Kilcoy to Home

 Sun 9 July – Left the showgrounds at Kingaroy and bought a few things for before driving 111km off the plateau down a steep decent to Kilcoy where we found Judy and Frank, and Annette and Alan set up on a sports field in a beaut spot. We have camped with these guys before and it was good to catch up again. Later in the day it clouded over and Frank had an old gas cylinder converted into a fire pit which we lit. What a great fire which we cooked dinner on. Toasty warm until 8:00pm when we retired to our motorhomes.

Mon 10 July – A cool morning but outside in the sun and soon back in shorts. We were entertained by tree felling at the other side of the camping area where they were pushing huge gums over exposing the roots. Val and I walked up to the town, then spending the rest of the day chatting in the warm sun. Another camp fire in the evening.

Tues 11 July – Another stunning day so we sat around eating lunch, before farewelling our fellow campers and driving a short distance to the Sunshine Coast Hinterlands and Maleny. We have camped in these showgrounds before, very full this time. We walked up into the cute touristy town and had an ice-cream. Back on power as we are much higher than Kilcoy.

Wed 12 July – We continued along the Sunshine Coast Hinterland roads with the great views down to the coast, before descending to Cooroy, another inland tourist town. We stopped at an RV park with about 30 others. We walked up into the town with great antique and junk shops. Heavy rain in the evening.

Thurs 13 July – Rain as we left Cooroy and back on the dual laned Pacific Hwy north to Gympie where it turned into a single lane road. They are planning to have the whole of the M1 dual laned for its entire length. We continued on to Maryborough and stopped at a free camp in the centre of the town. P L Travis, the author of Mary Poppins, was born here and the town celebrates this everywhere. There are also some great old buildings. We walked the main street returning via the river and gardens. Nice to revisit Maryborough.

Fri 14 July – 60kms north on the Pacific Hwy before turning down to the coast at Woodgate. This is a great beach which we have stayed in before. We are booked into a camp for two nights before heading back down the coast to Hervey Bay, our last destination for this trip. A nice sunny day and now very warm as we walked along the beach, first time on the coast since leaving Yuraygir National Park over two weeks ago.

Sat 15 July – A nice sunny day with temps now around 23C. We took our chairs down to the beach for a read and a sit in the sun. In the afternoon we biked the cycle path along the beach for about 10kms. We sat in the shade back at our camp before a walk around this large camp.

Sun 16 July – Very hot in the night. We left Woodgate and drove south to Hervey Bay (pronounce Harvey Bay??) stopping at our storage place (very satisfactory) and did our last shop. Rain set in as we arrived at our camp. Soon cleared, so we walked down to the beach. The camps are all full now with grey nomads from down south. We have booked into here for 4 nights.

Mon 17 July – A sunny day so we biked the coastal path along Hervey Bay for about 11kms passing restaurants, bars, and apartments. We have a nice site with a palm tree shading us. Later in the day we took our chairs down to the beach and had to find some shade.

Tues 18 July – Another sunny day around 23C. A nice ride along the coastal path in the other direction to the Urangan Pier which stretches out into the bay for 1km. It was important in the past for commerce but is now only used by fishermen and tourists. We walked its length watching a few fish being caught. In the afternoon we walked down to the shops for an ice-cream.

Wed 19 July – Pack up day! Val did a huge laundry and I cleaned. Another walk to the shops for a couple of things. After lunch we took our chairs down to the beach and sat in the shade under some trees. This is a nice small camp, we have enquired about their weekly rate and may well end up here again. A bonus is that it has a very nice pool, too cold to try now but could be good, a bit earlier in the year.

Thurs 20 July – An early start (for us) as we have a complicated trip today. We left the camp at 8:10am and drove to the Hervey Bay Caravan Storage 20kms up the road towards Maryborough. The owners were very helpful and “Andy” was soon parked between a couple of containers. Very secure hopefully. We had tried to order an Uber to the Maryborough train station but could not pre-book one so ended up booking a taxi, a much dearer option. We arrived at the station with plenty of time to spare. There is a bus from Hervey Bay but the website was hopeless. Val spoke to the bus driver when it arrived and now knows exactly what we can do next time. A very pleasant 4 hour train ride thru the countryside with different views from the road. Lunch on the train and then an easy transfer to the airport train. We are now thru customs etc and will publish this last blog.

Corindi Beach to Kingaroy

 Wed 28 June – Only a short drive to our next stop so we parked on a headland and had a read before continuing on to a camp at Corindi Beach where we booked in for two nights. This camp is on a bluff overlooking two beaches. We walked along the beach and skirted around the rocks with the tide coming to the second beach. The day warmed up and we enjoyed our sunny site watching the huge kangaroos in the paddock next door.

Thurs 29 June – We walked the beaches in the opposite direction with the tide lower. Nice beaches but a bit rough for swimming. A relaxing afternoon in the sun.

Fri 30 June – We drove the Pacific Hwy north for 80kms and then turned down for 20kms to the coast at Yuraygir National Park. Found our site which is unfortunately quite shady. Booking online gives you no chance to check these things and the camp is full. We are not on power and sat on the site next door in the sun. We went for a walk along the beach and back thru all the camp sites. The camp is slowly filling up as it is now the NSW school holidays.

Sat 1 July – Cold night and cool inside, so porridge for breakfast. Put our warm jackets on and walked up the road to Lake Arragan camp sites. Watched surfers on good waves off the rocks. Followed along the red cliffs back to our shady site. Camp is fully booked so no chance to swap sites. In the afternoon we walked along the beach in the opposite direction for some distance returning thru the camp sites at this end of the park. Quite a cloudy day today.

Sun 2 July – Drove 50kms north on the Pacific Hwy before turning inland for another excursion. We will dodge inland for a week bypassing the Gold Coast and Brisbane. We passed thru Lismore (seems to be recovering from their floods) and camped in a show grounds at the small town of Nimbin. A short walk up into the town. What a surprise! Very alternative, rainbow colours everywhere with businesses offering every imaginable hippie services. Just walking down the street we got offered “Cookies or smokes” and "do you want some marijuana today?" We politely refuse but a real education. The town was like Reefton on a psychedelic high.

Mon 3 July – It rained in the night. We followed a rough and windy country road thru Kyogle and on to a small town at Woodenbong. Now we know where the term “pot” holes originated! Beautiful country however. At one stage a kangaroo bounded out onto the road. I braked and thought I had missed it but it slipped and fell on the wet road and I just managed to swerve around it. A close thing! We stopped in a small, very cheap, community camp and walked back to the small shopping area under threatening skies. The forecast for the next few days is not good.

Tues 4 July – It rained all night and was raining for our 90km drive to the large town of Warwick. The road was an improvement from the last few days. We drove along the NSW/Queensland border in the Border National Park and are now well and truly in Queensland. We camped in the showgrounds, spending the rest of the day inside, as the rain continued. Since we left the coast, three days ago, we have been in a very isolated part of Aussie with only a few tiny towns on our route.

Wed 5 July – We shopped in the town of Warwick before joining the New England Hwy and driving out onto the Darling Downs, a huge flat fertile plain and up to Toowoomba. We have visited Toowoomba a few times so no need for sight seeing. The main reason for this visit is to get an oil change and filter for “Andy” tomorrow. We camped at the showgounds where there was a big Pony Club rally in progress. Sunny but a cool wind.

Thurs 6 July – Off to the “Oil Change Centre” where we left “Andy” and walked to a shopping mall. Val got a hair cut and we had a coffee to fill in time. A short wait when we returned returned to finish the job and then we were on the road for 85kms across the Darling Downs to Dalby. To our surprise the camp was full so lucky we had booked. We walked the main street which was bigger than we had thought. In the early evening we sat around a camp fire while a lady sang. Paul has a good description for her singing!!

Fri 7 July – An 111km drive over a bumpy road climbing out of the Darling Downs and on to Kingaroy where we stayed at the showgrounds with many other grey nomads. Yesterdays clouds had cleared and we sat out in warm sunshine. We will stay here two nights as there is a rail trail we want to bike tomorrow. A short bike ride into town where we went to the visitors centre and got information for our ride tomorrow. There was a museum attached and we were interested in the displays relating to peanut farming big in this area.

Sat 8 July – Another beautiful day with laundry and cleaning this morning before packing our lunch and biking the rail trail which runs for 50km from Kingaroy to Kilkivan. We will not bike the whole thing but did two sections about a total of 25kms. The country was lovely, mainly cultivated paddocks with rich red soil. The peanuts are not planted yet but there was fields of barley. Back at the showgrounds we relaxed in the sunshine and read. Tomorrow we meet up with Judy and Frank at Kilcoy.

NSW Coast - Hunter Valley

 Tues 13 June – It rained in the night (not forecasted). We drove from Toowoon Bay passed two large lakes, Tuggerah Lake and Lake Macquarie. These lakes are linked and also have outlets to the sea. We stayed at a little camp at Carey Bay. After a short walk we sat in the sun on the waterfront and read. I may have mislead you on the price of NSW public transport. We were surprised that we were only charged $1/day. Our credit card had further charges after a few weeks. Still good value however.

Wed 14 June – Only a very short drive to Newcastle, so we drove to the ferry terminal on the Stockton side of the harbour and caught the ferry into the city. We walked along the waterfront passing the huge apartments, bars and restaurants. Our aim was to find the site of the Parthenon Milk Bar on Hunter St (made famous in the song “Don’t you ever let a chance go by”) but it seems it has gone and replaced by a sky-scraper. Newcastle has light rail running the length of the waterfront so we travelled the full ride to the beaches and spied more humpback whales migrating north. We were in Newcastle in 2021 and biked most of the city. It’s a great city (slightly smaller than CHCH). Back to “Andy” on the ferry and to our camp. We booked flights home on July 20 and will store “Andy” at Hervey Bay.

Thurs 15 June – Still great weather as we turned inland for some time in the Hunter Valley. We are now repeating a road trip we did with our kids and the Bodger mob in 1990. Our camp was at the Cessnock Showgrounds. Good to be back to cheap camp fees again!! We biked back into the town and were surprised at its size. A stroll along the main street. We called into the library and a very helpful lady photocopied maps for cycling the wine region.

Fri 16 June – On the road passing many wineries, eventually parking “Andy” and biking a 6km trip with great views. Too early and too expensive to drink however. 

Back on the New England Hwy west out of the wine region and suddenly into dirty open cast coal mines including a coal power station. We camped in the showgrounds at Muswellbrook. A nice sunny site so we relaxed outside.

Sat 17 June – Decided to stay another night here. When it warmed up a bit (frosty morning), we biked into the town with its many old buildings. We stayed here in 1990 but hard to remember where. Another sunny afternoon reading.

Sun 18 June – On the New England Hwy again thru Scone eventually leaving the beautiful Hunter Valley, over the Great Divide (673m) and onto the Liverpool Plains. Our camp for the night was a recreation reserve at the small country village of Willow Tree.

Mon 19 June – Another good frost as we drove 100km to Gunnedah. The Liverpool Plains are very fertile with huge paddocks of corn and cotton. Gunnedah is an agriculture service town. We camped at the Kennel Club, another cheap night! A nice walk to the main street returning via a painted silo.

Tues 20 June – West across the Liverpool plains to Tamworth. We have been in Tamworth several times so no need for extensive exploring. Our camp was out near the Golden Guitar. A cold overcast day and were inside early. We caught the “Pub Bus” down to the Longyard Bar and had drinks and a nice meal. The bus is free and run by 4 pubs in Tamworth - a great service.

Wed 21 June – A 100km run thru the Great Divide on the Oxley Hwy to Walcha. This is the town where we broke down in 2018 and had to catch a train and bus back to Brisbane to get home. It’s a great wee town set high in the Great Divide and we walked around the river banks, with its great sculptures, and the town bringing back memories of our last enforced visit. A lovely sunny day.

Thurs 22 June – Up earlier today as we have 190kms to drive. The first 80kms is on the Great Divide and then a very long winding descent to sea level. A great drive however. We booked a site for two nights at a huge camp on the river at Port Macquarie. I had arranged to meet my cousin, Drusilla Megget, for a drink just along from our camp. It was great to catch up with her as I had not seen her since 1996.

Fri 23 June – Warm and sunny, and breakfast outside, first time for quite a while. A walk up town where we bought a new shower curtain and spied this tree with a jersey.

In the afternoon we biked along the waterfront and beaches. My bikes gears backed up! Spent some time with limited success fixing the problem. Great to be back at sea level with a huge increase in temperatures especially at night.

Sat 24 June – A 80km dash along the Pacific Hwy before turning out to the coast and a camp at Grassy Head. What a great small camp with a short walk to a beautiful beach. We booked for two nights but may extend our time here. Sat on the beach enjoying people watching, reading and the sun. Back at our site, I had another go at fixing my bike and it is now much better.

Sun 25 June – Breakfast in the sun before a walk to another beach to the south. Decided to try and climb the headland back to our beach and ended up bush bashing up a near vertical slope but eventually got onto the headland and back to our beach. Beautiful sea views. More time sitting on the beach in the afternoon. We will stay here another night.

Mon 26 June – A warm sunny day. We walked the length of the beach watching a huge pod of dolphins just outside the breakers. After lunch we even put the awning out and sat with our heads in the shade. Val booked a camp and a National Park for the next few nights. This has been a great spot for 3 nights.

                                       

Tues 27 June – A kookaburra snatched the toast out of my hand at breakfast time. This has happened before a couple of years ago. Cheeky big buggers!! Shopped at Coffs Harbour before finding our camp. Discovered that a bottle of maple syrup had leaked in our food cupboard. Sticky stuff everywhere, what a mess!! Went for a bike ride along the waterfront to the harbour. Val’s bike had started to squeak so had to fix that when we got back. The old Kmart bikes are starting to show their age. Both bikes ok now, hopefully.