Reset search
Top End TreadingTop End Treading
SatelliteEdit route
Our ambition is to circumnavigate Australia...one piece at a time. Read more Melrose Park, Australia
  • TravelerOff to the sun with GMcG and F
    1
    Day 35

    Brake Lights

    July 22, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    We were up and out! Stopping by the mechanics place by 9.30, to be met by an empty house - well, some people were around, but he wasn't there.
    Ian phoned him and said he would be back shortly. "Just sit back and chill in the van"'. Two other caravans were also waiting. He arrived back with his ute carrying a large roll of hay for his horse.
    He had a look at the lights, and said that he didn't think it was an electrical issue - but more that the bulb elements in the lights were done. Because these were considered older lights, he was pretty certain no one in Mount Isa would have them. So we were stuck for the minute with duff lights. We headed off for Camooweal Billabong. It was very pleasant, and very busy! Cars and caravans lined the edge of the Billabong. We parked on the opposite side of the road, and had a good level site all to ourselves, plus a good view of the water from the kitchen window. A couple of locals drove past selling firewood for $20. We didn't have enough cash, and besides the evening was mild. One guy opposite started playing his guitar and singing. He was a good guitar player, but sang as flat as a tack!    Read more

  • TravelerOff to the sun with GMcG and F
    Day 33

    Washing

    July 20, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    I was up at the crack of dawn to grab a washing machine - and even then I had trouble finding space to hang all my wet washing on the line. They start early here! Anyway, job done. I got talking to a young Asian woman, at an adjoining washing machine. She was travelling with her husband and 3 young children. She lived in Perth, and they intended to 'do the lap'. The children were being home schooled. What an experience for the kids, although - while she said it only took 15 mins to set up their camper tent, and take it down again, I would rather have my caravan any day.
    We went looking for a pie shop in Mount Isa, and stock up on some groceries. Then to Bunnings trying to get those much sought after fire logs. We have been trying ever since Harvey Bay to get them with no luck. Our tail lights not working caused issues driving through the town. The indicator worked okay.... we hoped. a Mechanic would look at them at 9.30 am tomorrow, and then hopefully we would be fixed and legal. We wanted to check out where the Mechanic lived, so that we weren't wandering around Mount Isa looking for him tomorrow. He was literally 5 minutes away, down a dirt road. Further up the road was the lake that the CP was named after - Moondarrah lake. It turned out to be an incredibly large body of water....all beautifully landscaped, with shelters, picnic tables, and green lushious grass. All in the middle of a desert! From the viewing point, a great vastness of water could be seen. The have a water skiing club, a canoe club, fishing . It was such a beautiful area in among the red rock,and dry mountains. When we arrived back in camp, we had new neighbours, who blocked our sunshine - not their fault. They were also from SA, and told us about a great free camp - Camooweal Billabong. Our planned stop for tommorw night.!    Read more

  • TravelerOff to the sun with GMcG and F
    Day 32

    Moondara Mount Isa

    July 19, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    At 19.45 last night I recieved a confirmation text from Moondarra CP. I had phoned emailed and Facebook messaged them with no reply earlier in the day. We had intended to go to Mount Isa for a couple of nights to recharge - literally - and get some washing done. After not hearing from Moondarra, I had tried all other CP in Mount Isa but all were full. Cloncurry CP could offer us a place, but is was much closer than Mount Isa, so therefore, it would be a short day, which wasn't what we needed at this time. Moondarra CP was half the price of everyshere else, and they had free washing machines due to housing the miners who worked in the area.
    Hearing a positive result from Moondarra was brilliant, except that I worried half the night about cancelling Cloncurry - needlessly - they didn't give a toss. It was a very no frills kind of park, but I liked the atmosphere. Down the road was the Moondarrah lake and Ian managed to contact an electrical technician to fix our ongoing light issue. down Moondarrah Road. Just outside the campsite. We arranged to take the van there on Thursday morning as we left the park. We had the steaks that we had bought from the butcher in Richmond Champion Butchers, and at $45 dollars they needed to be. We cut them in half and they were still massive! Tasted lovely though.    Read more

  • TravelerOff to the sun with GMcG and F
    Day 31

    Richmond steaks from the farm

    July 18, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Before we left Richmond, we had to go to the great Butchers in town. They ran their own sheep farm, and had cut the distance between farm and plate, by selling their own sheep, and local beef. We bought a couple of steaks, which were absolutely enormous. These would be our tea tonight. The roads didn't improve any, and nor did Bryce Courtney! We were going to stay in Julia Creek CP, but they were full. I was disapointed, as they had hot tubs, filled with Artisian water. They charged an extra $32, which I would have resented, however, I didn't need to worry about that now. Instead the Caravan Park suggested we go to a free camp by the river just on the edge of town. What a find! It was huge, and by evening, there was an entire town of Caravans staying. The caravan next door to us, had a cat and dog both on leads!
    Frankie was demented by the flies - spending his time trying to catch them. There were a lot of flies around. His head would fling from right to left - side to side. His only relief was found under the van, out of the sun, and fewer flies. There was a resident cockral, chichen and large fancy duck strutting around the camp. They had no shame, and strutted around the camp, begging for food. We out to town, and had lunch, (they had run out of pies by the time we got there). Meatballs and ragu for dinner....Steaks for tomorrow. Too many flies here to cook on the BBQ. Frankie was very tired, and I put him into the van to sleep. I could hear fim paddling about. When I opened the caravan door - he flew out light a whippet!! Scary for him and for us. This was a camp he was unfamiliar with, and it was very dark - no street lights and also a lot of water around. Fortunately I think he frightened himself, and ran straight to Ian. Disaster avoided.
    We appear (unwittingly) to be following the route taken by Burke and Wills, as they searched for Carpenteria. In the town of Julia Creek a plaque mentioned them and their fateful journey. (see addit)    Read more

  • TravelerOff to the sun with GMcG and F
    Day 30

    Rocky Road to Richmond

    July 17, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    It was a beautiful morning with not a cloud in the sky. We were initially heading for a free camp in Marathon. We stopped in Hughenden for diesel, and Ian remembered (later!) that he had overheard someone talk of the state of the next stretch of road. Oh my goodness! I thought we were going to be airborne - several times. I associate that drive with hanging on to the door handle for dear life, while listening to the 'Persimmon Tree'' by Bryce Courtney. Why did I ever think that he was a good writer!
    Marathon turned out to be little more than a toilet stop on the side of a busy road. We unanimously agreed to pass this camp by, and headed on to a free camp in Richmond. A great place, - but no toilets. We went to the pub for a beer, and Frankie was allowed in - he causes comment so often whereever we go! He is such a pretty boy. The barman summoned me over to see his 6 dogs, which were kept out back. 4 terriers, an Alsation, and another big one who didn't come near. We had a beer, a bit of craic, and headed home for tea. The night sky was clear, and stars were bright and just perfect. Richmon is known for its Dinausaur finds...the Tourist information centre is on the corner of Kronosaurus Korner. They also have a lovely unattended historical building. Appart from the many interesting items within the building - many of which were aboriginal, there was a fantastic restored mail coach down in the back shed. It seated eight people - and must have been dreadfully uncomfortable.    Read more

  • TravelerOff to the sun with GMcG and F
    Day 29

    Returning to Adelaide

    July 16, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Time is running out, so we left Crystal Creek heading back across Three Ways to home. We plan to stay in as many free camps as possible. The price of Petrol up here has become so expensive. A litre costs anything from $3.28 - to $2.97. They blame the Ukranian war with Russia, as most fuel to Europe comes from Russia....cant quite understand how this rolls down to us, but there you are. We stopped for lunch in a large ?carpark, outside Charter Towers City.
    The place had a look of being unfinished, with a row of unfinished shops, an old mine structure, and several gold painted lumps of granite dotted around. Anyway there were flushing toilets, so we ate our lunch and left for our free camp, which, tonight was by Campaspe river.
    We found some wood stacked and ready to use by the tree we were camped by...perfect! This evening we had a lovely fire. It was a waste really, as the night was very mild, but it did create a lovely ambience, and was a lovely way to mark our first night on our return journey. We were not far back off the road - but being a Saturday night, there was very little traffic. About 10 caravans stayed here overnight, Clean flushing toilets were another draw. On the opposite side of the camp was the railway line, but I heard no trains overnight.    Read more

  • TravelerOff to the sun with GMcG and F
    1
    Day 28

    Townsville

    July 15, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    This morming we headed off to Townsville. Sights to see, included Castle Hill for a good vantage point over the city. We parked the car and crossed the road, to be faced with pretty steep steps. There were plenty of seats to rest along the route, (thank goodness), but still an awful lot of steps. Someone had numbered the last couple of hundred following the last seat...456 - so we could count down to the top. We passed an Echidina hiding by the side of one step. Frankie was the worry there, but he didn't bother it.
    It was all worth it, when we saw the great view we had. Needless to say, the walk back via the road, was much easier. Then we went to the strand, and had fish and chips to give us back some energy. That evening, because we couldn't get TV reception at Crystal Creek, we watched episodes of the White House on DVD. accompanied by snags in bread. Too big a lunch in town! Also phoned Stephen, incase I didn't have internet for Tillies birthday tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerOff to the sun with GMcG and F
    Day 27

    Crystal Creek

    July 14, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    I had found a Caravan Park on Wikicamps, with great reviews, called Crystal Creek. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find the exact location. We confirmed booking on the road when they phoned us and it was only later that Ian found that the park was 70km away from Townsville - and past the city! Anyway, it is what it is! Although it took almost an extra hour to get there. It turned out to be a lovely camp, thank goodness. We parked and then drove another 42km to Ingham and bought some supplies. Frankie, as usual brought us lots of attention...especially from the older women.Read more

  • TravelerOff to the sun with GMcG and F
    Day 26

    Bowen Free camp

    July 13, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    I was up early, and it was a beautiful morning , with the sun just rising over the sugar cane. I walked Frankie around a little, for his morning ablutions, then back inside the van for coffee. Frankie started barking at the door and I could see a large stray dog wandering around - so we were stuck inside. After about an hour, the dog appeared to have gone, Ian went for a shower, and I walked over to the bins with Frankie - of course, at about the furthest point from the caravan, the stray appeared beside us. He appeared friendly enough, but how would you know. He had a tracker collar on, so obviously had done this before. He was also bigger than Frankie, and I was frightened. I was shouting very loudly at the stray to go away, with little effect, when thankfully the chef came out of his caravan, carrying a large Cudgel and after running wildly at the dog - scared the dog away.
    Anyway all was good, and we packed up and left for a 20hr stop over ouside Bowen. On the way we stopped for a coffee, at a coffee growers shop. with a menagery of birds, goats and pigs.
    Our overnight camp was a lovely with spotless toilets. Around teatime, there was a real racket in the trees around us.
    It would appear that two separate groups of Black Cockatoos were having a disagreement. There must have been twenty of these birds...amazing.Two other caravans were there when we arrived . By 7pm there where about 12 or more.    Read more

  • TravelerOff to the sun with GMcG and F
    Day 25

    General Gordon Mackay

    July 12, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We were heading to a pub stay just before Mackay - The General Gordon. The pub had recently been taken over by new owners, as recently as March this year. To entice people to stay, and to spend money, they charged $5 per person to stay on their property among the cane fields. We unhooked and headed into Mackay. After a brief stop at the information centre, we picked 3 destinations to see around the city. Two where viewing points. One a good place to spot whales, the other a great place to see over the city. The harbour was also on our list- but we could only gain access to the marina which was full of very grand large sailing/ fishing boats. Tonight we went over for dinner at the pub. The meal was all the better for the gravy over the schnitzel (bit burnt). Salad was nice. We also met the owners. It was their second marriage, and the man had left his dog behind with his previous partner. His previous dog had been a Brittany, so he became a little emotional. He stroked Frankie so lovingly. Went to the vets and picked up some tablets to protect against ticks.Read more

Join us:

FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English