Back on the Road

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Fast forward 7 months since our last post and we are onto our next adventure. The last seven months on the Sunshine Coast have been a blur with work, renovations and catching up with friends and family. The time spent in the camper was amazing but I sure did enjoy having my own toilet and shower as well as a fully stocked kitchen. I had fun going back to work, though I quickly realised that I love the people I work with far more than the work I do but I am sure that is relevant for most people! Tim did some amazing renovations to our pool area which may have involved mosaic tiling an area of around 60m2. 😳 The room looks amazing but I think Tim gets PTSD every time he looks at the floor in there. I keep telling him it was definitely worth it though.

Tim got a clean bill of health from Jennifer his specialist. The legions in his brain have gone, now he just has holes, his blind spots are permanent but he has gotten his full drivers licence back which is great. The cryptococcal fungus is still in his bloodstream but levels are coming down and may one day be zero. He is still on 2 tablets a day but that may go down to one in the future. So as far as we are concerned a pretty good outcome considering the prognosis at the start.

We had some sad times as well as we had to say goodbye to our beloved travel buddy Griffy. Once home he decided that a year trip around Australia would be his last hoorah. He has been scattered in the creek with his mate Buddha. ❤️❤️

He sure was a photogenic dog. Such a cutie!

Losing Griffy was hard and I don’t think we will ever get used to not having him around the house but it does mean that our travel plans could expand. I was on a short term contract at work as we were always going to continue on our travels but it just meant that we could venture overseas again which is something we had not done since before COVID. It was a pretty easy decision on where to go as Tim’s sister has had two babies since we saw her last and France has always had a place in our hearts.

So after finishing up work and packing up the house and finding tenants etc we jumped back in the camper trailer to make our way back up north to see my folks prior to heading off. On the way we did a few little stops just to get our camper fix. It is amazing how many undiscovered places we have still to find on a stretch of road we have driven so many times! We also managed to stop off at the Capricorn caves which is something we have wanted to do since we first saw the sign about 15 years ago! It didn’t disappoint.

View of our campsite on night 1 at Walkers Point. So quiet and serene.
Beach shot near Walkers Point
View of sunset along Fitzroy river in Rockhampton. We got to camp right where the shot was taken!
View from inside the Capricorn caves, they were really impressive.
View from the beach at Cape Hillsborough, near Mackay
View of Inkerman Hill from the Wunjunga salt flats. Notice the 4 brolgas foraging around.
We timed our stay with a big horse race meet that attracts more people than the total population of Home Hill. It was a fun day catching up with old friends and family.

We had decided to do the non stop flight from Perth to see what it was like and since I have never been to the west coast we thought we would stop for a few days and see some sights as well. As we had to fly to Melbourne from Townsville anyway we also decided to stop for a few days there was well. We caught up with a bunch of family and also ate our weight in delicious Asian food.

City views from Southbank
A snapshot of the graffiti lined lanes in and around the city
Szechuan hot pot. One of the many amazing meals we ate

Our time in Perth was short but we managed to fit quite a bit of sightseeing in. Mostly in the CBD though we did do a day trip out to Fremantle to visit the markets.

View from Elizabeth Quay bridge. Quite the sight!

Next stop London! Can’t wait! S

Sign Off

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Yeppoon was bittersweet as it was going to be the last longer stop we had before hitting the Sunshine Coast again. What was originally going to be a 3 week stay for Tim’s appointments has now changed to a longer one due to our tenant moving out of our house. We thought we would use the opportunity to stop for a little bit and reset. I have pretty much secured a 6 month contract back at my old employer and Tim wants to do some renovations on our properties. But we both are feeling quite good about it as we have some future plans in the pipelines which means we won’t be in one place too long.

The last year has been a blast. Looking back at the first 3 months where Tim was still very much recovering and if I am honest with myself I was doing some recovery from burnout from work and the emotional toll of Tim’s illness. Fast forward to the last 6 months where we covered some pretty rugged terrain and saw some amazing sights. It’s amazing how we can be on the road for a year and only see a tiny fraction of this giant country! I am forever grateful that we got to do this years exploring as it has really opened my eyes as to how diverse and wonderful this country and its people are. I don’t think the camper will sit idle for long. Until our next adventure. S

Yeppoon

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After Mission beach we headed back to the farm for a few days, onto my sisters in Kuttabul for a few more and then started the journey back home. We decided on Yeppoon, a seaside town near Rockhampton mostly because our new nephew in law who is golf mad said their course was in great nick.

Golf with Jordan our niece and her husband Brendan while we were in Mackay
Ring of fire walk at Finch Hatton Gorge near Mackay

We found a great little campsite at the pony club which was only about 10mins from the beach but with plenty of room, so far so good! Day one we headed to the foreshore and were blown away by how beautiful it was. There is a lovely park and walking track along the front and then the beach stretches for kilometres. The area around is quite hilly and there are some dramatic cliff faces as well. The little township reminded us both of what the Sunshine Coast used to be like about 20 years ago.

Cool street art
View of Yeppoon from the marina
View of the foreshore and Yeppoon from the beach
Beach walks
Amazing cliffs jutting into the ocean
Such great vista from the beach
Views of Great Keppel Island
Endless beach

We walked Griffy down the beach everyday and either played golf or hit the driving range as well. The course definitely lived up to our expectations with beautiful greens and challenging fairways due to lots of trees. Unfortunately for me, my golf game is in a bit of trouble and Tim beat me again. Hence the driving range sessions as it is driving me crazy! Yeppoon has been a gem of a stop and one we will definitely revisit in the future. S

Mission Beach Take 2

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We had had such a great time at Mission Beach last year that I was almost nervous that it wasn’t going to be as good this time around. However within minutes of being set up we were walking along the amazing beach both with smiles from ear to ear! It really is one of the best beaches we have been to and simply walking up and down the beach can’t but make you feel amazing.

Some shots of Mission Beach
The road we rode next to the sea on
Mission Beach PĂŠtanque

Last time we were here we were in an unpowered site in the shade and coupled with a little bit of inexperience on our side it meant that we had to leave early…this time though we were plugged in and ready for our 5 nights.

Mission Beach is a place which sits right in the sweet spot of not being too small or too big. While there aren’t loads of restaurants and bars and shops there are a couple of each which gives you just enough to do through the day. The atmosphere around the place is very relaxed too and there is a complete lack of pretentiousness which is very refreshing in such a beautiful place. Basically we found we quite liked the place.

We didn’t do much other than walk up and down the beach last time so this time we exercised Griff on the beach in the mornings and then set off to explore more places in the afternoons. First on the list of adventures as always for us was a round of golf at El Arish just 20 minutes inland from the coast. It was a nice enough little course if not a little short and for the record I beat Sarah.

Our other pastime seems to be mountain bike riding and while there weren’t any tracks in the area we enjoyed a ride along the coastal road north to Bingal Bay which offered some superb views of the beach and coastline.

The rest of the time was spent relaxing with Sarah practicing yoga and me enjoying some meditation on the beach. It might not sound like much and it’s quite difficult to describe but it really was very very enjoyable. So much so that we decided to see if there was any availability for a longer stay next winter and managed to get a site right on the beach for August! T

Our site for next year!

Cardwell

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On our previous trip north we stopped off at Cardwell for a lunch break and enjoyed our time sitting on the foreshore looking back to Hinchinbrook Island. So this time we thought we would stop for a day on our way to Mission Beach and check it out a little more.

We hadn’t booked anywhere and were lucky in getting one of the last spots in the caravan park. It was not anything flash but we had space and the grounds were lovely and lush. We have said it before but we still can’t believe how busy this stretch of coast is in the winter. There were lots of summer permanents in the park and they all had boats so the fishing must be good!

While in Cardwell we went for some lovely walks along the ocean front and Griff was desperate to go for a swim but we didn’t let him as we know that the crocs are pretty bad in this area and the water was quite cloudy due to its shallowness so didn’t want to take the chance as we wouldn’t have seen one coming! Unfortunately the sun wasn’t out in full force but it was still beautiful.

Views of Hinchinbrook

We had heard the golf course was a nice little country course and when we arrived to play there was a bunch of local men just about to tee off in a local 13 hole comp which they invited us to play in. We played with two lovely locals and one of them was a decent golfer who showed us the tricks of the course. I managed a very tidy round and came away tied 3rd! Got myself a ball 😀.

We also discovered that Cardwell had a pump bike track which had just opened and we went and tried it out. Still not convinced we have the technique right but it was fun. Needless to say we were the oldest there by about 35 years 😂😂. What we did also find out was that Cardwell had just been approved to have a massive mountain bike park developed in the mountains around the town. It’s amazing and great to see how many small country towns are trying to lure tourists in with mountain bike tracks. Hopefully they will be finished the next time we are up here! S

Rollingstone Take 2

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The break at Home Hill and the Cape had been wonderful but it was also nice to be back in the van and heading north off on another adventure!! Well “adventure” might be a slight exaggeration as we had decided to return to a place we had already been in Rollingstone just north of Townsville. This time though we were back playing golf and so were keen to play a course called Mystic Sands which was just 15 mins from the campsite.

We had fond memories of Rollingstone campground and this time we had amassed enough loyalty points to score an upgrade and managed to book a site right on the beachfront with an en-suite!!! Luxury indeed!!

It was a great location and it was also nice to be back in our bed and we laughed as we both felt like we were “back home!!” It was lovely to have the windows all open and to sit and cook and eat outside listening to the waves and enjoying the fresh air. How very lucky we are.

Right on the beach!

We were only to be there for a couple of nights and so made the most of some walks along the beach and relaxing with the view.

Beautiful beaches to walk along right on our doorstep

Our trip to Mystic Sands golf club was certainly enjoyable although at first we had wondered what we had signed up for as the entrance to the golf course was packed with caravans and the place looked more like a caravan park than a golf course.

Still we paid for 9 holes and once we got to the golf course it was actually really really nice!! It was very green and in fairly good condition and we had a great afternoon. Just for the record Sarah won (I have been accused of not reporting the scores enough!).

Still the best golf bag in town!

We were at first a little anxious about returning to a place we had enjoyed before but we were definitely happy that we did and while it was only a very short stay it was definitely an enjoyable one. T

NQ Family Time

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Our arrival in Mackay was the start of several weeks of Barbagallo/Clive family time. We attended the wedding of our niece which was a lovely day even though it bucketed it down most of the day. The reception was a blast with the whole family there minus one sister.

We both scrubbed up not too bad
Mum and I
Siblings minus Fiona

After that we all packed up and headed off for a full family vacation to Airlie beach for four days. Unfortunately it rained for two of those but we still managed to have a fun time with the added bonus of none of us killing each other. 😂😂 We have another 2 nephews getting married over the next 6 months so we will all be seeing more of each other which will be nice!

Airlie beach once the sun came out!

Once everyone else went home Tim and I stayed on for a few more days to recuperate before heading back to the family farm to see Mum and Dad and then over to our family beach house for a week of mud crab catching and relaxing. I would have said fishing as well but we didn’t catch anything!

Glorious sunsets, crabs, oysters and lots of sun and sand

Once we had our fill of sun and sand we headed back to the farm for lots of golf and catching up with old school friends. We even managed a few little day trips around the area to tick off a few touristy things!

Endless sugar cane
Th Burdekin bridge with sugar mill in the background
Nephew Mark lighting a cane fire
Brother Eric on the water tractor just in case the fire spreads
Mountain biking in Townsville
Farm views
Beautiful Bowen
Bowen lookout
Rose Bay in Bowen

It was lovely heading home and getting to spend some quality time with my folks but all good things must come to an end so after raiding Dads veggie patch for some fresh produce we hooked up the van and started heading north! S

Dad and his veggies!

Nebo

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Our last stop before hitting the East coast was to be Nebo, a tiny town about 100km inland from Mackay and slap bang in the heart of a few mining towns.

We had researched the town and it had a caravan park and a small pub which had a pretty good reputation. On the way to the caravan park we passed the pub and it looked like a classic Queensland pub and was busy with mining patrons in their hi-vis shirts having a drink after shift. Perfect for us as the State of Origin was going to be on that night and we fancied a pub with atmosphere to enjoy it in.

First thing first though we had to find a place to park up for the night and so we headed to the caravan park. I would describe it as an American trailer park with a Queensland twist. There were lots of permanents and the whole place seemed somewhat run down. The owners were very friendly though and while it wasn’t the cleanest of places we have stayed it was within walking distance of the pub.

That night we had a great time at the pub watching the game, unfortunately Queensland lost but it was still a fun night although I think the party would have carried on a little longer had the result been reversed!!

Nebo was to be our last stop on this leg of our trip and the next day we headed to Mackay where we had our Niece’s wedding to attend. T

The Nebo Pub

Clermont

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Energised and recharged after our relaxing stay at Jericho we headed off to Theresa Creek Dam near Clermont to do the same thing again but on a lake. We knew it was going to be busy as it was the start of the school holidays but we had been told by other travellers that there was plenty of room for everyone. Well when we arrived we were both gobsmacked as to how many people there were. Rows and rows of caravans lined up in and around the lake. We could have found a spot with a little space miles away from the lake and facilities but we decided to keep driving into Clermont instead. So much for the relaxing stay we had planned.

Even when we got to Clermont we couldn’t get a powered site and had to stay in the unpowered which didn’t really bother us too much as we got a fair bit of space. No electric heater for us though. The sheer numbers of people staying in caravans now that we are back on the beaten track is just crazy!

Clermont doesn’t win any awards for tourist things to do but they do have a pretty nice golf course which we obviously played. Lovely grass fairways and greens and we both said it was one of the best little country courses we had played. It did help that I finally put a decent round together and took out the O’Keeffe comp!

Clermont golf club

Hilariously while we were away playing golf we experienced another “snuggle camper” someone who does not understand the concept of personal space. They literally had a whole field to park in and camped so close to us that we could hear their conversation. Luckily after Jericho we had decided to not just sit back and do nothing so Tim went and had a conversation with them and they moved further away. Weirdly they couldn’t even tell us why they had parked so close.

If you look closely you can spot the top of the “snuggle camper” just behind the Ute.

We didn’t stay long as we continued on our way towards Mackay but even though we were disappointed to not stay at the lake, Clermont was not a bad place to stop instead. S

A lagoon in the centre of town was nice to have a walk around
A piano in a tree, supposedly a remnant of a flood

Jericho

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After such a successful stay at Barcaldine we thought we would head to a campground nearby. The working station offered a tranquil camping experience on 15,000 acres where we could enjoy watching bird life around a lagoon. Sounded great. Unfortunately the reality was a little different and when we arrived we drove through 15km of dirt road and we passed about 20 caravans coming the other way (our optimistic view was that this meant for more space when we arrived!)

Unfortunately not. While the station may have been 15,000 acres all the campers were crammed in around a small lagoon which I would have been extremely surprised to see any wildlife in at all and have no idea where all the ones that we passed leaving had actually been set up. We decided to skip our stay here and move on.

Luckily we did because our onward journey led us to a tiny town called Jericho which had some very cheap camping set up next to a river. Beautiful we thought and everyone was nicely spread out and the whole place seemed nicely relaxed. We found a spot right by the river and set up. Unfortunately it was not our lucky day as while our backs were turned a group of 3 decided to set up right next to us. So close that that night we got to hear the sighing and snoring and to cap it off a deep discussion after one of the group thought they had felt a snake next to their tent…turned out it was just a nightmare.

It was still a great location and so the next day we moved sites and to be fair got a much better spot.

I would like to say that we did a lot for the next few days but we didn’t. We had some gorgeous fires and cooked some wonderful food over the coals and relaxed in the sun and the warmth. It was perfect. T