Our side trip to Mildura…

Have you ever made plans and then something happens…and you find yourself doing a complete about face. Well we planned to head for Halls Creek (W.A) immediately following Easter. Our plan was….starting from the Mann’s block, just south of Canberra at a place called Shannon’s Flat we intended to drive North through western NSW and Western Qld, duck across the Territory and pop into W.A. Well things didn’t exactly turn out that way. We didn’t receive any phone calls over the Easter weekend owing to the fact we were camped out of range. However during our quick trip into experience ANZAC Day in our nation’s capital…the phone rang. It was Ruth, a.k.a ‘The Old Girl’, it turns out she was in Mildura for Easter with good friends. She asked us to consider popping into Mildura on the way to Hall’s Creek to do a little side project. We told her we’d pray about it.

Long story short….we drove out of Shannon’s Flat and headed south the next morning. Bound for Mildura. Through a quirk of events Daniel’s parents had ended up staying in Mildura with these people as well, due to Bus trouble. It seems we missed Ruth, Paul and Lincoln by 24 hours….they had returned to Townsville Never mind. We had Ruth’s assurance that these people were lovely and just the fact they were good mates was all we needed to know. We drove into Mildura mid afternoon on the 28th April. We introduced ourselves to Jodie and Andrew, their children Beau, Summer and Storm…and it was like meeting old friends. Strange how sometimes the people you meet, make you feel so welcome it’s like you’ve known them forever!

The story is…Andrew is pretty crook, and they’ve been putting together an outdoor living area. Jodie and Beau had laid the slab….It’s my understanding that Ruth and Paul helped put the corrugated iron up and we were here to roll up our sleeves and lend a hand with the odd light switch and power point. My hunk a spunk quickly set to work…. 2 ten hour work days later he had power to the shed! We drove out of there feeling very blessed. It is such a privilege to help others. To lend a hand, extend a kindness.

The Askey-Doran Family and most of the Martin Family	Back: Summer, Jodie & space for Beau Front… Storm & Andrew	Daniel’s Mum, Jenny, and Jodie enjoying The Lounge area…
We affectionately called this, the Bus shelter! It’s the walkway between the main house and the outdoor area.	The very classy toilet! Note the water tap sticking out the top!	Jodie’s Witches Hat (lights)
Connor making good use of "The Reading Nook”	Jodie honey…Proof I shut the gate on my way out!	Sunset over the back paddock!
The lights fit in beautifully, very rustic!	Life revolves around the wood heater!	This will eventually be the bar area! Love the witches hats Jodie!

The outdoor living area is seriously cool! I hope you get a sense of the personality of these guys through the photos. We are looking forward to popping in on them again somewhere down the track

Escaping Cyclones

When you live in a camper trailer, there are certain things you never want to see. Bushfires, hailstones and cyclones come to mind. As we were preparing to leave Cairns after Christmas, a cyclone seemed to be forming in the Pacific Ocean. Looks like its time to head south!

We took two days to drive to Townsville, stopping at overnight Paronella Park (which Josie has written a blog article about) and then paying visits to the Lucinda Jetty and Wallaman Falls near Ingham.

The bulk sugar terminal at Lucinda is home to the longest jetty of its kind in the southern hemisphere. Stretching over 5km into the sea, it has a conveyor belt system used to load sugar on to the bulk carriers that transport it across the globe. They jetty is so long, you can see the curvature of the earth within its length. There is a beautiful playground and picnic area in the surrounding grounds, but we didn’t stop for very long – we are on a tight schedule.

Whilst we were visiting Lucinda, I had a phone call from Richard, a friend in Townsville. I told Richard we were heading for a look at Wallaman Falls next and he said “Keep an eye out for the cassowary that I saw last time I was there.” Cassowary sightings are very special, as these creatures are very shy and becoming increasingly rare.

Imagine our surprise as we drove along Wallaman Falls road to see a large cassowary feeding on the side of the road. He didn’t run away as we approached, frantically getting the camera ready, and then further amazed us when we spotted three chicks walking along in the bush behind him. We stopped for a few photos, and then as we drove away, he continued on his merry way as though nothing had happened. Fascinating!

When we arrived at Wallaman Falls lookout, we could see a rather large storm on its way, and the thought of driving back down the dirt road in the pouring rain forced us to take a few quick photos and get back in the car for the hair raising trip back down the mountain.

Fortunately, the wet weather had made the drive worthwhile, as the highest single drop waterfall in Australia was spectacular. Stony Creek cascades off the edge of the precipice almost 1000 feet to the invisible pool at the bottom, obscured by the mist generated by the falling water.

We arrived in Townsville for a few days stopover with Mum, Dad and my sister Roni, who had flown in from Equador for Christmas. We made a visit to Crystal Creek for a rather chilly swim, managed to do some electrical work for a friend, and visited Alligator Creek where I spent my teenage years.

CYCLONE UPDATE: As we left Townsville, tropical cyclone Anthony was heading for the Queensland coast, but it wasn’t very powerful. Best to be safe and get out of there though.

Having lived in Townsville for many years, and driven to Brisbane along the coast many times, I decided that this time we would tackle the trip a little more slowly, rather than with the usual rush and hurry we had become accustomed to. We stopped at the beachfront in Bowen to have a late lunch, and then drove through to Proserpine, where we stayed for the night, at the Peter Faust dam. We were the only people in the caravan park, which becomes filled to the brim during fishing season, around August/September each year. It is a beautiful area and we took some great shots:

Peter Faust Dam Wall

Mount Roma

Sunset at Peter Faust Dam

The next day we drove through Airlie Beach and Shute Harbour for a quick look, before heading to Mackay for the night. We thought we would just spend one night in Mackay and then keep moving, but as we approached, we saw a sign for a water park in town that looked like it would be worth a visit. We elected to stay two nights and enjoy the water park for a while.

Chasing seagulls along Airlie Beach	The bug water bucket in the Mackay water park
Everyone enjoyed cooling off	The water park in Mackay is beautiful

After Mackay, we endured the long 100km journey (joke!) to Carmilla Beach, just south of Sarina. We stayed at Carmilla Beach for three days, fossicking on the beach at low tide, testing out the cast net and trying our hand at fishing. We only managed to catch a small hammerhead shark, but thoroughly enjoyed a few days rest and recuperation by the beach.

Camping right on the beach	We tried to throw it back, alas it did not make it
Fishing while the kids are playing	Love having a campfire
Reflections on our fishing experiences	Sunset over the sand flats at low tide

Carmilla beach was very restful and no-one wanted to pack up and leave, but there was one small problem: CYCLONE UPDATE: Tropical Cyclone Anthony will hit the Queensland coast around Bowen shortly, and bring widespread rain to the area. Further out in the ocean, another, larger cyclone is forming.

Taking the long route again, we drove towards Rockhampton, thinking there might be some work there, and we might be able to relieve our very stretched financial resources. We stopped for a look around Yeppoon and decided we could stay here, while I went to Rocky to look for work. We found an affordable little caravan park, just north of Emu Park called The Causeway. What a great spot, situated right beside a large lake, with wide open spaces, power and water available and very friendly people all around.

The memorial to Captain Cook at Emu Park sings in the wind

Alas, my search for work in Rocky provided fruitless after a week so we decided to move on towards Gladstone and Tannum Sands. Still taking the long way, we drove through Gladstone taking in the mines and aluminium smelter at Boyne Island. We stopped for lunch at Tannum Sands and then headed for 1770 and Agnes Waters for the night. We stayed overnight at a caravan park on the outskirts of town. As the only tenants (again), it was very peaceful and relaxing.

1770 is a most picturesque place, and we could easily be convinced to spend more time here. It is named for Captain Cooks landing place before he returned to settle the land.

The waves breaking over the rocks at 1770	It was a bit windy the day we visited
It looks like it might be a bit windy most of the time	The cairn to commemorate Cooks landing