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  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Rain and low cload
    The showA loo with a view!A bit of rainTime for waterproofsBusking taken to a different levelPost Office SquareNot quite the "amber nectar"Big Bertha being repaired

    Not much happening - off to a show!

    November 1, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Over the past few days we’ve been keeping our fingers crossed that Bertha (the motorhome) will be ready by Friday. The challenge is that the road worth certificate (RWC) for a motorhome covers it both as a vehicle and a home. Bertha failed on the gas compliance for the new fridge that the previous owners had fitted and the part won’t be in until early Monday. Hopefully Bertha will be ready on Monday afternoon .... at the earliest.

    Insurance has been quite straightforward as there are specialist insurers for recreational vehicles (RVs). Their approach is more laid back than the UK and the process is quicker. Those may be famous last words if we need to make a claim.

    Unfortunately roadside assistance hasn’t proved so easy. Anyone who has driven a motorhome may be quite familiar with the problem. Many roadside assistance companies don’t want to cover them because they don’t fit on a standard recovery truck. They either set size limits or simply just don’t cover them, Then there’s the cover. How far will they tow you to a garage, 50, 100 or 200 kms? After you have reached that distance, the owner then pays for the tow. These distances are not a problem in the UK or Europe, but is a real issue in Australia Then there is the issue of putting the family up in accommodation is they break down more than 200kms from home, for how long if parts have to be waited for? Bertha has double wheels on the rear, so I’m not sure that I will be able to change a wheel if we get a puncture. We have some cover through RAC Victoria, fingers crossed that we don’t need it, or, if we do, that it actually comes to our assistance. How do we contact them in an area outside of mobile phone coverage? We hope that someone will pass by.

    On Friday we visited the “Brisbane Caravan & Outdoor Expo”, just to see what gadgets and gizmos we needed. Unfortunately it rained for much of the day, exciting for some of the Aussies who have forgotten what rain looks like, but all too familiar for us. We loved the OzPig for outdoor cooking https://www.ozpig.com.au/ and also a device for working taps on sites when the tap handles have been removed. Walking bak to catch the bus, we stopped at a bar to sample some of the beer.    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Umberella required under the parasol
    Sheltering from the rainStealing the cream? No, not meLook rightPolish dress for the waitresses1I love you

    Tamborine Mountain

    November 2, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Tamborine Mountain is not quite a mountain, but has stunning views west into Australia and east over the coast. Well it does if it’s not raining.

    We stopped at the Polish Cafe for a coffee and some lorikeet entertainment. The photos say it all. The lorikeets are attracted by the sugar but also liked my cream.Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Jacaranda looking good
    Another bright day but a bit windySome "stuff"More "stuff"Bun sortingBertha's first journey with usA bunch of keysContinue the planningFeeding the kukaburra

    The start of our walkabouts adventure

    November 5, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    While our presence in Australia appears to have solved the drought problem (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-5028…) the last two days have been frustrating. We had hoped to have been on our way several days ago. We’d hoped to have Big Bertha on Friday but it didn’t happen.

    On Sunday we made a trip to an enormous DIY type warehouse that sold everything, literally everything. We made a list of things we would need for Bertha, a couple of camping chairs, a camping table .... repairing stuff, kitchen stuff, emergency stuff, eating and cleaning stuff .... quite a list.

    On Monday we hung around awaiting the call to pick up Bertha but received a call to say that the part still hadn’t arrived. While the engineers had cut a hole for the new part, so that it will be fitted as soon as it arrives, the work still needs to be approved by the gas inspector.

    Today we were told that the part had arrived and was being fitted, but we still had to hope that the inspector would have a chance to inspect it and approve it. Today is Melbourne Cup day so we just hope that no one involved is a horse racing fan.

    So that we didn’t spend our time kicking our heals we decided to head for the Gold Coast and look around or lay on the beach. On the way we would drop into IKEA to buy Bun an orthopaedic pillow for her neck. On our way we received a call that the van was finished and approved, no beach today

    When we arrived to collect Bertha she was wired up to the mains with the a/c working and was beautifully cold inside. When she had been sold to the dealer, she contained “everything needed” and this was in a pile in a garage. We were told that we could take anything we wanted. Cutlery, cleaning materials, fuses, spare fan belts, picnic chairs,and table, toaster, kettle ... and so forth. We loaded it all on board.

    Bertha comes with about 3kg of keys! I don’t know how many sets there are. There are a number of storage spaces each accessible from outside and each with their own door that has a lock or two. Why each lock isn’t suited the same, I don’t know. Tomorrow we will sort them all.

    We were shown how to sort the toilet, the gas, the fridge, the cooker .... information overload. Then we moved Bertha and were shown the awning. Time to go home.

    We travelled 20yds to the fuel station and filled Bertha up I was using my hone for satnav and it sat happily on the dashboard until about 400yds down the road and I’d turned onto the motorway. The remaining 50 miles (plus detours from missed turnings etc) was miserable with respect to directions, but Bertha behaved well.

    She’s parked up, locked up and will be sorted out tomorrow. Will we leave Brisbane tomorrow or Thursday? No plan yet.    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    1Driving back from Bunings
    What a lot of stuffBun stashing stuff awayWow, and organised cutlery drawer3Sunset from the balcony

    Bunnings

    November 6, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Up early to get down to the department for transport to register Bertha in our name. Again, very painless, but not as painless as the UK system of doing it online. Having said that, how easy is it for a foreigner to buy and register a vehicle in UK?

    We came home and I picked up the bunch of keys and sorted them. While we have 4 or 5 copies of some keys, we only have 1 copy of our main deadlock for Bertha. One of the door locks could probably be opened using a wooden lolly stick! We then washed everything we had collected the day before, sorted into what we would keep and what to send to the charity shop.

    With loads of stuff and lots of places to put it, we decided to go to the enormous DIY/trade store called Bunnings. As I’ve said befor, it has everything and makes a large B&Q look a bit insignificant. The plan was simple, park in their car park, start packing the stuff away and if we had a problem to go into Bunings and find a solution.

    In reality the plan worked well except they didn’t have something I wanted that I felt sure I would find in B&Q. Sometimes the language barrier is too high and I can’t make myself understood; never mind.

    The evening was spent continuing to pack and squirrel everything away. Now we just need to put our clothes in, buy some food and be on our way.

    First stop will be Bribie Island, a staggering 40 miles away north of Brisbane. “Bribie Island is the smallest and most northerly of three major sand islands forming the coastline sheltering the northern part of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. The others are Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island. Bribie Island is 34 kilometres long, and 8 kilometres at its widest”. The island was connected to the mainland by a bridge in 1963. It is believed that the name of the island came from a corruption of a mainland word for it; “Boorabee” meaning 'koala bear'.

    We are meeting a friend who now lives on the island. Hopefully this will give us a chance to see how well Bertha travels full of crockery etc. Earlier today we went over a sleeping policeman and it sounded like everything smashed in the back! It will also be our first night camping!    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Mr King Parrot
    Mrs King Parrot

    A right royal send off

    November 7, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Obviously we were hoping for bunting along the streets and a brass band to walk slowly in front of us - Bertha doesn’t do much more than slowly.

    To our surprise we had a royal send of by a pair of King Parrots - or should that be a king and queen? Their colours are beautiful.Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Bridge over Pumicestone Passage to Bribie Island
    OMG - is this wherevwe are staying?The PromenadeThat's coolBun’s Panco King PrawnsAll the. Cockatoos asleep ... until 04:00Not mich headroom for making the bed.

    Bribie Island

    November 7, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We just had to finish packing, fill the extra water and be off. It would have been so much quicker and easier if I hadn’t decided to decorate Mike and Renate’s house stairs with fresh cream and cold cooked rice that should have gone into the van. Thank goodness they weren’t carpeted - thank goodness for Bun too.

    Set off with Bun holding the satnav as we still haven’t found a phone holder. We drove the 40 miles to Bribie Island at a sedate pace, one that Bertha finds comfortable and, thankfully, others behind us don’t find too frustrating.

    We arrived at the bridge over to the island at about 3. We’d arranged to meet a friend for a cuppa before getting to the campsite before 5. The campsite were aware that we were motorhome virgins and had never hooked ourselves up on site before and that we’d like some help. My request for a quiet site so that we could make our mistakes in private was responded to with “well everyone will just bring their chairs over to watch and laugh”.

    I’m not sure what we were expecting, but our faces must have dropped when we drove in. Full, crowded, not much space. What have we let ourselves in for?

    We managed to park up at our site without too many errors. We managed to get the electric connected before attempting to connect the water. The water connection to the van was straightforward, a professional version of a “hozelock”. The supply end was simply a tap. I needed a tap converter and I knew we had a box of various sized converters; the question was, where had I put it? Found them! Got it sorted. Air-conditioning on and relax? No, let’s find dinner.

    We walked north along the promenade until we found a bar that overlooked the sea. Two glasses of beer, sit down and take in the beauty of it all. A sailing boat coming in and mooring - then getting a drone out to video themselves. A bloke paddling past on a paddle board with his dog on it too. While the menu at the bar looked good, we walked back down to Sue’s Grill. While it was less salubrious, I would go back there tomorrow. The ranch salad was lovely as were Bun’s Panco King Prawns ... and more beer.

    Back to the campsite where the toilets and wash facilities were spotless. There was also a big kitchen for food preparation and also washing up, plus a TV area.

    Our first night was .... not as hot as we’d expected despite turning off the a/c and just having a fan. Bun hit the wall a couple of times and I managed not to fall out of bed. A fitful night, but remarkably quiet. There’s a window at each end of the bed,, when I woke up I looked out to see quite a busy camp. Yes I’d heard the dawn chorus at 4am, but I hadn’t heard any sound from any of the vans, tents or caravans.

    Well we’d lost our mobile home virginity without burning the place down or setting off with our water and electric cables still connected. I felt better when I was walking past a big motorhome just driving off their site when they came to a stop as if they’d hit something. The van rolled back and the driver then drove forward again, only to again stop abruptly. I saw that the rear wheels were hitting the back of the small ramps he’d reversed the front wheels onto when he’d parked up, but forgotten to remove before driving off. He confessed to only having been doing this for 12 years and that he often drove off without securing or packing one thing or another.

    OK. Not what we had expected or hoped for, but a pleasant enough place as a first stop.    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs

    Bribie & Glass House Mountains

    November 8, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    21 miles of sandy beach, you’ve got to have a look. Drove across to the ocean side of the island, parked up and walked over the baking sand down to the sea. Sandals off and walk through the surf northwards. We didn’t walk far, a few hundred yards up to an old submarine lookout. My history never mentioned much about WW2 in Australia. While there we watched a fisherman attach his hook and bait to a drone, fly it out about 50m and drop it rather than casting from the beach. Very impressive considering the strong winds, but a bit of a cop-out.

    Back to Bertha and a drive up to Glass House Mountains lookout. A bit of a climb. At the lookout the temperature was a reported 37C and the strong breeze felt as if it had come straight from an oven.

    “The Glass House Mountains are a cluster of thirteen hills that rise abruptly from the coastal plain on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. The highest hill is Mount Beerwah at 556 metres above sea level, but the most identifiable of all the hills is Mount Tibrogargan which from certain angles (that we didn’t see) bears a resemblance to a face staring east towards the ocean.

    The Volcanic peaks of the Glass House Mountains rise dramatically from the surrounding Sunshine Coast landscape. They were formed by intrusive plugs, remnants of volcanic activity that occurred 26-27 million years ago. Molten rock filled small vents or intruded as bodies beneath the surface and solidified into land rocks. Millions of years of erosion have removed the surrounding exteriors of volcanic cores and softer sandstone rock.”

    We left there and drove to the cafe for an iced coffee.    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Lunch

    Ewen Maddock Dam, The Ginger Factory ...

    November 8, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Leaving the cafe we set off for a picnic lunch at a lake. A lovely spot and a lovely watermelon!

    After that we drove on to Yandina to visit a macadamia processing plant and also The Ginger Factory. Both were very touristy. I love macadamia nuts but they are pretty pricey in England. I hoped they would be cheaper here, but they weren’t. Just before we were leaving, we decided to sample their range of maybe 20 different flavour coatings on the nuts. The girl behind the counter told us to sample as many as we liked as she was going to throw them away when we left - it was 4:45 and they shut at 5. Jokingly I asked if she would just put them all int a bag and we’d take them with is .... which she did! Great result.

    We can see smoke ahead of us and smell wood fire. We haven’t heard anything yet.

    We pulled into the slightly less busy campsite to be told that there are bushfires north around Noosa and some campsites are closed so extra people are coming to this one, never mind. We have worked out that the van is so well insulated against the heat, it’s pretty good against noise.

    Hooked up like pros, red wine open, insect repellent on, life is good.    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    When did this beast arrive
    Emu greating us in the morningThe entrance to the campsiteBrisbane

    Yandina Market

    November 9, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Sharron, the camp site owner, asked what we planned to do and offered a suggestion of visiting the local Yandina market before going on to the larger and more touristy one up the road in Eumundi.

    In reality it was not much more than a small provincial market selling bric-a-brack and some local produce. However, it did allow us to increase our CD collection for listening to in Bertha. Somehow we also found another Buddha who will be accompanying us on our travels.

    Outside of the market we stopped at a shop selling vintage clothes, rugs etc that also had a cafe attached where we had an iced coffee and made friends with the dog.

    There are a number of fires around the area, north and south of us. Renate sent us a picture from Brisbane showing the sun through a smoke haze.

    Off to Eumundi    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Banboo bikes1

    Eumundi Market and Tin Can Bay

    November 9, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Eumundi is consumed by this market on a Saturday and Wednesday. It takes a few hours to walk around and is geared up to tourists with jewellery stalls, clothes, hats, food areas, paintings, watches, environmental products etc. There were also stalls with musicians playing (busking) as well as one in the food area. Ginger beer is made locally and there were a number of stalls selling this.

    The actual town of Eumundi has the Main Street lined with huge trees that span maybe 40-50metres, huge amounts of shade comes from just a single tree. Most trees along the street had memorials at their base for servicemen lost in various wars.

    After the markets we drove up to Tin Can Bay - a thriving metropolis and entertainment hub on a Saturday night. The pub has multiple screens showing all forms of racing. Outside the pub is the drive-through off-license. Further down the road is a fish and chip shop. Maybe 5 cars passed by during our 20 minute walk. None the less, it has great views of the sea across to Rainbow Beach where we will be going tomorrow after visiting the dolphin sanctuary early - that could be fun.

    Our campsite skills are improving except the Australians don’t recognise the phrase “hook up”. When I ask if the site offers hook up they have no idea what I’m asking. The guy in reception today has asked me to keep using it as he likes the phrase better than “does the site offer electric and water”.    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    A Pied Cormorant?Music was provided by this guy.

    Barnacles Dolphin Centre and Cafe

    November 10, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Everyone is lucky that there’s a limit to the number of photos and videos that can be posted per “footprint”. Not quite swimming with dolphins that’s on my bucket list, but a close second.

    The story is that in the 1950s an injured male dolphin came to the area and the local fishermen helped get him better and fed him fish. He continued to return to be fed and then started bringing his mates along, got married so bought his wife and her sister along, had some kids and so it goes on. The whole thing is very strictly managed. No one, not even the volunteers who run the event, touch the dolphins. It’s illegal to feed dolphins in Queensland without a permit, they have a permit. Apparently it’s also illegal to swim with dolphins, not sure how you police that.

    Anyway, maybe 100 people turned up very early - we arrived at 06:45. In groups, everyone who wanted to go into the water and watch the dolphins could do so; this took from 7 until 8. Then, in a very orderly manner those who had bought tickets to feed the dolphins could do so.

    The group of dolphins consisted of the alpha male, two females, each with an 18 month old male calf, plus two other males. The best entertainment came from the two calves who were “teenagers” and just did their own thing.

    The whole event was located at a cafe that did exceptionally good cooked breakfasts. Not quite a full English, but very good. A rasher of bacon is anything from 12 - 24 inches long here, so you don’t need many rashers to be full.

    Strolled back to camp to pack up. The plan is to drive to Rainbow Beach to look at a dive on Wolf Rock that is supposed to be great for Grey Nurse Sharks and Manta Rays plus other stuff.    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Ferry to Fraser Island4x4 waiting to loadA seagul near the sea - whatever next?Where two rips meet😎A little Rainbow Bee Eater - but had an insect in his mouth

    Rainbow Beach, Inskip Point & Fraser Isl

    November 10, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We set off to find Wolf Rock Dive, a company running dives to Wolf Rock “WOLF ROCK - Wolf Rock is one of the most exciting dives in Australia and will perhaps be one of the most exciting dives you ever do. For this reason, all daily dive charters are to Wolf Rock.
    Consistently rating as a must do dive for travelers up the East Coast of Australia it will not disappoint.

    If you like to see big animals this is the dive for you. Not only is it home to the critically endangered grey nurse sharks but you will also see a myriad of other marine animals such as Giant Queensland Groper – (these guys grow as big as the sharks), eagle rays, bull rays, manta rays, leopard sharks, 3 different species of turtle – loggerhead, green and hawksbill.”

    The only problem was that the office was shut when we arrived and would not open until 3pm when they cam back from a dive. What to do?

    Travelling north from Rainbow Beach there is a sand bar called Inskip Point. It is well known as a point from which people catch the barge to Fraser Island. There are two routes to get to the barge, along the road or along the beach, many go along the beach. We went along the road.

    Description: Fraser Island, off Australia’s eastern Queensland coast, is the world's largest sand island, stretching over 120km. It is a.so well known for backpackers and 4x4 enthusiasts plus backpacking 4x4 enthusiasts. We could see a steady stream of 4x4 .eaving the barge while anther set returned to the barge. Where we parked, at the end of Inskip Piont, cars were stopping to either inflate their tyres or deflate them depending upon which way they were going. Back on Rainbow Beach, opposite the dive centre we found a 4x4 automated system for cleaning the bottom of the vehicles.

    We spent about 4 hours at Inskip Point, most of it walking along the beach. The sand was so fine, the type I expect is inside egg timers. There was no rubbish and almost no shells. We probably walked two miles each way and came across probably less than 50 people.

    When we returned to the dive centre the two girls who we had spoken two on Friday night were there having been on the dive. They had enjoyed the dive and seen manga rays, grey nurse sharks, turtles, the huge Queensland Grouper plus, plus, plus. We discussed going on a dive and what would be required to allow us a 30m dive as we are only qualified to 18m. We left uncertain whether this is the dive we want to do. Over 20m seems to get a bit dingy and dark, we want crystal clear water and sunshine when watching the manta rays - is that too much to ask? We agreed to see what we came across further north and come back if we couldn’t find anything better.

    We booked into one of the two Rainbow Beach camp sites with a sea view. 3 Sulphur Crested Cockatoos watched us hook up. A quick walk to find that Rainbow Beach on Sunday was only a little more exciting than Tin Can on a Saturday. The surf club offered a beer with sea view. Looked around the beach shops, back to Bertha for dinner.    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    No Koalas! 😒

    Carlo Sandblow

    November 11, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Just outside of Rainbow Beach is Carlo Sandblow. Named by Captain Cook after one of his men (Carlo, not sandblow). What it is is best described in the photos.

    “Carlo Sand Blow is a unique "moonscape" sand mass covering over 15 hectares and overlooks the towering coloured sands and the coastline from Double Island Point to Inskip Peninsula and the southern tip of Fraser Island. Locals and visitors take the easy 600 metre nature walk from Cooloola Drive in the afternoon to take in the sun setting over Tin Can Bay and the Great Sandy Strait. This track is also the entrance to the Cooloola Great Walk.”Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    2

    Seary's Creek

    November 11, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    The guidebook says

    “A quick little walk down a wooden walkway through a tea tree forest opens up into a delightful creek viewing platform with fresh, cold, clear water. Look for little fish, eels, catfish and crabs and have a refreshing dip.”

    So that’s what we did. Probably better that we didn’t see the 2ft long eel until after we’d had a swim. Very “refreshing” - brain freeze 🥶    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    2Our guide. A spritely 85yrs young

    Maryborough and lessons learnt

    November 12, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    The guide book went on to say ...

    “Keep climbing further north until you reach Maryborough - an historical gem of a town filled with preserved colonial streets and heritage architecture. Grab a meal at one of the vintage pubs in the wharf district before heading to Fraser Island”

    I don’t know who wrote this but they haven’t been there in a few years. Maryborough struck me as a town down on its luck. Yes, it was only one-off 3 ports on the east coast of Australia for some time mid-1800s and it also had huge industry with rail works, but now its rather sad. Many of the pubs are empty and up for sale. The “Central Business District” has a large proportion of empty shops - apparently due to the development of the shopping mall just out of town.

    However, the information centre was amazing and so helpful. We were given details of a free campsite for self contained RVs (recreation vehicle) and given numerous guide books for the area. Tomorrow, at 9:00, there is a free guided tour of the town whose claim to fame is that Pamela Lyndon Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, was born there. She was born in the Bank House, her father was the bank manager.

    We wandered around the town, had beers in a pub ... good beer, awful pub, looked around the gardens and the war memorials. There was a jasmine hedge, maybe 20 yards long, all in flower. The perfume was picked up on the breeze and was easily noticeable over 50yards away.

    By the time we got back to Bertha, we’d been away for maybe 4 hours. When we went in, the lights came on for 20 seconds and then went out for 20 seconds, then on, then off. Our first nigh of “free camping”;off the grid had not started well. Fortunately we had torches and instruction manuals for (almost) all appliances and control systems.

    The problem appears to have been our naivety about the fridge that can run from 240v, 12v or gas. When we are driving along it can only be on 12v. Previously, when we have stopped, we have always hooked up to mains. Today we had left the fridge working off 12v while we explored Maryborough. Despite Bertha’s age, she has a modern high tech solar panel system, controller and a huge deep cycle battery that must weigh a ton and gives me insight as to why she sometimes struggles up steep hills. However, that system is not sufficient to run a fridge especially when the van is parked under a tree to give it shade. The ice box had defrosted and the whole thing was warm.

    We had been shown how to get the gas boiler alight, but not how to get the fridge to work from gas. Was it one and the same system? The one set of information we had for the fridge showed burners and piezoelectric starters .... but for a different fridge.

    There was nothing for it but to knock on the door of a van that looked similar and hope that the owner knew more than we did. Unfortunately, the. An I chose was owned by a woman travelling on her own and she was, initially, quite suspicious of me. Once she had decided that my intentions were OK we had a long discussion about 3-way fridges and concluded hers was different to ours and she was of little help.

    Back to the van and use Google to try and find out what the fridge model was and find a user manual for it. Once that was done it was quite straightforward to switch the fridge to gas, take the load off the battery that then allowed a couple of lights to work ... but not the water pump. Bun was so confident in my findings and plan of what to do, she vacated Bertha, taking our passports, flight tickets and copy of our will, just incase I was wrong and blew myself up.

    Despite not having the fan running, the night was not too hot or stuffy. We didn’t sleep well because there was a bird that sang from dusk until dawn (a night lark?) and, I suspect, a small troop of monkeys that spent most of the night in the tree under which we had parked, throwing nuts onto the tin roof of Bertha. OK, so there are no monkeys .... but it was more than gravity!    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    I'm a wallabyThe wallaby is not impressedSome type of eagle bought in as it had lost a wing

    Fraser Coast Wildlife Sanctuary

    November 12, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    “The Fraser Coast Wildlife Sanctuary Inc. is a not-for-profit organisation formed by a dedicated band of volunteers to ensure the future of the sanctuary and its inhabitants.”

    “Our canteen provides delicious morning and afternoon teas, as well as light lunches. Hot and cold drinks are available. A range of souvenirs are on sale. A variety of wildlife paintings by local, well-known artists are also on display. Take advantage of our BBQ facilities and enjoy a family picnic with a difference.”

    Someone in this area does a good job marketing the town. Another rather sad place giving mixed messages about what it does and what it is for. We thought it was a wildlife sanctuary that took in injured animals, mended and released those that they can mend, and offers a place to live for those that cannot go back to the wild. Other than an eagle with one wing and a spirited bird with clubbed feet (that’s not one of the staff), the animals looked pretty much as I’d expect them to look. The fact that the snakes had been purchase, gave more of a “petting zoo” feel to the place. Most caged birds didn’t offer even basic information about what the birds were ...

    ... but we did enjoy it. The wallabies and dingos were not terribly friendly, but the kangaroos were. The mother and her joey kept us amused for many minutes.

    We left there to continue the journey north to Lake Monduran, a rural campsite near a dam on the way to the towns of Agnes Waters and Seventeen Seventy.    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    2

    Lake Monduran

    November 12, 2019 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    The trip to Lake Mondura was steady. We are away from the multi lane roads and onto roads akin to our A roads. Fortunately they frequently have overtaking lanes ie two lanes in one direction and one in the other. This doesn’t make me feel too bad that we are slowing traffic down,

    It’s a big lake behind a big dam. International acclaim for the fishing here for Barramundi. The lake holds the world record of around 90Lbs on 23 December 2010 “THE world's fishing spotlight is set to shine on Lake Monduran, with possibly the biggest ever barramundi caught on rod and reel claimed there on Tuesday night. Fishing from a kayak, Denis Harrold landed the monster fish, which tipped the scales at 44.6kg. It measured in at 135cm with a whopping girth of 107cm.

    Apparently “The big barra fell to a slow-trolled 130 Squidgy slick rig soft plastic in black/gold colouration.” - I never knew those really existed.

    We’d agreed that we would do some chores and repairs, but a walk to watch the sun go down, and then look at the moon ... we’ll chores can wait - except the washing.

    4 $AUS to do a machine of washing - a top loader. It took the washing, took the washing liquid, took the money .... then didn’t work. Bun asked a nearby woman who was camping with her 2 poodles, but she didn’t know what was wrong. Bun phoned the out of hours number and someone came down to sort the problem. The solution was pretty pragmatic, they didn’t know what was wrong so use a different machine. Fortunately they had a spare $4 to put into the machine, but all ended well.

    Fishermen get up early, we were disturbed at 5:30 by people packing up, cars and boats moving etc. When we got up at 8 the campsite was also almost deserted.

    We gave each other moral support for our chores. I had to empty the “grey water” and Bun the “black water” ie toilet cassette. Neither was as difficult as we had feared and both were achieved without mishap.

    We set off later than hoped, heading north to Agnes Waters, a recommendation from the woman who helped us with our fridge problem.    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    Possum
    Wild wallabies2Catching up with Instagram now we have found wifi!Cheers!One of the reviews for the Thai restaurant

    Agnes Waters and 1770

    November 13, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Just as we set off we asked another traveller, what is there to see between the lake and Agnes Waters? “Nothing, it’s all scrub” was the response.

    The journey started off well, along Bruce Highway. We then turned off onto a single track road that then widened a bit, then became gravel, then tarmac, then gravel, then tarmac and so forth. We could do little more than 30mph along the road, but that came with its own benefits from the amusement we derived from the house mail containers, I will do a footprint about them later as I believe that we go back along the same road tomorrow and can take pictures of some we missed. We also stopped to take pictures of possums and try to spot koalas - but we didn’t manage that.

    We arrived in Agnes Waters and went straight to the recommended campsite that is situated about a mile from the town. We found a space and decided to walk into town to buy food for the evening. Given the heat, the walk and the hill we’d just come up, we agreed to drive into town to get the food.

    Many towns have a sign saying Welcome to XXXX, we are RV friendly. The grey nomads who have packed their world into caravans or Motorhomes, bring quite good business to the local economy so they are welcomed in most places. Unfortunately, Agnes Waters is not one of them. The car park prohibited our entry.

    We wandered one set of shops, found a cafe for an iced coffee, looked for a place for dinner and asked locals what there was to see around here. The recommendations were to watch the sunset at 1770 and to visit the paper bark forest.

    While drinking the iced coffee we a.so agreed that we (I?) didn’t like the campsite and we’d try on that runs almost onto the beach. They had space so we stopped there. Once parked we went back to another set of shops, bought a few things, back to Bertha and then drove off to watch the sun go down. “Seventeen Seventy, also written as 1770, is a coastal town and locality in Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia, built on the site of the second landing in Australia by James Cook and the crew of HM Bark Endeavour in May 1770”. We stopped along the beach, pulled a couple of beers from the fridge (you can do that when your house is in the car) and sat to watch the sun go down. It was very busy with maybe 30 people on the beach, rocks and benches.

    We went to a small Thai restaurant for dinner that is run by a husband and wife. The guy is Australian, the wife is Thai. He is a grumpy old git, runs the front of house, helps with food preparation and she does the cooking. It’s not licensed, the menus is limited and they only have four tables. They open at 5 or 5:30 and stop cooking when they’ve had enough, maybe 7:30. Because they also do take always, they may turn customers away despite having empty tables. This obviously causes upset to some who the write a comment on Trip Advisor. The guys responses are brilliant. We really enjoyed the food and the cat wasn’t in the kitchen and the kitchen was cleaner than most we come across in KL    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    2

    Roadsigns and mail boxes

    November 14, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Some unusual signs have been “McDonalds 130km” - that must be enough to put everyone off their journey. We missed taking a picture of that one managed the one at 58k .

    There are lots of signs suggesting the driver takes a break and even offers a free “driver reviver” if you stop when it’s open. Will try one of those but wonder if they’ll give me a decaf’ - or will they feel that’s missing the point?

    On a couple of stretches they have had trivia quiz questions - see the photos.

    One thing that has really cheered us up have been the mail boxes made from disused items. Commonly they are old microwaves, but we have seen washing machines, a toaster, oil drums, water/chemical containers, gas containers etc, plus some more artistic, Ned Kelly and one with a lawn mower mounted on the top. We will try to get more photos, but it’s only really possible down the dirt tracks.    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    2

    Tannum Sands

    November 14, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Tannum Sands is just south of of the large port and industrial area of Gladstone. We wail visit there, but didn’t want to stay there so opted for a beach site.

    When we drove from Agnes Waters we stopped at a little restaurant called the Getaway Garden Cafe. We drove past it twice before we found it a little way down a side road. The restaurant was set in their lovely gardens. As we’d had a strenuous walk around the paperbark forest we thought we deserved a cup of iced coffee. We hadn’t had any b’fast so maybe a light snack ... but they’d finished serving that so it had to be an early lunch 😊. Jolly good it was too.

    We didn’t take the same road as we had travelled yesterday so no more photos ... never mind.

    During the journey I found out that Bertha can out accelerate a transporter with a huge digger on the back, but that catches us up on the flat!

    Before finding a caravan park, we spent an hour or so on the beach. Having seen the sign near the beach we went for a swim in the shallows before finding a caravan park, then off to the supermarket having decided that we would have a BBQ at one of the public BBQ sites. These sites are frequent along the parks near the beach. They are usually spotless gas BBQs with flat plates rathe than the usual grill rungs. Nearby there are tables and often a set of toilets. At one we walked through there was a small portable gas cooker too, We commented that it would have probably been stolen within 5 minutes where we live.

    Having eaten the BBQ we went back to the caravan park, parked up and will soon be off to be after a shower to get rid of the salt water, sunscreen and insect repellent.    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs

    Boyne Tannum Turtleway Artscape

    November 15, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    #4 of 5 things to do in Tannum Sands .... well we couldn’t find it.

    We did find a great seahorse and a crab, plus some turtle speed humps that rocked. Earth a every which way, but no great art display or local items for sale ... better set off for Gladstone ... not before saying that no sooner had I stepped out of Bertha to try and find the artscape when I was attacked by the Australian version of a horse fly, stung one foot and then the other, little beggar.Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs

    Gladstone

    November 15, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Why did we come here? The information says it’s industrial, but somehow made it sound appealing, which it isn’t. We didn’t even bother to climb up Aukland Lookout as we didn’t believe that the view from up there would be any better than it was from sea-level. Aluminium smelters and a large liquid natural gas depot occupied most of the waterside along with all of the paraphernalia that is required.

    We walked along Spinnaker Park looking for Dugongs and porpoises but didn’t see any. The cafe was shut at 3:30pm so we weren’t loving the vibe and decided to move on.

    We left to go on to Yeppoon, where Bun’s mother once lived. As we drove along we saw a train with 104 coal freight carriages on a rail line running next to the road. In total we saw 3 trains carrying coal into Gladstone and one empty one leaving it. Each train has three engines, front, rear and middle.

    We are in a campsite at Yeppoon, overlooking the beach and (we are told) Great Keppel Island, where we hope to go for a day trip tomorrow 😀    Read more

  • Andy n Bunny BriggsAustralia via KLAndy n Bunny Briggs
    2The music festival gatesI was not checking my phone

    Headbanging on Great Keppel Island

    November 16, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    “It's back! Sunset Sessions is coming back to Great Keppel Island Hideaway, Saturday 16th November!
    Join us for a full day of live music and fun in the sun. Further info & line up coming soon...”

    Whooo - obviously our entire trip has hinged on being at an idyllic island to hear good music played very badly 😊

    We had hoped to get on a snorkelling tour of the island, but they were full. Instead we caught a boat across, somewhat mystified why young peeps were going across with cases of beer. When we arrived at around 10:30, the music was already in full swing and the sand too hot to walk on with bare feet. Head banging was underway. 1,600 people were expected to be there by later in the evening.

    We stopped for the obligatory refreshment, checked out the dive shop and then rented mask, snorkel and fins and set off to walk to another beach. The guy in the dive shop told us the path was steep, but he’d “taken some old .... it’ll be OK. I think he realised he was taking to some aged people.

    The path was steep and the weather was hot. What I need to pass on is the danger of brimmed hats - maybe all hats are brimmed otherwise they’re a beanie or similar. Anyway, walking along wearing a brimmed hat, looking down, watching where we put our feet to ensure we don’t trip on the rocks and the exposed roots, well the brim stops you seeing what’s at eye level and WHACK, we walk straight into low hanging branches. Head banging again. You’d think we’d learnt but no, WHACK again.

    The beach was beautiful and deserted. A number of boat were moored 150m off the beach, near the reef. What, we have to swim 150m to the reef? We didn’t make it, not through exhaustion, it was just unnerving and a bit disconcerting. We’ll do it another way. Had a good swim, a bit of a sunbathe and then back up the hill back to the main beach.

    The trip back was distinctly rough. I thought that catamarans are supposed to be stable but this was going all over the place. Sick bags were offered. Those sat outside were enjoying the spray from the waves. What would the boats returning with the young revellers be like? Bun spotted a turtle just as we had slowed down to go into the port.

    The campsite had sent a minibus to collect us and take us back to the site. That morning, on the way to the port driver showed us a colony of fruit bats and a nest that a pair of Ospreys had made on the lights in the marina, we must try to get some photos, but no sign of any birds.

    Back to Bertha for a shower, change and then hit the town.    Read more

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