Yeppoon to Sydney 2016.

Fear not, I have not forgotten how to blog!! Time and Telstra are the enemy! When I have had time, Telstra has had nil or dodgy reception, and when reception has been good I have been too busy having fun, to blog!!

Having arrived at Yeppoon, we settled in for a ten day stay. In the five years since our last

Singing Ship Monument Emu Park.

Always a market!

visit, the area has gone ahead. Lots of new housing estates, and the town centre, especially down along the waterfront, has undergone a great makeover. From our caravan park, it is a nice 10 to 15 minute walk along the beach or pathway, to the centre of town. For the entire time of our stay, the weather was fine and warm, but it was very windy most days, so our beach time was minimized. Town had lots of café options, so our morning coffee ritual had a lot of variety! We didn't get time to choose a favourite!! We didn't have a bad experience!!

Yeppoon has been on the tourist map for many years. One of Queensland's first major

A cool dude.

Always time for coffee & cake!

resorts was opened here, almost 40 years ago. The Japanese company, Iwasaki, opened a huge resort with golf courses, on about 30,000 acres of land, just north of town. It was a great resort, and we had a number of visits, including a holiday with my brother Neil and wife Adrienne and 2.5 kids!! I still remember young Simon, ordering vast quantities of bacon and tomato toasted sandwiches from the poolside bar. We all became hooked!! We also attended the wedding of our nephew Darren to Erin, and I also remember playing many rounds of golf on the championship golf courses. Sadly, the resort has now closed, leaving many locals out of a job. The main championship golf course remains operational, but it seems that there is more money in Wagyu Beef, which is what the 30,000 acres will be used for.

Yeppoon is the departure point to Great Keppel Island. There is a large marina at nearby

Delicious lunch at Beaches.

Beaches Restaurant Rosslyn Bay

Rosslyn Bay, from where the ferries depart each day. The windy weather was keeping the day trippers down to a minimum. There is a lovely resort out at Rosslyn Bay, which is protected from the winds by a tall headland. We enjoyed a long lazy lunch at their Beaches restaurant, which was a highlight. Wonderful fresh seafood washed down with a delightful Pinot Grigio. A short drive down the coast are the beach side towns of Kinka Beach and Emu Park, the latter of which is a lovely little village. Both areas have rapidly expanding housing estates, spreading inland from the beaches. We learnt that many of the workers in the rich coal mining basin inland from Rockhampton, are choosing a beach side lifestyle, and base themselves in this area and commute to their work places on a week on week off basis.

The city of Rockhampton is the rural centre of the region, and is referred to as the beef

Coastline at Emu Park.

Cathedral at Rockhampton.

capital of Australia. The largest cattle sale centre in the southern hemisphere is situated just out of town. Add to this all the mining services, and you have a vibrant growing rural city. It is inland a little, but only 20 minutes drive from Yeppoon and Emu Park. We explored the town in some detail, loving the older parts of town with their beautifully restored old Queenslander homes. It is so nice to see the heritage of these regions being preserved.

Leaving Yeppon, we headed down the coast a little, for a short stay at Tannum Sands, just

Gladstone Harbour.

Coal Loader  Gladstone.

south of Gladstone, which is the busiest port in Queensland! Boy has this place grown in the 5 years since our last stay! One thing that hasn't grown though, is Telstra's mobile coverage! No Internet or mobile reception at the caravan park!! This Top Tourist Caravan Park is a nice caravan park, but it is so frustrating to be out of touch with the world!! Telstra claims to reach 98% of Australia, but it constantly amazes us how often we find ourselves in the 2%!!!!

Gladstone port has grown incredibly. The coal loading facilities have doubled in size, and

More coal to the world.

Gladstone Marina.

now there are also huge plants for exporting Liquid Natural Gas (LNG). The gas arrives from a massive network of pipelines from the Surat Basin in south central Queensland. It is a mighty engineering feat, and employs a lot of people, as evidenced by the boom in new housing. It is very interesting to see and understand the industry of the region, but it is fair to say, this is not our favourite part of Queensland, so we were happy to move on after a short stay. We did find a very nice little café at Tannum Sands, called Say Expresso Bar. We, and many others, did a lot of visiting as the coffee was good and they had reliable free WiFi!!!!

Hitching up again, we continued down the coast to a real favourite spot, with a funny name!

Inlet at 1770.

Cook Memorial.

Agnes Water doesn't sound like a beautiful beach town, but it is! Nearby is the equally beautiful, smaller town, with a number for its name!! 1770, is a gorgeous sleepy little holiday town, much loved by fishermen. Captain Cook stopped here on the voyage of discovery, that made Australia a British possession in 1770, hence the name! He sure picked a nice spot to call in, with the beautiful sheltered estuary. The campground is always packed, even though it is pretty rough.

We chose to stay at Agnes Water Caravan Park, right on the beach. It is a great park,

Agnes Water Beach.

Agnes Water safari Tents.

although since our last visit, all the money has gone into luxury accommodation within the park, and the amenities are in need of a serious upgrade. We really hope the caravan park won't be lost to cabins. The location is right on the main surf beach. In a recent survey on the world's best beaches, Agnes water came in the top 12! It is lovely, and being a rare north facing beach, gets great protection from the prevailing nor easterly winds. It is a favourite of the surfing fraternity, and is the northernmost surf beach on the east coast of Australia. North from here, the coast is protected by the Great Barrier Reef, so no surf!! We had great weather, and spent heaps of time enjoying the beach and surf.

Our favourite coffee spot in Agnes Water was the Getaway Café, situated in the delightful

Oasis Café.

Gardens at Oasis Café.

1770 Getaway Resort. The café in the wonderful tropical gardens was first rate. It was very easy to sit out on the covered deck over the pond, listening to the waters of the fountain, and enjoying coffee and cake or lunch. To our surprise, we also found that Agnes Water had a good golf course. Just 9 holes, it would have to be one of the best kept courses we have come across in rural Australia. The greens would not be out of place at Royal Sydney!!! We had the course to ourselves, except for dozens of kangaroos, a number of goannas and countless parrots and water birds!! We were very sorry to have to leave Agnes Water.

Onwards down the coast we headed. We had booked to stay over the busy Christmas/New

Mum with Joey.

The walk into Bargara.

Year period at Bargara, near Bundaberg. This is another coastal area of Queensland we enjoy very much. The region is rich in agriculture. Sugar, nuts, tomatoes, melons, potato and sweet potato and much more! There is a large fishing fleet, and of course the famous Bundaberg Rum Distillery. The Bargara Beach Caravan Park is very popular in school holidays, and we were relieved that the site we had secured was a large one, as many were squeezed in on top of each other. The park is right across the road from the surf beach, and there is a great walking/cycle path along the coast into the village. We wore a track along this path!!

We discovered that the walking/cycle path also continued north for miles, and we enjoyed

Farmland around Bargara.

Christmas at the beach!

cycling along the lovely coastal path very much. The Mon Repos Turtle Research Centre was along this path. This entire stretch of coastline is a turtle nesting area at this time of year, and most of the beaches are closed from sunset to sunrise to allow the turtles to come ashore in peace. It is an interesting coastline, as much of it is rocky and the sandy beaches are few and far between. As was evident around Yeppoon, there has also been a lot of new housing in the area around Bargara, and the nearby towns of Coral Cove and Innes Park. It is obviously a popular area with retirees, and there is lots to offer with fantastic year round climate.

We had been told to make sure we visited nearby Elliott Heads, just 20 minutes away by car.

Low tide at Elliott Heads.

The inlet at Elliott Heads.

What a lovely spot, and it soon became our number one swimming destination. The huge inlet was a sea of sand at low tide, with lots of cool channels to swim in, whilst at high tide it was a wonderfully sheltered oasis of clear water to swim in, and all the while sheltered from the strong north easterlies. It was no wonder that the caravan park was standing room only!! There isn't much at Elliott Heads for shopping, but there is a kiosk with OK food and coffee, but as Bundaberg and Bargara are only 20 minutes away, that isn't really a problem. As a quiet destination to relax and enjoy the coastal life, this would be a top choice. It is definitely on our list to revisit, and we even drove around the caravan park to suss out the best sites!!

Bundaberg is a lovely country city of over 100,000 people, and is home to two of the very

Mango French Toast.

Asian Tiger Prawn Omelette.

best cafes we have come across anywhere in Australia. That's a big call, but we have made a very large sample!! "Indulge", which is right in the middle of town, is just fantastic. It is 4-5 years since our last indulgence, and it hasn't dropped the ball. The place is always packed, and the food is simply amazing! For our first breakfast John sampled an Asian Style Tiger Prawn Omelette, and Carolyn the Mango French Toast. The presentation was artwork, and the flavours exquisite. I could live in Bundaberg just to come here once a week for breakfast!! Our second venue of choice is out of town, right next door to the Ginger Beer Factory. It is called Bean at Saskia, and is a Homewares and Giftware Shop, housing a café that serves great food and coffee. It is innovative and simple fare, but always excellent, and as is the case with Indulge, is till going great guns, 5 years down the track. Don't go past Bundaberg without trying one or both of these top spots.

We had our first, and probably last, quiet Christmas. We missed having family and friends

Christmas with Francois.

Our new Xmas ornament.

around, but we sure did our best to ensure we lived up to our own high culinary standards!! We decorated the caravan with Christmas Lights and decorations, as did many within the caravan park. Christmas Eve, we did our traditional seafood and champagne celebration, which was easy to do, thanks to the amazing Grundske's Seafood. What a place!! It has a huge fresh seafood market, as well as a fantastic seafood restaurant, right on the banks of the Burnett River. For our celebration, we chose Tiger Prawns, Moreton Bay bugs and fresh mud crab meat, that some kind person had removed from the shell!!  It was a delicious feast, accompanied by lovely salad and Mumm Champagne!!

Christmas Day was very quiet around the caravan park. Many of those staying in the

Bundaberg Botanical Gardens.

New Years Eve with Cheryl & Chris.

caravan park were locals from around the Bundaberg Region, and chose to spend Christmas Day at home!! We had the Weber fired up early, and did our traditional ham and a chicken, plus lots of baked veggies. We just can't face Christmas lunch without the traditional hot lunch! It was delicious, just very quiet. We caught up with family and friends via phone and Skype, and on Boxing Day we joined in the traditional Anderson get together by Skype. It was lovely, but just isn't the same!

Thankfully, we had friends joining us for New Year. Our long standing friends, Cheryl and

At Bundaberg Distillery.

Bundy Belle River Cruise.

Chris, arrived by air on New Years Eve for a weeks stay. We had a fantastic time! They were staying in a lovely high rise apartment, just a short walk from the caravan park. We toured the region, taking drives up to Agnes Water and 1770, as well as the delightful little town of Childers. We took in the culinary delights of Bundaberg, with visits to Indulge and Bean at Saskia, as well as the local Thai Restaurant in Bargara which was excellent, and broke all records for fast service!! We spent days at the beach, both locally and at Elliott Heads, had wonderful Happy Hours at the caravan and on the balcony of their apartment, and on New Years Eve, were back at Grundske's buying up for another feast of seafood, which was equally as good as Christmas Eve! The surf Club across the road from the caravan park was the venue for the Bargara fireworks extravaganza, so the night really finished with bang. The park was full of food trucks and stalls and was a lovely carnival atmosphere. All too soon, the week was over, and we were back at the airport farewelling Cheryl and Chris. It was a great week!!

Two days later, we were hitched up again, and heading for the Sunshine Coast. It wasn't a

Main Street Childers.

planned stop, but Carolyn had broken a filling or two, and

1770 Pub.

as we now use a Dentist at Coolum, made a couple of phone calls, and as Coolum Beach Caravan Park was full, managed to get a site at nearby Mudjimba Caravan Park, where we booked in for two weeks and Carolyn had the pearly whites rejuvenated!! As everyone knows, we love this part of Australia more than most. It is like coming home!! We revisited all our favourite coffee haunts, as well as finding a couple of new ones at Mudjimba! John got in a couple of games of golf with his mate Pete, and we had a long lazy breakfast with Pete's sister Lynn and hubby Graeme, and we caught up on a couple of movies that Carolyn had been wanting to see. We especially enjoyed "Allied"!! We called in at Eumundi Markets, and cruised through Noosa a couple of times. We drove up to Maleny and through the hinterland, stopping for coffee at Montville, taking in the breathtaking view. There is just so much to see and do around this region!

The time flew by so we were back on the road in no time! As we headed down the freeway,

On the Burnett River.

Cheryl & Carol at the Botanical Gardens,

we had two warning lights on the dash, came on almost simultaneously!! Nothing serious, both lights we are familiar with!! The fuel filter and the caravan electric brake battery light. We called ahead and managed to book in at Ballina Toyota. These wonderful people agreed to do the job on the run, and fit us in as soon as we arrived!! Only a brief stop was required, and we were back on the road again!!

Green Pool at Angourie.

We decided to call into Yamba for a couple of nights. Being off the main highway we usually

Yamba Prawns, Yum!

just sail on by, but this time decided we should revisit. Carolyn in particular, has a long association with Yamba. Her family regularly holidayed here when she was at school, and when Yamba was a sleepy fishing village where the Clarence River meets the sea. She has told me many times how the family would buy slabs of crab meat from a local fisherman at ridiculous prices! No such thing these days!! With the peak season now finished, we took pot luck and just drove into town looking for the best location available. We chose the Calypso Holiday Park, which is right in town, and right on the river. A great spot!!

Off to golf.

Yamba has changed enormously! It is now a vibrant country town, full of retirees! There are

Yamba Coastline.

new housing estates and Over 55 Villages all over the place. There is a new shopping mall out of town, and the old town centre is a collection of cafes, restaurants, bars and boutique shops. We instantly liked the new Yamba. We enjoyed the walks along the river and out to the breakwater, on the extensive network of walking tracks. Coffee was not a problem, as the choice was enormous! We will be coming back for a longer stay. The only drawback was the sand flies!! The second night, they got me big time - little bastards!! With Yamba still being a seafood mecca, we had to get a feast of Yamba Prawns. No shortage here, and we picked up some beauties to sizzle up on the BBQ for dinner. There is a large fishing fleet based at Yamba, and a number of retail outlets, so getting a fix is very easy! Of course, fishing is the number one recreation sport, though there is a great golf course and lawn bowls clubs as well.

We drove out to nearby Angourie, a well known surfing spot, and home to the legendary

Calypso Caravan Park.

Crepe Myrtle at Gloucester.

surfing pioneer, Nat Young. It is a sleepy hollow, and the beach is quite amazing, though the strong wind meant we saw it far below its best. The surfers were stuck at the car park, staring out to sea as they watched and willed the wind to disappear, and the perfect sets of waves to emerge!! Apart from the surf, there are the famous Blue and Green Pools, freshwater pools created when the old quarries here, hit freshwater springs. The old quarries are quite fascinating, cut into the cliffs along the beach. The great sea walls at the entrance to the Clarence River, were cut from the Angourie cliffs.

With Lindsay Myrelle & Jim.

We only had time for a couple of nights at Yamba, and set off for Gloucester, and our cousin

Down on the farm.

Lindsay and Myrelle's farm, to spend the busy Australia Day weekend. The countryside was in fantastic order following recent rains, though Lindsay said that much of the look was cosmetic, with much more good rain needed. Timing of our visit had been well planned, as Lindsay & Myrelle had been over at Laurieton at their holiday home, for a few days with their son and family. Ironically, we arrived first, but in true country style, everything was open and we just made ourselves at home, setting up on the house lawn, and enjoying a cold beverage, as we looked out across the farm to the hills. It seemed quite funny welcoming Lindsay & Myrelle home as the sunset!!

With the farm now devoted to beef cattle, the daily routine around the farm is much more

Beautiful Gloucester country side.

relaxed. As always, we had a great few days, catching up

Apsley Falls without water!

with the family. We called into town to see daughter Margo, Hubby Adam and their kids Ellie and Alby who are growing up fast. The kids came out to the farm to stay, and Ellie again took a liking to Carolyn and our caravan, which she likes to call her cubby house! Alby is a real farmer in the making, and loves nothing better than helping Pop around the farm whether it be on quad bike, tractor or 4WD. We caught up with neighbours, Dallas & Larissa, over an incredible Yum Cha dinner, put together by Margo and Myrelle. Not your average farm dinner!! On Saturday, Lindsay, John & Alby all jumped into the cattle truck and headed up the road to pick up a a few of a neighbours cattle, to take to the Cattle Sale being held in Gloucester. With cattle prices at all time highs, it was a busy and very interesting morning. Lindsay picked up some more work for the homeward journey, with the same neighbour buying a few cattle and another neighbour also buying!

Lindsay always adds a surprise or two to the itinerary! This time it was Sunday lunch at

With Peter & Bev Betts.

Walcha, some 140 kms away, up the mountain. Friends of

Incredible trucks!

Lindsay and Myrelle, who own a trucking company, moved to Walcha more that 25 years ago, and we were going to meet them for lunch. Peter and Bev Betts are just lovely people, and we felt most welcome at their home, which also acts as the home base for their trucking business. Their home is beautiful, surrounded by lovely gardens, and being on 40 acres, the trucking side is well away from the house. Pete keeps the trucks immaculate. He has 40 B Doubles transporting a variety of products both Intra and Interstate. His Son, helps in the business and his beautifully restored 1989 Mack Truck sat sparkling in the yard, and very much still in use! While Pete attended to some mechanical issues with the trucks, Bev took us out for a drive, to show us Walcha and the nearby Apsley Falls. The falls were just a trickle, but the cliffs are very spectacular, and Walcha looks a lovely town, with an artistic flair.

Bev had decided that we would have lunch at home, rather than the planned visit to a local

Bev, Myrelle, Carol & Lindsay at

Apsley Falls Lookout.

The incredible 1989 Mack Truck.

pub. We had the most delightful long lunch, with conversation covering so many topics from family history, to politics and friendships, and by the time we left, we felt we had made some new and special friends. The wine and beer flowed, and by the time we called an end to the lunch it was getting close to dinner time! Myrelle steered us back down the winding road to home!! What a great day it had been. The road from Gloucester to Walcha and beyond is called Thunderbolts Way, and is one of the most scenic roads in Australia. There are some great free camping spots along the way, and the scenery is breathtaking. We got home in time to watch the fantastic final of the Australian Open Tennis between Roger and Raffa. It was a miracle we all stayed awake until the end!! And our man Roger came through!!!

Monday we left late to head for Sydney. Hard to imagine, that after all the planning, the date

Wayne & Mel trimming the tree.

for John's Knee Replacement operation is now only one month away. Knee Day is the 27th February! But before that there are tests and scans and X Rays to do and doctors to see again. In addition, we have a family wedding to attend. John's nephew Daniel is marrying Caitlin on 4th February, a proud day for John's youngest brother and his wife Lynette. We arrived at our caravan park, The Big 49 at Menai, which will be our home until John's recovery is complete. Our friends Wayne and Debbie have made their place home for our extended stay, and we are so grateful to them for their generosity. We arrived mid afternoon, having navigated our way through Sydney's horrendous traffic, which seems to be worse every visit! We maneuvered the van into position, only to find that the old tree had grown a bit, and our TV reception through the satellite was no good. Wayne had the ladder and chainsaw out in no time, and with Mel and I adding a hand and moral support, the offending branch was removed and everyone survived the event, which was way outside current OH&S standards!!

So, here we are back in Sydney. As I write, Knee Day is just two weeks away. All is in place for the operation. We have been enjoying the hospitality of Wayne, Debbie and their three kids, Ben Kelly and Mel, who are currently all calling mum and dad's place home. The family wedding went off really well. we have had several catch ups with John's mum, who is in good health despite her worsening dementia. She loved the wedding, and managed to see out a very long day, extremely well. John's sister Jenny, celebrated her 70th birthday, which is very hard to get our heads around, and we have been busy catching up with family and friends. John has had a couple of games of golf, and we are about to head across the ditch to Auckland for a short visit to catch up with old friends Daphne & Alan. It is hard to believe we haven't been in Auckland for over 30 years! Thankfully Daphne has been to Oz a few times, and we have had some catch ups! It will be our last fling before Knee Day.

So, there we are. Up to date again. The weeks ahead will be quiet, but we will keep in touch with all our followers, until the Big Caravan Adventure takes off once more.

Darwin to The Queensland Coast 2016.

For us, the drive from Darwin to the Queensland Coast, across the vast open spaces of the Northern Territory and Outback Queensland, is as long and monotonous as the more famous Nullabor Plain drive. This time, we have added the searing summer heat of interior northern Australia! With this in mind, we have had to do a little more planning, as free camping at the many good free campsites along the route, will be out of the question, due to the heat! No power, no air conditioner!

The Drover's Monument in Katherine.

The first day was a relatively short 300km drive back to

Termite mound dress up!

Katherine, where we again booked into the lovely Boab Caravan Park, just for the night. To avoid unpacking everything for just one night, we headed down to the Black Russian Caravan for a late brunch, and based on the advice of a fellow traveller Carolyn had spoken to in Darwin, we headed out to the Katherine Country Club for dinner. It was very hot and humid, with thunderclouds all around, and at 5.00pm with a huge gust of wind, the heavens opened! Within minutes, the caravan park was a lake! As quickly as it came, it was gone, and at around 6.00pm we headed down the street a short distance to the club. With WA being pokie free, we hadn't seen a poker machine for months, so decided to have a little flutter, and with luck on our side, we paid for dinner and drinks, and a little bit of tomorrow's fuel!! The meals were typical club style food, delicious, and enormous. We both had crumbed steak(schnitzel), and it was so big it fell off both ends of the plate! We had both asked for no chips and salad, as we had seen the free salad and veggie bar, but they had loaded us up anyway! After 30 minutes we surrendered, and offered our leftovers to feed the homeless for the following week!!!

That night, the storms continued to hammer away. In the morning, we were on the road early, in the rain, and on the way to Tennant Creek, some 650kms south. At Adelaide River, we took a detour off the highway, along a tourist drive which ventured out into the Daly River Region. It was still raining spasmodically, but it was a lovely drive. The country was so green, and we have never seen so many wallabies!! They were everywhere, so it was a slow drive, but we really enjoyed it. More country to visit some other time!! We hardly saw another soul on the entire drive.

Fran's Café at Larrimah.

We trundled into the small highway town of Larrimah in

Fran's Collectibles.

search of morning tea. We had remembered Fran's Café from an earlier trip, but expected it to be closed after the tourist season. But there were Fran and Maurie, sitting under an umbrella, waiting for customers! Fran is a quintessential Aussie Outback girl. What you see is what you get! Her language is colourful, bordering on psychedelic!! You're open Fran, we said. "Cause I'm F.....g open! I'm F.....g here, so I may as well be F.....g open!!" Can't argue with that kind of logic!! She showed us to a table, and with cloth that left more than it removed, wiped it off. She asked us what we'd like, but didn't have any of the first five things we asked for, so we asked what she had. When the reply came back as "anything you want", I could see us being here for weeks, so suggested she surprise us! She did!! We both got a party plate of cakes and biscuits, arranged around a centre piece comprising home made jam, and cream that looked like it had been carved from a loaf!! Carolyn had wisely ordered a ginger beer, but I had ordered a coffee. My coffee arrived in a very large mug with lots of small white things floating on top. Fran told me that she had trouble keeping fresh milk so used long life milk, to which she added cream, cut from that same loaf! I must have looked a little pale, because Fran proclaimed that it didn't look great, but it had tasted OK when she tried it!!! If I had been pale before, I was now ghost like!! Still I survived, and we headed down the road, anticipating a seizure at any moment!!

Fran, Francois & Carolyn.

By the time we left Fran was our best friend. Maurie, who

Francois is right at home!

we had found out was the latest boyfriend, was more aloof, and kept to himself. A young Sri Lankan couple had now arrived. I can still see the whites of their eyes as they surveyed the scene and survived Fran's welcome. Bravely they joined us at our table, encouraged by Fran and fearful for their fate if left alone! They were a lovely young couple from Darwin, she training to be doctor and he an engineer. Clearly this was an experience like no other they had had! She saw my coffee and changed her order to Ginger Beer, and the young guys mystery toastie looked good, but by now he was wishing his major was pathology!! As we got up to leave, Fran asked us to wait, as she wanted to give us a gift, since she thought we were F....g lovely. She returned with a teddy bear and some photos. She told us the bear was a Travel Bear, and we had to take it on our travels and take photos, and one day bring them back to show her. She had photos of two other bears she had given to a bikie, and a couple of English Tourists, and she was obviously very proud of her photos. We promised to look after the bear, and take lots of photos, so he was given the name of Francois, and now travels with us in pride of place.

Our Tennant Creek stop.

By now the rain had stopped, but thankfully it remained

Not sure how golden!!

overcast and we avoided the real heat for the rest of the day. We played our music and watched the miles fly by. A stop for fuel at Dunmarra Roadhouse, where the guy behind the counter told me I was his second customer of the morning, and on and on we went, finally pulling into the Outback Caravan park at Tennant Creek, mid afternoon. There is quite a bit of mining around Tennant Creek, so there were plenty of people around, but it is foremost an Aboriginal town, which means that everything is security grilled, barred or shuttered. These kinds of towns are so uninviting! We again just stayed overnight, then refueled in town, pleasantly surprised that fuel in town was 20 cents a litre cheaper than at the Threeways Roadhouse just up the road. At the Threeways Roadhouse we turned east, and we were on our way to Queensland.

It is about 450kms from Threeways to Camooweal, just on

The old look!

the Queensland side of the border. It is almost a flat, straight line of treeless plain. I think we saw about 10 other vehicles over that entire distance! It was much greener than when we passed through in June. You can see for miles, and when you do spot a road train in the distance, it takes a minute or two to figure out which way it is headed! There are millions of termite mounds. If termites ever get their act together to conquer the world, we are doomed!! There seems to be a great sport in dressing termite mounds! God knows why, but some are quite innovative! Apart from that there is only an occasional cow, an occasional tree, an occasional emu, and an ever present Whistling Kite or three, soaring above

Thousands of termite mounds.

The new look.

the road or joining the crows in a feast of roadkill, though thankfully there wasn't too much of that! They all wait until the last minute as you approach, then scatter into the air with a screech and a squawk, indignant at the interruption. After 190kms you reach Barkly Homestead, the only stop on this section of road. It has undergone a paint job and re branding since we last passed by! Gone is the mural with the quirky cactus and camel, replaced by a dark blue wall and the new Barkly Homestead logo! There are still backpackers manning the counter, and a few road trains parked out front. It is a good roadhouse, with good food, and even good coffee and cake!! We took Francois on a tour, enjoyed our coffee and cake, and were back on the road. Fuel was $1.68 per litre, so I did a 20 litre top up, and was glad I only topped up, because fuel in Camooweal was 22 cents a litre cheaper!!

The only other place of note along this road is Avon Downs

Refuelling road trains.

Police Station. At least this time we didn't get stopped for a breath test. The Police Station and adjoining residences are beautifully kept, with green lawns and lovely gardens, and there is now a nice roadside stop just across the road. There is a large Aboriginal Community nearby, which is the reason for the police presence. Otherwise they would be making a regular 400km trip from Tennant Creek!! We made our lunch stop at Camooweal, where Carolyn made sandwiches in the caravan, and then it was on to Mt.Isa, where we planned to stop for 4 nights.

Discovery Park Argylla, Mt Isa.

This time we decided to stay at a new caravan park, The

Mt Isa Mines.

Discovery Park at Argylla, just on the eastern outskirts of town. It was as quiet as we expected. The two people in reception were quite excited to see us and have someone to talk to!! We were allowed to choose any site we wanted, and joined the one other casual. We chose a huge, green grassy site and settled in. A few days affords us enough time to justify setting up home, and doing a full unpack. It also allows us time to catch up on washing and other domestics! This was the nicest park we have stayed at in Mt.Isa.

Francois taking in the sights.

We quite like the Isa. It is a mining town, and the mining

Chilling out at happy hour.

downturn has hit the town. A recent mine closure saw another 300 jobs lost. It is a big country town with a population in excess of 20,000 people. Despite Jac and Shaz winning My Kitchen Rules, the town is a gastronomic disaster. Not sure who they cook for, but they sure haven't opened a restaurant or cafe!! When you look on Trip Advisor for the Top 10 restaurants in Mt Isa, it includes Maccas, KFC, Dominos Pizza and Pizza Hut!!! The Coffee Club is the pick. We find them consistently good all over Australia. It was blisteringly hot during the day, with the old mercury hitting 40 plus every day. The pool at the caravan offers little relief, as the water temperature must be around 30!! We notice the little things too, like the water quality. It comes from a dam not a bore, so there is no smell and you can actually get a lather up in the shower, and the towels are soft again!!

Once a Jolly Swagman.....

Saturday morning we saddled up early again to head for Longreach, our next overnight stop. This was another long day of nearly 700kms. We stopped in Winton for lunch to give Francois a look around. He really like Banjo Patterson, and all that dinosaur stuff! But if I hear "Once a jolly swagman........." one more time, he's travelling in the caravan!! We arrived late afternoon, and town was deserted. At check in Carolyn came up against a poor lady learning the ropes. In the end she just let us go wherever we liked!! This time it was getting crowded. Must have been ten caravans spread around the 500 sites!!! Somehow, after hours in the car, my girl whipped up a delicious baked dinner. She always amazes me with her resourcefulness!!

Lots of pubs in Barcy.

Sunday our destination was Emerald, to visit our nephew

Shearer's monument Barcy.

Darren and his family, and have an early Christmas with them. En route, we stopped in Barcaldine for a coffee and cake. We were surprised to find a little café open. Barcy is a favourite stop of ours. We showed Francois the highlights of town. This the birthplace of The Australian Labour Party, following the great shearer's strike. They have a new walk of remembrance for the shearers who led the strike, and the old dead stump that was the Tree of Knowledge, is still the biggest thing in the centre of town. There is just something about Barcy, with all its old pubs and history. To me, it is an icon of the Aussie past, and we always enjoy passing through.

We were almost on the golf course!

We arrived in Emerald late afternoon on a hot steamy day

Some lovely holes on the golf course.

with storms threatening. We checked into the Emerald Cabin & Caravan Village, which was almost deserted. Checking in was a nightmare. The officious guy in the office had told me we could have any site we wanted, and to come back and tell him the site number. So I did just that, to be told that it was only for large motor homes, and I would have to move. So, having asked if there were any other special sites, and being assured there were not, I moved and headed back to the office to tell him our site number. The furrowed brow told me there was another problem!! I looked him in the eye and said "mate, you have 200 sites and only 3 caravans. If you can't manage that around me for the 3 days we are here, seek help!!" He followed us around on his golf cart, to tell us we were facing the wrong way!! But thankfully common sense prevailed and he drove off shaking his head!

Darren,Erin Kynan & Jersey.

Darren, Erin and their two kids, Kynan and Jersey, had been away

Kynan & Jersey.

at Daydream Island for a short break, and were due back the next day. Darren works for Ensham Coal, and each year the company takes all the staff to a resort on the coast for their Christmas party. This year the venue was Daydream Island, and Darren had added a couple of extra days. They had a ball, as we found out when we caught up with them on Monday afternoon and Tuesday, checking out all the photos. It was only a short catchup, as Darren started night shift on the Tuesday, but it was great seeing them all again. Kynan and Jersey are growing so fast, and were full of news about school, holidays and their various activities. Tuesday night, we took Erin and the kids to a local tavern for dinner, where we had a great meal. Darren and Erin are doing really well in their respective jobs, and life for them is pretty good. They told us of their plans, and we genuinely hope everything turns out for them, the way they hope.  

Great town signs in this shire!

We had a little free time in Emerald, and with our caravan site looking out over the golf course, the temptation to play was just too great. It is a typical country course, with watering around the tees and greens, but not the fairways. They were sparse and hard in many places, so it is a challenge!! But we had an enjoyable round. We also sought out a lovely little restaurant we discovered on earlier trips, called Le Porte Rosse. It is open all day, serving breakfast, great coffee and cakes, lunch and dinner. The quality of food is first rate, and the service exceptional. It is the best place in town to eat and have coffee, and we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast there on the morning before we left.

Xmas decorations Mining town style!

After Emerald we were on our way to Yeppoon, last visited

From mining to beef.

5 years ago!! It is an interesting drive alongside the railway with its never ending lines of coal trains. The towns along the way are more at home in a Clint Eastwood wild west movie! Comet, Dingo, Blackwater, Duaringa, all sitting above mountains of Black gold! In fact Blackwater now has a new centre focused on the Coal industry, which has been pretty resilient to the mining bust! Darren had told us that there hadn't been much of a downturn around Emerald, and that his company was increasing output all through the so called bust. On the outskirts of Rockhampton, we passed through Gracemere, home to the largest cattle sale yard in the southern hemisphere. Such has been the expansion in Rockhampton, Gracemere is now almost a suburb! Rockhampton is the beef capital of Australia, and proud of it! Driving through town we could not believe just how much it has grown in 5 years! Situated on the banks of the Fitzroy river, it now boasts a population in excess of 80,000.

New Yeppoon waterfront.

Yeppoon is around 40 kms from Rockhampton, right on the

Looking out to Great Keppel Island.

coast. Again, we were amazed at the growth that had taken place. New waterfront development, and lots of new apartments on the beach, and new housing estates in all directions. We will enjoy a week or so, re acquainting ourselves with the Yeppoon region. We are staying at the Beachside Caravan Park, which true to name, is right on the beach, protected from the nor easterly breeze by the dunes, and only a short 10 minute walk into town.