After a lovely tea of some excellent steak given to us from Broderick up the road, we settled in now watch the Coronation Concert (after a bit of mucking around to tune into the station)

Came through Condobolin, which was Mums birthplace.

They have a spectacular collection of cars coming into Condobolin, we spent ages there last year so we didn’t stop there this time ( this only shows a very small portion of it - it goes for ages to the left) And they are doing heaps of infrastructure there at the moment.

Our camp at the back of the Tullamore Hotel

The back view of the pub ( that’s not our van by the way)

The bar and plentiful patrons

Tea was huge for Brian, mine was a deconstructed chicken burger so I was very comfortable with it.,

Cotton crops, not very high but very level.

Part of the processing plant. We were amazed to see how they roll them into big rolls. They outer coverings are all different colours- maybe different colours for different grades??

Again we went on several back roads which were fairly good. Had a couple of rough patches but we didn’t have much traffic at all

Stopped for lunch at Coonamble at a little stop next to the information centre

Cosy little place, not very clean though

All tucked up in the shade

This speaks for itself, maybe the Darla should be changed to Susan!!

The silo going out of the rest area had birds painted over it

Got to the Bore Baths about 2pm - Brian had a little rest then we went for a swim. It was very warm but quite soothing. Brian got into a conversation with ‘a know it all, I’ve done everything man’ - there’s always one where ever you go

Quiet tea, then early to bed. I read for a while as I have 4 books lined up from the library and I’m not reading much. I’d better hurry up a bit I think

When we left home I put my Ugg boots on at the last minute. I’ve found them to be fantastic with keeping my feet warm - I can actually walk as soon as I get out of the car. It’s getting a bit warm now so they have now been replaced with thong’s unfortunately

11th May

Had a sleep in as we don’t have to be at Ana’s until lunchtime. Nice to have a bit of quiet time.

Jimmy is ringing trying to get us to go to the dam earlier but we have another 10 days before we are supposed to be there. We have things we want to do before we get there as we will be unlikely to be in this area again. So he’ll just have to wait.

Only had to go about 42kms to Ana & Jeremy’s but that took us a while as the road was very flood damaged and then when we turned of the main road we were on very corrugated dirt road for about 10kms, so going was very slow. Got to the house and Jeremy was home. Brian then realised his bit of pipe he uses for the sway bars had fallen off so the boys have gone back to see if they can find it on the road. ( No luck finding the pipe, lucky he had a spare🤣)

The boys went off in the truck doing boys stuff so I finally got to finish one of my books, only 3 to go. The dogs ( Cavaliers) and kittens kept me company. Ana came home about 4pm with their youngest Percy. Their eldest son is in boarding school in Sydney. We fed the horses, dogs and cats. Ana is an equestrian coach so her horses are pretty top notch.

Ana & Jeremy.

Percy

We lit the \240fire pit and had a couple of drinks around that. The day had been beautiful but it got very cool in the evening.

Nice big fire

Brian & Ana

And again

Jeremy cooked up some chops ( home grown) and sausages on the BBQ which we ate inside.

They have to go to Sydney tomorrow to see Toby so we called it a night about 10 pm

The big pool,that was incredibly hot

Brian cooling off in the ‘cooler’ pool having a chat naturally

Some information re the baths

On the way back I scooted along and reached 18km per hour. When we got home I said to Brian I had the wheel wobbles so my extra handy husband tightened a few things and everything now seems much more secure. Had a few rides around the park but we’ll go for another one tomorrow and I’ll see how it is. I am very impressed with my scooter and just love it. 💕💕💕💕 Brian can’t keep me off it.

Chicken Kiev for tea and now watching Essendon hopefully beat Brisbane Lions.

We stopped for a coffee which was actually quite nice.

Not a very good selfie. ,!!🍾🥂

This is what Brian couldn’t eat, although he did struggle through a bit more

There were lots of interesting artwork on the walls of the club which I thought were very interesting, all local work.

Came back to the van for a little nanny nap. After that we had a drive around.

Went out the road to see Stanley The Emu. He was built by a local artist & stands 18 metre high, crafted from old VW Beetles & satellite dishes atop steel girders. It was originally meant to go to Birdsville but it was too big and expensive to transport so it stayed in Lightning Ridge ( about 10kms out of town on the highway)

Bit hard \240to see it properly

Leaving tomorrow so packed up a fair bit tonight.

Light tea and early to bed.

Big Al gave us an idea of what happens from when the cattle are bought to the saleyards, the pens where they are held, the auctioneering, the weighing and total price per beast & the final pens before they are picked up by transports to deliver them to their new homes.

In the pens waiting for the auctioneer

Pens were a bit muddy as we had heaps of rain last night.

Just waiting their fate !!! Although this market was a store market & not a buyers market which means most of these animals were going to farms or feedlots and not to the slaughterhouse.

The buyers.

The auctioneers, in the striped shirts, \240and his pencilers. They spoke so fast it was hard to understand them

Going through the weighbridge.

More sorting - majority of the workers were female and Big Al was saying that they start at 6am and don’t finish until sometimes in the wee hours of the next morning, without hardly a break. They must have good bladders!!

The trucks on the wash bay, 3 at a time. Takes about 4 hours to wash one truck and trailers.

Had a quick cuppa before we left, my hip was hurting a great deal from standing for so long. A sit down helped.

Went into town and bought some more more hinges for the door as the others weren’t looking real flash.

Bought a Scrabble set at KMart, I’m going to try and get Brian interested in something other than TV. Went to Toyworld first but discovered their sets were exactly double in price, so KMart got the sale.

Onto Woolies to do our first shop since we’ve left home. Didn’t need a great deal but we had run out of a few things, especially veges and fruit. Plus I wanted to buy a small pork roast for Brian’s birthday on Thursday.

After lunch, we had a bit of a look around, saw Roma’s largest bottle tree.( that was really exciting !!!) We thought we’d go to a museum that had a display of old farm artefacts but they wanted $20 per person admission and we decided we probably had most of what they had, at home. So we gave that one a miss.

Found out that Pete was staying at the Gun Club, he’s been at the dam with Jim & Jan for the last week, so we went around and had a couple drinks with him.

Home for tea and TV.

Tomorrow we’ll go for a ride in the bikes as it’s supposed to be a clear day. Today we still had bits of showers

All set and ready to go

Pete had given us a couple cards for free coffee in a cafe in town so we used them. Didn’t end up really free as Brian bought a sausage roll and I had a g/f peppermint slice which was bloody beautiful,

As we rode down the street I saw a barber, so we went back but she was too busy at that time- we’ll go back later.

Back to the van for a little rest, then decided to go to the Big Rig tour. It was $18 each( pensioner discount!!) but was quite informative about how gas was discovered and how it was finally contained.

How the gas gas formed through the different levels from different ages.

Big Red - and it is very high

And again

We had the option to walk 13 stories up Big Red or take the lift, after much thought - ha ha , we decided to take the lift. This was the view from the top

Coming down the various levels

On level 2 there was a Treetop walk which was quite pleasant

The treetop walk

From there we rode back into town where Brian finally got his haircut.

Starting to get cool so headed back to the van

Beautiful setting here

Note bad site, no grass though

Glamping \240tent with tank ensuite, looked nice

Plenty of natives around

Brian finishing up his birthday Roast Pork

Tomorrow we will tackle one or two of the walks.

The mother of the child!!

Brian relaxing after his walk today

If my leg is still playing up tomorrow we may leave a day early and head for Emerald. I’ll see in the morning.

A & E - Emerald, fortunately not very busy.

While we were there we ordered some of as for tea. They actually had G/F bases and they were really good. Not as good as mine though!!!

We’ll go back tomorrow night and listen to the whole hour that he is there.

Bit of TV, the early to bed. We have to be up early as they are ringing me early to tell me when to go in for my ultrasound.

Glen & Tania

Me with my bike loaded up with alcohol, the basket has some good uses.

Glen giving me a hug goodbye.

The car in the carpark at the supermarket. Brian said the poor thing was weighed down once we put all the groceries in it.

Our 12 foot Porta a boat

Jim & Jan working very hard helping us set up the nets

First couple of nets done

The boys then decided to go and put the nets in and test out the boat. All went really well and tomorrow morning we’ll see if we have any red claw. My guess will be - probably not!!

The boys in the boat

Tied up next to Aileen & Bobs boat - they also have a Pota a Boat. \240 There’s is 10 foot, ours is 12 foot

The boys and Annie coming back from placing the nets

Some parakeets visiting Jan & I

Aileen & Bob arrived today also so it was great to catch up with them

A few of the neighbours came over for happy hour.

After they all left at about 6pm we had some dinner and early to bed . We have to get up early to go see if we have any Red Claw

PS. At happy hour after I took some photos I put my IPad leaning against my chair leg. Unfortunately someone moved my chair and my IPad dropped to the ground and cracked my screen. It’s not too bad but I’m very pissed off.

I’ll have to try and get it fixed when we get to somewhere bigger.

Came back to the van, Jim & Jan were back with their catch of about 50 odd.

Began the process of cooking.

Very busy taking off the shells once they were cooked

And taking out the poop bits

This was about 30 red claw. Don’t get much for all your work

Once that was done it was lunchtime so we had a salad with some red claw, Fortunately Jan donated some to our 4.

They really have no taste and I’m not sure why everyone hovers here to catch them. I could easily not eat them at all

Beautiful little lorekets we’re flying around and decided they liked a cut orange that Jan had on the table

They were very friendly little birds

We organised our food for the nets tomorrow plus made up some small plastic bottles with dog food in them . The dog food smell attracts the red claw apparently.

I had a quiet afternoon, the others went in the big boat for a tour down the creek, and a bike ride.

Went to Aileen & Bobs for happy hour tonight and played a game called Fiskas. It was the girls against the boys and unfortunately the boys won.

It’s a game where you have blocks with numbers and you have to hit these with a bigger round block.

Happy lads, you’d think they’d won a million dollars the way they \240carried on!!

Came back to the van for sausages and mash for tea, then a sneaky port or two, then off to bed

The 3 of them went for a bike ride but I didn’t go as it’s too rough here for my little wheels. I was happy to stay and have a rest

Going out in the little boat. I’ve got quite used \240to it now

Baiting the nets with our veges and dog pellets

The \240opera nets we are about to throw in the water

A few of our catch

Ready to go into the boiling water

Captain of the boat

Got back to base to find that Jim & Jan hadn’t got too many more even though they have got heaps more nets.

After the cooking, shelling and preparing for cryvacing, we were all a bit tired.

Had a late breakfast where the loreketts joined us agian

After lunch we decided to do another run but unfortunately we had nothing in our nets ( except 1 little one which we left there)

J & J caught a few very large ones

I still can’t see the point of all this work for something that is quite tasteless.

Happy hour at Steve & Maree’s , they are leaving tomorrow, another game of Finkas which once \240again the men won. My fame to game was that I got zero for most of my shots ( which isn’t very good at all)

Tea and early to bed. We are all tuckered out.

No photos today so this is an old one of the two boys

Brian with one of the larger ones

Beautiful lorikeets eating Brian’s breakfast

The Red Claw about to go into the pot

My pizza with Red Claw

Good camp fire

Breakfast

Brian’s plate once he had finished his Big Breakfast

Happy hour once again

Our last catch

Bob & Aileen going out in their porta boat

A very friendly Kookaburra came for a visit

Happy hour once more

30th May

Woke up this morning with intentions of leaving so we could go to a bigger town and buy another heater.

Jeff arrived and said he’d been studying the heater on YouTube overnight and thought they could fix it. \240So we decided to stay another day.

The others were going into town to do some shopping so the boys set too and dismantled the heater. I must admit I was a little concerned when they had pieces all over the place - after all, this is a Chinese heater that I don’t think are meant to be pulled apart. After a couple of hours they had it back together and tho and \240behold, it worked. We think it must have had a bit of gump stuck in it and they cleared that.

Quickly got changed and headed into Claremont to have lunch with Aileen & Rob at a little cafe - g/f steak sandwiches for Rob & I (both coeliacs) and hamburgers for the other two . Did a little bit o& shopping, then back to camp.

Brian & I packed up almost everything, ready for an early start tomorrow- we’ll wait until the others come back from getting their red claw, then after our goodbyes , we’ll head of. 400kms tomorrow to Charters Towers, so a big day.

We ( Jan, Cindy & myself) decided to spice things up a bit and talked our perspective husbands into doing a little show tonight.

They dresssed up in mini dresses to see who had the best legs & danced away to the tune of ‘ You can take your hat off’ \240Jimmy won with Brian a close 2nd. Everyone had a great time, not \240sure about the people around us, they probably thought were a bit crazy.

Lovely and warm tonight, thank goodness.

What a gorgeous looking trio

Geoff had a slight problem with the back of his dress

Longtime friends , Aileen & Bob. It’s been great catching up with them this week

Quaint little area wher they have the Oasis Muster

Fire pit

Lovely nails but dry feet. If I could get down to them I might be able to rub some cream into them - they even sparkle in the sun

My lovely \240Vietnamese technician ( leg is still swollen from my last attack)

After lunch we went for a drive to the Tower Hill lookout. This was where 29 bunkers were built to ward of an invasion after Pearl Harbour in WW2. Apparently when America joined the war , they posted many troops here in Charters Towers. Why I’m not entirely sure as it’s not close to the coast and it’s in the middle of nowhere.

One of the 29 bunkers spread around Tower \240Hill

This bunker had a video representation about being in the cockpit \240when being attacked by the Japanese

Another one

Came home, folded washing, made Seafood Rissotto for dinner ( using salmon and red claw) then made a small pot of Pumpkin Soup to get rid of the pumpkin that I had bought for the Red Claw bait that we hadn’t used.

Pack up tomorrow to head for Mission Beach to see Donna & Bill

A beautiful photo of my daughter and granddaughter

Our set up looks quite good here.

Continued on, we are right in the sugarcane area now

Sugarcane everywhere.

Arrived at Donna & Bills about 3.30pm. It was great to catch up with them again. Parked the van in their back yard and have access to our own private ensuite.

Donna cooked a beautiful roast lamb dinner with frozen chocolate ( from Belgium) coated frozen bananas. Truly magnificent. This area is also noted for the bananas as well as sugarcane.

As I went to \240the caravan to bed , Donna said to me to watch out for the Cane Toads. I assured her I wouldn’t be out of the van until morning when they had all gone away.

Had a chat with Margie who told me she had finally resigned from work. Good on her, about time also. It \240will be much better for her health and well-being.

Looks like we’ll have a couple busy days while we are here.

Dunk Island

Another view of the Island

We called into a banana farm where you could buy bananas. I have to admit, the bananas here are the sweetest I’ve ever tasted . We bought 6 for $2, which is very cheap.

The production part of the farm . It is Saturday today, so no workers there

Part of the plantation

We then had a drive into a rain forest, I wasn’t getting out of the car as there a midgees out there

Came home and had home made pizzas for lunch, not as good as mine but ok \240- Bill needed to cook them a wee bit longer. \240I have decreased my Lyrica again back to 25mg so was feeling very achey so had a little nanny nap.

Bill cooked a beautiful Coral Trout for dinner, which was very nice . Had a couple bottles of Sparkling between the 4 of us, then finished off with a Expresso Martini.

Donna doing her stuff

Sitting back enjoying the drink, with Bill, just don’t look at the rolls on my tummy

Watching Geelong hopefully beating the Western Bulldogs.

Still raining outside, quite cool which is most unusual for here. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow when we are having guests for lunch

Raining and quite dismal Had to bring the washing in to put through the dryer

Donna’s table decorations

Getting all ready

Carving up the chooks

Dessert time

Brian in for his quick cold swim

Going through the rainforest to the ocean

Vegetation close to the shore line

Walking along the path at the Skywalk

Amazing what the infrastructure was like, a lot of work has been done here

You can see how high the walkway was, I found it a little confronting looking down

The pathway again

The most on the mountains. There is a river - the North Johnston, \240there somewhere

The final part of the walkway - the platform, which was 4 stories high. I managed to go halfway, same as Marg. That was enough for me

Me heading back down

The mountains with the river snaking it’s way through. Whole area was very picturesque

Great walkwYs

Bush turkey’s were around

Looking down!!!

A little hut that the local dark people had constructed for a special ceremony

Another bush turkey

Look who we met😊😊💕💕

At the end, we were a bit hot by then, it was very humid walking through the rainforest

Lots of mist in the mountains. This was a flat section after the Skywalk before Yungaburra

6th June

First journey was to Atherton. All the towns around here a very quirky and very old time places.

Yungaburra had these beautiful hanging baskets all over the town. They looked beautiful

We are leaving a tour of Yungaburra until tomorrow and headed of to Atherton - about 20 kms away. I might add, these towns are a bit confusing to navigate. They seem to go every which way and we have got ourselves a bit confused at times.

Arriving at Atherton our first stop was to Big W so Tom could stock up on some new books as they’d read all their others. I bought one that I’d had to send back to the library unread. I’m having trouble finding time to read this year. Hopefully when we get to Cairns things might settle down a bit.

Next stop was a coffee, then after a walk around decided to have a Thai special lunch for $13.95 each \240We all enjoyed it very much.

Next on the list was a visit to the Crystal Caves. Wasn’t sure about this one but it was fantastic. This guy, Renee has been collecting crystals from all over the world and has built a ‘grotto’ to showcase them all. It would be hard to estimate the value of these crystals but it would be in the millions we estimated.

Quirky car out the front

The shop front

All decked up to go into the grotto

Notice how Tom is ‘trying’ to grow a beard.🤣🤣🤣🤣

Is that dinosaur eating me, not quite sure what the significance of the dinosaur was!!

Beautiful orb of something

Tom having a rest??

This was what was on the ceiling of the cave that the boys were laying in

Couple of dodgy patrons!!!

Huge specimen that Renee paid US $120,000 for several years ago

Shows the size here

Marg peeking though a hole in the grotto

Some beautiful specimens carved from the crystals

And more

Lots more specimens

We were all very pleasantly surprised with this little adventure.

Meanwhile the weather hadn’t improved, so we headed to IGA to do our shopping as both Marg & I had seriously depleted fridges.

Once that chore ( ordeal) was done, it was time to go home - thank god

Unpacked everything at home, Brian went for a 10km ride ( in the misty rain)

Had a light tea, then a quiet night

This one bought a tear to the eye. Oh so true in every way💕💕💕

From here we went onto Lake Barrine, with the idea that we would do a bit of a walk , then have morning tea there. Got there to discover that the cafe is \240closed on a Tuesday & Wednesday- something their web site neglected to say.

Nice cafe if it had been open

Another view

We went for a walk to see the twin Kauri Pines. These were enormous and very old.

Very hard to get a photo, they were so tall.

Then we decided to do the 600m rainforest walk. It was very damp and very muddy in lots of places - Marg & I were glad to finish that one

This was a good section

Funny mushroom looking thing we found on the way

By the time we got back to the car misty rain was falling again. \240Next stop was the Gallo Dairy & Cheese Factory - right up our alley

You could look down on the workers - he looked like he was making Camembert here

Decided to share a cheese platter for lunch - it was yummy but a lot of cheese!!

Next stop was the Curtain Fig Tree - this is a parasite that attacks trees and takes over them until it destroys them. Very impressive but quite ugly.

And what do you know, just leaving the dairy and ran into a Strawberry Farm. Of course we had to stop and we each completed lunch with an icecream \240They even had g/f cones for Tom & I. Bought a jar of strawberry jam which we will try tomorrow at breakfast

Lots of strawberry plants

Onto a little creek to see if we could see a platypus. No luck ( best time is sunrise & sunset, we were there about 1.30pm), but we did see a very cheeky little turtle who was putting on a bit of a display for us

Home for a much needed nanny nap. Keeping up with Tom is quite exhausting.

Pretty uninspiring waterfall was this one

What was actually amazing was that we had blue sky and very little wind for the first time we’ve been here.

Mind you, it didn’t last very long but overall the day was much better

Next we went to the Millia Millia falls which were much better. Had to walk down quite a few steps which were very wet and slippery but so far I’ve been managing very well. I might add, my hip hasn’t been bothering me as much as it was, plus my leg pain has completely gone.

We were looking from the viewing platform and decided to go to the bottom of the pool. I went via the steps but Brian decided to go down the lovely lush grass hill. What he didn’t realise was that underneath that lovely green grass was very sticky red mud. And down he went. Started slipping, then corrected himself but then it was all over, red river. Ended up slipping the rest of the way, ending up being covered in red sticking mud, head to toe.

Not a pretty sight

The section that Brian slipped on

He should have heeded this sign

The guy in the striped towel ran to Brian’s assistance and \240offered his towel, which Brian turned down

After trying to clean himself up, which was very difficult with sticky red mud we headed off to another couple of waterfalls. The last one, Ellinjaa Falls had lots of steps down and therfore lots of steps up. Amazingly I managed fine, even surprised myself - even with a bit of puffing

Another one - Zillie Falls, not \240so interesting & hard to see through the vegetation

Lunch time was a picnic at Millia Millia at a lovely little park. We’d packed our lunch today.

Poor Brian was extremely uncomfortable in his soiled clothes

On the way home we looked at the Millia Millia Lookout which portrayed a large panoramic view of the area.

Mountains all around us here.

Last but not least we stopped at Lake Eacham, which wasn’t actually on our itinerary for the day, but turned out to be the nicest . It’s a volcanic lake, not large but the surrounds were very attractive.

A few scantily clad girls were going in for a swim, not sure why when there were sign’s saying that Crocodiles were seen in the area. Brave but very silly.

Home mid arvo, spent the rest of the day trying to get the mud out of Brian’s clothes, to no avail. I’ll soak them tomorrow.

Jus5ta funny photo somewhere along the way.

Not a good track.

Gave up and decided to get an icecream. That again was difficult as the icecream shop that was supposed to be open was closed. Ended up getting a Magnum each from the supermarket. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to agree with me and I’ve had a tummy ache ever since.

Home again, my little scooter - Harley, performed very well. Didn’t use a lot of battery and I had to go up several big hills. Surprised me that it actually made it up them.

Tom & Marg were very impressed with my little scooter.

Had a little nap. Tom is cooking pizzas for tea tonight

Preparing

The \240finished product, this was non g/f.

Also had a bottle of Sparkling Red, wasn’t too bad once I’d added soda water!!!

The friendly Curlew came for a visit.

On the path before we came to the No go sign.

Us being naughty as we slipped around the no go sign!!

Tom & I just before our big trek

Quite a few people swimming in the lake, even though there were warnings that a crocodile lived there. Apparently the croc has gotten old and grumpy and has started to nip people. No wonder, when he’s lived there alone for lots of years without a mate. We all have gotten quite grumpy as we’ve gotten older!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣

Back at camp, lunch then a little nap. Tom & I were both unwell last night - can’t work out what caused it but we were both quite sick. Still a little off today but feeling lots better.

Cooked a Roast Lamb for the 4 of us while Marg went to church. \240Not bad at all.

Fungi on the branches along the way

Marg showing how big the roots of this tree were.

Brian relaxing

Just fitted nicely.

Drove into Atherton and got ourselves organised

All raring to go in the drizzly rain

It was about 7kms to Tolga, some of the track was very bumpy but generally it was ok. My little Harley managed very well. Got there a bit early so had a quick coffee then went over to the pub for a counter lunch. For a very small place the pub was quite large and the meals were very nice.

We had tied our bikes to the verandah posts outside

When we came out after lunch there were a bunch of bikies there, so I couldn’t resist backing my Harley next to theirs.

They were all very amused🤣🤣🤣

Started off again for the ride back but it started pouring so we went back to the pub until it passed.

Getting a bit wet here

Scooting along

We all had a great day, rain and all.

Came home and tried to retune the TV. Carlton & Essendon are playing tonight on 7mate and we can get the sound but not the picture. Tom & Marg \240can get it so we are not sure what the problem is.

Still won’t tune so we won’t watch the footy. Tried 7+ on my IPad and that picks it up so we’ll watch some of it on that.

Back at the TeaHouse by this stage

But we couldn’t find Brian. Looked everywhere wondering where he could have gotten to. Eventually he arrived - he had gone looking for us, thinking he’d find us just up the track but he went a different way just as we were getting back.

Marg & Brian gave the scones, jam & cream that the tea house were noted for a miss. They didn’t look that good.

We all had a coffee and headed toward home. Stopped at a local road side produce stall. The fellow had just pulled up to restock so we bought mandarins, avocados & bananas. That will keep us going for a while.

Couldn’t wait to get home to have a shower as I felt like I had things crawling over me. All my clothes went into the washing machine.

Watched the Big Freeze, then a little nap.

Along the path

And further in \240- very damp and wet.

That’s the TeaHouse when we had about another 2 kms to walk. Very misty

Brian cooked himself up a storm for lunch, egg on an English muffin, avocado & mushrooms

Tomorrow we are off to Herberton to the Historic village - a full day tour.

As the photo above says there is a lot to see. It was amazing how many things we recognised or have at home. Perhaps Brian can start up a Historical Museum if he ever retires.🤣🤣🤣

Spent some time watching the Blacksmith/Farrier making a poker. It took ages but it was interesting to see how he twisted the steel etc. \240We were hoping to buy one but the gift shop had sold out of them .

Very hot work

Wandered around, found some things relevant to Mum

They must have gone bankrupt after Mum died

Tom & I laughed over this one - you didn’t dare say you were feeling sick or you got a dose of Hypol

Dentists are hard to get into, but !!!

At least this patient was still alive

Some rather dubious looking instruments for women’s health😩😩😩

After looking at the TeaHouse we decided to go for the stew and damper at the Bush Tucker House further up the track

Mrs Bushie

Mr Bushie

Tom & I obviously couldn’t have the damper but the stew was good, plus the Corn Beef on damper that Brian had. All rounded of with a lovely panikan of Bush Tea.

Marg & I pretending to be in school - the tragic thing is , that’s what our classroom looked like

Amusing sign

Took a fancy to this blanket , I’m sure my very talented sister could replicate that for me.😊😊😊😊💕💕💕💕💕

All in all we had an enjoyable 4.5 hours wandering around. At least we had no leech’s today \240 Brian was struggling with his knee which he hurt the other day but he carried on like a trooper

Quick trip to Woolies on the way home.

Had to send some emails this morning Re some un paid accounts - actually had a couple of responses so that is good. Let’s hope they pay!!!

The pub with the car on top to look like the Ettamogga Pub

Beautiful sunset

Resting his knee

Our little setup here in Yungaburra.

The grass was always wet so the trek to the toilets and showers resulted in wet feet. Plus they were a fair distance away. This side only had 2 showers and 2 toilets for far too many vans.

The mad cowboys tree loppers were cruising around cutting off branches

Zoie & Wal with Taya with new baby Elsie

16th June

Awoke to a very foggy and misty morning, very damp underfoot which made it difficult to pack up - but we carried on and we were ready to leave by 9am

Stopped at Humptys to buy some more nuts, they said they had a variety of g/f stuff but nothing appealed to me.

Saw that they had g/f pies from a bakery in Mareeba, the cost was $9.95 each

We decided to go to the bakery as it was on our way, kindoff, only to discover they had no hot pies and only one cold one. That was a waste of time. And they were only $6.50 there. The other shop was making a

Continued on to the icecream shops up the road and had a stop there.

Double deckers for them both, plus Brian. - \240I only had a single

Our vans lined up at the icecream shop

Continued on to Karundra where the big hill is!!!

Down and down and down and down we went. It wasn’t actually as bad as we thought - we just took our time

Got to \240Lake Placid , checked in - guess what - we still can’t get 7mate, therefore no footy. Called Mick, the manager and he checked the cable which showed that our block couldn’t get 7mate. The rest of the park is fine, except for us!!! \240Not happy - that shouldn’t happen

Un packed, very humid here compared to where we have been.

Went to Trinity Beach Club for tea as Tom was desperate to win a meat raffle. Tom didn’t, I didn’t but Faye did!!

Home early, nothing on TV, - can’t get the footy so after a cuppa we settled down for the night.

Tom spreading all our non winning entries out

Our very small patch of ground. We have far less area than most (our whole row is the same - there is only 4 of us ) and we have little sun getting in between the vans. Might be good later when it gets really hot!!!

Watching the train climb up the mountain. It goes up twice a day generally

Next doors gorgeous cavoodle, Chelsea. She’s only 6 months old but a happy little girl.

Back at the park, quick cuppa then we all got ready to head off to Palm Cove for our g/f fish and chips.

The 4 non g/f looked fantastic, Tom & mine looked very pale and lost its crispness half way through. It was still very tasty though.

G/f

Non g/f

All enjoying our lunch

Walking back to the car we came across the O’Donnell Irish Bar. No-one was keen on going over for a Guinness though

Came back to Smithfield as Marg wanted to have a look at Kmart for a rashie top that Faye said was on special. I managed to buy a couple of tshirts that I’m sure I don’t really need but they were only $8 each. \240Marg bought her top.

Next we went into TS, a dress shop that is usually quite expensive. I actually found a bathers top that had been discounted from $110 to $39. Something a bit different to my other one that has somehow got a little tight on me - must have shrunk in the wash!!!

Next stop was to the Op Shop. Only time I ever go to Op Shops is with Tom & Marg. Managed to find a pair of navy swim pants (my new top is a bluey black one) for $3 and a really nice shirt for Brian for $8. All in all , we had a successful shopping expedition.

Home, bit of a rest, happy hour then a light tea.

We are getting used to the sound of the tv. It’s still not as good as the other one but it will do.

People were swimming in the sea today at Palm Cove despite there being several signs around with warnings of crocodiles in the area. Obviously they were all Asian tourists.

Wished I hadn’t cut it up now, but I had to and send the on to to the distributor

As you can see, the new bag is a completely different colour and material. I liked the other one better!!

Yum, very tasty. Ginger Beer batter

Cajun Barra Burger - also very tasty. Brian said it had lots of fish in it

All the waiters seemed to be foreign, our waitress was Irish, guy behind bar was Spanish and there was an Asian girl there also

Bit of a stroll along the Marina and then headed back towards home. Realised that Tom had given me a card to post and we hadn’t seen a post office so decided to go to Smithfield and post it there and make a hair appointment. They weren’t busy so she cut it then. She didn’t cut a lot of it, less than my hairdresser but it’s a lot tidier now.

Home at last, had a little rest then over to happy hour at Tom’s.

Had our stew for tea that had been brewing all day. \240Very tasty - Brian did a good job. And there is enough left for another meal in a couple of days.

This morning Tom had an airconditioning mechanic over to look at their unit as it wasn’t working. Unfortunately something has caused it to fuse so it’s a no go. They have to new one at a cost of about $2500. Needless to say, he’s not happy!!! \240They haven’t had a good trip, expense wise.

Quiet afternoon, then we all headed of to the Trinity Beach Sporting Club to try and win a meat raffle.

Waiting patiently for the raffles to begin

Unfortunately none of us won anything tonight , the numbers were all around us but not ours

They mucked up my order - I had ordered Salmon but the waitress \240accidentally ordered Calamari for me. It was nice but I would have preferred the Salmon.

Went back to tell her & she apologised - next week I get a free meal.

The other day Marg and I bought the same tshirt in KMart. It cost a whole $9.00 \240 Today we both decided to wear it, not realising the other thought to wear it too.

We were little twinnies. I also might add they were both the same size - size 14

Riding along the path - I tried to get the others but they disappeared before I could catch them

These guys were just brilliant

All set in our dodgy seats. We were supposed to be in the tiered seats but they stuck us on the floor.

Having a little drink while we waited to go in

Our tickets stating where we should have been sitting !!

Arrived a bit earlier and had a coffee while waiting for them to depart the train. Walked around what is in effect a hippy sort of town. The original market was definitely 1970’s - very old school full of hippy junk. We didn’t buy anything there.

The other market was a little better - bought some wooden implements for Susan as a Thankyou present for being my secretary.

I forgot to put my sarong in with my bathers ( only have 3 of them at home) \240so I was looking for a top to wear when I am out of the pool. Found a nice brightly coloured shirt with buttons that I thought would be ok. I bought that but further around I found another one that was better as a cover up. I went back to the original shop and exchanged the first shirt for a smaller size as it was a bit big for normal wear. It’s a nice shirt - I’ll still wear it, but as a shirt and not \240a coverup.

Had lunch at the German restaurant, wasn’t all that wonderful. This was on Faye’s recommendation- definitely wouldn’t go again.

Brian had a meal deal which included a German beer, 500ml, 5.5% alcohol , he said it was good.

Wandered around until we had had enough, then headed back down the mountain. \240Supermarket stop, banana cart stop then Brian & I decided to go \240to Barron Gorge to have a quick look. It was much further than we expected but we saw some white water rafters that had just left to go down the river.

Near where they started

Floating down a calm bit

Oops, all of a sudden, it capsized and everyone fell out - in calm water?,!

Barron Gorge.

Amusing watching them, one raft tipped over and lost all the passengers.

Quick happy hour at the pool/camp kitchen, then home for leftover tea.

Brian went to see the boys that he had met Charters Towers and had a couple drinks with them. Brian, Cliff & Ian - all come from Yarrawonga.

Saw some interesting signs - apparently we are getting a fair amount of rain come Friday.

Liked this one, must wear my earrings more.

Also a good one

The only Cassowary that we have seen

Is mucking around for the photo

Likely trio there!!

One of the rivers that we ride over - on bridges of course

We saw this dog in the water, at first we thought it was a statue but then it moved. It was cooling off.

Came across a mural on one of the bridge pylons that is new. Amazing what these graffiti artists can do

Poor Marg in the background

After lunch went to Bunnings to take back the dodgy solar light. Ended up getting another one, not Solar. Still not happy with it but it will do until we get home.

Back to the club for our Friday night special, minus 2 this week but with Rachel & Co. \240Bought heaps of raffle tickets and STILL didn’t get a cracker.

I got my free meal from last week but I had one mouthful and I instantly felt like I was going to vomit. Made it to the toilets but felt better by then. A security guard saw my fast walk and came to see what was wrong , as did Rachel. Needless to say I ate very little of my tea but I did bring it home for tomorrow night.

Tom looking very disponted when he didn’t win anything

A happy crew

Rachel, Shane & James

The band doing a Fleetwood Mac cover. They were pretty good but loud

Couple of old hippies strutting their stuff

Home to watch the footy - Geelong v Sydney

Lunico’s Trattoria

Got there a little early so had a coffee, me ( lovely Italian coffee at that) and a Fruity Smoothie for Brian called a Pashina. Full of lovely fresh local fruits.

Food service was held up a little due to a kitchen problem so we thought we had better have a drink. What do you drink in Italian restaurants, Prosecco of course. As we thought we’d be waiting for a while we ordered a bottle between us.

One of the waitresses photo bombing us

I ordered a Pork Belly, BBQ bacon & apple Risotto with a great slab of crackle - it was sensational as well.

Brian ordered the Mushroom Ravioli

We both enjoyed our meals immensely - there is nothing like a true Italian restaurant. And they had a lot of g/f options which was even better.

View of the ocean from out table It started raining shortly after this and got very cool

Home for a little nap and a read. The weather is still not good. And it’s starting to get quite chilly. I can actually say I’m cold for the first time since we’ve been here.

Faye tested positive this morning so she’s out of action for the next few days. We tested this morning and are still both negative, \240as is Tom. Tonight I’m not feeling so flash so I’m wondering if things are brewing - I’ll find out in the morning.

We bought some prawns the other day at the Seafood market so we had those on a bit of salad as well as my leftover Salmon from last night, plus the leftover Barramundi. I couldn’t eat mine so Brian can have that for lunch tomorrow

It was a 1.2 km walk from the carpark to the viewing area but you walked alongside the river most of the way and could see the water tumbling down - plus listen to it as it cascaded down.

There were a few steps along the way that you could go down to have a swim. Being a Sunday, there were quite a few around

As we were watching from the viewing platform we noticed two young men climb up some rocks. They were very adventurous and ended up jumping from the rocks int9nte water. Very brave boys

Walked back, much easier as it was downhill.

Can’t believe how many times that we have used my disability sticker to find car parks. It’s been quite a blessing when no other parks were to be found.

Called into Woolies at Redlynch to get a couple of groceries and some more lamingtons. I was very saddened when I discovered that all the lamingtons had gone. I’ll have to keep an eye out for when they come in.

Pizza for tea, then Tom rang to go around to say goodbye to Rachel and Shane. We will still seethe, tomorrow as they don’t leave until 1pm for a 3 pm flight.

James very busily watching his video

Rachel, Shane & James

To feeling a bit left out !!,

Physio put a bit of a bandage around Brian’s knee pus a bit on his back. It will last about a day in this weather.

Had a nice tea of curried Chicken Sauages and a couple of chops with Scalloped Potatoes. Used the last of my g/f French Onion Soup so I will have to risk buying the Continental one next time. . Cooked it in the microwave first and then finished it off in the AirFryer . Was very yummy.

Got most of them working

Happy hour has resumed as everyone is now well and the rest of us have managed to avoid the dreaded Covid. Not sure how that happened !!!

Spaghetti for tea ( with real spaghett, not noodles) and a quiet night.

6th July

Tom, Marg & Brian went for another ride, I had to stay back as I had a Telephone appointment with Dr Vesna to get some more Norspan patches.

Did some washingwhile I waited.

When they came back Brian still wasn’t happy with his gears in the bike so we took it into the bike shop nearby. Some bike people won’t even look at the bike because it’s a ‘Chinese’ model but this guy was really good and looked at it straight away and fixed it. Brian was on the right track but just hadn’t gone far enough. Did all this for a cost of $30- which is very good.

Bit of shopping, quick stop at Uncle Dans, mainly for me, then home for a fish burger for lunch

Then onto Palm Cove with Tom & Marg to sit on the beach and have a very quick paddle.

Got here to find that the beach has even closed due to a croc sighting a few hours ago. Bloody croc!!

The ‘inspectors’ coming along the beach to tell everyone there was a croc around and put up some signs.

All they did was a lot of talking

We sat on the sand and had a pleasant couple of hours, it was much cooler there.

And Marg in the background there.

Brian pondering - Now where is that \240blessed croc???

Palm Cove beach line, very pretty here

The front which was not all that interesting

Brian saw one of those Asian massage stalls so decided to see if he could relieve his aching back and leg.

Kenny gave him a big workout, really getting into places that hurt.

Many strange faces were made by Brian

Got a few bits of fruit & veg & found a g/f donut place so of course I had to buy some. Had one when I got home, not too bad.

Went to Smithfield to get a couple of things from Woolies. Decided to have a bit of lunch as Brian was keen to have his beloved Pho.

This is how much he enjoyed it

This is the remains of my Noodle Bowl and all the empty dishes

While we were there Brian realised that he had left his belt at Rusty’s, so back we go - 25 mins each way. Fortunately he had kept it for Brian to come back for - or he would have kept it for himself!!!

Back at the van Brian fixed John’s drawbar that they have been fiddling with for the last few days. Got ourselves organised to go to the Yorker Knob Yacht Club ( instead of Trinity Beach where we have been going)

Went there to watch the sunset but unfortunately tonight wasn’t a very good one.

Not much of a sun set tonight unfortunately

A drink on the deck before tea

They had rafffles here as well and guess what - Faye managed to win 3.

1. $25 voucher for the club

2. 6 stubbies (Faye doesn’t drink so John was happy)

3. Meat raffle

None of the rest of us won anything . Not happy 😩😩😩😩😩

This was just the first one.

Brian had a Seafood Laska & I had a grilled Barra on Cauliflower purée. I’m not sure how that cauliflower will affect me, but it was very nice.

Home to watch the rest of the footy.

Forgot to take a photo at dinner so had \240to take one in their little motor home

Very nice gelato

Marg & I inadvertently wore the same t-shirt today. We looked liked sisters.

We then decided to book a tour out to the reef on Wednesday. Every year we do a bigger trip so this will be it. It cost $267 per person so I hope it is good. We get to snorkel, which I won’t be doing much of but the others will.

We left Tom & Marg to continue sightseeing and went to visit Gary & Sam who live at

53b Endevour St

They moved up here from Torquay a couple of years ago, Gary still does his work from here but mainly on Zoom.

He still flys back to Melbourne when he has too.

Had an enjoyable couple of hours with them and organised to meet them for lunch tomorrow at the Tin Shed.

Quick drink with Tom & Marg, tea then bed.

Barry & Carol rang, had a little chat to them. The

Brian’s seafood platter

My Caesar salad, not a dish I usually order but there was a bit of a limited g/f menu

The four of us having a few drinks and laughs remembering old times

Home again about 3.30pm - just in time for a little nanny nap. They did ask us to go to their house for a BBQ for tea \240but we declined as we want to get organised for tomorrow ( our reef tour) and we didn’t want to have any more to drink.

Quick talk to Tom & Marg re tomorrow, then home for a light tea

Walking back to the car.

Gary & Sam

The lookout near the Tin Shed. - 4 mile lookout.

This wasn’t our boat but it’s sister ship. Ours was exactly like that one

Had a bit of morning tea, pastries for all the normal people and mango chia cups for us. Bit different

Had 3 stops altogether to snorkel in . Brian, Marg & Tom all did very well

Marg doing her stuff

Tom had a red tip on his snorkel as an alert for his AF.

He was easy to keep track off

Brian cleaning out his snorkel

Lunch was also provided, we had a chicken salad bowl which was very average, the others had a chicken salad roll which wasn’t any better.

Rough trip back to Port Douglas, the weather was packing up a bit. We were all very tired after our big day

Tried to order some take a way Chinese from just up the road but they didn’t answer. Left a message at 6.45pm as they said they’d get straight back to me but it’s now 9.50pm and they still haven’t returned my call. Too bad for them, they missed out on a sale.

Instead we had ham on toast, which was really all we needed.

Leave tomorrow to finally head south.

Marg waiting very impatiently in Outpatients with her swollen foot

Arrived in Cardwell about 1.30pm to discover that sites were very scarce. We got one around the back by a shed but it’s really not bad. I’ve asked them to keep a site for Tom but it’s on a bit of an incline and a fair distance to the toilet so I’ve just now sent a text to see if they may have anything on flatter ground due to the circumstances.

They’ll let me know tomorrow.

Did a run to IGA, not a bad supermarket, not really big but it had everything we needed.

Decided tonight to cook some of these Red Claw Crabs. Made an Asian Sticky Sauce to go over them. Brian loved them, not so me. I’d be quite happy not to ever have them again

I had actually started to eat them before I took the photo

Watch a bit of footy and early to bed.

Marg \240back at the van, life is going to be very difficult for her for the rest of this trip.

Bit of a strange sculpture at the Showgrounds

Our vans side by side.

Some random machine used for cane harvesting that Brian was interested in

Not a bad sunset

We are hae

It all looks really good and goes for a long way.

Rode out on the jetty, which was easier than walking.

After going all the way to the end we went back to what we thought was the Seabreeze cafe where 8 years ago Brian had a crab sandwich ( 2 pieces of white bread with crab meat and salt and pepper). He thought he’d try another one. Unfortunately we went to the SeaView cafe instead, accidentally and all they had was deep fried stuff. Brian ended up having a Crab Burger with a beer but it was nothing like his original one

It was only as we were riding home we realised our mistake!!!😩😩😩😩 - after we passed the other cafe.

Tom & Marg arrived a little later , poor Marg was having a bit of trouble adapting to her new circumstances.

Afternoon tea at our van

Tom is still slightly!! stressed so I cooked a Roast Lamb dinner tonight. We had that in the camp kitchen as it was easier for Marg.

Early night as we were all a it tired. Tom didn’t even stay awake to see Melbourne beat Port by a point.

Marg tucked up in bed in the cabin, lots of room

Outside the cabin, with all the aids🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Brian resting in the sun

Had a bit of a rest then Tom, Brian & I went to meet Narelle & Natalie Sladdin and families at the Metropolitan Hotel.

It was fantastic to catch up with them and had lots of stories to tell, with lots of childhood remembrances.

Nice to see their kids all grown up.

Photo

LHS - Ben(Natalie’s son ), Alana- Bens wife, Peachy - their daughter, Natalie, Winnie - their son.

RHS - \240Trevor - Narelle’s husband, Zac - Narelle & Trevor’s \240son, Victoria - Zac’s fiancée, Narelle, Sue & Brian

Narelle & Trevor have another son Sam who was ill and couldn’t be there tonight.

A fair bit cooler tonight, as we are coming south it’s getting colder. Quick cuppa in the cabin, then home to bed

Waiting in hospital to be ‘looked at’

Narelle and her mate Cookie, who was Margs nurse.

Post surgery - pin and plate in one break ( we think) and plaster to her knee. She’s in good spirits.

We were supposed to go tomorrow and now we can’t obviously, but fortunately even though we can’t stay \240on our original site, they are putting us on the overflow sites for a day or two

Narelle

Trevor and Brian( Hat & Macca)

Narelle found a photo of Mum holding her eldest Zac, had to reunite the two

Even though I was a bit tiddly I still managed to cook Chow Mein for tea. They all liked it so I must have put everything in it.

A beautiful lady.

Had to put myself to bed early, even left Brian to do all the dishes. They all thought this was very amusing !!!

Wednesday 19th

We are on a main highway here and the road noise is very loud ( I didn’t hear much last night for some reason) and also we are next to a large Meatworks - Borthwicks, where some very strange and not so nice smells permeate the air every now and then.

Marg had a good night thanks to some stronger medication. Didn’t do much today, I prepped meals for tonight ( Salmon Patties) and Lasagne for tomorrow night.

In the afternoon Brian & I went to Hay Point where they load the big ships with coal. This is where Trevor works.

Huge complex

Lots of ships out at sea waiting their turn to come in to be loaded

Early tea then packed up a bit to head off again tomorrow to Gracemere - near Rockhampton.

One of our stops - morning tea.

Brian’s knee stood up to it but it was getting very sore by the time we got here. Decided to go to the Gluten Free Bakery before we unhooked as they were closing at 2pm. The pies there were fantastic, probably the best I’ve ever had. Even Brian said his was the best. Bought some frozen ones for myself and Tom

They were supposed to meet us there but they got caught in a raffia jam where a car and caravan had come to brief. We nearly did as well but we were able to turn down a side street before we got too far in. We think the caravan affected was one that had gone past us at great speed further back. \240 Then they got caught on the main bridge when a young girl was threatening to jump. We missed that one.

Got to the caravan park and unpacked. Then I went looking for my phone and guess what - I couldn’t find it!! Tom rang it and it was answered by the lady at the Gluten Free Bakery. We then had to zoom back into town to pick it up. First time I have ever done that!!

Went and had a drink over at the fire pit for a little time then back at the vans for tea - Lasagne and salad, with garlic bread

We pushed Marg over in her wheelchair so she could have a bit of sunlight.

Quirky firepit

As we are heading south it’s definitely getting colder at night. Had to find jumpers tonight.

Camp kitchen was very interesting, lots of old machinery involved with the tables etc, lots of imagination.

I’d done a run to the Laundry looking for books for Marg.

Friendly little fellow who took a liking to me

Lunch at a stop somewhere along the way.

Nice beach

Tide is in at the moment.

The father and daughter, grandad had gone to catch a bus to fly back to Tasmania, and the other guy (in red )

Our set up here, we are kind of on a curve of the road.

Three of us, minus the injured one, \240went for a ride along the Esplanade. There is a footpath the whole way. We, at Paialba are at one end , so we rode all the way to the other end, to the jetty. Stopped at a little market at Torquay - not much there though, then stopped to look at the Torquay Caravan Park. When I was here quite a few years ago with Marg & John looking after Jaynes house, there was a refurbishment going on at that park. Don’t know what they did as it looked exactly the same as when we stayed there 8 years ago. Decided that Pialba Park is much better, although lots bigger.

Brian’s bike lost power when we got to the jetty, so he decided to ride slowly back - it was about 7 kms. He wasn’t on full power when we left but it shouldn’t have lost power with that many kms. Think it’s time to trade her in on another one. He’s had a few funny \240things happen.

Tom and I continued on to the jetty and rode about half way out. It was very bumpy riding over the boards so we decided to go back. Plus there was lots and lots of people walking up and down.

Tom & Brian along the beach path.

Half way up the jetty

Us zooming along the path.

Riding back to the park we came across someone we knew.

Elvis was just catching a few rays of sun, wasn’t very talkative though

Got home, rode 15.60 kms altogether.

Found out that the little cafe at the start of the park sold g/f fish & chips, so we got Marg in her wheel chair and went there for a late lunch.

Really nice fish and chips. I am very worried they weren’t g/f because they were sooo nice. No reaction yet though

Back to the van for a little nap. I’d forgotten to get my patch so we went looking for a chemist but they had all closed at 4pm. We’ll have to get it tomorrow instead.

Went for a drive around, saw Jayne & Jason’s house - we’ll catch up with them Sunday arvo as they are away. Drove up to Point Vernon, nothing interesting there though.

Managed to catch the last bit of sunset.

Light tea, I was exempt from cooking tonight then to bed.

Brian’s back and knee are not real good so he’s feeling a bit miserable.

Came back for lunch, Tom & I got a bit cheeky and got some g/f take away fish and chips. I shared mine with Brian but Tom ate his all by himself. \240Marg wasn’t too happy with him!!! \240They were bloody delicious. 😆😆😆😆😆😆

Quiet afternoon, Brian rested his leg, Marg rested her leg and Tom & I just rested.

Salmon Rissotto for tea, very nice. Then watched the John Farnham documentary. Haven’t been a great fan of John’s over the years but really enjoyed the show. He apparently lives near Bendigo somewhere on a horse stud farm.

Tomorrow we move on again to Mallacoota- hope the weather improves.