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Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Monday, June 12, 2017
The Tagalong tours Gibb River rd Tour 2017
Home to Coober Pedy
Well the Tagalong tours trip for 2017 has started. We left
Friday after we cracked the frost of the car and headed to Hahndorf in the
Adelaide Hills for our first overnight stop. We decided on staying in a cabin
for the first night and the van park at Hahndorf was pretty good. There is a
historic truck get together in Hahndorf for the weekend which provided a lot of
interest. Morris, Bedford, International and Kenworth well represented in the
line-up.
It is blood cold tonight and I suspect a frost in the morning.
Morning has broken and yep you guessed it frost -1 deg.
Breakfast in a nice little place called the Hauss which provided a great start
for the day. And what a great day it turned out to be as we headed from
Hahndorf through to Pimba, well that was the plan but we chickened out. 
We stayed at Stuart Range Caravan Park and nothing much has
changed there. Still can’t get a sensible site numbering system as well as
trying to shoe horn 2 vans on one site or that’s how it looked to us. Absolute
confusion. We have decided any future sojourns up way we are staying someplace
else. Gaz, Shaz, Rob and Judy turned up early afternoon so it was a quiet
afternoon setting and talking.
Cold again tonight but we are in the roof top
tent so will see what tomorrow brings.
Not to early a rise this morning and whilst it was really
cold the accommodation was not bad we are pretty happy with the setup, albeit,
the ladder up and down for our early morning sojourns to the dunny are not that
enjoyable. Today was a fairly lazy day. Rob and Judy haven’t been here before
so they are off exploring while for us it was just some housekeeping and bit of
last minute shopping and out to the breakaways for the sunset.
Headed out about 16.15 to the breakaways for the sunset so
we were a little early but gave a chance to have a good look around and be it a
good position for the sunset display, apparent quite a few others had the same
idea and it was pretty busy but none the less spectacular. Pizza for our last
meal at Coober Pedy before a relatively early night. Tomorrow we head for the
Alice.
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| Breakaways |
Coober Pedy to Alice Springs
Well we are now in new territory for Di and I we haven’t
been past Coober Pedy heading north. So we were up early and on the road by
08.30. Pretty quiet on the road considering there are a heap of people heading
for the Finke Desert Rally and so we made good time to Marla for our first
stop. Bit of morning tea and stretch and on the road again heading for the NT
boarder. 20 km down the road our plans came to a screaming halt. The Mazda
engine just stopped, no warning just a tell-tale orange engine light say “got
you now sucker”. We try to maintain the car as best we can and I have
confidence in our mechanic but the technical gremlins of modern cars get you
every time, especial when everything is going so well. I have an EDMS setup in
the car which gives you the error codes from the cars black box. Apparently the
camshaft positioning sensor just packed it in consequently engine stops. After
about 30 min of trouble shooting and trying things it was clear we weren’t
going anyplace under our own steam. Rob towed us back to Marla minus trailer
while Gaz and Shaz stood guard over the trailer on the side of the road (no
mobile service to ring RACV) then returned to pick up trailer and bring it into
Marla.
News is not good car Mazda is going nowhere seems it’s
probably terminal. We loaded Wendy and most of her gear into Gaz and Robs
wheels and they have continued on while we wait for the “mechanic” to give us
some news with the hope of an easy fix and catch up. No luck there though
pretty sure either timing belt has malfunction or something has come loose in
that area either way we are going nowhere in a hurry. Next day was spent
looking for options and solutions. I’m glad we sent the others on so they could
continue with the trip. In the end we arranged transport for the Mazda back to
Bendigo, stored the camper as Rob will bring it back for us and organised
transport back to home. Which is a whole other story but consisted of 14hrs on
a bus from Marla to Adelaide, 2 nights in Adelaide, flight to Melbourne and bus
Melbourne to home. 12 months or more of planning for us anyway down the drain.
So no Gibb river blog and we are home a week after we started our 6 week trip.
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| Glenelg |
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Monday, May 22, 2017
Update on the camper
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Tewantin to Broken Bay
Tewantin
From Hervey Bay we made the short trip down to Tewantin - Noosa to catch up with Brad and the grand kids. Well 3 nights ended up 5 nights as our travel plans are pretty fluid and it was good to catch up with the kids.
So it was the usual stuff dinner out one night to celebrate Max (Gillies Young Guns facebook page) being sponsored by a major fishing tackle importer and Darcey's successful production at school. A trip to Eummundi markets and a bit of fishing with Max, Gaz and Myself( 14 whiting with Max getting a PB of 40 cm) and that about sums up the week really. We are still getting plenty of rain as we have for most of the trip thus far, hopefully we will get a bit of a break soon. Our next leg will be to Broken Heads in NSW just south of Byron Bay.
Broken Bay well broken something
The trip from Tewantin to Broken Bay wasn't the best. It rained steadily for most of the trip down. Di and I have not been to Byron Bay and I guess we wanted to see what all the hype was about Broken Bay was a little further on so we thought that would be a good base. Once past the Gold Coast we had a few roadworks but made good time all the same. The small caravan park had been recommended to us and whilst it wasn't too bad the 50% hike in site fees from the previous week ($37 a night) was just gob smacking. $60 a night was a bit rich plus a 3 night minimum and to top it off the sites had such a slope and so small it made levelling impossible. Gary couldn't even get his car on his site. The staff were less than helpful so all in all this put rather a dampener on it. And while we tried to set up it poured, didn't help the temperament I can tell you. Weather for our 3 day stay
wasn't the best and too cold for a dip. We managed a trip to the macadamia nut castle, a look around Byron Bay and out to the Crystal Castle helped pass the time.
Macadamia nut castle hasn't changed much over the years and was good for lunch. Byron Bay well we've seen it now not sure what all the hype is about.
The Crystal Castle was the star really. It is a place of worship for Buddhists and has to be seen to be believed.
From Hervey Bay we made the short trip down to Tewantin - Noosa to catch up with Brad and the grand kids. Well 3 nights ended up 5 nights as our travel plans are pretty fluid and it was good to catch up with the kids.
So it was the usual stuff dinner out one night to celebrate Max (Gillies Young Guns facebook page) being sponsored by a major fishing tackle importer and Darcey's successful production at school. A trip to Eummundi markets and a bit of fishing with Max, Gaz and Myself( 14 whiting with Max getting a PB of 40 cm) and that about sums up the week really. We are still getting plenty of rain as we have for most of the trip thus far, hopefully we will get a bit of a break soon. Our next leg will be to Broken Heads in NSW just south of Byron Bay.
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| Visitor to our caravan site |
Broken Bay well broken something
The trip from Tewantin to Broken Bay wasn't the best. It rained steadily for most of the trip down. Di and I have not been to Byron Bay and I guess we wanted to see what all the hype was about Broken Bay was a little further on so we thought that would be a good base. Once past the Gold Coast we had a few roadworks but made good time all the same. The small caravan park had been recommended to us and whilst it wasn't too bad the 50% hike in site fees from the previous week ($37 a night) was just gob smacking. $60 a night was a bit rich plus a 3 night minimum and to top it off the sites had such a slope and so small it made levelling impossible. Gary couldn't even get his car on his site. The staff were less than helpful so all in all this put rather a dampener on it. And while we tried to set up it poured, didn't help the temperament I can tell you. Weather for our 3 day stay
wasn't the best and too cold for a dip. We managed a trip to the macadamia nut castle, a look around Byron Bay and out to the Crystal Castle helped pass the time.
Macadamia nut castle hasn't changed much over the years and was good for lunch. Byron Bay well we've seen it now not sure what all the hype is about.
The Crystal Castle was the star really. It is a place of worship for Buddhists and has to be seen to be believed.
Gibb River road and the Kimberly's
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Fraser Island - Sand, low range and beach driving
Fraser Island
It was not a really early start as the ferry to Kingfisher Bay from River head wasn't leaving till 1230 but we had to put the vans in storage. Luckily Shaz's sister Ann and hubby Phil have quite a bit of space and allowed us to store them there for the 3 days for which we are very grateful. As it turned out it took us very little time to drop them off so we all headed for River head (Phil, Anne and Craig included) for coffee before departure. Loaded on the ferry and a very uneventful 50 minute trip to Kingfisher Bay saw us on Fraser Island. Lunch at Kingfisher Bay lower the tyre pressure and off we go. Our accommodation was in Eurong which was on the other side of the Island. Its only around 20kms but is all 4wd sand, narrow roads with speed limits of 30 km hour. Still we made good time and arrived at our base for the next 3 days around 3 ish. For the next 3 days we are staying in a house called Reid's Place in second valley Eurong.
Its a little dated but was clean and reasonable comfortable and I think everyone enjoyed it. The rest of the day was spent unpacking and settling in. Driving on Fraser Island is an experience many of the roads are single lane width, cut through the surrounds, blind bends and no where to get off the track to allow other cars to pass so great care is needed. This is a first for Shaz and Gaz as neither have been to Fraser before.
New day dawns and after a leisurely breakfast we head up the beach. We travelled up as far as the wreck of the Maheno. Thing that strikes me this time around is the number of sections of the beach which have been allocated for planes to land. Last time we were here there was only one or two now there dotted all along the beach. After sometime looking over the Maheno wreck we headed back to Eli Creek and Happy Valley for a coffee and look around. We were doing pretty well with the tides so next stop at Eli creek was fantastic. Last time here I got bogged to the axles this time round no probs. I love this place and as usual it was well patronised by sightseers.
The water is incredible clear and flowing, but pretty cold. Happy Valley hasn't changed much from our last visit and coffee was not bad. Apparently the original owners of the facilities and eco resort went bust and the place has not long reopened. From there it was a run across the island Urang creek, then back to via the central station track back to Eurong to sit back and relax. Our picnic lunch at Urang crk was interrupted by sand flies and midges. The continued changing landscape provides an interesting back drop to our travels around the island with the contrast between the huge trees and thick under brush to the less dense rain forest almost blurred between on corner and the next. And the number and size of grass trees has to be seen to be believed. Fraser is still a very popular place and the interest in coming here has not waned. The problem is the number of people doing stupid things a ruining it for everyone.
Day 2 saw us head south along the 75 mile beach to Dilli village then inland around the lake district to Lake Mackenzie. We stopped off at a number of the lakes for a rubber neck. The white sands contrasting with the crystal clear water in the shallows and deep blue of the deeper water is always a pleasurable site. There were a number of camp areas around the lakes which looked really good except for them looking like compounds with 6 foot fences around them. I guess its as much to separate the humans from the Dingoes and protect the dingoes from humans. Which brings me to the dingoes we haven't seen one since we have been here and the consensus seems to be that its breeding time and they are all in their lairs. We did, however, have a visitor during the morning a large monitor lizard sunning itself on the shed roof. Probably about a metre long and not overly interested in anything much. Last night on the island so we decided on dinner out - the pub was the first choice except it doesn't serve meals. So it had to be the Eurong resort – Aussie BBQ night. Not a bad fair but some interesting dishes for an “ Aussie BBQ meal”.
Day 3 Off the island. Today we head back to the mainland and our ferry isn't till 2pm so it is a bit leisurely. A bit of house work and pack the cars and we are on our way heading across the island. Today we will call into central station, which is the old logging area of the island and coincidently is about the centre of the island. This is a really nice spot with relics of the logging days, amenities, camping area and board walks along the creek. The first time Di and I visited here it took us sometime to realise that there was actually water in the creek - its was so clear and still. Because of the rain it was running a bit harder but still exceptionally clear to the point we could see an eel and catfish scrounging for food. We arrived in Kingfisher Bay with plenty of time for a look around and a bit of lunch before boarding our ferry. We ended up doing nearly 220km on Fraser over the 3 days a lot of which, for me anyway, was 4wd low range. Not much is happening for the rest of today just pick up vans overnight Hervey Bay and then down to Tewantin (Noosa) to see Brad and the grand kids for a few days. Gaz and Shaz are staying and extra night with her sister so will catch up with us in a day or two.
It was not a really early start as the ferry to Kingfisher Bay from River head wasn't leaving till 1230 but we had to put the vans in storage. Luckily Shaz's sister Ann and hubby Phil have quite a bit of space and allowed us to store them there for the 3 days for which we are very grateful. As it turned out it took us very little time to drop them off so we all headed for River head (Phil, Anne and Craig included) for coffee before departure. Loaded on the ferry and a very uneventful 50 minute trip to Kingfisher Bay saw us on Fraser Island. Lunch at Kingfisher Bay lower the tyre pressure and off we go. Our accommodation was in Eurong which was on the other side of the Island. Its only around 20kms but is all 4wd sand, narrow roads with speed limits of 30 km hour. Still we made good time and arrived at our base for the next 3 days around 3 ish. For the next 3 days we are staying in a house called Reid's Place in second valley Eurong.
Its a little dated but was clean and reasonable comfortable and I think everyone enjoyed it. The rest of the day was spent unpacking and settling in. Driving on Fraser Island is an experience many of the roads are single lane width, cut through the surrounds, blind bends and no where to get off the track to allow other cars to pass so great care is needed. This is a first for Shaz and Gaz as neither have been to Fraser before.
 |
| Our barge awaits |
New day dawns and after a leisurely breakfast we head up the beach. We travelled up as far as the wreck of the Maheno. Thing that strikes me this time around is the number of sections of the beach which have been allocated for planes to land. Last time we were here there was only one or two now there dotted all along the beach. After sometime looking over the Maheno wreck we headed back to Eli Creek and Happy Valley for a coffee and look around. We were doing pretty well with the tides so next stop at Eli creek was fantastic. Last time here I got bogged to the axles this time round no probs. I love this place and as usual it was well patronised by sightseers.
 |
| Crew at the Maheno |
 |
Eli Creek   |
The water is incredible clear and flowing, but pretty cold. Happy Valley hasn't changed much from our last visit and coffee was not bad. Apparently the original owners of the facilities and eco resort went bust and the place has not long reopened. From there it was a run across the island Urang creek, then back to via the central station track back to Eurong to sit back and relax. Our picnic lunch at Urang crk was interrupted by sand flies and midges. The continued changing landscape provides an interesting back drop to our travels around the island with the contrast between the huge trees and thick under brush to the less dense rain forest almost blurred between on corner and the next. And the number and size of grass trees has to be seen to be believed. Fraser is still a very popular place and the interest in coming here has not waned. The problem is the number of people doing stupid things a ruining it for everyone.
Day 2 saw us head south along the 75 mile beach to Dilli village then inland around the lake district to Lake Mackenzie. We stopped off at a number of the lakes for a rubber neck. The white sands contrasting with the crystal clear water in the shallows and deep blue of the deeper water is always a pleasurable site. There were a number of camp areas around the lakes which looked really good except for them looking like compounds with 6 foot fences around them. I guess its as much to separate the humans from the Dingoes and protect the dingoes from humans. Which brings me to the dingoes we haven't seen one since we have been here and the consensus seems to be that its breeding time and they are all in their lairs. We did, however, have a visitor during the morning a large monitor lizard sunning itself on the shed roof. Probably about a metre long and not overly interested in anything much. Last night on the island so we decided on dinner out - the pub was the first choice except it doesn't serve meals. So it had to be the Eurong resort – Aussie BBQ night. Not a bad fair but some interesting dishes for an “ Aussie BBQ meal”.
Day 3 Off the island. Today we head back to the mainland and our ferry isn't till 2pm so it is a bit leisurely. A bit of house work and pack the cars and we are on our way heading across the island. Today we will call into central station, which is the old logging area of the island and coincidently is about the centre of the island. This is a really nice spot with relics of the logging days, amenities, camping area and board walks along the creek. The first time Di and I visited here it took us sometime to realise that there was actually water in the creek - its was so clear and still. Because of the rain it was running a bit harder but still exceptionally clear to the point we could see an eel and catfish scrounging for food. We arrived in Kingfisher Bay with plenty of time for a look around and a bit of lunch before boarding our ferry. We ended up doing nearly 220km on Fraser over the 3 days a lot of which, for me anyway, was 4wd low range. Not much is happening for the rest of today just pick up vans overnight Hervey Bay and then down to Tewantin (Noosa) to see Brad and the grand kids for a few days. Gaz and Shaz are staying and extra night with her sister so will catch up with us in a day or two.
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| Grass trees in abundance |
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| Fungi |
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| Lake McKenzie |
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