Cameron Corner - Mission Accomplished!

Wednesday the 11^th May

This is it. Today’s the day. CAMERON CORNER or bust.

We were all packed and ready to go by 9.00.  We drove up to the NOCCUNDRA Pub and used their showers and toilets, before fuelling up.  The price for diesel was $2.12 per litre.  Dearest we’ve paid so far, but no complaints. They’ve got to get the stuff carted out here. Then we were on the road by 9.30.

13 km out of town the sealed road finished and then we were in for about 230 km of metals roads and dirt tracks. Most of the time the road was about 50 m wide, and of course, flat and straight.  Once we got used to the corrugations and travelling on the metal surface, we were able to get along at an average speed of 75 to 80 kph.

Poor old ‘Know All Nancy’.  Boy, did she fly into a panic.  We had turned her on just to see if she would know where we were.  We soon found out.  “Perform a U-turn and return to the nearest Road” she repeatedly told us.  When we continued to ignore her she went into a sulk, and left us to our own devices.  We just used her for a compass and to show our speed from there on.

For the first 120 odd km we were on a metal surface.  This part of the road was used by Oil Rig Traffic, and in the first 50km we met three Road Trains, all loaded with oil rig equipment. 

We pulled well off the road and waited until they had passed and their dust had blown away, before moving on again.  After about the first 50 km we saw no other traffic. We had the road to ourselves.

After that it was dirt road, and surprisingly this was smoother than the metal, and we were able to continue at the same speed.  What showed on the map as a light dotted line, suggesting a fairly rough track, was in reality almost a superhighway.  We slowed occasionally for patches of Bull Dust, but soon found it was better to maintain the same speed, and charge across the top of them not giving ourselves time enough to sink in.

There would be several kilometres of good surface and then a kilometre or so of ruts and soft sand, then a few low sand hills, and long dead flat areas that had obviously recently been underwater.  In places a new road had been graded around some of these areas, obviously they had become very soft and unsafe to travel over after all the flooding.

There was no sign of any kind of animal life until about 50kms from CAMERON CORNER when we started to see a few Brahman Cattle, and then evidence of cattle having been driven along the road.  We soon came to a bunch of cattle standing at the side of the road, with a few drovers and their horses nearby, having a cup of tea.

We finally got to the CAMERON CORNER Store at about 1.30pm.  It had taken us 4 hours to do the 250km trip, far quicker than we had imagined.  Cameron had been given the honour of sitting in the front passenger’s seat for the entire trip, and as we pulled up in front of the store I looked over at him to see what his reaction would be.  His face was lit up like a kid seeing all the presents under a Christmas tree for the first time, and he had a grin from ear to ear.

Needless to say he was first in the door, and before very long the four customers at the bar, and the owners of the store were fully acquainted with the reason for our visit. From then on whenever a new customer came into the pub the owners would introduce Cameron by saying, “And this is Cameron, the guy that the Store was named after’.  Cameron was lapping it up, and before long everybody was referring to him as ‘Cameron the guy the store was named after’.  I should point out that although it is called the Cameron Corner Store, it would be more accurate to describe it as a pub that sells a few groceries.

We had a few beers, and asked where we could put our tent up for the night.  They told us there were a couple of areas over the sound hills about half a kilometre away, available for camping, and we could pitch our tent anywhere we liked.  Just follow the Dingo fence and you will be right. We were also told there were toilets and showers available by the pub. $3.00 for a shower.  We arranged to come back for dinner later, then went off to pitch camp.

Before going to the camp area we went and had a look at the survey marker which is actually the point the Store is named after.  The Survey  Marker is a round concrete post which marks the intersections of the boundaries of the three states of New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia. 

This point was established in the early 1800’s by the Surveyor John CAMERON.  Hence the name of CAMERON CORNER.  The boundary marker itself is about 150m away from the pub.  The dingo Fence, which is the longest fence in the world, follows the state boundaries, and runs close by the marker.

After checking out the boundary marker, we drove down alongside the Dingo Fence

and over the first sand dune to find a huge wide flat valley, probably about 100 acres in size that was to be our camp ground for the night.  We followed the track for a bit and found a nice flat sandy area and pitched the tent. 

Cameron had occasionally asked if he could drive the car when we had been on dirt tracks, and as a special treat we decided he could drive us from our tent site back to the pub for tea.

Well, talk about being confident, we hardly had to say anything. Seat belt on, start the car, hand brake off, into gear and away we go.  He could hardly see over the dash board, but could obviously see enough.  Along the track, up over the sand dune, across the carpark and up to the front door of the pub.  No problems.  Another huge smile on his face, and of course: “Can I drive us back to our tent after tea?”  At long last, our dream come true, a sober driver for us.

A few more beers, and another lot of customers being introduced to, ‘the guy who the store was named after’.  Then it was into the dining room for tea.  A lot of the talk at the bar was about the current mice plague the whole of the south west corner of Queensland was experiencing.  And there was plenty of evidence.  They were everywhere.  While waiting for our dinner to arrive we were entertained by their antics, scurrying around where ever you looked.

Never the less the food was great, and very reasonably priced.  After dinner our chauffeur very ably drove us back to camp in the dark.  Before going to bed, we took time out to stare in wonder at the huge night sky sparkling above us.  Absolutely breathtaking stuff.  Money just can’t buy this sort of thing.   

We had no sooner settled in to bed when the mice started exploring our tent. Scratching and slithering up and over it as well as trying to chew their way in.  We finally gave up and went to sleep wondering how much damage we would find in the morning.

We all woke with a start when the pub generator fired up with a hiss and a roar at 6.30am.  Even though we were nearly a kilometre away and hidden by a sand dune, it sounded as though it was just outside the tent.  They hadn’t warned us about that.  We lay in bed watching the silhouettes of the last of the mice scurrying over the tent, then crawled out to a brilliantly crisp, clear, outback early morning, and watched in awe as the sun rose over the sand dunes. Again the sort of thing that money just can’t buy.

While we were cooking breakfast two emus came over the sand dunes alongside the Dingo Fence.  When they saw our car and tent they flew into a panic and started dashing backwards and forwards along the fence trying to find a way through.  We were all in hysterics watching them.  Our estimations of their intelligence going to an even greater low.  Cameron wandered down towards them to try and get some photos, and they finally took off back in the direction they had come.

Cameron came back some time later greatly excited.  He had been standing down beside the Dingo Fence when a kangaroo came bounding up towards him from the other side.  It finally stopped just on the other side of the fence, and he was able to get some great photos of it.  He said he got a hell of a fright when he first saw it, because he thought it was a dingo coming for him.  Luckily he had the presence of mind to stand still and as a result got these photos.

After breakfast we packed up the tent and went back to the pub, Cameron driving of course.  We signed their visitors book and bought a few souvenirs, including two hat pins this time.  Then it was time to start the return journey.  Cameron wanted to drive again, and seeing as this was a special treat, we decided he could drive for the first kilometre or two.  We felt it was pretty safe as there was of course absolutely no other traffic about, and the track literally ran through a huge flat paddock with no fences ditches or anything else that could be a hazard.  So we piled a couple of towels on the seat to give him better vision, and set off. 

Had we made an error of judgement? Will we meet an unexpected fate?  Will we all die at the hands of a maniac 9 year old power crazy racing driver?  Will a huge Road Train roar around the corner on the wrong side of the road and wipe us out?  Will ‘Know All Nancy’ finally get her revenge and send us all off into the desert to be lost forever?  Only time will tell.  Be sure to tune in for the next episode.



To Noccundra

Tuesday 10^th May

We were away from CUNNAMULLA by about 9.30 am.  The road from CUNNAMULLA to EULO, about 66 km, was basically the same as what we had travelled the last couple of days.  After EULO it narrowed down to a single lane of seal running down the middle of the road with wide metal verges. 

We realised that if we met any oncoming traffic, we would be best to pull over and stop.  We only had to do this three times between EULO and NOCCUNDRA, a distance of about 290 km.  That’ll give you an idea of how little traffic we saw. One of these times was for a Road Train. Meeting them can be a danger, because if they have to move over onto the metal verge, they can shower you with rocks as they roar past.  Luckily, we were so far off the road he didn’t have to get onto the gravel, so there was no problem.

Most of the way we were driving through very scrubby waste land. We saw heaps of Emu’s close to the road, and on one occasion had a firsthand view of just how stupid these birds can be. 

We had just entered a straight of about 5 km long and saw a truck entering it from the other end.  As we drew closer to each other, I saw an Emu close to our side of the road.  He was quietly picking at grass or whatever, and seemed completely unconcerned about the vehicles approaching from either side.  It was obvious the truck was going to pass him first, and just as the truck got to him, the stupid bloody Emu decided it would be an ideal time to run across the road.  We were about 200 m from him at this stage, and it looked for certain that he would become another road kill, but somehow he made it across.  I’ll bet he was minus a few tail feathers though.

We also saw our first two wild pigs today, both close beside the road.  The further west we travelled the drier the land got and the scrub started to give way to bare land and rough grass.  We got to THARGOMINDAH at about 12.00 and fuelled up before heading on to NOCCUNDRA, about 145 km away. It was from THARGOMINDRA that we had originally planned to go down through the BULLOO STATION to CAMERON CORNER but the floods had well and truly put paid to this.  The lady at the THARGOMINDAH Petrol Station told us that they didn’t expect that track to be open for about another 12 to 15 months. While we were getting petrol, Christel also grabbed a 2L bottle of milk out of the fridge.  When the lady rang it up on the till we saw it had cost us $10.00.  That’s a rough NZ equivalent of $13.50. Ouch.  

Soon after leaving THARGOMINDAH we started getting into hilly rocky country, and stopped on one rise with a great view of the surrounding countryside to have lunch. We could see for miles in every direction, and tried taking pictures to capture the scene, but they didn’t do it justice. It was quite eerie stopped on the side of the road with the only sound being the wind whistling through the grass and few scrubby trees.  One car went past while we were stopped, the only thing to disturb the peace. 

Between THARGOMINDAH and NOCCUNDRA we literally had the road to ourselves.  By looking at the map we could see we were going through one of the least populated areas we had travelled through so far, with only one cattle station for the entire 120 km. The landscape gradually got more and more desolate, and we could see why no one lived out there. 

Even the stupid Emus apparently had enough brains to keep away from it, as we suddenly stopped seeing them. We were absolutely fascinated by the stark harshness of the place.  This was more like the Australia we had come to see.

We pulled up outside the NOCCUNDRA Pub at about 3.30 pm, and wandered in for a beer or two.   NOCCUNDRA is shown in the statistics as having a population of 4.  It comprises of two main buildings, the pub and a hall.  Clustered around the pub are the usual outbuildings, comprising a shed with fuel pumps, and a couple of other sheds, one housing their generator.  An airstrip ran along the back of the pub and the hall, with a small Cessna parked out of the wind beside the hall.

The pub is built out of sandstone and looks every bit as old as it is.  Again, great back country pub atmosphere.  We knew there was a free camping area beside the NOCCUNDRA waterhole and checked with the publican about using it.  No problems just drive down and find yourself a posse.  There are showers and toilets beside the pub for campers to use, for the price of a donation to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

 We also asked about storing the caravan while we went out to CAMERON CORNER.  The publican told us it would be quite safe down at the waterhole, as only travellers like ourselves ever came near the place.  We are too far away for the bad guys to bother us, he said.

We were soon set up beside the waterhole. Very similar to the NINDIGULLY camp, but not as picturesque, and quite a bit further away from the pub.  Never mind, I think we will be able to survive.  We had no sooner set up camp and other campers came over to make themselves known, and to let us know there were yabbies as big as crayfish in the waterhole, and they were catching them by the bucket full. 

Unfortunately we weren’t able to chuck our net in because we had to pack the car ready for our trip to CAMERON CORNER.  Never mind we would try our luck when we got back. The rest of the afternoon was spent packing ready for CAMERON CORNER.  Two other lots of campers were also heading that way tomorrow, one towing a van, and the other in a house bus.  We began to wander if we should be taking our van down as well, but decided to stick with our original plan of taking the tent.

The bird life around the waterhole was amazing, with Pelicans, Herons, Cranes, several varieties  of ducks, Bitterns, several kinds of hawks,  and numerous other unknown species all making their home there.  The Cranes and Herons looked especially graceful gliding across the water, and we spent some time just on dusk quietly watching them saw backwards and forwards.  Lying in bed that night we heard a Barking Owl doing his thing.  Instead of hooting like a normal owl, this guy goes woof woof, and sounds just like a small dog barking.

Cunnamulla

Saturday 7^th May Cont.

The chips and gravy were great, and after lunch we spent the afternoon just enjoying the peace and quiet beside the river, occasionally making the effort to wander over to the pub for another beer. Then it was time for tea and bed.  Tomorrow we would have to make the effort and move on.

Sunday 8^th May.

We reluctantly packed up and rolled away from the NINDIGULLY Pub at about 9.30am.  We planned to travel only as far as ST GEORGE, about 45 km away, and book into a motor camp there.  We had been free camping for 3 nights and it was time to do some washing. Again the same sort of road with heaps of cotton waste along the sides, and the only traffic was the huge trucks loaded with cotton bales.



We got to ST GEORGE just after 10.00am, and booked into the motor camp.  Christel immediately did a load of washing, then after lunch we had a drive around town, got some groceries, and fuelled up ready for the long run to CUNNAMULLA tomorrow.

Monday 9^th May.

We left the camp at about 9.30am then drove a couple of kilometres down the road to have a look at a place called ‘The Unique Egg’.   Someone at the camp had told us we should visit it before we left town.  It is a collection of engraved Emu Eggs all done by one bloke. There must have been a couple of hundred engraved eggs on display, all with lights inside them.  It was absolutely stunning. 

Apparently the emu egg is the only one in the world that has ten layers to its shell.  Each layer is a different shade of green, and by carefully scrapping off one layer at a time you can get the different shades of green to show through. With a light inside the effect is stunning.  Add to this the fantastic designs he puts on each egg and you get the picture.  We took some photos but unfortunately they don’t do it justice.

Then it was on the road west heading for CUNNAMULLA, just under 300km away.  More of the same as far as the road went, long straights, rough surfaces, bush either side, with the odd kangaroo, emu and goat to spot as we sped past.  We had been told to look out for wild pigs as well, but the only ones we saw, along with many kangaroos and the odd emu, were road kill, victims of the Road Trains no doubt.  We saw no more than about 20 cars and trucks for the entire 300km trip.

Three hours after leaving ST GEORGE, we rolled into CUNNAMULLA

 and found our motor camp, just ahead of about 6 other vans, all looking for a site.  Luckily there was room for everyone.  After setting up camp and a quick bite to eat, we drove into town to check out the Information Centre and also to see the ‘Cunnamulla Fella’.  

This is a bronze statue of a swagman which featured in Cameron’s DVD of Roothy’s trip to Cameron Corner.  For Cameron this was a highlight, actually seeing and touching the same statue that Roothy had done in his DVD.  Needless to say many photos had to be taken, especially of Cameron posing with the statue EXACTLY the way Roothy had done.

Speaking of CAMERON CORNER, great news.  The guy at the Information Centre rang someone for us, and came back with the information (as you would at an Information Centre), that the road we planned to take to get in there was ‘currently’ open.  Unfortunately all other roads from the Corner are still closed, so our plans to make a round trip from NOCCUNDRA, out to The Corner, then on to INNAMINCKA and the BURKE AND WILLS DIG TREE, then back to NOCCUNDRA, will have to be cancelled.  Never mind, at long last it looks like we will get to CAMERON CORNER.

Tomorrow we will try and get from here to NOCCUNDRA, a distance of about 340kms.  Whether or not we make it in one day will depend on the Road Conditions.  Watch this space.

Nindigully

Wednesday 4^th May

An ordinary day with school work and chores taking up the morning, and another visit to the Warwick Aquatic Centre in the afternoon.  Again we had the whole place virtually to ourselves.  Then it was home for tea and bed.  Tomorrow we will start our journey west towards CUNNAMULLA.

Thursday 5^th May.

After school work we were on the road by 10.30am.  We headed south-east on the Cunningham Highway, and after 110km reached INGLEWOOD.  Naturally we had been looking forward to getting to another INGLEWOOD.  We were a little disappointed with what we found.  Just a very small town spread along the highway.  Nothing to write home about at all.

We have been in the habit of buying hat badges whenever we can and were hoping to add INGLEWOOD to the list, but unfortunately they didn’t have anything available.  Finally we had to settle for a fridge magnet.  We bought a pie each from the Inglewood Bakery, (Not a patch on Nelsons), and sat on picnic tables watching the huge semi trailers rattle through town on their way from the outback to the coast.

After lunch we continued on the Cunningham Highway to GOONDIWINDI where we fuelled up before continuing on towards ST GEORGE.  We stopped for the night at a free camping spot in the sports grounds at a small place called TALWOOD.

Friday 6^th May

On the road again after the usual morning’s school work.  We were hoping today to get as far towards CUNNAMULLA as we could.  On the way we wanted to stop in at a dot on the map called NINDIGULLY.  We had been told by several people that it was well worth calling in there to visit the pub which was reputed to be the oldest in QUEENSLAND, and also served fantastic burgers.  Naturally we wanted to taste their beer as well.

The road was 2 lane but fairly narrow and the surface was pretty rough, however with so little traffic about we could straddle the white line where it was a bit smoother, and cruised along at about 95km.  The sides of the road were again strewn with cotton, and about the only traffic we met were huge semi trailers loaded with cotton bales.  With the long straights we had plenty of time to move over for them.

We got to NINDIGULLY at about 11.30am, just in time for a beer before lunch.  What a fantastic place.  Just a pub in the scrub beside a stream.  Check out their web site http://nindigully.com/ and related websites to find out more.

A real old building, with the original wooden verandah running around it.  The L-shaped bar was made out of two huge slabs of Red Gum, and the walls covered with memorabilia. A real outback Australian Pub, with heaps of atmosphere. We loved it. Naturally one schooner of 4X lead to another, and then it was lunch time. 

They had photos of their legendary burgers on the menu.  Known as ‘Road Train Burgers’, they are said to be the biggest burgers in Australia. They literally took up a whole dinner plate and were a good 100mm high.  They said each burger would feed between 4 and 6 hungry men.  We later saw one which four blokes had ordered.  They were as amazed by the size of it as we were, and were taking photos of it.  We got in on the act and also took a couple of photos. 

Believe me, you’ve got to see these monsters, to believe it.

I ordered a steak sandwich for lunch, but only managed to eat half of it.  I had the other half for tea that night.  We were enjoying the pub and its surroundings so much we decided to stay the night, so joined the close to 30 or so other caravanners and found ourselves a spot among the trees down by the river, about 100 meters from the pub.  

 There is about 10 hectares of ground along the river bank, and you just drive down under the trees, find yourself a spot, and set up. The owners of the pub allow campers free use of their toilets and showers in exchange for you buying a few beers and perhaps a meal.  A brilliant arrangement and a win-win situation for everyone.

After setting up camp, we chucked the yabbie net in the river then wandered back to the bar for another 4X.  Cameron made friends with the publican’s dog, and they spent their time chasing each other, and a ball, in and out of the bar, and around the beer garden.  With the beautiful sunny weather, idyllic surroundings, free camping, fishing, and fantastic food and beer at your doorstep, this might be as far around Australia as we get.

Later in the afternoon, we pulled the yabbie net and found we had caught about a dozen yabbies of assorted sizes.  We kept the largest six, threw the rest back, and then chucked the net back in for the night.

We found out at the bar that the Kiwis were playing the Kangaroos that night, and they would be showing the game in the bar, so we decided that after tea we would have to go back to the bar and stir up the locals by cheering for the Kiwis. We had one other expat Kiwi to support us, but were outnumbered by about 10 to 1. Unfortunately the Kiwis lost so we quietly snuck back to our van.

Saturday 7^th May.

We woke to another beautiful day.  First on the agenda was the yabbie net.  Only two this morning but both good sized ones.  We were planning to head towards CUNNANMULLA again as soon as we had packed, but very soon fell in to ‘NINDIGULLY Mode’, and after a very short debate decided, ‘what the hell’, we love it here, let’s stay another day.  So that’s what we did.

So, here I am, sitting under the awning looking out through the trees to the river, and listening to the birds, while I type the blog.  Absolute Heaven.  Cameron is amusing himself exploring along the river or chatting to the neighbours, and Christel’s got her nose in a book.  The stress is unbearable so we have decided to head over to the pub for another 4X or 2 and to try out their famous chips and gravy for lunch. 

See you later.

Gold Coast

Wednesday 27th April (Cont)

After setting up camp we made our customary trip to the Information Centre.  We also had to do some grocery shopping and had a look around the shops.  The Art Gallery adjacent to the Information Centre had a display called ‘Box World’. 

This was a model city covering an area about 10m by 10m and everything was made from recycled rubbish.  It was absolutely amazing with incredible detail. About the only thing we saw not made from something that had been recycled were the toy cars and trucks on the streets.   We found out that WARWICK had an Indoor heated Swimming Pool and decided we would visit that tomorrow.

Thursday 28th April.

This morning it was washing and other chores about camp.  I had bought some shade cloth at a reject shop, (very cheap of course), and cut that to size to hang from our awning.  We had been told we would need it when we got further north.  We had also blown one of our outside lights on the caravan, and had finally found a matching bulb, so that was repaired.  We then went into town for a visit to the heated pool.  A complex not quite as big as New Plymouth’s Aquatic Centre with a 25 m swimming pool, a couple of toddlers pools, and a river, which is a circular channel about a meter deep with water flowing around it.  There were only 2 other people there for the whole two hours we were there.  Very relaxing. Then it was back to camp for dinner and to prepare the van for storage before heading off to Ron and Leanne’s tomorrow.

Friday 29^th April.

After parking the van in storage we headed north out of town for 10 km on the New England Highway, and then north east on the Cunningham Highway towards IPSWICH.  We crossed over the Great Dividing Range through a place called CUNNINGHAMS GAP, and continued on to a small place called FASSIFERN about half way between WARWICK and IPSWICH.  The road over the Great Dividing Range was nothing more than about going over half of Mt Messenger, if that makes sense.

At FASSIFERN we turned east, soon passing through BOONAH, and then on to BEAUDESERT, where we stopped for lunch.  We had travelled much of this road on our last visit to the Gold Coast. From there we continued to CANUNGRA and MT TAMBORINE before dropping down to NERANG where we hit the Pacific Highway. From there it was a short run down to Ron and Leanne’s at REEDY CREEK where we arrived at about 1.30pm.

We had rung Ron when we got to NERANG, and he came home from his work and let us into the house.  Christel quickly rang Joe and Riet.  What a surprise for them when they found out where we were.  Leanne arrived home with Luke and Kyle at about 3.00pm, and within minutes the three boys had picked up from where they had left when they last saw each other in July 2009.  Naturally the swimming pool was quickly on the agenda.

Saturday 30^th April

We all spent a lazy day catching up, and then in the evening, Ron Luke and I went to a Rugby League match being held at the nearby Robina Stadium.  The Gold Coast ‘Titans’ playing the Sydney ‘Roosters’.  Luckily the local team won. A fantastic New Stadium with a wonderful atmosphere.  A Roosters fan sitting a couple of rows behind us, was particularly passionate about his team, and quite scathing about the local team, especially while the Roosters were winning. He was starting to get on everyone’s wick, but was so wrapped up in the game he was completely unaware of the spectacle he was making of himself.  As the game went on and the local team started to dominate, he got quieter and quieter.  When we looked around at the end of the game to see if he was still there, he was hunched right down in his seat.  A picture of absolute humiliation and misery.   Oh Dear. How Sad. Never Mind.

While we were enjoying the league, the girls took Kyle and Cameron to see the movie “Rio”, which they all thoroughly enjoyed.   Ron and Leanne’s new neighbours are the parents of Stan Walker who won last year’s ‘Australian Idol’, and has since gone on to make quite a name for himself as a singer.  There was great excitement among the kids when he turned up to visit his parents next door.

Sunday 1^st May

We decided to take a drive through the TAMBORINE  NATIONAL PARK and stop off for lunch at a Hotel Ron and Leanne had heard about called the Bearded Dragon.  A beautiful setting with excellent food and facilities, including a live band and playground for the kids.  Obviously a very popular spot for Gold Coastites with lots of people coming and going.  Several classic and beautifully restored cars called in as well as motorbikes of all shapes and sizes.

After lunch we watched a Live Reptile Show, which included a Bearded Dragon,

a Shingle Back Lizard, a Long necked Turtle, a Python and a Brown Snake, which is one of Australia’s deadliest, and last of all of course a crocodile.  The kids got to stroke and touch everything except the brown Snake of course.

Monday 2ndMay

Another beautiful Australian morning.  Today QUEENSLAND celebrates Labour Day, so it was a holiday for everyone.  We decided to go to nearby BURLEIGH HEADS beach for breakfast and a swim.  While eating breakfast we watched all the beautiful people strutting their stuff in their designer running gear, pushing the latest design baby buggy , or riding the latest model exercise bicycles, or scooters.  All very trendy and artificial.

After breakfast the girls went for a walk along the beach, Ron tried out the surf on his board, and the boys and I had a swim or played in the sand.   Then it was back home for lunch and a lazy afternoon.  Leanne’s parents, Jim and Isobel, called round for afternoon tea, and it was great to catch up with them again.  They were very interested in our travels as Jim had spent some time in the outback, and was familiar with the areas we would be travelling through.  He even went home and got a book about the outback, for us to take on our travels.  Thank you Jim, but I don’t know when you will see your book again.

Tuesday 3^rd May.

This morning it was back to school and work for the Van Belois family, and after fond farewells we loaded up the Pajero and headed north on the Pacific Highway towards BRISBANE.  We were going to see Pat Broadmore for a quick visit, before heading back out to our Caravan at WARWICK.  Pat lives at NORTH LAKES, a brand new suburb on the northern outskirts of Brisbane.  We had rung her earlier to get her address which we then programmed in to Know-All Nancy.  Remember her?  Our trusty SATNAV.

Wonderful Nancy.  We sat back while she cheerfully guided us through BRISBANE, avoiding Toll Roads just like we asked her, and into the rabbit warren of streets that make up the newly developed housing settlement called North Lakes.  If we inadvertently missed a turn off, Nancy quickly recalculated a new route, and before we knew it we arrived at Pat’s front door.  One thing’s for sure, we would never have found you Pat without Nancy’s help.

We had a lovely lunch and catch up with Pat, and then all too soon it was time to go.  We wanted to get back to WARWICK before dark, and knew we had a good 3 hours travel ahead of us.

Storm clouds were gathering, and thunder rattling overhead, as we said goodbye to Pat, programmed WARWICK into Nancy, and faithfully followed her back to the Bruce Highway, and into BRISBANE.  Heading west out of BRISBANE towards IPSWICH, we could see huge thunderstorms all around us.  We got caught up in some major road works near IPSWICH and caught the edge of some of the storms, but nothing much. We later heard from Leanne that we had just missed some spectacular storms which caused damage and power outages to parts of the Gold Coast.

Once clear of IPSWICH we headed south west on the Cunningham Highway rejoining our route out to the Gold Coast at FASSIFERN. Then it was on to WARWICK where we arrived just on dark.  Our caravan was just as we had left it, and we soon had ourselves set up and tea cooking.

Tomorrow we will stay here and catch up on groceries etc, and it would also be the start of Christel and Cameron’s second school term.  Then on Thursday we would pack up and start our trek back out west towards CUNNAMULLA, and hopefully CAMERON CORNER.

Towards Warwick

Just when you were wondering whether or not we were still alive, here we are again.  We have a good reason for not writing for a while and I’ll try and explain it as briefly as possible.

We had always intended to travel up through the inland parts of New South Wales and Queensland, and of course visit CAMERON CORNER on the way.  However, because the flood waters kept disrupting our plans, we began to think about the possibility of going out to the GOLD COAST to visit Christel’s brother Ron and his family.

We rang Ron and Leanne and arranged to spend the weekend of 30^th April and 1^st and 2^nd May with them.  Christel decided it would be a nice surprise for her mum and dad if she rang her from there, so our arrangements had to be hush-hush.  Consequently we had to slow the blog down and tell a few little porkies in order to surprise Riet and Joe.  See all the trouble you made us go?  We decided we would make our way slowly across towards the GOLD COAST, taking the caravan as far as WARWICK where we would store it, while we visited Ron and Leanne.

However that is all over with now, so we can continue our journey where we left off, which was on Monday the 25^th, and we had been enjoying the sights at NARRABRI.

Tuesday 26^th April

This morning we left NARRABRI and headed north for 100km to the town of MOREE where we turned east for 140 KM through WARRIALDA and on to INVERELL where we stayed the night. 

From the Information Centre we found out that INVERELL had a Transport Museum which was highly recommended, so we spent the afternoon there.  A brilliant museum, where Cameron went berserk with his camera, taking over 140 photos.  They had several vintage cars there which were the only known examples of their kind still in existence.

  The display also included push bikes, motorbikes, prams and a huge collection of very life like dolls which a local lady had made.

Unfortunately the visit was spoilt a bit for me by the overzealous volunteer, who insisted on accompanying me around and giving me a 5000 word dissertation on everything I stopped to look at.  To say this bloke knew his stuff and was keen to share it would be like saying there isn’t much sand in the desert. 

He knew everything about everything.  If I stopped to look at an old car, I immediately learnt who built it, when they built it, why they built it, how they built it, where they built it, how many they made, why they made that many, why they didn’t make any more, who its first owner was, why he bought it, when he bought it, how many miles he did in it, how many cylinders it had, how much power each cylinder could produce at so many revs per minute, how long the stroke was, the size of the bore, I guess you’re getting the idea.  The bastard just wouldn’t leave me alone.

Christel came along, took one look, burst out laughing, and buggered off leaving me at his mercy. The traitor.  Even my silent screams for help behind this guy’s back did nothing to persuade her to come to my rescue.  We finally ran out of the building with this guy running along behind still giving a commentary on everything we ran past.

So if you ever get to INVERELL and want to visit the car museum take my advice and ring first and find out if Richard is rostered to work that day.

Wednesday 27^th April.

We packed up early and left INVERELL before Richard had a chance to find out where we were staying, and came and gave us some information about our caravan.  We had to be in WARWICK by Thursday night, where we had arranged to leave the caravan while we shot over to the GOLD COAST to visit Ron and Leanne.

From INVERELL we travelled east for 70 km to GLEN INNES

and then turned north towards WARWICK about 170 km away. We stopped for lunch in the lovely old town of TENTERFIELD where they make the best pies in Australia. 

Shortly after leaving TENTERFIELD we crossed the NSW / Queensland border. That would be the last we would see of NSW on this trip.

We arrived in WARWICK at about 2.30pm and soon found the motor camp we had contacted and arranged to store our van.  By a strange coincidence we found that it was the same motor camp we had stayed at when we were last in Australia in July 2009, and did a trip from Ron and Leanne’s, out to TOOWOOMBA, down to WARWICK and back to Ron and Leanne’s.