New South Wales trip 01

The trip (in progress)

Our trip through NSW started in Brisbane Qld. We sort of planned where we wanted to go but with us, you never know. With the help of GEOWIKI, stopover places where picked and our first stop would be Tully Memorial Park just South of Brisbane. As is a standard feature on our trips, we forgot something. Normally that wouldn’t have been  a big problem but this time it was the milk container of our Nespresso machine. If you’re not a coffee drinker you would shrug your shoulders and continue. For the coffee lover however this can turn out to be a disaster especially if you, like us plan to go for a trip that could last a couple of months. So, after arriving and installing ourselves at Tully Memorial park, I had to go back to Brisbane and get the missing part.

Tully Memorial park is a free overnight camping area for self contained vehicles. We found a nice spot, not too far from a toilet block. There were some other campers and later on in the afternoon and evening some more arrived. Having a look around the next morning there were about 8 vehicles that stayed overnight and I think we were the only one that was self contained. No ranger had patrolled the area.

 

 

Tully Memorial park

Toilet block

Our first night on the road

Before we left we had installed a satellite dish to have a good reception for TV. It worked beautifully so we could follow Neighbours :-).

The next section

 

On the way from T.M.P. we stopped in Rathdowney to pay the info a visit. At the info a nice lady told us that there was also a museum which was, lucky for us, inside the same building. The museum was not overly interesting and shortly after we left, we pulled into a parking lot to have lunch.

View towards Mt Barney

Still following Mt Lindesay Hwy, I stopped at a small church (Saint James) to make a picture of Mt Barney which was beautifully featuring in the background. Not much furtherup the road got smaller and smaller which some parts where we couldn’t drive faster than 40km/h. In Woodenbong we turned left into Macpherson St towards Tooloom Falls. The last two km are dirt road but reasonable to drive on.

 

 

A nice spot close to the waterfall

View from within

View from within

Tooloom Falls campground is a big area next to the Tooloom Creek there are toilets too. It’s a free camping area. There were a few campers when we arrived. We stayed for two nights at this wonderful spot. In summer it would be a great place for swimming. Despite the beautiful weather we’re experiencing, the temperature stayed a but low and we left our swimmers in the motorhome.

 

 

At Tooloom Falls

At Tooloom Falls

It’s a great site to take some nice pictures. I came across an older couple that had camped there already a couple of days. They told me that there was a platypus down from the waterfall. I went down there but could not find the beast.

 

 

Kingfisher

Tooloom Falls

Approaching

The next morning, we followed a path downsteam where a beautiful colored Kingfisher entertained us with his acrobatic moves catching little fish. During the day there were some visitors with a guided tour but in all, it’s a very quiet spot during the time we were there.

Go to part TWO

 

 

New South Wales trip 04

DAYTRIP to SOUTH WEST ROCKS

Although the weather was not perfect, we decided to go out for a drive to South West Rocks.

South West Rocks is situated at the mouth of the Macleay River and has some wonderful sandy beaches along the Horseshoe Bay and Trial Bay. We parked close to the surf club but stayed in the car for a bit because of the rain. When the shower was over we walked over the grassy area and had a good look over the beach.

The Beach at South West Rocks

There was a nice cafe called the Heritage Guest House and cafe. This is where we had coffee and while we were walking towards the cafe it started raining again. After we finished our coffees, we went to see the lighthouse.

The Smoky Cape Lighthouse is one of the tallest lighthouses in Australia. After parking in the P-lot there is some walking up hill to do but not too far.

Smoky Cape Lighthouse

Two wallabies were on duty to keep the grass short.

Another historic site is the Trail Bay Gaol but the weather didn’t make it worthwhile to pay this site a visit and we decided to turn back and make a note that we have to come back another day when the weather is more welcoming.

Back at the golfclub we had a wonderful dinner at the clubhouse. The locals are really appreciative when you pay for your stay this way.

 

This lovely lady served us a wonderful dinner.

FREDERICKTON to DUNGOG

The weather didn’t improve and we left our spot at the golfclub and headed for Dungog.

Before reaching Taree the fuel gauge indicated that the beast we are traveling in was getting hungry. We left the freeway and drove through a little town called Cundletown where a service station got our attention with a diesel price that was economical attractive. We filled up, drove around the corner and had our morning coffee next to a large grassy field which is also used as a market place. (Not today). Without further interruptions we arrived at the Dungog showground. Three people were in the dooropening of a shed and I found out that one was the caretaker. He showed us some spots where we could park our motorhome. There were three more vans coming he said but was not sure if they would arrive because the weather has been awful the last couple of days. We chose a nice flat area, unhooked the Jimny and went for a walk around town. The info was closed but it would be open tomorrow so we decided to stay here for two nights and come back in the morning to hear about all the attractions Dungog has to offer. The showground is $20 pvpn power, water and showers included. $17 without power so not too big a difference.

The next morning we had another sightseeing tour (by ourselves) and found some amazing buildings as well as some old Hydro Bikes in someones backyard which, by the looks of them, haven’t been used for quite a while.

 

We had coffee at Chill Billies cafe where the open fire was warming the cafe. After we finished our coffee break we went to the info where a nice lady told us about the Chichester Storage reservoir and dam as well as a walk along the Jerusalem Creek in the Barrington Tops National Park, a 2km one way walk.

The Dam and the park are about twenty minutes drive and is worth the effort. At the dam are nice BBQ’s and picnic areas as well as a toiletblock.

To be continued

New South Wales trip 03

COPMANHURST to DORRIGO

 

 

As nice a spot we had on the Clarence River we left the next day and headed to Dorrigo. On the way we did some shopping in Grafton. The diesel got topped up at a servo and I asked the attendant where I could get our gas bottle filled up. No idea he answered. I looked up the GeoWiki site and about one hundred meter further up there was a place that filled gas bottles. All done and on the road again, off to Dorrigo. Just before the town we stopped at a dumppoint and emptied our toilet. After that we parked our setup in Dorrigo and walked through the town where most shops already were closed. I asked a local where I could find the showground. He gave me some directions and we ended up next to the sportsground while I later on discovered that to reach the showground I should have driven a bit further. Never mind, although……… we encountered a bit of a problem with the sat dish but were able to get a new fuse the next morning in Dorrigo. We walked into a grocery shop and Yasmine bought some groceries. On the way out we saw the sign CLOSED but they helped us anyway. That’s how it works in small communities. Great.

DORRIGO to FREDERICKTON

Dangar Falls

While I fixed the dish, Yasmine cooked lunch and when we both were ready we had our morning coffee after which we left to see the Dangar Falls .

Dangar Falls

There is a nice boardwalk to the Falls except for the last bit. There were some workers killing/spraying weeds which was overgrowing the other greenery.

Lavatree at Dorrigo water treatment plant

We followed the Waterfall Way and stopped in Bellingen. This is a nice place and it was a busy place too. Walking around, there is a nice bakery and we stepped inside to buy some crisp freshly baked stuff. We found our motor home back and left for Kempsey.

Before we arrived in Kempsey we went through Frederickton where the golfclub offered free overnight camping. There was one motorhome parked in the P-lot and we parked behind this one. I went inside and learned that they didn’t mind staying there for the night or two or more but would appreciate if we bought something from the bar. Great, we wanted to stay for two nights and pay South West Rocks a visit. We used the showers ($5 pp) in the clubhouse.

 

New South Wales trip 02

Tooloom Falls to Alice Flats

Tooloom Falls was great but we couldn’t stay there forever. After hooking up the Jimny, we left and slowly followed our path South. At Old Bonalbo Pioneers Park it was time for a coffee and we pulled into this P-spot.

 

Pioneer Park

Pioneer Park

 

Next stop was the destination for the day. Alice Flats is a wonderful place to stay overnight or a couple of nights. It’s private land but the owner leave it open and you’re welcome to stay there. Please, don’t leave any rubbish, take out what you take in.

We found a nice level spot next to the Alice River. Two people were walking their dog and started to chat with us. The area where you can stay is divided in two parts. The part where we were staying is directly off the road. The other site can be reached over a rather steep sandy section and leads to nice spots further from the traffic. Tim and his missus had their rig set up on that site and asked us over for afternoon thee. We had a lovely afternoon.

Off to Copmanhurst

The road from Alice Flats was a dirt road and we continued our trip slowly and after about two hours and 65km we arrived at the Newbold Lookout Picnic Area where we topped up on caffeine.

 

View over the Clarence River

Newbold Lookout Picnic Area

The road to Copmanhurst was better. Here would be a recreation area for overnight camping. A fee of $5 pppn is payable at the post office. We parked our rig across the road from the hotel and went to the postoffice annex general store. the attendant in the store didn’t know much about keys for the showers etc. but said that he can collect the money and we have to ring someone who’s phone number was at the entrance of the recreation ground. That person would come and let us in etc. We decided to see how we go at the said ground and left for the hotel to have lunch.

 

Lunch at Rest Point Family Hotel

Glad we went to the Rest Point Family Hotel first. We ordered our meals and chatted with the girl at the bar. She heard what we experienced at the post office and pointed at a dirt road next to the recreation park. That road is 100 to 150 m long and at the end, you can park and stay overnight for free, next to the Clarence River. There are toilets too about 50m walk. The spot we found was great. The toilet was closed but that was not a problem, we have our own.

Our spot on the Clarence River

There was a boatramp and we washed the Jimny with beautiful clear river water. After that, it’s so nice to relax next to the motorhome in a comfy chair enjoying the views over the river.

Go to Part Three

Motorhome travels 3

16 October 2015

     First thing in the morning, we paid the gym a visit. The gym at this place is very well equipped with treadmills, rowers and more items. Too many to name, actually I don’t know how they are called. Next step was to check out the big heated pool. That was great and after a couple of laps and a nice shower, we thought we exercised enough and worked up a big appetite. Back to the “home”, having breakfast and then off to Maryborough. We had the idea to take our bikes but a quick tyre check made us change our mind. We left them on the back of Jimny and at the first servo we inflated the tyres. Maryborough has a Bunnings and that was the place to go since we had some problems getting the right adapter to connect the waterhose to the “home”.

      Besides Bunnings, we visited Coles to top up our food supplies. In the afternoon the bikes got a workout, Yasmine washed the car and we had interesting encounters with some residents at the RV homebase.

Evening Beauty

Motorhome travels 2

15 October 2015

      Some rain overnight and because the two top vents were open, a few raindrops managed to land in the motorhome and formed two mini lakes. No harm done since the vents were closed very soon after the rain started.

Morning thee was the first thing on our mind waking up early. We still had a good night sleep. Some other campers were already packing up and continued their travels. After muesli and corn flakes our journey headed further North. At the Forest Glenn turnoff we were looking for a business where the owner could help us to protect our precious asset.

      Weather can be and is very unpredictable and hailstones the size of golf balls is not uncommon when things turn nasty. To protect the top of the motorhome, a business called Caravan Covers Australia has just the thing we’re after. We don’t like to have the roof dented and the solar panel destroyed during a hailstorm so, we pulled in at the “covers” and met Brain. After he explained the sort of cover we would get , he measured our “home” and gave us a quote for the roof protection. We agreed with the price and he told us that the cover would be ready in about 3 weeks. All sorted.

      Up further North to Gympie we planned to have a coffee break but because the time we spend at the cover guy was a bit longer than anticipated, we decided that Gympie was a good spot to have lunch. Besides, we had a nice cuppa from the lady at the Caravan Cover Australia business. Much appreciated.

      A few kilometres before Gympie I turned into a servo. The coffee had its effect (pit stop) and I remembered that Yasmine told me that the left rear tyres looked a bit deflated and may need some air to make them roll a bit smoother. I stopped at the “air” sign to inflate the tyres and discovered that there was no way I could fit the air nozzle to one of the valves of the double tyres at the rear of the motorhome. I tried but after cutting my arm I gave up and we decided that we drove further to our planned lunch spot. I rang the Talvor/Apollo people where we bought the Motorhome to get an answer as to how to inflate the tyres. After trying several different numbers I finally got Steve on the phone who told me that he had never heard of  anything like that and he would ask around and ring me back. After lunch and no answer from Steve we drove off and just a bit further up the road I discovered Green RV. Green RV is a place that has everything for the caravan and motorhome traveller and I thought they might be able to help me out. One of the mechanics sure helped me out and discovered that the inner tyre was flat. A nice screw was imbedded in the rubber. He told m
e that the valves needed an extension so that valves of the inner and outer tyres could easily be reached and the pressure could be checked and the tyres be inflated. He couldn’t repair the flat tyre but referred me to the Bridgestone tyre people in Gympie. They helped us out.                             Tiaro Veggie Van

      With all the tyres inflated to the required pressure we continued our trip to Tinana. To get our dinner and fruit we stopped at a veggie van aside the road just past Tiaro.

       Kevin Leary of the RV Homebase place was busy at work but had enough time to welcome us and arranged a place to stay for 2 nights at the home base. Our allocated spot Nr8 was taken and we placed our “home” on Nr9 after we left to inspect the site where our future house will be build.

       Unlike the camping place we stayed the night before, we didn’t have       reception for TV so, out came the playing cards and with a nice homemade latte we played cards until it was time to lay our heads to rest.

Motorhome travels

14 October 2015

     Today was the start of our new life. We sold our house and live in our motorhome for the next couple of months until the new house is finished. Some house-sitting in between travels, to make sure cats and dogs are looked after while the owners are out.

The A-frame to tow the Jimny is not ready yet so Yasmine is driving the Jimny while I drive the motorhome. Although we’ve lived about 23 years in the house and loved it, we left without tears, knowing we are ready for a change. Around 2.20pm, still loaded with lots of stuff in the car and motorhome, our first move was to the self storage place to drop off the last things like, TV, brush cutter and some other items we sure won’t need on our travels.

      Along the Bruce Highway, at the Landsborough turnoff North of Brisbane is a spot well known to us. We’ve spent many coffee breaks there on our way to the Sunshine Coast or Noosa. The place has had some changes over the years but is still a nice area to stay overnight although there is quite some traffic noise. Some campers were already there and we found two nice spots to park the cars.

Landsborough Turnoff

Cashmere Tracks

The bush around Cashmere in Queensland Australia has many “hidden” walking tracks although they haven’t been used by walkers only. On my early morning walks I’ve seen a horseman and people on their mountain bike. Even off road motorbikes although these are not permitted. Part of the bushland is Conservation park. I have plotted the paths with my GPS and this morning I spoke to a lady who lived in the area for 12 years and didn’t know about these tracks. So, here is the map with the tracks I’ve walked. Some parts are walked on paved roads. I start normally from the crossing Peppermint Dv/Correa Ct and from there many circuits can be walked with durations from 1/2hr to 2hr depending on your speed. Some tracks have steep sections, so some fitness and good footwear is required.

Fraser Island Great Walk

Fraser Island Great Walk. (1)2013

 If you like walking through bush, along fabulous lakesides, wide open beaches or under huge Tallowood and Satinay trees, feel the fresh air and see wildlife, Fraser Island has it all. Last year the track was closed during storm damage and bushfires. To make sure we could go this year I rang the info centre and was told that all the tracks North of and including Central Station were open as were the camping sites. The Southern lakes and walking tracks were still inundated. Our plan was to take the barge from River Heads (Hervey Bay) and start at Wanggoolba Creek. That was our plan in total. The rest was wait and see what happens.

Yasmine had planned all the supplies needed for a ten-day hike and the backpacks were filled to the brim and some of it was hanging on the packs. (thanks for carabiners). We drove up to River Heads, a suburb of Hervey Bay, and went to the boat ramp from where the barge would depart.

While there, we bought the tickets for our transport but had a strange experience with the girl at the desk. As walkers, you don’t have to book ahead and we asked for two return tickets. Fifty dollars each and I paid the money (cash) and waited for the tickets. “You will get the tickets when you return about half an hour before departure time” the girl said. “Ok, can we have a receipt for our payment”? Yasmine asked. “I’ll recoqnise you when you return”, was the answer. She looked surprised when we insisted on having a receipt, but she eventually got us one.

We had to leave the car in River Heads and a couple of days earlier I had arranged secure parking with Shane, a Real Estate agent who also runs a security parking business. It gave us a nice comfy feeling having not to think about leaving the car on the site of the road being subject to break-ins etc. Shane also drove us to the barge where we arrived a bit early. The timetable for the barge left us little choice and taking the 4pm barge to Wanggoolba was a bit late but 10.15am was too early. No departures in between like the barges leaving from Inskip point to Hook Point that run continuously.

Travelling friends told us that you can get a lift from the barge to Central Station or Happy Valley (if you’re lucky) but having seen the few cars on the barge with no space for hitch hikers, our hope was quickly dashed and we decided to walk to Central Station. Besides, we came here to walk. We walked over the 4WD tracks and the sand was very soft.

The last hour and a bit we walked in the dark with a headlight mounted on my head. At an intersection which lead on one way to the dayrecreation area and the other way to the camping two boys were trying to get their car out of the sand. They were there bogged for two hours. We couldn’t do anything to free them but our encouraging words must have helped because they drove past us   50 mtr further down the track and offered us a lift. Something we would have accepted earlier coming from the barge but now gracefully declined since we were almost at our destination. We saw all these lights on the left hand side coming from the campsite but, the entrance was still about 600 mtr further down the track. A sign at the entrance told us that we again had to go back past two general campsites before we arrived at the walkers camp. About 600 mtr back. Finally we found a nice spot to pitch our tent, had soup and chocolate and went to sleep. We walked about 11km through the soft sand and were a bit tired.

Up the next day, we found a cage where you can store food to keep it away from dingo’s but I think bush rats etc. can still get to it so we’ve kept in our tent. Opposite the toilet block was a wonderful kitchen sink with water. Oh well, things you miss when you arrive in the dark.

We fastened our backpacks and planned to walk to Lake Wabby.

Horseback Riding

A few 4WD’s were heading the same way as us. No wonder, it’s the highway to Rainbow beach, a favorite spot for 4wd adventurers to spend the weekend and camp on the beach. We however didn’t go that far. Our destination was EQUATHON for our adventure on  a horseback. I have never rode on a horse’s back but after we got a Redballoon gift voucher from my son and his partner, I no longer could say: “I do it when the opportunity is there”. So we booked and last week we got the email that the booking was confirmed. Equathon’s location is close to the Noosa North Shore in Queensland. To get there we had to cross the Noosa river and luckily enough there is a ferry ($6.00). We were early and had our coffee next to the site were a carwash is located. Great place for the 4WD’s that come from the beach to get rid of steel munching salt, because there is a sort of bidet for cars which nicely takes care of the cleaning of the underbody. We registered at the Equathon office and after filling out the necessities for the insurance etc. there was a small problem because our names were not on the list but after some discussion the problem was easily solved and we headed to the shed to be handed a helmet that would protect our precious heads in case the art of balancing on a horseback was too much of a challenge and we would fall off. There were 8 adventurers in the group.

On the Beach

My confidence wasn’t high on the confidence scale but I was the last to be called to mount a horse and the others didn’t seem to have a problem so I stepped up and put my left foot in a sort of metal loop which they call a stirrup and swung my right leg over the horse’s back and landed in the saddle where I sat with white knuckles holding the steering wheel waiting for the animal to make a move, letting me know who’s boss or telling me he didn’t like to go for a ride and throw me off.

NOTHING. Great start. I got some basic instructions as to how to steer Mack (the horses name) with the rein (steering wheel) and after CC (our leader) told us in which order we had to follow her, we wend. The first twenty minutes or so walking through nice bush land and I got more confident with riding this wonderful animal. They are very well trained and used to new riders I imagine. CC stopped and asked if we were ready to go for a bit of a trot. Why not. Wow, that is hard on the back if you haven’t done this before. You have to come in the same rhythm as the horse but, I managed to hold on. It was only a short run and we got back into a walk again. Moments later we arrived at the beach.

On the Beach

It’s a wonderful feeling. Sitting on a horseback, seeing the waves roll on to the beach and have a nice fresh breeze in your face. Not so nice was it when a bit later the weather decided that it has been a bit dry and a short shower damped the temperature but not our fun. Photo’s were taken. We rode a bit further over the beach and then returned to the stables. After dismounting from the horses we felt some very stiff legs but thanks to CC and the other instructors who guided us, we had a great experience.

Apollonian Hotel

After Two hours horseback riding, we felt our tummies rumbling and we headed for Boreen Point. The Apollonian hotel here had a great menu which suited our idea of having a great lunch and when the kitchen opened at twelve midday we ordered the dishes we liked. It is a wonderful hotel in a nice setting and we enjoyed our meals on the veranda with the sound of live music coming from a corner where three musicians took care of the entertainment.

Thanks to:The Apollonian Hotel

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