We now start the next phase of our trip, heading to the Gold Coast where I had arranged to meet an old friend from high school days. We had taken our time as although the Queensland school holidays had finished, New South Wales goes a week longer so we didn't want to arrive at the Gold Coast too soon. To that end we had picked out a few showgrounds on the way to stop at, the first being in Eumundi. We had never heard of this town and imagined it would be a tiny ...

After our prolonged farm stay at Emu Park we thought it was time to start heading back south again, for two reasons - firstly just timing, to get back to Victoria as the weather improves (hopefully), but secondly we had a problem with the air conditioning in the van. We knew this was an issue and George had ordered some things online to fix it, but they hadn't arrived by the time we left. This means we can't run air conditioning as we drive, and we really can't o...

After the cruise we continued on to Rocky and arrived mid afternoon. This is the town sitting right on the tropic of Capricorn, so we are now officially in the tropics. The Tourist Info Centre suggested the Botanic Gardens, which also had a small zoo. It was quite small and unimpressive. We continued on to the free camping area which is actually across the road from a huge shopping mall with cinemas, restaurants etc. The parking area gets very crowded, so you ha...

From Bundaberg we decided to head to Rockhampton, but stopped in a few places on the road to Rocky. First stop was Gin Gin, a small town with a lovely wide main street and lots of cafes and bakeries. We stayed at the showgrounds where we could get power and water for $25. Since we had been free camping for many days now I was holding out for a proper long hot shower, and we had clothes to wash and dry. It was a lovely relaxing stay with wide open grassy areas an...

Sugar, and its by-products, are the life blood of Bundaberg and the whole surrounding region. From the acres of sugar cane crops as you drive, to the huge harvesting machines, to the endless cane trains delivering it to be milled, you can't escape its impact on the town. In the botanic gardens is a beautiful old Queenslander called Fairymead House which was transported there from one of the sugar plantations and now houses the sugar museum and tells the whole his...