After our time in Europe we found ourselves back in Australia, catching up with friends and family and driving our campervan back from North Queensland to the Sunshine Coast. The festivities continued with weddings and catch ups along with Tim’s doctor’s appointments and a whole bunch of life admin that meant we were soon a month home and it felt like a week!
With our house still tenanted long term we had a decision to make on how to spend our time while back in Australia. Something that has been on my bucket list since we started our overnight hikes was the Laripinta Trail along the West McDonald ranges near Alice Springs. 221kms long and so remote that all of our food for the 20days needs to be pre packed and dropped in four spots along the way so we can refill our supplies. You have to do it in winter as you would die of heat exposure in summer but as it’s desert like contions the night time temperatures drop to single figures. So not an easy hike to say the least. Considering our longest through hike has been a 5 dayer it is definitely going to be a challenge! I have managed to purchase the best most comfiest lightest camp Mattress money could buy for a hopeful restful nights sleep!
Obviously it was going to take us a while driving out with our camper trailer, especially considering the pace Tim and I like to travel and first stop after the Sunshine Coast was Hervey Bay about 200kms north. We found a campsite about half an hour north near Burrum Heads run by lovely man called Shane. The farm was about 100acres and we spent the week there just enjoying being back in the van with no one around and a fire every night.
We picked Shane’s place due to its proximity to some mountain bike tracks and spent a great two days riding those. They were nice beginners tracks that had enough of a challenge to get the adrenaline going without fear of killing yourself. My kind of tracks! We also resumed the O’Keeffe country golf comp and played 18 at Craignish golf course. A really lovely little course even if Tim did beat me.
We also lucked out and were around for the Maryborough show so we thought we would spend an afternoon there watching wood chopping, tractor pulling, equestrian eventing. I think there are rides still in existence from when I was a kid. Needless to say we didn’t go on any.
Although we have already stayed in Hervey Bay on several of our other trips. It still felt as if a new adventure was starting and both of us were happy to be back in the van and exploring. Our faithful friend Griffy was certainly missed but we were excited to be a little more foot loose and fancy free. S