Townsville and Charters Towers

From Airlie Beach we backtracked north on the Bruce Highway to Townsville.  We had given ourselves all day to travel the 280km journey - so it gave us time to explore some of the sights on the way.

Our first stop was Bowen.  We had never pulled into Bowen on previous trips north and south, so we decided to head to Flagstaff Hill and check out the signposted Interpretive Centre.  The Interpretive Centre consisted of a couple of information billboards in a café.  It might have been a stretch to call it an Interpretive Centre, but the view from the top was very pleasing.

Towards Gloucester Island from Flagstaff Hill

Bowen - from Flagstaff Hill

Tourists in Cairns - well sort of...

With Rocky broken down and there being absolutely nothing I could do about it, I felt as if a great weight had been lifted and slept soundly for the first time in ages.  Keeping the show on the road, trying to stay a day or three ahead was obviously more stressful than I realised.  It was time to take a holiday from our holiday!

We treated ourselves to dinner at the Bamaga Resort - and were pleasantly surprised with a delicious meal and great service.  The following day we caught up on some school-work and kicked around the pool before taking an evening flight to Cairns.  We had been hoping to catch the full moon from the some outback camping area, but as it was we saw a magnificent sunset and moon rise from 21 000 feet!  As glorious as it was, even the iPhone couldn't capture an image through the pexi-glass windows!

Not quite our planned form of transportation

We had planned on taking two weeks to rattle our way back to Cairns.  It felt like we were cheating a bit by taking a two hour flight - but there really wasn't anything we could do about it - and so we sat back and relaxed.

Volkswagen continued to look after us with a hire car waiting for us at the airport.  The rows of dazzling cars in the car park reminded us we have been 'out bush' for a long time indeed.  In no time at all we dumped our bags at he hotel and headed to the Night Markets for a leg stretch and bit of supper.  The city was busy - which was great to see - and seems to be shaking off its downturn of the last few years.

The following morning we found ourselves in the unusual position of having nothing planned - so we walked around town like real tourists.  Both Jo and I have lived in Cairns previously, and it was wonderful to introduce our boys to some of our fond memories of the city.  

Cairns Waterfront, delightful, when the tide is in!

The magical Broome

With two good weeks since our last stay in civilisation (if you could call being stuck at Gascoyne Junction civilisation), it was time for us to settle down for a few days of being a tourist in a tourist town.  In fact we have been travelling reasonably hard since Easter, and it was time for a day or two of rest.  We arrived in Broome early in the morning, thankful our roadside camp the night before was only a couple of hours down the road. 

Boab trees in Broome 

We were struck by the warmth and the humidity, and for the first time it felt like we were truly in the tropics.  Jo felt at home, and I too was transported back to a younger time in my life.  It was a glorious feeling to be back in the balmy weather - kind of like running into an old friend you had lost touch with.  We were glad to have chosen to spend a few days here.

Several people we had met on the road didn't have much to say about Broome, which was surprising.  It all comes down to what you expect and want to achieve I guess.  We booked ourselves into a caravan park with a fantastic pool, and then hit the town!

Karijini and Tom Price - the heart of the Pilbara

Karijini National Park is an incredible place that is lucky to be still here.  Whilst its natural beauty is beyond question, its boundaries seem at the whim of mining interests, and have changed many times.  It could still be at risk of being mined - so the bottom line is get here while you can!

The Pilbara's story is as old as time.  As the stromatolites slowly released oxygen into the oceans some 3 billion years ago, the earth's atmosphere started to change.  Large quantities of iron in the water essentially rusted - and settled on the sea bed.  

Move the clock foward to the present day, and the rock is now part of Australia.  Humic acid from decaying rainforest vegetation has leeched the iron from the upper levels of the soil, concentrating it at greater depths.  In these depths, the iron bearing rock can be as much as 60 percent iron - an incredibly high yeild - and a clue to the economic importance of this region.

Hamersley Gorge

Over the past few million years, gorges have been carved into the old sea beds, creating natural rock pools of incredible beauty.  In fact the whole landscape is incredibly beautiful, and as we have explored it, many times we have not taken a photo beacuse there is no way of capturing the magnitude, beauty or scale of the magnificent vistas.  You simply must come here and see it for yourselves.

Our first stop on the drive down from Millstream Chichester was the Hamersley Gorge.  There was only one other vehicle in the carpark - a bus - meaning that if we were prepared to wait a little while, we might just get the place to ourselves... which is exactly what did happen.  Before too long we were swimming in Hamersley Gorge - and we made our way up to a rock pool appropriately named the spa.  It was devine.   The only problem was we left our bathers in a bag at the bottom pool, and we didn't want to get our clothes wet.  Good job we had the place to ourselves wasn't it!

There is so much more to Shark Bay than Dolphins (or Sharks)

From Kalbarri we headed north along a dry and desolate landscape to Shark Bay.  We fuelled up at the Overlander Roadhouse, and headed towards Denham, the service town on Peron Peninsula.  Our destination for the evening was Big Lagoon, a camp-site in the Francois Peron National Park.  The best part about the camp, was it was about 12 kilometres down a sandy track - and DPAW had installed a tyre station so you could quickly let down and pump up your tyres!  

Letting down the tyres at the DPAW tyre station!  Brilliant idea.

The vegetation in Francois Peron National Park is much more prolific than the surrounding countryside, due to a large vermin proof fence across the peninsula, and a very active baiting and trapping program being carried out.  Called Project Eden, the aim is to return the country to what it was before Europeans came to stay.  The project has re-introduced native animals that have become extinct in the area due to predators such as feral cats and foxes, and it is working to protect the vegetation and other small animals from overgrazing and damage caused be feral goats.  It seems to be doing a pretty good job - but I fear this country will never be able to return to what it was before.  We wondered if Francois Peron were to return here, whether he would find the same thousand plant and animal specimens he did on his first visit here back in 1801.

But as impressive as Project Eden is, no one comes to the Peron Peninsula to just visit Francois Peron National Park.  No, just down the road is Monkey Mia and the famous wild dolphins that come in daily to interact with the people that come from around the world to feed them.

Surprising Geraldton

We arrived in Geraldton with the main aim of getting a service at the last Volkswagen dealer before Alice Springs or Darwin.  It seems the transformation of Geraldton from a rough industrial town into a vibrant city is well under way, and with a day to spend in the town, we started in the very centre of town.

The wonderful foreshore

When the rail line to the Port was moved from the foreshore, the city embarked on a massive redevelopment of its waterfront. A real hit for the kids was the water-park!

The Water Park - built on the old railway line!

Nearby we checked out the locally built submarine, built as a prototype for a local Western Rock Lobster fisherman. Unfortunately the venting of the lead acid batteries rendered the experiment a failure, but I was amazed that such a project had even been commenced.

The submarine was painted yellow after the Beatles hit song... as you do

Coffin Bay and Baird Bay - both unforgettable

Coffin Bay National Park is only a short drive from Port Lincoln, and we were nervous it would be busy.  We had been advised that Lincoln National Park would be packed for the long weekend, and expected that the crowds would overflow to Coffin Bay also.

The trick to avoid the crowds is to go a little further than everyone else.  The National Park advises 4WD only past Yangie Bay – and I was a little nervous (and excited) as I let the tyres down.  And am I glad I did.  Almost immediately past the Yangie Bay campground we found ourselves in soft sand.  Towing a trailer in these conditions adds an element of excitement as you really must keep the momentum up, but still have to be prepared to meet someone coming the opposite way on the single lane tracks. 

We made it through the sand, and over the rocky limestone ledges without a drama (and without meeting anyone) and set up camp at Black Springs.  We had a great campsite – again overlooking a pristine beach, with nice shade and shelter – and caught up with some friends we had met a few nights earlier.

The view from Black Springs Camp

The road continues past Black Springs and onto Seven Mile Beach, before returning inland for the western most part of the Park.  I was glad we had left the camper behind as we went for a little drive out onto the beach – and the boys loved the massive sand dunes that came right up to the beach.

Craters, Cones, Lakes and a Peacock

We left the Great Ocean Road at Port Campbell and headed inland looking for a quiet camp, and found a sheltered spot on the edge of Lake Elingamite.   There was a playground for the kids, nice shady trees to protect us from the wind, and not too many other people around.  It slowly dawned on us though that we were sitting in what very much felt like a crater, and indeed it was.  More correctly termed a Maar Crater, meaning it was formed when upwelling lava met groundwater and caused an explosion of steam and rock. It doesn't have the classic cone shape that you would expect a volcano to have.  Needless to say, we were surprised, having grown up thinking Australia was a geologically very stable country, and here we were in a recent (of sorts) volcanic landscape.

Our camp at Lake Elingamite

We explored further and visited Mount Leura near Camperdown.  A classic cone and maar system, it also had fantastic views across the surrounding plains.  Some of the lakes were simply beautiful, however most are on private property and you cannot access them.

Big Red Run - Day 2 - Condobolin to White Cliffs

We decided we wanted to be on the road by 8.30am, with the aim of making White Cliffs in the evening.  The kids were briefed that it would be a long day in the car, and after a damp pack up we hit the road.
 

We had decided to head north west to Cobar, before tracking west to Wilcannia.  The boys were bored with the black top, and kept asking when we would hit the dirt…  Not long was the answer, until we hit it, and the initial squeals of delight soon were replaced with the boys asking when we would be back on the black top!  I think they appreciated the fact we could travel a bit quicker on the bitumen roads, and the bumps were far more frequent and violent on the dirt!

Red Dirt!

Big Red Run - Day 1 - Home to Condobolin

As with all things requiring preparation, our shakedown trip to Birdsville was upon us before we knew it.  A previous commitment to a couple of weeks at sea ensured that I was unable to do anything much towards our trip - except occasionally ponder the situation between waves of nausea.

We berthed in Sydney on Sunday, and as the financial year closed, we caught up with family and friends in the big smoke, before barrelling south on the Monday to shop, pack and get our heads around the adventure ahead.

As we headed south we started to actually plan the journey ahead, and developed a rough meal plan.  We had originally planned to pack on the Tuesday, and get up at the crack of dawn on the Wednesday and make as much ground north west as we could, however Jo had a fantastic idea.  She suggested that if we were ready to head off on Tuesday afternoon, then we should aim to get a few hours down the road in order to break the journey.  I couldn't agree more - so the timetable was adjusted.

All packed at last...

The Return of Spring!

At last, the days a getting longer, and more importantly warmer, and thoughts turn again to getting back on the road and camping.  The camper has been sitting in the shed for the past couple of months, and is getting itchy feet - or is that itchy wheels... Either way, we are keen to get back under canvas soon.

I hope to give an update in the next couple of weeks of our pre-season maintenance schedule for the camper, but that can wait until I haul it out of the shed and take some photos.  We have kept the solar panel hooked up to the batteries, so they're fully charged and sitting at 14volts which is great.  The camper is looking a little dusty, and I am in the process of changing the generator box for a new one to house the Coleman Hot Water system...  All good fun!

In the meantime it has been a hectic few months in this household.  The usual whirlwind of school and all its associated additional commitments, with a few other projects on the go, including unpacking and setting up our new home was compounded with a bit of surgery and a few weeks laid up.  Ah if only there was more hours in each day!

With impeccable timing,  the day I go in for surgery, the Little Helper revealed that he had perhaps got a small piece of Lego stuck up his nose.   Jo ended up spending all day at hospital with him, whilst various nurses and doctors all had a go at removing the Lego.    Eventually a team of three burly nurses wrapped him in a sheet and held him still whilst a doctor extracted the Lego.  It was a painful way to learn that the only thing you should stick in your nose, is your elbow!

Internal Combustion Engine Model - for little mechanics (and not so little ones!)

The Little Fisherman has been showing more interest in the mechanical workings of engines of late, so when I found this model of an internal combustion engine by Haynes, I knew I had the perfect birthday present.  We spent the best part of a rainy day putting it together, and were thrilled with the result.

Of course we then had to try out our skills on a real car.

Free Hand Winch!!!

After our last camping trip turned out to be a little chilly, we have been waiting for warmer weather to head out under canvas again. As with all these things, life gets in the road of camping adventures, and finding free weekends seems to be more and more challenging. Still we can take solace in the beautiful weather that has graced the Southern Highlands recently as we re-discover our old friend, the Sun.

With a busy schedule of birthday parties, school excursions and home renovations, I haven’t had much time to tinker with the Terracan or the Camper, Matilda. Indeed the camper lies under wraps eagerly anticipating the next opportunity to get dirty, whenever that might be.

Always an opportunist I had been keeping an eye out for a Hand Winch. Second hand winches are available, but the quality was a concern. Also cheap winches from China seemed to make the grade, but I was not confident to leap in and purchase one. You can thus imagine joy when I ducked into Repco for a couple of small hose claps the other day to discover a 20% discount for NRMA members and a lonely Hand Winch and Tree Truck Protector looking for a new home.

To her credit, Jo didn’t even roll her eyes when I came home with my $400 hose clamps that came with a free winch and tree trunk protector…. I am a lucky man!

But having a new toy in its packet is a sad state of affairs. I was determined NOT to be on the side of a track, bogged to the gunwales, only to find out the new winch is missing some critical piece of hardware or worse still I am unable to make it work. I elected to give the winch a try on the weekend.

Snow - and the longest journey to get there!

With all the cold weather blasting its way over the southern tablelands this past week or so, I had it on good authority that there would be a good dusting of snow in the Brindabella Mountains, just south of Canberra. I figured when the BOM said there were likely to be blizzard conditions and snow down to 900 metres we would have as good as chance as any of finding plenty of the white stuff to play in.

In previous years we had organised a convoy with either the good folk from this forum, or from our local community to go into the hills with the simple objective of finding enough snow for the kids to make a snowman, have a snowfight and perhaps even a simple toboggan (on an old boogie board). We have found snow on each of our previous excursions to the south of Picadilly Circus on the Mount Franklin Road.

The late notice meant we were setting forth solo. Maxtrax were loaded into Terry, along with a primus stove, dry clothes, lunch and extra provisions for the Hobbits.

The Little Helpers are excited to be heading south!

So off we set – confidently proceeding over Uriarra Crossing and on our way up the mountains. The little helpers knew we were off to find snow, but we hadn't promised anything until we saw the mountains in the distance, with a great white colouring... excitement was building, promises were made that we would be soon playing in the snow when disaster struck...

Zig Zag Railway and Turon National Park

It isn't often that we get to pack a full adventure into a short period of time, but that is exactly what we did last weekend. With car and camper fully packed we set off on Friday morning for our friend’s house near Mudgee, via Tuena, Bathurst and Sofala. It is a very scenic drive at any time of year, and it is great to see the country so green after so many years of drought.

A great night with friends around a campfire was enjoyed by all, before an early start on Saturday morning to make it to the Zig Zag Railway near Lithgow for one of the highlights - A Day Out With Thomas. All the travelling was worth it to see the expression on the boy's faces when Thomas The Tank Engine chuffed into the station!



It doesn't get much better than a ride in a train, but when that train is Thomas The Tank Engine and it travels along some incredible viaducts with spectacular views, I don’t think we will be able to top the experience (that is until they start reading Harry Potter and we come back for the Wizards Express in a few years!) The day was very well organised, and we enjoyed meeting the Fat Controller. All in all we had a ball, well recommended for kids (and big kids too).

On the way home we stopped a night at Turon National Park at The Diggings campground. It was very pleasant to find a nice grassy spot on the Turon River, although the water was a little chilly for swimming!!!


We found the directions to the campsite on Australia4wd Forum here. It was nice and easy to get to, being only about 7km from the black top - so made an excellent diversion for a single night stop over. Also being a Sunday night we had the place to ourselves which was very pleasant.

I since found out that we wern't the first of our family to have been there. It would seem a previous generation was in the neighbourhood during the 1850's... although his talent was not in finding gold but rather sketching the diggings!

A big special thanks to all our friends who made the weekend what it was. You know who you are :)

Addendum
These sketches were by Thomas Balcombe, published in 1852 in the book "Gold pen and pencil sketches, or, The adventures of Mr. John Slasher at the Turon diggings" by G.F.P. with illustrations by T. Balcombe:

South Coast Wanderings

We were fortunate to identify a weekend free and took the opportunity to camp with friends on the beautiful Jervis Bay.  The aim of the weekend was to relax and enjoy some good company, with the kids eager to explore the beaches, bike tracks and play grounds in Huskisson.
We also managed to get our friend's shiny Prado dirty playing on a couple of the trails in the hinterland.
Coming home we diverted off Main Road 92 for lunch under the sandstone cliffs on the Wandean Fire Trail.  This trail used to have a large rock shelf to negotiate, however the worst section has now been sealed.


The attached map from Scribble Maps is a rough outline of the areas we explored;


Good fun for a few hours!
Cheers
Phil

Our Weekend in Pictures

The Terry looks great with our new toy...


Our first go at setting up - at least the little fellow seems impressed :)


The Clyde River at Yadboro Flat - not sure how much longer the bridge will last...


Ah - the serenity :)


Heading south - towards Nelligen


Mogood Mountain lookout - spectacular 360 degree views


Coming up the Clyde Mountain...


Source and the full run down on the story can be found here.

Abercrombie River National Park - May 2010

Have recently been camping at Abercrombie River National Park. We spent a night at Bummaroo Ford, and a night at The Sink. We enjoyed exploring some of the firetrails, but the best part was the time with the family.

Some snaps of our recent adventures:





Source: Very happy CRDi owner

The 4WD

Our car is a 2005 Terracan CRDI with about 116 000km on the clock (just run in!!!).  We bought it in August last year, and to date it has performed flawlessly in the 10 000km we have had it.

Accessories:
It came fitted with a TJM/Airtec Snorkel - to keep the diesel breathing cleaner air.
We fitted a TJM alloy bull bar - as Kangaroos and I have a nasty habit of coming together.  The good folk at Haig Park Offroad at Mitchell in the ACT put this on for us.
We have just installed a cargo barrier - bought cheaply on Ebay with the Hyundai clearance of parts.  The fitting of this was best left to the experts... and Haig Park Offroad helped us out here again.

Suspension:
When we bought the car it came with Foam Cell Shockabsorbers - and I was more than happy with their performance.  The rear end was very soft, so I decided to install new rear springs.  The forum provided me with all the knowledge I needed to install the new springs, and after finding a pair of Iron Man rear springs on ebay this was soon accomplished.  This has probably been the single largest improvement on the Terry's ride.  The front torsion bars have been adjusted to even up the ride, but not wound up too far to require shaving of the bump stops.

Sound:
Our boys currently love audio books - of the Winne-the-Pooh and Beatrix Potter variety. We decided that it would be great if we could install a stereo head unit that allowed ipod input to reduce the number of CD's filling up the console and getting scratched.  Again with the help of the good people on this forum, and a Ryda wiring harness, I was able to install a Sony head unit in about an hour.

Tyres:
The Terry came fitted with Cooper STT Tyres.  I have been impressed with their performance to date, and the little extra noise they make at highway speed has been solved with the new stereo - see previous point!