Enjoying Family

So 2 weeks turned into 6 weeks and we totally enjoyed our time with family. It has been 12 months since we have seen them. School sports days, basketball and netball, daily Wordle challenge, movie nights, and a holiday just with the grandkiddies at the Sunshine Coast, for hiking, lots of fishing and swimming.

We stayed beach front Alexandra Headlands so we were spoilt for choice for good surf beaches.  The swell was strong all week.

Many thanks to our great friend Tom who met us at Chambers Is in the Maroochy River armed with his yabbie pump so we could fish with live bait. He taught each of the kids how to use it, and helped with the fishing.  The kids caught a total of 13 fish over the week, including at least 7 good size whiting.

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Jacey caught the most and the only one game to kiss the fish!

 A couple of afternoons they fished until sunset….sooo keen

Mr Pelican did not want to be left out

We hiked Mt Ninderry, (seen in the distance) and also explored the forest behind our hotel.

Had time for some craft…cross stitch projects with the girls in between all the sport

 

And had a lovely Mothers Day, another great day with family, pancakes breakfast and roast for dinner.

Next week we are heading up to Cairns in North Qld for the winter, and to have some family time with Craig.

Almost a Lap

We were just reflecting on our last year,  and this is how it looked

9 1/2 months on the road non stop

18,120 km

130 different overnight stops

7 1/2 months just in Western Australia, we are glad we did not take it any quicker, there was just so much to see

We just have Brisbane to Cairns to do by mid June and then that will be 12 months and 1 complete lap, although Tasmania still to come.

A Rural River Run to Qld

We left the Yorke Peninsula to meet up with Derek’s sister Lindsey at Murray Bridge. It would be our last window of opportunity for our paths to cross as she is touring east to west and we are heading west to east. We hadn’t seen her for 2 years, since we last caught up in WA Lucky Bay just as covid-19 hit. It was so lovely to have a fun weekend with her and some of her travelling pals.

We took inspiration from the Murray River at Murray Bridge and decided to follow yet again a road less travelled back to Qld via free camps along picturesque rivers.

MURRAY RIVER at MURRAY BRIDGE only 1 hour from Adelaide

We caught up with some pals from WA who we spent Christmas with and who are working on an almond farm at Lindsay River on the upper Murray River

Silo art is very popular,  on route at Karoonda...our favourite breed of dog, the Kelpie

Another example near the Murray at Nulawul

LINDSAY RIVER

It poured down just after we parked up, and soon realised we were parked on dry clay which soon turned to sticky slimy mud, we were the only ones around, but Greg said to call him and he would bring a tractor next morning if we needed it. We were okay thank goodness, and we still took the short cut muddy dirt (not river clay) road out for 30km, but headed straight for a car wash in Mildura

MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER...Sandy Point at HAY

We parked well back from the River, very popular for an overnight stop

We haven’t visited Hay before so with time on our hands we waited out the rain up ahead on the Qld/NSW BORDER for a couple of days, there was a lot to see on our 2 walks into town....we don’t mind walking our bundle of washing in to town with us

Old Railway Hotel

1883 - presented to the people from the Mayor

The Rain Bomb persisted so we did our best to avoid it with a further 3 nights just up the road from Hay at 

LAKE CARGELIGO a little north of CONDOBOLIN

another popular spot, and can stay up to a week

We were about 600m from the town High St, good chance to walk another bundle of washing into town, and saves unhitching the car and caravan. We had a great walk around parts of the lake, 6km soon adds up

Loving these relaxing views, and only a handful of campers 


It doesn’t get much better than this......we were entertained watching the Grebe duckies, and the occasional water skiers

We were on the edge of the bad weather so only caught the odd shower

Lots of little quirky towns to pass through......the Dalek has seen better days

Next stop was just outside of Dubbo for 2 nights whilst the rain bomb moved further north back over south east Queensland and northern NSW

MACQUARRIE RIVER at TERRAMUNGAMINE RESERVE 

We had to sit through one day of constant light showers, not too bad considering the devastating floods many endured. Our first night there were about 10, and 5 the second night

There are ancient grooves where rocks had been used for sharpening tools

With the skies clearing we moved closer to the border, but first had to check out town and road closures, as rivers were flooding as a result of nearly a week’s rain, so we avoided the Newell Highway at Goondiwindi which was closed as the Macintyre River was to reach flood level, so had 1 night further upstream on the

GWYDIR RIVER at BINGARA 

We had stayed here before.....fabulous little town, and very welcoming, providing half of the “town common” for river front camping. A very popular spot for us older caravanners

Plenty of birds and horses

The view whilst cooking dinner


This is my breakfast in bed view

Staying off the main Newell Highway is always fun, quiet and you get to see the countryside at its best and worst. This time it was ssoooo green.

We had to wait for these 2 bulls to sort out their differences..

Coming over the range was difficult, the road signs got difficult to spot in the long grass




We crossed the border at lunch time at Texas, (stayed there on the Dumeresq River 2 years ago) and always looking for something different we moved on up to MACINTYRE BROOK at INGLEWOOD RESERVE 

Not so idealistic with heavy trucks coming over the bridge into town all night, but a lovely river walk into town next morning. There were about 6 of us overnight.

Last stop is LOGAN RIVER at Tully Memorial Park at Maclean near Jimboomba, 

for a short overnighter, and then family tomorrow

The Cunningham Highway from Inglewood via Warwick and through Cunninghams Gap was is shocking condition, after the latest rain bomb on the heals of worse flooding only a month or so ago. Road works, large potholes and disintegrated road edges made for a very slow and bouncy trip into Brisbane. 

Bird of the week Great Crested Grebe at Lake Cargeligo,  mother Grebe fished for all the daylight hours to feed her 2 young ducklings, who just swam around waiting for the next catch

Ye Olde Yorke

We had a lovely 11 nights visiting both sides of the Yorke. The towns are old, small and quaint, and largely built with stone and full of history, and the coastline in between is untouched or grazing land dotted with derelict ruins of old farm houses.

MOONTA is a very large town that was settled around a copper mine in the 1860s, with Cornish Tin miners brought in to mine it. We stayed 2 nights on the RV oval for a donation so we could explore both the town and the old mining district

Famous for its Cornish Pasties...yummm

Old mine remains, although the church and cottages are still used

1860s

ARDROSSAN is famous for the red cliffs and blue swimmer crabs, off the jetty or rake the sand at low tide. We stayed at a bush camp which had been Parara Sheep Station

Parara Station old homestead


Down the coast to PORT VINCENT and walked to the lookout over the harbour

We had a treat of 8 fur seals basking on the rocks, and diving in for s swim

EDITHBURGH for lunch..great view


A lot of the Yorke interior is made up of salt lakes

WOOROOKA and YORKE commercial towns, good for free overnight camping

MARION BAY and nearby the remains of STENHOUSE BAY which historically mined and supplied Australia’s chalk and plaster raw materials

Remnants of the old rail track from Inneston to Stenhouse Bay jetty ( high on the cliff above the jetty)

INNESTON AND INNES NATIONAL PARK

The NP had a few lighthouses, many wrecks and some lovely scenery....Cape Spencer Lighthouse

And view from here

The Wreck “Edith”

West Cape Lighthouse..unusual shape snd made of unpainted metal

and view from here, we had lunch at the bays

Inneston was almost a ghost town, with only the Managers Homestead, the Post Office and 2 other cottages restored and used for holiday let. The walking trail through the town had signs outside the remnants of the bakery, school building site, stables, Lime and Chalk works and furnace. You could hike along the old lime trail 7km to Stenhouse Bay jetty where the chalk was exported to Melbourne

I am normally the opener of the paddock gates...this was a first and a bit tricky

Blue Lake Inneston....a salt lake


We overnighted in Marion Bay Cvn Pk for easy access to the National Park

POINT TURTON the only modern but small town on the Peninsula, we stayed in the caravan park for 3 nights near the jetty. It is very beautiful and popular, but we had the worst site, hated the noise and lack of space so left a day early.  Fishing off the jetty and rocks was overcrowded at peak tide times and a bit hit and miss, but the water was crystal clear 

Sunrise is at 7.20am, it was not hard to catch

 Nearby Flahertys Beach, the temp hit the low 30s again, great timing for a final swim before winter

We went to the much more secluded BARKERS ROCKS bush camp for peace and quiet and squid fishing, Derek caught one, whilst others caught a few, I only caught a couple of small flathead

Squidding off this reef with a float and squid jig....we only had one float

This is a squid caught on a jig

Also great for swimming and snorkelling 

We had one day of rain, but a beautiful sunset

Promise to self ..... to go back to Barkers Rocks for a couple of weeks......loved it that much