Breakfast out!

13th aug.
  We had noticed while in a gem shop at Yungaburra the day before that they had a cheap breakfast on sat & sun mornings so we decided to eat there on sat morning. It was amazing value for $8 for John & Allan who had bacon,2eggs.,tomato,sausage,onion,baked beans & 4 pieces of toast each.Sue & I had a smaller breakfast & my poached eggs were $4!
 We then drove 32 klms to markets at Mareeba & they were excellent. We came away with lots of fresh produce & a couple of mats for the caravan. Next stop was at Coffee Works which was a great place. The coffee wasn't the best ever but fabulous things in the shop including some great blown glass things.

14th aug Cool & cloudy today for Allan's birthday & we went out for lunch to a pub in Atherton to celebrate his 75th. We were going to walk but drizzle arrived so soon changed our minds & was good food.

John & Sue gave Allan a special glass for his home brew,complete with a silver fern! The weather cleared so later we did a 4.5 klm walk & dinner was very small rations. It got quite cold so no happy hour & later the drizzle came back & was still there next morning. Atherton was a great stay & we enjoyed our cosy corner.

There were little tomato bushes growing behind our van & an avocado tree with fruit below John & Sue's van plus they had a visit from a possum one night. We packed things up ready for our 300klm drive to Cooktown next morning.Love Bev & Allan.

Atherton

Oops will try again!
11th aug.
Set off on the 100klm trip to Atherton but stopped to check out the quaint town of Ravenshoe which pub boasts being the highest in Qld.

Different scenery on the next part of the drive with beautiful tropical rain forest. I didn't enjoy driving over the mini Mt Messenger but thankfully not for long.Staying at a Big 4 & very nice trees & shrubs. Next morning Allan was keen to see the dairying in the area but first stop was to view the Curtain Fig Tree which was amazing.

A dairy farm with a cafe,shop selling cheese & chocolate was next & also viewed where the cheese was made.Later in the day you could also watch cows being milked. We needed somewhere to have our picnic coffee so stopped at Malanda Falls.

An amazing amount of heavy traffic heading somewhere rather spoilt it being a quiet spot but afterwards we walked thru the bush where we saw huge black walnut trees & some turtles !

We spotted a farm museum further on & saw old milking equipment & an old favourite.

Next stop was Lake Eachem which is a crater lake & perhaps why people were in swimming thinking it would be warm but it wasn't! Very clear though.

Fantastic facilities & we enjoyed our picnic lunch in the sun sheltered from the wind.

Our next stop was to take a photo of the farmland & thought we were back in NZ!

Lake Tinaroo was next & it was huge with a very nice picnic area although more exposed.

An excellent memorial there for the soldiers who lost there lives in Afghanistsan .

Our final stop was the cute town of Yungaburra which had great murals & quirky shops.

It was a wonderful day out in the great farming area with lots of roadside stalls selling fresh produce. We are here for four nights . love Bev & Allan.

Atherton

Charters Towers entertainment,Greenvale & Mt Garnet

Aug 8th
    The last night at Charters Towers had us wandering over to listen to the very good music provided by a couple. Many grey nomads gathered around the fire pit & an excellent couple of hours entertainment. Some of the Big 4 parks put in a lot of effort to have happy campers.

Aug 9th
       The next morning we were on the road at 8.30am & good road except for one three narrow pieces with tar seal only a car width & we met a road train. We stopped & got off on to the side while he went by using all the road plus the dirt on the other side. It took several mins before we could see John who was in front as so much dust!  On arrival at Greenvale we were handed Census papers so ours were done the old way as not much internet in the rustic park with cattle yards close by.

We went for a walk & found an Olympic size swimming pool, a pub & not much else. It was a nickle mining town but down to 150 residents from over 3,000. It was a quirky little place too.

There was also a very strange tree called the sausage tree.

  A bit more info about the tree. We went to the pub for dinner & the food was very good.

10th Aug
  A bit warmer on leaving this morning & the scenery was changing although back to lots of big termite mounds. The most stock we had seen & lots on the roadside grazing up to their bellies in the grass. Mt Garnet was another rustic park but very clean loos & a nice lady manager. Allan washed the car & van as badly needed it.

There were horses nearby & termite mounds so not much to see although next morning we discovered a tiny township further on.

We stopped for a picnic coffee & this was sitting on a termite mound & made a change from clothes decorating the mounds. Love Bev & Allan.

On the road again

3rd Aug
     Left Mt Isa on a windy 11degree morning & headwinds all the way to Julia Creek.We sat on the road outside the van in the caravan park to get out of the wind. The nice manager placed a large red cone out to make the traffic go around us! A few shops in the tidy little town.
   We headed off on another cold morning next day & head winds yet again & boring flat country side.We stopped at Richmond & a great little town & pleased to stop as the road surface was awful.Qld needs to spend money on roads in this area!

We had the best coffee of the trip & a great piece of banana bread at the info centre. The town is obviously trying to attract tourists.

Our destination was Hughenden & so happy to arrive there after the worst roads on the trip continued. They were bumpy & wavy plus the wind so not easy driving. This park we shared a drive thru site with J&S back to back so double dipping for the owners!

Nice town & part of the Dinosaur trail in this area. Next day John drove us 70klms each way to the Porcupine Gorge where we did a big walk down but still only halfway when we decided to give up.

It was quite stable ground so I did it & once at the top again we had a nice picnic lunch. We then drove around to the lookout which was great.

The next morning we left around 8.30am & 18 degrees so warmer than we had been having. Extremely rough piece of road just out of town but then was good. We had farmed country for awhile but got scrubby with the termite mounds back again. We arrived at the Big 4 park & were escorted to our site & directed in which wasn't easy as a few trees but Allan got Foxtel! Charters Towers was once a big mining town with 65 pubs & a Stock Exchange building which still stands. There were some great old buildings & a nice place with many parks.

We spent time having a cleaning session although not allowed to wash the van or car as a water shortage.

We did a drive to the lookout which was very well presented with boards telling all about the early days & a massive chimney of which there is only a small part left.

We had three nights in Charters Towers which was a nice break & an interesting town.

I

In all a good stop. Love Bev & Allan.

Mt Isa

30 th July
Cool morning but very sunny as usual. We finally saw stock on the road & in paddocks & awhile since we saw much on the land. There were also huge paddocks filled with termite mounds & they sure cover a vast area of the NT & into outback Qld. We arrived at the Big 4 caravan park but not quite the ones we are used to in NSW & very dusty. We drove to Coles & Woolies later & it was very busy as they don't open on Sunday's to give the small guys a chance.
   Next morning we drove for a paper & a coffee & went up the lookout for some good views of Mt Isa .

About 22,000 live here & quite a spread out shopping area & the mine dominates the scenery.

Quite an interesting sign post & see it was 15.000 klm's to London & won't be far off having travelled that distance on this trip by the time we get home.

1 st Aug was a cool morning but good for sheet washing & did another shop. Later we were picked up by a courtesy bus & taken to the Irish club for dinner. A very nice nice place & Allan & John loved their steak meal with a beer for $13.95 & amazing value. My sweet potato wedges were fantastic & the Kiwi lass who drove the bus was great. Her family had moved from Porirua to work in the mine as she her self had been until she got pregnant & had to get away from the arsenic fumes!

The next morning the wind was very strong & dam cold & we weren't sure if our planned picnic lunch to Lake Moondarra was going to happen but decided to drive out anyway.

There was a dam that we could walk out on & it was a great place for a picnic so found a nice sheltered spot & sat in the sun enjoying a long lunch. 

The lake covered a huge area & was stocked with lots of varieties of fish but only some young people fishing & with no success. It was well presented with nicely mown lawns & good facilities & a most enjoyable place to go on a very windy cool day . It had been 31 the day before & dropped about 12 degrees! We didn't do the underground mine here as Allan has been down working ones & we had been underground at Coober Pedy so decided not to go thru the underground hospital. It was nice to relax after week of travelling & were moving on again the next day to Julia Creek. Love Bev & Allan

Part Two

26 th July
Cooler morning as we set off for another roadhouse at Dunmarra. We were packed in very close here & no fence on the outside but anyone who thought they might sneak in was soon spotted. A group of show people were smartly sent on their way as had on a previous occasion pulled out power cords that had been paid for & disconnected hoses so they could use them & then refused to pay & had sneaked in at 3 am .

About 4 stock trucks turned up about 6 pm & the drivers took a break for dinner. Allan & I had a $15 meal later & it was really nice but what a huge plateful!

Next day was a bigger day of 330 klm to 3 Ways & we were the first ones in the park. Just another roadhouse. The next morning was cool & windy & not easy driving into the wind to Barkly Homestead.

We thought this park was quite nice as did have gardens & nice trees.

Allan spotted this motorhome at the pumps after being made to shift from the truck diesel pump. Quite silly as the owner said their motorhome was built on a truck base & it was easier for them to fill up at the huge space given to the trucks . Instead they had to shift to the normal slow flow pumps we use & the queue soon formed behind them! 

29 th July.

We moved on to Camooweal on a very cold & windy morning. Driving along on the usual boring scenery & suddenly on plains with lots of stock! The caravan park was behind the Post Office Hotel & soon got full up. We couldn't put the awning out as no room & as I was eating my tuna & crackers for lunch I was attack by a huge bird. It took off with one biscuit & the rest landed on the ground & I was really cranky! John got a photo of the birds & said they are kites. It really wasn't my week !

30 th July

Another cold morning & still very windy & for the third day in a row they were head winds so Allan not happy with the fuel consumption. Every day there has just been hundreds of people travelling mainly heading north & quite a few road trains still. Just before Camooweal yesterday we crossed the border into outback Qld & still termite mounds & red dirt. Mt Isa is next .love Bev & Allan.