We ended up staying seven nights at St. Lawrence free park. As I said it is a great place if you don’t upset the local “Sherriff”. A council guy came over to us on Tuesday and told us we were not allowed to run our generator where we were. The wrong side of the sign, I told him that the old couple next door to us were the only people in the whole park!!! We both had genies going and were not disturbing anybody but the birds. We could not park on the other side as it was too muddy from the six inches of rain we had over night. He said any one who came in would go straight to the council and complain!! Oh! Well OK then. I moved the genie 15 mts to the left of the sign and ran it as I needed to charge the batteries. He came past again, saw what I had done and just drove off. I think I inflamed the situation when I told him to go and get a plastic Sherriff’s badge. Never mind, my mate next door left the next day as he was a bit pissed off with the guy, we had both spent money in the town and liked the place.
We left on Monday to head further south, it rained all bloody day. We spent a night at Boyne River Free camp, not bad but the toilets were very dirty. From there to Gin Gin Rest Area where they were doing road works, we met a couple from earlier in the last two places, Rod & Terri were going to their mothers place for a few weeks R&R. Nice couple and a bit of fun, with a big dog too!!
The next port of call was to Bundaburg Caravan Repairs to get a leak fixed. We followed the mud map I had written down from Barry’s wife Kerry. We went over the Cedar Creek crossing, bloody hell !! the water was lapping at the edge of the concrete pathway, very narrow too. We finally arrived and had to negotiate the very muddy driveway.Barry and his wife looked after us very well indeed. We stayed at their mini park as they were all set up for visitors, power water etc. Misty loved the place, she had a hundred acres to explore with her new found friend “Bennie” the boarder collie pup, dad’s name is “Jack”. They played for hours, Misty saw her first chickens!!!! And tasted Chicken food and chicken droppings as well, Yummmmm!!! She was a mess, Fae got a bath ready for her , too bad little dog, she was not coming in like that.
The next morning Barry and Kerry came to say goodbye as they were off to Bundy for the day. See Ya Later we said, not knowing how soon that would be!!***###
We hooked up and headed off down the drive, dodged a couple of holes and slid a bit in the mud. Went off the very cut up track for a piece and ended up in a drain at the side of the drive, Tug down in the LH rear, van down RH both axels, Hopelessly bogged in Barry’s driveway. Shit ,Dam!!!***###
No phone reception, van looked as though it should have been in a cross country derby, mud every- where from the tugs spinning wheels. The tug was a complete mess. No phone coverage, hell what else could go wrong. We walked back to the house and Fae picked up one bar of signal on her mobile. We called Barry and asked when he was going to be home!!!!! How embarrassing.
Barry turned up with his Hyundia to provide the extra grunt I needed and we were out. He had a bore outlet about 50mtrs from where we were so the van and tug had a quick wash to get the very sticky mud off. Thanks again Barry Wells from Bundaberg Caravan Repairs 0408 757678
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Further South
Monday 29th we are travelling south still down to Jolimont Caravan Park, what a disappointment!! We did not even stay, the place looked a mess, I was greeted at the office door by a couple of children that looked unloved. The place was a mess as far as I could see and full of mud etc. I asked where we could turn around and leave. The lady stated that we would not get anything else in Mackay at this time of year!!! The place is almost deserted. We ended up at Sarina in a little park, quite old but the owner has tried and the amenities were very clean with piped music and fresh flowers arranged everywhere. The caretaker, Richard, showed us to our site in the rain and could not do enough for us. We only stayed the one night because we wanted to get further down the track but the park was a place we would return to. (Tropicana Caravan Park).
Next day on to our current position, St Lawrence, about half way between Mackay & Rockhampton. You turn left at the St Lawrence sign and on the left is the biggest free park we have seen, toilets, handicap toilets, hot showers, water, electric BBQ, more shaded tables and seats than you can shake a stick at, a beautiful walk around a wet area and plenty of wild life. It takes a bit of a look around to find a site that does not get too wet in the rain though. I set up at one point close to everything, just to step into a couple of inches of mud at the door after the rain that night. Bugger etc!!!***###
Never mind we shifted and have a good area now, we are here for o couple of nights more at this stage before we move on.
Fae has settled into a routine now and everything seems to be where it is suppossed to be and all clean, even in the wet. What would I do with out her, Well its time for happy hour so
Have a great day and we will see ya later.
Next day on to our current position, St Lawrence, about half way between Mackay & Rockhampton. You turn left at the St Lawrence sign and on the left is the biggest free park we have seen, toilets, handicap toilets, hot showers, water, electric BBQ, more shaded tables and seats than you can shake a stick at, a beautiful walk around a wet area and plenty of wild life. It takes a bit of a look around to find a site that does not get too wet in the rain though. I set up at one point close to everything, just to step into a couple of inches of mud at the door after the rain that night. Bugger etc!!!***###
Never mind we shifted and have a good area now, we are here for o couple of nights more at this stage before we move on.
Fae has settled into a routine now and everything seems to be where it is suppossed to be and all clean, even in the wet. What would I do with out her, Well its time for happy hour so
Have a great day and we will see ya later.
On The Road
On The road now, left Walkamin on the 26th and headed off south towards Townsville. We went down the Palmerston Range and came out on the main highway at Innisfail. Just as well too, as the radio told us the main road was cut at Derall overnight and closed. We overnighted at a free park called Bilyana (22) what a great little place, off the road and room for around eight large vans. Toilets and water available. This place had a blocked toilet in the men’s and I rang the number displayed, a lady in Townville answered and told me they would be on to it, Yeah! Right. There was a service vehicle there within the hour and all was fixed. The gent even apologised for the inconvenience, how’s that for service?? Go Qld Main Roads.
We left the next am to head to Blue Water (36) just out of Townsville, what a huge, beautiful rest area, Toilets, water, lawned areas and a nature outlook over a creek. The was even a cricket match to watch on the oval. A sign in the loos said not to be bashful as all were welcome at the sporting and social club for meals etc. There was a function on the first night and we heard nothing. We would recommend this area to everyone. It was spotless, as I said beautifully lawned and on the banks of a river where people we swimming. There is also a nature walk and fitness track around the site. Congratulations Townsville.
We left the next am to head to Blue Water (36) just out of Townsville, what a huge, beautiful rest area, Toilets, water, lawned areas and a nature outlook over a creek. The was even a cricket match to watch on the oval. A sign in the loos said not to be bashful as all were welcome at the sporting and social club for meals etc. There was a function on the first night and we heard nothing. We would recommend this area to everyone. It was spotless, as I said beautifully lawned and on the banks of a river where people we swimming. There is also a nature walk and fitness track around the site. Congratulations Townsville.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Walkamin Central
Hi readers, We are at Walkamin Central Caravan Park, very sociable place this. We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and set up the van. Great site next to our friends, Ian & Desley, Ian came over and gave me a hand to set up and the first wine went down around 4:30 !!! Very nice. It has been a busy couple of days with Fae working hard to set up "Home". We had a beaut Haloween Night on Sat with lots of guests getting into the swing of things and dressing up as what they thought witches etc look like. See pics. We had a couple of hectic days doing stuff and having things ready for "Happy Hour" Gees doesn't that take time!! We had a great "Melbourne Cup" luncheon on Tuesday. As I said before it is a very good park. We have bumped into some people from Port Lincoln that we have not seen or heard from for over ten years. (small world I kid you not!!)
Our friends have set up for the wet season by puting in a false floor in the annex, coplete with vynal flooring, very posh.
I had a young guy fit my new wheel bearings today for $120, He did a great job and saved my knuckles etc! He goes by the name of "Priceless Automotive 0437 647977" he will travel up on the Tablelands around Mareeba if you are up this way.
Misty is finding it hard to settle in with people walking past "Her Van" and the owners dog has taken to walking past and barking now just to stir her up Heh! Heh! she will settle down.
Well as things happen I will update the blog so bear with us and have a great life.
Our friends have set up for the wet season by puting in a false floor in the annex, coplete with vynal flooring, very posh.
I had a young guy fit my new wheel bearings today for $120, He did a great job and saved my knuckles etc! He goes by the name of "Priceless Automotive 0437 647977" he will travel up on the Tablelands around Mareeba if you are up this way.
Misty is finding it hard to settle in with people walking past "Her Van" and the owners dog has taken to walking past and barking now just to stir her up Heh! Heh! she will settle down.
Well as things happen I will update the blog so bear with us and have a great life.
Friday, October 22, 2010
It's Finally Happened
I finally retired on the 15th of this month Yeahhhhhh!!!
It took a while to come around but finally we are on the home stretch, we have sorted out most of the stuff we are taking or leaving behind. I have my trusty scoot up for sale, as it won’t be able to go on the rear of the van. We have bought a Rhino Rack bike carrier to go over the spare wheel on the van to carry to push bikes (you really do have to peddel to make them go, bugger!!) Never mind, Fae’s is pink, naturally and mine is blue, we put a basket on each for Misty and stuff. We got two gel seats so as to be gentle on the behind.
I replaced the tyres on the van with new light truck ones as they have been standing for more than two years and I did not trust them anymore. I have four new wheel bearing sets as well so all should be OK with the rolling stock.
We have decieded to go up to the table lands to a place called Walkermin for around four weeks to get the feel of every-thing and to get away from this van park. I must admit to being a little cross with the managers again as they have closed one toilet block down even though there are around 30 people using them. (when it rains you have a good 200mts to get to a loo.) They do leave the handicap toilet open, but won’t clean it as they expect the users to do that, I recon that’s a bit off!!! So much for paying your rent (not cheap either)
Like I said we do love the place but because we have been here for just over two years and we feel as though we are not being treated like paying customers any more. Never mind it has now come to an end and Fae and I go on the road next week.
We are really looking forward to catching up with friends, Ian & Desley up there and love the park and the informal atmosphere. They have a big shed, closed in on the weather sides where they always have their communial happy hours etc. Bloody great!
The toilet blocks are beautiful inside complete with the little things like soap, tissues, flowers etc. you could eat off the floor as they are spotless, and that says volumes about the owners, Lucy and Husband.
It took a while to come around but finally we are on the home stretch, we have sorted out most of the stuff we are taking or leaving behind. I have my trusty scoot up for sale, as it won’t be able to go on the rear of the van. We have bought a Rhino Rack bike carrier to go over the spare wheel on the van to carry to push bikes (you really do have to peddel to make them go, bugger!!) Never mind, Fae’s is pink, naturally and mine is blue, we put a basket on each for Misty and stuff. We got two gel seats so as to be gentle on the behind.
I replaced the tyres on the van with new light truck ones as they have been standing for more than two years and I did not trust them anymore. I have four new wheel bearing sets as well so all should be OK with the rolling stock.
We have decieded to go up to the table lands to a place called Walkermin for around four weeks to get the feel of every-thing and to get away from this van park. I must admit to being a little cross with the managers again as they have closed one toilet block down even though there are around 30 people using them. (when it rains you have a good 200mts to get to a loo.) They do leave the handicap toilet open, but won’t clean it as they expect the users to do that, I recon that’s a bit off!!! So much for paying your rent (not cheap either)
Like I said we do love the place but because we have been here for just over two years and we feel as though we are not being treated like paying customers any more. Never mind it has now come to an end and Fae and I go on the road next week.
We are really looking forward to catching up with friends, Ian & Desley up there and love the park and the informal atmosphere. They have a big shed, closed in on the weather sides where they always have their communial happy hours etc. Bloody great!
The toilet blocks are beautiful inside complete with the little things like soap, tissues, flowers etc. you could eat off the floor as they are spotless, and that says volumes about the owners, Lucy and Husband.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
The Wet Season Commeth
As the title suggests the weather up here has turned rather early. Some suggest an early start to the wet! It has been fairly bad over the last couple of weeks, cold nights, rain all day and night. Nothing gets dry, towels etc, bloody awful.
Never mind, woke up with a heart beat so all is good. Poor Misty didn’t like Fae much last week, she took her to the vet to get desexed!! Bad day. I however got in her good books by rescuing her from the nasty vet the next day, Yeehh for dad!!!
Poor little thing, had half of her belly shaved and none to happy about it either. She would settle, only to leap into the air as the ends of the stiches jabbed on some thing or other. Still she will settle down and save us a bit of grief further down the track with the male dogs.
Slowly, very slowly we are getting down to the essentials we need to take, and working out still more weight savings on stuff we wont need.
Fae purchased a new Backarat pressure cooker the other day. Very good brand at a very good price too!. We had one when we first got married nearly 40 years ago, it did not last very long and I still remember the pea soup hanging from the ceiling in the kitchen! She vowed never to have another one until our friends had lunch prepared in around 30 mins with one the other day. Fae has used it a few times now and is sold on the fact you only need one pot and it is very fast. Corned Beef last night with veg in around 20 mins, not bad either.
Did I mention that there is only 5 ½ weeks to go :o)
Ok Folks stay safe
Never mind, woke up with a heart beat so all is good. Poor Misty didn’t like Fae much last week, she took her to the vet to get desexed!! Bad day. I however got in her good books by rescuing her from the nasty vet the next day, Yeehh for dad!!!
Poor little thing, had half of her belly shaved and none to happy about it either. She would settle, only to leap into the air as the ends of the stiches jabbed on some thing or other. Still she will settle down and save us a bit of grief further down the track with the male dogs.
Slowly, very slowly we are getting down to the essentials we need to take, and working out still more weight savings on stuff we wont need.
Fae purchased a new Backarat pressure cooker the other day. Very good brand at a very good price too!. We had one when we first got married nearly 40 years ago, it did not last very long and I still remember the pea soup hanging from the ceiling in the kitchen! She vowed never to have another one until our friends had lunch prepared in around 30 mins with one the other day. Fae has used it a few times now and is sold on the fact you only need one pot and it is very fast. Corned Beef last night with veg in around 20 mins, not bad either.
Did I mention that there is only 5 ½ weeks to go :o)
Ok Folks stay safe
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Eight Weeks To Go (who's counting)
As the title says only eight weeks to go, Yippeeeee!!
Can’t get here bloody quick enough, as I said before we have been looking at a way to mount the new pushbikes on the rear of the van. I spoke to a knowledgeable gent the other day and he suggested a “Rhino Rack” seems they do just what I wanted. Hooks over the spare and locks on, then mount the bikes to the frame. It looks great in the pics so here’s hoping and at $156 it was easier than me trying to make one that would have weighed ten times as much ( being a boilermaker I tend to over engineer every thing)
We purchased a new 120amp hr battery the other day and fitted same in the van and the old van battery now lives in the tug to run the Engle. It is only a small battery but combined with the 80 watt solar panels it should, I have been told by Engle, run the fridge during the day and top up the battery enough to run it at night. There is always the genny and a C-TEK 25000 charger if it don’t work !!
The weather has been beautiful this last couple of weeks and it makes you wonder why you ever lived down south, that is until its 38 degrees and 110 % humidity !!! The park is thinning slowly but there is an increase in the child population, Hummm ! Grumpy old man walking here !!
As I have stated before we have had coloured strips put on the tug and names etc put on the van, looks a beaut. You will see us coming for miles (maybe meters) still looks great. We went to visit our friends at Walkamin the other day and made a booking to be in the park for two weeks before we set off. This time is just to relax and learn to slow down to a walk, also to get misty used to different surroundings. She has been great lately as she is still very young but she has not been on the lead for two days now and no running off to chase turkeys or kids ( fingers crossed) She comes to sit out side with me in the mornings for around five minutes then off back to bed with mum and another sleep till Fae kicks her off the bed. She would happily stay there all day.
We purchased two tub chairs the other day to replace the recliners that were too big for the van. These look great and are very comfy, Misty has hers picked out already. It will be nice to be able to relax inside out of the cold at nights as we travel around.
Ok folks please keep in touch through our email or this blog. Safe travels to you all.
Can’t get here bloody quick enough, as I said before we have been looking at a way to mount the new pushbikes on the rear of the van. I spoke to a knowledgeable gent the other day and he suggested a “Rhino Rack” seems they do just what I wanted. Hooks over the spare and locks on, then mount the bikes to the frame. It looks great in the pics so here’s hoping and at $156 it was easier than me trying to make one that would have weighed ten times as much ( being a boilermaker I tend to over engineer every thing)
We purchased a new 120amp hr battery the other day and fitted same in the van and the old van battery now lives in the tug to run the Engle. It is only a small battery but combined with the 80 watt solar panels it should, I have been told by Engle, run the fridge during the day and top up the battery enough to run it at night. There is always the genny and a C-TEK 25000 charger if it don’t work !!
The weather has been beautiful this last couple of weeks and it makes you wonder why you ever lived down south, that is until its 38 degrees and 110 % humidity !!! The park is thinning slowly but there is an increase in the child population, Hummm ! Grumpy old man walking here !!
As I have stated before we have had coloured strips put on the tug and names etc put on the van, looks a beaut. You will see us coming for miles (maybe meters) still looks great. We went to visit our friends at Walkamin the other day and made a booking to be in the park for two weeks before we set off. This time is just to relax and learn to slow down to a walk, also to get misty used to different surroundings. She has been great lately as she is still very young but she has not been on the lead for two days now and no running off to chase turkeys or kids ( fingers crossed) She comes to sit out side with me in the mornings for around five minutes then off back to bed with mum and another sleep till Fae kicks her off the bed. She would happily stay there all day.
We purchased two tub chairs the other day to replace the recliners that were too big for the van. These look great and are very comfy, Misty has hers picked out already. It will be nice to be able to relax inside out of the cold at nights as we travel around.
Ok folks please keep in touch through our email or this blog. Safe travels to you all.
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