Oct 26 ... Map of Route

April 17 - Oct 25, 2011

Places (51) we stopped at:
Manilla; Narromine; Griffith; Swan Hill; Adelaide; Hawker; Port Augusta; Ceduna; Eucla; Norseman; Merriden; Perth; Moora; Port Denison; Geraldton; Kalbarri; Denham; Canarvon; Coral Bay; Exmouth; Tom Price; Port Hedland; Eighty Mile Beach; Broome; Fitzroy Crossing; Wyndham; Kununurra; Lake Argyle; Timber Creek; Pine Creek; Darwin; Bitter Springs (Mataranka); Banka Banka; Camooweal; Mt Isa; Cloncurry; Normanton; Kurumba; Georgetown; Innisfail; Forrest Beach; Rowes Bay (Townsville); Airlie Beach; Cape Hillsborough; Eungulla; Mackay; Gladstone; Tannum Sands; Hervey Bay; Mooloolaba; Bribie Island.

Oct 25 ... Tenterfield

Our last week at Mooloolaba was dominated by cloudy skies and rain showers. A couple of times we got to the beach for a swim but the warmth was short lived as the constant southerly wind was cool and blew in the clouds. We did go for a few beach walks but most of our time was spent reading and organizing our Mediterranean cruise for 2012.

Mooloolaba on one of many dull days

Again Garry went up to the Surf Club to watch Australia win 3rd place from Wales in the Rugby World Cup. He got to watch the final (NZ Vs France) in the comfort of Maurn's lounge.
There was a bit of a highlight on Friday when 21 of the Air Forces newest jets flew over the coast in formation. It was very impressive to see and I was disappointed not to get a photo.
Jae was to visit on Saturday but that was truly a dismal day so he and Sophie joined us on Sunday. It was so good to see them both as we had a lot to catch up on. As soon as we had decided to have a coffee out of the rain, the sun came out and from then on it was a beautiful day. We all had lunch at The Deck before they returned to Brisbane and we drove down to Bribie.

Jae and Sophie

It was a little disappointing that we did not get nicer weather while we were at Mooloolaba but really we feel we have been most fortunate over the past six months and should not complain. Both of us have enjoyed every minute in the van and we hope to continue with elements of the lifestyle once we get home to Tenterfield.

We just had the one day at Bribie with Maurn and we got a few maintenance jobs done for her. We quickly came to realize how unfit we have become over the past few months! Travelling can be quite an "easy" lifestyle.

Mooloolaba on a good day

Sunshine, blue sky and a beautiful beach.

On our last day we had to stop in Brisbane to see a couple of Specialists, just for checkups, or so I thought. It turned out that I need to go back into hospital again so that has changed our plans for the next few weeks and we will be back in Brisbane in the very near future. Llew came out to the Wesley Hospital to join us for morning tea.

Llew

The trip home was uneventful as most of our driving has thankfully been. In total we have covered 18703 kms as we circumnavigated mainland Australia. It has been a most wonderful experience and one we truly enjoyed. We successfully managed to evade all of the bleak winter weather and we saw many fantastic things and places. We met some lovely people and have countless photos to support our happy memories. What an excellent Winter Escape it has been in 2011.

Oct 17 ... Mooloolaba

It is exactly 6 months today since we left home on this wonderful Winter Escape. As we think back on all that we have done it seems like a very long time has passed, but as we catch up with family and friends, and familiar places, it doesn't seem like long at all.
We have now been in Mooloolaba just over a week and for the most part we have enjoyed perfect beach weather. The seas have been calm and the winds minimal, just the way we like it.

The Spit, Mooloolaba

During the week we caught up on a few things like skin checks and a car service. We went to the movies, traded our "read" books, and sampled the flavours at the new gelato shop. Garry watched Australia win the Quarter Final, then lose the Semi Final of the Rugby World Cup, and we have laid in the sun and swum in the surf. Being here is always wonderfully indulgent and we still have quite a few things to enjoy this coming week.
One afternoon we spent some time watching the parasailers riding the wind currents that were coming off the cliffs. It all looked pretty scary to me.

After such a benign week, today came as quite a shock. It has been blustery, heavily overcast, showery and very cool ... and today was the day Maurn, Kerd, Lucy and Alex came to visit... at the van ! Socially it was a very pleasant day and really lovely to see them all, climatically it was challenging, resulting in most of us being in the van at one stage! It is only supposed to be like this for the one day ... and it had to be today !

Morning tea when the weather was "okay"

Afternoon tea when things were a little cooler.

This afternoon we watched yet another movie from our "collection". It has been excellent having this form of entertainment available to us during the trip and we were most fortunate to acquire such a resource. We have grown to enjoy listening to ABC radio, reading and completing crosswords. It has been especially nice to not be subjected to the commercial world. As we near the end of our trip I think it is the simplicity of this way of living that we will miss the most. For six months life has been exciting, interesting, varied and ... easy, and we really feel we have been very lucky on many levels.

Oct 9 ... Mooloolaba

We had two more days at Hervey Bay, the first of which was very windy and despite the 26 degrees, it was quite cool. We went for a long walk on the beach and a bit of an explore of the shops, but otherwise were content to spend the afternoon around the van.
The following day dawned okay so we set off for the markets in a park just along from us. They were okay and we bought a few small things including some delicious smelling peaches and nectarines. It was still quite early when we were alerted to lots of very dark clouds that were coming over at pace so we hurried back to the van just as the storm hit. It was not too bad but the thunder and lightning stayed around for the next four hours so we got a lot of reading done. Mid afternoon Garry headed off to the pub to watch the RWC Semi-Finals X 2 and I had a nice time defrosting the fridge and watching a movie! We did go over to the beach for a walk inbetween games, and I did take some lovely photos of the bay once the storm had passed over. Garry came home with chinese for tea and we watched another movie to finish off our time in Hervey Bay. It was really relaxing and we were very glad we had stayed on even though we did not make it into the water.

Hervey Bay and the "Fighting Whiting"

Hervey Bay after the storm

There is a bit of a trap when you get near to familiar territory, you tend to "drive to arrive" rather than taking it slowly and looking about. Unfortunately, this malaise affected us both as we flew through Maryborough. Despite seeing many beautiful old Queenslanders, some quite grand, we did not deviate from the highway and so were diverted around the main town. I really regretted this but of couse, you do not go back, so we agreed to stop here for a few days next time.

Being more aware, when we got to Gympie we took a scenic route around and through the town and were rewarded with some lovely architecture. These old Queensland towns are quite a "discovery" for us as they have retained so much character. I find it refreshing to see how their originality has been preserved and that they are still functioning effectively. Again, Gympie had many beautiful old homes as well as many impressive buildings in the town area.

By now it was around 10am so we found a park and prepared morning tea. Another reason the city was looking so beautiful was because the jacaranda trees were in full flower. They are one of my favourites and the vibrant purple flowers were stunning today

Park in Gympie

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Without too much thought, Gympie also went on to our revisit list together with Rainbow Beach and Noosa. The rest of our drive was straight down the highway to Moroochydore where we needed to do a big grocery shop. The views along the way were beautiful because it was a really clear day like you often get after a storm. There are still a lot of bushfires around the state but none this far south.

Now we are set up on our usual site in the Park at Mooloolaba. Coming in the water and beach looked amazing and very inviting. I am really looking forward to the next two weeks here. Surprisingly, the Park is full..and packed with children, who should all be at school! I'm not sure what is going on but I am WAY over kids, their yelling and their ball games, so I hope most of these move on very soon. My excuse is that I have sinus, a coldsore and a stiff back which is still recovering from a pinched nerve. As Garry will testify, patience is in short supply. He has taken himself up to the surfclub to watch the last two RWC Semi Finals ... a wise move!

Mooloolaba

Oct 6 ... Hervey Bay

It was a pretty uneventful drive from Tannum Sands south except for a few crazy semi trailer drivers. Not until we reached the east coast did we encounter the "bully" mentality of some drivers who assume that a campervan is "slow" regardless of the fact its cruise control is set at 100kph, therefore it has to be overtaken whether it is safe to do so or not.
We did stop at the Gin Gin bakery for a delicious morning tea and will try to remember that for future reference.
It was only 300kms so we had plenty of time to look around the seaside parks in Hervey Bay before choosing the one at Torquay. A nice coincidence is that it is directly opposite the units we used to stay in when we came here on holidays with the kids and various friends.
We got a perfect site with views of the Bay, close to the amenities and a track to the beach. 

Our site at Torquay

Hervey Bay

As soon as we were set up we went for a long walk on the beach and it was so restful. I really love it here.

A few days ago we had carefully consulted weather forecasts and booked a whale cruise on the Spirit of Hervey Bay @ $115 ea. These predictions all changed the night before but we still enjoyed a calm, if overcast and cool, day.

Pick up was at 7.45am and there were only about 40 people in total on quite a big boat so there was no problem getting a good look at all the action. The cruise was for all morning until 2pm and it included morning tea and lunch.

The Spirit of Hervey Bay

Leaving Hervey Bay

The cruise took us up the bay alongside Fraser Island. We had no idea this island was so big, and the water was a gorgeous green colour with white sand beaches. At the moment there is a big bushfire on the island but we plan to come back and explore it more at a later date. On the way home we went in even closer to the shore but the sky had certainly changed colour. The dark clouds added a very dramatic touch.

Fraser Island

Essentially, we then spent the next 4 hours cruising around the bay zooming in on any prolonged "surface activity". Most of the whales we saw were mothers with their calves, and in most cases, it was the calf that was frolicking about.

During the course of the morning we saw some wonderful sights. In all we estimate we saw over 70 whales but this is the end of the season and we want to come back in August next time when the more inquisitive young whales are about. In general, most of these mother whales were fairly protective and as the boat approached they kept some distance or shepherded the calf away.
We saw a wide range of whale behaviours including slapping the water with their pectoral fin, tail slapping, lots of rolling about and swimming upside down, diving, popping up for a look about, and breaching. They looked to be having lots of fun ... in fact, having "a whale of a time"!

Tail slapping

Diving

What can I see?

This is fun!

Hello.o.o

During all of this the Captain of the boat kept up an interesting commentary and constantly alerted us as to where the action was. In reality, we were surrounded by whales and there was plenty to see all morning. Garry and I braved the cold wind on the topmost deck as we felt we could see better from there, but there were other enclosed decks and one even below water level with large glass windows for when the whales came up close to the boat. This did happen a couple of times but there was no way we could have gotten down there quickly enough to see anything.
We were also given an excellent DVD which we enjoyed watching last night.

By far the most spectacular sight was when the whales breached. Again, we only saw the calves doing this up close but even so, it was wonderful to see.

It was a really great day. We had a tasty morning tea and lunch and we felt it was very good value. Both of us are keen to do it again, perhaps next year if we are about ... I am sure the whales will be !
The trip back was made all the more impressive by the grey / blue clouds and all the smoke about. There are still a lot of fires burning in the area so we were very fortunate with the visibility today.

This afternoon we went for a walk along the Esplanade and we have decided to stay here for the next two days because it is so perfect. We had delicious fish and chips for tea and an early night as we were both surprisingly tired, but the "last word" must go to the whales ...

Oct 4 ...Rockhampton / Tannum Sands

Well, a BIG tick for Gladstone which was a real surprise. It was quite an interesting and nice city ... but I am getting ahead of myself!

Leaving Sarina we had quite a pleasant drive south and on the way we saw lots of LONG coal trains. I also saw some wild camels!!! the first on the trip. As we got closer to Rockhampton we started to hear on the radio about the fires burning in the area and it did indeed get progressively more smoky. Not only are there bushfires, many of which are out of control, there was also some late burning off taking place recently and things are still smouldering. Add to this the cane fires and local industry, and visibility is greatly reduced.

All we had planned to do in Rocky was drive up Mt Archer to the lookout, and despite a thick white haze, we still did. On a clear day this vantage point would be amazing as it is a 360 degree view, but we were not able to enjoy this experience yesterday, so we have noted it down for a future “must do”.

We decided to have lunch by the Fitzroy River down in the town centre so we found a nice shady park and had a relaxing break watching the boats.

Rockhampton in the smoke haze from Mt Archer

The Fitzroy River, Rockhampton

Looking around we noticed many beautiful old buildings in the street running parallel to the river so after lunch we went for an exploratory drive. Quite honestly, the city centre was full of stunning architecture from a past era. It was wonderful to see that they had all been preserved and were well cared for.  

All of this in just one lunchtime! 

Another 100kms further on from here we came to Gladstone. The road from the north came in through the Industrial Area and it really gave a poor impression of the city. We had expected something similar to Port Headland and it seemed this was to be the case. We found our way down to the south and our Park for the night.

The Kin Kora Park in Gladstone was great. We had an excellent site in the shade of two huge jacaranda trees which had, unfortunately, finished flowering. The whole park was full of trees and these were full of birds which were all singing away.
It was also at the end of the airport runway and RIGHT beside a rail line, so there was plenty of action. Most of the residents were “workers”, many of whom left at 4am to go to work, and the others were all up before 6am anyway; and the roar of a jet engine tended to lose its appeal around 1am. Add to that the endless coal trains that travelled past all night and we were pretty much over the initial excitement by morning. We decided to move out to Tannum Sands for our second night but I still felt it was a very nice park.

Today dawned with clear skies despite the fires in the hills.

We had booked on a free tour of the port at 10am so we headed in to the Tourist Office to wait for the bus. We had done something similar in Port Headland, except it was not free, and we were very disappointed, but this turned out to be first class. We had a big, comfortable bus and a knowledgeable tour guide. The driver took us all around the coal storage and loading facility while we were told lots of facts.

This was the largest coal facility we have seen, it is actually the fourth biggest coal export port in the world; it was also well organized, spacious and “clean”. We first saw where the trains unload the coal; each of these trains are approximately 1.7km long and 30 trains are unloaded each day. The coal falls through the bottom of each wagon into an underground pit where it is taken by conveyor belts to various stockpiles, depending on its grade. Then we drove around the stockpiles and watched the dozers push it all to where it could feed onto other conveyor belts that took the coal to the ships. 

From here we went over to the docks where there were three ships fully loaded and one in the process of being loaded with coal. During the morning we saw all three ships put out to sea and a similar number come in to be loaded. It was a very busy port  and there are 6 different docking areas which contribute to making the port over 31kms in length. But, the Gladstone Port Corporation (GPC), which is obviously VERY wealthy, has also spent a lot of money in the community and around the port. They have reclaimed huge amounts of land and created some beautiful parklands that included picnic areas and a beach, and after our tour we went back there for morning tea.

The general docks

From the port, the bus took us through the town centre and up to Auckland Hill Lookout from where we had excellent views over the coal loading docks and the general docks. From the latter they load calcite, grain, fuels and containers. Each is privately operated but all docks are owned by the GPC. 

Morning Tea in Spinnaker Park

A busy port

The tour took about 75 mins and we were very impressed. There is a different free tour on each day and next visit we will plan to do some of the others. Afterwards we went back to the Tourist Office to buy a lovely glass shell ($70) for our lounge room at home. I loved it and I especially like to have something nice to remember each trip by.

We then embarked on a self drive of Gladstone’s lookouts, the first of which was Round Hill Lookout. This was another with 360 degree views of the whole city, its surrounds and all out to sea. The huge Curtis and Facing Islands were clearly visible as were many of the smaller islands. It is these two large islands that make Gladstone such a protected harbour. There were a string of ships on the horizon waiting to come in to the port and we had clear views of all the industrial areas.

Round Hill Lookout

After a quick look at Barney Point beach we drove out to the Alumina Lookout. This was built by QAL (Queensland Alumina Limited) and it overlooks the plant with noticeboards explaining the process and other interesting facts about the corporation. This place was huge, and ugly, and smelly, but it employs more than 1000 people and again it makes big contributions to the city. The bauxite is refined here to alumina, which is a powder, and about 30% of this is transported a few kilometres south to another massive plant which smelts it into aluminium. The rolls of aluminium are then shipped overseas as is the other 70% of alumina.

The Alumina Plant

Whilst this was all very interesting, it was now mid afternoon so we made our way down to Tannum Sands. The park here is again very nice, right near a lovely beach; we again have a good site, AND, it is very quiet...no planes, no trains, and regrettably, few birds.  After doing some shopping we walked up to the lookout overlooking the beach area and it was a lovely view on a perfect afternoon. 

Picnic huts at Tannum Sands

Tannum Sands Beach

 Gladstone is growing quickly but a lot of effort is going into its appearance as well as its industry. The water in the harbour all looked clean and there were a lot of green spaces including parks and gardens. We did see the area where the new coal seam gas facility will be and where all the dredging is taking place. There is quite a lot of controversy about this, much of which we agree with, but it all seems to be going ahead. So Gladstone will be getting bigger for a while yet but all this makes it an interesting and pleasant place to visit.

Finished off the rhubarb pie today and it was superb, possibly the best I have ever eaten. Have now started on the fruit cake and it is equally as good. I wish I could get back to Mackay to buy some more!