Our next stop after Susan River homestead was Red Rock. A campsite run by Qld National Parks near the Byfield National Park. We had been to Byfield NP before on our way up to Hinchinbrook and the beaches where beautiful. Unfortunately Griffy is not allowed there so we had to stay at the pet friendly Red Rock campsite. Plus we didn’t really fancy taking our camper trailer up Big Sandy to get to the other campsite. A giant soft sand hill that was challenging in the Amarok without the trailer.

We parked in the last available spot and set up camp. Although the spot only had 10 campsites it was a slightly different atmosphere than Susan river as we had neighbours! Shock horror. 😂

The trip to Red Rock was a 5 and a half hour drive and we have both now decided that that is far too long a journey. 4 hours is now the absolute limit. We set up camp and pretty much froze our little behinds off! Griffy even got his jumper on for the first time. We had a fire going but it really wasn’t cutting the mustard so we went to bed early trying to warm up. Temps got down to 3 degrees overnight!

The next morning was crisp and clear and we had nothing planned. We ventured to the general store and managed a short walk with Griffy but otherwise we just chilled out at the campsite.

It’s all starting to sink in that this is our home/life now and not a holiday. Griff has taken to it like a duck to water. He gets a little anxious when we pack up camp but if he has access to his bed while watching us pack up he seems content, even better if we put him in his bed in the Ute as he knows he is not being left behind.

He hasn’t barked once at other dogs at the campsite or when people come up to our site which is good and he loves a good pat from everyone so before long he is the campsite favourite. Unfortunately if someone wanted to steal something we are pretty sure you would find Griff assisting them in the crime. Or on his back snoring in his bed as nothing seems to wake him. This includes scrub turkeys stealing his food.🤦🏻‍♀️

Next night was a glorious 11 degrees so we got to sit up comfortably around the campfire eating marshmallows and watching the stars.

Day 3 at Red Rock saw us drive out to Upper Stoney Creek for a look. Unfortunately again Griffy was not allowed so we snuck in for a quick look while he was in the shade with the windows down. The creek was a beautiful blue but when we stuck our toes in the water was freezing. We would have loved to have done one of the walks around the creek but didn’t want to leave Griff in the car so after a short look we ventured back to the campsite for an afternoon of hammocks and book reading. 😴 Not too bad of a compromise.

That night we had our second middle of the night adventure. The first one we forgot to mention which was at Susan River where a thunderstorm started rolling in at around 11pm. After some googling on what happens when a camper trailer gets hit by lightning we found ourselves and Griff sitting in the car while this supposedly giant thunderstorm fizzled out around us. 😂 Back to bed around 12pm and everything was all good.

Our second middle of the night adventure happened last night. The campsite was very peaceful when we went to bed at about 9pm and dead quiet when Tim went to the loo at 11pm. We were just going back to sleep when we kept hearing this scratching noise from what we thought was outside. We had seen a little bandicoot hopping around that night and thought it was that. Tim got up to investigate and we soon found the culprit. A little mouse had gotten into our camper and was trying to eat through our soap container. Armed with a tennis racquet and a healthy dose of courage Tim managed to shoo it out. Phew.

Our minds were in overdrive then and I had visions of us being overrun with mice. Yuck!! About 10mins later just as we were settling back down the noise was back…. And so was the mouse. A few more bangs and curses from Tim and we had it out again. God knows what the rest of the campsite thought we were doing 😂😂.

Needless to say sleep alluded both of us for quite sometime then as I was then trying decide which was better. A family of mice or a hole where the same mouse can get in. Jury is out on that one. Think they are both equally as bad. Then my next thought was that if a mouse can get in so can a snake! 😳 S

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About 10 months ago (Sept 2020) we bought a cub camper frontier after a lot of research and a realisation that our travelling might be curtailed to the shores of Australia. We had learnt from our previous trip what we needed and this certainly fitted the bill. While we didn’t know at the time when or whether we would ever do a huge trip things obviously changed for us quite dramatically when I got diagnosed with Cryptococcal Meningitis. Having been told by the doctors that I was lucky to be alive and to go out and live life we decided to just go for it. I am going to have to take some pretty large amounts of drugs for a year or two so may as well see some of Australia while I am recovering!!

For the last month or so we have been packing up all our possessions and getting the house ready for our tenants. We thought we had left ourselves loads of time but the last week seems to have been hectic as we crossed items off our list which at one stage I am sure was just growing not shrinking!! One of our last jobs was to have our 2nd Pfizer COVID vaccine and then the next day we were off.

It was pretty momentous leaving our house but I think we had both been so busy we couldn’t really appreciate the fact that the journey was beginning and we were actually doing it. Another momentous occasion was the fact that I was the one driving as I had managed to get a restricted driving license although my inexperience in driving the trailer meant that I had to swap halfway with Sarah so she could park us up at the campsite.

So now we are currently camped up just north of home and about 20km west of Hervey Bay in a large paddock next to a dam pinching ourselves that we are actually doing this. The campsite is huge and while all the powered sites sit on top of each other there a few acres of field where unpowered campers can sit and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Nearby Hervey Bay itself seems to us like the Sunshine Coast was back when we first moved there and when we have visited here before we weren’t exactly enamoured by the place but this visit it seems really nice. We haven’t done a lot during our visit other than a couple of walks in the sunshine looking out over at Fraser Island. We have enjoyed prawns and Hervey Bay scallops all bought from a fishmonger right where the trawlers come in. The rest of the time we have spent just relaxing in the campsite and trying to remember if either of us locked the front door!! T

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