End of September at Cardwell

                                    Still here!
   Not much happening, the weather is warming up, must be almost time to head south!

     A lovely day spent at Murray Falls  about 40km north west from Cardwell on Tuesday 27th. Gail came for the ride along with Dot and Yip of course. It was a bit crowded due the school holidays at present but there was room for us and the water was cool and clear, ducked in for a splash a few times. Some photo's of the day-

Vannessa + Yip at the bottom of Murray falls

 May not be able to see it here, but-
             If you look closely behind me over the top of my right shoulder there is a very tiny man standing on the cliff face!! a trick?? I don't know, it was there when I downloaded it to the computer.  (Do-Da-Do-Da - Whew!  -  weird!!)

Murray falls gorge

     

Murray Falls Queensland

What ever! the day was splendid.

           September is almost gone, there will be some movement from us next month.  I 'll let you know when something happens.
                  Catch all in October

15th to 23rd Back to Cardwell

              Wednesday 15th
    Today we departed Sarina, a beautiful  part of the country, We both like the area and the weather has been lovely. We got away fairly early  hoping to make Merinda again where we stopped on the way down.
      We did well until a bit south of Proserpine we had a blow out,  just what we needed
-NOT-!!! Ahh well, such is the life on the road, not a nice way to depart with our cash. To continue on - A bit north of Proserpine we had to stop again, this time for a roadside Queensland Transport check, breath test and licence etc, which Jim passed with flying colours.  All good and we arrived at our first destination early afternoon.

               Friday 16th 
     Homehill today.  The cowboys rugby game on tonight which Jim watched at one of the local hotels.  Easy going day.

               Saturday 17th
     Stopped in Townsville on our way through to purchase some more meat for the dogs, then on to Bluewater for a spell. Took the pups for a swim in the Bluewater creek, lovely cool clear water, I ducked in myself for a splash, very nice.
     Moved on to Rollingstone late in the afternoon to park up outside the hotel. A great walk to Bushy Parker Park with the dogs and a swim in the creek.

Rollingstone creek at Bushy Parker Park

Dot+Yip at Rollingstone

    


Dot and Yip had fun in the water, the creek is pretty, great place to camp if it were allowed.

                            Sunday 18th
      Some more driving practice for me this morning. We left Rollingstone early with me in the drivers seat, all went well and Jim took over again north of the Cardwell range. On to Gail's residence where we hitched the trailer back to the bus and resumed our spot at Landsdown street where we will be for the next couple of weeks or so.

                           Friday 23rd
      The weather is warming up! Jim has been busy over the last few days doing some maintenance, oil change, replaced the fuel filters and one thing and another. I have been busy taking it easy. FEW!!! life is tough you know!!
                 That's it for now, catch up soon.

September 5th to 14th - Sarina to see My brother

                Monday 5th
     We moved our rig to Gail's place to un-hitch the Trailer from the bus so we can travel to Sarina and back without the car or trailer, not going to be needing them on this trip. We are on our way tomorrow to catch up with my little brother, whom I haven't seen for about four years, looking forward to catching up with him and his partner Virginia.

                Tuesday 6th

Yip and Dot at Balgal beach  6.9.16

     Made our way to Ingham first up this morning to attend to some business and do a larder restock.  Only traveled as far as Balgal Beach by lunch time. We camped the night at the R.V.camp, spending the afternoon relaxing and taking the pup's for a walk on the beach. They had a ball running and exploring.
This photo and video tell the story of their antics.

                       Wednesday 7th

Sunrise at Balgal beach

     It is a beautiful sunny day today, walking the beach this morning resulted in another sunrise photo opportunity, as in this picture.
  Left Balgal beach mid morning with me as the chief pilot. Heading for Townsville and our good friends Gill and Steve.      
     I really need more driving practise, I did not feel particularly relaxed and only drove a few kilometers to Yabulu roadhouse. Jim resumed the drivers chair and took us comfortably to Boundary road, south Townsville, where we stocked up with dog meat from Supreme Pet Meats, they specialise in kangaroo meat, which our puppies love.
      On to the new boat ramp parking area to park over night. A lovely 2 or 3 hours catching up with gill and Steve in the afternoon. Tried my luck fishing off one of the pontoons without any result catch wise, but it was good fun.
             
                                    Thursday 8th

Port access road bridge Townsville

Sun up on another great day.
     Left the port area early to beat the business traffic to make Jim's appointment in Ross River Road, which is at 9.30 am. A bit early but we found a park and had a coffee 'til it was time. 
     Nearly lunch time by the time we were ready to head south. Refueled the bus in Ayr and traveled on to Home hill early afternoon. the Homehill comfort stop is in the middle of town and has all that one needs, hot showers, toilets, laundromat and a camp kitchen if needed. I made use of the laundry facilities. Visited the shops to catch up on some goodies I wanted and took it easy 'till dinner.             Time to rest for the night and be ready for another day tomorrow.

                          Friday 9th
     Bit of moisture this morning with light drizzle rain, cleared to a nice day later in the morning. From Homehill to just north of Bowen today, parked behind the Merinda hotel, The footy is on tonight so here we are 'till Saturday.

                           Saturday 10th
     It's a beautiful day today. We made our way into Bowen to avail ourselves of some fresh fish from the fishermans co-op shop. Got some fresh prawns and fish fillets.We parked up for a while and I took some pictures of our stay.

Jim and Dilligaf at Bowen

Dilligaf at Flagstaff Hill, Bowen

Whitsunday Islands from
Bowen

Decided we will go all the way to Sarina today and called the Van park to make sure they could accommodate us a couple days early, no  problem! I did another stint of driving and feel a whole lot more comfortable this time. We arrived at the Sarina Palms Caravan Village early afternoon, checked in and set up camp. 


 Went for a walk to town and found this statue, bit ugly but there it was. Back to camp and a relaxing evening.

Cane toad statue mid town Sarina

                       Sunday 11th
     Took a tour of the Sarina Sugar Shed today! very interesting to learn the ins and outs of how the sugar mill works, it is a mini version of the real thing. The best part was the tasting of the products they make, Rum and rum liquor along with various other spirits and sauces, chutneys etc. The Rum liquor was to my liking so I purchased a small bottle. The Rum itself is $99.00 a bottle, I don't like rum that much but Jim does so I bought him a sample 50ml bottle at $12.00. A lovely way to spend my day.      
     The Van park plays host to an odd array of statues - elephants, crocodile, Brolga, emu, giraffe, rhino, an ape and many more. this photo of a rhino beside Dilligaf was fun, and Jim had a bit of a laugh with a baby elephant. (He's so funny sometimes)

One of the many statues at Sarina van park

 

Ride 'em, Cow-Jim at Sarina

     Took the dogs for a walk later in the after noon and prepared to wait for my brother to arrive sometime tomorrow.

                                    Monday 12th
     Trying to be patient!  Went to the supermarket to get food for dinner, a B.B.Q. and salad, simple.
     finally they arrived at about 8pm. A long day for us all but we sat up burning the midnight oil 'til fairly late anyway.

                         Tuesday 13th
     What a great day!! Spent the day with Karl (my brother) and his partner Ginny, starting the morning looking at photos, a late breakfast, and lots laughter and chatting.

From left-Ginny, Me, Karl and Jim sitting at camp Sarina

Karl+Ginny with the ape at Sarina

 He hired a car,so we took a drive to some of the local beaches, leaving Jim at camp dog sitting. Stopped at the Leagues club for a beer and a game of pool or two then back to the van park for dinner more laughter and gas bagging!!  Another late night but I had a ball.

                            Wednesday 14th
     Coffee and toast for breakfast. Bit sad, they have to go home today, short but sweet get together.
    

Cardwell in August

Sunrise over Hinchinbrook Island Cardwell 11th August 2016

     Not much happening in these parts, walking the beach with Dot and Yip meeting all the locals and tourists. This photo of one of the many beautiful sunrises on the shores of Cardwell.
     The Pup's are having a ball on the beach, digging up ghost crabs and running amok'. No swimming though, Crocodiles inhabit these waters and there has been a large one around for a number of years, it swims the waters on a reasonably regular basis. I had a pretty good sighting of it early in the month, it surfaced 5 or 6  times as I was walking back home from the jetty one morning. (Talk of the town for a few days) It looked fairly large, I must say.
     Jim set the mud crab pots a couple of days in a row with only a couple of undersized ones for his effort, never mind - he managed to get nice and muddy in Meunga creek but decided it wasn't worth the exercise. He also is enjoying our stay here catching up with old mates.
     We will leaving Cardwell early next month for a short time to travel to Sarina. My young brother is going to meet us there for a day or two, looking forward to seeing Him, it's been a year or four.  We will venture back to Cardwell for a time after that.
     We have made a plan (WHAT!! - a plan) yeah! sort of, we want to be in Townsville for an air show mid October, after that we will be at the mercy of our own decision (or IN-decision) and decide which way is next. (up - down or sideways!! Ha Ha)
     Life is great, it should be compulsory for all to experience this way of living sometime in their allocated time on earth.
           Cheers for now, take of each other 'til next I blog.

Warm days in Cardwell

                                                   Still here, all is good.
     We are property sitting for a friend, can stay as long as we like, so we will do just that.

Deadhorse creek Cardwell

     Had a lovely day mid July when I took a picnic lunch, my friend Gail and the puppies up the back of Cardwell via the scenic drive, to an unusually named water way called  Deadhorse creek. There ain't no dead horses as far as I know, but a beautiful stream running through native scrub. The puppies had a ball. The water was a bit cool for me to swim in so we just had a feed and relaxed in the quiet for an hour or two.
     This photo of the creek shows the swimming hole and a small water fall, just perfect!

    August has arrived already. The nights are a bit cool but the days are fantastic.  just taking each day as it comes will make a move when we are ready. Chow for now.

11th June to start July - Mucking about in Cardwell

That's me at Bedford Creek

             Taking it easy.
   Mid June and winter has finally arrived, the temperature has dropped quite a bit, still having the odd showery day but mostly fine. Spend our days with a bit of fishing, bush walking, and catching up with odds and sods of jobs needing doing.
     A few pictures I have taken.

Casting the net for prawns
(never got any!)

Sunset through a bush fire
smoke haze at Cardwell
The bush fire wasn't a serious fire, only a small amount of scrub that was cleared.

The prawns were not very co-operative and I still haven't heard of anyone getting much of a catch. A few hardy souls are on the beach quite often, but haven't actually seen any fish caught.

Scenery at Stoney Creek
Cardwell

Just a pretty flowering bush
in the scrub at Cardwell

   





   

Stoney creek Cardwell

     The forestry here is in the process of cleaning up and have slashed the fire breaks which have made for some great tracks for the dogs and myself to walk. this one is along side Stoney Creek and is very pretty.

     July here already and the weather is beautiful now, cool overnight and warm and sunny during the day.  It is our intention to be around this area until the winter day's are over, making sure we don't get anywhere near too cold a place until it warms up again.
    Catch you then.

19th May to 11th June NOT much happening

     Not much news since last I blogged except we took a quick visit to Bedford creek, a little north of Cardwell. Awaiting some parts for the trailer which the do-it bloke (who is also the chief pilot) will install when they arrive. In the mean time I am taking it real easy!!

Readying the crab pots 

Camp site at Bedford Creek

We had a ball when out at Bedford, it's a little known place beside the river which is a tributary of the Murray.  The photo right is of our campsite while there and the one on left is of the boss getting the crab pots ready to set.
      We would have liked to stay longer but the weather turned against us and we only had 3 days. Caught a Mud Crab that we cooked and ate while still warm, Mmmm -- not half bad!!
    There were bream about, but a lot of them were under-size. Had a nice meal though, I got a couple and our mate Gail caught more and a nice whiting as well.
     Had a glimpse of a small Crocodile on the first day while fishing, only about a foot long. On the second day Jim saw a larger one briefly when talking to a local who had come out to do some fishing but never caught anything. It was raining fairly heavy by then and we took shelter for most of the day. Dot and Yip are having a ball but must make sure they don't go near the water, don't want them turning into croc s*#t.
     The following day dawned wet. We left about midday to travel as far as Euromo, a small township south of Tully. Only thing there is a pub, post office and - funnily enough - a laundromat. Jim watched the state of Origin footy match at the pub this evening and next day I took the opportunity to wash and dry any wet towels etc. utilising the amenities of the laundromat. All is good.
      Driving back to Cardwell later in morning we are now camped up at Gails place for some time 'til the parts required arrive. Will decide what is next when all is done.
        Catch all later, when something interesting happens to tell.
      Cheers 'til then
   

1st to 19th Time in Cardwell

 
      Whiling away our time catching up with some old friends and acquaintances in Cardwell, doing some maintenance on the bus while also waiting for the new fridge to arrive, after which time we will maybe hit the road again. Time will tell where we go at that time.

Attie creek gorge

     Been checking out some of the sights around the place and have taken a few photo's. Took the puppies up to Attie Creek falls one afternoon. It rained while we were there and it was a bit dark, but the falls are pretty awesome and the gorge down the hill is also great.

Hinchinbrook Island +
Cardwell beach

Walking the southern end of the beach at Cardwell on an overcast day with Hinchinbrook island in the background and a very low tide this day made an unusual picture, a bit cool and dead looking.
     Unfortunately for the locals, the town seems to be struggling to survive, work is about nil and there are a lot of empty houses and flats.

cycad in full fruit 

     The forest behind the town makes a nice walk for us, following the fire breaks around the edge.  This cycad is full of berry's and was quite big nestling in the rocks.

Dot+Yip at Cardwell
forestry creek

We found a little creek with lovely fresh, clean, running water which was deep enough for Dot and Yip to go for a swim and look for fish to catch, they never found any but enjoyed the water.

Cardwell sunset

     The sun comes up each day (as it does!!) and sets again each evening (as it does!!) and this one was well worth taking a photo of, it looked like a huge fire in the west (well -- ? I guess it was!!)

Anyway,   we are having fun.
    I'll catch up again later in the month.

12th - 30th April Townsville to Cardwell

         Tuesday12th
   We are parked up at the Black River Stadium Van park about 20 km north of Townsville off the Hervey Range road and on to Black River road. We will be here for a week or two to catch up with friends and get some business attended to.
       
        Sunday 17th

Magnetic Island from Castle Hill - Townsville
 

     Townsville is a nice city, if we have to spend any time in a city this is the one we would choose.       We visited our lovely friends Gill and Steve in the south of the city today, great to catch up with them again. Later in the after noon on the way back to camp we went up Castle Hill to take some pictures. This one is looking north/east with Magnetic Island in the background.

        Saturday 23rd
    Departed Townsville today travelling to Balgal beach for a night camping at the free R.V. camp next to the Fisherman's Landing kiosk where we intend to have takeaways for dinner.
   A lovely spot, the beach is great and Dot and Yip had a ball playing in the surf. Had a try fishing from the pontoon by the kiosk, no luck, the only thing biting were the sand flies!!! (Mongrel things they are too!!)

Dawn at Balgal beach

     Sunday 24th

 
    Great walking the beach this morning the sunrise wasn't spectacular but beautiful in a cool crisp sort of way.

  We left early to spend tonight at Lucinda.
   




   This is the site of the Lucinda Sugar Terminal. The photo and captions on these two photos tell it all. A very interesting experience and heaps of fun.


            Monday 25th
    Anzac Day.  A public holiday.  It's raining too!!
  We made our way to Cardwell this morning to spend some time with another good friend, Gail, and catch up with a few others in the area.

             Wednesday 27th
    The weather is showery and overcast, as it has been since arriving in Cardwell, nothing much really, can't dampen our spirits, a little moisture has to be experienced now and again.
     We checked out an old haunt this morning, Bedford Creek, a little place to camp for a while to go fishing and crabbing and relaxing away from the madding crowd. We will head out there when the weather heals again.

     Another great month has come and gone, life is a blast. Keep smiling, catch you in May.

March 26-April 13 Richmond to Townsville

     The last few days of March we spent in Richmond. A visit from the owners of Essex Downs proved they were very pleased with the way we looked after the property, all is well. It was very hot, we had many swims in Lake Fred Tritton. Dilligaf has passed inspection for registration which meant we departed Richmond on 31st, making our way to Prairie for a couple of days via Hughenden to stock the larder on the way.

Sunset at Prairie

   
       Friday 1st April
     Parked up behind the pub at Prairie, the sunsets are magic, as this shows with our car in the fore.

Buffalo at Prairie enjoying
the evening

     The old buffalo is still there too, we gave her a few tit-bits to munch on and she loves an ear scratch.

     the publican set a few Yabbie traps in Prairie creek with a good result, giving us a dozen for dinner which was a lovely treat for us, I cooked them in ginger butter, Yummy!!
   
     Sunday 3rd

Torrens Creek ( is that water?)

   
 Getting away fairly early we only travelled as far as Pentland to spend the night in the van park.  Driving through Torrens Creek I spied water in the creek, I don't think I have ever seen the sight. Pentland is another small out back town with friendly locals struggling to survive. The creek behind the town had enough water in it to give the dogs a paddle. We are no longer in the dry desert outback, all is very green and we have a few mosquito's to contend with this night, haven't had them for some time.

               Monday 4th

Dot and Yip at Campaspe river

    A bit cool this morning, needed an extra T-shirt to keep out the cool air for a while.  We drove a long way today, all of 15km to Campaspe river rest area. There is a little water in this river too, enough for the pups to have a splash as this picture shows with Dot and Yip checking it out.
     A bit of drama while here, a fellow camper had a fire in his unit, turned out to be the battery terminals caught alight. Not a pleasant thing for any one, but made worse for this unlucky guy who was eventually taken to Charters Towers hospital with breathing problems. A reminder of how easy things can go wrong.

          Tuesday 5th
Made our way to Charters Towers this morning. Filled the water tank at the travellers dump point and camped up at the Puma roadhouse where we usually stay when in the Towers, dining on takeaway fish and chips and the best trifles we have ever tasted.

          Wednesday 6th

Rail bridge at Macrossan

     Off to Macrossan to the free camp on the banks of the mighty Burdekin river, will spend a few days here, there is water in the river and we went for a swim already. The photo is of the rail bridge over the river.

        Thursday and Friday
    Walking the pup's Thursday morning to discover plenty of wallaby around, making Yip, especially, wanting to have fun chasing them, BUT!! no longer allowed, bummer for them.
     Jim has found that one of the springs on the trailer is broken, buggar!!. Take the Jimny off and temporally fix it with a cobb and Co twitch with number 8 wire, ratted from a broken fence in the area!! Will get a new spring when we get to Townsville next week.

           Saturday 9th
     From Macrossan to Reid river rest area for tonight with an early departure planned in the morning to beat the traffic in to Townsville. I drove the Jimny, we didn't bother putting him back on the trailer as we will need it in Townsville.

             Sunday 10th
     Departed by 7am arriving at Bunnings warehouse at just after 8am to purchase a couple of new chairs and other stuff we need then on to Currajong to park outside Russel's Tyre place to get 2 new trailer Tyre's and 4 new Tyre's on the Jimny on Monday.

Parked up at Currajong Tyre and Auto

              Monday 11th
     Dot and Yip to the Vet this morning to have their annual check-up and vaccinations. All was good with them and Yip made us proud with her behaviour, as did Dot, but she is always good.
     Here we are parked at Currajong Tyre and Auto, awaiting for the Tyre's to arrive and be fitted. Jim got the new springs for the trailer and he will fit them when we settle at a van park later today.
    Our very good mate Marty is meeting us at the Black River van park where we will stay for a week or two while attending to all that needs to be done while in the BIG SMOKE!!.
      That's it for now.

March 1st to 25th Essex - Richmond

           
     There has been a bit more rain this month, only small amounts so far, but the station is looking green and lush.

2nd day in March at Essex Downs

     One of the beautiful aspects of the outback is the ever changing sun rises and sun sets such as this one which dawned on the 2nd day of March.

Day 6 Pretty wet at Essex Downs

   
   
     We have been happily passing the time taking it easy still. The weather has had another change and on the 6th we had a good down pour, making the place pretty soggy as this picture shows and we are in for some more rain yet.

Day 9 Massive Storm front but no rain
at Essex Downs

   

 3 days later a massive storm front went around us, didn't bring any more rain at this stage but it was very impressive to see, thunder and lightening. I took this photo with the cloths line in the way but it still looks awesome.

Must have been the original
homestead at Essex - Whens dinner

     This old cottage is east of the homestead and I think it may have been the original homestead when the station was just the beginning of some ones life. Funny!, the gas stove out front is still looking in good condition, unfortunately the weather has had a good time with the cottage, not a lot left of it.
     We have had good rain for the land holders in the outback with about 200 mm since the beginning of the year, combine that with the rain late last year and the grass is looking good. All that is needed at Essex Downs now is some stock to eat it. The owners are hoping to get that organized as soon as they can.

Departing Essex Downs

    Monday 21st saw us depart Essex downs, after 6 months, to make our way in to Richmond where we will spend a couple of weeks at the Van park overlooking the lake. Our stay at the station has been an experience for us both but now it is time to continue our adventures on the road.

Lake Fred Triton - Richmond

 Richmond is a friendly little town, has all that is required, 2 pubs, 2 supermarkets, butcher, cafe, hardware, etc, etc.
     The locals are a nice bunch and the view from our camp site is great looking over the lake.

Moon-rise over Lake Fred Triton - Richmond

Took this picture late one evening of the moon rising over the lake, the colours are fantastic.

Flinders river at Richmond

    The Flinders river is only a little from town, it is dry most of the time I believe but after the recent rain it is flowing.
     This photo is at what is called the "Flinders river top crossing".  the water is flowing steadily west, very muddy as yet. The bridge that I took this from was probably - maybe 10 metres? - under water when it was in full flood.
   
     We will be heading east when we are ready to leave Richmond.
         
                No plan - No timetable - No hurry!! Life is great.

February 5th to 29th At Essex still

    Well!  a leap year - No different to any other year really, just a day longer.
     Not much to impart to you.
    The weather has been very hot, 40+ at times, very dry and all the good work of the rain earlier in the year has almost been undone already, the paddocks are looking brown again and plants and grasses are dying once more, I hold my hat out to all outback farmers for enduring conditions as these.
   

Cherry tomato @Essex

      But, despite the dry, I have managed to keep a vegetable garden going, not a flash one, but producing a few things for us to eat fresh. I have to skite and include a couple of pictures. I have had to make sure I water 3 times a day and some have not made it, but I have 2 nice pumpkins that hopefully will be ripe soon, and cherry tomatoes that are doing well. Sweet corn is gone but managed 3 sweet cobs from them. So - its possible to eat fresh out here, if you put the effort in!!

A nice butternut almost ready

Vegetable garden @ Essex

Dot+Yip in the paddock

Other than gardening and walking the puppies, not much happening. We are doing some maintenance on the bus and readying for departure at the end of March.

     Catch you further down the track, where-ever we may be!!