After a number of unforeseen delays over the last 2 years, we finally got away on the 20th May 2023 for our big caravan adventure.
Since we have seen most of the coastal towns between Sydney and Bundaberg, we decided to get as many kilometres behind us as possible in the first week or so.
Day 1 was 660km from Sydney to BimBimbil Caravan Park just off the Pacific Highway on the Iluka road. We left Sydney at 7:15am and arrived at the CV park around 4pm. We set up, and had previously organised dinner so it was just a quick reheat in the microwave. The van park was a great little find with good sites and a great outlook. Amenities were nice and clean.
Day 2 was a trip into Yamba in the morning and we stayed there for a light lunch. That night, cousins of ours who have a place at Lennox Head drove down for a catch-up dinner at the Harwood Hotel.
Day 3 we departed around 8:30am and headed for our next overnight stop at the Cooroy No Worries RV Stop 400km away. We arrived just after lunch, decided to setup the van and then head to Noosa Heads Surf Club for dinner. On the way, we stopped at a Big W store and picked up a set of digital scales for the van as we didn’t want to come back to Sydney after 7 weeks and wonder why we gained so much weight! After picking up the scales, we got to the surf club.
Dinner and drinks overlooking the beach at Noosa is always a winner with us.
The van park is a good overnight stop for when heading north. I would stay there again, but no more than a couple of days as there is not much around there. Also, you can fill your water tanks but cannot connect to water as they are on tanks and pump water.
Day 4 was another early start and we hit the road to do 550km to our destination of Kinka Beach – about 10km south of Yeppoon. We arrived at the Island View Caravan Park at Kinka Beach. The van park was great. Excellent amenities, drive-through sites, opposite the beach and close to Yeppoon. We drove into Yeppoon to visit the IGA and pick up a couple of items for breakfast, then back to the van for dinner.
Day 5 was some sight seeing around Yeppoon. We took our new folding e-bikes into town, parked the car and did our sight seeing via pedal (and battery) power. We covered about 12 km around Yeppoon as they have some great beachside bike paths. Lunch was at the Sailing Club in Yeppoon before returning back to the car, packing the bikes and driving back to Kinka Beach.
Day 6 saw us head up to Capricorn Caves where we visited Cathedral Caves via a tour. It was an interesting place to visit with the highlight being when they turned the lights out in Cathedral Cave and had the song “halleluiah” playing in the dark. After that, we headed over to Byfield where we had lunch at the popular Byfield General Store Café. Food was great and it was a pretty drive over. We then headed back to Yeppoon via Emu Park to visit the “Singing Ship” – A “ship” that has a number of pipes that are made to look like rolled up sails that actually vibrate when the wind blows making them “sing”. Emu Park is a great little holiday town only 20km south of Yeppoon. On the way home, we visited some farm stalls where we bought pineapples and dragonfruit to take back to the van.
Day 7 we took our bikes to the marina and started our ride from there. We covered about 12km again on a different bike route, and again a spectacular scenic ride. We got back to the car, packed the bikes and went to Yeppoon for fish and chips by the beach. In the afternoon, we headed back to Emu Park for a coffee before heading back to the van to start packing up for our departure in the morning.
Day 8 we hit the road by 7:45am to do another 530km to get to Airlie Beach. We arrived at the Tasman Van Park in Jubilee Pocket (2km north of Airlie). We had a great site (again) in a great van park.
What we have noticed on this trip is that once past Bundaberg, there are very few places where one can pull up for breakfast or lunch while on the road. In fact, there were no roadhouses or cafes really to speak of.
In fact, this day we travelled 3 hours before we found a gem of a place called “Flaggy Rock Café” on the Bruce Hwy at Carmilla. A definite recommendation for this place!
We drove past a couple of places I’ve always wanted to visit, purely from a business/investment perspective and these places included Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure (coal loading facility south of Mackay) and Canelands Shopping Centre (in Mackay itself).
Anyhow, we arrived at Airlie and we set up the van and then drove over the Abell Point Marina where we sat and had a cocktail while discussing what our plans would be.
We had decided that since we had snorkelled the reef and the Whitsundays a couple of times, chartered a private motor yacht where we cruised around the Whitsunday islands a couple of times, visited Hamilton Island three times, and Airlie three times also, that we needed to see the Reef and Whitehaven Beach from the air. So we chartered a helicopter for a private tour. After finishing our cocktail and planning our next day, we headed back to the van.
The Tasman Holiday Park we stayed at was very organised, and they have food vans come by most nights to serve take-away food to guests. Tonight was Thai night, so we ordered our Thai food and took it back to the van.
Day 9 was a slow morning before heading back to Abell Point Marina and making our way to the Helipad at the end of A-arm. At 12pm our charter landed and we were escorted to the helicopter. Within 5 mins we were in the air and heading out over the Whitsunday Islands to the Reef.
We saw many of the islands we cruised around, but this time from above. It was awesome. We flew out to Heart Reef – which is an iconic reef in the Whitsundays. The colours were amazing, and the Reef was an unbelievable sight from above. We even spotted manta rays in the water!
From the Reef we headed back to shore via Hill Inlet and Whitehaven before landing back at Abell Point.
During the flight, the pilot pointed out the two coal carrying ships – one heading north and the other south. The north heading ship sat lower in the water because it was fully loaded, the south heading ship was empty and heading back to the coal loader. I pointed out that the coal loader is located at Dalrymple Bay just south of Mackay. He asked if I was in the mining game, and I said I wasn’t and left it at that. However, it is amazing for me to actually see our investments actually at work, and generating income.
Anyhow, upon our return, we decided that it was too good a day to just call it quits and head back to the van, so we instead headed over to the restaurant and bar at the marina to take in the view, have a drink and some lunch.
Back at the van, we charged our bikes and got them ready for the next day.
Day 10 we headed off in the morning on a 14km return bike ride along the foreshore, through Airlie to Cannonvale and back. On the return leg, we stopped at the marina for a coffee and snack before continuing on to the van. The bikes add another dimension to holidays, allowing us to explore places without sitting in the car yet again. Also, parking becomes a non-issue.
In the afternoon, we did a bit of exploring by car, heading to Cedar Creek Falls, Wilson Beach and Hydeaway Bay. Of all three, Cedar Creek Falls was the highlight as it has a freshwater pool at the base of the falls that you can swim in, and the falls and swimming hole are just 50m from the carpark! Wilson beach is not much of a beach – more mud flats than a beach, it is a bit out of the way, but has a great van park. Hydeaway Bay is a long way from anywhere, not much there but the beaches are pretty. The last two are not our “thing” really.
Day 11 was a “chill” day. We headed into Airlie Beach for lunch and a drink overlooking the bay. Afterward we strolled into the main street where Stephanie did a touch of shopping before we got a gelato and then headed back to the van to begin the packing process.
Day 12 we hitched the van and left Airlie around 7:30am for another 510km drive to Mission Beach. We travelled past Bowen where we had to take a photo of the Big Mango! There were lots of Mango farms along the highway that ran for maybe 100km. After that, it was hundreds of kilometres of sugar cane farms all the way up the Bruce Hwy to Tully. Once we hit Tully, it became a mix of cane and bananas.
There must be thousands of kilometres of train lines for the cane haulers – they are everywhere you look!
On the way to Mission Beach, we encountered a small issue about 80km south of Ingham. Upon pulling over for a visit to the loo in a rest area, we discovered that the fridge connector from the van had come away from the car connector and must have dragged to the point of losing the actual connector somewhere along the road and leaving just bare wires hanging. So, a quick call to an auto electrician at Ingham, 80km away, and he said to just rock up. We were there in about 45mins and he slotted us straight in. 30 mins and $54 later, we were good to go.
However, we had to kill some time at Ingham as we were waiting to have a birthday conference call with Christopher for his 32nd birthday, which he celebrated in the Cook Islands. When all that was done, we left Ingham and hit the road again. Within an hour or so, we arrived at the Dunk Island View CP and set up on our huge site. The van park is opposite the beach and close to shops, cafes and restaurants.
Once set up, we took a drive to Mission Beach and had dinner at the Pirate Bar Den and Grill.
Day 13 we headed off to Bingil Bay Café for a coffee and morning tea – great spot, really recommend it. From there, we headed to Babinda Boulders along the Bruce Hwy via Innisfail, and then Paronella Park via some backroads. It was an interesting drive.
We stopped at a couple of road stalls – one in Innisfail where we bought a pineapple, 1kg rambutan, dragonfruit and some chilli and lime infused peanuts. The second stall was at Liverpool Creek where we picked up bananas for $1.50 per kg.
Liverpool Creek is a freshwater swimming hole with a freecamp that has a toilet block. There were about 5-6 vans there. Nice to bear this one in mind!
We also took a drive to Etty Beach. Another great spot with a small van park right on the beach. Basic amenities and a small general store, but otherwise another gem of a place to consider for a few days.
Day 14 saw us doing a quick grocery shop at Mission Beach in the morning, then back to the van to drop off before going back to Paronella Park for a proper tour of the place. The weather has turned in today, but held off for the tour. Today it has rained on and off. Fortunately, it has been “off” when it needed to be, and “on” when we were driving!
The Paronella Park story is a fascinating one, and Jose Paronella was an inspirational man. He was a man with a dream, a vision and a determination to succeed. A visit is worthwhile, as is a search on the internet for his story!
Day 15 we were up and headed to Cardwell swimming holes. The first visited was Cardwell Spa Pools. This swimming hole was pretty but due to lack of rain (being the dry season) there was little flow. It would certainly be a great spot during summer and early autumn. We then visited Dead Man’s Creek, which again had minimal flow and a steep 100m walk down to it. We then drove to Five Mile Creek Day Use Area and discovered a great swimming hole that had good amount of water in it as well as fish!
From here we drove to Cardwell for lunch. A pie and a drink from a food van along the river.
While sitting there, we had another couple join our table, only to discover that the guy used to be on the Variety Bash as one of the Blues Brothers while Andrew was on it as a Trojan. A bit of chatting and the guy mentions that he spoke to some entertainer (musician/singer) that was performing at the Pirate Den in Mission Beach tonight, so after we parted ways, we drove to the Pirate Den and booked in for dinner. On the way back to Mission Beach, we discovered this track that lead to a "day use area" about 5km from Mission Beach. It was a pretty drive and there was parking and walking tracks through the jungle, we declined the option to explore this area.
We made a booking at the Pirate Den, and dinner was great, as was the show. It was a fun night out and gave us some good entertainment.
Day 16 is markets at Mission Beach Day. Unfortunately the markets were rather disappointing and we bought zero. We lasted about 15 mins and then decided to leave. Since the weather was actually really good, we went back to the van and grabbed our bikes and rode to South Mission Beach, which was about an 11km return ride. The ride was mostly along the beach and very pleasant and picturesque. When we got back to the van, a quick charge was done over lunch, then we jumped back on our bikes and rode to Mission Beach, which was a 14km return ride. Of course, we had to stop for an icecream while at Mission Beach! Total of 25km for the day riding our bikes.
Day 17 was departure day from Mission Beach and we headed off around 9am. There was no rush as we were only travelling 220km to Wonga, about 20km south of Daintree Village.We drove through Cairns and only stopped to fill up. It was a warm day – about 30C. We continued through Mossman and on to Wonga Beach Caravan Park.
WBCP is right on the beach, with a row of trees to protect from the wind and to separate the CP from the croc inhabited waters of the beach!
The CP was excellent. However, it does have some trees that produce Wonga Nuts, which drop on unsuspecting people and vehicles. Vehicles can get dented, so the CP provides a big rubber mat to put over your car roof or bonnet.
There are also fruit bats in the trees that eat the wonga nuts and then poop on your van and car. All part of the fun.
We set up the van, and then headed to Mossman around 2pm for lunch.
Day 18 started with us heading to Mossman for an early lunch before going grocery shopping and then my dropping Stephanie off at the hairdresser. Stephanie noticed a small chip in the front windscreen, so I booked the car in for a chip repair at Mossman. I headed back to the van to practice bouzouki and do a couple of small jobs around the van. When Stephanie’s appointment was done, I picked her up and we headed to Wonga to catch up with Steve and Sally. We spent the afternoon catching up with them until 3:30pm when we had to be at Mossman to get the glass repaired. The repairer warned us that due to the type of chip, it may not be repairable and crack further during the repair process. He was correct. The windscreen ended up with a 25cm crack. The guy was good enough to ring around to see if anyone had a replacement. We were booked into Mareeba for Day 26 at 8am to have the windscreen replaced, as it is the earliest date we can have one shipped up from Townsville, and Mareeba is only a 20min drive from Atherton (which is where we will be on Day 26).
Day 19 we cleaned out the car and drove to Steve and Sally’s place to pick them up and go to Port Douglas for lunch at The Tin Shed.
Lunch was excellent. Afterward, Stephanie and Sally went for a walk through Port Douglas shops while Steve and I sat overlooking the view and chatted. When the girls returned, we then headed to a Gelato shop for some dessert before heading back to Wonga.
We decided that we would organise dinner, so Stephanie and I headed to the van to pick up some salad stuff and steaks that we had in the freezer, and too them back to Steve and Sally’s place.
We headed back to the van around 9pm as we had a big day the next day.
Day 20 we filled the car and then headed north via the Bloomfield Track to Cooktown. We departed around 9:30am and caught the car ferry across the Daintree River to begin our adventure. The Bloomfield Track starts at Cape Tribulation and makes its way through the rainforest while following the coast line most of the way. There are a number of creek crossings, with the first being the stunning Emmagen Creek. The scenery was spectacular.
There were a number of steep climbs and descents with the steepest being 35 degrees! The Track finishes at Wujal Wujal (an Aboriginal community) and becomes bitumen. We visited Wujal Falls before continuing a further 5km to Bloomfield.
We stopped at the General Store/Fuel Station and got an iceblock (it was rather warm outside) and ended up having a 25min chat with the owners! We continued on and made our way to The Lion’s Den Hotel around 2:30pm, where we stopped for a cold drink and a pizza for lunch. Leaving the Lion’s Den, we headed up to Cooktown, which was 20mins up the road where we checked into our accommodation at a cabin in the G’Day Van Park. The accommodation was good, and we could not fault it.
We then headed to Grassy Hill Lookout for a view of the area, as well as catching the sunset over the water.
Dinner was at the local RSL club.
It was a long day, and we were a bit tired.
Day 21 we had breakfast at the local bakery before heading north to Isabella Falls – which was certainly worth the 1 hour return trip. Along the way, we saw enjoyed some beautiful scenery.
We headed back to Wonga via the inland route, which took us through Little Annan Gorge and Lakelands. We stopped at Palmer River Roadhouse for lunch before continuing through some spectacularly scenic countryside to Mount Molloy where we stopped at a roadside stall to buy some dried fruit and fruit cake.
After a short break, we continued home from Mount Molloy, down the 7km steep and windy road from the tablelands to the coast.
We stopped at a lookout that showed the vast plain below, and though the trees on the plain may look small, they're actually about 25m high - which then puts the vastness and size into perspective!
On the way, we stopped to take a look at the Shannonvale Swimming Hole – a local fresh water swimming hole frequented by Mossman locals.
Day 22 we headed up to Mossman Gorge. A beautiful fast flowing gorge set in the rainforest 4km from Mossman village.
Lunch was at Mossman, before heading back to the van to make a start on our pack up for our departure the following morning.
On the way back to the van, we noted that there were “Working Dog Trials” in the village of Miallo. We decided to check out the trials. It was fascinating watching these working dogs do what they are bred and trained for. The way they round up sheep and cattle, lead the sheep and cattle through the gates and direct them without a word from their trainer is amazing!
When we finally got back to the van, we packed away the awning, outdoor mat, chairs etc, so all that was left the following day was the inside of the van and the outside connections (power, water, sullage). At 3pm we headed to Crocadylus Eco Resort in Cow Bay, to catch up one final time with Steve and Sally one last time. We chilled out with them until 4:30pm, after which we jumped into their car and headed for a pizza at Cape Tribulation. It was a pleasant evening, and we were joined by another couple who were friends of Steve and Sally.
We chatted for ages before calling it a night at 9pm. Steve and Sally drove us back to Crocadylus, where we picked up our car and headed back across the Daintree River and back to Wonga.
Day 23 saw us up at 7:30am to have breakfast and pack up the van in order to head off across to Atherton. The route was via Mount Molloy, which was the same 7km steep windy road we took 2 days earlier – except this time we were going up towing the van. However, the Landcruiser did it very easily with no problem whatsoever. The distance was only 120km or so, therefore an easy run. We stopped at Coffee Works at Mareeba for morning tea and picked up a couple of things, including a coffee liquor. We continued to Atherton and on the way we passed a mandarin orchard where we stopped to get some mandarins. The cost was $6 for a bucket, and you could pick (and eat) fresh from the trees, as many mandarins as your bucket would hold. We got 29 mandarins and the bucket for $6. I’m sure we could have fit a further 10-12 mandarins in the bucket, but then we would have had to carry the extra weight back to the car!
We arrived at the Big4 Atherton and set up the van.
After we were set up, we went for a drive around Atherton to see what was around before then heading to IGA to top up a couple of basic groceries.
We dropped the stuff off at the van and then headed to Platypus Park to see if we could spot a platypus in the wild.
We got there 4pm and within 15 mins we had a couple of sightings. They are extremely timid creatures.
Back to the van for dinner that night
Day 24 we were up and out by 9am with our first stop being Hypipamee Crater Lake. The lake was a 900m return walk, for me, but Stephanie added a further bit for herself down to the river below and back up where she saw Dinner Falls and the flowing creek.
Dinner Falls appear below.
Back at the car we headed to Millaa Millaa Falls (right, above). These falls were spectacular and by far the best of the falls on the circuit. There were people having a swim at the water hole and base of the falls. The weather was a bit cool and drizzly, not overly enticing enough for us. There are several other falls in the area including Ellinjaa, Zillie and Malanda, but after seeing Millaa Millaa, we decided we’d seen the best of them.
We stopped at Millaa Millaa village for lunch before heading to Yungaburra. On the way to Yungaburra, we stopped to see the Curtain Fig Tree (left). A large spectacular fig that is native to the tropics. Again, there are many huge figs in the area. We decided that seeing one was enough.
We drove through Yungaburra but since most things we closed as it was after 3pm, we headed back to Atherton.
At 5pm we headed back to Platypus Park and spent about 25mins. We had another two quick spottings of platypuses before going back to the van for dinner (via the local IGA for some chicken and sauce for a stirfry).
Day 25 saw us head to Herberton Historic Village. This place was surprisingly fascinating and worth the 30min trip and entry fee. We spent about 90 minutes there and had a cuppa and a scone at the bakery onsite.
While at Heberton, we saw posters from WWII that were used to motivate men to enlist in the armed forces. They sure played upon people's patriotism!
After Herberton, we headed to Ravenshoe which is a quaint little village in the tablelands and boasts the highest pub in Queensland. The pub was really good and we had an amazing lunch there – nothing special but certainly simple well prepared food that was tasty and generous.
We were back at the van around 3pm for a rest. Dinner tonight was a bit of cheese and crackers as we were still full from lunch!
Day 26 was a drive back to Mareeba to get the windscreen replaced on the car. Afterward, we headed back to Atherton and on the way, we stopped and spent $2 for a bag of 5 avocados and $2 for a kilo of lady finger bananas – all of which turned out to be very tasty! We then decided to head over to Yungaburra for morning tea, then drove around the Crater Lakes area visiting Lake Barrine and Lake Eacham.
Lunch was at Gillies just near the lakes. We finished off at Gallo Dairyland where we bought some assorted cheeses.
Day 27 we joined Steve and Sally in Koah where we met them for lunch at Sally’s aunties farm. We then headed back to Atherton via Mareeba and stopped at Emerald Creek Ice-creamery – which turned out to be a brilliant idea!
A quick visit to IGA in Atherton to re-stock our supplies before heading outback!
Day 28 we hit the road and followed the Savannah Way, past Ravenshoe, to Mount Garnet where we stopped for a quick coffee. The transition in the landscape was amazing, going from rainforest to Outback Scrub.
We continued to Mount Surprise where we stopped for lunch at the only café in town. From Mount Surprise, the road became a single bitumen lane with dirt either side, so when passing another vehicle, everyone had to drive half on the bitumen and half in the dirt… except when a roadtrain was near, then we would just pull over until the dust settled!
We fuelled up the car at Georgetown and then headed south to Forsayth. The distance was 40km, of which 25km was corrugated unsealed gravel. The road was rougher than I expected but the car and van handled it well – I just had to drive to the conditions. It took an hour to do the rough and dusty 40km.
Forsayth was a surprisingly quaint little village with a population of 50 people.
We set up the van in the van park, which is owned and run by the local cop and his wife. We joined Happy Hour and had dinner with others at the CP. We met and chatted with another two couples before calling it a day and going to bed as we had an early start the following day.
Day 29 we were up and out by 8:10am and heading to Cobbold Gorge. This was going to be both a spectacular and frustrating day for us. We drove the 45km to the Gorge which is on a private cattle property called Robinhood Station. The road was 45km of gravel which had just been graded – so it was in great condition and an easy drive (except when the odd roadtrain passed by)! We had booked the 10am tour. The drive to the gorge was great, and we saw wild boar (below), lots of cattle, snakes, abundant birdlife including a few huge Wedge Tailed Eagles.
We checked in at reception for the tour. The tour was very good. The operators took us in groups of 12 to the gorge via three separate AWD busses. We saw parts of the old Bruce Highway that Cobb & Co wagons used – the highway was basically a bush track! We crossed a “dry” creek bed that actually is NEVER dry – the water flows UNDER the creek bed from Robinhood Station all the way to the Gulf! Robinhood Station NEVER runs out of water because the river flows underground all year round, they just pump it up to the surface as needed.
The gorge tour was set up as both a boat cruise through the gorge, as well as a walk around the rim of the gorge and across it over a glass bridge. Stephanie did both. I just did the river cruise part. Turns out it was a wise decision!
The boat cruise was spectacular, and we even spotted a few fresh water crocs!
That was the spectacular part of the day. The frustrating part was that I ended up with severe shortness of breath getting back from the gorge to the pickup point for the tour, and a 150m walk took me 20 minutes to complete.
Day 30 it was decided to have a “nothing day” so I could rest up for the big drive the following day. We figured that we had overdone things a little, which may have tired me out. As such we checked out Forsayth, which took all of about 10 mins. Then we decided to have a cold drink at the pub followed by lunch a little after that.
As it turned out, I met another fellow Basher that recognised me, and I him! He has a working holiday at Forsayth every year since 2016 because he loves the town and people. He works at the pub and also drives tourists from Forsayth to Cobbold Gorge and back. We chatted on and off for 30 mins. After lunch, we headed across the street to look at some of the tree carvings – which were quite awesome actually! In the evening, we headed to the local dam, where we watched the sunset over the water. It was quite nice actually!
Day 31, we packed up the van and hooked it up to go, when I noticed one of the pins in the 12 pin connector had a slight meltdown due to a bad connection. I made a small repair and checked everything was operational before departure (lucky I had learned a few things being on the Variety Bash!).
We drove north back to Georgetown along the same corrugated route, however today the road had been watered down by trucks. This was great as it kept the dust down. The bad side was that it was now muddy, and instead of raising dry dust, we were raising mud. We did not realise how dirty the van was until we got to Georgtown to refuel. The van was filthy.
Anyhow, we then headed to the public toilets for a quick visit before driving the next 370km. While using the toilets, I spoke to a young guy who was travelling around the country solo in a van that he purchased in Sydney. The guy asked me if I was Greek, as he thought I looked Greek. I said yes, then we spoke in Greek. It turned out he was from Belgium, and his dad was Greek and mother was Belgian!
Stephanie and I continued our journey, and our next stop was Croydon where we had a coffee and a muffin for morning tea.
It was just a quick break to stretch our legs before continuing on to Normanton.
We arrived at Normanton at 1pm. We visited Krys the Crocodile, and then went into the Purple Pub for lunch.
While at lunch, we had a local aboriginal man chat to us and join us at our table. We chatted with him for a bit, and he was looking to see what he could manage to score from us. He tried to sell us a hand painted didgeridoo, to which I said no. We kept eating and chatting to him. When we had finished lunch, I offered him the rest of my chicken schnitzel and chips as I was full, and it would just get thrown away. He was happy to accept it, and we were happy to leave him to enjoy it. We got back to the car and van and continued the remaining 70km to Karumba.
We arrived at the Sunset View CP and set up the van. We turned on the aircon in the van and sat inside to rest and cool off as it was 30C outside. Around 5pm we headed to the Sunset Tavern for a drink, dinner and to watch the sunset over the Gulf.
Day 32 was a slow day. We headed out to explore Karumba in the morning. We hoped to buy fresh barramundi and prawns in order to stock up our fridge. We soon came to realise that fish is sold in 1kg frozen fillets and prawns by the kilo (either cooked or uncooked). We bought 1kg of barra, 1kg cooked prawns and 500g of green prawns.
We ate about two thirds of the cooked prawns for lunch in a fresh salad we made. We will try the fish tomorrow and decide if we will buy more.
We bummed around the van as it was 30C again today, and went to the tavern again to watch the sunset. This time, dinner was back at the van.
Day 33 was another 30C+ day today. We did some grocery shopping to top up supplies and then bought another 2kg of barra as the fish was excellent as were the prawns. We then headed to the other caravan park to buy another kg of cooked prawns, as they apparently sell the best ones.
Fresh bread deliveries into Karumba happen once per week, and today was the day, so Stephanie headed to the shop at our van park in the afternoon to buy a loaf. It turns out that the bread is made in a bakery in Ravenshoe and shipped from there – hence the late delivery.
That afternoon we headed to the boat ramp to catch the Ferryman Cruise that we had booked in for. The cruise took us croc spotting where we saw about a 3m croc on the shore. We got a bit of a talk about the history of Karumba and how it developed over time, the causes of its booms and busts and why it is the size it is now. Karumba is limited by the shallowness of the Gulf (with regard shipping) and its remoteness. Its saving graces are the fishing and prawning industries that keep it going.
After a little while, we headed to the opposite shore and watched them feed the kites with frozen pilchards. The kites were fast, and would swoop in and grab the food off the deck of the boat and fly off. The cruise made it’s way to a sandbar that was exposed in the Gulf where we disembarked and walked around to stretch our legs and watch the sun go down. When the sun was set, we headed back to the boat ramp.
Day 34 was a driving day. We departed Karumba in the morning and got to Four Ways for lunch. Four Ways is a roadhouse about 300km east of the NT border at cross-roads in the middle of nowhere. However, it is a busy stop as it is the only one for hundreds of kilometres.
After lunch, we continued on to Cloncurry, which was our stop for the next 3 nights. Our original plan was to head to Lawn Hill Gorge, however recent rains have washed out the road making it inaccessible and it is now closed for the 2023 season, so Cloncurry was our new destination.
We arrived in the afternoon and set up the van, after which we then took a drive out to Chinaman’s Dam to see the beautiful reflective lake and the outback scenery.
Day 35 saw us take a drive out to Clem Walton Park and Corella Dam, which we discovered were great free camp sites that a lot of people use. There were many vans there when we arrived, which was not surprising as it was rather serene and picturesque. We then moved on and headed to the Mary Kathleen mine site.
Mary Kathleen is an abandoned uranium mine site that operated from the 1950’s to the late 1980’s. It is now a “ghost town” and all the buildings have been removed, just leaving the concrete slabs they were located on. The old town site is used by many caravanners as a free camp and there would have been around 30 vans there at the time we visited.
7km from the old township, along a rough dirt track lies the actual mine pit. Brilliant blue water at the bottom of the pit surrounded by stunning earth colours of the open-cut mine.
The road out to the pit was rough in parts.
We were amazed at how people back in the mid 1900’s lived and worked in such a remote, hot and unforgiving environment. Driving back to Cloncurry, we were awed by the stunning scenery and rock formations.
Back at the van park, we noticed a mobile hairdresser that was working from a campervan setup. So, I decided it was time for a haircut. The setup was amazing and everything you would expect in a hairdressing salon was there in that van! Ten mins and $20 later, my hair was done!
Day 36 – It was decided that we should take a drive out to McKinlay to visit the Walkabout Creek Hotel (Crocadile Dundee fame) and have lunch and a drink there – after all, it was just a 70min drive, we also wanted to go to the McKinlay annual race meeting, just for fun.
Upon arriving at the hotel, we discovered that it was closed due to the McKinlay races being on. We then discovered that the roadhouse too was closed due to the race meeting….. so, we went to the races - earlier than expected!
Turns out, everyone was at the annual McKinlay race meeting, and I mean everyone! There were no businesses open in the surrounding towns of Julia Creek, McKinlay or Kyuna because everyone was at the races.
People from out-of-town, tourists and locals alike, were camped there in vans, tents and swags. There were a few thousand people there, including staff from the Walkabout Creek Hotel – who were serving food and drinks!
We had lunch there (meat pies and spring rolls), and then had a punt on the first four of the six races. Stephanie managed to get 2nd place in race 1, 1st place in race 2, and placed in the next two races. Overall, we had a great day, and we were lucky to come across this special experience.
Day 37 we departed Cloncurry and headed to Julia Creek. It was a short 2 hour drive, and we stayed at the Julia Creek Caravan Park. Again, we were surprised at the number of free camps around Julia Creek. In fact, there was one just on the outskirts of town that was run by the council. There was a minimal fee, and you needed to be self-contained, but you were located on a small creek. There would have been 30 vans there.
We setup our van in the CP and then drove around to explore the town.
That afternoon we had booked the artesian bath experience at the sunset timeslot. The artesian baths are located in the van park and situated inside water tanks that overlook the outback plains. Words cannot do it justice – just look at the photos! We stayed until the sun set and then we went back to the van, got dressed up and went to the Julia Creek Top Pub for dinner.
Day 38 we were up and about early. We got the bikes ready and went for a ride to the outskirts of town to see the free camp site, then a ride into town to see what was about before stopping at Julia Creek café for a quick refreshment. We chatted for a while to a lady who was also travelling, and learned from her that everyone within 150km radius of KcKinlay was at the races yesterday!
Back at the van we had an easy day as it was 34C and too hot to be in the sun.
We attended the caravan park “Bush Dinner” which was a fund raiser for the local kids football team. The fire pit was awesome, the food was good, and we chatted to a couple that were travelling in a caravan for the very first time, and they were telling us about their visit to the Qantas Museum in Longreach, and how they attended the night lightshow and how good it was. We decided to book online and got a couple of tickets organised for when we were there.
Day 39 saw us leave Julia Creek and head to Winton. We stopped at Kyuna Roadhouse for lunch on the way.
Winton is a nice little town. It is making its money in tourism because they have a dinosaur museum and lab.
Winton is Australia’s dinosaur capital. Many people visit Winton to learn about and see the dinosaur fossils.
Winton is also home to an open air theatre, and we happened to be there during their annual film festival.
That night we attended the Open Air Theatre to watch the 2022 Elvis movie – which was excellent by the way. The venue was awesome and a great experience.
Day 40 we headed off early to the Australian Age Of Dinosaurs (AAOD) for our 8:30am tour – luckily we had an early booking as the temps were still getting to mid 30’s by lunch time.
The tour was most interesting. We started off in the lab, where they explained how the fossils are located, dug up, processed etc. They showed us how the piece together the dinosaur from the fossils and bones.
The next section of the tour took us to room where they explained the different dinosaurs, how they believed they lived etc. There were 3 short movies of 5 mins, displays and 3 talks to go with each of the movies.
Finally, we were taken by shuttle bus to a site where they had uncovered dinosaur prints in mud. They had built a structure to protect the finding and proceeded to explain everything to us. The entire tour took about 2.5 hours.
We headed back to Winton for lunch at the Tattersals Hotel – which is apparently the best place to eat at, according to the locals.
In the afternoon, we went for a drive to Long Water Hole and Engine Water Hole for a bit of a look. The scenery was amazing and the first stop was a huge free-camp right on Long Water Hole with around 25 vans there. We continued to Engine Water Hole to explore a little further prior to coming back to Winton.
Day 41 We were greeted by a spectacular sunrise before heading off to Ilfracombe, which was going to be our base while visiting Longreach and the Qantas Museum.
We reached Ilfracombe around lunch time, set up the van and then went around to the Wellshot Hotel for lunch.
The weather has cooled off substantially, dropping about 15 degrees during the day. However, we decided to explore Longreach a little and took a drive about 25km back the way we came to see what we would see!
Longreach’s claim to fame was that it was where Qantas first started. A lot of tourism goes through Longreach because of the Qantas Founders Museum.
Driving around Longreach, we decided to visit the Thompson River, and in doing so, we stumbled across Apex Riverside Park – a free camp that was like no other we had seen! There must have been 150 vans there at least.
There were numerous Brolgas walking around and we chatted to a lady that was up from Victoria. She and her husband had been at the free camp for several days.
We continued back to Longreach and had a drink at the Birdcage Hotel – which has nothing to do with the movie, and everything to do with the fact that many of the streets in Longreach are named after types of birds.
At 6pm, we left the Birdcage and headed to the Qantas Founders Museum (QFOM) for the lightshow.
The lightshow was superb, just as described by the couple in Julia Creek. The show covers the birth of Qantas, and its trials and tribulations in the early years, and how it developed over time. The show is a movie and light spectacular projected on the side of a 747 and 707. It was excellent, and the highlight of the museum exhibits.
Day 42 We headed back to QFOM for the museum visit and the “wing walk”.
The museum was interesting, but after watching the show the night before, it may have been a little repetitive to those who were not so much into aviation. We had some morning tea in the museum café, after which we had to wait until 12:30pm for a tour of the 747 and our “wing walk”.
The wing walk was the highlight of the 747 tour where we were attached to a harness, then stepped out of the plane and onto the wing of the 747. It was fun to a degree, but the temperature on the day was 17 degrees and the breeze made it feel so much colder out there.
After the QFOM, we had a pie at the Longreach Bakery, looked inside a few shops and then Stephanie went and picked up some supplies from the local IGA.
Day 43 we drove 490km from Ilfracombe to Charleville. The aim was always to do some star gazing both at the caravan park and at the Cosmos Centre over two days. We also were going to visit the WWII Secret Base while in Charleville. However, this did not come to pass as the skies were very overcast and heavy rains were predicted to hit central and lower Queensland in the next 24-48 hours.
On the way, we drove through Barcaldine, stopped to visit “The Black Stump” in Blackall,
we then stopped in Tambo for a light lunch, visited Augathella to see the Meat Ants, painted water tower and the home of “Smiley”.
Continuing on, we eventually arrived at the Eveningstar Tourist Park – about 10km out of Charleville. A great van park with drive-through sites, good amenities and a great happy hour and fire! We attended happy hour and chatted with another couple for a while. The fire was huge and warm. We were served hot damper, which was really nice.
That night, the temperatures reached 8C, which was quite cold for us considering what we have been used to over the last few weeks! In the morning, we had breakfast early and headed off. We were already hitched up from the day before, so getting away was quick and easy.
We had decided to head home via Cunnamulla and Bourke to stay ahead of the rain. The outback is nice when dry, but when the red dirt turns to red mud, it’s not quite as nice!
Day 44 We departed the Evening Star Tourist Park nice and early.It was 540km from the Tourist Park to The Mulga Creek Hotel in Byrock where we were to spend the night.
On our way we went through Wyandra, Cunnamulla (our lunch stop), Bourke and finally stopping at the Mulga Creek Hotel. We were definitely in "red dirt country".
Upon arriving at the Mulga Creek Hotel, we backed the van into a powered site and stayed hitched up for a quick morning getaway.
Dinner was at the hotel that night.
Day 45 saw us depart around 6:30am and make our way across the NSW outback. On the way we passed wide loads of 7m where we had to pull off the road with van in tow, so they could pass.
We eventually travelled down to Dubbo, over the Blue Mountains (eventually) to home. The rain started abour an hour after we arrived home!
The trip was quite successful, and we ended up doing around 10,300km in total.
We were well prepared and stocked and never had any issues with the van or the car.
The folding electric bikes did exactly what they were meant to do, and added a whole new dimension to caravanning.
Being our first big trip away with the van, we were extremely happy with how things turned out, the places we visited, the experiences had and the adventure overall.
For the 45 days of travelling in the van, the TV NEVER came out from under the bed and out of it's box. We never once watched TV in the van on the trip!
The biggest headache from the trip, was cleaning the car and van at the end! That red dirt gets everywhere!
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