July 2010 Trip

Thought it was about time I updated the Blog, while I still remember how.  Well, vaguely.

Friday 16th, July we left home in the afternoon, a bit of a late start but we waited around an extra day as Dad has been a bit crook.  Of course he says to go anyway but that didn't feel right.  We went as far as Tiaro, about 20k, and stayed overnight at Petrie Park, beside the Mary River.  A quiet spot but very crowded and all the sites are a bit steep, hardly any level ones there.  But it's free so you can't complain.

Saturday 17th, we headed into Maryborough to get some oil as the Terracan needed about half a litre which would not have worried me as a rule but as we were at the start of a trip towing about 2500kg of van I thought it best to have things just right.   Had to go to the Hyundai dealer to get the oil and spoke to a man in the Parts Dept.  He asked where we came from and seems he lives next door to the sister of a close friend (John Odgers) who died last August.  Small world.

Headed off to Gin Gin as I wanted to get some items at the Solar & Sat Shop there but we arrived at Noon to find it shuts at 11:00am.   Guess I didn't really need those bits anyway.

Kept going and stayed that night at Mingo Crossing, at the back of Paradise Dam.  Very nice Caravan Park, only $15 a night.  Everything nice and new.  Will be back here one day as it is only a couple of hours from home.

Sunday 18th.  On to Gayndah to have a look at the cattle dog trials.  Made me realise how useless my dog is, but I suppose that is my fault.   Some very good dogs but some on a par with mine as well.  It was good o watch but after an hour or so it got a bit boring so we kept going to Mundubbera, where we stopped at the Info Centre investigated what else was down the road.

Moved Westward to the historic Boondooma Homestead where we had a guided tour with a 75 year old bloke, who could talk under wet cement, and then stayed the night. Toilets only, no shower, but we have those in the van so not a problem

.

Next morning we left after smoko, having placed a few poetry books on consignment in their shop, and committing ourselves to come back next Anzac Day  Weekend, for their annual Bush Balladeers gathering.

Travelled through Chinchilla to Miles where we spent the night in a roadside stop.  A wild looking storm seemed to just skirt around Miles, got a lot of wind but very little rain, although we did get some later in the night.  

Miles has a top class Historical Museum which we spent about three hours going through next morning.  It was very impressive but that will be the last such attraction for this trip as it gets a bit repetitive and I often can say "I have one of those in the barn at home"

Northwards after lunch to Taroom and then to Glebe Weir, just South of Theodore, where we stayed the night.  Thought about staying longer but without a boat, fishing is not very successful,as it is very shallow near the edges.

Cotinued North next morning until just South of Theodore where we were stopped by about twenty Police doing RBT and License checks.  Needless to say I had not had a lot to drink at about 9:00am so that was not a problem and the nice Policeman, nearly as old as us, told us where we could camp in Theodore if we wished.  An offer we declined when we checked it out as it was very crowded and only early, so we decided to keep moving.

Had lunch and fueled the car in Banana then headed West to Moura, where Kathy used the Laundramat opposite the Info Centre so we checked that out.  Saw some photos of a couple of blokes I knew very well when we lived there in 75-76, as well as photos of the Draglines etc I used to work on. 

We camped that night just West of town beside the Dawson River, with a couple of dozen other caravans.  Very cold next morning but the Diesel Heater in the van is very effective, kept the Temperature to about 20°
while outside was about 8°

Thursday 22nd, continued out through Rolleston and on to Springsure.  First part of that road has more waves than Tin Can Bay in a North Easterly but it did improve further up the road.  Stopped for lunch about a kilometer North of Springsure, just East of Virgin Rock.  We decided to stay the night and about four more vans stopped as well before dark.  We were surprised to see that this huge Rock cliff is spotlighted at night, which was very spectacular.  Cold again next morning but not in the van of course.  The litre of diesel a night is well worth it to be warm.

Friday 23rd, Moved on to Emerald where we fueled up again, then to Capella and Clermont.  I had phoned our friends on Grenada, near Capella, from Springsure and they were attending a funeral in Capella then heading for Rocky that afternoon so we went straight to Clermont, where the Caravan Park had a sign out front, "No Powered Sites Left".   We took an unpowered site for the night and got a powered site for the Saturday and Sunday nights.

We caught up with an old mate from Gove here, just in time as he is heading for Karratha in WA in a week or so.  The removal van was packing his gear when we left there this morning (Friday, 30th July)

We arrived at Theresa Creek Dam, 22k from Clermont and set up behind the Office/Shop.  We were amazed at the number of vans considering there are no powered sites although there are two Toilet and Shower Blocks and a few Long Droppers.   It is possible to camp right on the waters edge but as all the available places were shaded we decided against those as we really needed the Solar Panels to work at their best.  We do not have a Generator.   Booked in for three nights and promised to perform at their walk-up concert on Sunday afternoon.

This turned out to be a great couple of hours but our friends from Clermont, who came out for a drive and lunch at the Shop, could not stay so they missed this bit.  I have sold out of Poetry Books so we will have to carry more in future.

Monday, 2nd August, we drove South to Rubyvale, about 75k, all sealed road except for 5k which was fairly badly corrugated.  Stopped for a couple of hours where the road crosses Theresa Creek and set the Red-Claw pots again.  Caught one to add to the six we got this morning before we left the Dam.  We have just finished eating them for dinner.  Pretty small meal but a bit different anyway.

Smoky Bay to Home

Australia Day, 2010.

We left Smoky Bay on Saturday after doing lots of reading for the last couple of days as it just would not stop blowing.  Thursday afternoon it slowed for a few hours but it was about 40°C so we did not go out in the boat.  On Friday, I gave John a hand and we loaded it back on top of his Landcruiser.

Saturday morning, they left for Canberra and we headed for Broken Hill but first we went West to Ceduna and had a short drive around and did some shopping for tucker.  Then started the fairly boring drive East on the Eyre highway and stayed that night in  beautiful downtown Orroroo, $13 fee which we reckoned was a pretty good idea as it was near 40° again.  We had intended doing a fair bit of free camping but the heat is a bit hard to take.  This is a very nice little stopover, facilities would be a bit crowded if all sites were full but we were the only van, and had a bus next to us.  They have cabins but they are self contained, so don't load up the showers etc.

Next morning we had a walk aroung the town, nice little place actually, though very dry as is all of South Australia apparently.   Left about 9:00am and arrived in Broken Hill at 1:00pm for lunch.  We parked the van in Melissa's (my niece) backyard which was a pretty tight fit but at the right tariff you don't complain.

Spent the next couple of days when there, trying to answer the eldest boys questions of "What are doing now"? and "Why are doing that"?  Also gave them a hand to finish the chook house and they took delivery of two red chooks which are the centre of attention for a while.

We took a drive out to Silverton, about 27k NW of town and checked out the dam and lookouts etc, and some of the buildings in the township.  It has a population of a couple of dozen I'd say.  Had a beer at the Silverton Pub which has a replica of Mad Max's car outside, and heaps of photo's around the walls inside.

The town has a couple of old churches which are privately owned now, as well as a few houses, all built of stone.  Seems to be all that was available to them in the early days, so I suppose that is why thy have lasted so well.

There has been quite a few movies made here as well as advertisements.  Movies like A Town Like Alice, Mad Max 1 & 2, Razorback and a few I can't remember.

In the afternoon we visited a Geology Gallery/Museum and looked at heaps of rocks.   Seen one, you've seen 'em all I reckon.  But at least it was air-conditioned.

We hung around Broken Hill for Australia Day but did not see much going on actually.  So after lunch we headed off Eastward again.   Once again we were going to free camp but the outside air temp got up to 51° at one stage so we definitely needed aircon tonight.  Fueled up at Wilcannia again but did not like the idea of staying the night there so kept going another 100k to Emmdale, where it cost $11 for the night for a powered site.  That's all you get, just power, but that was all we needed so at last we are cool and should get a good nights sleep if no Road Trains park next to us during the night.

Wednesday, january 27, 2010

Left Emmdale this morning and headed East to Cobar then turned North and made it to Bourke for lunch.
It ain't half hot!  The Darling River is running fairly strongly to my eye, so I guess they are pumping water into storage for the acres and acres of cotton you can see from the road.

Had a drive around the place then went out to Kidman CP which we had stayed at in late 2004 and really liked the place.   There was nobody around at the Office but a sign on the door that said it was now $28 per night.  Bit of a shock after last nights $11 effort.  As it was only 2:00pm, we decided to move on and so tonight we are in Barringun, 140k north of Bourke, and just before the Queensland border.  Tomorrow we can get back to "real" time again.   There is a Pub and a sort of Servo/Cafe thing.  Very primitive but we have power and the water is from a tank as they had 10 inches of rain over Christmas and New Year.  So I topped our tanks up while we could.  There was about half a dozen Emus out the back just before dark, which the Servo dogs barked at for a while so I hope that does not go on all night.

On the subject of Daylight Saving, we have spoken to quite a few people on this trip about why they want it down here and every one has said they don't want it, they just get it pushed on to them.  I suppose I should have known with politicians involved we would not be getting the right story.

Cunnamulla is about 100k North of here so we should be there for smoko tomorrow

Sunday Feb 7, 2010.

Guess it is past time I finished off this post.

We arrived home on Saturday, January30.  Got about 20k from home and got held up for an accident at Wide Bay creek near Woolooga,  a Harley had tangled with a 4WD and the Helicopter was parked in the middle of the road.  After 40 minutes or so we were informed it was now in the hands of the Coroner so we went back through Woolooga and on to Bells Bridge and then home.  Heard a few days later the road was closed for nearly four hours.

The amount of grass is hard to believe after the way it looked when we left home just after Christmas.  It sure is a far better outlook than all the dead grass and low dams we had then.  Only downside is all that mowing.

Have now started on a couple of small fix-up jobs on the van.  Hopefully we will get away this Winter for a month or so at least.  I would like to do a bit more Gold Detecting.

Till next time,  bcnu,  Waz

Smoky Bay

January 21,2010.

Moved on from Streaky bay as the wind would not stop and this place looked a bit better protected.

We arrived here Tuesday and set up John's car topper boat ready for action yesterday.  Set the alarm for 5:30am (that hurt) and we left about 6:30am and fished till 9:30 when the tide was low enough to collect some Razorfish for bait.  They are something like a Scallop inside and I don't really understand why they are called a "fish" but there you go.  Got a wet bum collecting them but they are very good bait and we got 22 King George Whiting which is pretty good as you are only allowed 12 each.

Thought we would go and collect some more for bait this morning and I would take Kathy fishing this afternoon but it has been blowing about 20 knots so far today.  Should drop this afternoon so hopefully we will get out then.

We are booked here until Saturday so hope the wind doesn't last until then.

Streaky Bay

January 15, 2010.

Travelled to Streaky Bay from last night's stopover in Coffin Bay today.   Our longest day for quite a while.  I can get used to these short trips.

We are booked in for four days and John & Jan arrive tomorrow.  They are booked for a week so we may extend our stay if the fish play the game.  We are told you can catch fish from the bank here but have heard this before, so will wait and see.  John's boat will be handy I'm sure.

After Arno Bay

Thursday January 14, 2010

We left Arno bay on Monday heading south towards Port Lincoln.  The outside air temperature on the road, was 45°C, so at Tumby Bay we decided to check into the CP so we could use the AirCon.  It was blowing like a cyclone as well but the air was very hot.  Cooled down a bit late in the afternoon.

Tumby Bay is a bit bigger than Arno Bay and we were surprised at the amount of building going on, Canal Estates etc, very expensive houses to my eye.  Someone here must be making a quid.

Next morning we continued to Port Lincoln and booked into the Top Tourist CP for two days.  When we left Tumby Bay the air temperature was 19°C.  It is amazing how quickly conditions change down here.
Went shopping in the afternoon, caravan clock died so we got one from a van dealer here.  And next day, Wednesday, we drove around a tourist trail and checked out a few sights.  The Tuna and Prawning Boats were interesting.  In the afternoon we spoke to two young fellows who had paid $200 each for a Fishing Trip and were cleaning their catch.  One Flathead and 24 King George Whiting.  I thinkthat works out at about $8 a fillet so I hope they enjoyed them.

This morning, Thursday 14, we left the CP and went to a Maritime Museum, pretty good value really.  Bit about Tuna Fishing and Whaling, Abalone Diving as well as boat building.

Headed West to Coffin Bay and we are staying the night here.  Bought a bag of Oysters from one of the many cleaning and packing sheds, cost $7-50 for 13 oysters plus another one the lady opened to show me how it is done, so I couldn't waste it could I?  Kathy looked up some recipes on the internet and so we had some of them Kilpatrick.

This afternoon we drove around the Coffin Bay National Park which is reminicient of the Great Ocean Road.  Lots of Sand, Cliffs and Water just like WA etc but I guess it was pretty spectacular scenery.

Then drove around to the other side of the Bay, and once again some very fancy houses here, much money but I guess some of that is from the Oysters.

Arno Bay Fishing Trip

Thought I had better get onto this before I forget it all.

Monday December 28th, 2009.

We finally left home (Theebine) at 0900 and headed west throught Kinaroy to Dalby and on to Goondiwindi to arrive at the height of a thunderstorm. Pulled into the Caltex to get fuel and they had no power, but BP had a generator so got some there.

Still no power when we booked into the Gundy CP but it came on about half an hour later so we settled back and listened to the rain for hours.

Next day, off to the south and made it to Warren, nice town but then it would be wouldn't it?

Next night was spent about 70k East of Broken Hill at Little Topar, a free camp beside the small servo, which had Diesel for 128.9cents. Great, after we paid 136.9 at the BP Willcania. Funny really, the people we are travelling with, John and Jan, pulled into the SHELL at Willcania behind us and as he was hanging out the back onto the road I pulled out to let him fill first. We went around the block while we waited and saw the BP depot so got fuel there. Ours was 136.9 and his 150.9 so he was thrilled about that.

Next day, December 30th, we went through Broken Hill where I should have go fuel but decided to get it down the road a bit. Later saw a sign "No fuel for 236k" or something like that so I was a bit worried as our tank is only 75 litre and if we get a head wind with the van we only get 380ish kilometres from a tank. However that sign must be an old one as Yunta has a few modern Servo's so we filled there with only about 10 litres left. No problem.

The best fuel efficiency we have got so far was when we turned West at Nevertire, and had a tailwind, got over 7k/litre on that stretch. The wind does not have to be exactly behind, even on an angle, like a sailing boat, it helps heaps but of course it seems to be mostly in the other direction. (Murphy's Law)

We got to Port Augusta and booked into the Big 4 CP. It was 42° so we just had to have power for the Aircon. That afternoon, late, it blew something chronic, dust, sand etc, but not a sign of rain. It must be frustrating to get the storms but no rain when it is so dry there.

Jan rang ahead to Arno Bay CP and they said they could squeeze us in a bit earlier, we were booked from January 4th and J&J from the 2nd. We spent the night in a sort of parking lot out the front but J&J got their site and the people next door left early next morning so we are on that site.

We unloaded John's car topper and trailer and got it set up ready to go, but the wind would blow a dog off a chain so did a bitof beach fishing with very little success. Kathy and I went out on the Jetty and she caught a Squid, which people here are very keen on, so we kept it and on Monday, when John and I finally got to use the boat, I caught another two so we had Calamari that night.




We decided if we wanted some of the Snapper they boast about here, we would have to go on a charter. To cut the story short, we went with Arno Bay Fishing Adventures, Ash Smith, who put us over some great Snapper. Kathy proved that she is responsible for the genes which make Brett provide the Berley whenever he heads out on the ocean blue. We headed home about midday and dropped Kathy and Jan, (she'd had enough) and pick up another bloke for the afternoon shift. When they came on the bite it was some of the best fishing anyone could ask. We filled our esky with nearly all Snapper with a few Trevally for variety. I had a great day, caught more than half the fish, so I am convinced it is my son's and not me, who are the jinx's when we go after Barra. My biggest was 27lb and 2 X 22lb, next about 70cm but didn't bother weighing the "little" ones.

For the morning session I got four over 60cm, and the boat limit is six, so that afternoon when we caught another two over 60cm, we were trying for smaller fish so we could keep them. You are allowed ten each between 38 and 60cm. One of mine was about 59.9cm :-), so we kept it.

Ash, the boat driver, came back to the CP and helped us fillet them. About enough to fill our 40lt Waeco Freezer, but I guess we will eat a bit before we get home. John is keen to do another trip before we leave but at $180 each it cuts into the allowance a bit.








Friday January 8,2010.
I took Kathy out in John's boat this morning but although we tried various spots over a few hours, we still got nothing to speak about.   We saw a Snapper under the boat at one stage but that was as close as we got.


Saturday January 9
John and I took the boat out for much the same result, although we got about a dozen Snook, which are shaped like a Barracuda, and are not all that good to eat from all reports.  Also got a couple of Squid again, they are not easy to catch in a landing net when the water is so clear, they seem to know just when to let go and often hit the rim of the net without going into it.

In the afternoon, John, Kathy and I went beach fishing at Red Banks, about five kilometres north of here, only got three whiting between us.  I thought they were pretty fair fish until I went to clean them and a bloke had some about 14" long.

Sunday January 10, 2010.
John and went out for one last fish this morning, before Kathy and I leave tomorrow.
Same result, got nothing. About 10:00 it started to blow from onshore, very hot breeze and the chop came up immediately, so we came home. I had caught three sharks and one probable Stingray which I could not convince to move off the bottom, and my leader wore through after a quarter hour or so. We caught a heap of Slimy Mackeral and Tommy Ruffs for bait, but when we came back in, Ash from the Fishing Charter was there so we gave them to him. We are both very pleased we went on the charter as we would have a very low opinion of Arno Bay fishing if not for that day. I would thoroughly recommend Arno Bay Fishing Adventures if you ever stop here for a break. Google Arno Bay Fishing Adventures or phone 0427 282 000. He takes a max of seven but at least four per trip, and never failed to get on top of the big ones while we were here. Probably should have gone again, but might try another one further down the Gulf.

Compressor Fridge

Have finally installed the new Waeco CR110 12/24volt fridge. Seems to work great but the test will come when we hit the road in two days time.

Removal of old 3Way fridge was fairly simple and the new one fits in with about 70mm to spare for height and very little on the sides. The cavity had 40mm clearance inside so I have lined it with 40mm of Styrofoam on both sides and the top. So once it is cold that should help to hold it there. I filled the space left below the fridge with a shallow drawer which I am sure we will soon fill with whatever.

These fridges work on either 12 or 24 volts, so I got a transformer thing which converts 240volt ac to 24volt dc and that is the default supply when mains power is available. When mains power is disconnected, it switches to 12volt from the van battery. I have also fitted a relay so that when mains power is not connected, and the fridge is running from the van battery, it will switch to the car battery when it can see 12volt power from there. When the car engine is stopped, the Redarc Isolator switch under the bonnet will quickly switch off so the car battery does not get flattened, and it switches back to the van battery. Are you keeping up??

I bought a new Fullriver DC120-12 Battery, via eBay, which is installed under the Dining Seat, and is dedicated to the Fridge only. Everything else runs off the original van battery, but this will probably change if and when I ever get a few solar panels.

A few weeks ago I also installed a XANTREX 20Amp Charger as the old "SmartCharger" finally died. Another eBay purchase as it costs $560 in Gympie and I got it delivered from Florida for $320. Makes it hard to support the local bloke. This is supposed to be one of the best battery chargers available, at least I hope it is, as when we "free camp" I have the car alternator power rigged,via Anderson Plug, to work the charger through an inverter, so that the batteries both get charged when the engine is running.