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Living in: South Australia, Australia Read more South Australia, Australia
  • Graham n RosieBROKEN BY DESIGN ADVENTURES
    Day 90

    Age of Dinosaurs Centre, Winton

    September 17, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    What a wonderful opportunity to witness the painstakingly fascinating process of unearthing actual dinosaur bones around 95 Million years old! In 1999 while mustering sheep on his property Belmont near Winton, David Elliott discovered the fossilised bone of what was, at the time, Australia’s largest dinosaur. This bone was later identified as part of a giant femur from a Cretaceous sauropod (long necked 🦕 ) that roamed the Winton area 95 million years ago. Since then, diggings have unearthed a treasure trove of fossils. One of their most exciting finds was that of “Matilda” (a sauropod) and “Banjo” (a theropod - bit like a velociraptor ) lying together- with 30% of their bones in tact - apparently a huge bonus in palaeontology. Their best theory is that Matilda was stuck in mud ( a common thing for huge 30 tonne beasts back in the day, apparently) so Banjo saw his opportunity and attacked. Matilda managed to slap him down, probably with her tail, and killed the little rascal.
    There were so many other stories and the enthusiasm of staff was infectious. We met some volunteers as they were working on “ Judy”, a sauropod only unearthed three weeks ago. They had almost all of her neck bones and were working with high powered precision air drills to clean away 95 million years worth of crud. The pic in the magnifier is one of those pieces. Just awe inspiring!
    Tours included the fossil lab, the collection centre where we met Matilda and Banjo, and the March of the Titanosaurs in Dinosaur Canyon, a few Ks from the main centre. This display (complete with cute Dino statues 😃) is a preserved river scene showing footprints of a huge array of dinos as they travel back and forth through and around the drinking holes.
    We had a fabulous visit and would love to have the opportunity to volunteer to work on these awesome findings. Maybe next time ! 🦕 🦖 🐊 🦅    Read more

  • Graham n RosieBROKEN BY DESIGN ADVENTURES
    Day 87

    Walkabout Creek Pub, McKinlay

    September 14, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    So this is another of those moments in life when you look back and say “Glad we did that!”. Crocodile Dundee is everywhere in this, the original hotel in which the pub scenes were filmed. The bar itself is new however the actual original bar can be viewed in a shed behind the pub. Lots of memorabilia for sale and photographs, quirky bits and pieces everywhere, including phot opportunity with Mick Dundee himself. No meals, it’s run by an older couple who can’t get Staff at the moment. The beer could have been a bit colder but the ambiance was good and watching the sun set from the pub was great.Read more

  • Graham n RosieBROKEN BY DESIGN ADVENTURES
    Day 82

    Karumba

    September 9, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Karumba is one of those places you feel you need to visit at least once in your life. It’s pretty much the only point at which you can access the Gulf of Carpenteria, sitting on the banks of the Norman River that feeds into the gulf. It is most well known for its prawning industry, in particular Banana and Red Tiger 🍤. Unlike the Tigers, Banana prawns come out during the day - they bury themselves beneath the sand and create huge swirls of sand as they rise to the surface. Spotter planes then radio the coordinates to the prawning boats. It’s a dusty, dry old place - definitely not the lush, tropical scenery we had been used to! A tough little town for sure, and seasonal of course, arriving as we did at the end of their tourist season we missed out on their weekly markets however did manage to put up a table in the caravan park which earned us a few $$. Our time there was spent doing cruises for a bit of local history and croc spotting, and seafood dinner at the pub, unfortunately no mud crab though!Read more

  • Graham n RosieBROKEN BY DESIGN ADVENTURES
    Day 81

    Cumberland Dam and Croydon

    September 8, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Headed to spend Overnight at Cumberland Dam, a gorgeous spot filled with an array of bird and animal life. On the way we stopped in for a quick splash at Innot Hot Springs where some sections of the creek were seriously 🔥! Not comfortable at all, although we managed to find a stretch that was just right for Jasper and ourselves to have. Bit of a 🦶 and 🐾 soak!
    At Cumberland we explored the dam of course, the setting sun giving us some lovely colours. We even got up super early to try for some morning light as well. The chimney is a remnant of the areas gold mining past, the Cumberland Mine being the most successful and largest mine in the area.
    The next day we headed on to Georgetown - an amazing locality again built on the gold mines. Here they have an awesome visitor centre and have restored a row of buildings as a monument to the towns past. They include the Policeman’s cottage, Police station complete with cells out the back, the Courthouse any the picture theatre that is still in use today. They have even preserved the old China Town area just outside of the town, where Chinese miners turned their hand to market gardening when the racist mining laws prevented them from working in the mines. We spent a fascinating hour or two here but could easily have stayed much longer. Thanks Georgetown!    Read more

  • Graham n RosieBROKEN BY DESIGN ADVENTURES
    Day 80

    Paronella Park

    September 7, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    I’d heard about this place from travelling friends so knew it was a “must do” if we got this far. The property is what remains from the dreams of Spanish immigrant, Jose Paronella who arrived in the area in the 1940s. He set about building his own “palace” - something he’d always dreamed of doing since childhood. Unfortunately, he used local,y quarried stone that contained mica and was completely unsuited for building in this environment. As a result, the buildings all began to deteriorate over a relatively short period of time. Then a massive storm hit, devastating the home even further. It must have been pretty heartbreaking! Further tragedy struck the family as Jose passed, followed closely by his wife and finally their son, at a relatively young age. Remaining daughter was not able to keep running the property and it has changed hands a couple of times. Today there is a museum/cafe and small caravan park above the gorgeous grounds and those lichen-covered, mossy ruins. The waterfall is lovely and there are many twisty walkways taking you through gorgeous natural vegetation. In the evening the grounds come alive with a light show accompanied by specially curated music, telling the story of Jose’s dreams, hardships and delights. So glad we did it!Read more

  • Graham n RosieBROKEN BY DESIGN ADVENTURES
    Day 72

    Cairns

    August 30, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    A four day stop ended up being twelve as we were fortunate to wangle our way into three markets whilst in this little patch of paradise. Staying at Coconut Cairns Resort was nice, especially having power for the aircon was a welcome thing. It’s definitely steamy and doesn’t cool down much in the evening, especially when it rains. Have to say we enjoyed sitting under the awning watching the rain bucket down - even getting our feet wet wasn’t a drama. Sorry for the people opposite us who lost their entire awning when the weight of the water ripped it from the van. 😨
    The other awesome thing about this park were the Lipstick Palms! Just beautiful!
    We did a few drives and walks with Jasper on the beach, but crocs are a thing so followed the locals on this one - if there’s nobody there doing it…don’t be the first. 🐊    Read more

  • Graham n RosieBROKEN BY DESIGN ADVENTURES
    Day 70

    Cairns Markets

    August 28, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We enjoyed all of the markets here in Cairns and are really hoping to return again. Our first was yungabarra in the Atherton Tablelands…a steep and twisty drive at 430 in the morning but a lovely market and gorgeous little town. We did a few touristy things on the way home including visiting the Curtain Fig. “This large fig tree in Curtain Fig Tree National Park is unique because the extensive aerial roots, that drop 15 metres to the forest floor, have formed a ‘curtain’. Over hundreds of years these roots have strangled the host causing it to fall into a neighbouring tree-a stage unique to the development of this fig. Vertical fig roots then formed a curtain-like appearance and the host trees rotted away, leaving the freestanding fig tree. The tree is thought to be nearly 50 metres tall, with a trunk circumference of 39 metres, and is estimated to be over 500 years old. “ (from the website, not me! 😂)
    We also managed a stop at the Crystal Cave in Atherton where we picked up a Geode for Ollie and Jack and made a little video for them. (Geodes are spherical rocks - hollow inside and containing crystallised minerals).    Read more

  • Graham n RosieBROKEN BY DESIGN ADVENTURES
    Day 66

    Babinda

    August 24, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Possibly the prettiest little town we have seen so far! The Local Rotary maintain an amazing RV camp just outside of the town - thanks guys! We even managed a jam session with the lady next door which was a fun!
    Our first visit outside the camp was to the gorgeous Babinda Boulders…pristine waters surrounded by beautiful forest - just amazing. No dogs allowed so we took turns whilst keeping him company in the car park. No biggie, just part of life travelling with doggos.
    One place we COULD enjoy with the little fella was the creek at the bottom of the RV park. Both times we visited there was no one else around so managed to let him off the lead for a proper run and splash. Not being used to fresh water, he got a shock when he found he could drink it too!
    Babinda is also famous for its eateries - the bakery has a steady lineup put the door by lunchtime, and the amazing restaurant attached to the Empire Hotel - can’t rave enough about this place!    Read more

  • Graham n RosieBROKEN BY DESIGN ADVENTURES
    Day 64

    Townsville 2

    August 22, 2021 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    We found our way to the top of Castle Hill lookout for a few photo ops and it is here that you truly appreciate how widespread the town actually is.

    We were fortunate to join the iconic Cotters Market, held in the CBD, and managed good sales despite the wind!

    Heading off now to Cairns, with a few overnight stops on the way!    Read more

  • Graham n RosieBROKEN BY DESIGN ADVENTURES
    Day 62

    Townsville

    August 20, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Have to say we had no idea Townsville was so huge - very spread out and due to needing to purchase a few van items we certainly did a number of tours of the industrial areas…seems every block had a massive homemaker centre on it!

    When we did manage to find our way to the beach, it didn’t disappoint, either. The Strand is Townsville’s “esplanade” and is absolutely gorgeous - lushly green of course, beautiful palms, great restaurants and of course the magical Magnetic Island across the water….just stunning. Our night pics were taken after a lovely seafood dinner as we walked it off along the beachfront!

    The video shows the local drumming club setting up for their regular get together on the foreshore next to the restaurant we dined at (C-Bar) - they were just awesome and drew a big crowd!    Read more

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