November 6th Claremont - 23rd November Roma QLD

Emerald Botanical Gardens

So with a promise to try and stay more current here we go again.

After saying farewell to the Brooksbys , (as they head off down the coast home to Adelaide , with kisses and hugs we promised that we would catch up at Christmas ) we head back inland to Charters Towers then South towards Emerald.

Craft time in the car DArcy and Taine

After staying longer than expected in Townsville we knew that we had to get some KMs under our belt - with out going crazy so we headed directly on to Claremont. There had obviously been some recent rain in the area and the storm looked like it was still in the area but as it turned out we only got two or three drops. It was purely a overnight stop for us so we pulled into the caravan park, ate dinner, watched a movie then went to bed before hitting the road again headed for Emerald.

Taine and DArcy riding the monorail in the Emerald Botanic Gardens

Us going over Fairburn Dam

Emerald is a coal mining town and there are mines etc all along the road as you head into town. We had to pick up the mail and school books then headed south west of town to Fairburn Dam (three times the water of Sydney harbour) for the night. It was beautiful and 75% full so a great place to camp for the night. You can only stay in the caravan park so we picked a site close to the lakes edge and settled in. It is a well know spot for Redclaw (like a yabbie) so we put in our nets overnight and hoped for the best - using cat food as the recommended bait. Most people however have boats and put out a lot of pots and are up and out on the water at 6am each day. They were catching plenty but ours were only thrown in off the bank.

The mighty big Redclaw

Taine and DArcy with the "sleeping" Redclaw - Fairburn Dam QLD

The camp kitchen was good so we enjoyed an evening cooking and chatting with other travellers and holiday makers and even had the chance to watch TV Yeahhhh!!!!!!

The boys headed down to the dam early and were very excited by the fact that they had actually caught any Redclaw including one monster . They relayed the pots and then headed in for a swim. It had a nice sandy bottom so although they couldnt see too far it wasnt yucky to stand on.

We then walk around the bank of the dam before we all headed in for another swim, carefully avoiding the big tortoises that kept popping up around us. DArcy and i then swam out to the boat bouy having a little panic every time something touched out leg. It was a good long swim against the wind to DArcy and i were stuffed by the time we got back! Good fun though.

Fairburn dam is well know for its birdlife and in the afternoon the Rainbow Lorikeets come in from everywhere. They are obviously accustomed to getting fed and are very very very very friendly and not frightened at all. The kids and i had a ball sitting down and having them crawl and jump and bit and poo all over us. It was a real highlight for the kids.

Feeding the birds at Fairburn Dam QLD

From the dam Kym and i had made the decision to head a little further south to the Carnarvon National Park as we had previously missed it on our very first trip north to QLD in 1993. It would mean a little backtracking but we thought it would be worth it.

Carnarvon Gorge National Park - QLD

It is a national park known for its walks and let me tell you that is true.!!!!! It was hot, very hot and the walks were long, very long. Our first afternoon we spent in the local rock pools keeping cool as it was just too hot to be anywhere else. The following morning we were on the walking track by 8am and already there was a bite in the sun. Some of the gorge was closed because of a recent fire but still we had a 14km round trip ahead of us in 40 plus weather. The walk was mostly flatish with lots of river crossings and side walks to take. It was beautiful and the creek was flowing so we took advantage of it by drinking it, dunking our hats in it and at one stage taking off our shoes and boots and soaking our tired feet in the cold water. It was a long 4 plus hours but it was well worth the effort. (The national park is currently 23/11 completely closed due to the huge bush fire in the area) My crazy parents recently did the entire 20 km walk and mum even went back two days later and did another 14kms because she though she had missed some of the side attractions!!!!!!!!! Crazy stuff!!

That afternoon we went back to our air conditioned caravan, watched a movie and all complained about our sore feet. Jurassic park was the movie of choice as the Dinosaur fossils that we had visited in Winton were partly an inspiration for the movie so we thought it was a good idea to watch it!!! Early in the evening we headed back to the Rock pools and just floated and chatted to to some of the other travellers.

The boys climbing at the Rock Pools Carnarvon NP

Early to bed with out too many complaints from anyone - especially me.

From Carnarvon National Park we had to back track to Emerald - top up on groceries then head onto Sapphire and Rubyvale. While we were in Fairburn Dam, Kym had called the Brooksbys to rave about the area and unknown to us other friends of theirs - Karl and Caz had also promoted the area - so as we came into phone range we organised to catchup again in Sapphire. Up to Sapphire Caravan Park we went and with out exagerating it is one of the best parks we have stayed in all year. The layout, the owners, the pool, the toilets, the sites, the outlook, the campkitchen and the cost were fantastic. It is a real Gem in the Gemfields. There was only our three vans there and we had a fantasitic three days. Although i would not like to travel permanently with other people having the Brooksbys and Caz and Karl around just made the stay complete. The kids got on great and the rest of us just a a brilliant time. As it turns out we have ran into and chatted to Caz and Karl many times on our trip (Katherine, Edith Falls, Mataranka and Normanton) and had never realised that it was the friends that the Brooksbys had been chatting about. We all did the gem fossicking and all had some success and had a great time doing it. We all took our stones around to a local cutter and should receive the cut stones in January some time. The rest of the stones we found are to small to be cut in Australia so we have the address of a cutter in Thailand that will cut stones of any size and at 1/10 of the price of here.

Searching for The Big One - Sapphire QLD

Taine thinks he has got one!!!

The Brooksby girls and Riley hoping for a huge one

The rest of our time was spent floating and chatting in the pool before moving onto the 'restaurant' Italiano that Riley, Georgia and the boys created at the camp kitchen. It was great to have the chance to relax and chat with other travellers and Caz and Karl are a great laugh. Now leaving Sapphire we were sure that we were parting company for good this time from the Brooksbys (more photos ) after our false starts in Mt Isa and Townsville, as they have to be home a little earlier than us. Karl and Caz are from Perth so they should be passing through Adelaide in February sometime!

From Sapphire we continued West chasing the hot, actually very hot weather. We stopped overnight at Lloyd Jones Weir near Balcaldine after visiting The Tree of Knowledge and having a drink in one of six pubs in the main street. The pub we drank at has recently been bought by a NZ family and one of the daughters and a cousin were working the place. I dont think Barcaldine would know what hit them with those dynamo's. They had the party going with 80's music - i loved it, and it was only midday. Look out Barcaldine!!!!! Great girls. Lloyd Jones Weir is a free camp and iI suspect during the winter months it would be very very popular. It is a nice spot but the water levels were low and it was hot hot hot , but we opened up all the windows and vents, watched a movie outside on the computer, watched the goats and kangaroos play chasey on the banks for the weir and had a great nights sleep.

The tree at Lloyd Jones Weir with a little bit of something left from other travellers - DArcy left his sunglasses in the tree. Near Barcaldine QLD

The following day we headed to Longreach which is a destination we (Kym and I ) had always intended to visit on this trip. It has meant a bit of backtracking but who knows when we will be up here again. We arrived early and were set up by 11am knowing it was going to be another scorching hot day - 47 C it turns out and it was a stinker.

In the spa at Longreach Caravan park

The park however had some 'spas' and we spent a good 5-6 hours just sitting and playing in them through out the day and evening, having our last swim at about 9pm before heading to bed. It was great and helped us survive the day. Although we do have airconditioning it really does struggle in that kind of heat. Especially day after day after day. This area of Australia really is a winter travelling area but im still really glad we have been out to visit. It has meant we havent been able to bush camp like we would have liked but you need to be fair on the kids and sensible in this kind of weather.

The Stockmans Hall of Fame

Longreach is famous for its Stockmans Hall of Fame and The QANTAS Foundation museum. We decided that we would see both of them the next day heading out early to the museum. Well let me tell you, i was very surprised and our couple of hours turned into 4 hours and still we could have spent longer. The kids loved it and were entertained by all the attractions and had some educational sheets to fill in as well. The staff were great and we really enjoyed our tour of the Jumbo. We were booked in on the 9am tour but we were busy in the museum still so changed to the 11am tour which turned out to be a great idea. We were the only ones on it and so im sure we got more out of it.

QANTAS Museum Longreach QLD

For lunch we headed into the main street and had pies and cakes from the Merino Bakery - yumbo we were all very happy with the taste and the price. Very nice.

We then headed straight out to the Hall of Fame. It is a beautiful building and doesnt look 21 years old. Whether it was because we had all enjoyed the QANTAS museum so much im not sure but the Hall of Fame was not as good. Many people spend hours and hours and hours there but i think with the kids, the interaction was not enough and there was just toooooooo much reading to be done. Never the less we all got something out of it and it was a great place to escape the heat. 45C plus again. The rest of the night was spent in the spas again trying to stay cool.

Not much in Blackall - between Longreach and Tambo, actually people have said that there is F___all at Blackall (John Atkinson!) - we found the Black Stump.

Saturday we were on the road pretty early to beat the heat and we were set up and swimming in Tambo by before lunch getting the only site with shade in the park! The park had a pool so again (sounds like a record) we spent the afternoon in the pool. The kids are all starting to be over the trip and spent alot of the afternoon planning what and when and how we should get home!!! Kym and i had some work to do that night so the kids happily watched a video while Kym and i sat outside working . Tambo for us was just a stop over but it was a very pleasant evening.

If your name was Mitchell would you go out of your way in 40 plus degree weather just to go to a town named Mitchell. We would! It is famous for its artesian hot spas as well so after setting up camp - we headed back in to town to visit the springs. $22.oo for the family to get in so let me tell you (im a Bird ) we were going to get our moneys worth. We arrived at 1pm left at closing time at 6pm and spent the entire afternoon swapping from hot spring (39C) to cooler spring (29C) to the large swimming pool - 3.5 metres deep in the deep end. What a day - apparently the minerals or herbs and spices as we call them are good for aching and weary bones .

The Mitchell hot springs

We then spent some time taking pictures of all the Mitchell things in town. Easily entertained we are.

Mitchell QLD

Up again early to avoid the heat - a reoccurring theme - we headed to Roma. It is a larger town in the oil and gas field here in QLD. After getting the tyres on the van rotated and flipped and a new battery (the old one had buldged in the heat) we headed to the park with the pool and again found the only site with shade. The kids swam, i did the grocceries - before spending three hours updating the blog on top of the three hours i spent last night - and Kym worked in the afternoon. Tomorrow we are off to the cattle sale yards before heading on to St George.

Roma Sale Yards - Roma QLD

Life of the road continues to be great fun although as i mention the kids are really homesick and pushing to get home. Riley particularly so! We understand that but as we know once we are home our trip of a life time is over so we arent pushing it. We have the date of the 18th December in mind so at this time it is still our planned arrival date. Exciting for all of us really.

Mt Isa 5th October 2009 - Townsville 8th November 2009

And Kym thinks he is the only one who works hard!! Riley, DArcy and Taine ready for a hard days work underground - Mt Isa Queensland

So once again a month or more has passed and im yet to update the blog. Apparently a few people read it and apparently its a good idea and apparently ill look back on it and be glad that i did it! Dont know about that but ill take your word for it and push ahead with it. I remember as a teenager starting a diary in the New Year and never getting past about January 10th!

As usual i'll preference this entry by saying it will be brief and to the point so as not to take alllll night. Im a very busy traveller as you can imagine and have so many things i should be doing and seeing!

View from the Mt Isa Lookout - QLD

So Mt Isa is a good place to start. Kym had us set up and settled in no time as he prepared to fly out for 10 days down to Roxby Downs - Olympic Dam for his final bit of away work for the rest of the trip. The kids and i are an organised machine while he is away and do pretty well so once we dropped him off at the airport we settled into our usual routine and got on with a new term of school work. It was Astronomy week so the focus for school was a little different and ive inserted a couple of pictures of them doing science stuff!

DArcy and Riley preparing to 'fly' a balloon from one end of the van to the other during an online lesson

Rileys moonscape (built on top of our BBQ) using some of the boys figurines and toys and other things she found in the caravan - Space Week for school.

Taine and Marnie making 3D shapes for maths - Mt Isa Qld

Outside of school work will still managed to visit the sites - the local dam, lookout and the underground mining experience that we all loved. We all had to look the part in our high vis orange overalls as well as carrying ear muffs, glasses and once underground headlights on our hard hats. It was a great tour with lots of working underground experience and a guide who seemed to really enjoy his job. I would recommend it to any one. Attached to the mining museum is a fossil museum that we also visited. The information was there and we had the opportunity to talk to a paleontologist but after the mining museum it really was no where near as good. The best part was that we yet again ran into our travelling friends, The Brooksbys and spent the next couple of nights together catching up.

Riley, Georgia, DArcy and Taine at the mining museum in Mt Isa - QLD

Uncovering bones on a simulated dinosaur dig in the fossil museum in Mt Isa - QLD

The Underground Hospital - Mt Isa

Mt Isa also gave us the chance to do a little beauty treatments and as you can tell DArcy loved having his hair pulled throught the cap as i got it ready to bleach.

After Kym returned from a very busy couple of weeks working we had a couple of days to pack up and organised and we were on the road again. Taine was excited to show him that he had finally lost his first tooth and DArcy with his blonde tips!!

We made the decision that we had the time to head to Townsville on the coast and catch up with a few wonderful friends from when we were living and working in Queensland. The route of course was not direct as there were things we had to see and do on the way:)

From Mt Isa we travelled south see the Min Min lights of Boulia. Id never heard of them but apparently the locals and some visitors have seen strange and unexplainable lights 'floating' in the area and no one seems to be able to tell where or why they are there. At the tourist information centre they have an awesome show that has locals spinning yards about their experiences with the lights and it was great. A surprising attraction in the middle of nowhere.

They weren't smiling while they were inside watching the Min Min light show let me tell you.

The caravan park in Boulia is closed for the Summer so we headed down to the edge of the Bourke river to camp for the night. (to the complaints of Taine!) We found a great spot, the boys were off over the river to explore and find a place to put the yabbie nets in , and Kym and i enjoyed the serenity. Apparently the river is also the place where the locals bring there 'pig dogs' to swim and train so there was a couple of packs that came through in the early evening but by 7pm it was peaceful and quiet. The boys were happy as they caught a few Red Claws that we cooked up and ate for breakfast and of course then Taine didnt want to leave after all the complaints the previous night!

Taine and some of the Red Claw that DArcy caught on the Bourke River near Boulia QLD

The climb didnt seem or look very steep on the way up tp the lookout but coming down towing a 23 foot long van wasnt as easy as it looked. On the road between Boulia and Winton QLD

Winton is only a short drive from Boulia so we got set up in the caravan park behind the petrol station (that had no fuel) then spent the afternoon pottering. The following day was an early start as we headed out to Lark Quarry - home of the dinosaur stampede fossils!.. It is in the middle of nowhere and although the kids werent overly interested after the inital look, Kym and i found it interesting. It was a hot and dry day so after we arrived back in Winton the kids and i spent the late afternoon in the local pool while Kym did some work back at the van. Winton is famous for the Waltzing Matilda Centre - which was our entertainment for the following day along with another dinosaur museum and the out door cinema with the worlds largest deck chair. The Waltzing Matilda Centre was enjoyable but i think we could have missed the other attractions! Winton was lovely but the water was terrible. It is all artesian bore and to say it stinks is an understatement. I actually thought the eggs had gone off in the van! Ask the kids, but even mixed with cordial it was undrinkable!!!!!!!!!

Riley Street - Winton QLD

Our little Swaggie Family - Winton QLD

Lark Quarry - 120kms from Winton QLD

You may have to get out the map to keep track but from Winton we then North again, then East through Hughenden and Pentland with out sights set on Charters Towers - 136 kms from the coast. Kym and i lived in Charters back in 1993 so we wanted to show the kids where we had lived etc. Col and Family ( a guy Kym knows from work) lives in the area so we were able to park up our van and stay a couple of nights. The kids loved it as it came with a pool, motorbike, slug gun, TV and dvd player for entertainment as well as chickens, a dog and a 22 year old son who was happy to entertain them! Charters Towers is a lovely old town and we enjoyed showing the kids around. We had lived in an old railway quaters that had been relocated so we headed out to have a look at it, but could not find it, but on a second search we found it slap bang between a new gold mining operation and an explosive company. We hazard a guess that no one longer lives in it but it serves as an administration block.

Taine and DArcy shooting the pellet gun

Collecting the eggs ready for breakfast - Riley dropped hers so she had just toast!

From Charters it was just a quick trip to the coast giving us time to set up early at the van park (with its on esuite - our first of the trip) before heading out to catch up with some of our special friends in Townsville. The Atkinsons worked and travelled with us for about 6 years and it was wonderful to see them again. We have been in touch occasionally but it felt like only yesterday once we all got chatting. They have three boys similar in age to our kids and they got on well so the afternoon visit turned into a midnight finish with the time passing in a flash. Our real intention of coming over as far as Townsville was to visit friends so our visit was off to a great start. The next morning was breakfast with more work friends. They had all been out to a fundraising ball the night before so the only way to describe them was SICK. They must be congratulated on the effort they put in and lunch by midday isnt tooooo bad an effort considering the way they were feeling. Thanks Collis Family. The rest of our day was spent touring Townsville and surrounds including taking in the great views from Castle Hill.

We had planned on staying a week in Townsville so had a lot to pack into a short time. Monday we caught up with our lovely travelling friends the Gon Chees who we hadnt seen since Perth in February. They are great fun and we spent the day and evening laughing and telling more stories from our travels. They are due to be home soon so it was great to spend the time with them before they headed on South. Riley and Brittany, DArcy, Taine and Dylan acted as if they had only seen them the week before and had a great day swimming in the Riverside pools together.

Sadly that day we also got a call from the nursing home that Grandma Ruby (Kyms Grandma) was very sick and infact while we were on the phone to them she passed away. She was 90 years old and had been in care with dimentia for about two years. Kym had seen here only two weeks before so that was a good thing. Her funeral was to be the following Monday so we had to make the arrangements for Kym to fly down at the end of the week and be with his pa and the rest of the family. Although it was not totally unexpected it was a sad day for us all.

Me and Grandma Ruby January 09 Kym and Grandma Ruby January 09



We continued to visit friends spending a night with the Irwins. Mark and Gayle are such a laugh and i dont think they have changed in the time we have known them. We met them when they were working and living in Charters Towers at the same time as us and we have crossed paths many time since with work and even buying houses in the same street in Townsville. The kids had a great time with their son Matthew - scooting and skateboarding in the back yard. Again it turned into another late night of chatting.

Kym and the kids spent the next day on Magnetic Island - hiring a Mini Moke for the day. Unfortunately they only seat 4 people so i had to spend the day by myself at the movies and having lunch. It was a sacrifice i was willing to make for the family. Pity the day was just toooooo short. They enjoyed the Moke hire - except for Reverse gear which was a bit tough to find as it ended up in Kyms bum area but from all accounts Maggie Island was all closed up for the season so there was not alot to do or see.

The next day was also very busy as we spent the day at the Reef HQ Aquarium, IMAX theatre followed by Cactus Jacks Mexican restaurant for dinner topped off with a stroll around the Strand Markets. It was a lovely night and just perfect for a night spent outdoors.

Kym flew out at 555am on Saturday for Adelaide. It rained on and off most of the day so the kids and i spent most of the day watching videos only getting out of our PJs to get ready to go out to the Basketball - Townsville Crocodiles vs the Woolongong Hawks - Crocs played poorly and lost but we all enjoyed the night out.

Sunday was more of the same weather wise so we had another quiet day. That night our travelling buddies the Brooksbys arrived surprisingly so again the next couple of days was spent catching up and chatting. The Brooksbys hung around until came back from Adelaide as they had missed him in Mt Isa so we had another night with friends at the caravan park before hitting the road again after over two weeks in Townsville. We all love Townsville and other than its distance to Adelaide i was out voted 4 - 1 about moving back up there permanently. I think someone might have offered a few monetory and electronic insentives to get them to vote his way. Lets say we were looking at realestate and schools so it was a pretty serious consideration but...... we have to many relationships and responsabilities now in Adelaide to do that. I think we may vist more often though.

We have a wonderful last month and we, especially Kym and I have loved revisiting so of the towns of our past. For me the highlight of the month was certainly catching up with all our wonderful friends. I guess it doesnt matter how often you see eachother as long as the conversation and laughs flow when you do. Thank you Atkinsons (Lachlan, Oliver and Jonas :) ), Collis Family, Anne and Murdo and to the very funny Irwins. Love and Kisses Us

XXXXX

Also to Great Grandma Ruby - you loved Kym, adored our kids and took me into the family. We love you and will remember you always. Love from us all XXXXX