Day 85 - Monday 24th June 2013

The usual start to the morning, chores getting done, a big breakky cookup and the others have gone visiting the neighbours to check out their ducks and enjoy some home cooked morning tea. A day of rest , just chilling out, a wonderful roast lamb dinner and a cosy fire. Tonight is our last night all together. Ken and Fi are heading off in the morning to start the journey home whilst Ralph and Anne are staying on before heading down the coast towards home.

Day 86 - Tuesday 25th June 2013 (Travelled 340 kms)

Ken and Fi are on the road again this morning. We've had a wonderful time spending the last few days with our extended family and friends. It's with a heavy heart to be leaving behind Ralph and Anne after spending the past 12 weeks on our journey as a flock around the block. I would like to take this opportunity to say that it has been a remarkable journey and we have experienced many great places and times that will be truly cherished. It just whets the appetite for further trips in the future.

We (Ken and I) have travelled the Capricorn Highway from Rockhampton to Emerald to set up camp tonight at Higher Ground Homestay (16kms south west of Emerald) near Lake Maraboon.

Day 87 - Wednesday 26th June 2013

Fi & Ken (Travelled 481 kms) - A visit to the Lake Maraboon this morning. Also known as Fairbairn Dam it was constructed in 1972. It is QLD's second largest lake and lies just above the Tropic of Capricorn. When it's full it holds 1.3 megalitres of water and was built to service the Emerald Irrigation Scheme which produces 25% of QLD's cotton and citrus fruits. On our journey south we are travelling along the Gregory and Carnarvon Highways passing through numerous outback towns to arrive at Injune for lunch. It was formerly a hub for the cattle and dairy industries, but now natural gas and timber primary industries are located in and around this area. Nearby is Carnarvon National Park which is currently being promoted within QLD as a place to visit, the government upgrading the information centre and spending plenty of money on the NP facilities. 91 kms further we arrive at Roma in the Darling Downs area of South West QLD. A rich pastoral and wheat growing district. Fuelling up and heading further south to set up home at the Fishing and Restocking Club Park, 1 km out of Surat. The camp site is located on the Balonne River and although a pleasant spot there were plenty of travellers also camped here tonight.

Anne and Ralph - After a week of family, friends, partying, four wheel driving in sand, and bird watching, the Quaine's left family at Woodbury (near Yeppoon ) Wed 26th June - late in the day because it was hard to drag ourselves away from our little girls. We headed for Gladstone and were amazed at the amount of industry there, with its big port facilities - power station, offshore LNG production and pipeline, coal freighters, aluminium smelter, gypsum plant etc. - lots of controversy about port and Curtis Island development. Lots of housing construction as well. Camped out at Tannum Sands in a caravan park - but bush unpowered and able to have a fire - cooked fresh Qld prawns and ate the locally farmed redclaw together with a champagne - all so yummy. We travelled 199 kms - not a big day.
Weather still nice during the day but cold when the sun goes down.

Day 88 - Thursday 27th June 2013

Ken & Fi (Travelled 410 kms) - This morning we are still travelling the Carnarvon Highway through St George , stopping at Nindigully Historic Pub for morning tea. Ken found a Willys Jeep Fire Engine in the back yard of the pub so of course needed to take the mandatory photo for the boys. This is cotton country, the roadside littered with flurries of loose cotton and paddocks showing signs of harvested plants whilst cotton bales are sitting at the gins waiting to be processed/transported. We have passed through Moree and found our overnight stop at the Gravesend Recreational Reserve just west of Warialda.

Anne & Ralph - Woke to bird songs including loud kookas. On the road again - late after a delicious pie and coffee. Stopped to gather firewood - much easier with a chainsaw - Ralph struggled a little with the handsaw.
Visited little hamlets of Agnes Waters and 1770 - so named because that was when Lieutenant (not yet captain) James Cook stopped to fix his boat. He named the bay Bustard bay after the birds he shot and ate. Camped there the night in another caravan park with direct beach access after a km walk! and an Indian restaurant with great food. I forgot to mention Ralph beat me convincingly at a game of canasta. We travelled 140 kms - another big day.

Day 89 - Friday 28th June 2013

Ken & Fi (Travelled 216 kms) - A short drive before heading south along Fossicking Way heading for Tamworth. A wonderful country drive with mountain ranges flanking both sides of the highway and the occasional mountain climb over the range itself. An obvious Twitchers delight as tracks lead east and west with signs posted Bird Watch Route 1 - 4. A gold rush area and a number of fossicking areas are also highlighted along this road. The towns on Bingara and Barraba (B & B Country ie: Better Beef Country) were lovely small towns before coming to Manilla, crossing the Moonbi Range and into Tamworth. We are surprised by the size of Tamworth which was certainly highlighted when we took the trip up to the Oxley Lookout. Here we were able to get a panoramic view of Tamworth, luckily the mist clearing in time.

We have settled in a caravan park for tonight and after taking care of the domestic chores we visited the Big Golden Guitar Tourist Centre. The big guitar stands 12 metres high and is a replica of the trophies given at the Country Music Awards. The gallery, a wax museum is a wonderful tribute to many country music stars including Tex Morton, the McKean Sisters, Smokey Dawson, Johnny Chester, Chad Morgan, John Williamson, Lee Kernaghan, Slim Dusty etc… You couldn't come to Tamworth without visiting this home of Country Music.

Anne & Ralph - Broke camp at 9.30 and headed for Bundaberg - and stopped at another quaint spot called Rosedale where there was 'the tiny tea house' which happened to sell great coffee and excellent pies and pasties! The lady proprietor had made a spoondalier out of her nana's spoon collection - it made a rather interesting light shade. An old town and another delay.
Passed through Bundaberg - a big city on a very big river - the Burnett - has a flooding reputation. Home of Qld sugar and Bundaberg rum distillery - making 6 million litres of rum spirit a year - I guess some people, other than my son, like the stuff. Driving through sugar cane country we checked out the beaches of Bargara, Mon Repos (largest loggerhead turtle rookery in the South Pacific) and Woodgate.
Finally we pulled up to camp 10 kms out of Childers. Very picturesque countryside. Another caravan park - but big and grassy and allowed a fire. Very cold night so grateful of the fires warmth and it was great to BBQ the barra (purchased not caught). We travelled 300 kms today.

Day 90 - Saturday 29th June 2013

Ken & Fi (Travelled 407 kms) - Left Tamworth at a reasonable hour this morning travelling along the New England Highway to Willow Tree before taking the back road over the Liverpool Range to Merriwa. Here we turn west onto the Golden Highway (which runs from Newcastle to Dubbo) then just out of Borambil we head south (Castlereagh Hwy) towards Mudgee travelling through some of Australia's most beautiful countryside encompassing the Goulburn River National Park. All part of the Great Dividing Range, it's hard to believe that we are only a couple of hundred kms out of Sydney. There are many coal mines in this area and numerous power stations. It's a cool day and at times rain has been present but as we approach Lithgow the dampness and fog look like it has definitely settled in. Just 10 mins out of Lithgow in a lovely bush setting our choice of for tonight's stopover is Lake Lyell Recreation Reserve. Although cold and misty Lake Lyell is a beautiful spot. I can see why it would be a great destination for the outdoor types offering all the experiences - fishing, kayaking, boating etc…

Lake Lyell provides cooling water for both Wallerawang and Mt Piper Power Stations. The Lake is connected to Wallerawang Lake by pipeline and to Wallerawang and Mt Piper Stations. Water for cooling is pumped from Lake Lyell Dam on the Cox's River, about 20 kilometres from the power station to the Thompsons Creek Dam, close to Mt Piper, which provides an additional 27,000 mega litres of cooling water.

Soooo cool tonight so we have tucked ourselves up in bed after dinner to watch a movie, thanks Andy for the movie idea!

Anne & Ralph - What do you know good coffee and pie in Childers. An interesting town, with some lovely old buildings - Bruce Highway runs through the middle of this narrow town - with a speed restriction of 50 kms - and with a set of pedestrian lights in the middle - which I am guessing the truckies just love. I made sure the B - double was well and truly stopped before I crossed. We have travelled over the Coast Range passing through Biggenden (Mt Welsh towering in the background) Ban Ban Springs, Goomeri,and Kilkivan (with an amazing antique shop full of extraordinary vases and glass and china) - looks like choice grazing country with mountains in the distance.
Stopped at a house near Gympie and bought a bag of nicely cut timber for $15 - Ralph thought that was better than using a handsaw. Pulled up for the night a few kms south of Gympie beside a lake behind the Matilda truck stop - and it's free !

Day 91 - Sunday 30th June 2013

Ken and Fi (Travelled 284 kms)

A most beautiful drive to our morning tea stop. The undulating countryside is such a contrast to the vastness and openness of the other areas of Australia we've been to. Through Oberon to reach the Abercrombie River National Park and here in the valley on the Abercrombie River (Bummaroo Ford) is a camp spot that I'm sure would be popular with folks in the warmer weather. Pressing further south through the historic town of Taralga to reach Goulburn where we have now joined the Hume Highway for a short distance before visiting Yass. Taking the Hume and Hovell track we have arrived at tonight's resting place - Burrinjuck Waters State Park. The park is 75 hectares of bush which is nestled on the southern side of Mt Barren Jack and in the Burrinjuck State Park. It has beautiful scenery and very friendly wildlife. The park is very quiet and peaceful (I'm guessing in the warmer months it would be a very popular spot) and we enjoyed a camp fire with our mates, the kangaroos who were quite happy to be close to the fire. (I'm thinking though they were hoping we would toss them a morsel of our food rather than getting cosy). If you're a keen fisherman this would be the place, Lake Burrinjuck is the home to the famous Murray Cod as well as Golden Perch and other fish varieties.

Day 92 - Monday 1st July 2013

(Travelled 428 kms) Travelled the Hume Highway today reaching Wodonga at lunch time. Our final night is catching up and staying with friends in Gapstead before heading home tomorrow.

Day 93 - Tuesday 2nd July 2013

And so our 3 months of travelling has come to a close as we reach home at 1.30 pm. We have enjoyed all our adventures, catching up with all our family and friends has been wonderful. A big thanks to Ralph and Anne (they still have another week or so to go) for their company and friendship during the course of the trip. After 21,000 kms it's time to come back to reality and it's actually hard to imagine how we did ever fit work into our lives, time just passes so quickly….

I hope you have all enjoyed our travel diary and that you have come along on the journey with us. So when you have the opportunity, get out there and just experience our country, it's certainly vast and there is plenty to see and do.