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The travels of PK, CK, & Chanel. Tow Vehicle - LC200 “Merlot”; Caravan - Zone RV Base Offroad 20.6 “Jovelita”. Read more Sunshine Coast, Australia
  • TravelerRed Centre
    1
    Day 10–15

    Cuba Libre at Lake Proserpine

    June 9 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We got underway early this morning after saying goodbye to the neighbours. We are heading for our campsite at the Lake Proserpine Campground which is a free camp right on the large lake. Our neighbours then told us they have decided to also go to this campground in a couple of days, so we will probably catch up with them again.
    Along the way we passed through Sarina which is a sugar town that we have stayed at in the past. In Sarina we got an unexpected bonus! Diesel fuel prices have varied here between $2.05 per litre down to $1.91 per litre. But in Sarina the Ampol has diesel for $1.82 per litre. The Cruiser fuel tanks were still about 1/3rd full but we topped to full again and the 180 litres saved us at least $18!!
    We will be free camping for the next 9 days in places that do not have potable water, so passing through Mackay we stopped at a water supply tap designed for caravanners and topped up with fresh water. We used our good filters of course so we know the water is good quality. We now have 400 litres of water on board which is more than enough until our next proper water top-up.
    By the time we arrived in Lake Proserpine it was 2pm and by the time we had set up camp we decided not to go into Airlie Beach today and instead have a couple of rum & cokes overlooking the lake. Tomorrow we will head into Airlie Beach for the whole day.    Read more

  • TravelerRed Centre
    Day 9

    A Resting Day

    June 8 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    This morning was 6 degrees outside so it was a good time to sit inside and watch Day 1 of the Canadian Grand Prix!! Well Peter thought so anyway, Carolina continued sleeping! When she woke she was feeling much better than last night and was well on the road to a quick recovery.
    The BarraCrab is a lovely spot, right in the beach with lovely water views. The tidal range here is about 6m so when the tide is out it goes a long way exposing the rocks along the foreshore, and when the tide comes in it comes quickly.
    The temps during the day are in the mid-20s so it’s really nice to sit out in the sun and relax and you really can’t help but think this is what holidays are all about. So we sat in the sun chatting and doing some planning for the next few days.
    Tonight we ate at the BarraCrab restaurant and appropriately ate a barramundi meal. Tomorrow we head up north to the Whitsundays.    Read more

  • TravelerRed Centre
    1
    Day 8

    The Clairview Change

    June 7 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We woke this morning to the quiet of a fog which gave a surreal tranquil atmosphere to our car and caravan campsite. It was cool so we turned the heater on inside the van and warmed up quickly.
    The good news was the fog cleared and a fine sunny day emerged. The bad news was that Carolina woke not feeling well and was showing the signs of getting a bad cold. Chanel tried to cheer her up by joining her in bed giving moral support.
    After breakfast Peter packed up the van which was easier than usual because we did not unhitch from the car last night so this saved some time and we got underway.
    We had planned to camp for two days at the Notch Point campground at the Yarrawonga Park Reserve about 290km away. This is a popular beachfront free camp at the tip of a peninsular. The road into the campground is 4WD only and can be fairly rough, but from all reports is well worth it because you can camp for free right on or near the beach and the scenery is great.
    However….during her research of Notch Point Carolina read that crocodiles have been reported in the area. People are camping and caravanning there all the time, but no end of discussion would convince her that we should go there despite the very good reports.
    So a change of plan was needed and we ended up stopping a bit earlier at the beachfront Barracrab Caravan Park in Clairview. For $30 per night we had an unpowered site backing right onto the beach! And as an added bonus our neighbours Kevin & Norell came over to say hi and were very friendly and invited us for drinks around their campfire.
    Peter joined the neighbours for a few drinks but unfortunately Carolina continued to feel very unwell and declined the invitation and went to bed early. Even when Peter later cooked a tomahawk steak on the BBQ with corn and mushrooms Carolina could not be tempted to get out of bed and eat. Poor girl! We hope she is feeling much better tomorrow after a good night’s sleep. We will stay here for 2 nights so she can rest up all day tomorrow if necessary.    Read more

  • TravelerRed Centre
    1
    Day 7

    A Farm Bush Camp near Rocky

    June 6 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Yesterday was a cruisy relaxing day in the Agnes Water/1770 area. The cafe at our campsite opened at 7am and we were there for our early morning coffee overlooking the beach. We went for a long walk along the beach enjoying the sunny morning.
    We have been to 1770 and Agnes Water before so did not need to do the full tourist bit, however we still went to the Marina and some of the lookouts before heading back to relax and chat with some of our neighbours. Staying at caravan parks is always very social and you meet some interesting people.
    Last night we went to the local pub for dinner before coming back to the van to watch the first State of Origin match - and Queensland won convincingly!!
    This morning it was coffee again overlooking the beach, another beautiful sunny morning, before packing up to head further north to Rockhampton about 240km away.
    We try to keep our travel days to a max of around 4 hours driving as we feel this is the sweet spot when towing. We generally drive about 2 hours before a coffee break, and then up to another 2 hours, arriving at our destination around lunchtime. Plenty of time then to set up camp and still look around the new location. Of course some days of this trip will need to be longer, but our normal driving plan is around 4 hours.
    We wanted to stay tonight at the Rockhampton Waterski Club campground along the Fitzroy River but it was booked out. So instead we stayed about a kilometre away on a farm camp called the Laurel Bank Bush Camp. It’s only for one night and we were the only ones staying there, however the farm hosts were very friendly and we even had a couple of horses to keep us company.
    Tonight will be a quiet night enjoying the stars and serenity.    Read more

  • TravelerRed Centre
    Day 5–7

    Coffee problems, fixed by Alcohol

    June 4 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    It’s time to move on, with Agnes Water and 1770 as our next destination. We have been there before and really liked the place including staying at the Agnes Water Holiday Park right on the beach. So we planned to stay a couple of nights there relaxing.
    Of course no trip to Agnes Water would be complete without a diversionary stop in Bundaberg to stock up at the Bundaberg Rum Distillery and the Kalki Moon Gin Distillery. Peter loves his rum & coke, and Carolina loves her gin & tonic. So we dropped in to both places to top up our bar.
    This is when we came across our first surprise for the day. It was cappuccino time by now and the Bundaberg Rum Distillery has a cafe. But to our amazement they advised that they have not served coffee in the cafe since Covid!!! How can you run a cafe without coffee!! How odd and disappointing!
    So we headed off for the 8km drive across town to the Kalki Moon Gin Distillery and throughout our trip kept our eyes peeled for another cafe. What’s wrong with Bundaberg and why do they have such an aversion for coffee, because at no stage did we see any cafes during 8km across town!!
    By now of course, without her mid-morning coffee, Carolina was starting to twitch. So I offered to stop and make her a cappu in the caravan. But no, she insisted we continue on to Agnes Water where we knew the caravan park has a nice cafe on the beach.
    Then suddenly Carolina let out a shriek because she had seen a sign saying coffee in 500m. So we came to stop next to a very nice caravan shop serving coffee. But the vendor was packing up and told us he was closed!!
    So on we went and arrived at Agnes Water at 1:30pm - and then came our next surprise. The caravan park informed us they had a water leak in the pipes and the plumbers were trying to locate the leak. As a result the cafe has no water and is closed today. It will re-open tomorrow! Someone was sending us a message about coffee!!!
    So after parking the van in the tight area allocated to us, Peter finally made the cappuccino he had promised for Carolina.
    We try to avoid caravan parks as much as possible because we enjoy the space and pleasure of free camping in a nice spot. However caravan parks have an important role to play in a trip and often are in great locations right near the centre of town or in nice spots such as right on the beach in Agnes Water. We have our own clothes washing machine but it does a small load. Caravan parks have larger machines and clothes dryers for larger loads. We will also top up all our water tanks here because we are free camping for the next 11 days.
    Caravan parks sometimes have large sites available, but sometimes have tight sites that are side-by-side like sardines. Last time at Agnes Water we had a relatively large site, but today the campsite allocated to us was tight. It was in a good location on the front row next to the beach and with expert directions from Carolina we managed to park very well, but we would have preferred a site with more space.    Read more

  • TravelerRed Centre
    Day 4

    The Hervey Bay Surprise!

    June 3 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Before our blog today a quick reminder that you can follow the track of our trip on the map on our FindPenguins trip site. If you can’t see this map on the top of the blog, it can be found on the main page of our trip site. The map shows the entire track of where we have been on our trip as well as our current location at any time.

    This morning we woke to a still, chilly, but clear morning with a temp of 8 degrees and some light fog sitting on the water giving our camp a lovely eerie atmosphere. The fog cleared quickly as the sun rose as we watched through the windows having breakfast.
    Today we had planned to go to Hervey Bay to finish off looking around there before heading off to see Bundaberg. But as we cruised around Hervey Bay there was so much to see on such a beautiful day, and Hervey Bay is such a lovely place, that we changed our minds and stayed there all day.
    We started at the Marina where the whale watching tours depart, but this is not whale migration time so the boats were quiet.
    We then drove along the Esplanade and were surprised by how well the beach foreshore has been presented with lovely scenic parks, nice walks through the trees and along the beach, and lots of restaurants and coffee shops. It surpassed our expectations and is really nice!
    The beach is about 7km long with white sand and still clear water. The tidal range here is about 3m and today it was about half tide when we arrived. Later in the morning the tide was right out.
    We enjoyed an obligatory cappuccino overlooking the beach and then had a long walk along the esplanade foreshore. Later we enjoyed a light Mexican lunch at Tres Salsas, a Mexican cantina where Carolina admirably resisted the urge to have a morning margarita.
    Hervey Bay has been a real surprise to us and is a place we will come back to in the future for more days of relaxation (and shopping!).
    We were back at our campsite by 3:30pm and relaxed in the sun overlooking our campsite on its own peninsular. Tonight will be BBQ’d marinated chicken with salad partaken at sunset, and as we went to the shops today we CAN enjoy some toasted marshmallows over the camp fire! A great way to spend our last night at Trinity Islands in Burrum Heads.    Read more

  • TravelerRed Centre
    Day 3

    The Morning after the Night Before

    June 2 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    When you are caravanning you can expect the unexpected. While watching the Mary Poppins movies last night we did not monitor the weather outside, we were enjoying the movies. Therein lies a big lesson for us, because suddenly a huge squall hit the campsite - strong winds and heavy rain lashed and buffeted the caravan. We were not worried at all about the caravan standing up to the storm, but we had put up the outdoor awning earlier in the day when the weather was good and was expected to stay that way. So we were worried about how the awning would stand up to the beating and strong winds from the storm. Fortunately we had erected the awning with good supporting ropes and the awning survived without any problems. Whew!!!
    So this morning we woke up to a bright sunny day and the first job was to have a good look around the caravan to check there was no storm damage. It was all OK and we were pleased to prove that Zone make a good strong van!!
    Our focus then changed to what were we going to do today, and we decided to go to 3 places.
    First was the town of Burrum Heads, and then the Burrum Shores Campground. Located on Burrum Beach this campground was where we had originally thought about staying. The road into the campground was rough and at times had water right over the gravel road due to the heavy rain last night. But when we reached the campground itself it was a very nice setting and we both liked it very much. It had a nice feel about it. Some of the sites are right in the beach foreshore edge, and although we arrived today at low tide it would be a lovely sight when the water was lapping close to your campsite.
    It was then off to our second location - Hervey Bay. Along the way we passed more than 30 motorcycles in a group going for a Sunday morning ride.
    Known for having one of the highest percentage retired populations and famous for its whale watching cruises, Hervey Bay is a large city slightly bigger than Noosa with a real tourist atmosphere. Very nice beaches, very green, and lots of facilities. Carolina was pleased to see the large number of shopping centres and even found time to disappear into one of them for a while. We cruised around and finally stopped along the Esplanade at ENZO’s on the Beach where we had coffee and lunch. This is a beachside cafe recommended by Carolina’s friend Amorica.
    It was at this time we discovered that the Story Bank in Maryborough closed today early at 2pm and was also closed tomorrow. So we stopped our tour of Hervey Bay and headed off to our 3rd planned location of finishing off seeing Maryborough. Tomorrow we will go back and finish Hervey Bay before going to Bundaberg .
    Yesterday we mentioned how Maryborough is the birthplace of P.L. Travers, the lady who wrote the Mary Poppins books. Her family lived in the bank building where today the Story Bank is located. This building is a museum now that has many of the memorabilia and history of P.L. Travers and how she wrote the Mary Poppins books. It was very interesting to poke around among the many exhibits. Last night we watched the movie Saving Mr Banks which is the story of how Walt Disney convinced P.L. Travers to allow him to make the Mary Poppins movie, and the museum brought to life some parts of that movie.
    Before leaving Maryborough we walked through the Queen’s Park gardens down to the marina which used to be a Port of Entry to Australia during the mid-1800s. We then drove around town looking at the colourful mural displays that are dotted around the CBD. Carolina’s favourite mural was the girl standing in the nose of the crocodile 🐊 (if you believe this you don’t know Carolina!).
    It was late afternoon by the time we got back to our campsite. Beautiful clear sky weather everywhere so tonight we will have a campfire and maybe some toasted marshmallows - oops we forgot to buy them!!!
    Sunset overlooking a campfire followed by a star-filled night sky has got to be one of the nicest things you can do when camping.    Read more

  • TravelerRed Centre
    Day 2–5

    Mary Poppins Country

    June 1 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    D-day, or should I say H-day (Holiday day), has arrived! So at 6am we were up and about getting all the final details completed to depart. Peter was getting the car and caravan set up and hitched up ready to go. Carolina was helping of course - No! She was washing the master bedroom bed linen! Despite Peter’s attempts to say this did not need to be done as we will be away for nearly 3 months, Carolina was determined to do the washing before we departed!
    Some friends dropped in to say good-bye - Jeanette, Max & Chez, and Margot. It was very nice to get a friendly send off. They said we would be missed….???
    As we headed off Margot took a video which was a nice way to depart.
    We could have been lazy and taken the Bruce Highway to Burrum Heads, but that is not our style. Instead we took the scenic route closer to the coast via the Gympie National Park and the Tuan State Forest. This took us directly into Maryborough from the east. Along the way there was a section of gravel road and with the recent rains it was a bit muddy and the caravan and car was initiated with some mud spray. Fortunately a bit later when back on the bitumen the rain became quite heavy and cleaned the mud off. Then the rain stopped and it remained cloudy but fine for the rest of the day.
    It was coffee time when we arrived in Maryborough, so we found the Alowishus Delicious Cafe. That’s a strange name with a familiar ring to it! Yes you are right! Maryborough is Mary Poppins country! The books of Mary Poppins were written by P.L.Travers, but this was a pen name for a lady called Helen Goff who was an Australian and lived in Maryborough!! A very famous connection which the town has taken to heart and there are lots of Mary Poppins references through the town. The traffic lights have Mary Poppins images and there are references to the characters from the Mary Poppins stories dotted around town. We will spend more time there tomorrow getting to know more about the Maryborough connection to this famous lady.
    Carolina then had a call of nature so we sought out the nearest toilet. The sign said it all - The Cistern Chapel. So in we went to go to the loo - and we were blown away with the most amazing toilets we have ever seen!! Two artists spent 15 months decorating the insides of the mens and ladies’ toilets resulting in remarkable artistic decorations. The photos don’t really do it justice, but the gold toilet topped the list of “wow” items. Carolina now knows what she wants to do at home when we renovate our toilets!!!
    After a stroll around town to get a feel for Maryborough we then headed off to our campsite near Burrum Heads called Trinity Islands. We had booked and were given a powered site on a peninsular surrounded by water with great views! A really nice spot for the next 3 nights - and only $30! The joys of caravanning.
    Tonight it has started to rain with some storms forecast, so we are settling down to prepare for tomorrow. How? By watching the Saving Mr Banks and Mary Poppins movies of course!!    Read more

  • TravelerRed Centre
    Day 1

    The Journey Prep

    May 31 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    After several months of planning and several weeks of more detailed preparation our Red Centre trip starts tomorrow. For up to 3 months we will take our caravan and trusty LandCruiser and explore some of the places we have wanted to see along the North Queensland coast before heading northwest to parts of the Queensland Gulf Country and further west into the Northern Territory. We will then head south down through the iconic areas of the Red Centre of Australia then further south into South Australia including travelling along two of the most famous outback desert tracks around Lake Eyre and Birdsville. Then we will slowly head
    east through outback Queensland and finally back to the Sunshine Coast. We have planned the trip to be about 10 weeks, but we will be flexible and will relax and enjoy the experiences and beauty of the Australian outback even if it takes a bit longer.

    This trip is different from our past trips because it takes us into some of the remote areas of the Australian outback. Along with this comes some serious planning considerations of communication and safety that are essential to cater for any contingencies that may arise. Therefore our trip preparations have incorporated some new technical advances in communications.

    The most important new feature for us is the use of Starlink, run by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. Starlink connects to around 20,000 low earth orbit satellites that provide high speed internet throughout all parts of Australia. The equipment required is stored in the back of our car in a flat box and consists of a small flat satellite dish, a wifi router that sets up a wifi node around our caravan, and a power supply that runs off the 240V inverter systems fitted in both our caravan and car. We expect Starlink will be our main source of communication and entertainment via the internet and phone connections for the remote areas of our trip. You may ask how are phone services provided when we are well beyond GSM coverage? Most modern mobile phones have a WIFI CALLING function where normal phone use can be provided via only a wifi connection which does not need a GSM signal. Starlink provides the wifi, so we should be able to use our phones even in the remote outback.

    In case of an emergency or when Starlink is not available, we have available our handheld Garmin InReach satellite communicator which can send and receive messages via sms and email. It can also act as an EPIRB and if the SOS made is activated it will summon Search and Rescue to our location.

    So we hope these tools will enable us to remain safe and in communication with our family and friends throughout the trip.

    We will be spending a lot of time on rough unmade outback roads where stones and rocks can be picked up by the car tyres and deflected onto the caravan and can cause damage. So this time our car and caravan are fitted with our Stone Stomper. This is a mat that spans between the car and caravan and deflects any stones back down to the ground or road. The Stone Stomper is a common fitting on many off-road caravans.

    We will share some photos of the rig once we are hitched up and ready to go tomorrow. So for now our caravan is stocked up with our belongings, food, and drinks; the car is stocked up with our travelling equipment and some more drinks and with fuel tanks topped up to start our 10,000km journey. We are ready to go!

    It is said that for a good trip the journey is a key part of the adventure and the trip is not just about the destinations. Australia is a huge country with long distances to be travelled to see the many amazing sights. So the journey will be very important to us with lots to see and do en route.

    Tomorrow morning the adventure begins!! We are so glad you can come along with us via this travel blog. 👍👍👍😃😃    Read more

  • TravelerEurope - August 2023
    Day 32

    The Trip ends with a Birthday Boy!

    September 1, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Is 5 hours sleep in the hotel in Dubai enough to feel rested? No, but it was all we got because Peter had to retrieve his work suitcase from the JW Marriott Hotel to bring back home. We had not been able to take it on the holiday because we wanted to travel light.
    So after 5 hours sleep we were showering and getting back to the airport for the final leg home to Brisbane. As the A380 got airborne it was hard to avoid the thought that our deep connection with this aircraft was a fitting way to travel to finish our trip.
    However one last event remained. As the clock passed midnight the date turned into 1 September, and that is Peter’s birthday!! To celebrate Carolina had arranged in the upstairs bar area for the crew to bring out a birthday cake and to sing Happy Birthday to him!! What a lovely surprise!
    As we arrived back in Noosa to be welcomed enthusiastically by the bouncing Chanel, our holiday ended. Over the last 32 days we have travelled some 27,000km visiting 6 countries, seeing lots of sights, and spending time with some great friends to whom we are very grateful for their kind hospitality and time. The plans have flowed smoothly and we have certainly enjoyed ourselves a lot. The next holiday awaits….!!!    Read more

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