Dr Bob - signs off from his assignment

Thursday

Lakeland Caravan Park

As we settled into this park we received an email called 'camping Stray style'. The first noticeable issue being that they had not lit the pile of sticks they had in front of their nice shiny Mercedes van. 

(With limited sticks to light a fire we had to wait for the right moment to get maximum benefit. At 5.3C all minutes count. As it as we were still in bed at 7:00pm! The Stray camping people).

We had a quick and uneventful trip from Coen: it was amazing the difference in 'coming from' rather than 'going to' the tip, probably because of the 'anxiety' of not knowing what was around the next corner and waiting for all the terrible things we had been  told.

Barry's new tow-ball worked well much to Sandra's relief.

Tomorrow we are all heading to Cooktown for two nights then there will be the parting of ways for all of us so this is the final report to the Blog.

Final impressions of this trip:

Ian - great and worth doing. Thought there would be more warm water without crocs sharing it with me. Expected camping to be rough so was pleased with the occassional lawn.

Barry - expected roads to be worse. Disappointed in fishing as need own tinny and also the lack of free camping as we were led to believe there was more. On the whole thoroughly enjoyable.  It was great to get to the top. If there was a 'boy's' trip' doing the Telegraph track I would do it. 

Ruth - thought it would be more rugged with worse roads and more places to visit. Thinks of it is a 'blokes' place  but glad I went.

Maureen - I thought all roads would be bad. I loved it.

Lorraine - I have enjoyed it and it is something I have always wanted to do. It was an achievement and we survived (or at least the VW did). I thank God we are all at Lakeland safe and sound.

Sandra - roads better. Disappointed we couldn't take advantage of the beautiful beaches. Missed the campfires. That's it!!

Robin - It was a great trip, but for various reasons I think we missed out on doing a lot of things as far as exploring Cape York is concerned. I expected the roads to be far worse so that was a pleasant experience. It was great to have travelled from the bottom of Aus to the top without breaking anything and having a van that held together; discounting a wine glass and a mug everything else in the little bubble on wheels survived.

Jenny's final remarks: thank you to all the gang for your contributions to this blog, especially Dr and Mrs Bob and Sandra's photography. I only wish we could have been there to enjoy the moments and memories, but circumstances have prevailed against this happening - this time.

Until our next adventure - signing off from the Stray Tag A Long tales.

Dr Bob's penultimate blog

Wednesday

Tuesday disappeared quietly as we went about packing up and getting ready for the big trip home today. Last chance to do the washing, check all the bits and pieces on and under the cars and vans. The other issue was that we had a brochure informing us we had to give up all fruit and vegies at the quarrantine check just after Arthur River Roadhouse. Guess who spent an hour or two cooking fish (vegie) burgers to get rid of most the vegies. Ironically when we got to the check point it was closed!!!!

The same issue with alcohol, as we were expecting to be confronted by the police and 'searched', but nothing happened although the purchase of alcohol was restricted.

The crayfish man walked by while we were cooking tea but we resisted the temptation.

Remarkably the drive to Jardine River was a breeze and over very quickly. We got to Coen and camped behind the pub again, after a non stressfull drive - ie. except for Sandra who held on to the 'Jesus bar' with grim determination. 

When Barry drove onto the ferry going north his tow-ball stem became slightly bent, which became even more so today on the way south. I inadvisedly talked about it breaking and we should check all the old wrecks for a new one on the way south. Not a good idea - talking about it I mean, not the looking. Unfortunately there weren't any so it had to hang on all the way to Coen. Barry and I did a quick trip to the tip and removed a near brand-new one from a wreck, which hopefully the local mechanic will be able to angle grind the bent one off tomorrow.

The Dudley trio have given in as they can sense the caravan just around the corner and booked into one of the pub's dongas for  tonight. I have to admit for a group of  'old  grey nomads', they have done a remarkable job crawling in and out of tents.

However, while the remaining campers were having their tea, Lorraine turned up, having visited the toilet in the pub, with an Ansell gift for each of us - and she a good catholic girl!

Tomorrow we head towards Laura where the bitumen starts and we may part company with  'those  that don't camp' as the lure of the van will be too strong for Lorraine. The remaining campers may  stop in a bush camp at Laura and explore some aboriginal art if the track in is ok.

Tomorrow is another day and may well be the last for the blog.

We will wait and see!

Meanwhile Jenny and Paul are camping at this moment in Maldon (free camp with fire and all), but it is only 5C and snow is not far away!

Dr Bob reporting with Mrs Dr Bob taking up the slack!

Monday

After the derogatory comments made by Paul about our exploits and culinary delights I am not sure that we should let you into our secret adventures in the far north of this country. However I will relent.

Barry and I went on a fishing charter today. We keep saying we shouldn't do these, as a result of past experience and after this one we are now definite. 

There was another person on the boat as well as the charter guide, who was a friend of the latter and getting a free ride. The end result was no fish trawling to the reef. I caught a large fish which turned out to be a 'mother-in-law' fish and as I didn't have one it had to go back - brought back memories of Kalumbaru - whilst Barry caught a blue nose, as did Pete, the captain's friend.  Barry was allowed to wind in a Couta, caught whilst trawling on the way home. Yes, very expensive fish, but we ended up with all the fish so had enough to feed everyone with fish and chips.

Meanwhile the others went on a tour of Thursday Is. and I will let Mrs Doc tell you about their exploits.

Mrs Doc:

Further to the above:  Duly at 8.15am, Duds and his harem of four boarded a 'small' boat and headed north for a visit to Thursday Is. This was a very pleasant 90 mins with a first stop at Horn Is. After a visit to the very interesting WW2 museum and a rather nice coffee stop we boarded our vessel and set off across the bay to Thursday Is. Here again we visited various historical 'spots' including a taxied adventure to view the three great canons that were placed on top of the highest point to protect the island from Japanese attack during WW2. Actually, only one canon had been fired prior to the advent of any Japanese war vessel appearing. Apparently a Russian vessel on approach refused to identify itself so the Island defence force set off a blast across their bows which caused the Russians to  immediately identify themselves. 

Sandy and Ruth both expressed some disappointment that there were not more Island craft-ware on sale on either the water front or in the shops on either side of the main drag. We later spoke with the tour boat  owner who said the Islanders weren't really interested in visitors, they just carried on their own lives at their own pace. Managed to spend 'some' money to boost their economy though. Maureen modelled her new outfit at the fish dinner that evening. 

Now to the trip home. We had been informed on setting out that morning that the weather was going to deteriorate and sure enough.......! Once we were clear of the Island wind slammed into us and we surely felt every Bump! Both Maureen and Ruth were eternally grateful for some Travacam pills Doc had supplied and I do believe some of the others took precautions also. All in all it was a great adventure and as viewing the tip-top of Australia was special, so was a visit to Thursday Is. There are some 167 islands to make up this particular island community and it was daunting to know that we 

were just 100k's shy of New Guinea, just 18 of them being inhabited in some way or other.  The Torres Strait peoples themselves appear to be an industrious lot, the biggest difference between TS islanders and our own mainland aboriginals is that the mainlanders are nomadic. The rest I gather stems from there. Our taxi driver made much of us all being one nation. Mmm!

Today is a rest day and get ready for the big trek south. There is the usual panic of what to do with all the veggies and fruit before we hit the quarantine stop at Coen. Lots of veggie and fish patties in the fridge. 

Some rain today, but not enough to cool us down, just to make it more muggy. This has been a good camping spot, we have checked out just about all there is to see  here at the top, and won't have to come again. 

The tent folk have survived well, the battery problem is under control, and we have made the primitive camp kitchen our own. Cheers from Umagico. 

PS: I suspect Sandra enjoyed the Torres Strait island trip because she got to cuddle a fellow 

passengers'  8 month old baby who took a reciprocal  shine to his 'boat' granny. 

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Dr Bob - Sunday a day of rest

Duds has found he doesn't have enough power for his fridge so was relieved when two couples who had been using the power points in the camp kitchen moved on today, allowing him to move in, as per photos.

Moving camp.

A couple with a Jayco van found on arrival that their microwave had fallen out and something else had come loose so they were waiting an extra week to put the van on the ship back to Cairns at $550.

Loads of washing were done then after lunch a trip to Loyalty Beach and a visit to a few plane wreck sites from WW2.
The bush in this area was literally covered in 44 gallon drum fuel dumps. The DC3 crashed killing everyone on board, so this site is a memorial to them and is a bit emotional whilst the Beaufighter appears to have crashed without any loss of life. The bush here is virtually impenetrable, so I can only just imagine what it would be like trying to find anyone who parachuted out of the plane. Following this trek is was back to camp as it was time to put the roast on for tonight's dinner. I really hate this roughing it!!!! 
At $2.30 for local fuel I found a good reason to empty the jerry-can but still spent a fortune filling the rest of the tanks all the same.
Later in the day I went for a walk along the beach and met a lovely lady and her daughter. If you think we are wimps for not doing the Old Telegraph Track read carefully.
This family got almost to the end of the track but when crossing a river one of the front tires came off the rim, making it a bit uncontrollable, resulting in them falling into a very deep hole which flooded the whole car. After many attempts to pull them out, they eventually made it to dry land, but of course the engine was kaput!!!! and the whole car a write-off.
A Hilux decided not to do the crossing, as you would if you had just seen the previous mishap occur, so they turned around, only to roll-over in another river crossing on the way back and float down the river.

Dr Bob reporting from - the "Tip" of Australia

Saturday

Today we headed to the "tip". Yes, it was another glorious day without a cloud in the sky it was so very hard to get out of bed and get going.
After a slight 'wrong road' we found the right route to the tip. The initial part was horrible (bit like Gibb River) then it turned into a single lane tunnel of rain forest. I expected the Queensland equivalent of Robin Hood to leap out at any time! We also now know why VW Toureg cars run in the Dakar Rally!!!! it passed through a deep river crossing without drawing a breath (or water to our relief).
Just to interrupt this missive, we are sitting down this evening eating 7 cray fish - total cost $40 !!!! - yummy, mummy.

They made it! Congratulations to all especially the WV Tourag! But where is Ruth?

Back to the story of the 'Tip'. Having arrived at the car park,  it was a 500m walk across rocks and up and down hills to a spot called the 'Tip', where there was a large group of persons hanging around the famous sign,  all vying to have their photo taken. (At this stage Duds went 'arse over tit' and nearly slid into the water and floated off to New Guinea. Sandra had to remove her left breast from my right ear so I could actually be seen in THE photo), otherwise it was just a 6000km trip to get your photo taken event.
Sorry, more cray fish!! - 8

Then it was back over the rocks and another drive to Sommerset Beach for lunch. What a lovely spot, but pity swimming was fraught with being eaten by a crocodile. Then it was a nerve shattering drive back to the bitumen and home. 

Seisia was a disappointment, in that there wasn't much to see other than a caravan park, service station, big jetty and a large parking area at the boat ramp,  plus a bit more. Most indigenous people  here are of a Torres Strait Is origin, exceptionally friendly and all smiles. The kids frolicking along  the beach and water edges were gorgeous and looked so happy.
The only issue with this place is that between Bamaga and Seisia, the road-sides are littered with rubbish, which gets mowed every time the road-sides are cleared: very disappointing and a  blight on the community.
The only thing wrong with the cray fish is that the girls think we have had tea!!!!  This was made worse by Sandra who didn't like, or eat much of the cray fish, saying she doesn't want any tea. Jen, why aren't you here, as even chicken schnitzel would be ok. (Believe me I would be if I was allowed!)
A few people we met on the way up told us there were plenty of free camping spots to be found along the way up here. In reality you can't free camp in the National Parks as you can only camp in designated sites and these need to be booked before you get there, via the internet. This means new comers who have no idea how long it takes to get anywhere or what is at the sites are not going to use them as much. 

Along the road (gravel and extremely dusty) are many gravel pits etc, that could be used but you would be covered in red dust in no time. Another interesting story is that of a group of 7 couples camped in a gravel pit, off the road near Archer River Roadhouse, who were accosted by a car full of drunk aboriginals and told they couldn't camp there as it was their land. Got a bit nasty for a while.
Before tea, Barry and I did 'what you do' when you come here - we went and fished off the famous Seisia wharf but not knowing what we were doing, it proved to be unproductive. We do have a charter booked for Monday, whilst the girls and Ian do a tour of Thursday Is., so hope to do a little better then.

Dr Bob reporting from 'Near the Pointy End' - Jardine River Ferry Camping Area

Thursday

Last night Cowen was peaceful until Queensland scored the first try, at which stage the pub erupted.
The it was an early start towards the Jardine River, stopping at Archer River Roadhouse for morning tea, then the Morton Telegraph Roadhouse for lunch, arriving at the Jardine about 4.00pm.

Jardine River crossing

We were warned that the road was very rough but for us it was a very pleasant experience, with some rough corrugations on the outside corners (nothing like the Gibb River Road) but in general very "smooth" and only the occassional small areas of bull dust. HOWEVER the DUST was another issue! An oncoming car caused the road to disappear, so you can imagine what  it was like when a road train passed you. Much to our surprise many land cruiser 'tray things', with most towing camper trailers, coming towards us were driving close behind each other, hidden in the dust--what their air filters were like I would hate to think. (Yes Paul, both Barry and I have just cleaned our filters and yes half a shovel each).
The camp ground here 'sucks' according to some of our members, especially when they  found the showers were cold only and the ice-cream cabinet was empty !!!
At 6.30pm we are sitting in front of a fire, sipping wine, and reminiscing about the day's drive whilst waiting for tea to cook and enjoying the balmy weather.
The night was interrupted by a loud siren which resulted in a little black boy 'flying' down to the ferry on his quad-bike, starting up the ferry so he could bring the ambulance over to the south side. The ambulance was on its way to a bingle down the road; then a while later the same sequence but sort of in reverse as he had to take the ambulance back to the north side.

Life is a beach really! Umagico Beach actually in the Cape York area. Such a shame to see the weather is so bleak!!!! The campers sure are doing it tough.

Dr Bob reporting from on the road to the Cape

Not sure what happened to yesterday but we ended up at Lakeland caravan park which was being looked  after by Kath and Trevor, the parents of Danny who was at Townsville for the V8s..Eat your heart out Paul! 

We did meet a few people who were on their way back from Cape York, so got lots of info even if it was confusing with regards the taking of alcohol up there.

Tonight we are at Cowen, in the camping park behind the pub-$5 per person with showers and toilets.

The road today was half bitumen (to Laura) then was a mixture of very good gravel road, road works, and some stretches of corrugations- really an easy day.

However, I left the green plastic cutting board in the camp kitchen at Lakeland, so consequently Ruth is fed up and ready to go home !! ---a bit difficult from here.

Tonight was also the inaugrual' tent raising event', which went with out a hitch, despite a few tense words.

Tomorrow we will head for the Jardine River Caravan Park on the south side of the Jardine River.

Dr Bob' last day in Kuranda

This was a really lost day with not much of any significance happening. 

Well that is not quite true, as Maureen was successfully picked up from the airport and also we had a wonderful spit roast dinner followed by plum pudding and custard.

Apart from this it was a matter of going shopping and packing up.

Tomorrow is another day as we will be heading north at last.

Dr Bob - Sunday: second last day in Kuranda

Check the oil, water etc.  Look underneath for anything loose - both car and van. Change fuel filter. Car wouldn't start. Prime fuel filter. Car would start. Fill water tanks. Make shopping list for tomorrow. Do the washing. Drive to Wilsons Lookout. Light the fire. Have tea . Go to bed.

Well actually there was a little more to the day.

Firstly, Duds and Lorraine were up early, had everything out of the car and repacked ready for the Cape before we could get our table set up. Not a swear word was heard, although Ian did say later that didn't mean there weren't any. Things  unravelled slightly when Lorraine tried to get the shower and toilet from the ensuite on to the roof rack. Apparently the whole episode was a breeze, and room was even found for Maureen.

Another little incident occurred whilst we were sitting outside a coffee shop, having coffee of course, when a tribe of Japanese students went past, ushered on by a very serious overseer or teacher,  into Foodworks a few shops down the road. A few minutes later a lost looking female Japanese student was passing the same way, and I thought I would be a good Aussie, so pointed to Foodworks and said "they have all gone in there". She gave me a big smile, along with a bewildered look, nodded her head and said something in Japanese, walked a few steps down the road which she then crossed and walked back the way she had come. Poor girl must have thought I was a bit weird!

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Dr Bob from Kuranda -again

Short note today: We all went to Port Douglas for the day. On the way we stopped at Thala Resort and the Osprey Restaurant for coffee -WOW what a place !!!!
They also had a large  number  of coconuts lying on the lawns for all the tourists to pick up and take home (it probably saves the staff the job). Quite a sight seeing all these grey nomads flitting around the coconut groves pinching coconuts, then it was on to the foreshore and the deck of the Tin Shed, overlooking the bay and mangrove lined shore line. 
We had salt and pepper squid with chips, prawn salad and mussels in a herb and tomato broth - some had a Strawberry blonde cocktail, another a white wine and others beer. We have circumstantial evidence that some of our close friends, whilst traversing the roads of Victoria, had McDonalds and coke, for their lunch -- (poor buggers). 
The women then had a little stroll along the shops, stopping at the "nothing more than $22" shop and trying on everything in the shop--half a dozen blokes standing around outside trying not to look bored.
After a couple of little stops on the way home it was back to camp to light the fire and open the coconuts.
Tomorrow is a special day as the Bills and Widdowson's are going to set up a table with wine and nibbles and the video camera and watch closely whilst the Dudley's try and get enough camping gear, food, water, clothes, bedding and alcohol to last them 3-4weeks, plus three people into their car,  as a practice run for next Tuesday!

A couple of old grey nomads sucking on coconuts!

Barron Falls

Camping spot at Kuranda

Dr Bob reporting yet again from rainy North Queensland

Yes it poured all night and there was a slight and intermittent drizzle up here in the mountain during the day, however we all went to Cairns - our separate ways.

Rob and Ruth: found our way to the CBA and picked up my debit card which we had organised from Mt Isa to be sent over-- the other one was rejected whilst paying for the diesel at Mt Isa (out of date).

Then it was down to the Esplanade and find the Information  Centre to get some info on Cape York but didn't get any more than we already had. However they pointed us in the right direction to find the Regional Art Centre, which was a little disappointing and the items in their shop very expensive.

Then across to the Pier Centre, what a big shock it turned out to be. When we were here about 12 years ago it was a new vibrant centre full of people and upmarket shops but now was dark with an absence of people and only a few uninteresting shops, although there were restaurants along the board walk.

Sushi for lunch then back to the car where the navigator fell asleep (had a very sleepless last night) so it was back up the mountain.

 I thought I would follow the signs to Barron River Falls lookout as we came into Kurandra, and whilst the navigator slept, I took the board walk to the lookout only to find out it was the same lookout we stopped at yesterday on the train!!!!

Barry and Sandra: straight to the Telstra shop were the errant iPad was resurrected by reloading Gmail and the last 15 emails suddenly appeared. Then a visit to Cairns Central shopping centre, a visit to Rays Outdoors for a gas fitting, fish and chips at the pub, then a drive down to Yorkies Knob to see if it had changed since they were last there as part of an ocean cruise. Baz and Sandy went to the same lookout as I did but managed to get a photo of a train coming into the siding.

Ian and Lorraine: at the time of writing no sign of them. Police will be called if they haven't returned after the pubs close. Whoops !!!!!! they have just driven in.

They went to the casino for lunch: 3 - lamb chops for $14.50 and a rib eye steak for $14.00 and no it wasn't 'seniors day'. More interesting Lorraine went to move the car, thus avoiding a parking ticket, whilst Duds kept on playing  the  pokies, but there was a communication issue because they both 

waited where they were, hoping the other would turn up, which of course didn't happen. Lorraine 

eventually found Duds wandering along the Esplanade looking some what non-plussed. 

Then it was off to Autobarn for those elusive fittings for the roof rack and a stop at Spotlight for a button for Lorraine's knickers which kept coming undone.

On the way home Lorraine devised a plan to do away with the rather windy mountain road --a bulldozer and many billions of dollars I think she was hoping for. (Every tree and bush here has 'heritage listing' so don't like her chances).

All in all, we had a fruitful day and by the time we got home the sun was shinning.

Until next time.

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Dr Bob reporting from Kuranda - Part 2

Thursday 

Today was a 'tourist' day -- yes it is a tourist town so it wasn't a surprise move.

Into town and down to Sky Rail to book our return trip - down on the 2:00pm train and back up on the Sky Rail. So in a tourist town what do you for 4 hrs whilst waiting for the train? You wander and look and browse and shop and drink coffee and have lunch and then catch the train. We only bought a kangaroo skin pouch for Lulu and a gorgeous print  for Ruth.

The shops are full of what  look like chinese made souvenirs and I have no idea how any of them make a living. We did see some lovely photos in a gallery: the photographer died at 49 years old and all photos were  done on film, so no photoshop and were amazing (amazingly expensive as well).

The train trip down was the same as last time except then we didn't have a man behind us who entertained HIS fellow passengers by talking for an hour and a half in a loud voice--most annoying, but at the end I did  congratulate him and shook his hand for his effort (but I don't believe he picked up the sarcasm).

Then a quick trip on the shuttle bus to Sky Rail and a fascinating ride across the tops of the rain forrest in a gondola, but only saw one bird for the whole trip and no crocs in the Barron River, which we crossed at a great height.

And believe or not it has rained today!!!!!!!

We also got back to a reassuring email from Jen, after her visit to a very expensive doctor. 

Bye from rainy Queensland.

Dr Bob reporting from Kuranda

Wednesday

We are now in Kuranda where we have booked in for 6 days. The Savannah Way was not what we thought it would be, so we have ended up here a bit earlier than planned.

It was only a few kms to the mango winery (Golden  Drop) where you can sample six drinks, including dry, medium or sweet wine, mango port and liqueur plus various other fruit liqueurs or/and sparkling mango wine.!!!!!!! -all for $5 if you didn't buy anything. Needless to say we didn't pay for the samples. We are planning to leave all our alcohol in the Dudley's van whilst up the Cape, but Ian is telling us not much more will fit.

Having set up camp in the caravan park, five of us went for a walk down to the river, but ended up in town, arriving there about 3.30pm just as everything was shutting up. By 4:00pm the place was empty. Apparently once the last train and sky-rail has gone the place becomes some what dead.

Barry waited for me whilst I did a few sciatic nerve stretches and the others walked down to the station to get a timetable. They walked back up the other side of the road, so we missed them,  and waited for half an hour or so whilst they were back in camp - can't trust anyone  any more!

Lorraine would like everyone to know that she managed to get 32 channels on her TV with out any help!!!!!!!

Let's see what tomorrow brings

Dr Bob reporting from far North Queensland

Tuesday

Actually we are in the same place as yesterday--Granite "Gorge".

Yesterday we all did the short walk, heaving and pulling the girls over the rocks, so today Barry and I decided to be macho and do the long walk which was much more difficult. As we finished we felt very self righteous; that is until we looked behind us to find a young Austrian couple and their two daughters, who were about 3 and 4 years old, trotting along behind us.

The afternoon was spent being tourists visiting the highlights of Mareeba - like Rivers for a pair of sandals and the Reject Shop for odds and ends. We did get to the information centre which had an interesting historical museum attached to it and of course had a cup of coffee at Coffee Works (too late for the tour).

Then it was home, light the fire, have nibbles, drink wine, cook tea, have a shower and go to bed!!!-- a bit like yesterday and in fact every day for the last month.

Dr Bob reporting from Granite Rock Gorge

Monday

This place is just up the road from the distillery which was quite handy considering for $10 you could taste vodka, gin, white rum, brown rum, single malt wisky and marshmellow liquor -- these were not ordinary spirits and liquor, and other persons who shall remain nameless has a long way to go!!!!!!!

The tea and scones at Bridges (a part of the distilley which in turn was part of a banana farm) was most likely not needed at this stage, but you know how things go when you are stressed!!!!! 

Editor note: maybe it was to help sober up!

Still trying to sort out the Dud's electrical service (so he can find out who won the footy) - hopefully being connected to the grid will boost the battery.

This place is not really a gorge  but a series of lots of large rocks through which you can walk and pretend you are in a gorge -- the rock wallabies are very friendly and will eat out of your hand and even let you pat the joey in the pouch. We have been assured all the snakes are asleep, but despite this  Sandra is going to do the walk on Barry's shoulders. Lorraine is not scared as she coped well with the large python sliding around in the long grass behind her chair the other night-- of course the Baileys may have had something to do with her  perception  of what was making the noise in the grass.

Getting back to Dud's electrical problems -- he had been plugged into the grid for about six hours and the battery was nicely charged so we suggested he turn the grid off for a while to see if the battery would hold its charge -which he did. Well actually, when Lorraine went over to the van she found he had just turned off a power point,  which to make matters worse didn't even have anything plugged into it!!!! Before Lorraine could say another word about getting help and psychiatrists, Duds rightly pointed out that when he got a fellow caravaner to help him sort out the TV problems, they found Lorraine had plugged the antenna lead into the AV socket, which to make matters worse was nigh impossible to get back out!!!

Prior to all this we did the 'rock walk' which meant clambering over huge boulders, and patting the wallabies on the 'wallaby rock'. Quite a sight seeing 'elderly persons' timidly stepping over large cracks in the rocks and crawling up steep rock faces.

This week is a bit of a lost week as we try and fill it in whilst waiting for Maureen to arrive - we are only 90 kms from Cairns and have seven days to find something useful to do. So we are going to stay here another night and hope there are a few more distillerys between here and Cairns!!!!!!

Tonight tea was cooked on a camp fire, a few glasses of wine, dishes in the camp kitchen and another early night.

In case you think we are stressed out with lots of travelling we are only about 20 kms from where we were last night!!!!!!

Bye for now.

Dr Bob reporting from Atherton

Sunday 29th

We are actually in a free park (donations gratefully received) Rocky Ck War Memorial Park. There would have been 100 or more vans spread over about 2 hectares. It was the site  of an Army hospital during the war and the whole area now turned into a war memorial (in 1995)--very impressive. Yesterday was a lost day as we travelled from Innot Hot Springs to Atherton. We drove along a ridge top "road" to get to a cheese and yoghut factory and fortunately did not meet the milk tanker coming the other way; it made the hills around Mirboo North look like rolling plains! Next stop, Millaa Millaa for lunch - home-made pies (beef and onion with potato topping) and sausage rolls for which the girls scored 12 out of 10, then down to the Millaa Millaa Falls for a photo shoot. We didn't quite make it past the cheese and chocolate factory so had to stock up with cheese, soap and ice cream as well as watching the cows go around on their merry-go-round, whilst the guy placing the cups on, managed to dodge all the droppings from above.

Millaa Millaa Falls

As we had had so much to eat during the day we settled for Lorraine's leftovers made into Chow Mien. Although Lorraine settled for Schnapps and Baileys instead she pulled up remarkably well this morning. Duds watched the footy on his TV last night flattened the battery in the van - not sure who won?
Today we are off to explore Atherton  on this lovely sunny day - eat your heart out you Southerners!!!!

Atherton

 Later in the day.

We all visited the Chinese museum and temple, although at different times. Fascinating history of the Chinese in this area and a delightful tour of the temple with Jim our "tour" guide.
Earlier, Ruth & Rob drove out to Lake Tinaroo for an iced coffee and an hours rest, just enjoying the peace and quiet, until the ski boat started up!  The locals are very lucky to have such a beautiful lake at their back door. Lunch at Gallery Five and a visit to the Regional Cultural Centre before we headed back to the park to readjust the solar panels--yes believe it or not it is still a glorious sunny day. Okay rub it in Dr Bob!
Not sure where the others have got to, but assume they will come "home "eventually.

• Barry &Sandra: Chinese temple, look at shop at Crystal Cave, Lake Tinaroo Avenue of Honour, the Look Out, peanut factory and Fig Tree at Yungaburra.
• Ian &Lorraine: Chinese temple (got lost on the way), lookout and McDonalds.

Off towards Mareeba tomorrow.
Bye from Atherton

P.S. Apparently via a distillery according to Sandra with Rob's approval!!!!!

Dr Bob reporting from Innot Hot Springs

Friday

Travelled today from Routh Ck to present location, having decided to have a night on green lawn would be a welcome change-- except Barry managed to park on the only area of dirt in the park. Had a swim in the cold pool then a spa in the hot spring ( in an enclosed room ).

At least they have an ordinary urinal here. One we came across said " keep the door closed as there are lots of brown snakes around this area", many said "keep the lid closed as I ( a picture of a green frog) like to go for a swim", but the most interesting was at Croydon where there was an ordinary sized porcelain urinal hanging from the wall with the sign "stand closer it is not as big as you think" --looked a pretty big urinal to me!!!!!

The other major  change in our lives is the presence of dark grey fluffy things in the sky -the locals tell us that is where rain comes from!!!!

Haven't heard from Kevin and Linda for a couple of days but hope they are well on their way to Darwin.

You will be pleased to know Paul, Barry has continued on your time honoured profession of picking up things I have left behind --my new birthday present hat this time (I was coming back to get it, one day)!

The day ended around the fire as usual, a tipple of snapps and a good night's sleep. However woke up to a thick fog and everything a little damp - don't you love the tropics?

Bye for now

Dr Bob's reporting from Routh Creek

Thursday

To all those who forgot today is my birthday!!,,

Last night we had an excellent train ride out to Golden Gate, a mining town that once had 3000 persons and 13 pubs but now is just bush and old shafts and a cattle station. The station people  brought out a meal for the train passengers, soup and bread or beef stew (for ten dollars).

However being righteous people, we did not partake as we were having a meal at the pub.

That was a story in itself as there was a group of similar aged people on the next table - they were going back to Normanton on the train next day. They had a little to drink and were breaking into song every now and again - at the top of their collective voices - which made it hard for us to hear each other talk so, Barry eventually suggested they quieten down a bit. They became rude and abusive and said  they would leave us to the "sterile  life", and left for the beer garden.

Today of course involved a cup of tea in bed, ..................,  and happy birthday greetings.

Today has been a slow day as we drove towards  Georgetown for lunch when we stopped at an old mining sight - Cumberland chimney - a lovely camping spot overlooking a billabong full of birds and water lillies. We came to the aid of a distressed couple who had locked themselves out of their caravan - three minds and an electric drill overcame the issue. After lunch it was on to Routh Ck, not far out of Georgetown - a billabong under a bridge, surrounded by rocks and trees - that is after Barry took us on a slight detour south. Did smell of cows for awhile, but that diminshed as the evening wore on. Barry and I catching three 4 inch fish each, did help.

Corned beef was cooked in the Bill's caravan this morning then put in the dream pot  for the rest of the day so we will have something to go with the mustard sauce for our birthday meal.

Ian is feeling better as he is now telling jokes again and Ruth has not complained of any further chest pain.

Had a fantastic birthday meal, in fact so good we forgot to take any photos, sorry Jen.

Dr Bob, one year older, signing off from Routh Ck.

 

Sent from Samsung tablet

Dr Bob's episode from Croydon and Normanton

Tuesday

A very interesting day. Firstly we stopped at Normanton railway station which is both a museum and functioning railway station. Managed to get a real cappuchino from the kiosk then waited for half an hour and saw the Gulflander arrive, having  taken a trip out to Critters Siding and back -- named Critters Siding because one of the workman went out into the bush for a squat and got bitten on the bum by a scorpion.

Stopped at Blackbull Siding for lunch then 20 kms out of Crydon for fire wood.

Getting back into the car Ruth informed me she had chest pain and pain in her left arm!!!!!

By the time we got to Croydon and found the hospital all the pain was gone -- a quick ECG was normal as expected so it was an asprin and lie down.

Ian has got a "cold" and looks and feels terrible whilst the rest of us are fit and healthy. The photo is to prove all are still "alive" at the time of  the happy hour.

Prior to this, those who were still upstanding toured the 'HERITAGE PRECINCT' -amazing amount of work has gone into preserving and restoring buildings etc. Fantastic metal 'carvings' throughout the park and Information Centre.

Happy Hour!

Wednesday:

Revisited the information centre, which was open today, and watched a video on the history of Croydon, then Sandra bought a fresh bun which had arrived on a truck this morning. Slight problem with that as Sandra cut the bun into 12 pieces so the six of us could have 3 pieces each!!!!!--she says a 'blonde moment'.

Went out to Lake Belmore for a picnic lunch and a fish for a Barra - lunch was perfect. Very nice spot but lake only 50% full and not a lot of green grass.The smell of rotting pigs along from the  picnic spot was a bit off putting but the shire workers were bringing out a front- end loader to remove them.  On the way back called into the working mine museum -wasn't working as they needed someone with the appropriate 'ticket'. They had an original miners house (see photo)

 made of sheet iron, which was so hot in summer they had to cover the kids in wet blankets at night, to get them to sleep. Then called into the oldest general store in Australia,for an ice cream, a few souvenirs, a hat for Ruth and an abacus for Sandy.

This evening we are (except Barry)  going for a half hour ride on the Gulflander out to a station and back, then dinner at the pub.

Story for you Paul--took out the air cleaner at Mt Isa and removed a shovel full of grit and dust, which was strange as we hadn't been on many gravel roads that weren't wet-put it back in and was surprised 30 kms later to see the 'air filter blocked ' light come on. So changed to the new one and tried again at the next stop to bang the old one again and got the other half of a shovel full out . Barry cleaned his and got another shovel full out of his!!!!!!

 

 

Dr Bob's update from Karumba

Sunday 22nd

Much to our surprise the sun came up again today and not a cloud in the sky.

Last night it was prawns on the barbie just like Crocodile Dundee--Robbie was very smart and didn't do them in the caravan or at least he was lucky he didn't.

This morning saw the remaing men on this trip arise at 6 am and onto the charter boat  by 7 am. As usual the fishing was good yesterday and as we were to learn even better tomorrow.

 We learnt a lot about Karumba  from Robert our skipper and watched a "barge" take a load of lead and zinc out through the channel to the big ship 18 kms away where it is loaded, 5000tons at a time. There is a smelter nearby which gets the ore via a slury through a 300 km pipe!! Unfortunately the mine is closing next year and 90 locals will be out of a job.

We went to a mud / sand bank and fished for Bream!!!!- long way to come to do what we do at home. Ian caught 3 in a few minutes whilst it took Barry and I a little while to get in the swing of things. Spent most of the time feeding the little critters but managed 10 keepers between 5 of us. Two more spots and not much else.

Home, clean fish, shower and little snooze before heading out on a sunset cruise --- prawns, wine and fruit platter.

Monday 23rd

Last night it was prawns, prawns, wine and Allison the hostess. The later was very informative as we toured along the Normaton River, seeing various birds, birds nests with heads popping out of the top and a number of shipwrecks. Then it was out into the Gulf to see the sunset ---same old same, need a bush fire to make it impressive. All in all a very pleasant evening and due to all the prawns it was a 

hot drink, Sandy's chocolate and bed.

Today was a lazy day with laundry duty, afternoon Vanilla milkshakes, pack up some gear and cook yesterdays fish-- "I'll do the potatoes, well I was going to do chips, well I'll do some salad and I have got carrots and some lettuce".

A trip to the supermarket this morning was an interesting experience as the truck laden with fresh produce had arrived and everyman and his dog was there -- 50 metre queque  at the check-out and no parking spaces in the street.

So this is Dr Bob signing off from Karumba.

Dr Bob's continuation of Burke and Wills and beyond

Hi all, we have a new correspondent - Dr Bob a.k.a Robin, who has kindly taken over the recording of our trip. Please sit back and enjoy this episode.

News from the North. Unfortunately our esteemed editor had to leave this trek due to circumstances beyond her control, so you will have to settle for second hand news.

We left Birdsville with a heavy heart, but the "follow the Burke and Wills trek" has to continue. The road from Birdsville to Boulia was mainly sealed but even the unsealed sections were smooth-- we managed to escape Kevin's tyre issue. Bedourie was a typical outback town with the sports facilities being the  biggest infrastructure, followed by the Information Centre. 

Boulia was as I had found it 4 hears ago, with the "beyond the black stump", stump still taking centre stage. We followed Kevin's advice and headed out behind the racecourse and down to the river to find delightful camp sites --took a bit of an effortt to get Duds backed into his site. 

This was our first night without Linda and Paul, so you can imagine it was a lovely quite night and the fire was subdued and kept to less than three feet high. Of course all this happened after a visit to the coffee shop.

Next day saw the the other couples head off to the Boulia Encounter which they thoroughly enjoyed  --Sandra even managed a few flash photos during the "do not take a photo performance".

After that it was off to Mt Isa, with a quick stop at Dajarra for lunch, along a sealed road.

Crossing the "channel country" was amazing compared to the barren gibber plains, with numerous (dry) river bed crossings and green grass  of all things.

 Found Kevin at the caravan park he had booked us into, then it was a rush to the laundry and showers followed by cleaning of anything still standing including husbands. That night it was up to the lookout to, see the sunset and sip champagne along with a bus load of "oldies" including a delightful old girl who would appear to have been in her late eighties.

Duds had his broken water outlet repaired at great expense by a pro caravan repairer, then he, Barry and Kev headed for the Hard Times mine tour-- three orange men came back (in their mine overalls) having had an interesting time.Yours truly went shopping and stocked up for the next part of the trip.      

Then across to Concurry then north towards Normaton. This meant we had to stop at the famous 

Burke and Wills roadhouse for coffee, spring roll or two and a photo for Jen. Passed numerous road trains going south with cattle, all belonging to some bloke called Curley's, eventually stopping at a rest stop called Bang Bang. Half a dozen other caravans but no one came over to share our fire, which we used again in the morning for bacon and eggs.

Stopped at Normaton for coffee but the coffee shop was  closed so it was "instant" at the information centre.  Then across a flood plain to Karumba where we found every person who owned a boat in Australia booked into the caravan parks -- managed to get into one for three nights and the boys were able to organise a fishing charter for tomorrow.

Karumba is an export centre for baby Brahman calves --very cute according to Barry.

Well Paul, we may not tell you about tomorrow but we will think of you.

Dr Bob - Foreign Correspondent for Stray Tag-a-Long Tales signing off from Karumba.

Sent from Samsung tablet

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Hi all, as this will be the last post for this trip, cut short due to a medical issue I had, I thought I would let you know about our trip back home.
We caught the 36 seat Dash 8 Dehavilland plane out of Birdsville which stopped at Windorah, Quilpie, Charlieville and Towoomba before finally reaching our destination of Brisbane: 5.5 hours, 3 refuelling stops, 1423 kms and 33 passengers on board. It actually was a good flight even if a long one! The hostess (Robyn) was lovely and we struck up quite a conversation on the plane as she originally came from Melbourne and lived in Moe at one stage. Her husband was the coach of the Moe Football team some years back.
She had only just taken up stewarding in the last 18 months and did say the Birdsville flight was the one they sent their more junior staff on, as with 5 take-off and landings it was a great way to learn the protocols of the airways.
The flight as I said was good as the air was cloudless and the changing landscapes made for interesting viewing. Firstly we had red sand country, then grey channel country, some interesting tapestry of colours when the patchwork of Towoomba and the Darling Downs came into view and lastly the fairyland lights of Brisbane with its tiny beads of lights weaving their magic over the land.
Next we had to catch a flight to Melbourne and after asking a few people and paying some more dollars we caught a flight on Qantas through to Tullamarine at 7:10pm, landing in Melbourne by 9:30pm.
An overnight stop at the motel at the airport and it was up early to cacth the SkyBus into the city for a connecting train ride to Traralgon.
The whole experience of a train station, airport, MYKI cards etc was enough for this little country kid and her side-kick. By the time we collapsed into the train carriage we had had enough.
Little did we realise we had caught a train to Traralgon, where Nick was to pick us up, that was also a "stop-at-all-places" train. Places I had forgotten even had a train station - Garfield, Tynong, Longwarry etc all made it an eventful, if not a long ride.
Finally the smile on Nick's face made all the events of the past 24hours seem a distant past - it was actually nice to be home (albeit very sad we couldn't continue on our ultimate journey).
Ces la vie!

PS - Actually uploaded some photos for you to view - enjoy. Check under "Photos too" page.

One of the sights out our plane window from Birdsville

Day 21 & 22: Birdsvile and a turn of events.

Hi all, at present I am sitting in the Birdsville Airport waiting for a flight back home. Yes, home. I had an exceptionally bad nosebleed requiring medical attention and although we had tried to take as much precaution as we could prior to leaving, it was just too risky trying to continue in such a remote place such as this, so here I am.
Luckily we had done the Birdsville sights the day before and at least I got to see the area and it's historical bit and pieces.
We actually got to jump out of the Birdsville starting blocks - what a loud noisy contraption that is, no wonder the horses 'start' when taking off, needless too say Mrs B, closely followed by Mrs W made it first out: I was so startled I froze, so I will never make a good racehorse.
Checked out another Burke and Wills tree and the famous Diamentina River and its causeway once used in the olden days.
Well the departure lounge is now open for luggage so had better sign off. Safe travelling all the rest of the crew. We will be thinking of you and you had better send reports of all your adventures.
Love you all: God speed!

Corner County continued - Part 3

Following on from  the last post I did mention we had some rain. Well in actual fact we did have some rain, but other places obviously had a bit more than we did as even though we grew 6 inches overnight if walking around our camp ( mud: glorious mud), by morning it had dried out and we where on our way. A last refuelling in Innaminka and although we hoped to go via Cordillo Downs station were were advised the day before, that  the roads were not in good condition, so an alternative had to be sought. After some discussion on which way we were actually heading we decided to take the Arrabury Rd to Birdsville.
Rob was the leader of this road and the going was quite good with obviously gas/ oil in the vicinity as it was wide open road with a good surface. We had followed a truck so his tracks were making our  trip smooth for most part, then....the truck diverted and we found ourselves on a track not that well used. Still the surface was good and finally made it to the Cordillo / Birdsville turnoff. Another decision had to be made - try the Cordillo road from here or not risk it. Decision made ( not to risk it) and onwards towards our next destination.
Paul now took over the lead and oh how the road surface changed! Mud, glorious mud - many kms of it. What looked like a good surface out to the side proved to be our downfall as yes, we got bogged. Well and truly bogged with all wheels turning, but to no avail. Luckily there was enough room for all the others to get through on a drier surface ( although not a lot better). Rob being the last through connected his van to our winch rope and with a winch and a pull all was righted. Amen!
Previously to this little misadventure Barry did a tyre on his Toyota and changing it on a muddy surface with no stability in the soil below was quite a feat by most of the fellows. (We were up front enjoying a nice snack on the side of the road, thinking it was only a caravan tyre that wouldn't require too much effort). 2 jacks latter and much digging, a bit of swearing and Baz was again mobile.
All good .......oh hell another patch of mud that seems to go on forever. Cars and caravans sliding every which way, coming to meet each other occasionally, but fortunately all making it through without any more mishaps. Mind you the 'oh-sh*# -bar' in the Toyota did get quite a work out as white knuckle fever was prevalent in my car at least. Actually it was that bad all the girls had to put down their knitting for awhile! Now that's bad- trust me!
There was the time when one member ( who will remain nameless) was so adrenalin pumped had to take a quick 'stop' for relief when one of the other members drove up on the wrong side catching them in the act. Embarrassment all round! Oh, the things we have to go through to enjoy this big country of ours!
Eventually on dark, as we couldn't go any further even if we wanted as the cars were mud from head to foot and not a headlight to be found, we finally pulled into a lovely camp spot on the top of one of the Mesa tops. Needless to say the adrenalin in all of us had burnt us to a crisp and all were either hysterical or very quite around the campfire that night thanking our lucky stars that Friday the 13th hadn't taken more of a toll on any of us.
Next day it was quite a subdued trip into Birdsville for some washing of cars and vans (only took 3 hours to pressure wash off the mud and find our vehicles again and another hour to to wash the car wash of all the mud from the 5 vehicles.
Now in Birdsville and time to replenish self, stores and clothing. Till we talk again adieu.

Corner country etc - continued

Okay, back again and one load down. Now where was I, oh yes Fort Grey - well it was a great night except for the BBQs not working very efficiently ( another remark on the survey) and we all made the next day with not too many bad headaches before heading out to Cameron Corner.
The journey to the corner was uneventful finally coming across the Dingo Fence, crossing the border into SA! Then Qld for a drink at the pub, a bit of a refuel for some and head out into the real dune country. This was going to be a test for our newest members of the outback trek ( Ian and Lorraine) as in a smaller car than the rest and a caravan not necessarily built for off-road we would see how intrepid they really were!
Up and down the sand dunes for km after km, flags flying as we head over the crest and down the other side, across the plain floor and up again: as Kevin made mention it really is a roller-coaster ride. I for one thoroughly enjoy this road as the scenery is ever changing, and the red of the sand dunes is awesome. The little car and it's occupants didn't miss a beat and came to the other side all in one piece.  Then it was turn right and up  the Strezlecki track towards Innaminka and Cooper Creek, on the way passing lots of mining vehicles and Moomba gas fields.
After finally arriving in Innaminka it was another fuel stop for most of us, check out the pub (another one), then find a spot down by the Cooper for the night.
And a great spot we found called Ski Beach. Not sure about the name, but the water was lovely and a change from the miles of red dirt and gibber that had accompanied us throughout most of the journey so far. Kevin and Linda took no time to hitch up a fishing line and catch a nice 'Yellow Belly' ( I think Perch). After some discussion as to staying another night or moving on, we decided the Burke and Wills history was so great in this neck-of-the-woods and the fishing might be okay, we would stay another day.
Up the next morning and Sandra had the 'mud-map' of the highlights in the area, so off we all went : firstly to the left (Wills grave), then to the right - the Loop road. And loop it did, all 200 kms of it to see stones, stones, more stones and the occasional Mesa topped mountain range. Back onto the main road and we find Burke and Wills Dig Tree, and Burke and Kings grave sites. All this could have  been done in about 50 kms. I guess Sandy didn't know how long it would take and her mud- map  certainly didn't indicate this but the trip did give us all an appreciation of what the conditions were like for these  early explorers.
There certainly was a taint of sadness looking at these monuments to these men, who for right or wrong reasons perished in such dire circumstances. The only mention of my ancestor Stuart was a street named after him in Innaminka. Back at camp that night and Kevin, Linda and Rob had managed to catch some nice fish for all to share for tea. Unfortunately the rain came down and that's where my night ended. Whoops, another load done. To be continued...

Day 15 - 20: Corner country, Innaminka, Burke and Wills and Mud!

So it has been quite awhile since I last blogged and from a few accounts some have missed it, but it was not due to lack of stories but internet connection or the lack of.
I actually commented to my fellow travels there is so much to cover I hardly know where to begin, but I suppose the best place is from I last left you at Tibooburra.
We didn't leave early as we went for a short drive around the Sturt NP out from Tibooburra to what they call the 'jump-ups': where the track rises from the floodplain floor to a Mesa on top of a large hill. The view from the top is magnificent, with a great vista of the surrounding stony desert, green shrubs dotting a line across the desert floor indicating where a small creek once flowed. After many more kms and a few more emus, kangaroos, old homestead/ shearing sheds etc it was time to head back to camp, load up the 'wagon' and head out into the real Corner Country.
The initial first few miles covered some pretty impressive 'gibber' plains with mostly white gibber,then  onto some grey sandy country as we made our way into Fort Grey, another section of the Sturt NP.
This is where we set up camp and went to discover why Fort Grey was named and the other history associated with the place. Unfortunately they have not replaced the walking track signs since the flood in 2010, so things weren't as easy to find as they should have been. (Our survey of the park indicated this fact when we left).
Old relics of a harsh past were left behind - windmills, fence posts, chimney bricks etc. The name Fort Grey was because it was a depot for Sturt on his explorations looking for the inland sea, where some of the party stayed back and because they were afraid for their animals and local aboriginals built a stockade to house them in.
Although we had had Kevin's birthday the night before we had planned to have a 'black and white ' night at this camp site before take-off, so out came all the black and white regalia - Sandra resplendid in her Skelton outfit, Paul with his 'lovely' white hat and shoes accompanying his all black 'number', Ian and Rob both taking to the 'ocka' look in white tea shirt and black shorts, Barry in a monk coat with white bib. Kevin's and Linda made an adorable twosome in their makeshift garbage bags, Ruth put on her white toilet paper and paper towel creation and I had a simple black and white shirt with black pants. The photos should be something to talk about no doubt. I will end here and start another post to continue our journey, but first the washing needs to go out. End - Part 1

Day 11 - 14: Mutawintji, Tibooburra and grasshoppers and Kevin's birthday

It seems like quite a time since my last post and so much has happened since then.
Firstly we went out to Mutawinji where a nicer camp spot you could not find. Hot showers, flushing toilets, community campfire and lovely green trees.
Before getting to this place though we did have a stop to let the tyres down and and cuppa to keep up the sustenance. This all took place somewhere in the outback on a gravel road with ant hills and grasshoppers (or locusts), not sure on the difference. Linda decided she actually wanted some of these "jumping " critters for her fishing rod later down the track, so all these so-called responsible, mature-aged people are crawling around the gibber plains on hands and knees trying to catch grasshoppers! I tell you it was quite a sight to behold.
Then there was the issue of Ruth finding a snake head (quite calcified), with Robin deciding Linda like collecting so much she should find a place in her car for it and placed it on Linda's car seat. To say Linda was NOT amused and even blamed Paul for this misdemeanour, is an understatement.
Back at the camp sight, we took to our first real walk around the area, with Kevin and Linda being a bit more adventurous and taking on the steeper hill area, while the rest of us did an easy walk up to some aboriginal art and also a marker where one of Burke and Wills came through. I must admit it is quite a surreal experience to think that all those years ago, someone else came thought this area not really knowing what they would encounter.
The next day it was pack up and move time, but before heading out most of the team followed the walk out to the gorge to see the beautiful waterhole it is renowned for. The going was mostly good although at times it helped to be a mountain goat. (Mind you we did see demolition of some of the mountain goats in the cavern, which didn't really give us confidence). Kevin and Linda even bought a pair of horns back to camp with them as momentos!
Time to move on, and we did  - up the road a bit further finally making our camp beside a dry creek bed. A wonderful outback, off road camp with a roaring great fire only to be buzzed by a pilot in the morning in his aeroplane. I guess it was the farmer who owned the property and when he did a second take I presumed we were okay as he never came back.
After a short detour into Milparinka  for spot of lunch at pub ( to drink to Kevin's birthday), it was finally onto Tibooburra for the night. Spit roast with apple and rhubarb crumble,  what's not to like about camping? Running out of time - will have to tell you about Sandra and my pub crawl around Tibooburra tomorrow, so stay tuned.

Day 10: More of Broken Hill

Another day in Broken Hill doing the tourist bit, helping out the economy spending money in the town at various places of interest.
First it was off walking around the Cemetery with our map discovering the past notable members of the past. Union leaders, parliamentarians, children killed by Typhoid, in mine accidents etc. About 2 hours later and back to the van for some lunch, then we did the 'cultrual' part of our journey, a trip out to the Pro Hart Gallery.
After seeing his grave at the cemetery, we thought we owed it to Pro to visit his gallery and see what legacy he had left. Not that I'm into art that much, but I must admit it was quite an interesting gallery with different forms of Pro's art on display. He certainly captured the Australian bush.
Back to reality and a last minute shop before we head out tomorrow up the Sliver City Hwy and then onto Mutawinji NP.
We have been passed this park several times; once on our way from White Cliffs and another time about 13 years ago when we came this way to Cameron Corner. This time it is time to see what it's all about.
Have uploaded a few photos of our trip so far, so check it out in the Photo section of the blog.
Talk soon - bye.
PS - Just tried to upload photos and not happening at present - will try at a later time.

Day 9: Discovering Broken Hill

Today it was off to discover a bit more of Broken Hill we hadn't actually seen before - yes, there is a lot to see in Broken Hill if you really look around.
After a lovey breakfast at the caravan park, of pancakes and hot drink, it was off to experience the 'Big Picture' at the old Mint. An amazing painting made with 9 tonnes of paint that gathers the outback into one surround painting that took over 2 years to complete. Add a little bit of outback red dirt, the odd kangaroo, emu and a couple of very suspect looking snakes and you could swear you were almost in the actual scene, (even the dust storm brought back some very disturbing memories of 5 years ago)!
After this adventure we took to walking the streets, to chase down the Dudley's who were wandering around the Main Street checking out the historical buildings and notorious characters that make up the history of Broken Hill: from Union leaders, to nurses, and opera singers - this place has a plethora of famous people.
Now it was lunchtime so where else would you go for a nice bite to eat and a dip back into a nostalgic past but the Bell's Cafe (circa 1950's). Spiders, milk shakes served in the original milk shake cups with sooooooo many flavours to choose from - yum! I must admit the old marble laminex tables and black and white vinyl tiles took me back to my youth - what a blast.
Home to get the washing off the line from yesterday's effort  and then out to the Living Desert Park to catch a glimpse of what is a wonderful account of desert landscape. Too little time to cover the real aspects of this park before we made our way up to a very cool top of the rocks at the Sculpture Park before the sunset went down. Wine and nibbles always goes well out here and even though some of us have seen this highlight many times before - it seldom disappoints.
Back to camp, time to take over the camp kitchen and .......enough for the day, I'm exhausted - goodnight!

Day 7 &8: Broken Hill

Finally made it into Broken Hill today after spending another day of rest and relaxation at Lake Pamamaroo yesterday.
We did a bit of sight-seeing before we left the lake and discovered down the road from our camp at Lake Pamamaroo, the site where Burke and Wills stayed many years ago. It was here where some of the lead party left the remainder of the company to forge ahead to the north, only they never did return.
I must admit it was a beautiful place with lovely river Red Gums, the river running past ( not sure if it was the Darling or a side tributary).  Would have been a great place to camp for a few days longer but we needed to push on.
Kevin and Linda went fishing, but to no avail except for a ' guppy' Linda classified as a fish!
Paul tried his hand at yabbying but only caught a shrimp even with beautiful sausages to entice the unsuspecting yabbies. All on all a fun day on the waterways with a beautiful sunset to make it almost prefect.
Today we left reasonably early and wound our way across the open plains of Menindee onto the rock that makes Broken Hill famous.
Home of the famous BHP company formed many years ago the place has rich culture to rival any in Australia.
On arrival in 'civilisation' we headed for the laundry and showers to shake the feral-ness from ourselves. A quick run around the shopping centre to pick up essentials like bread and milk and then it was out to dinner at the famous Palace Hotel: home of Pricilla Queen of the Desert fame.
The place is an icon of Broken Hill and has to been seen to be appreciated. The wonderful murals on the walls, the awesome balcony where you can sip a nice red, and the fabulous food they have on offer as an evening meal - it doesn't disappoint.
Once again the evening has slipped by and all are in bed. (See what no campfire does to these people: retreating into their caravans), so till tomorrow and more adventure of the outback  - goodnight.

Day 6: Mud in Menindee

Tonight we are camped on the side of Lake Pamamaroo just outside Menindee. A lovely camp beside the water, with some shady trees and lovely sand under our feet. Bye, bye to mud (for awhile).
We had to wait at Mungo this morning to make sure all roads were open, as we had heard on the early morning radio that Broken Hill had 24 mm of rain over the weekend, a big electrical storm taking out communication to Silverton and some roads were closed into and around the area.
Setting out, after we got the all clear, the road seemed pretty good: even had some dust.
Came to Pooncarrie, and once again roads became an issue. The man who was in charge of the road signs  was on an RDO, but the sign still said closed, what to do?
After a beer in the pub (Barry, Sandra, Kevin and Linda) found out the road really was open so our trek could continue, so continue we did.
First it was red mud, then it turned to grey then throw in some bitumen and to say the road conditions were changing was an understatement. Do we or don't we pump up the tyres?
On the last attempt to solve this quandary, Rob decided to end the discussion and said he'd meet us at the turnoff to the Kinchega NP - BUT - as he was trying to get back onto the main road he ran across the grassy verge only to go axle depth into the mud. All  4 wheels were going around, but Rob wasn't making much ground. Mud was flowing everywhere and the video moments were momentous (to say the least). While the boys pushed and cajoled Rob out of the bog the girls were taking photos as evidence!
After a muddy trail to follow and a few more miles before camp we all headed out onto the road - the normal way.
Well the night is setting in and tea is on the go so I'll sign off  till next time.

Day 4 - 5: Lake Mungo

After traveling out through Mildura, we headed onto the Arumpo Rd towards Lake Mungo. In amongst the rain, mud and a few corrugations, we finally made it into the camp area. Just as we were setting up the camp, down came the rain. It had already rained in this area a few days beforehand so most camp sights we very damp.
A quite afternoon of reading and snoozing as the rain eased was had by most of the crew until the rain eased and we were able to at least get in a small 1 km walk at the back of the camp zone. That night the fire was blazing and so were the stories around the campfire. Kevin put on his "famous" Walter  Brennan impersonation in amongst the goings on.
The next day it was off to the Lake Mungo visitor centre for hopefully a trip around the lake with explanatory radio to tell the story/history of the place but alas, due to the rain the road was blocked and no radio comments. The only place open was the visitor centre, shearing shed and the road to the Great Wall of China. Once again disappointment greeted us as we weren't allowed to walk around the walls (as we previously had in 2008)!
Back at camp the weather was at least clearing and Barry introduced all members to the game of Finska: a cross between skittles and bocce played with wooden pegs. What hijinks were about to unfold as trying to hit these pegs became a game of pure luck, bouncing over pegs, missing ones straight in front etc.
Kevin won the first game and was lining up to take up  the next when Ian Duds, threw an amazing throw to hit the back of the pin he was after, missing another peg by a breath. Some people are "tinny"! Of course Kevin and Ian felt they were in a league of their own and continued with their banter about how good they were all night! (These two need a lesson in how to win gracefully, I tell you)!
A bit of Australian poetry around the campfire and the night was made. Most went to bed early as we were heading out in the morning to Menindee - so goodnight.