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!!

5th January to 4th February Essex Downs

     We are still bumming our way around Essex Downs. All is great but not a lot of news to impart.
   
     We have had some friends visit from the coast, I think they enjoyed the hot and dry weather compared to the coast which is hot and humid.

Gail&Me in the paddock@Essex

My good friend Gail spent a few days with us mid month, thanks for coming mate, and early February Gill and Steve spent a night on their way to Victoria.
    Not a lot has happened over the month, A few photo's of the local wildlife and strange things I see while out walking the puppies.

Patterns in the sand after
rain @ Essex

This is what I found after the rain had ceased, where the water had traversed its way making little rivers in the paddocks, it left behind this pretty pattern in the soil, making an artwork on the land.

1 of millions of caterpillars
after the rains

Then we had outbreaks of all sorts of insects and moths and bugs. Here's one of the variety, these caterpillars came in a couple of different colours and grew to about 3 inches long, littering the ground everywhere, millions of them, just walking along you couldn't help but squash them under foot.

Bearded Dragon

     We came across this bearded dragon
while out wandering around the place with the dogs. He(?she?) was a spirited little creature and was going to bite the noses right off the dogs faces, but I wouldn't let them hurt it and managed to get this picture.

A kamikaze Locust

A couple of weird acts of nature.
     The locust had been fairly thick for a while, eased off now though. Must have been a bit too quick on the take off this one, it has stabbed itself on the barbed wire, right through the top of its head. (OUCH)

Prickly acacia tree sap
shining in the morning sun

This little gem glinting in the morning sun is sap, dripping off the prickle bush - prickly acacia - (which abounds all around the station) which has turned into a golden glob of beautiful hard gum.


     Nature always continues to amaze me, like the (dead) tree outside the window at the cottage, well it really looked dead, but when it received a little moisture, it went from dead branches to full leaf in only 8 days, astounding!

     February here already, time is flying as usual. we'll be here 'til end March most likely. Catch all then.

21st Dec. 2015 to 5th Jan. 2016

     Happy 2016 to all

The cottage on 19th December 2015

The cottage on 3rd January 2016

                        Christmas came and went without fanfare. We took a trip into Richmond on Wednesday 23rd to stock-up well, thinking that we may be marooned here with rain on it's way, maybe on the weekend. I took a photo on 19th of the cottage and the lovely green lawn I have been nurturing,(left) then on 3rd January this year (right), the bougainvillea has come along nicely with addition of rain.

The landscape before rain

     
     The landscape changed dramatically after Christmas. Picture on the right taken on 21st December, is of a part of the station land, very brown and dry. 

Puddles everywhere at Essex after good rain

     Then the next picture, on the 27th,  tells a different tale.

     

      On Boxing day, late in the afternoon it started to rain, it rained all night and through most of the next day. We got 85mm overnight and a further 42mm the next night, making things very wet and sticky. 

Muck like Glue on my feet!

     The black soil here turns to muck after a little rain, this amount made it stick like glue to my boots and the pups feet, much to Dots dislike, she and Yip plodded along the paddock like draught  horses, lifting each foot with agitation, I was the same, it just builds up under your feet and won't come off with out actually scrapping at it with a stick or similar. YUK!!  All is good though, just another of life's experiences.
     

Essex Downs homestead after rain

     The photo of the homestead on the 27th shows a little what the ground is like when it rains.

     We had follow up rain a week later and the grass is growing faster than a well fed weed.
     

Dawn of a new year-2016

     The New Year arrived, as it does each year, but this one is nice and damp to start, the sunrise on our first walk of the year was pretty. There was a further 52mm rain over the weekend. It isn't drought braking rain as yet, but you can hear people smiling everywhere.

Dot+Yip on wet days

     When its wet the puppies get to spend a lot of time inside which Yip isn't too keen on, Dot loves it, all day in bed! Their daily bones are consumed in the laundry, then back to bed.

Horizon to the south on 2nd Jan 2016

2nd of January after 30mm rain in the morning the sky to the south looked fearsome! Nothing to it though and no rain since.

     All things are good. The puppies are catching their own dinners, having a fantastic time while doing so. Yip is the chief hunter with Dot backing up when she steers them back to the homestead.Then it becomes our job to do the necessary from there.
     The country is looking very different to a couple of weeks ago, green! so nice.

December 1st to 21st at Essex Downs

Just taking things easy since I last blogged.

Stacking hay at Maroola 

     
     On the 5th we took a drive to Maroola, a station owned  by Essex Downs owners, sister. It was a fairly long drive south west on gravel road. We had directions to get there but took longer than one would if you knew where you were going. The roads are good now, wouldn't travel them after rain, just wouldn't get through. We arrived to find them very busy picking up a load of hay that had been cut the day before, so Jim gave them a hand. Had a bit of trouble with the loader first up but got it fixed O.K. The stock needed feeding as well, they have a machines for most jobs around the station and it was all pretty simple. The cattle looked in good condition.

feeding the stock at Maroola

     We had lunch with Betty and Ces then left them to their hard work for the afternoon. There wasn't anything that we could help them with at this time. We took a different route back to Essex Downs via Maxwellton and Richmond. The trip was a bit longer but the road was better (I think). We had a reviving drink at the local in Richmond and took the pup's for a swim in lake Fred Triton, arriving back late afternoon.
     

Some of the mob on Essex

Nearing the entrance to Essex we saw a small mob of cattle on Essex property, about a dozen of them. Took some photo's hoping to identify them at a later time. Turned out they belong here and are the one's missing since our arrival. They looked in good nick, must be finding enough feed to sustain them well.

     Walking the paddocks here I discovered a bunch of rocks with fossils in them, they were scattered around a bit in 2 separate piles.No idea what they are at all, fascinating find. 

 




 These pictures show a small sample of the better looking ones.
 
     We have been into Richmond  on occasion to restock and have a look a round. It is a very friendly country town, willing to help out in any way if needed. We even got credit at the local past office when we asked them to send us an item in the mail as we weren't going in to town for a while, no problem, the article arrived in the next mail delivery and we paid for it next time we went into town. Now that's service!

     We have moved onto the managers cottage at the station, it is air conditioned and we no longer have to endure the high temperature days sweltering it out, temperatures of 45 degree are much easier to handle now. Any outside jobs that haven't been completed by 10 or 11 o'clock wait until late in the afternoon or the next day.

Outback makeshift Spa Pool

       
     

     I have shifted my outback spa pool to it's new location and enjoy it cool during the day as a swimming pool and add hot water from the artesian bore early evening to relax the tired body. Ahh!! such luxury!

One of the many great sunrises at Essex Downs

    
      The sunsets and rises are as spectacular as ever, this one was a bit later in the morning. U-beauty!

     Life goes on, every thing is good.