COME AWAY WITH ME

Category: Travel

  • Surviving in the Flinders Ranges.

    The end for Swifty……

    September 11th 2025

    Still at Arkaroola , we set out on the third day for the Echo Camp Backtrack self drive. You pay the fee to get the track notes and the key to the locked gate along the way. It’s a 4 hour round trip.

    This was a 4WD adventure that had some quite difficult terrain, however we were rewarded with some stunning scenery and a great oversight of the history of Arkaroola station. All the waterholes were dry despite high rainfall during winter around this inland northern corner of SA. Generally the area was dry and dusty with a sprinkling of green showing through from more recent rains. The massive River Red gums dominate the valleys and watercourses while the remainder of the landscape has the hardy dry country shrubs like Mulga, Black Cypress, Bullock trees and Acacias. There were a few kangaroos and emus, not many birds.

    Morning tea
    Nick adding to the cairn
    Lunch stop Barraranna Gorge.

    We found a great spot for lunch where we duly broke out the table cloth, zero beers and snacks, thoroughly enjoying the peace beside the towering red ochre cliffs.

    Echo Camp Backtrack
    Arkaroola landscape

    The pictures will tell you how stunning the landscape was, although photos don’t really do it justice.

    It had been a big day, much bouncing over rocky roads, inhaling dust. Andrew & Marilyn went to see the Yellow Footed Rock Wallabys being fed, with Doug Sprigg, the son of the original settlers at Arkaroola, sharing his story about living there, which was most entertaining. 

    Look what Nick found……..

    We had made the best of Arkaroola. It was time to move on. We knew a severe cold weather blast was expected across southern Australia. The predictions were horrible. We rendezvoused with Neil and Erica in Blinman, then settled for the night at Alpana Station. Neil had nicely placed the Penguin beside an ensuite between 2 buildings…our site was out in the open paddock with a couple of small gums surrounding us. The wind was strong, it was already very cold. We were preparing for a repeat of the night at Arkaroola. Fortunately, it wasn’t toooo windy or wet. We enjoyed a lovely fire in the camp kitchen and survived another night.

    Blinman
    Blinman pub
    A fraction of the 360 degree view from the hilltop at Alpana Station

    The next day we all headed off to Willow Springs Station. After coffee and cakes, huddled in the warmth of Blinman’s cafe, we set off. This morning was very cold, almost Arctic! The sky ahead was black, the rain constant and the cold wind buffeted the car. We wouldn’t have been surprised to see snow. Driving into Willow Springs over red muddy roads in the rain, morale was low. We checked in with reception, not sure we really wanted to stay. At the camp kitchen we used the wifi and found we could make a booking at Hawker Hotel, about 60 km further south. It was a joyful few moments for everyone when we realised we would be dry for the night, in a room with the toilet nearby, out of the wind, with a heater, with a pub meal onsite. And no red gluey mud to deal with.

    Entrance to Willow Springs
    Wet and windy

    Erica was a bit sick with the flu. They had done the Flinders Ranges on other trips, so they decided to hightail it back home to Byron. We 4 felt we had come this far, silly not to see the rest of what the Flinders had to offer. So back to Willow Springs Station. It had stopped raining by now and the bitter Antarctic cold had passed. We had a good campsite near the amenities and a great camp kitchen and laundry, so we were happy.

    Tree post
    Dodonaea microzyga
    Brachina Gorge track
    Razorback range
    Parachilna pub for a beer

    We took a few hours driving around the spectacular Ranges. We took the Bunyeroo Gorge track and the Brachina Gorge track. The vistas over layered mountains with multicoloured hues, misty distances with dirt roads winding through, were an artist’s dream. I can see why Hans Heysen hung around the gorges painting such beautiful scenes. The red rocky gorges with the massive red gums capture the essence of outback Australia. How can such enormous trees live without water? How can they grow out of rock crevices? We went to Parachilna pub for a beer. I was impressed with the artwork adorning the pub walls. There’s quite a sophistication at this remote pub, it does cater for all sorts of visitors. We drove home along the Moralana Scenic Route.

    The green desert. Moralana scenic drive
    Yellow Footed Wallaby
    View from the Outback Highway.

    Greeness is everywhere, there is a sense that this is rich pastoral country. That’s a false assumption, most of the green plants are weeds. I see all the beautiful reds and oranges of the rocks amongst my photos and get a shock when I see a green picture, and yet that is the norm not the exception.

    Gorgeous red kangaroo.

    The next day was the BIG one. Still at Willow Springs, we take the Skytrek self guided tour over the valleys and mountains of the station. Paying our $75 fee, we get some very comprehensive notes and a key to the locked gate.

    We left at 8.30am. 8 hours later we returned from the 80km circuit. The first third of the day was amazing, many interesting places to see, history to discover, plants to learn about, wildflowers to find. The last third after the locked gate was when the instructions said, “engage 4WD”. We thought we’d done a lot of rough track, but now we were doing probably the hardest track we’ve ever ever done and it was relentless. Long steep upward gradients on a slippery gravelly surface to a high point, with a stunning vista, then long very steep downward slope over the edge before another steep climb reared up in front of us. The track had sharp rocks, boulders, deep holes, slippery slates, never ending. I was expecting to have whiplash by the end. But the scenery around us was breathtaking, the trip was worth it in the end. On the last highest hill on the property, there was a guest book you could sign and leave a comment. Nick read one out to me, it simply said “terrifying”. So enjoy the pictures, they were hard to come by.

    View to Wilpena
    Red ochre seam
    Ochre rocks
    Yellow ochre seam
    Lunch stop under the giant red gums.

    Next day we moved to Rawnsley Springs Station, instead of Wilpena Pound campground as we’d planned. Excellent move to come here. We had the best campsite, on a high spot looking out at the rocky escarpment of Wilpena Pound. The sunsets were brilliant. Great amenities, a campfire at night, even a takeaway pizza on our second night.

    Breakfast at Rawnsley
    Wilpena from our campsite

    We did a day trip to Wilpena just a short distance from Rawnsley Springs. The stop at the old homestead was delightful. The wattle and daub house was the best preserved we’ve ever seen and the red gum in the front garden was sooo big, it was magnificent.

    Wattle and daub house

    We drove on to Wilpena Pound store, had lunch there and looked about. If you’re not able to do the walks, you can’t actually explore the Pound properly, although there was a shuttle bus we could have taken, which still involved walking at the end….one of us was a little incapacitated. Fortunately we had all been to the lookout at the Pound on another occasion.

    Giant red gum

    Next came the last part of our trip. The long 1,935km to Lennox Head will be slowly paced to take advantage of this outback region. We started early with a coffee at the very good cafe in Hawker. Between Hawker and Broken Hill is endless open landscape, flushed with green but very few trees.

    Peterborough was quite a bustling town. This is wheat country with a still active train service passing through twice a day. The wide main street has grand architecture with 4 pubs and numerous smaller shops and houses dating back to the late 1800’s. After lunch here, we continued to Broken Hill, where we found a delightful “resort” at Mt Gipps. Here there was a large restaurant which could cater for events, but it also serves dinner and lunch every day. We were tucked up in the unpowered sites on a flat grassy bank. The shower facilities were second to none, although a bit of a hike to get to. The night was warm and calm.

    Peterborough pub
    Peterborough

    We spent a relaxed day in Broken Hill, a place that holds memories from a previous trip when we were stuck there with a hole in the petrol tank that needed repairing. This time we re-visited a favourite cafe, Silly Goat, the Regional Art Gallery which is fabulous, and the Memorial to the miners of BHP. Lunch at the retro cafe, Bells, plus a visit to a smaller gallery, and we’d done Broken Hill as best we could in one day.

    Bell’s retro cafe
    Coffee at Silly Goat

    Next day, the plan was to get to Nyngan for the night. This is a 580km trip on mostly dead straight roads with not much to see except millions of goats, denuding the landscape…. such a pity to witness this. Many roadkill kangaroos, all in all, a sad scene.

    Flat open country with green grass, after Broken Hill.

    Wilcana park was a fair place to stop for a break. The Darling River was high and flowing unlike last time when we passed through here and it was dry. We pressed on to Cobar for lunch in a cafe we knew from a previous visit. Stocked up with food and drinks for the night, I took over driving for the last 130kms.

    5 kms from Nyngan, I over-corrected when I was heading into the gravel on the left, causing the caravan to fish-tail. I was doing 100kmh at the time. It’s a strange sensation losing control. I thought “how am I going to stop this!” Then clunk, the van had tipped over onto its roof. This slowed down and ultimately stopped the car. I was facing the on-coming traffic in the right hand side, but only the back of the van was on the road. A man in an on-coming small truck who saw it all happening stopped to assist. He was a local and called the tip truck driver. Within an hour we were in a cabin in Nyngan caravan park, poor Swifty had gone to caravan heaven in a paddock with other wrecks and some lovely horses nearby for company. Next day we salvaged what we could from inside, mostly the food in the cupboards. The fridge contents were slathered with yoghurt. The tomato sauce bottle squirted it’s contents making it look like someone had been badly injured. My big regret was forgetting to get the gin, rum and coffee out….I’ll think of those as the sacraments to bless the van on its next journey wherever.

    My lesson from this is not to drive late in the afternoon. This was just the second time I had driven the car with the van on…in all our time travelling around Australia, I never drove. The blessing was the tow-hitch that could swivel 180 degrees without tipping the car. The damage to the car was not minor, the lights on the back were wrecked. The boys rigged up an amazing substitute set, using Swifty’s rear lights. This made the car roadworthy enough to drive home even though it looks odd.

    Home safe and sound, albeit a bit battered.

    From Nyngan to Tamworth to Lennox Head. The journey ends and probably our caravanning days could be over. We’ve had years of adventures with Swifty, it’s sad he’s so battered about but looking at the silver lining, we can begin afresh in different ways. We’ve thoroughly explored Australia, now it is time to see a few International destinations we’ve always wanted to visit. All in good time.

    This will be the very last blog. Thank you for taking the journey with us, it’s been thrilling, awesome and unforgettable. Our wonderful fellow travellers Andrew and Marilyn have saved us through thick and thin in so many ways, with mechanical help, meals, laughter and a great friendship, thank you. Neil & Erica, was a pity not to go the full distance with you this time, but what we did with you was so much fun, a little edgy at times, spectacular, hilarious and rich with memories.

    Jenny & Nick

    Setting off in style for new adventures without Swifty.

  • Flinders Ranges

    Getting there…………

    August 2025

    Here we go again. Ready for adventures, awesome scenery, friends, campfires and lots of driving. Because the weather in southern Australia has been so unpredictable lately, we are not sure of our itinerary, except we’re aiming for the majestic Flinders Ranges in South Australia. The rain has caused havoc with the gravel roads, flooding them and washing away edges. The positives are that we’re expecting a “green” desert with lots of wildflowers. We’ve set aside up to a month to be away.

    We set off on 20th August 2025 in the middle of a rain bomb from the East Coast of NSW. By the time we reached Lismore the rain had passed, but it wasn’t the last of rain for us that day. Tenterfield for morning tea is a normal indulgence, but we couldn’t loiter as we had more than 550 kms to cover that first day. Rain it did, heavily at times.

    Arriving at Nindigully Pub close to dusk, we had planned a campsite in the Council grounds surrounding the pub, but mud and slosh drowned out any chance of finding  a dry site. In Neil’s usual fashion, he parked beside the telephone box near the pub fence on “dry” grass and we wedged our 2 vans in close to his Penguin. In the morning, an irate owner of the pub informed us we were camped on private property, her’s in fact. We apologised profusely and left. St George was not too far away, so off we drove in the cold and thick fog.

    Parked around phone box
    Nindigully pub

    Wildflowers were beginning to appear on the sides of the road, vast carpets of yellow, then white, all with a background of deep russet red earth. Again we loaded the kms onto the car, pushing hard to reach our destination, Charlotte Plains Station just out of Cunnamulla. What a gem this place was compared to the barren landscapes we had travelled past for hours that day. The 27,000 hectare sheep property is one of the few stations that did not cap their bore. They have developed a unique unpowered campsite complete with a dozen or so bathtubs you can freely wallow in at 31C or hotter, until you are fully saturated. There are some large pools as well, heated to about 48C, which is a bit too hot. The mornings with steam rising in the glow of sunrise are really atmospheric. We spent 2 days here. There was a video show at sunset with Robyn Russell, the current owner, giving us a good overview of the history of the farm and family; she was a bit long winded however.

    Charlotte Plains campsite
    Charlotte Plains Hot Springs
    Soaking in the bath

    Day 4 we headed to Thargomindah, the visitor centre first, as we still didn’t know if the road down to the Flinders Ranges was open. There have been vast floods affecting roads, bridges and creating driver hazards, but the Strezlecki Track had just opened and we could follow our desired route. Poor Thargomindah had been awash the previous weeks, but looked like they were back to normal.

    The Cunnamulla Fella

    This night we made it to Noccundra, a one pub town and nothing else. The 1882 sandstone pub was a nice place for a lazy afternoon beer, but we had chosen a terrific campsite on the bank of the Wilson River. Peaceful, quiet, no wind or rain, we loved relaxing into this spot. The little campfire kept us warm, the stars were spectacular, although I need more practise to get my astrophotography working.

    Noccundra pub
    Noccundra vehicle park
    Sunset on the Wilson river

    The next day we aimed for Cameron’s Corner, the historic border intersection of SA, QLD & NSW. The roads were now a mix of corrugations to rattle your false teeth, smooth red earth and grey dusty gravel. At a morning tea stop, we met a twitcher, carrying his very long-lensed camera. He showed us some excellent images of various birds including a red chat which is very rare. His wife wandered up from a walking path, didn’t engage with us, probably knowing her husband loved showing off his pictures whenever the opportunity arose. The wildflowers at this stop were lovely, some very small, others more showy but all contributing to the floral display. 

    Morning tea stop

    Cameron’s Corner now has a pub, unlike the first time we came here in the 1990’s. We took the mandatory photos, read the information boards and then set off in search of a campsite. A clay pan tucked out of view of the road was ideal. A magical camp.

    Cameron’s Corner with dingo fence behind

    Car Report

    Deflating tyre pressure.

    Car-wise, it’s not been all plain sailing. Mechanically, no worries. However the extremely bumpy roads and endless corrugations finally shook a little spring loose in the bonnet catch. Without a spare parts store down the road, we’ve gone for the old tried and true remedy, tie down strap across the front of the bonnet, a nice rosette was added for presentation. We do now get weird looks in the towns, people wondering why we’ve got our bonnet held down. It’s rare to see cars nowadays being held together with simple devices and still driving about.

    Also, for no obvious reason, the heater/aircon fan began to make a loud insistent whizzing noise. It was just another noise to add to an already rattly racket that we drive with all the time, but this one was next level! So I cracked it and turned it off and went for the old fashioned air con and opened the window. Ahh, the serenity. That afternoon Nick was under the front dashboard unscrewing the culprit. It was full of leaves like a birds nest. Years and years of debris. Now the fan is completely silent and actually pumps air.

    Campsite in the dunes
    Dry mud flat at sunrise
    Dawn

    This road from Cameron’s corner camp was a multiple series of up and over sand dunes, with crests and falls, possibly 50 or more of them, with some badly churned up on the blind side over the crest. Our two-way radios proved useful to warn each other of the dangers. For the whole day we saw about 4 cars, 4 motorbikes and a couple of cattle trucks. The Strezlecki Track was sealed more than we expected but it was still primarily corrugations on white gravel. The landscape was dotted with small pale yellow dunes with scrub on top, hides for bush creatures no doubt. We only saw a few emus, no kangaroos and surprisingly a group of huge camels.

    Strezlecki Track
    Strezlecki Track

    Flinders Ranges

    Pulling in to Arkaroola mid afternoon, we had around 2000km on the clock already. The day was warmer than expected. We set up camp amongst the gums on a dry riverbed. We did a communal dinner of marinated pork, stir fried vegetables and rice. We retired early, everyone was tired and 3 of us were carrying a bit of a cold. The wind came up, slowly at first, rattling the awning, shaking the van a bit. The next thing we knew we were living in a full scale gale, with wind howling down the gullies like a train, first one direction then the other. Just when you thought it was over, off it went again. No-one slept. It’s just one of those camping moments when you ask “why are we doing this?” But we survived and I thanked all the big trees we were camped under for holding onto all their limbs throughout the night.

    Corellas
    Campsite amongst the gums

    Suffice to say, the next day was at zombie pace, weary, just soaking up all that is on offer around the Arkaroola homestead . It was warm, sunny and calm, for a change. Neil and Erica did a walk on the Barraranna track for 8km, I admire their fortitude but the rest of us were not feeling that fit after a rough night. The next morning Neil & Erica departed Arkaroola while we stayed another day to do the Echo Camp Backtrack drive. I’ll leave this blog here. There are lots of adventures to come as we thoroughly explored the Flinders Ranges.

    The next blog is written so will follow soon, provided I can get an internet signal.

    Cheers for now

    Jenny & Nick & Co.

  • Kununurra to Broome

    Includes Purnululu, Gibb River Road.

    August 5th 2023

    Nick has started off this blog with a gripe about the road surfaces, and an update on bolts, shackles, clunks and rattles in the car.

    “Purnululu is the most fantastic place to visit but the road in is another thing all together, it is not just abominable but shockingly so. OK it is a National Park and we all know that National Parks don’t maintain any roads in their parks but there are thousands of people going into the park to view the spectacle of the beehives etc. NP charge a camping and park entry fee for everybody so why not run the grader over the road occasionally. The man in the visitor centre said they graded it in the first week of May, it is now the middle of July.

    The car was going very well until we hit that road which gave it a really good shaking. At the half way stop I discovered that one of the shackles on the trailer chain had disappeared, then after a day driving over the corrugations inside the park ,there were considerable clunks in the front end and a shock absorber noise in the back. I tightened the bolts holding the front trailing arms to the diff and that made a big difference. They weren’t loose but needed a good half turn to make them really tight. I discovered that the bottom rubber on one of the rear shock absorbers was not tight enough in the hole and was rattling. On a previous trip to Birdsville in 2018, I had an issue with a shock absorber rubber, the man in the service station there gave me a piece of rubber to make my own and I have kept the excess in the back of the car ever since. So I cut a new piece and fashioned an extra rubber to go on top of the original and the noise is gone. 56 kms of hideous corrugations and lots of creek crossings are testing me. Hoping Gibb River Road is smoother.”

    *

    Keep River NP in the NT ended the last blog. We crossed into WA and immediately lost an hour and a half. So instead of going to bed at 8.00, now it was 6.30pm. And waking up at dawn, 5.30am. A bit disconcerting still, but I reckon the body clock will eventually right itself.

    Verandah
    Homestead

    We dropped into Lake Argyle first and visited the historic Durack Homestead. What a wonderful history that canny Irish family had – arriving almost penniless to Victoria in the 1840’s, settling in Goulburn and building a house and cattle station on their success from the gold rush, then Patsy, the head of the household decided to run cattle all the way up the east side of Australia and across the top end to eventually settle on the Ord River, in the 1880’s no less. From there a dynasty grew. I’d read “Kings in Grass Castles” and been to the museum before, but each time I learn more about the family and their amazing life.

    We stayed in Kununurra for 3 nights, stocking up on food and resting a bit. It was the Ag Show weekend so the town was buzzing, red dogs were everywhere, as were 10 gallon hats, growly dusty 4WDs, and sadly no regular saturday market. We lunched at the Hoochery, an iconic rum and gin distillery. And of course I purchased the mandatory bottle of gin. 

    Which gin? At Hoochery for lunch.
    I’ll have the middle one. Called “Out of the Ord.”

    Early one morning we walked in Mirima National Park which is almost right in the town. They call it a mini Bungles. I thoroughly enjoyed this walk, it was well signposted, had fabulous views over Kununurra, and the rock formations were stunning. A couple of pictures here won’t do this landscape justice.

    Rock architecture.
    Rock art
    Path into Miramar NP

    The next destination, the Bungle Bungles, or as I prefer, the indigenous name Purnululu, was always on my “not to be missed” list. I seem to have a distant memory of seeing the news on TV back in 1983 about the “discovery” of the domes by a film crew flying in the area. I thought then, I’ve got to go there!

    The domes

    Anyway, off we set to Purnululu. Nick has given you an account above of the road into our camp site. As an aside, one evening at a different campsite, two 4WD hire cars parked near us. We got talking to the couples. One chap said: “ each morning I get a text from my Prado in the garage in Sydney saying thank you”. That made me laugh, but as we were traversing the horrendous corrugations on the Purnululu road, I was thinking about what our car might want to say. It went along the lines of “holy s..t, this is killing me, give me a break.”

    Amazing patterns
    Cathedral Gorge
    Walk to Cathedral Gorge
    Great reflection
    Find Nick in this picture

    Purnululu has sights to visit in the north and south of the range, so we did one way each day. By 11.00am it became too hot to be out walking in the sun. Echidna Chasm in the north was a walk though a narrow gap in spectacular rocks, where, for a short time each day, light shines into the chasm, a bit like Standley Chasm in central Australia. Got some delightful pictures in there. But next day in the south, the walk through the beehive domes to Cathedral Gorge was breathtaking. Again the photos cannot do justice to the awesome magnitude of this place. 

    Spinifex
    Mulla Mulla
    Grevillea
    Livistonia Palms
    Towering palms, shades of ochre
    Nick emerging from chasm
    Echidna Chasm
    Photographer’s paradise
    Kungkalyani lookout
    Us!!
    Spinifex domes on sunset hill. Love this scene.

    On the third morning, we packed and left camp by 7.00am. It was a nervous time for Nick – would the car survive the drive out? Sure the car clunked and made horrible noises, but as soon as we hit the bitumen the car was zinging, probably more pleased than us that it was over. We headed off to Lake Argyle for 2 nights, a bit of back tracking but it was worth it. On the second afternoon there we took a 4 hour sunset cruise on the lake. It was wonderful, very informative, fun and a great way to complete our time in the East Kimberly before we hit the Gibb River Road. I can now say I’ve swum in Lake Argyle on a noodle with a cup of champagne in one hand, at sunset, with a crowd of people all having an experience of a lifetime with me. 

    Infinity pool over Lake Argyle
    Dam wall
    Swimming in Lake Argyle
    Returning at sunset

    Gibb River Road.

    As we had driven the Gibb River Road in 2014 and seen many of the special places, we decided to be selective this time, trying to go to new spots. There were many large caravans and enormous V8 vehicles on the road, more than I remember from 9 years ago. Consequently, there are a lot of corrugations, however, it was better than we expected. We’d heard El Questo was pricey and booked out so didn’t mind passing that by. The Pentecost river with its iconic background of Cockburn Ranges was flowing fairly swiftly but we forded it without any problems. Then the dirt road began. The next station, Home Valley, was closed. We’d stayed there before anyway. Next was Ellenbrae. On our visit 9 years ago, we had scones and tea there, and then left – there was a grouchy couple running it then. This time we stayed. Now they make up to 300 scones a day at the height of the season. The lawns are lush green, shady trees surround the chairs and tables where people enjoy their scones and the staff are really friendly. We met up with Julie & George and camped near them, enjoying sharing travel stories and having a laugh.

    Pentacost River
    Cockburn Range in background

    Onwards, with a happy car and driver, we reached Drysdale Station for the night. This was a step back to the past, and not much had changed. They still make the biggest hamburgers in the Kimberly. We made a decision not to travel further north to Mitchell Falls out of respect for the poor old car. I feel I’ve missed out by not going there, but below are some photos from Nick’s sister Katherine taken at King Edward River.

    Photo credit to Katherine
    Wandjina spirit people

    Drysdale Station was dry and not much of interest so we headed down the road about 60kms to the most delightful camping site on the Gibb River. We had a feast of birdlife to watch, crystal clear swimming holes, campfire, and friends to laugh with. Birds included bower birds, azure kingfishers, red-winged parrots, blue kookaburras, double barred finches, black kites, corellas….

    Camping on the Gibb River
    Nick hoping to catch a fish

    Mt Elizabeth Station was the next destination where we’d pre-arranged with Katherine & John, Neil & Erica to meet up for 2 nights. We really do have fun with them, we even broke out Priscilla for our dinner group photo.

    The big challenge here was the Wunnumuura Gorge. We knew in advance that it was an extreme 4WD track, 19 kms long, to the gorge. The 4 people in the Red Sands hire car went first, George & Julie and us followed in our cars. “Extreme” was almost an understatement, the boulders were gnarly and one hill was quite steep. The walking track to the gorge was lovely, the gorge itself was superb, but climbing down the ledges with my short legs required the arms of men prepared to take my weight. We did it. Then coming back up the ledges was scary with no handholds and a narrow place for feet. Neil found some amazing rock art beyond the swimming hole which I’ve included below. We ate at Mt Elizabeth station restaurant that night – a very wholesome experience by the generous hosts at the Station.

    Typical rocky landscape
    Wunnumurra Gorge, scary ledges behind.
    Campfire
    Photo credit to Neil

    But ever onwards, we were now in the part of the Gibb where a couple of stunning gorges were – Bell Gorge and Manning for a start. We heard they were crowded, so drove on. Had a lovely swim at Galvin’s Gorge before pressing on to Mt Hart for two nights. The 50kms into the station had just been graded, it was the smoothest of rides. The swimming hole at Mt Hart called Barkly Hole was small but a lot of fun – there was an old pedlo we could play with. It was George & Julie’s 54th wedding anniversary there so they took a helicopter flight to Horizontal Falls, and a pedlo cruise up the Barkly River.

    Walk to Galvin’s Gorge
    Two old dames
    George & Julie on the anniversary cruise.
    Beautiful Galvin’s Gorge

    We stayed 2 nights at Mt Hart, then farewelled George & Julie and headed off towards Derby, the plan was to stop at Lennard River to do a free camp. As we drove off the end of 700kms of gravel on the Gibb River Road, we heard clunking under the car, loud clunking!! So under the car went my mechanic to discover the mud deflector on the rear wheel disc had broken and was hanging off. Roadside maintenance also revealed an oil leak in the front wheel, so we decided to continue on the 100km of bitumen to Birdwood Downs near Derby. We were thoroughly over the dust, corrugations and creek crossings. We had heard of so many car related disasters – fuel tanks falling off, a new Ranger catching fire, a Jeep going into limp mode, and we saw a car that had lost it’s entire roof rack and contents as it crossed a river, to name just a few. The road is brutal for the unprepared.

    Car yoga again
    Remove that part!
    Termite monster watching us

    Birdwood Downs was not a flash caravan park but it served us well for 5 days while we waited for our booking to fly to the Horizontal Falls. We explored Derby a little more and came across a gem – a gallery with great coffee and art, and a resident artist with a fabulous story of working with the local indigenous people over four decades. Mark Norval, the artist, was responsible for getting the giant art work of the Wandjina spirit to the Sydney Olympics. We met Howard and his wife painting a barramundi and we indulged and purchased another art work for home.

    Howard and his wife
    Mark Norval’s studio
    Nick in a singlet – hahaha
    Derby jetty

    At last the big day arrived. At 8.30am we took off in a seaplane for the Horizontal Falls. Nick snagged the seat beside the pilot, he was very happy with that. We had such a great time, riding the falls was awesome – it was a huge 10 metre tide – so the thrilling ride though the wide gap between the rocks was at a peak. Everything was excellent – the lunch, the staff, the commentary, the flight. I took my movie camera, so not many still pics but enough to give you a feel for the trip. I’d recommend this to anyone.

    Our seaplane
    On the pontoon
    Over view
    Wide falls
    from the seaplane
    Derby mud flats

    Next morning, off to Broome. It was hot, 34C, very dry heat. Long straight bitumen road, easy on the car. I’ll finish this blog with the sunset we saw tonight (Aug 5th), even though we will do more in Broome. Still considering whether to go north or down to the Pilbara, which was the main purpose of the trip from the start. Bike ride on Cable beach tomorrow is on the cards.

    Sunset on Cable Beach, Broome.

    Thanks for all the lovely comments. I realise they don’t always go onto the blog feed but that’s ok by me. I love that many of you are armchair travelling along with me.

    Cheers Jenny and Nick

  • The Top End – Darwin to WA Border.

    July 14th 2023

    Car repairs, stifling heat and school holidays.

    Leaving Jabiru campsite after 4 nights in Kakadu, we were looking forward to a more lush camping environment. It’s been so hot and muggy and all our unpowered campsites seem to be on the outskirts of the “resort”, in scrubby dry bush. The “resorts” are well setup with big swimming pools, a bar and diner, shady seating, all encouraging you to spend big dollars while there. But after paying $50 pn for our dry dusty piece of scrub, we are happier staying home in our little camper for dinner.

    Anyway, next we booked into Mary River National Park camping area online. It is difficult to know what a site is like online, so I took a stab and booked site 3. Arriving there, site 3 was right beside the toilet on a narrow rocky uneven unshaded slope beside the dusty road. Dilemma! No-one else was around. We decided to wait, to see which sites were unused by the evening and find a better option. Two vans soon pulled up, travelling together. They’d booked 2 nice sites overlooking the water. But they chose to use one site together, so gave us their other one…very generous. We discovered they were from Broadwater, a town near home, a family group. The parents, Ray and Pauline, had been totally flooded last year. She was a talker so we heard all the family news, while Ray & his son-in-law and daughter went fishing. No doubt someday we’ll cross paths in Ballina, her other daughter works in admin at Xavier. We enjoyed a peaceful night, almost full moon.

    Mary River.

    Next stop was Berry Springs where George & Julie had been for a week already. Green grassy campsite – wow. Showers too! And the best bonus, a large pool of warm spring water just cycling distance away. A pre breakfast swim was heaven. 

    Berry Springs swimming hole
    Territory Day

    Territory Day (July 1st) in the NT is the one day of the year anyone can buy fire crackers and let them off between 6pm and11pm. We enjoyed cracker night – something none of us had experienced since we were kids. It brought back memories – Catherine wheels, rockets, penny bungers, roman candles, excited kiddies…of course the banging went well past 11.00, but I don’t believe they caused any bushfires this year.

    Nick:

    “Why go to Darwin? Well, for me, two reasons; one because I haven’t been there and two because there are lots of shops with Land Rover parts. I should have spent more time on our car before we left Lennox. I was pushing to finish Bond (the little 80” Land Rover that I had almost finished restoring for a customer) and so neglected to check the wheel bearings in our Discovery. You might remember in a previous blog episode that we had some horrible clanking under the car somewhere that I could not locate. It continued randomly over a thousand kms, but I drove on anyway. It turned out to be the inner RHR hub bearing which had completely destroyed itself, so much so that there were multiple pieces in there. After disassembly and the purchase of a large cold chisel to get the outer race off the hub, new bearings went in on both sides and axle seals as well. I repacked the front as well as new axle seals. Lots of other annoying noises miraculously vanished with new bearings!”

    Repairs
    The bearings

    Darwin campsite was in Hidden Valley Holiday Park. We scored this as the worst we’ve ever stayed in. It felt like a refugee camp, big caravans packed tightly out on an open unshaded paddock. Our site was at the back wire fence, with a new estate construction site beside us with graders, bulldozers, water trucks, vibrating rollers and other ancillary equipment constantly in use from 0630 in the morning. Not only that, one night we counted nine jets taking off from the nearby airport from about 0130 in the morning onwards. Also, a major road called Tiger Brennan Rd was just out of sight but we could hear all the traffic including road trains, motor bikes, and cars without mufflers. We had no shade and the temperature got to 32 degrees. The light pollution filled the van all night. And to cap off the last night, some d..khead parked right beside us. When we got back after dark, he’d left a note saying he’d move if we rang his mobile number. We decided to leave it. In the morning at about 4.00am he decided to pack up, clanking, zipping, talking and then starting up the engine.  We were so glad to leave there. We had hit our low point. But the car was running perfectly.

    While in Darwin we spent time in air-conditioned tourist venues. The main Art and Culture Museum was excellent and the Military Museum impressed Nick. We enjoyed the foods on offer at Mindal market, but just couldn’t muster the enthusiasm to sit with hundreds of people on the beach to watch the sun set….

    Botanic Gardens
    War history along the coast
    Olive Python skeleton
    Darwin Museum.
    Coffee stop in Darwin city
    Cinema photo

    This b&w photo is a classic. It was on the wall near the coffee shop as a record of the old Star Picture Theatre. It’s 1933, it’s the premier of talkies in Darwin, at the Star Picture Theatre. The film was “As clouds Roll by.” Note all the Aboriginal people in the front rows with their eyes shut, still superstitious that the camera will steal their spirits. The buffalo catcher on the right a few rows back has his hat perched on his rifle.

    Tjaetaba Falls

    Litchfield NP was next on our itinerary, but there were no campsites available in the National Park, due to school holidays of course, so we stayed at a delightful park near the park boundary and drove in each day to enjoy the waterfalls and walks. The popular ones like Wangi were crawling with people but it wasn’t unpleasant, the lake is big enough for everyone. And it’s so refreshing. Tjaetaba was the highlight. We arrived just before a lot of families, so had the fairly small plunge pool to ourselves – heaven. (Wangi had a crocodile attack 2 days after we swam there.) Buley Rockhole was heaving with people, quite an assault to us, who enjoy peace and quiet more than loud obstreperous kids. But it was sunday.

    Florence Falls
    Wangi Falls
    Tjaetaba pool
    Buley Rockhole on a sunday in school holidays! Darwin locals love it.
    Heaven

    The termite mounds featured again in Litchfield, with an amazing paddock full of grey mounds all facing north-south, built by blind Magnetic Termites, only found here on earth. The mounds look like gravestones or standing stones like in UK. These little guys are fascinating – (see the photo explanation).

    Magnetic Termite mounds
    Cathedral Termite mounds

    Nearby there are tall mounds 18 ft high built by Cathedral termites. I knew La Sagrada Famiglia in Barcelona was copying the termites. 

    Time to move on, we’d heard that the Gibb River Rd was drying out, our quest to get to the west was calling. So we ducked into Katherine for a night to top up supplies. Then onto Victoria River Roadhouse. The landscape around here is spectacular, but harsh and formidable. It is the Gregory NP. I’d like to spend more time around here sometime.

    Approaching Victoria River
    Victoria River mtn at sunrise
    Victoria river

    The last place to feature in this blog is Keep River National Park, located just 3km from the WA border. We knew we had to declare all fresh fruit and vegs to the quarantine check at the WA border, so we ate as much of our supplies as we could. Honey too was on their list to confiscate, so we had many honeyed toasts and sandwiches. Keep River was known as a mini Bungle Bungles. At the back of our campground, Goorrandalng, there was a beautiful walk through the landscape. We went just on sunset, it was magic. 

    Keep River
    Keep River
    Wildflowers

    Before I finish, here are a few plants and trees I’ve found. And although I don’t have photos, the birds we’ve seen have been wonderful – blue winged Kookaburras, red tailed black cockatoos, finches, chats, shrikes, and many more. We have a bird book for id, so we spend much time just sitting, waiting for birds to present in nearby trees, such a meditative thing to do.

    Spiral Pandanus
    Males go one way, females the other.
    Monsoon forest
    Ghost gums
    Turkey bush
    Turkey bush close up
    Orange Grevillea
    Wattles
    Boabs everywhere
    Boabs
    On the Jenemoom walk

    So that’s it for another state. Farewell NT, next blog will be WA.

    Thanks for Coming Away with Me everyone.

    Jenny & Nick xxx

  • Atherton Tablelands then west to Karumba.   

    June 14th 2023

    Cobbold Gorge

    June 3rd. Cairns this time was a test of fortitude and resilience. 3 of 4 nights we had torrential rain although the days were reasonable. We needed to collect replacement car parts from the Central PO, get a new tyre organised and collect our babies from storage, that is, our bikes and kayaks. The parts all arrived on the monday as planned. After replacing the alternator and power steering drive, Nick later lay on a plastic sheet under the car repairing the donut once again, and trying to solve the problem of oil dripping from the power steering. That job required 3 visits to the bearing shop before he snagged the right size, but it was worth it. By the weds morning we could set off with a happy car and a happy driver, our babies strapped on to the roof or the bike racks, and we said goodbye to the 4 damp miserable days in Cairns.

    We headed up the very steep road to Kuranda, a town I really like. It has a laid back 1960’s hippy vibe about it with a hearty dose of entrepreneurship obvious in smart cafes – like the “Petit Cafe” where we had morning tea. Their crepes were scrumptious. 

    Curtain Fig Tree

    Onwards to Atherton for the next 2 nights. There are numerous National Parks around this part of the Atherton Tablelands, mostly focused on the volcanic formation of the area. Crater lakes and massive rainforests dot the Parks with features like the Curtain Fig being a staggering remnant that has survived man’s push to tame the area for agriculture. Coffee, avocados, and mangoes are the key crops. The rolling hills, the verdant green, and the treed gullies reminded me of South Gippsland, and the soil was a deep volcanic red.

    We had a lovely afternoon at Herberton, a tin and silver mining town. There is a private museum there, on 16 acres with 60 buildings, supposed to be the biggest private museum in Australia. Nick was impressed with the vehicles of all ages and sorts, even a little Land Rover like ours, while I found so many of the displays were amazing – the Apothecary took me back to being in Dad’s Pharmacy in the early days with all the bottles of powders he used to mix up in the dispensary. The music shop, with old pianola rolls, background music of Sinatra singing, took me to my childhood at Wye River where we used to wind up the Edison gramophone with a handle at the side and drop the needle onto the long abused vinyls. There was one of those players there. 

    Fox fur
    Corsets
    Dolls
    Apothecary bottles
    Glass bottle display
    Edison gramophone

    Sadly, many of the “old” displays were things I remembered from childhood – the products in the grocery store, the toys, the women’s clothes like my grandma used to wear and so much more. We spent 3 hours there wandering, it was fabulous.

    Landy
    Landy
    Awaiting restoration

    I managed to secure a tour of the Bat Hospital on the second afternoon in Atherton, so we did National Parks on that morning. Lake Barrine tea rooms was a hoot, still had the feel of the 1920’s. The verandah overlooked a crater lake, Nick said he felt he was at Lake Windermere in the Lake District. After the rain stopped while we enjoyed our scones and coffee, a horizontal rainbow perched on the lake – quite “an instagramable moment” as I heard someone say.

    Tea rooms entrance
    Rainbow
    View from verandah

    We walked through the majestic rainforest at Lake Eacham NP, where there was another beautiful green-blue crater lake that people were enjoying swimming in, despite the warning about a fresh water croc residing there. We had lunch at Yungaburra – a very pretty town with hanging baskets over-flowing with flowers, everywhere. We could have been in England. The shops and galleries catered to well-heeled customers, a bit like Bangalow. 

    Yungaburra street
    Vine – maybe Indian clock

    But the highlight of this day was the Bat Hospital at Tolga. One woman, and a group of volunteers, rescue bats from around the region, mostly those caught in barbed wire fences. We saw micro and macro bats, and 4 different kinds of flying foxes. The local flying foxes are called spectacled bats and look so damn cute with glasses around their big eyes. The tiniest one we saw was as big as a thumb and fully grown. I was so glad we could experience this place, I’d recommend it to anyone. 

    Macro bat – big eyes – nostrils work independent of each other.
    Micro bat – tiny eyes
    Flying foxes lunch

    By friday, with another week all but gone, we headed off to our next destination – Undara.

    We got there around midday, too late to book into a Lava Tube tour that day. Undara is a total experience, one you cannot avoid if you want to see the amazing lava tubes. There’s accommodation at Undara for hundreds of people, hence the big bus tour groups we came across. They were accommodated in the old railway carriages on site. There is a massive dining area with a bar. As expected the food and drinks were expensive. We had an unpowered site at the back which was delightful – quiet, no light pollution, brilliant stars and just 3 other campers in a large area. We tried riding the bikes on the walking tracks, but I’m a scaredy when it comes to tree roots, rocks and sandy patches, so I abandoned that activity.

    Collins Cave
    Collins Cave
    The Archway flooded

    The tour we took to the lava tubes was great. Initially I thought I wouldn’t go – being underground is not what I like, but then I thought I’d give it a go. So glad I did. Only in one cave did I feel woozy, and the guide said the CO2 level was high and could cause slight dizziness – I felt it. He said the Aboriginal people did not go into dark caves, felt there were evil spirits there – I’m with them on that. One big cave they normally take people into was flooded – phew. But the guide’s explanations were great, opened my eyes to a natural wonder I never knew about.

    He also said the rainfall this January 2023 had been over 2000mm, normal Jan amount is more like 200mm. 

    Cave roof detail
    Sandwiches on crater rim
    Map of rim walk & surrounds

    We got back from the lava tube tour by 10.00 as we’d done the 8.00am tour. So we made some sandwiches and went off to Kalkani crater.

    The 600m walk all uphill to the rim was ok, and the 2.5km walk around the rim was lovely with 4 very informative interpretative boards providing us with information about the entire area as far as we could see, pointing out other volcano cones. Anyway, while we ate our sandwiches an eagle sat just metres from us surveying his territory. He didn’t fly when we walked near him, such a massive bird. Back at camp, Nick spotted a group of Perentie Land Rovers on tour. It was the nolimits4x4 group, quite inspiring to see all those ones older than our car doing the rough tracks..suppose it is expected and not a miracle.

    Perenties

    Next day was a short drive to Cobbold Gorge, only about 150km, but the 90 km of road from Georgetown to Cobbold was rough and corrugated. The chap with the new black Range Rover towing a large van who we passed was no doubt very nervous, as were many others with huge expensive rigs. We had the BEST campsite there. Down by a dry riverbed with the Savannah grasslands at our doorstep almost. We spent hours just bird watching. The pretty-faced wallaby family scampered in the long grass, camouflaged until they jumped up to move on. Three rare pale-headed Rosellas fed on a small shrub not caring how close we were. 

    BEST campsite
    View from campsite
    Infinity pool & dam

    There was an infinity pool overlooking a small dam. It had a swim up bar, so attracted all the Range Rover mob. I enjoyed a swim in the pool while Nick pounded his bike over very rough tracks out in the bush – I think I had more fun.

    View below from glass bridge

    The tour to the Gorge was wonderful, the pictures should do the talking. The walk looking at bush tucker was informative and the 2019 built glass bridge was an awesome way to view the gorge from above. 

    Glass bridge over the gorge
    Tour group on glass bridge
    One of 3 crocs we saw
    Crossing Gilbert River – 2/3 sand.
    Croydon Hotel

    It was time to keep moving though. Karumba was in our sights but it was 400km which is more than we like doing in one day. Once we reached the bitumen though it gets easy. So through Georgetown, Croydon, and Normanton to Karumba. Lots of evidence of flooding in the area, dry cracked earth pans, for miles around Normanton & Karumba. Road crews working to repair them for the dry season peak. 

    We chose to stay on the river side of Karumba instead of the Sunset Caravan park near the coast. After cycling past it and seeing how jammed in the vans were, we were glad of our choice. There are 3 brolgas prancing through our campground regularly. The owners obviously love the desert rose, plants in flower everywhere.

    Brolgas
    Bike track
    Brolga sculpture on the beach

    Our cycle ride took us over the dry flood plains and salt lake. There was a croc warning at the beginning but I figured if I rang my bell he’d move along. It’s 31C during the day and warm at night. We have discovered that most of the roads we could take going west are either closed or designated as rough, so it will be a long haul south before we head west and north towards Kakadu. Travelling alone is good for us, no need to get up early, or sit about talking, or drink too much wine, or make plans. I miss our big cook ups though!

    Thanks for all your compliments and comments. I enjoy doing this and hope you like the armchair ride around this remote part of Australia.

    Until next time

    Love from Jen & Nick

  • Pajinka – Cape York.

    Part 1 of 3

    Eliot Falls

    June 3rd 2023

    (Note : I’ve divided the blogs for Cape York into 3 parts, otherwise one would be far too long. So look out for parts 2 & 3 soon. I now have internet, we’re back in Cairns.)

    Map of Cape York
    Map of Cape York

    I am starting to write this blog from a pretty remote spot, nearly at the top of Queensland, just 100km short of the tip. It is mild, warm and extremely pleasant. We’re camping at Eliot Falls in the Jardine National Park, Heathlands Regional Park you can see on the map above. The travelling to get here has been memorable, but I won’t get ahead of myself, let’s go back to when we left Wonga Beach campsite, back on May 18th. 

    Accessing the Daintree was an awesome thing to do, maybe one day I’ll come back and stay longer to soak in the ambience of the lush tropical natural environment. Last of the wet tropics. But this trip keeps pushing us onwards and upwards. 

    The drive to Cooktown was through some very hilly country, the most northern spur of the Great Dividing Range. Farms with bananas stretching for acres was a common site as well as paddocks with Brahmin cows of all colours and sizes, many with enormous horns. There was a fair amount of smoke in the air due to the slow burning grasses. The grasses themselves were so pretty, tall seed heads of pinks, burgundy, oranges with white trunked gums overhead with bushy crowns of leaves. You felt there had to have been a lot of water around to make such lush growth.

    Colourful grasses
    Great Dividing Range country

    Coming into Cooktown mid afternoon, we settled for a delightful caravan park just near the centre of town. After a quick setup we explored the main street and foreshore area and stocked up at the  IGA. 

    In the morning we rose early to see sunrise from Grassy Hill where the lighthouse is. This Hill is where Cook climbed to survey the land, while his men were mapping the coast and mending his marooned boat. He decided it was a good place for a brief visit, although the local xxx people already knew this was a perfect place to be. The Cooktown museum was particularly interesting, housed in what was the Convent  school, built in 1889. The mix of displays, from a very comprehensive Indigenous history, to the gold mining history, Chinese history, to Cook’s arrival history and the convent’s history, meant that we staggered out of there overwhelmed by knowledge that probably most of us can’t remember now. My take away was the video of a local tribal woman explaining how the lore of the area decreed that no blood be lost in fighting of any sort and because of that Cook and his men survived…a very powerful comment.

    I love going to Botanic gardens, and in Cooktown, there is one of the oldest in Australia, established in 1878. There were some very impressive coastal paperbarks amongst some other big trees I couldn’t recognise. One labelled tree was a massive Teak, showing the link to the Orient or perhaps the Indian sub-continent. Strolling amongst massive sentinels from the past makes us feel grateful to those who planted the trees and those who have tended them for so long. There was a Botanical art exhibition in Nature’s Powerhouse, a gallery located in the gardens. There were etchings from specimens of plants collected by Banks and Solander on their voyage, as well as some framed pressed leaves from Banks’ collection, out of storage from the Melbourne Herbarium. 

    Cooktown sunset
    Cooktown
    Cooktown
    View from Grassy Hill at sunrise
    From Grassy Hill
    Eyes in a massive Melaleuca

    By dinner time we were flagging. The mobile fish van had passed through the park so we enjoyed a pre-dinner feed of prawns. For dinner this night we enjoyed Thai at Jacky Jacky’s, a shop built originally there in 1886, another reflection on the influence of the quite large Chinese population in Cooktown. The richness and diversity of Cooktown’s history needed more time, as with other places on this trip..hmm..another trip another time.

    Off we set further north, with Laura being the first stop. It was May 22nd. There was quite a sombre air to this town, the well respected Publican had been taken by a croc the previous week, so the pub was closed and flowers were laid by a tree. Our stay here was brief. We expected the Peninsula Development Road to be gravel from Laura onwards, but actually I would estimate half of the road up is bitumen, and the gravelly red earth part was mostly smooth, very few corrugations, a lot of dips with some being water crossings, but generally a very easy ride. We ended this day at Coen.

    Laura then Coen
    Musgrave Telegraph station

    Fuel has been getting progressively more expensive, like $1.85, but it was only in Laura that it cost more than Lennox prices. $2.50! It is outrageous what Northern rivers drivers pay for fuel. We’ve found diesel in Weipa today for $2.18. 

    The Coen pub served refreshing cold beer, most welcome by us all. The grassy area behind the pub sufficed for the night. We aimed for Bramwell Station the next day, but because we made such good progress we pushed on. At Moreton Telegraph Station we stopped for coffee and decided we would stay the night at Eliot Falls. Being a National Park we needed to book 3 sites. Well, anyone who has ever tried booking anything with Qld Nat Parks will know how frustrating the process can be on their website. Anyway, we sat with it and found Wendy at the coffee stop was very helpful, even gave us our official passes to show a ranger, if he happened to turn up. 

    Palm Cockatoo on the logo

    There’s a road up here called the Old Telegraph Line. It is legendary for 4WD extremists, it is so profoundly difficult that only the hardy types take it, and certainly not with trailers on the back. So we took the Bamaga road which by-passes that rough one, until we were 8km from our camping destination at Eliot Falls. OMG, it was rough and tricky in spots, very slow to travel. But all 3 of us managed with our trusty trailers to get there with cars and vans intact. “Towing” signs with mobile numbers were prominently posted in a couple of trees at the beginning of the track.

    Andy & Marilyn
    George & Julie
    Through the narrow gap
    Nick & Jen
    Along the Old Telegraph Track
    Tackling the OTT

    Eliot Falls was so worth it. Peace, serenity. And wonderful falls to wallow in…until the families arrived with many kids, tinnies in coolers and a ghetto blaster. No respect for that place. The night time was very special – no light pollution, no wind, a bright half moon with Venus nearby, the families departed. The lack of birds was noticeable, inexplicable.

    All vehicles and vans have performed remarkably. And they’ve certainly been put through their paces. We rise early each day, go to bed soon after sunset, a great pattern to fall into.

    Andy & Marilyn

    Cheers Everyone, love to get your comments.

    Jen & Nick

  • At Last we’re Away.

    Lennox Head to Cairns. 1880kms.

    Leaving home.

    April 24th, it was a Monday in 2023. We dropped off “Bond”, a 1953 Land Rover Nick had restored from scratch, at Andrew’s big garage in Ballina. All the chores were completed.

    By 11.00 we were waving goodbye to Sam, Noah & little Isla, our house minders for the next 12 months, as we hauled all our travelling possessions including 2 kayaks and 2 bikes off the nature strip and on our way.

    Buderim on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, was the first stop, with our long time friends John and Annie. They had demolished the original house we saw in 2020 and were now the proud owners of a new house, fitting in perfectly with the neighbourhood’s other beautiful homes. AFL footy took up an afternoon and a night, you can’t take the footy out of a bunch of Melburnians. 

    A tour of the nearby hills, visiting Nambour, the ginger factory, and the Nuthouse occupied day 3. Dinner at a lovely street food style restaurant in Mooloolooba rounded out our time in Buderim. Many laughs, chats, car repairs, and delicious meals completed a terrific stay.

    Following a leak.

    But it was time to get on the road and be the grey nomads we were aspiring to be…well, I’m not grey but I certainly feel like a nomad now, being homeless except for Swifty, our tiny pop-up camper, who serves us so well through the all weathers and terrains we have to face.

    Out of the 1st bog.
    Gorgeous Banksias
    Tucked behind the beach
    Sunrise at Burrum Coast NP, Kinkuna beach.

    Firstly a few nights at Burrum Coast National Park, situated on Hervey Bay about an hour south of Bundaberg. On a fairly short, very sandy approach road to the campsites we got horribly bogged up to the axles. We should have deflated the tyres earlier as we knew sand was expected. Tyres down, off we set only to become even more bogged just 100 meters further down the sandy track. So deflated the tyres even more…12psi on Swifty, 15psi on the car all round, plus much digging and the trusty orange max trax under the back wheels and made another attempt. Gained 10 meters this time. More digging, more revs and finally we hit solid ground and got out…but where were the maxs’? Buried deep. That delay took more than an hour, but was rewarded with a stunning campsite right on the water’s edge. Little did we realise the loud crashing sound waves make on the shore so close to us. During the night the 2.3m tide sounded like it was under the van. Fortunately the gale winds had gone, but I was adamant I couldn’t do a second and third night with such a noise.

    The next morning was glorious, sea calm, tide out…perfect, but we decided to move on, get a good night’s sleep. The car and Swifty performed exceptionally coming out of the sandy campsite, much to the surprise of both of us.

    Next was Elliott Heads, a small seaside town 15kms from Bundaberg. Surrounded by campers in the park, we enjoyed the showers to get our dark grey sandy feet clean again. And there is just the faint murmur of the sea in the distance. I could live with that.

    We stayed in Elliott Heads for 5 days and thoroughly enjoyed it. Cycled around the streets looking for the centre of town, which didn’t exist. There’s a bowlo and a general store. Near the campground was Driftwood Cafe which served fish & chips and coffee, and had multiple empty shelves which could have supplied campers with basic needs. They had one bottle of milk and 3 boxes of Shapes along with the newspapers. A big opportunity wasted there.

    Elliott River
    Peddling my Hobie
    Making Espresso coffee
    Elliott Heads beach

    Had a beautiful morning in the kayaks on Elliott river. The massive tides just about grounded my boat. I struck a couple of sandbanks with my peddles, which weren’t there when we set off, as I ventured back to the launching ramp. 

    On day 4 our friends Marilyn and Andrew arrived. We visited the Bundy Rum factory with them and did an excellent tour. The boys know the recipe to make Dark & Stormy now, and have enough bottles of rum to last quite a long time. Later we headed straight to the Botanic Gardens for lunch and to see Bert Hinkler’s house and museum with his 1920’s Avro Avian plane. It was well worth the visit.

    You will notice a rainbow flag appears now and then in photos. It was a parting gift from Neil & Erica Holland. We had used it years ago when crossing the Simpson Desert. It comes out at random times for no apparent reason, although sometimes it is used in unimaginable ways. Of course it’s called Priscilla.

    But it was time to move on, so next morning, after the usual beach walk starter followed by breakfast, we dismantled the camp and headed north. We girls had made the observation that at every toilet stop or camp site, the girls were always at the far end. The boys laughed at us disbelieving our theory. So now there is a running tab. Girls theory has proven true so far. Just another example of male dominance!

    We didn’t realise what a long day we had ahead. We headed out of Bundaberg at a reasonable time but didn’t reach Yeppoon until 5.00pm. We did a detour via Agnes Waters and 1770, both very interesting and a lovely lunch stop at 1770, but by 1.30pm we still had 3 1/2 hours to get to Yeppoon. The countryside was dry, scrubby, a bit uninteresting. On the way I realised I’d lost my Mastercard – my own silly fault. Fell out of my phone case while I was taking a photo. Inconvenient but not too much of a concern. Then, for no apparent reason, my carseat started to sink. Nick’s did the same years ago somewhere remote near Uluru. Oh well, it’s not the end of the earth, I can still see out of the window…

    With my niece Bree & Nick
    The Singing Ship
    Amongst the cruisers
    Yeppoon lagoon
    Historic lookout

    Crossed the Tropic of Capricorn.

    Battled through peak hour at Rockhampton, pulled into Beachside Caravan Park in Yeppoon at a few minutes to 5, just as they were shutting. We were all stuffed. 

    A good sleep later, we decided to stay an extra day in Yeppoon. Met up with my niece for coffee at the Marina. So lovely to chat with a local & Bree showed us some pretty amazing very expensive cruisers belonging to her friends, moored in the harbour. Later, we took ourselves on a sightseeing drive, saw the Singing Ship, and great views across to Great Keppell Island. The history of Cook’s sailing through the waters of these islands is very well documented, even though our senior brains couldn’t retain much of the details.

    I love the detail on this plaque, it is rather poignant as a reflection of how the British felt a new colony should be.

    Marilyn and I decided we would swim in the Yeppoon Lagoon, a man-made pool, free to anyone, built by the local council. Probably because the sea was a bit brown and crocs could be lurking. But the swim was refreshing albeit very cold.

    Onwards northward. After a delightful morning tea at Mackay Botanic Gardens cafe we headed north through fairly dry mundane country. Scrubby bush, paper bark trees, small settlements with a rundown pub, derelict cars and not much more was typical of the scenery. We chose tonight’s destination on a whim, and it proved to be a winner. Cape Palmerston Tourist Park was located on a dusty back road in an isolated part of the Capricornia coast. Crocodile country. Arriving at a basic reception/supplies area, adorned with photos of mostly men holding big fish or crabs, a freezer of frozen white sliced bread, multiple travel brochures spread across the tables and the usual collection of odd books people had donated to future customers, the weather-worn lady welcomed us into her cool office. The drone views of the park looked a bit ordinary, so we had low expectations of this campground.  We wanted unpowered, so were sent down to a large grassy area that resembled a botanic garden’s lawn area more than a camp site. Enormous eucalypts hosted a good range of birds, kangaroos grazed nearby, the bush turkey’s annoyed us as is their way, but it was peaceful. The beach was walking distance and the bathroom facilities were excellent. With an almost full moon, it was perfect, except for the dreaded midges, which had plagued us most of the trip north.

    Nick on the sandflat showing the huge tide.
    Campsite – peaceful

    We thought a drop into Airlie Beach and Shute Harbour should be part of our itinerary. We chose to camp at Proserpine, 20 minutes west of Airlie, in a rather downmarket caravan park. Being the King’s Coronation night, we thought dinner at the Prince of Wales pub was a good choice, and quiche was on the menu. Alas, the staff there had made no connection to the significance of the name of their pub and were vaguely disinterested in our suggestion that the quiche could be called Coronation quiche. So we all settled for Red Emperor and chips…delicious.

    Back at camp we managed to hook up the iPad to the ABC iview telecast. Sat under the stars, balmy night, full moon, listening to the glorious choral music and watching the pageantry that can only ever be seen in the UK, as King Charles 111 & Camilla became King and Queen. 

    Ever onwards, next day we headed a short distance north to a remote fishing village called Groper Creek. Crocodile country now.  The scenery has become far more interesting with the dark green sugar ready for harvesting and the mountain ranges jutting up in the distance. Not many camper vans on the journey so far, and getting a site each night has been easy. Groper Creek mosquitoes killed us, biting our legs arms and faces, adding to the welts we already had from midges. Really, you need a tinny and a rod to blend in at Groper Creek, and we had neither. We heard a large croc had been caught just near where we camped…urgh!

    Sugarcane
    Groper Creek camp
    Groper Creek houses on poles
    Moon rise on Groper Creek

    I will stop now, that’s plenty for one blog. We’ve only been away for two and a half weeks. It feels like we’ve driven long distances, probably missing lots of sights we shouldn’t, but at least we’ve reached FNQ and escaped the chilly blast our NSW & Vic families are experiencing. Here at Mission Beach we feel the crowds haven’t arrived yet. There isn’t a continuous stream of vans on the highway. The locals here say June will be busy.

    Next blog will include a trip to Magnetic Island…..and we’ll also be venturing up the Cape to the tip. Some photos are Andrew’s, thanks mate.

    Love to get your feedback. Hope you’ve enjoyed this blog.

    Jenny & Nick, Marilyn & Andrew. May 11th 2023

  • SIX WEEKS BEFORE WE ARE AWAY

    SIX WEEKS BEFORE WE ARE AWAY

    Lennox Head, Bundjalung Country.

    March 14th 2023.

    The last post was published in August 2021, with the sad news that we’d abandoned the trip completely. We had become victims to Covid regulations which closed borders and instilled fear in everyone that travelling would be risky, that the virus would spread wildly and that it was best to stay home. So we did.

    Now, 17 months later, we are looking at a fresh start. And still there is the possibility that our plans will be thwarted due to floods in the Gulf of Carpentaria at the moment, and earlier floods in the Kimberly around Fitzroy Crossing. I saw an interview with the Mayor of Burketown in the Gulf, where major inundation is occurring, and he said that as soon as the water subsides there will be amazing wildlife to see and the wildflowers should be stunning. He was encouraging travellers not to abandon the area during the dry season, and of course we want to support all those remote communities if we can.

    My grand daughter Sarah is now working in Fitzroy Crossing as a remote area nurse, so we should be able to get local updates from her.

    As you will see, our plan now is to head north from Lennox Head first, get to the tip of Cape York in Qld. Two couples will be joining us on that leg of the journey..Marilyn and Andrew Jeavons and George and Julie Rhodes…good friends who travel well at our pace, are flexible, independent, great fun and love adventures. In Cairns we will join up with Mike Meyers and his friend Steve to continue to the Cape. This first leg will take all of May and half of June we expect. After the Cape, we will be on our own probably…but our flexible friends could change their minds.

    Might as well not get too far ahead of ourselves on this blog though. There are some plan B’s being considered if we fail to cross the Gulf. We won’t even go there.

    Our house sitters are about to leave Karratha. In 3 weeks time they expect to be at Lennox….that’s an almighty journey with a 9 year old and a 14 month old…and 2 dogs. One dog is being left in Perth, the other in Melbourne, until such time as their owners find a suitable house with a yard and a fence. So we are not doing the full house pack up thankfully although much still needs to be done to prepare for 12 months away and to give the sitters an easy house to live in. Pablo pictured here is a fine addition to our house, along with 4 chickens.

    I have done this blog so that I can re-awaken my brain about how to actually navigate WordPress, but also to give those of you on the subscribers list a chance to drop away if you want to. I will be attempting to post to your email once a month if I can, so it shouldn’t be too annoying.

    Best wishes for now. Jenny & Nick

  • Introducing our Plan.

    Introducing our Plan.

    June 12th 2021. Lennox Head. Bundjalung Country.

    In just 2 months from now my husband, Nick, and I will head south in our little camper van. The van will henceforth be fondly named Swifty. She will provide us shelter most nights for the next 12 months. Swifty is also our supply carrier, wardrobe, ensuite (minus the toilet and shower), lounge room, kitchen and dressing room. She is all of 5 metres long.

    Slowly we will wander down to Wangaratta in Victoria for the first big stopover. This will be early September. Friends and family will join us here in a ritual of days of copious food, drinks, cakes, games, activities and celebration.

    Then we’ll recover with a wander along the Murray River, into South Australia provided the border is open. After exploring the Eyre Peninsular, Swifty will have her first experience of the Nullarbor. In November we will put down roots in Margaret River in WA for another celebration, then head further south to Albany for the summer. But that’s not even half of the trip.

    I plan to take the usual quantity of photos (many!!), perhaps take a few movies, and write about the trip in this blog. But I also plan to do a portraiture/story board project about interesting characters we meet along the way. I want to capture a single, simple, revealing, beautiful portrait of the person, or it could be a couple or family group, and write a paragraph with their story. It’s about time I used my qualification and years of experience as a Portraitist. This I will post on my blog with their permission. It will become a snapshot portfolio of Australians in 2021/2.

    Nick having breakfast at Lake Hart with Swifty, previous trip in 2018.

    I will endeavour to use the local indigenous name for the land we travel on as I write the blog.

    So if you want to follow our journey, add your email to the list.

    Cheers for now

    Jenny and Nick and Swifty