Our Christmas Festivities!

Stuie here again!

Wishing everyone belated Merry Christmas (and a happy New Year!)

Christmas Day in the Price household!

Our Christmas Day was spent with my cousin Caroline and her husband Richard, and their two young daughters Elsie and Emily, whom we had a great day playing with. Christmas is really different with young kids around, but also quite exhausting! Michelle and I have had fantastic time playing with the girls, amongst many phone calls to friends and families back home in Perth.

After we finished our week of house sitting, we spent a relaxing evening catching up with Michelle’s friend Brenda in her new house up in Diamond Creek. The next day saw us hitching up the camper again and heading to Healesville to catch up with some more of Stuart’s relatives. We were welcome with open arms by Rob and Sue (Rob is Stuart’s dad’s cousin) spending the day talking, with a couple of short hikes late in the afternoon to work up an appetite for Sue’s delicious dinner! That evening we were amazed to see all of the work Sue had been putting in doing their family tree! She has traced one branch of the family back to the 1600’s! Michelle and I are now really keen to develop our family tree when we get home!

The next day saw us exploring the Healesville Sanctuary in the morning, before heading through the Marysville to camp for a night. Marysville was one of the towns that were just about wiped out during the Black Saturday fires of early 2009, with many people losing their lives in the town. I had actually travelled through the town back in 2003, and what I saw was nothing like what I remembered. It would appear that the rebuilding has been really slow, with the town’s new post office only just opening a couple of days before we arrived! Most of the very few people we saw around town appeared to be tradies working on the reconstruction work!

Elsie and Emily on the beach at the 'Prom'

The week prior to Christmas was spent holidaying with Caroline and family down on the coast at Inverloch. Unfortunately our plans for a nice sunny week beside the seaside were dashed, as what seems to be normal weather here on the east coast followed us – rain, a sprinkling of hail, a dash of sunshine and ALOT of wind! That being said, we got out and about between the showers and our one full day of sunshine was spent with a day trip to Wilsons Promontory National Park. Absolutely spectacular coastline, which was explored with a bit of a hike to exercise the legs!

We also headed off to Frankston RSL Club for dinner to meet up with some of my aunt's, uncle's and cousins (this time from Mum's side of the family!) It was Aunty Dot who graciously lonaned us the use of her holiday unit in Merimbula, where we dryed out for a couple of days. We also caught up with Aunty Joy and Uncle Arthur. Given the distance between Perth and Melbourne, we rarely get to catch up! We had a long lunch and it has certainly helped me out with picturing the whole family tree!

Our Christmas dinner this year broke with the usual tradition of roast turkey and ham, as Caroline and I had decided on seafood instead! Michelle and I braved the Preston Markets early on Christmas Eve to have a big buy up of fresh seafood, bread, fruit and vege’s for our Christmas lunch. After an hour of wandering around and selecting our produce, we left quite laden with beautiful fresh food! Our lunch menu included – pulpo (Spanish octopus recipe – thanks Andrew!), chilli mussels, baked snapper with a herb crust, garlic prawns, all coupled with crusty bread and a huge garden salad!

We hope that everyone has had a great Christmas and looking forward to the New Year. We’re now starting to get really excited, as on Thursday we will be driving onto the ferry, heading over to Tasmania for two months! We’re just keeping our fingers crossed the weather improves a little, or we are going to break our accommodation budget bigtime!

But we’re still going to go anyway! Til next time....



Wet! Wet!! Wet!!!

G’day, Stuie here...

Paddling off the Merimbula coast



Yep, it’s been pretty wet over here on the east coast! We’ve really been caught in a ‘wet and windy place’ (rather than between a ‘rock and hard place) but unfortunately, neither are all that much fun when you’re living in a camper trailer!

We spent a couple of days in Merimbula mainly drying everything out after Canberra, although we did manage to get a good little paddle in between some of the rain showers. It was great to get back into the kayaks, as it was the first activity I had really done since getting my hand out of the cast. We took it fairly easy and my hand felt fine afterwards.

We also spent a rainy day exploring the coast around Eden, learning about the extraordinary story of ‘Old Tom’ – a killer whale that worked with the local shore based whalers around the turn of the century (1800/1900’s). Old Tom’s pod would herd migrating humpbacks into the shallow waters of Two Fold Bay, whilst Old Tom himself would swim to the whaling station and tail slap the water to attract the attention of the whalers. The whalers would man their boats and paddle out, following Old Tom to the herded whale. Once the whalers had harpooned and killed the whale, they would anchor it where it lay, leaving the carcass to the killer whales who would proceed to eat the tongue. The whalers would then come out the next day and tow the carcass into the whaling station for processing – minus the tongue! The relationship was pretty amazing, and the year after Old Tom passed away, not one killer whale appeared in the bay and the local whaling industry apparently collapsed. The skeleton of Old Tom is now in the museum.

From the museum, it was out to Ben Boyd National Park, where we visited Boyd's Tower - originally built by Ben Boyd to be used as a lighthouse. But the government at the time wouldn't permit it, so it was used as a lookout for the local shore based whaling operations. Just around the corner in Two Fold Bay is the remains of the whaling station which we also visited.

After our couple of days in Merimbula, there was a slight break in the weather forecast, so we decided to head off with the option to stop and camp for a day in Croajingolong National Park weather permitting, or heading straight through to Melbourne. As it turned out, we left Merimbula in the rain, which continued well over the Victorian border! We did finally break out into some sunshine around Lakes Entrance, but the wind was howling (a gale warning had been issued for the area!) So after a blustery lakeside lunch stop, we bundled back into the car and hit the road for Melbourne, missing out on the Gippsland coast which is a real bummer!

Since arriving in Melbourne, we have been able to catch up with Michelle’s friend Brenda, staying a night with her before heading through to my cousin Caroline’s house which we are house sitting for a week while they are away. The weather has dried up a little, but there is still rain about, so we have spent our time exploring around the Thornbury/Northcote area, and finished off our Christmas shopping. I’ve been having great fun at the local food market buying a few fresh ingredients each day and cooking up a nightly feast (having access to a full kitchen helps – thanks Caroline!) The quality of the food is fantastic and cheaper than Perth prices!

At the QVM buying my blue cheese and jamon

Today saw us jump on the tram and head into the Queen Victoria Markets in the city. I reckon if we lived in Melbourne, we would be heading in each weekend to do our shopping for the week! Everything you could want was available and I could have bought heaps of different ingredients to cook with! But we held back, just buying some tasty blue cheese, Spanish jamon and some fruit (including fresh cherries for $4/kg and a 1½kg bag of apricots for $2)

 Our holiday pace has slowed down a bit for the moment – the car hasn’t moved in the last three days! We have been extremely lucky to have friends and family who have helped us out by putting a solid roof over our heads, for which we are really grateful. We still have a couple weeks yet, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that January and February will dry up a little for our next leg over to Tasmania!

So much for following the sun for the year – we have probably picked the wettest year possible to travel the east coast! So many places we have visited here in the east are now threatened or experiencing flooding, whilst back home the west is hanging out for even a drop of rain!

Until next time – catch you later!

Stuart & Michelle



Australia's Capital!

Driving across the Sydney Harbour Bridge

We have both decided that we can’t ever complain about the traffic in Perth after driving in Sydney traffic – it’s soooo busy! We read a report in the paper that peak hour starts about 5:00am and doesn’t finish until around 10:00am. But we still decided to farewell Sydney by driving the car and camper over the Sydney Harbour Bridge (on a Saturday thankfully!). Bit silly really, but why not! As it turned out, we had to have two attempts, as the traffic saw us forced under the harbour through the tunnel the first time, only to have to turn around in the Sydney CBD – so we lugged the camper through inner Sydney Saturday morning traffic to find our way back onto the bridge! It was worth it though!

We drove straight to Canberra from Sydney enjoying the ever decreasing traffic and ever expanding countryside. The drive was nice and sunny, as we munched our way through some fresh cherries we bought from the roadside. But the sunny weather was the last we encountered, followed with fivestraight days of rain with only the odd hour of respite and some really heavy downpours. Luckily – Canberra is full of ‘inside’ attractions.

Our first day was spent visiting the Old Bus Depot Markets, spoiling ourselves with a variety of local artisan foods whilst exploring the endless stalls of handmade goods and antiques. We didn’t see one stall selling the typical imported market clothes! My favourite stall was a guy selling cups of freshly squeezed orange or lemon juice, as well as sangria, warm mulled wine and apple cider! We also purchased stone baked sourdough bread, a tray of Lebanese sweets, olives, blue cheese, four types of flavoured roasted nuts, salty caramel chocolate truffles and had mouth watering Spanish Empanadas for lunch!!! Stuart also bought a massive antique brass nutcracker which is really cool, whilst I managed to finish off my Christmas shopping! These markets are a must when visiting Canberra!

Later that day we went to the Glassworks. It’s housed in an old coal fired power station that has been converted into an art gallery, shop, glass school and artist workshop with a public viewing gallery. We sat and watched a group of three artists who had hired out the workshop and were making a large red and orange vase. It was impressive to see the technique and patience that goes into making hand blown glass! We didn’t purchase any glass pieces due to the expensive price tags, but after watching how much work goes into one piece we can appreciate the cost!



Australian War Memorial



The next day was spent at the National War Memorial. This is truly a world class museum. We wandered lost in our own thoughts amongst the photographs, original letters and telegraphs, detailed dioramas, artefacts including vehicles, tanks, boats and planes, movie presentations, sensory simulations of bomber planes and trench shelters, war artist paintings as well as reading all the information panels. We spent about 5 hours in the museum and didn’t get past World War 2, so we decided to come back the next day as I was really keen to learn more about the Korean War. On our second visit we also went to the research room to find our family records on their digital archives. I was able to read copies of the daily handwritten war diary of my Grandad’s army regiment in the Korean War, whilst Stuart found the personnel files of his Grandfather who was a signalman in WW2 and his Great Grandfather who was in the West Australian 10th Light Horse Regiment in Palestine during WW1! We finished our visit with a walk through the actual war memorial, seeing all the thousands of names of Australians who have lost their lives in the various conflicts around the world, and culminating with a quiet moment in the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The tomb left us both a little awed and stunned. The tomb is housed in a beautiful domed tower, with the walls completely covered in mosaics representing the various services and lit through stained glass windows.

We also paid a visit to the Royal Australian Mint, where Stuart minted his own $1 coin... at a cost of $3! Did you know that in the early days of settlement, Australia’s currency was pretty much anything they could find – the Australian holey dollar was actually made out of Spanish currency imported into Australia to ease the new settlement’s currency shortage! Pretty smart move really – import some large coins, punch the middle out of them, and both sections become legal tender!

And of course we visited Parliament House – very impressive and luxuriant. Did you know that the colour scheme in the House of Representatives is based on the green/grey foliage of the eucalypts, whilst the Senate had to have special permission to have the exit signs in red (Australian Standard states they must be green) so they match the red decor!!! God forbid they clash! We also learnt a bit more about the operations of Parliament. Previous to our visit, we didn’t know that Australia actually has one of only four remaining copies of the Magna Carta in existence in the world. It was written in the 1200’s and forms the basis from which our government developed.

There was so much more to see in Canberra we really could have spent weeks exploring it all. I think this is another place I would like to return to as we missed the National Art Gallery and I’d love to do a behind the scenes tour of the National Library (yeah well, I am a qualified Library Technician!). It seems that there is always a number of touring exhibitions, music festivals and markets going on. Who knew our capital was so exciting! That being said, Canberra’s location just seems a little remote, although we found out the site was selected as a bit of a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne who were both vying for the capital title. But it’s safe, people are walking around everywhere at night (when it’s not raining!) and it has clean air and plenty of open space.

If you’re wondering why we didn’t stay longer – the answer is we got rained out! The wind changed directions on us and started blowing so hard straight into our camp that we couldn’t use the gas stove to even have a cuppa. This is when we packed away the kitchen, eating leftovers from the fridge, buying dinner and using our hiking stove to make hot chocolates whilst we huddled inside the camper. As the rain continued, the ground around our camper turned to slush which made walking around the car and trips to the amenities rather slippery. By day four we really were starting to get a little down due to the absolutely crappy weather conditions. It was also looking like we’ll have to miss the Snowy Mountains and Mount Kosciusko as they were in the clouds!

Thankfully Stuart’s mum came to the rescue with an offer of a holiday unit in the nearby coastal town of Merimbula owned by her relatives. It was an easy decision to gratefully accept the offer when we looked at the weather forecast and discovered flood warnings in just about every direction!



We needed 4WD in the caravan park! So slippery!



So here we are! The camper is packed away and we are taking a break under a solid roof again. We really have been spoilt with the use of Stuart’s family’s unit. It has glass frontage and a wide veranda with views to the beach across the road and is walking distance from the centre of town. If we get a break in the weather we will try and make a day trip to the Snowy Mountains, but it’s not looking too good at the moment. As it turns out, our decision to leave Canberra was the right one, as we heard that they received 90mm of rain overnight! As it was, when we left, the ground was so muddy that Stuart had to engage 4WD just to move the car in the morning! The back tyres of the car had sunk into the mud and were just spinning on the spot!

According to weather forecasts and satellite images, there looks to be no near end to this crazy year of La Nina rain on the east coast. So we will just have to do the best we can to explore the National Parks and wilderness areas when we can. We are well set up and can make a pretty comfortable camp by now, but returning to a damp camper each night challenges your enthusiasm a bit!

Stuart was really looking forward to exploring the Stromlo Forest mountain bike trails now that his hand was out of the cast, but given the foul weather and really slippery conditions, it wasn’t worth the risk. He decided not to even go and have a look, let alone ride any of the trails, as it would be too frustrating! Hopefully we’ll be able to get back on the bikes down in Tasmania, along with Victoria and South Australia as we head home!

Until our next adventure, a huge thanks to Stuart’s relatives for the use of this lovely, cosy, dry retreat!

Love Mish and Stu



Blue Mountains and the big city...

Well, I think we can safely say we have reached and passed the low point of our trip! Stuart was getting pretty annoyed with himself for straining his back, and I was a bit annoyed with all of the extra work I needed to do as a result of his injuries! Coupled with the seemingly endless rain we had been encountering, we were both feeling pretty down! We soldiered on thinking it couldn’t get any worse and would only get better, only to blow out a tyre on the camper! Rather ironic, considering Stuart was only just getting over his last encounter of changing a tyre! Thankfully, no injuries this time - just a $250 bill for the new tyre!

After being held up a little changing the tyre, we only just made it to the caravan park in Katoomba to check in. Just as we were backing the camper up to our site to set up the rain bucketed down on us! Then as we finished setting up the camper in the rain – it stopped! The only thing left to do was shake our heads and laugh! Thankfully, this has been the last of the rain we have seen for a week or so.

We woke up in the clouds the next day (with Katoomba remaining in them all day!) so we headed down to Penrith to replace the tyre and restock the larder with a big food shop. Thankfully the next day was bright and sunny, and we made the most of it with a big hike down into the valley below Katoomba, and then back up to the top to have a look at the Three Sisters. The country is spectacular, especially walking along the edge of the sandstone cliffs looking down into the Blue Mountain wilderness.

The hike back up the Three Sisters really gave us a work out. There were 900 steps to climb back up, with some sections of steps carved into the rock. We passed a lot of people coming down and heading around to the cable car to get back out - slackers! We did it the hard way! Great exercise for your legs but my calves took days to recover!


Three Sisters sunset


After our hike and given the sunny and warm weather, we decided to have a BBQ lunch. Stuart cooked up some snaggers, eaten with fresh bread, tomato sauce and mustard, and washed down with a cold beer! The rest of the day was spent relaxing and soaking up the fine weather! We actually went back to the Three Sisters at sunset to have a look, but this time it was by car as my calves wouldn't have taken another walk!

From Katoomba, we packed up and headed out to the Newnes campground in the Wollemi National Park. The campground is in a spectacular valley, surrounded by sandstone cliffs. It is actually the site of an old town near a shale oil mine and refinery. Stuart went on a long walk to explore the ruins of the refinery, which have been taken over by the forest again. It’s hard to imagine such an industrial site existing in such a beautiful location. The whole area has large coal deposits, and Stuart found a couple of bits of coal in the river bed next to our camp. It was definitely coal, as he managed to get it burning in the campfire! Some Greenie!

We also encountered our neighbour – a big wombat that came out each night and rummaged around our camp! Along with the possums and kangaroos. We also managed to follow a Satin Bowerbird back to his bower, with it’s collection of blue things! I have wanted to find one of these for ages and was very excited by it. We tried to lure the bird back for a photo by placing Stuart’s blue arm cast on the ground, but to no avail! Stuart later received a shock when he went to retrieve his cast and it was gone!! I had just moved it inside without telling him! He he.

SYDNEY!!!

We paid a visit to our Cubby Trailers birthplace! The Cub Camper Trailer factory! As one of the trailer’s shock absorbers had busted earlier in the trip, Cub replaced both shock absorbers under warranty, while we waited! Stuart was amazed at the difference it made when towing it! It was kind of exciting to see all of the new ones in various stages of construction. We didn’t think our’s was that dirty, well, not until we saw all of the bright, sparkling new ones – our’s looked filthy!

After checking in at the Lane Cove Caravan Park, which is in the Lane Cove National Park only about 10km from Sydney CBD, we headed out to the northern beaches and purchased some Sydney Rock Oysters which we ate whilst sitting on the beach! This was also our first encounter with Sydney parking, as it cost $5 per hour for the small car park at the beach.

The next day was my birthday YAH! I had so many ideas of what I wanted to do, including seeing a show at the Opera House. There weren’t any operas showing and although I was very tempted to buy tickets to Bell Shakespeare’s 12th Night, it was only in one of the smaller theatres in the complex and not the experience I wanted. I would love to return to Sydney in the future and see a performance in the Opera House main concert hall.


Tokonomo sashimi!!!


So my special day was spent with an amazing lunch at Tokonoma Japanese Restaurant in Surry Hills (thanks Brenda for the recommendation!). The food was an unbelievable taste sensation! We discovered Edamame - steamed soy beans with rock salt, sashimi – salmon, king fish and benito with fresh wasabi, sushi rolls, pork belly and roast duck with pickled nasi pear. YUM! Our drink of choice was a beautiful ‘Sake’ (a japanese wine) recommended by the waitress. We were both in gastronomic heaven!

All this was followed by a trip to a Surry Hills day spa for a bit of pampering – facial, collegen eye mask and back massage with exfoliation scrub!

Stuart filled in his time wandering the streets of Surrey Hills while I was in heaven! We finished the day with a cold beer sitting on the rooftop of a pub in the Rocks, looking out over the rooftops at the Opera House. We learnt a bit about the history of the Rocks, which was the first place of settlement in Australia. It was unusual to find such history in Australia – what was left of it anyhow, as much of the Rocks was destroyed in 1901 to protect public health as there was a outbreak of the bubonic plague in the settlement!

We spent the next day wandering around inner Sydney, including a ferry ride to Watsons Bay for fish and chips with views back to the city. The water here was also lovely and clean as it is right near the harbour entrance so is flushed clean with daily tides! I certainly wouldn’t want to wade in the waters of the inner harbour!

We also returned to Surry Hills – we love this place – its full of funky unique fabrics and homewares! I splurged on some beautiful Marimekko fabrics from Finland and Bird Textiles offcut pieces.

Day three in Sydney was to be taken up with xrays and checkups for Stuart’s hand. For some reason they had a few difficulties getting good xrays of his hand, calling him back in for extra xrays which has Stuart really worried that his hand wasn’t healing. Comments from the radiographer didn’t help either! Thankfully, the specialist he saw was happy with the progress. The cast can come off and the only instruction he was given was to go gently, gently and if it hurts to do something... then STOP!

So tomorrow we are off towards Canberra for a few days exploring our capitol city.

I’d just like to say a big thank you so much to everyone who sent me birthday wishes, cards and presents! I felt a little homesick the day before my birthday and missed everyone. But all the contact I had was wonderful and really made my day special! Thank you! I can’t wait to catch up with friends and family in Melbourne at Christmas!

Take care everyone!

Mish and Stu
xo



Port Macquarie & Barrington Tops

Heading into our second half of the holiday, it is also becoming obvious that as we approach Sydney, we are heading into the most densely populated part of the country. Although we always seem to stumble upon some type of wilderness, we must admit we have had some longings for the remoteness of the outback again!


From Urunga, we headed down the coast a little way, as Stuart was keen to explore the ruins of the Trial Bay Gaol near the town of South West Rocks. We found a beautiful little campground set back in the forest behind the beach in Hat Head National Park. A sunny afternoon (yes - it stops raining occasionally!) was spent exploring the rocky headland near our camp. Stuart commented it was a great spot to cast in a line as he is itching to do so, but given he’s still got his cast on, I’d probably have to do the actual fishing bit! As with many other campsites, we were checked out by the local wildlife – a kookaburra trying to steal dinner off the stove, big monitor lizards wandering through camp and a mother and baby possum repeatedly trying to pinch food from the kitchen (until we chased them up a tree!)

The Trail Bay Gaol was really interesting. It was originally built as a prison, specifically to have the prisoners construct a groyne out into the bay to provide a safe haven for shipping between Sydney and Brisbane in the early years of settlement. Hundreds of lives had been lost at sea as a result of shipwrecks during the storms along the coast. The gaol was built out of local rock, quarried onsite. The stonework is really impressive, and given it’s position on the headland, it stands up to the full brunt of all the storms that hit the coast!

The groyne project turned out to be a complete failure, being washed away each year, almost as quickly as it was being built! The gaol was eventually shut down, but was brought back into use during the war years, as an internment camp for German men residing in Australia at the time. The Trail Bay Gaol was set aside for professionals, such as doctors, accountants and academics, and compared to other internment camps, they were actually given quite of bit of freedom to move in and out of the prison, spending time fishing and growing their own vegetables. They even held regular theatre performances and circulated a regular magazine within the prison walls.

Having skipped Coffs Harbour altogether, we made a short stop in Port Macquarie to see the coastline and have the car serviced. The caravan park has it’s own resident koalas, which we heard growling in the trees above us every night, but we couldn’t spot the little buggers anywhere during the day! The groyne at the mouth of the river is also interesting, as the local council allow people and travellers to graffiti the rocks. Some of the graffiti is pretty amazing and quite artistic!

I stumbled across a pamphlet for yoga classes run by a teacher who had trained with yoga masters in the US and taught in Byron Bay for the past 10 years. I jumped at the chance to return to a proper class again! To my delight the class was held in the Flynn Beach Surf Club. I enjoyed a good stretch whilst overlooking a magnificent rugged coastline at sunset with fresh air straight off the ocean filling my lungs! I miss my yoga classes, but I feel renewed with inspiration for my own practice again.

Our next choice of National Park to explore was Barrington Tops, in the northern most part of the Hunter Valley. The park is set in sub-alpine country where it snows each winter – we were actually told it snowed three weeks before we got there during an unexpected cold snap! The Antarctic Beech forests and Snow Gums were so beautiful.

We ended up camped on the edge of a sub-alpine sphagnum bog called Polblue Swamp. It was a great spot to enjoy a nightly campfire! We had checked out a couple of other campsite options, with Stuart having great fun towing the camper down a rough and muddy track. The campsite at the end was beautiful, but given the condition of the track and that more rain was forecast, Stuart decided that we should head out to a more easily accessible campsite – we didn’t want to get rained in and stuck!

At the Polblue campsite Stuart found an echidna buried in the grass only 30m from our campsite. We also saw a HUGE wombat! He was massive, but we weren’t quick enough to get a photograph. It’s always so special to see wild animals in their natural habitat. I luckily got to see a second wombat on a short walk, along with a skulk of foxes. Yes - they are feral pest animals that prey on our native animals and they should be destroyed... but the little ones are so cute, so I’m including a photo anyway!

Unfortunately, Polblue was also the spot Stuart decided to injure himself again! After a day out exploring and 4WDing, we were approached at camp by a man who asked if we could give him a hand changing a staked tyre on his 4WD. He had a few issues with his hands and couldn’t manage it himself. We obviously said yes, but in typical Stuart fashion, he just got stuck in without thinking too much about it and managed to strain a couple of muscles in his back – given he was trying to do it all himself and one-handed (his left hand is still in the cast!). We got the tyre changed and the guy back on the road, but given the cool conditions that night, by the next morning, Stuart could barely move and was in quite a bit of pain!

STUART’S HINT – when you get new tyres fitted, make sure you re-tension the wheel nuts if they have used a rattlegun to put them on! Stuart had to stand and gently bounce on the wheel brace to loosen the wheel nuts on the guy’s 4WD! They were done up so tight!

Once again, we have found a nice little cabin and have holed up for a couple of nights to let Stuart’s back recuperate. He’s spent the last couple of days laying flat on his back, reading and relaxing. Thankfully, his back seems to be sorting itself out! It could have been a lot worse!

Hope everyone is well! Love to all!

Mish & Stu

Halfway!!!

Yes, we are officially half way through our holiday! We celebrated this milestone at a Mexican restaurant in Lennox Head with Tequilas and lots of tasty food!

Its a good time to look back over what we have done and how we are travelling...literally! Here are some other facts from our trip thus far....

Time on the road: 5 months, 3 weeks

Total distance travelled: 20,000 km

Most expensive fuel: $1.97 at the Imitji Store on the Gibb River Road

Most we have paid for a caravan park powered site: $44/n at Port Hedland (Average cost: ~$30-$33/n)

Average fuel consumption: 7km/l (which is around 13-14l/100km and includes all our off road driving and towing a trailer!)

Damage so far: one busted shock absorber on the trailer! Pretty good hey! (and Stuart's hand of course!)

Modifications to the camper: Stuarts favourite is the BBQ on the fridge slide tray (given the fridge is in the back of the ute!) and being able to connect it straight to a mounted gas bottle. This gives us roasts, pizzas, baked yummies and lots more! Others include 12v power, LED reading lights, storage boxes, bike mounts – the list goes on!

Number of nights spent under a proper roof: 4 so far, with the rest all under canvas!
Favourite experience: This is so hard.....Stuart’s might be discovering the beauty of the red centre and MacDonnell Ranges. Mine might be that as well, but I did really love paddling the Whitsundays! Everything really! This country is stunningly beautiful!

One thing I'm amazed with is our tiny fridge - holding only 37 litres - is always stocked with a selection of meat/chicken/seafood for dinner, cheese, milk, juice, eggs, dips, mustard, 2 sodastream bottles of chilled water and cans of cool drink, and most importantly - cold beer! Plus any cut vegetables and left over food that needs chilling. It makes me wonder what the hell we fill our full size fridge/freezer with at home?! We are eating an amazing variety of food and definitely not compromised in any way on our nutrition!

Some of the many dishes we have cooked – paella, risotto, beef/lamb/chicken roasts, pizza, green/red/massaman currys, osso bucco, lamb shanks, fish, bolognaise, soups, scones, muffins and damper!

So what have we been up to most recently?!

Our first four nights in NSW were spent in Lennox Head, just south of Byron Bay. We decided to explore this beautiful region from here as it was quieter and a LOT cheaper than Byron. (We paid $27 for a powered site instead of the $54 Byron bay charges in its off-peak period!).

Our day trips took us mostly inland through the hinterland villages and endless rolling green hillsides. We checked out all the great vintage shops in Lismore, deciding to have lunch in Nimbin for a laugh. We did a quick walk of the main street to be greeted with psychedelic murals and wood carvings, a code of street behaviour painted on the wall of the pub, lots of colourful characters and multiple offers of fresh baked cookies and other local herbs! Visiting Nimbin certainly stimulated some good conversation in the car, but we both agreed we weren’t interested in a return visit.

The rest of the time we explored the quaint little villages of The Channon, Uki and Bangalow, while taking in the spectacular views of Mt Warning as well as Jeruselum and Nightcap National Park which has the 100 metre high Minyon Falls. After all this serenity, we bailed on Byron Bay township itself after only an hour wandering through the crowded shop-lined streets. We did go up to the Cape Byron Lighthouse though. This is the most easterly point of mainland Australia - say cheese for the camera!

The locals having a surf!

With three weeks before we need to be in Sydney for Stuart’s next appointment with a hand specialist, we continued heading south to Yuraygir National Park, spending two nights in a sheltered grassy campsite in the coastal heath, just metres from the beach. There where kangaroos everywhere, we saw an echidna on the way in, whales breaching out at sea and a pod of about 10 dolphins surfing the waves close to shore. The local surfers where there every morning enjoying the near perfect waves! – Jen and Dean – you would have LOVED it!

From here we ducked inland over the Great Dividing Range where we discovered the highland village of Maclean, with a distinct Scottish flair that has hundreds of power poles painted with the tartan of Scottish clans. We spent a couple of nights camping in Gibraltar National Park and explored the network of bushwalking trails. We spotted the flowers of the amazing Waratah plant, NSW’s state floral emblem. It was also here that the weather turned rotten AGAIN, so we packed up in the rain and continued along the Waterfall Way tourist drive determined to find a sheltered camp spot and explore this scenic area despite the rain. However the rain, fog and wind just increased, every campsite we came to were just mudpuddles, so we headed through to the coast, arriving at Urunga at 7pm at night where we parked the car and camper next to our rented cabin (yeah we piked out!) and headed to the pub for a hot meal. Whoo Hoo! After bathing out of a bucket for a week, this little bit of luxury went a long way and had me literally jumping up and down on the spot with excitement!

Hope everyone is still with us and enjoying the blog. Don’t forget to write! You can curse us for being the lucky buggers that we are, but we still want to hear how everyone is getting along! We do miss you all!
Mish and Stu



Lamington National Park

Bellbird Lookout, Laminton National Park

(Incidentally – this park is named after one Queensland Governor Lord Lamington, who was so impressed with the area’s natural beauty after hearing the presentation made to parliament requesting its preservation as a national park, that he promptly visited the proposed park and shot a koala!!!)

Well, after last week’s checkup with Stuart’s hand, we were more than ready to head out of the city for a bit of a change. We’re both getting itchy feet to be back on the road again!

We took the scenic route up to Lamington National Park, which is on the border with NSW. The park actually encompasses an area that is the rim of a massive ancient volcano. Mt Warning just over the border is what’s left of the central plug of the volcano. The park is part of the Gondwana Rainforests (of Australia) World Heritage Area, and quite rightly so!!! It is a spectacularly beautiful area!

We camped at Binna Burra (on the recommendations of Stuart’s hand therapist – a little local knowledge!) and spent several days exploring the trails that led off from the campsite. There is an amazing network of trails, all built by hand during the Great Depression as an employment program.

Even with his hand in a cast, Stuart still can’t sit still, so he headed out on his own one afternoon and walked the Caves Circuit, whilst I spent the afternoon relaxing and sewing! We also spent the whole of the next day walking the Coomera Circuit which is 17+km long! Given the recent rainfall (and some more while we were there!) the waterfalls were all really flowing. The trail returns to the campsite along the Border track, which is part of the Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk.

We also walked to the Bellbird Lookout, spotting a huge koala right up in one of the trees. We got a good look at him, as he did of us, but we couldn’t get the camera out quick enough to get a good shot before he wedged himself into a fork and started feasting!

The hand built walking trails were such an enjoyable experience, as they were constructed to contour and switch back across the exceptionally steep country. Apparently the method was used after the engineer observed the way that cows walk on the hillsides all day without getting tired! The small number of steps and retaining walls were also beautifully built from onsite stone; they looked ancient and covered in moss. It was a truly stunning area.

We also did a day trip over to the other camping area in the Green Mountains section of the park. In addition to the camping areas, both areas have historic lodges for more upmarket accommodation, so we sampled the fresh baked scones and tea before wandering out to explore the tree top walk. This one was suspended on cables, with a timber deck – there was quite a bit of movement as we walked along it! But it did get us right up into the tops of the rainforest! Unfortunately, we don’t have any photos of it as Stuart managed to accidentally wipe the camera’s memory card. Thankfully we had downloaded the cards the night before, so we only lost the one day!

From there it was back to Brisbane for another x-ray and check-up. Good news – Stuart’s break is now showing signs of healing and we have been given a referral to get another x-ray/check-up in Sydney in four weeks time.

So the time has come for us to say farewell to the “Sunshine State” and head south to New South Wales. First stop – Byron Bay (although we’ll be staying in Lennox Head because the caravan parks in Byron Bay are ridiculously expensive!)

On a footnote, we feel that Queensland needs to rethink the “Sunshine State” tag, as we worked out it has been raining for more than 60% of the time we have spent in the state! Hopefully we can find a bit more sun in NSW!



Brisbane and injury update

Hi everyone!

As I write this update, we are camped in the forest at Binna Burra campground in Lamington National Park (near the NSW border). Stuart went back to see the hand surgeon yesterday after having the cast on for a week now. The x-rays revealed that nothing has changed, which is actually good news, as no surgery is required. But it also means that the bone has not started to heal yet, so the cast must be kept on all the time, including showers, which is a real pain. The bruising and swelling has also not yet improved, but we were told this is also normal.

So, given that we have a week before we need to see the surgeon and hand therapist again, we have headed out to see some more countryside, before returning to Brisbane for the check-ups. Hopefully we’ll then be moving on, with a referral for another check-up in Sydney in about six weeks time.


We are adjusting to the role changes around camp, although sometimes it feels like we are starting out all over again in unfamiliar territory. The role reversal was quite accentuated today when we packed up the camper and I had to drive with the trailer through Brisbane and up into the winding mountain roads – with Stuart now navigating.

Getting into some trailer maintenance

 Brisbane is a beautiful city, with great ‘Green City’ initiatives like the new City Cycle – a coin operated bike hire system with numerous pick up and drop off points throughout the inner city, and Food Connect - check it out at http://www.foodconnect.com.au/. There is also a fantastic farmers market scene that supports a huge number of artisan food producers.

A City Cycle station at West End

 We especially loved the West End markets and the farmers markets that are held every Wednesday right in the City’s main mall. They both had everything from local cheeses, meats, spices, herbs, bakers, hot smoked salmon, handmade cornish pasties, pastries – with each small stallholders specialising in just one or two things! We loved it and have been eating so much fresh food! Yesterday had made asparagus, mushrooms and eggs for breakfast, then pork with mango salsa for dinner!



Stuart amongst the bustling City Farmers Market



 We also caught up with my friend Luke who moved from Perth a few years ago and has a funky Queenslander house full of character on a big block with beautiful big trees, right near the train station and local shops. Great lifestyle. Yes Luke – I’m jealous! Both Stuart and I have fallen in love with the beautiful old Queenslander houses, with all their timber and stained glass windows. Luke was also very generous and let us off-load the kayaks and mountain bikes for this week, since we won’t be using them and it makes setting up the camper easier for me! Thanks Luke!

So here we are, glad to be away from the city for a while and in a national park known for its large number of “walking” tracks. Thankfully, walking is one of the activities we can still do! It’s very beautiful here as we are perched on the top of a mountain and can actually see all the way to the coast.
We also finally managed to get the photos of us surfing at Noosa off the camera! So here are some snaps of me struggling to catch a wave, and Stuart making it look like the most natural thing in the world!

Until next time... we hope everyone is doing well,

Stu and Mish

Stuie's latest escapade...

G’day Stuie here!

Well, I’m afraid to say that our adventurous activities of mountain biking and paddling will need to be put on hold for the next month or two! Bit of a bummer really!

I went out riding and exploring the Mt Coot-tha mountain bike trails here in Brisbane yesterday. The weather here has been exceptionally wet over the last couple of days – really, really, really  wet actually! Unfortunately, the slimy, muddy trails claimed a victim – ME! A little altercation with a deeper than usual muddy creek, hiding an even deeper pothole, saw me taking an unwanted trip over the handlebars of the bike into the opposite bank!



Check out my pinkie!



A quick trip to emergency confirmed the cracking noise I heard (and felt!) was a break! As you can see from the photo, the landing at the end of my short flying lesson, broke the little finger of my left hand! Not just any ordinary break, and a spiral break to boot! I was sent home strapped up and dosed up on Nurofen Plus, with an appointment to see a hand specialist/surgeon for potential surgery to screw it back together!

 

Thankfully, surgery wasn’t required, and I’m now sporting a funky blue cast which I have been strictly told to keep on 24 hours a day given the severity of the break!

Given that I’ve got follow up appointments over the next two weeks, any suggestions for things to do around Brisbane would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Yeah, yeah - I know you're all having a bit of a giggle! Thankfully, it's not too painful (with a few Nurofen of course!)

Hope everyone else is well!!!

Stuart & Michelle

 

Capricorn, Coral & Sunshine Coasts

Hi everyone! We hope you are all well and enjoying the blog. Thank you to those who have emailed and left messages, we love hearing news from home!

We have been on the road almost five months now and we are very much getting used to this ‘not having to work’ business! There are so many breathtaking sights to see around this country, that you could spend a lifetime trying to experience them all. We are getting better at accepting that some destinations you just have to let go off. When we are not exploring, we never seem to run out of enjoyable ways to fill out time, whether it be trying new camp kitchen recipes, sewing, reading, vehicle maintenance or trip planning. In the evenings we get quite strategic trying to beat each other at cards, or watch an episode of something on DVD on the laptop (we have seasons of Grand Designs, Gourmet Farmer and Food Safari) and sometimes its a matter of sitting in the dark with torches and observing any noises or nocturnal animals that pay us a visit!

Our recent travels have taken us through Rockhampton – The Beef Capital of Australia (so we were told 3 or 4 times – in the first 10 minutes of arriving!) So first night we headed out for a 2 for 1 steak dinner at the local pub bistro - $25 for both meals! We also drove out to the coastal town of Yeppoon (shout out to Tarnya’s home town!) where we caught the first AFL Grand Final at a small town local drinking hole.

Our thunder-eggs with the top ones cut open

As we left Rockhampton we decided to do something different and went to Mt Hay Gemstone Tourist Park where you can camp out and fossick for Thunder Eggs! Mt Hay is a quarry full of these 120 million year old ‘volcanic birthstones’ (or rather ugly lumpy rocks embedded in the dirt that when cut in half reveal beautiful patterns of gemstones such as Amethest, Agate, jasper, quartz etc.). The Thunder Eggs started out as gas bubbles in volcanic lava. Minerals surrounding the bubbles sealed them, and when they cooled down they cracked, allowing silica-rich minerals to fill the cavity and form the crystals!



We booked a night at their onsite campground and had an amazing spot right on the edge of an escarpment with endless views, hot showers for only $12 a night! We paid the fossicking fee and were given tools and an explanation on the eggs and what to look for. From there we were left to it – and we spent the day digging around in the dirt, which was actually muddy clay due to recent heavy rains. We even returned the next morning for another quick dig before selecting a few to be cut open. We were pleasantly surprised when our thunder eggs were cut open!

1770

From there it was off to the twin Towns of 1770 and Agnes Waters. They are extremely beautiful coastal towns perched on a headland with great fishing and kayaking – which we did both! This was also our first encounter with Queensland monsoonal rain. As we found out, our site was the un-official drain for the neighbouring sites and the road! We had several centimetres of water flowing freely under the camper! Considering the rain, the actual camper only had a few annoying little drips from a couple of the seams, which as per Murphy’s Law were straight above our pillows! Easy fixed, as we just re-sheeted the bed the other way around and put a towel down to soak up the drips.

It was also great to be able to finally swim at the beach without any fear of crocodiles. The beaches were beautiful and Stuart taught me to body surf. The slow gentle rolling waves were only little, but I managed to catch a couple. The main patrolled beach was full of families enjoying the surf and playing rugby on the compacted sand. An amazing little town with plenty to like!

From 1770, we also did a little day trip down to Bundaberg to go and visit the Bundy Rum Factory. Yes, we had to do it! Were we bundy fans???....no.....Are we now, having toured the factory???....no! It was interesting to see though, especially the enormous quantities involved in the brewing process. Once the rum is actually brewed and distilled, they have to let it mellow for a minimum of 2 years to be able to legally call it rum, resulting in a stock of 22,000,000 litres of rum stored in the wooden vats at any one time! And they are currently building more storage to be able to keep up with demand!

And of course, the free tastings. Stuart tried the Bundy Red and normal Bundy, whilst I tried the new Bundy Stout (on tap in the pubs here in Queensland) and the also new Bundy chocolate/coffee liqueur. Sadly, I couldn't finish either of them. Stuart polished off his, and mine. I’m just not a fan. Fun though.

Fraser Island



The ferry to Fraser Island

 Finally, we were heading to Fraser Island!!! We camped in Rainbow Beach the night before to be on the barge early morning, as we had read that the beach was only drivable 2 hours either side of low tide. It turned out that this wasn’t true, so we could have slept in, but we were grateful for the extra time on the island. A quick stop at the servo to fill up with fuel and buy some bait, and it was off to Inskip Point to meet our ferry!

Just before driving onto the beach to meet the ferry, we let the tyres down on both the car and trailer (20psi) and made it across the sand and onto the barge without any problems. A quick ten minute trip saw us driving straight off at the other end and onto the beach on Fraser Island. Our first impressions of Fraser Island were vast wide beaches with rough rolling seas, and CRAZY drivers! I mean CRAZY.... it didn’t take long for cars to start overtaking us on the beach, flogging up the beach at 80km per hour, splashing through fresh and salt water alike! We ended up pulling over and letting the barge-load of maniacs pass! Our peaceful drive didn’t last long though, as there were four ferry’s working the crossing, which saw another load of vehicles flogging past soon after!!!

Fraser Island is definitely the blokey fishing weekend destination, as we also passed a group of guys that had pulled over their vehicles a couple of kilometres up the beach to break out the eskies for a cold beer! It was only 8:30 in the morning!!

Eventually we came across a track that was signed Central Station where we were booked to camp. An ‘almost’ adventure as we couldn’t get over the dune and trailers are not easy to reverse on sand! A bit more air out of the tyres and we were back on our way!

Fraser Island is amazing with the different vegetation and forest types – there is so much variation as you drive around. We spent the rest of our first day exploring a few of the lakes, some crystal clear, and some tannin stained and the colour of tea! All of them had fine white sandy bottoms which you could clearly see as the water is completely free of silt and any algae!

Parked in front of the Maheno wreck

Our second day was spent with a drive up the beach all the way to Indian Head. We passed the Maheno shipwreck, which was washed up the beach quite a few years ago. It’s slowly rusting away, but it is pretty interesting to drive past. Unfortunately the weather was pretty average, with intermittent rain all the way up the beach. We reached Indian Head, but stopped there as it wasn’t worth going any further. We felt sorry for the people who were camped along the beach given the wind and rain! Our campsite at Central Station in the middle of the island was amongst the rainforest, so we didn’t get any of the wind at all!

I also caught my first fish!!! It’s really easy, you just wait until some guy pulls one in and then bat your eyelids and tell him how big it is – and then he just gives it to you!! I scored a beautiful big tailor, which the guy even bled before handing it to me. Stuart found it amusing that I still looked a little freaked out when it continued to kick whilst I was holding it! He later filleted it and cooked up a beautiful green curry for dinner!

We were given the tip by another camper that if the weather was bad on the eastern side of the island you could drive over the western side and the weather would be completely different. Stuart was really itching to throw a line in by this time so we headed west. To our amazement, we left the wind and rain on the eastern side and drove straight into calm and sunny weather on the western side! Stuart baited up an one inch hood and much to our amusement, managed to catch a two inch fish! With eyes obviously bigger than it’s stomach! So we had steak for dinner!

Our last day saw Stuart fishing on the eastern beach, without luck. The rest of the day was spent exploring some of the other inland areas of the island and having a swim at Lake MacKenzie. It has spectacular crystal clear water over a fine, pure white sandy bottom and definitely one of the many highlights of the island and attracts a daily crowd. We were glad that we had missed out on seeing it during a peak period! It would be crazy, and probably also a bit dangerous with so many 4WD’s on the tracks.

After catching the ferry back to the mainland, we decided we would head down into the Noosa Everglades and camp a couple of nights at a place called Harrys Hut after an old timber cutter’s hut on the side of the river. We spent a beautiful day paddling down the river to an interpretation centre built out over the water.



Graham's kayak



Cute!

At the campground, we made acquaintances with Graham, a retired woodwork teacher who had built his own wooden kayak and quaint little camper! Both were absolutely beautifully crafted.

From there we drove through to Noosa, where we planned to hire a malibu and Stuart was going to teach me to surf. The weather was still pretty average, but the Noosa headland had a beautiful little wave rolling, so we hired a board and hit the waves. It was great fun learning the ropes and I managed to almost stand up – I got up on one foot and one knee!

Stuart was also pretty keen to have a go, as he hadn’t had surfed for years. I think the bug might have bitten again, as he was grinning from ear to ear after catching his first wave and riding it all the way into the beach!

We have some great pictures we took with the camera, but you’ll have to wait as they are saved on the camera’s internal memory instead of the memory card and we can’t get them off at the moment!

Our camper was also put to its biggest test yet! It was raining when we went to bed, but with 230mm of rain falling in 24 hours, the little creek near our campsite in the caravan park got quite a lot bigger overnight! We woke up around midnight to about three inches of water flowing through our campsite. This was a little concerning and Stuart went and woke up the manager who came down and had a look. The water was steadily rising, so we, along with several other camps were put up for the rest of the night in onsite cabins. We moved the car but left the camper trailer where it stood, so Stuart had a bit of a sleepless night regularly checking on the water level, worrying whether it was going to flood the camper or not. Thankfully not though! Sorry, no photographs, we were too busy trying to keep dry!

With continuing severe weather warnings, we have now headed south to Brisbane. We took the scenic drive through the mountains, but given the rain and cloud, we couldn’t see much. We climbed to the top of one of the Glasshouse Mountains and could faintly see some of the surrounding mountain peaks – just! We also stopped in at Australia Zoo for a bit of a gander, but decided not to go in and to spend the $120 saved (sorry Kai & Rui but it was $59 each for adults!) on something else – more surfing!

Whitsundays Islands

Yeah, yeah, we know you’ve all be waiting for the next update – sorry it’s been a while, but we’ve been in cruise mode for the last couple of weeks!


Stuart building the MkII

As it turned out, our planned short stop in Townsville turned into an extended week after I twisted a muscle in my neck (for the second time this trip!) and could hardly move. I was only doing some gently stretching exercises! So while I rested on doctors orders, Stuart kept himself busy dismantling the wooden storage box he built back in Alice Springs, as it had gone really mouldy in the wet, damp weather we have been experiencing. Enter a trip to Bunnings, and ‘Wooden Box - MkII’ was constructed, being of much sturdier plywood and more functional design utilising plastic tubs as drawers. He has painted this one to try and ensure it doesn’t go mouldy like the last one!

One night we decided to have a seafood cook-up, as Stuart really wanted to have a mud crab. We couldn’t find any mud crabs, so we settled for Moreton Bay Bugs, king prawns and some barramundi cooked on the BBQ. This was also coupled with fresh vegetables we bought at the local market. I also found a fantastic stall at the markets selling vintage clothing, buying four dresses for $65!

Whitsunday Island

After three extensions on our stay in Townsville, my neck was finally feeling better and we headed off for Airlie Beach and our Whitsunday kayaking/camping trip! Yah!!!

We booked a water taxi company called ‘SCAMPER’ who ferried us out to the islands and provided us with fresh water and stinger suits. They dropped us and our kayaks off at Joe’s Beach on Whitsunday Island. Originally, we were planning to island hop in the kayaks for four days and get picked up from a different beach, but given my neck was still a bit tender, we opted for a standing camp at Joes Beach, and just do day trips out in the kayaks exploring and snorkelling.

Sunset from our campsite

When we were dropped off we were really excited to discover we were going to be the only ones camped on the beach – we had it all to ourselves for the first two days and nights! Our days consisted of getting up, having a leisurely breakfast on the beach, lots of swimming and snorkelling straight out from our beach, exploring in the kayaks, the odd afternoon snooze on the beach, and fresh entrees of rock oysters (Stuart found them at low tide!), and topped off with sunset dining on the beach. It was really hard to take! Honestly!

Having the kayaks was a real bonus, as our paddles rewarded us with close encounters with numerous turtles, stingrays and reef sharks. In some instances the turtles and stingrays swam directly under our kayaks and we could see them in every detail. It was absolute magic!

Our third day on the island saw a young French couple join us on our secluded beach! Another beautiful day ensued, however that evening the heavens opened in a massive way. Hamilton Island nearby recorded 66mm of rain overnight. We were nice and dry in our tent, but our neighbours tent wasn’t up to the deluge! We woke to discover that they had spent the night floating on their air mattress in their tent, and everything was saturated. To make it even worse, a little local resident (a native marmot) had paid them a visit during the night and chewed through the side of their tent and had a chomp on their food (ours was safely stored in our kayaks). They were cold, wet and not looking forward to spending another night on the island with everything soaked!

Stuart had turned on our phone to check what the weather was doing, when to my surprise, SCAMPER rang to see how we had faired overnight! We managed to arrange a pickup later that morning, much to the relief of our neighbours! It was a day early for us, but the forcast was for continued rain (which it did for the remainder of the day!). We found out when we got back into Airlie Beach, we had to stay the night there anyway as the roads out were all closed due to local flooding!

So we found a cheap motel, and after a hot shower and a warm cuppa, we started trying to dry all of our wet gear. Not sure if the owners of the motel would have been happy having everything spread out around our room! We spent the evening catching up with our caught up with our French friends for a couple of cold beers and pizza’s.

Eungella National Park

Pioneer Valley from Eungella

The next day the roads opened and we headed up into the mountains to Eungella National Park where we had read you have a good chance of seeing a platypus. We camped just out of the national park, in State Forest on the banks of the Broken River. We had the entire campground to ourselves for two nights! Originally, we planned to drive back into the park to a platypus spotting platform, however it turned out that we had our own resident platypus directly out from our camper! We were both very excited and as luck would have it, the little platypus came out every evening and morning that we were there! We were able to watch him up close through binoculars as he duck dived, chased his tail and even rolled over onto his back. He was soooo cute! I loved him!

Just after dark each evening there were also fire flies buzzing around the river banks. One of them actually flew into our camp and landed on the table between us, allowing us to see him up close – it looked like he had a little pulsating LED strapped to his abdomen!

Eungella is actually located on top of the ranges, and given the record wet weather this area has been experiencing, we were actually camped in the clouds. This combined with some heavy showers of rain, the camper’s canvas was absolutely soaked, resulting in everything starting to get really damp. So we decided to pack up and headed out to somewhere a little drier! Driving back out to the bitumen, we found that the tracks were also now really wet and slippery. My heart leaped a little when the car started to slide in the mud going down one of the hills, but Stuart had it under control fairly quickly (coupled with a big grin!) We also had to get out the axe and hack back a tree that had fallen across the track!

After a quick check of the weather forecast on the internet, we decided to head south to Rockhampton to try and dry out for a bit. It was a good decision, as we have now managed to dry out the camper and all of our wet gear. Given Rockhampton is the self proclaimed ‘Beef Capital’ we decided to go out and have a big steak at a little local tavern, as we had been given a tip off by the visitor centre about their 2 for 1 offer on a Thursday night - $24 saw both of us with a beautifully cooked steak, chips and salad!

We have about a week before we take the car and camper out to Fraser Island, but given the unseasonal rain, we are having to revise our plans, as we have been told that there are a lot of roads closed around the place due to all of the rain. But there is no lack of things for us to do!

Love to all!
Mish & Stu