TULLY

Rain, Rain, Rain for the last two days here. Camp here is flooded but after having yesterday off we travelled to a property south of Tully to help repair passionfruit trellis that had been cyclone damaged. Rain has eased tonight so hope that's it for awhile now!

MURRAY FALLS

Rain today but still pleasant 20 degrees. Today we worked with Stacey & Charlotte (British Backpackers) & Pat at a property about 25kms south of Tully, so after finishing the work at 1.30pm we decided that we would take a trip out to Murray Falls to have a look. The waterfall is on the Murray River, which has crocodiles further down towards the coast, so we will take a look down there another day when it is warmer. Tomorrow we both are taking a day off volunteer work, so if weather better might try a bit of fishing.

TULLY

Well it rained most of the night last night and most of the day here in Tully itself, but we were working about 15kms south of Tully with another couple, Jo & Jim from WA, and it didn't really rain much at all there, because Tully is surrounded on two sides by very high mountains, so it's climate can differ to that of the surrounding countryside. Peter had a bit of a heated discussion with the BlazeAid co-ordinator here this morning as he was expecting Lesley to work more often than she does. Peter explained to him that as we were volunteers, we would work when we liked thank you very much. His methods and expectations are not like what you would expect for a volunteer co-ordinator and definitely not as we have previously experienced with other BlazeAid co-ordinators in Bridgewater,Victoria.

MISSION BEACH SOUTH

Today as we both had the day off volunteering work, we ventured down to a market at Mission Beach South after Lesley had done some laundry washing. Although we got there a late it was starting to rain, so we just took a drive around the area, which is just opposite the Dunk Island resort. The Tully sugar mill has fired up and the cane crushing season is about to commence in the next couple of days.

TULLY

Today we travelled about 25km south of Tully to help clear fallen trees & debris from around a caravan with annexe where an 78yr old chap called Eric lived and could not cope clearing all the mess. Working with  Keith & Jan from Brussellton in WA we cleared all the debris and had a good old chat with him, which was really appreciated as much as doing the work itself. Lesley found a huge brown Funnel web type spider which really made her day! On the way back to our camp we took a few photos of cyclone damage around the town (photo)

TULLY

Lesley had a day off today from BlazeAid work, but is helping prepare tea tonight for the volunteers. Peter went out to a property a few kms north of Tully to help fell a few trees. A few volunteers left today but were replaced by more volunteers by late this afternoon. It also has become a little cloudy here and it may rain tonight, which will not help the local farmers as the sugar mill here fired up today and will start crushing on Monday morning apparently, so we hope the smell is not as bad as it was at Giru earlier this month. We had a visit from Cath, whose property we were helping on a few days ago and she has told us about a couple of markets happening in the area, so we might take this Sunday off and go look at one at Mission Beach.

TULLY

Today we ventured out to a property owned by Sue & Craig, who propagate banana trees from tissue culture and then raise the trees until they are about 12" tall when they are ready for planting in the fields. It was very interesting indeed to actually see how bananas are grown. In our group today were a young couple from Ireland called Mick & Stacey. They are trying to accumulate 88 days of work on the land within their 12 months here and if they achieve that then they are able to stay another 12 months in Australia. After spending today clearing trees and cyclone debris from the property and having a great morning tea and lunch made by Sue, Craig gave us all some fish that he had recently caught in the area which was greatly appreciated by all.

TULLY

As we had today off from BlazeAid volunteering work we slept in a bit then drove the 50kms into Innisfail to do some shopping and have a look around. On the way back to Tully we took a detour via Bingil Bay, Crump Point, Mission Beach and Mission Beach South and just as we were approaching Tully again we spotted a Cassowary feeding in a new sugar cane crop. They are really quite hard to spot normally, so we were quite lucky to get some photos of one.

TULLY

Well today was our first day of volunteer work here in Tully. Along with another couple from Tasmania we cooked curried chicken & rice last night for the 20 odd volunteers here, which is apparently what all new-comers do here on their first night. Our team today was a group of 5 people (photo). The property we were working on today is owned by a  lady called Cath and she is struggling on her own with 2 school aged children. She has 10 acres upon which they live and keep 3 horses and several chickens. Trees were broken and leaning over in her paddocks, so most of the work was using a chainsaw to fell these trees and clear all the cyclone debris from the paddocks. Hazards here are: Paralysis Ticks and BIG Python snakes, so Lesley was petrified naturally! Cyclone damage around this town & countryside is terrible and we will take some photos soon. Tomorrow we are having a day off as we want to travel up to Innisfail with the Suzuki to do some shopping etc.

TULLY

After riding our push-bikes down to Balgal Beach Sunday afternoon and buying a pineapple from a local farmer for $2, we spent another night at our camp at Rollingstone and departed early this morning. Traveling north via Ingham we stopped at Cardwell for a coffee stop and the damage created there by Cyclone Yasi is visible everywhere. A complete pine forest we drove past had hardly no green pine needles and all the trees were bent over at an angle, which was really strange to see. Lots of buildings are still badly damaged and the beach at Cardwell, which is opposite Hinchinbrook Island is covered in debris and beach sand has been pushed right up all over the foreshore (photo). After our coffee stop we carried on to Tully and arrived at the BlazeAid camp at the showgrounds about 11.30am and registered as volunteers here and setup our camp-site. Everything is so green here even after the cyclone, typical tropical rainforest vegetation. We plan to stay here for a few months doing volunteer work. Digital TV, Mobile & Internet coverage here is excellent.  

ROLLINGSTONE

Leaving our camp at Bluewater on Friday morning we only travelled 25kms north to a camp-site at "Bushy Parker Reserve" which is directly behind an old re-located railway station at Rollingstone (photo). Reading, knitting & walking along the river that runs directly behind the camp area here, is all that we have been doing but might go for a bike ride later today down to Balgal Beach which is only a few kms away. We met a couple from NZ with another Winnebago as well (staying in the local caravan park here - $34\night with a Big4 discount card!)and they immediately understood what "Lucky Pigs" meant and as they are also on their way north we may meet up with them later on. We will probably leave our camp here at Rollingstone Monday morning and keep going until we get to Tully Showgrounds, where BlazeAid have a depot and are helping to repair damage caused by Cyclone Yasi and we will stay and do some volunteer work again for them there. Digital TV, mobile & internet coverage is good here.

TOWNSVILLE

This morning we had a visit from the local "Ranger" - as here in this part of Queensland they only let you camp for 48 hours, once per week at the same camp-ground, but we are OK and after talking to some "seasoned" campers we know how they all do it for longer periods and get away with it anyway. Taking the Suzuki we visited some of the local beaches and other camps, but there is a lot of debris on the beaches left from Cyclone Yasi earlier this year and as you can see in the photo of Toolakea Beach. They also are getting a lot of shells washed up on the beaches since the cyclone, which doesn't normally happen either. We drove out to Toolamulla Beach, then had some lunch at Balgal Beach and after visiting Rollingstone and calling in to Toolakea Beach for a look we returned to our camp at Bluewater, just north of Townsville.

TOWNSVILLE

After spending another day at Giru to wash "Lucky Pigs" and the Suzuki we left this morning and travelled the 50 kms to Townsville where we had a look around the esplanade with views of Magnetic Island (photo), then after refueling (Diesel $1.419) we travelled out to a campsite at Saunders Beach, but found it too small for our liking, so we continued on to another spot at "Bluewater Park" which is a nice grassed camping area on the banks of Bluewater Creek about 30kms north of Townsville, where we met up with other travellers that we have previously met along the way. We will probably use the Suzuki to have a better look around the area in the next couple of days. Mobile, Internet & Digital TV is good here as well.

GIRU

In the early hours we were awoken by what seemed to be rain on our roof, but upon going out
to investigate Peter found it was a cane fire very close to the town boundary. Later after
topping up with water etc. we headed up past Ayr to a small town called Giru which is only
5kms off the Bruce Highway and we found a spot in the middle of the township, but is right
next to a cane mill(photo) and looks like it is operating 24 hrs at the moment as the cane 
harvest is in full swing. The mill is a little noisy, but the smell of the molasses or something
takes some getting used to. After we had arrived a chap in a Mazda bus motorhome came to chat 
with us and told us they were from Hervey Bay and also know Bruce & Dianne who were the previous 
owners of "Lucky Pigs", and that Dianne was a bridesmaid at their wedding many years ago!
Digital TV and mobile coverage is good, but Vodafone internet is very poor here.

HOME HILL

As we were staying at Home Hill for another day we had a sleep in and went for a walk around
the streets of the town and had a great "Pork Roast" at the local pub for only $7.00 each!
After lunch we unhitched the Suzuki and took a drive into Ayr, saw the "big snake" and out to 
Alva Beach and then followed a narrow road lined with canefields(photo) and to Rita Island 
near the mouth of the mighty Burdekin River where there used to be a town called "Wickham", 
but was completely washed away during a huge flood in the late 1800's and was never re-built. 
After returning to Home Hill we intended to try to get some photos of the cane burning but by 
the time we would've got there it would be already burnt.

HOME HILL

After refuelling at Guthalungra this morning (Diesel $1.469) we only travelled 57kms north, but awoke during the night to rain and it continued until about 11am this morning until we arrived at a town called Home Hill, which is on the Burdekin River near Ayr. 

This town is so progressive in regards to the travelling public as they allow motor-homes and caravans to camp in the actual town parallel to the main street (photo), which can only benefit the local businesses. They even have a camp kitchen here for back-packers to use! It is such a pity that more towns aren't so smart. There are about 22 other vehicles camped here, there are so many people heading north for the winter, we just hope there will be camps available on the tropical beaches north of Townsville when we get there. We intend to have a meal at the local hotel tomorrow in appreciation for the hospitality shown here. Tomorrow we are going to use the Suzuki to have a look around the area also as we have been told that this is one of the last areas where "burning of the sugar cane fields" prior to harvesting is still allowed. They burn it in the afternoon the day before harvesting but today there was not a lot of burning due to the soaking rain we received earlier today. So we hope to get some great pics of the cane burning etc. Digital TV and Telstra Mobile is very good, but Vodafone mobile & Internet is poor.

GUTHALUNGRA

Leaving as early as possible from St. Lawrence to avoid the traffic jam that the motor-home club will no doubt create on the highway etc., we stopped at a little place just up the road that we had been told had the best fuel prices around and refuelled (Diesel $1.43.9). Passing through Clairview, Camilla,  Sarina and Mackay with cane growing everywhere, we stopped  for a coffee just before Mt. Ossa. Lunch was fish (mackeral) & chips at Proserpine, as we didn't go near Airlie Beach as it is too commercial etc. (like Noosa ) for us. The streets have huge sloping gutters in Proserpine, which created a problem parking "Lucky Pigs"! (photo) At the fish & chip shop we met another person from S.A. - and after chatting with her we realised that she was a cousin of a friend of ours from Waikerie! She told us they were staying at "the dam", which we didn't realise until after leaving Proserpine, was a camping ground and we should've also camped there. We kept travelling north anyway through Bowen until we found our camp for the night here at a little town 48 kms north of Bowen called Guthalungra. We did pass a nice caravan park on the O'Connell river before Proserpine, but it was too hard to turn back. Big day as we travelled 400kms total arriving here at 3.15pm.

ST. LAWERENCE

Arriving at St. Lawrence Recreation Reserve on Wednesday  morning we found that there were about 15 other vehicles camped here as well (photo), so after setting up camp, we enjoyed the sun while it lasts as it it forecast to rain here in the next couple of days. Peter went for a bike ride around the township area, as St. Lawrence is an old railroad town that used to have a meat-works, but it no longer operates.  Later wednesday afternoon a "Scottish chap" arrived and parked right alongside "Lucky Pigs", which was so stupid as there was such a large area in which to park. He then proceeded to tell us that there was going to be many more motor-homes arriving as a local chapter of the CMCA was starting a mystery tour from here...great! Huge groups of motor-homes are not our cup of tea I'm afraid. We made a decision to stay an extra day here at St. Lawrence as it was raining further up north. Well on Thursday all these motor-homes started arriving and of course they had to all camp around this "Scottish chap" who was the "Foghorn-Leghorn" of their group it seemed. We did how ever meet some of their group who were not so "LOUD" and even a couple who had seen "Lucky Pigs" before we purchased it, so it was probably when Bruce & Dianne owned "Lucky Pigs".
We heard that they were all going to another camp called "Flaggy Rock" tomorrow, so we definitely are not going there now! Digital TV is no good here at all, but Analogue TV is OK, Mobile & Internet coverage is also good though.

YAAMBA

We got up earlier than usual this morning in order to be one of the first away
from our camp as there are alot of caravans heading north we are not sure if
the camps ahead of us will support that many vehicles. So we topped up our water and
were away at 8.15am and passing Caliope River, headed for Rockhampton 
where after passing through the Tropic of Capricorn we refuelled (Diesel $1.499),
and carried on through the city and a further 35kms north to our planned camp at a rest stop 
in a small township called Yaamba, arriving here at 11am we found only three other vehicles
already here. But just as well we got here earlier than most because they continued
to arrive here all day resulting in about 18 vehicles in total. This afternoon many
birds came to visit the park here, Kookaburras (photo), Lorrikeets and others. 
One Kookaburra swooped down just in front of us and grabbed a huge beetle and took
it up into a tree to devour it.  Earlier today a couple arrived with a 4WD & caravan and after 
a chat we found that they know Lorraine, our friend in "the Beast" (Landcruiser)
from BlazeAid in Bridgewater. Their names are Ken & Barbera and they are from a 
newspaper that Lorraine writes artivles for, called "The Outback City Express". 
Ken gave us a few editions to read and then they headed off to another camp spot 
at St.Lawrence which is about 120kms up the highway, we think this will be our 
destination for tomorrow as there is suppossed to be plenty of room there anyway.
Digital TV, Mobile & Internet coverage here is very good indeed.

GLADSTONE

Departing our camp at "Wallum Reserve" around 8:45am we headed into Bundaberg to do some food shopping at the ALDI supermarket, which is apparently the last ALDI store heading northwards up the coast. In Bundaberg we also posted some knitting to Canberra that Lesley had sold on EBAY. Heading  northwards we passed through some huge fruit, vegetable and sugarcane crops and past through Watalgan, Rosedale, Berajondo and Miriam Vale. We started to head down towards Agnes Waters and the town of 1770, but as it was getting late we decided to stop at Miriam Vale for a coffee stop and then head to our overnight camp alongside the Boyne River at a camp called "Boyne River Rest Area" (photo) about 20kms south of Gladstone. We were going to carry on to "Caliope River Rest Area", but as it was already 3:30pm and that was a further 20kms we decided that we had travelled far enough today already. Digital TV and Telstra mobile coverage is good here, but Vodafone mobile & internet coverage is very poor.

HERVEY BAY

This morning we got away quite early at 8.30am as we were going to take a detour into look around Hervey Bay, so travelling via Maryborough which is an old QLD country town we went into Hervey Bay and after taking a look we found a park near Pialba Beach with views of Fraser Island in the distance (Photo) and went for a walk along the beach with Daisy. Hervey Bay is a good mixture of older and newer residences and it was pleasing to actually be able to get access to the beach after Noosa etc. Heading north via Torbanlea stopping at Childers, which has a lot of agriculture (and backpackers) going on in the area, to refuel (Diesel $1.479). Taking the ISIS highway we found our camp for the night at "Wallum Reserve" which is about 25kms south of Bundaberg, only to find a couple of caravans here that were at Tiaro last night as well. They are heading up to Bowen for 3 months, so we'll no doubt bump into them again too. Digital TV and Telstra Mobile here is bad indeed, but Analogue TV and Vodafone Mobile & Internet is very good.

TIARO

Stayed in Tiaro camp ground again today and went for a stroll around the town. We found a good view of Mt. Bauple (photo), which is where they first discovered macadamia nuts growing in the wild.

Also decided not to have a meal at the local pub as they were having a "jam session" there which started at 2pm and their meals were over priced, so we just sat in the camp ground listening to it all night! We also met a young married couple from Europe. Arno was Dutch and Tatiana is from Slovenia. They have been travelling around for 10 months in a small Mitsubishi Colt and they have been sleeping across the front and back seats! They are also travelling north, so we will probably meet up again soon sometime.

TIARO

Well we only travelled about 60kms today as we stopped at a good little spot right behind the pub at Tiaro (photo), which is only 30kms south of Maryborough around 10.30am and decided to stop here as the camp was practically empty upon our arrival, but as Bruce & Dianne had warned us about these camps becoming full in the early afternoon we decided to stop here - and sure enough they all started rolling in later in the day! About 10 more caravans/motorhomes arrived. We even met a couple from Adelaide and also another couple who have been traveling on the road for the last two years after also selling their home here in QLD. After we visited the infomation centre, had a walk around the town, which is a small pretty town surrounded by hills we sat in the sun most of the day reading, chatting, knitting etc. Peter went for a walk down the road to have a look at a macadamia tree plantation, as they were first discovered in the wild here just down the road. We might stay here and have a meal in the pub tomorrow night as you are allowed to camp here for two nights as it is very quiet here except for all the parrots that arrive at dusk, but they are great to watch anyway. Digital TV is very poor, but mobile phone & internet coverage here is very good.

GYMPIE

After saying our goodbyes to Dianne we departed Lawnton Showgrounds around 10.30am and headed north, refueling at Narangba (Diesel $1.449), where we met a chap whilst refueling who used to live about 3kms from our old house in S.A. and now is living here in QLD! Then northwards
through Burpengary to Caboolture via the "old Gympie road",then getting on to the Bruce Highway we
headed further north through pine plantations and took the turn off to Caloundra travelling along
the Sunshine Coast via Mooloolaba, Maroochydore, Coolum Beach to Noosa Heads, where we finally
were able to find somewhere to pull over and park for a lunch break! This whole coast is not
RV Friendly at all and we are very annoyed that access to the beach has sort off been blocked
by stupid multi-story apartments that are probably only used by tourists during vacations etc.
When we did find a parking spot and beach access, dogs were banned completely! Heading back to 
the Bruce Highway via Cooroy, Pomona (which was a nice little place and also had a showground to stay), and Cooran. About 6kms before Gympie we found the "Six Mile Rest Area" (photo) and as it was 3.30pm we decided it was to be our camp tonight, so we enjoyed a coffee in the remaining sun and watched the local kids having AFL footy practice on the oval. We have parked near the oval, as the Rest Area itself has quite a few caravans and smaller motor-homes camped in it. Digital TV & Telstra mobile is very good here, but Vodafone Mobile & Internet is Poor.

LAWNTON

Weather was OK this morning, so we decided to take the Suzuki and have a look down the coast
at Redcliffe, where there is also another showground that allows motor-homes to camp there.
We thought we would take a look at it as it was closing for their local show or something
and there have been a few motor-homes coming in to stay at Lawnton that where staying there.
So after finding an ALDI store we did some shopping, then headed down to the beach for some
"Barra & Chips" for lunch on the foreshore at Redcliffe (photo). Upon returning to Lawnton
Showgrounds we learnt that Dianne had also been down to Redcliffe to the hairdresser!
Later that afternoon Dianne sat with us and gave us some great advice on camps that are along
our route north and we gave her a few ideas as they are due to head south towards Kalgoorlie 
in W.A. soon. As it was our last night at Lawnton, Bruce & Dianne took us to a great little
restrauant down the road where we had a great steak, dessert and a drink for only $10 each!
Bruce & Dianne are great friends that have helped us immensely, so after a coffee in 
"Dog Gone Lucky"we sadly said our goodbyes and hit the sack as we have a big day tomorrow.