outback.

    On our way out of Birdsville in the morning, we were a bit concerned about the official Road Restrictions warning at the edge of town, for the Birdsville Track.

    It said that the section of the track we will be travelling on between Mungerannie to Maree was ‘Closed’. Other travellers were also stopped unsure whether to continue on the track.

    We turned around and went to the Visitor Information Centre and were assured that there is an error on the board and it has been reported several times, but the whole track is indeed definitely open. Apparently, a small rain shower is expected further south but will not affect the road condition.

    Crossing the border into South Australia, we had to wind the watches back again half an hour. The temperature has also dropped about 10 degrees since leaving Birdsville.

    The condition of the Birdsville Track was very good, with one or two small sections with water over the road and some corrugations and always the never-ending dust, but we managed to maintain an average speed of 80km per hour. However, we had forgotten just how boring this road was. There is nothing to see on the sides of the road, no tracks and few camping options.

    After 4 hours driving, we did find a little track leading to the base of a small hill to shelter for the night. It was extremely windy and the flies were way too friendly for our liking, so we retreated inside, only venturing out to watch the magnificent stormy sky and sunset.

    Theo woke to thunder and lightning at 1.30am, and then heavy rain about half an hour later which woke me up. We lay awake listening to the rain and the wind, hoping that it would not affect the road conditions.

    In the morning, as we were driving away, the sky was black and threatening and we drove through a couple of showers, but luckily the rain had not affected the condition of the road at all, apart from suppressing the dust.

    We stopped at Mungerannie Station Roadhouse, which is about halfway down the ‘Track’ to refuel, cost was $2.95 per litre, the dearest fuel so far on this trip. Chatted to the new owners for a while, who were from Bonnie Doon in Victoria, then completed the Birdsville Track at Maree where we had lunch, a huge ‘Maree Burger’ at the Maree Hotel.

    We drove on for about 70kms to our camp for the night just outside Lyndhurst, at Claries Waterhole. We have stayed here a couple of times before and this is the first time there has been no water in the waterhole. Another cold and windy night.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Searching for sunshine

    20 augustus 2023, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Note: had to amend the date of the Stainmaster ad. (below) Google gave me the wrong date!

    It has been a couple of days since our last entry. The plan was to continue to the Flinders Ranges, spend up to a week there exploring and visiting Willow Springs Station, then make our way home.

    By the time we got to the Flinders Rangers at Hawker, the temperature had dropped another 10 degrees (from 33 to 13 in three days, wind chill much less). This was just too much of a shock to our body. We had been used to wearing shorts and singlets for the past 3 and a half months.

    Spent the night camped at Pekina Dam outside Orroroo, and despite unpacking our winter clothes, jeans, jumpers, beanies, scarves and boots, we tried to get warm by the fire, but the cold wind was swirling and blowing so we retreated inside and turned on the diesel heater and put the extra doona on the bed. Had a warm and cosy night, but decided we were not ready to face the cold weather just yet.

    Change of plans. We decided to head to Broken Hill, then make our way home from there. The cold Flinders Ranges can wait for another time.
    Our big problem is that we have no internet most of the time and therefore cannot research ahead, including the weather forecast.

    Drove on the Barrier Highway, heading east for about 3 hours, and then we arrived in Broken Hill to sunny skies and a temperature of 23 degrees. That will do nicely. Thank you very much.

    Theo was still keen to keep moving on, despite having time up our sleeves, but after a night camped outside of Broken Hill on the Stephens Creek, and while enjoying the campfire and sky changing colour at sunset, I managed to convince him that we still had enough time to explore Broken Hill. We have only ever driven through it before.

    Fun fact: we saw 18 satellites and one shooting star while sitting around the campfire at Stephens Creek.

    We did know that the Mundi Mundi Bash, a 3-day concert was on this weekend, held at a large campground on the Mundi Mundi Plains about 40kms outside Broken Hill, and was a bit worried at how busy the town would be. We also discovered a while ago that all the tickets had been sold, but as we had no idea where we would be, we had not planned on being in town. If we had known that we would have been at Broken Hill this weekend, and planned it in advance and got tickets, it would have been a good thing to have experienced. Found out that 12,500 people attended the concert and that the world record for number of people (6,500) dancing the Nutbush was broken, beating the Birdsville Big Red Bash record last month. This raises money for the RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service), which is a great cause.

    While in town, we visited the Pro Hart gallery. Kevin James ‘Pro’ Hart, MBE was a very talented artist, sculpture and inventor, who captured the spirit of the outback, even painting his Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, which is on display in the carport at the gallery. I remember the Stainmaster ad in 1988 on TV where the cleaner was not happy that Pro had used the carpet for his art. ‘Oh Mista Hart Whatta Mess.’ Google this ad. Pro died in 2006.

    Fun Fact: I had my photo taken with Jack Absalom, many years ago, another talented local Broken Hill artist, also now deceased.

    We went to the Visitor Centre, got a few supplies, topped up our water tanks, and drove about 10kms out of town on the Silver City Highway, to a station stay called Nine Mile Station (after confirming with owner Greg that a site was available).

    We have a lovely quiet site at Nine Mile Station, on the dry Stephens Creek for $20 a night. It is funny that it is the same creek that we camped on last night for free about 50kms south of here. Here though, we can unhitch and leave our van safely while exploring the area.

    After setting up camp, we drove out to Silverton. We have been there before, but I wanted to see it again, and it was a lovely afternoon.

    We have never seen so many caravans on the road, streaming down the highway coming from the concert, there were hundreds of vans. Many people chose to stop at Silverton on their way past, and the Silverton Pub was doing a roaring trade.

    We enjoyed a beer while listening to some live music, then strolled past the (new) bakery. Had to pop in to check out their cakes, then walked around the town.

    I think all the people have scared the donkeys away, as there is usually a couple wandering the streets.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Exploring Broken Hill

    22 augustus 2023, Australië ⋅ 🌬 13 °C

    We have spent a couple of days exploring Broken Hill, while camping at Nine Mile Station. Daytime weather varied between warm, sunny and 23 degrees, to windy, cloudy and 17 degrees. Nights were cool, about 4-6 degrees. We have no control over the weather, we will just have to make the best of it. I am now wearing long plants and a long sleeve top, but Theo is still bravely wearing his shorts and thongs, either clinging to the hope of warmer weather or trying to encourage it.

    The first couple of days camping at Nine Mile, there were lots of caravans spread out, camped on the dry riverbed, but by Tuesday, they had all had moved on and we were the only van there. Greg the owner, said that he had 50 vans here 4 days prior to the Mundi Mundi Big Gig.

    We have been happy to use Nine Mile as our base while we have been exploring Broken Hill, as it is only about 14 kms (9 miles) from town. There is plenty of wood around and we have had a campfire every night, while enjoying the beautiful sunsets and the starry skies, and we have cooked dinner every night on the campfire.

    As the nights have been quite cool we have had the diesel heater on inside the van, and also two doonas on the bed. We have been warm and cosy and have slept really well.

    Monday was a quiet day, we went to the Line of Lode Miner’s Memorial, which is located high on a hill overlooking the city. It pays tribute to the 800 miners who lost their lives working in the mines at Broken Hill since mining commenced in 1883. listing the cause of death for every fatality. The youngest death I saw was 14 years of age, back in the 1880’s.

    We then drove out to the Living Desert and Sculptures which were about 10 kms out of town. We have been there before but thought we would do it again while we were in town. Entry fee was $10 at a self-serve kiosk.

    In 1993, artists from around the world began work on 12 sandstone sculptures and completed them within 6 weeks. One of the sculptures, titled, ‘Under the Jaguar Sun’ is depicted on a lot of Broken Hill and outback tourist brochures. The sculpture represents day and night. The jaguar takes the sun in its mouth at night to protect it. Best time to take a photo of this sculpture is at sunset with the sun setting in the mouth of the jaguar.

    Back in town, we walked up and down the main street, looking at the shops. It has been ages since we have seen a town with proper shops and not just outback servo’s with a small range of groceries. Found a little cake shop and stopped for coffee/hot chocolate and cake.

    Tuesday, we booked a tour of the historic Day Dream Mine, about 28kms out of town, on the road to Silverton. The old township was a Cornish silver mining settlement and once had a population of approximately 500. This was established before Broken Hill. Today no-one lives there, it is purely a tourist mine.

    We were in a large tour group of about 23, and we went down into the mine, wearing hard hats and lamps. Glad we were wearing hard hats because the ceiling was very low in sections, and I kept bumping my head, and the ground was quite uneven. Luckily, there were handrails to hold on to.

    When we got down to the third level, the guide lit two small candles, and asked us to all turn off our headlamps, to show us how much light the miners had to work with. He then blew the candles out, and it was pitch black. Hard to imagine the harsh working conditions back then. Not recommended if you suffer from claustrophobia. Back in the day miners worked 12-hour days, six days a week, and most miners suffered failing eyesight and respiratory diseases.

    When we finished the tour, we enjoyed some fresh baked scones and a cuppa in the teahouse, then went to the nearby Silverton Hotel for lunch.

    After lunch, we went to the Mad Max 2 museum in Silverton. Theo is a fan of the Max Max series, but it is not exactly my cup of tea, but even Theo said he was disappointed. It seems that every bit of prop, panel, costume, movie script, photo, vehicle, nut, bolt and screw were on display. A replica of Mad Max’s V8 Interceptor is at the museum. When it was filmed in 1981 in and around the Broken Hill area, apparently a lot of locals had at least a walk on role in Mad Max 2.

    Silverton’s unique landscape has drawn filmmakers from around the world. A few of the movies/scenes filmed here are – Dirty Deeds, Mission Impossible 11, Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, A Place to Call home, Alice to Nowhere, The Long Way Home, Razorback, Hostage, A town like Alice, Wake in Fright, The Long Way Home and many others.
    Also, apparently a commercial is shot in Silverton every few months, some are Panasonic, Landrover, Telstra, Coca Cola, Dove Soap, Ampol, etc

    Also learnt that BHP (Broken Hill Proprietry) was founded in 1885 in Silverton (not Broken Hill), with mining in silver, lead and zinc, and is now in 90 locations worldwide with its headquarters in Melbourne.

    Another outback sunset by the campfire, toasting Loretta and Jenny who both have a birthday today with Baileys, their favourite drink.

    Not sure exactly what we will do tomorrow.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Menindee Lakes

    24 augustus 2023, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    Wed 23rd August
    Pretty chilly night, but once again we were nice and cosy and warm inside.

    While we were eating breakfast, we made the decision to move on, so packed up and hit the road again. Our pack up time is about 30 minutes or less, depending on if the car is still hooked up. We both have our jobs, mine are mainly inside, and Theo takes care of the outside.

    Sometimes these decisions to move on are spur of the moment, and other times we have a bit of an idea where and what we are planning to do. One thing for sure, is that we need to be making our way homeward bound.

    We refuelled in Broken Hill, dump point, bottle-o, topped up the water tanks and we were on our way again. Heading to Menindee.

    Many years ago, we stayed at the Burke and Wills Camp site in Menindee on the Darling River. This was one of the campsites for the Burke and Wills expedition in 1860, when they travelled towards the Gulf of Carpentaria. At the time, there was not much water in the river and none in the nearby lake. The ground was dry and dusty and there were only a couple of campers there. We took photos of the dry lakebed, but we believe that the lakes are full of water now, following major flooding in the area in January this year where residents had to evacuate their homes.

    We stopped in the little town of Menindee and grabbed a pie for lunch which was one of the worst take-aways we have had on this trip. The pie was dry and horrible. Not too many options in town.

    We then drove down Weir Road on the track that runs alongside Lake Pamamaroo, looking for a camp.

    There are 4 main lakes in the Menindee Lakes system – Lake Wetherell, Lake Pamamaroo, Lake Menindee and Lake Carndilla. We were surprised at the number of caravans parked alongside Lake Pamamaroo. The lake was full which was nice to see, and we found the perfect campsite right next to the lake.

    Enjoyed a quiet afternoon and early evening watching the sun set, while warming ourselves next to our campfire.

    My weakness is sunsets, and I take lots of photos. I love them and never get tired of outback sunsets. The changing colours have to be seen to be appreciated. Photos don't do them justice, and sunsets in the city are just not the same.

    Another clear starry night, but it is going to be very chilly tonight. After eating dinner by the fire, we came inside and put the heater on, had a hot shower, and as we have internet, Theo is enjoying some ‘Youtube’ time, while I catch up on the blog and some reading.

    We have a TV with us, with travels under the bed but have not brought it out once on this trip. Occasionally if we have internet, we will watch something on the laptop. I don’t miss TV, but while we have been away for almost 4 months, we have hardly heard any news. I feel like there is a void of knowledge of current affairs. We have survived without it, so do we really need it?

    The laptop is playing up and is hit and miss whether it turns on or not. Hopefully it will behave itself until we get home. Next trip, we have already decided that we will bring either a tablet and a laptop or two laptops, so we can both use them at the same time, and there is always a backup.

    We heard some sad news today. Bill who was our camping neighbour at Limmen Fishing Camp has passed away. He and wife Lizzy left the camp the day after us, heading home to Albury for some medical appointments and tests, as Bill had been unwell. The tests revealed that Bill had cancer, and he passed away just 2 weeks after arriving home. I contacted Lizzy with our condolences, and she appreciated our kind words about Bill. He was a lovely guy and even though we only knew him for 4 days, some people just leave a lasting impression on you. RIP Bill.

    We are enjoying our stay camping at Lake Pamamaroo. The sun is shining, and the breeze drops just as the sun is setting, leaving a glassy lake which makes for beautiful sunset photos.

    Our electric toaster has now decided not to work. We have had it for about 4-5 years in our caravans and use it every day. Theo tried to pull it apart, but it was sealed so he could not open it. It is not something you can just buy in Menindee, so we will make do until we get home.    Meer informatie

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  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Menindee

    29 augustus 2023, Australië ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Friday 25th
    Another lazy day, we didn’t wake up until nearly 9am, and are sleeping very well. No toast for breakfast today, as the toaster is kaput. Just for a change, we had pancakes and maple syrup. Yum.

    Spent most of the day relaxing and reading and enjoying the peace and tranquility of the surroundings. The sun was shining, and the lake was glassy as there was no wind, no flies, just some ducks and egrets passing by. It is such a lovely way to spend the last few days of our trip.

    We have booked a sunset cruise on the River Lady, which is a 2-hour cruise on the lake and wetlands, leaving at 4pm and returning at 6pm, so about 3.30pm we got ready and headed down the road. We drove there, as it was a bit too far to walk and would have been dark by the time we got back.

    The boat cruised for about an hour, then stopped at a place called Rosie’s Garden, where paddle steamers used to stop. There was little infrastructure left at the site, but we got off the boat and walked around and it was a good opportunity to take photos. There were so many birds on the water, nesting in trees and flying past, and small fish jumping out of the water.

    The sun was getting low by the time we got back and disembarked and headed back to the caravan.

    When we got back, we heard some more sad news. Jenny, close friend of Theo’s sister Loretta and her family, had just passed away. She had been battling cancer for many years. We knew Jenny well and are very sad for husband Jeff and her children and grandchildren. She was always so strong and positive and always had a smile on her face. She was determined to make it to her birthday, which she did 4 days ago. Jenny you were such a fighter and will be missed by so many people. We celebrated your life with your favourite drink, Baileys while watching the setting sun. RIP Jenny.

    We have really enjoyed our relaxing time at Lake Pamamaroo, it was a great way to finish up our holiday, eating, reading, drinking, bird watching and at the end of the day watching the sun go down, before the stars and moon appeared in the clear night sky.

    We came in planning on staying for one night, but after enjoying 5 nights, we sadly packed up as it was time to move on.

    Our next stop was Pooncarie on the Darling River. The region was first settled by Europeans during the 1840’s. In the mid-19th century, the towns Darling River Wharf was very active as paddle steamers carried wool on the way to South Australia. The population now is about 220, and it is a very small town. Last time we stayed here, there was very little water in the river. Today, the river was quite high and flowing following recent flooding earlier this year. Near where we camped there was a tree with a water mark high on the trunk, showing the height of the floods.

    The site where the wharf was is now a café, which we had eaten at before, but found it to be closed today. We found a camp on the Darling River about one kilometre from town, set up and then walked into town and had a counter lunch at the Pooncarie Hotel.

    We like to support local communities when passing through or staying in towns, and often buy lunch or take aways or groceries in these communities.

    When we got back, we lit the fire and watched the bird life on the river. I thought that the water was looking a bit green, and discovered that 13 days ago, a red alert had been issued for high levels of toxic blue-green algae. Good thing we did not catch any fish.

    Our neighbours Di and Ben (from Bendigo) joined us around the campfire, and we had a lovely night chatting to them.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Sommer DaysFar North Queensland & BeyondReiziger

    Home Sweet Home

    30 augustus 2023, Australië ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Tuesday 29th August
    After leaving Pooncarie, we drove for a couple of hours, crossing the bridge into Victoria. It’s funny, because there are so many campsites around, but we have our favourite, familiar sites and tend to head to them.

    We had previously stayed on the Murray River about 15 minutes out of Robinvale at a place called Happy Valley before, so we headed there, only to find that the road in was closed due to the highwater levels of the Murray River, flooding the track.

    Plan B. We found another camp on the Murray River, near Tol Tol. The track in was a bit muddy in places, but we found a nice site overlooking the mighty Murray River. The river is probably the highest we have seen it. There was plenty of firewood around, and before long, we had a lovely fire going, not that we needed it, as the temperature was about 24 degrees.

    Still undecided if we will head home tomorrow. Checking the weather and if it is going to be cooler here, quite possible that we will wake up in the morning and head off.
    Update: we did decide to head home.
    As we were drove through Toolern Vale, the rain got heavier and the temperature dropped to 8 degrees. Brrrrr….

    Wrap up:

    When we left on the 8th May, nearly 4 months ago, it seemed like we had all the time in the world, but the four months have gone so quickly, and especially the past couple of weeks which have simply flown by.

    There is so much to see in this beautiful country, and we have explored a lot of it but there is so much more to see and do. We are lucky that we both enjoy the outback and getting dusty and dirty does not bother us. We know that we can shower at the end of the day and go to bed clean. Sometimes you have to have some inconvenience to appreciate what you take for granted and enjoy new experiences.

    Our caravan is not huge but has everything we need in a home away from home.

    We are happy with most things, although there are some things that need tweaking and repairing, and we will work through that list. Theo has some ideas for his vehicle and also a bigger tinny & motor is on his wish list.
    We were lucky that we had no mechanical issues and no tyre problems but will have to replace the windscreen which was chipped on a sealed road.

    Once again, I packed too many clothes and shoes. Next time I will halve what I take, especially if we are going up north as we basically lived in shorts and t-shirts. And I will never take white sheets again. Even though they were washed every week, they are now a ‘different’ shade of white.

    Definitely will be thinking about Starlink for the next trip.

    Really happy with the ability to generate our own power by solar, and the fridge did not miss a beat (except the trim around the fridge broke and needs replacing, and the fridge mountings came loose on a rough road and need to be fixed when we get home).

    Possibility in the future we may go all electric as we did not use the gas cooker in the caravan at all and may replace the instantaneous gas hot water with an electric system, therefore eliminating the need to carry gas bottles.

    We were gone for 115 days, and free camped for over half of that time, not only saving money, but giving us the freedom of having space around us without the restrictions of caravan parks. We really enjoyed station stays, farm stays and small camping grounds. We have noticed this trip that there are far more travellers and caravans on the road, and bookings at some places are required.

    The furthest distance from home we travelled was 4,000 kms (Gove) and we did nearly 17,800 kms. Dearest fuel was $2.95 at Mungerannie on Birdsville Track. Cheapest fuel was at Wulguru $1.72 in FNQ.

    Theo’s favourite experiences: Bitter Springs, snorkelling at Bremer Island, driving the Arnhem Highway, travelling up the east Coast without getting caught up with tourism, staying at Curraghmore Station and helping with the back burning, selling the tinny.

    Sue’s favourite experiences: Bitter Springs, Elim Beach, Curraghmore Station, Lake Pamamaroo, Menindee, outback travel, meeting some great people on our travels, relaxing and writing this blog so we can share our adventures with family and friends.

    Fuel consumption: average 320kms per tankful
    Consumption 17.6
    Distance travelled: 17,800
    Cost for fuel $6,310

    On this trip, we have camped in some amazing places in the outback, on rivers, creeks, dams and billabongs, and on beaches and in the rainforest.
    I have witnessed a new day dawning watching the sun rise over a billabong, and the chorus of birdlife greeting the morning. We have seen where the rainforest meets the reef, two World Heritage areas of Australia.

    Nothing compares to an outback sunset, the fire in the sky and the soft pastels of the changing colours as the sun sinks beyond the horizon. Not many people can say that they have cooked sausages on top of Big Red at Birdsville, the tallest sand dune in the Simpson Desert while watching the sun set. I take a lot of sunset photos trying to capture the moment, but you really have to be there to appreciate it.

    At the end of the day when sitting around the campfire, the stars are just seem so much brighter in the outback. We joke that our outback camping is a ‘million-star’ experience, which beats a 5-star any day.

    The red dust gets into your veins (and between your toes and under your fingernails), but it is like a magnet drawing us back. Once we hit the bitumen, our heart sinks just a bit, as we know we are getting closer to towns.

    It has been suggested to us that the money we spent on our caravan and car setup, we could do several overseas trips, and at the end of the trip we would have photos and great memories. At the end of our caravanning trip, we still have our photos and great memories, but we still have our caravan to continue exploring Australia.

    So much to see and do in this great country, and the best thing is that you don’t need to go overseas, and you don’t need a passport.

    Now we have to start planning our next trip…….    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
    Het einde van de reis
    1 september 2023
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