Caravanning Camping Touring
Let me share some of our stories with you. I'll try to keep it fun and interesting, with heaps of photos, hints, tips and reviews all relating to life on the road.
9th October to 25th October 2024
From Goondiwindi we continued making our way south.
We had an overnight at Gurley, stopping early to avoid/enjoy a storm before a nice camp on the Namoi River.
We had only planned a night or two on the banks of the Namoi River, but it was so nice we stayed for six. It was a lovely peaceful spot, and very popular with the friendly locals.
We had what is likely to be our last camp oven cook-up before the summer heat. Peter gladly got out his trusty bowsaw and cheerfully collected enough wood for us to have a fire most nights. He then spoiled us with his speciality; date scones. One thing is certain, whether its on the coals, over the fire or in the van, we always eat well.
One of the locals noticed me with my camera and asked if I liked birds. Silly question; he went on to tell me that there was a flock of Magpie Geese at Lake Narrabri, not that far from us…PETER…. and off we went.
After a couple of nights at Gunnedah Paceway (nothing much to say about that) we ended up at one of our favourite spots (Cobrabald River) for another six nights. We were hoping to spot our Platypuses and Rakali but were a little disappointed that neither were there. There was however, a little fellow further down the river. I really don’t know enough about platypuses to know if they are nomadic. Perhaps moving when the food runs low, or if weather plays a part in their movement. There had been a lot of rain and the river was higher than usual. Wherever they are, I hope they’re safe.
There were, as usual, quite a few birds here. The regulars and a few newbies. There were quite a lot of Australian Reed Warblers. I’ve seen them before, but not here, and boy do these little guys love to warble.
And there were some very busy parents in this tree, across the river.
As you know, we visit here whenever we’re in the area, but we have never ventured across the road. We did this time and were pleasantly surprised at how pretty it was. Not as suitable for camping, but quite lovely and we saw a few Eastern Long-necked turtles.
This really is a pretty spot, and just to prove that WA is not the only state to have pretty wildflowers, look at these.
Next stop, Port Macquarie and our visitors from overseas. 😊
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
7th to 10th October 2024
We left Millmerran on the Monday. It was later in the day, so we didn’t get far, not that we need an excuse to not travel far. Our next stop was Goondiwindi. We were a bit lucky there too. We rolled up into the Goondiwindi showgrounds in time to catch the last three hours of a Camp Draft competition.
The horses in the Camp Draft competition were absolutely stunning. Lean, with shiny coats, it was abvious they were well cared for and they seemed to enjoy the challenge.
For those of you who don’t know what a Camp Draft Competition is (I know I didn’t,) it goes like this. There is a mob of cattle inside a small yard (this is the camp) the rider has to select a beast, cut it out of the mob and prove to the judges that he/she has control of it. Once they have it under control, the gate is opened and the rider and horse move the beast into the arena. (28 points). I couldn’t get any photos of that, but it looked hard and a good few riders didn’t get passed this first stage.
Once in the arena, the horse and rider must guide the beast around two obstacles/poles. You fail one, you are out.
If they get them around both obstacles, they must finish by driving the beast through the opening formed by another two poles.
There is a huge burst of energy and action when the gate is open as both beast and horse charge through the gate.
Then the fun really begins as the horse and rider attempt to guide the beast around the course. At times, it was hard to tell who was in charge, the rider, the horse or the beast.
I’ve got to tell you, that isn’t easy. The beasts want to go where they want to go, horses and riders work incredibly hard to control the beasts, to guide them around the narrow poles, and very few complete the course.
Of course the horses were the heroes, but the beasts need a mention too. They had to keep the horses on their hooves… get it? Like ‘On their toes’. Heh heh, that’s funny. Alright, I know what they say, if you have to explain a joke it really isn’t funny.
The only disappointment was that we only got to watch for a couple of hours. This is one of the things we love about travelling, the unexpected. Whether it be a new bird or animal, stunning scenery or an activity/sport we haven’t seen before.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
25th September to 7 October 2024
Before I get to the main topic, I did forget something else, and I’d be remiss not to rectify my omission. On the 19th of September, we went on a family picnic at Bjelke Peterson dam. We had a lovely time with our family.
Peter and I hung around the dam for a while longer and I did my usual wander with the camera. I was pleased to see a few birds there.
It seems we weren’t the only ones having a bit of a get-together.
A party of cormorants of all types: There were Little Pied, Pied, Little Black and even Great Cormorants, as well as Pelicans, Seagulls and Little Terns.
And a few loners. A Black Fronted Dotterel, Great Crested Grebe and late in the afternoon, as the storm clouds rolled by, we spotted this Wedge Tailed Eagle.
All in all, a day not to be forgotten. 😊
Now, back on point.
We said goodbye to Big Ears on the 25th, and on the 26th Arnie ditched his training wheels as we left Kingaroy on his first solo trip, without Big Ears to keep him in line.
Not before we had a couple of visitors near Chunky Bum.
Something not quite cute, and something super cute.
We felt it was fitting to carry on some traditions in Big Ears’ name. So Arnie’s first solo camp was at Rodney’s Rest. It was, after all, the very first place we stopped with Big Ears way back on the 1st of August 2020 (The first day of Peter’s retirement).
Talking about carrying on, you may recall Rodney the Rooster.
This is Rodney and Hugo; they were good mates.
He lived at Harland Park and we saw him a few times over the course of a couple of years, so we figured this was ‘Rodney’s Roost’. But the time came when we saw him no more, so we renamed Harland Park to ‘Rodney’s Rest’.
Well, on our first visit with Arnie, who should we see but, da, da, daaa!
The son of Rodney.
Ok, so it might not stand up to a paternity test, but it is a nice story: New car, first camp repeated, new Rooster to greet us.
Anyway, enough of that frivolity. We had planned a longer trip before heading back to Port Macquarie, but we had some exciting news that meant we’d be back sooner than planned. We have relatives in the USA, and my cousin and Aunt are coming over for a holiday at the beginning of November. So, Port Macquarie here we come, albeit slowly. You all know us by now, we don’t do anything quickly. 😊
After two nights at Rodney’s Rest, we continued our journey south, to Toowoomba. Toowoomba is a lovely City, heavily treed, heaps of gardens and our single night extended into three while we enjoyed a bit of civilisation, and the end of the well renowned Toowoomba Flower Festival.
From there we drove to Millmerran. We were just going to pick up some groceries and pass through the little country town. But it was difficult to miss the Camp Oven Festival signs, so we asked the local shopkeeper what it was all about. It turns out that it is a biennial event and had been sold out for months.
But undeterred, we made a call and sure enough, the lady said it was sold out! We had checked on their website and it looked as though there was a ‘Big Rig’ site available, so we asked again and after a bit of re-checking she gave us the site and we were booked and paid for, and heading for the Millmerran showgrounds.
They checked us in through their system, we were given our pretty, hot-pink, paper bracelets and a blue BR 14 sticker for Arnie. Our entry fee covered all the festival and 7 nights’ accommodation.
We got a fantastic spot, right up at the back end of the camp area, and a corner block to boot.
On our third day, after being out sightseeing, we got home to find the real owners of BR 14 camped a few metres away, they had booked the site months before! Well, it was a big site, so no problems.
It’s hard to tell from the photo, but the ovens in the forefront are big enough to cook for fifty.
There were a few bits and pieces on from the Tuesday, (when we arrived) but the main event didn’t start until Friday, through the weekend.
Damper throwing competition, only in Australia
I have to say, we’re not normally the “big gatherings” type of people. Too much humanity squished into a small space is a bit hard for me to take, but because of our location, we still felt we had plenty of privacy in amongst the other 1,250 caravans.
I found this image online for the 2016 festival.
While in the area we took the opportunity to explore a little, and really enjoyed our trip out to Mount Basalt on Thursday.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
15th to 25th September 2024
That’s it, it’s over. After nearly six years, our relationship with Big Ears has come to an end. We found him a new home and wished him well as he drove away on the 25th September with his new owners to his new home in the Northern Territory.
Over the years Big Ears has taken us to places a lesser vehicle would have refused to go, most of the time towing Chunky Bum. He has carried our supplies; food, water, toilet paper, kayaks, camping kit and yes, the occasional bottle of booze, and has kept it all safe, secure and in some cases, icy cold. (Usually, the booze not the toilet paper).
We have treated him well, for the most part, and any little ding was fixed up quickly to bring him back to his optimal good looks.
He has only let us down twice, and the second time wasn’t even his fault, so he owes us nothing and has given us six years of travelling adventure and wonderful memories. So, without further ado, lets have a little trip down memory lane with a 2 minute video, sound on if you like, as we say a fond farewell to Big Ears, so named because of his oversized wing mirrors that stuck out like…well, big ears.
I’m having trouble with the video so I am trying something new. I’ve uploaded it to YouTube, which I’ve never used before, but it should work if you click below.
If it doesn’t work, enjoy the slide show below.
One thing’s for sure, Arni has big wheels to fill.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
…and some stuff I forgot.
8th September to 13th 2024
It never ceases to amaze me how much we take our own backyard for granted. True, Kingaroy isn’t exactly our backyard, but it’s not far from it.
Yet, the other day we visited the Bunya Mountains for the very first time, and it was really lovely.
We stopped at the picnic area first and had a wander around. There were quite a few Lewin’s Honeyeaters (I think) which I’d never seen before, and in amongst the trees off the beaten path, was a large patch of Orange Blossom Tree Orchids.
We had a wonderful day and did a couple of shorter walks. Shorter, partly because we ran out of time, and partly because we’ve been a bit sedentary for the past couple of months and as a result our fitness level has dropped. But that’ll change once we get moving again.
In between walks we stopped for lunch at the local pub in Bunya village. And what should nick a chip off my plate but a Satin Bowerbird. I kid you not! Now I’ve never even seen a Satin Bowerbird before so to have one nick my chip was…pretty cool.
Well, my goal was set for the afternoon. So, after lunch off we went in search of the little chip thief. I did see him in the trees but didn’t get a good shot, I also got a glimpse of a Regent Bowerbird, but again no photographic proof. However, when we got back to the park area near the pub, there were seven, yes seven, female Satin Bowerbirds and a single male.
Although I didn’t get any good photos of Bowerbirds in the woods, I did see a Green Catbird. Another first for me, and a few other birds so all in all, it was a great day.
On the way home we stopped at one of the lookouts and took our time to enjoy the sweeping vista of the Bunya Mountains.
I think I must have been distracted the last couple of months. While I was sorting photos from my mobile for this post, I came across a heap of photos that I seem to have ignored. So, in order to preserve our memories, I’ll do a brief summary and chuck in some pics.
While at Caboolture we did a day trip out to Landsborough, (22nd Aug). There we had a very pleasant walk along the Tunnel Track in the Dularacha National Park.
I mentioned in the previous post we had to leave the Showgrounds for one night, (23rd Aug). We stayed at Glenview, a camp spot right on the side of the Steve Irwin Way and the Bruce HWY, so you can imagine our surprise when we found this area leading off the campground.
My final omission and I guess my editor should share the blame for this, was our trip to the Glass House Mountains, (24th Aug) this is always a lovely area to explore.
And that’s it. I’ll try not to forget anything in future blogs, try being the operative word 😊
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
15th August – 8th September 2024
Needless to say, we were very excited to pick up our new car; a Meteor Grey, Ford Ranger Platinum, and we weren’t disappointed, which is a good thing because we hadn’t really had a good look at it.
😉
There is a lot to love about this car, and three weeks after the purchase only one thing that disappoints. We should be able to connect the camera from the rear of the caravan so that it displays on the infotainment screen, meaning we won’t need an additional monitor stuck on the dash. To date we haven’t been able to achieve this. Still trying though.
The car drives beautifully, it’s quiet (we didn’t realise how noisy Big Ears was until we’d been driving the two cars one after the other). Arni is very comfortable, he pulls chunky Bum with ease and he has a fantastic 12” infotainment screen and all the tech that goes with it including pretty blue lights at night. Hey…it’s the little things. The Platinum is set up as a towing vehicle as delivered, and includes a lot of features specifically for towing.
We were concerned about fitting all our goods and chattels into the back of the Ute, but as it turns out, everything fits nicely. It’s snug, but nothing gets squished in, we have easy access to what we need quickly (tables and chairs,) without moving things around and the auto roller cover keeps everything safe and clean. When we remember to close it. 😊
So, why Arni? Well, I’m a big fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger and just like Arni the person, Arni the car is intelligent, good looking and super strong. All the things we need to tow Chunky Bum. Ok, we don’t need it to be good looking but hey, why not.
After picking Arni up, we went cruising around Redcliff and stopped for a celebratory lunch before taking Arni home.
Putting aside our excitement for a moment, this period has been very messy. The logistics of trying to sell a car while on the road is complicated enough but it’s been made even more so by the difficulty in finding accommodation. It’s been really hard to get into any caravan park in SE QLD; they’re all booked out.
We were lucky to get in at the Caboolture Show grounds, (the twelfth park we tried). Even then, we’ve had to move sites four times and leave the showgrounds for a single night, which we spent on the side of the road with upwards of a dozen homeless folk, before they could fit us back in. Crazy! (No, that wasn’t an exaggeration – that really was so!)
We had booked Big Ears in for his service, and at the same time his roadworthy certificate. Riddle me this Batman. Ford ticked the box saying that they replaced the brake fluid yet failed his roadworthy because the Brake Fluid needed replacing. 😏 Don’t get Peter started on Ford Service Centres.
Side Note: I was given a couple of destinations for bird watching, (thank you Rae) One turned out to be a bit of a bust, Sheep Station Creek. I could hear lots of birds in the canopy but didn’t see a thing, the second, Buckley’s Hole, was much more rewarding.
There was a bird hide there and it didn’t take me long to realise I was witnessing a barn raising, well, the bird equivalent of that, a nest building. I wasn’t much help but enjoyed watching as the Welcome Swallows worked.
In between building I got a good look at some of the residents at Buckley’s hole. I was thrilled to see a Comb-Crested Jacana. Never seen one before so that’s always a thrill, what a pretty little bird it is and just look at the size of its feet.
Finally, everyone’s favourites, the good old Australian Pelican.
Peter had gone for a walk along Red Beach while I was birding, when I’d finished, I walked back to the car along the beach. On the way I saw a Brush Turkey doing his thing, an Osprey on the beach, some busy little soldier crabs and a Spoonbill cruising by.
Ok, so it was a bit more than a side note, but hey…we had to have our bird fix. Now back to the main event.
Arni was pretty much ready to tow when we picked him up, but he needed wiring to connect the camera from the van, which would be shown on the infotainment centre, doing away with the need for an additional monitor. After a lot of calls, we found a business, Bashi’s who had worked on a Platinum before and said it should be an easy half day job, so we booked in on a Wednesday. We also booked in at ARB to have an air compressor installed (Wednesday and Thursday) the same week.
Oh boy, what a mess around! Long story short, the half a day job turned into a two-day job. This of course meant that we had to cancel our job at ARB. We couldn’t reschedule as the Showgrounds have a three-week maximum stay, and we were out of time. Luckily, ARB returned our deposit. We got Arni home from Bashi’s, after paying nearly $600, to find out that the camera didn’t work. Friday morning found us sitting outside Bashi’s, with Chunky Bum in tow to see if they could fix the issue.
Three hours later, and after trying everything they could, while Peter called Ford Australia, the manufacturer of the camera, and some other mob dealing with the cabling, Bashi’s team gave up. They were very apologetic, offered us a full refund, and we got to keep the cabling that, as yet, doesn’t work. Then we went home. Well, we took our home with us and went back to the Showgrounds.
We have two more nights here then we’re heading back to Kingaroy, me, Peter, Arni, Chunky Bum and Big Ears. Quite the growing family.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
