Boarder Country

16 to 23 February
After a couple of nights in Euston on the NSW side of the Murray we headed off to drive the Old Mail Road from Mildura to Boarder Cliffs, to camp near the Old Customs House.

Old mail route

The Sturt highway would have been easier, but the fun was in retracing the route of the old mail delivery ... all on dirt roads, no houses there anymore and didn't pass another vehicle in the 2 hours it took drive the 120km.
The route skirts the Murray sunset national park. The landscape is flat, dusty and very dry, unless under irrigation, the contrast is stark. We spent a few days bush camping just over the SA boarder by the old customs building, and along with bush walking, we found a fabulous brewery on the Murray built in an old shearing shed.

Murray sunset national park

Camping Lake Bonney

 After a quick stay and dip in Lake Bonney, and a delicious long lunch at Banrock Station Winery we headed to Mannum to catch up with Bev & Gary at their weekender. Surprise guests were supplied, in our netball friends Josie & Mark, so it was some weekend.

Peach picking

The view from the Mannum balcony was over wetlands, very pretty, and it was a weekend of eating, drinking, laughing and even a trip to the local orchard to collect peaches for preserving.

Kev, Bev and Mary

River Red Gums

9th to 15th February
The Murray river is Australia's largest at 2,375kms in length, forming much of the boarder between NSW and Victoria, eventually flowing into the sea in South Australia. Red River gums line the banks, and plenty of state forests for free camping.

Murray river flow

We met up with Sonya and Gary our camping buddies for the week, and headed out from Rutherglen,.. no time for winery tours, we were on the red river gums drive.
Base camp was in Barmah National Park VIC, alongside the Murray, the area was previously grazing lands and there were still remnants of old stock yards, fences and even feral horses which we got very close to on a morning walk. Very exciting.



The river provides habitat for plenty of bird life including kingfishers and egrets. the Wetlands boat tour took us up the narrowest part of the Murray, current was at about 7km/hr, all heading to South Australia.

Red river gum drive

The surrounding paddocks and forests were extremely dry, considering the volume of water heading down the Murray.
With Environmental flows in place, and regulators fitted to creeks, every bit of water goes down the river and isn't diverted unless allocated. Being in drought currently, the difference was stark




Once we reached Gunbower state forest we camped on the creek, and the boat ramp allowed us easy access to the water for a swim,.... much needed once we'd run out of shower water. Plenty of forest walks to do including the search, successful after the third attempt, to find the 'Eagle Tree' estimated to be between 800 and 1,000 years old.

Sonya and Gary, dwarfed by the Eagle tree

 Eagle tree

Wee Jasper to Jugiong

1st to 8th February
After spending January circling Sydney whilst Kevin waited for the specialist to give his shoulder the all clear, we finally managed to point the camper southwest and head out for the big trip in February.

Micalong creek reserve

Wee Jasper was our first stop, camping on Micalong creek which feeds into Burinjuck dam. It's only about 60kms from Yass, with the last few km's windy and steep to get down into the valley.

We were the only ones camping there, so had the place to ourselves, hot & cold showers and flushing toilets.. luxury!




Wee Jasper is a well known fishing spot for Trout, and we saw at least half a dozen brown and rainbow trout as we walked along the creek banks. Didn't try fishing, they looked too clever... but the water was refreshing, and we swam in the creek each day.

Jane testing her croc sandels

Kev heading back from a creek swim

After a few days we packed up and headed to Jugiong showground to drink champagne with Michelle and celebrate Phil's 'special' birthday. That afternoon and evening we had about 10mls of rain, didn't break the drought, but made packing up next day a muddy experience.

birthday gathering

before the rains

Coolah Tops

21st to 28th January
We've done the driving loop back to Molong to pick up our camper for a few days at Coolah Tops.
Back on the farm shearing is about to start, though ironically after two weeks of heat wave, there was 15mls of rain, which wet the sheep... so shearing was delayed.

wool classing table

shearing boards

At 1100m above sea level we were a balmy 33C, and camped at the Barracks campground, Coolah Tops National Park.

grass tree forest

 

Only a 500m walk away from where we were camping was a forest of about 200 huge grass trees.

The early settlers discovered the resin made a good explosive, and its believed that the Germans used the resin during WW1.

spur walk

rebuilt stable yard

 Before the heat of the day set in, we did a walk most mornings. Not being great with heights made walking out on the spurs an experience.




With 5 days at Coolah we managed to set up everything. The full annex, shower, chairs tables... the whole box and dice, including table cloths and fly covers. Kev was of course suitably horrified at the non blokeish additions.

annex up

 

The new solar blanket, in addition to our old 'A' frame solar panel (both rated at 150 watts) enabled us to run the 2 Waeko fridges for the full 5 days... who needs electricity.

 

side walls set

            




Plenty of wild life, with wallaby's, kangaroos, parrots, feral goats, deer and pigs... and yes there was also the mandatory huntsman spider in the toilet.... hidden in the toilet paper roll!

'Fancy' toilet... but still a long drop 

NSW Central West

14th to 20th January.
What better way to spend a 42C day than drive to Dubbo and Coonabarabran,.... air conditioning in the car made for cool travelling.

Proof pink elephants exist

The road from Molong to Cumnock through Yeovil to Dubbo has a 120km ‘animals on bikes’ paddock art sculpture trail, with 45 different creatures along the way. Yes, Kevin did see a pink elephant.

In Dubbo we visited the historic Old Dubbo Gaol, no longer in use but fully restored. Small dark prisoner cells, outdoor bathrooms and hangman's gallows in the courtyard, not an inviting place to be in the 1880's.




When in Coonabarabran we ventured into the Warumbunlge National Park to have a look at the new visitors centre.

Kevin at the Warumbungles

 In 2013 bush-fires started by a lightening strike destroyed 80% of the park including the visitors centre. Then, two weeks later a flash flood washed away the exposed top soil, luckily the bush is resilient and is recovering.

We did a couple of short walks ,but it was too hot, so we headed back to the motel pool  for a swim.







The Australia wide heat wave was still in full swing, so we headed to the Central Coast for some coastal cool breeze. We may not be at Yowie Bay but we're still doing plenty of swimming.

The skillion at Terrigal

Sydney to Molong

3rd to 13th January.
The trip has started, we’ve packed up all we think we need for the next 12 months and hit the road. Exactly how many handbags and shoes needed is a bit of a guess, but I’m sure we’ll make do. First stop is Molong just outside Orange with our friends Julia and Reg at their Homestead, Larras Lake.

The original wing of the homestead was built in 1830, with additions through the years. Today it’s a lovely old home with many rooms, thick walls and high ceilings to help beat the heat. Days have been in the mid 30C’s so having a pool in the home yard has been fabulous.

There’s great examples of stone work on the property, including the handmade fences and arches. Whilst Kevin’s shoulder continues to recover we’ve been staying in the house which is a real treat..... we’ll be camping soon enough.

Being a working sheep property, we’re a week or so away from shearing and the sheep are mustered in readiness, so hopefully we’ll be able to have a look at that.

Not much farming actin for us as we’ve been siteseeing, swimming or keeping out of the heat, though we have chased a stray lamb back to the flock if that counts.

Whilst we’ve only been away since 3rd January, we’re enjoying the opportunity to do and see new things that travel presents.

Planning for 2019 on the Nullarbor

The countdown is on, the camper’s being packed, the land rover serviced and we’re working out what possessions we’ll be taking with us for 12 months on the road..... not sure what will make the final cut, but the new porta potti is definitely a starter.
The plan is to ease our way into the trip with time in the alpine areas, then do the Murray river run, ending up at Lake Gairdner SA for speed week before trekking the National parks along the Nullarbor..... and from there, well we’ll just have to see.
Heading off early January, and who knows we may see some of you along the way.

final packing

East-coast to Sydney

9th August to 18th August
The last leg of our epic trip saw us traverse the east coast of Australia southward from Hervey Bay in QLD finally reaching Caringbah almost 5 months after first leaving home. Staying with friends and family on the way south, we enjoyed great days out at Hervey Bay, Broadbeach on the Gold Coast, Sawtell and Coffs Harbour. After months of camping we had to reintroduce ourselves to the luxuries of living in a house, indoor bathrooms and interacting with society.

Gunbarrel highway

 During our time away we covered just over 18,000km and averaged 13L/100km, paying between $1.47L and $2.50L for Diesel. The vast majority of the trip was on gravel roads, thankfully we only managed 2 flat tyres..... both on the camper not the Land Rover D3 which had Cooper ST Max tyres.
The camper trailer was a very comfortable home away from home, and it's kitchen, 2  fridges, outside shower and plenty of storage ensured the trip was easy, and the bed was as comfortable as any 5 star hotel... with real stars every night.

Camper-trailer set up

The camper could be set-up within 15minutes, and that included chairs, tables, ground mat and a drink in our hands. Thank-you automatic set up button! We often had an audience as the hydrolic arm got to work opening the camper out sideways, so that the roof became the hard floor, with canvas above.
The weather throughout the trip was perfect, it wasn't cold at night and the days were shorts and t-shirt weather. We only experienced rain twice, once at Uluru where we saw water cascading down the rock and then at Millstream national park in the dry Pilbera.

Yowie Bay, Caringbah

There are so many memorable experiences... traversing remote roads, camping alone in the outback, seeing the sun set over the ocean in the west, hiking in national parks, swapping stories with like minded travelers and simply enjoying the Australian outback.

Yet when we turned into our drive, came down the inclinator to our home and looked out across the bay we thought, ..... let's holiday at home for a while.

Jane and Kevin

Darwin to Hervey Bay

31st July to 9th August
From Darwin we headed south, and started our journey towards home. We took the Stuart Hwy to Three Ways NT, turned onto the Barkley Hwy to Mount Isa QLD, onto the Lansborough Hwy to Winton and Longreach and then the Capricorn Hwy to Rockhampton, finally reaching Hervey Bay 10 days later. A journey of over 3,000km.

Barkley campsite

Our first night on the road was spent camped behind the roadhouse at Dunmarra, where for less that $20 we had a campsite, with hot showers, plus a beer and glass of wine thrown in. Next night was a free camp along the Barkley where we were back to camping by an abandoned bore.

Bladensburg Shearing shed

Just out of Winton is Bladensburg National Park, where we camped for a few days beside Bough Shed water hole. It was originally a sheep station and many of the shearing sheds and buildings are still standing. Today it's reverted to natural grasses and spinifex, with plenty of bird-life including honey eaters, red winged parrots and Brolga.

Brolga at Bladensburg

The Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum is built on a jump up just out of Winton, and houses the largest collection of Australian dinosaur bones in the world. Numerous fossil bones have been dug up from the black soil plains of the area including Australia's biggest meat eating dinosaur (Australovenator wintonensis) nicknamed Banjo.

Banjo and Kevin

Longreach is home to the Stockman's Hall of Fame, where we spent a few hours looking at the history of the Australian outback. Before the motor vehicle, transport was slow hard work. Camels teams could  average distances of 1,000km a month, a bullock team 350km and a team of horses about 600km. Getting supplies to the outback was a long slow process.

Our last night on the road before arriving at Hervey Bay was a little town called Duringa, population 200,  about 150km west of Rockhampton. We set up on the town common, and explored the surrounds. The houses were mostly classic old queenslanders, on stilts with wide balconies to catch the breeze.

Packing up the camper-trailer the next morning it was a strange feeling as after almost 5 months living on the road, we'd had our last night in it for a while. It's been such a comfortable and reliable home. From here on it's a quick trip down the east coast, staying with family and friends, to Sydney and home.

Hope you've enjoyed sharing our travels. Jane and Kevin

Darwin

19th July to 30th July
Darwin in 'the dry season' is a fabulous place, it's warm without the summer humidity, and the evenings are pleasantly cool. We were lucky enough to stay with friends who have a glorious apartment overlooking Cullen Bay Marina, and who invited us sailing on their 37ft catamaran, Tiata. What great hosts!

Tiata

Darwin has a history intwined with WW2, and we spent time exploring the East Point military museum complex, and gun emplacements built to protect our northern frontier. Darwin was bombed 64 times during WW2, and the initial raid on 18 February 1942 was by the same Japanese force that bombed Pearl Harbour the previous December.

188 planes flew the initial raid, and dropped more bombs and destroyed more ships than at Pearl Harbour. For the rest of the war the Darwin residents were evacuated to Alice Springs, leaving only military personnel. The old airforce runways can still be seen beside the Stuart Hwy out of town.

Cullen Bay Marina

We toured town, went to the old wharf which had been fully restored, and now has bases for the Navy, boarder protection, customs and commercial vessels.

Stokes Hill wharf, Darwin

We explored the oil tunnels under the city which where hand dug into the sandstone during WW2. The tunnels were meant to store millions of litres of military and shipping oil. Like the gun emplacements they weren't completed before the war had finished, so never saw use.

Another great thing to see is the aircraft museum, you name it they have it, including a B52 bomber which was donated by the USA.

Fogg Dam Croc warning

Fogg Dam is a nature reserve  just out of town. The area is the remnants of a failed rice growing venture, which has made a great wetland for the birds. There's also a couple of salt water crocodiles  that have taken up residence, so consequently no walking the dam wall in case you get eaten.

Mindel beach markets are iconic, so of course we spent a Thursday evening there. Plenty of great Asian food stalls, and jewellery stalls on offer, so everyone was happy.

After our relaxing stay with Lyn & Rudy in the heart of the city, it's time to hit the road again and start heading towards the east coast. Outdoor showers and roadside camping here we come!