It will be impossible to put into words our recent trip to the East Coast... the very thing that made it special was the amount of time we spent with friends and family.
Most of the trip was spent retracing previous trips...so the scenery wasn't new and exciting... but it was relaxed and slow... the perfect tempo to unwind.
This was also our first big trip with the caravan ... up to this point all recent trips had been in Winnie the motorhome. Having a van again was something new... and we enjoyed the extra space and comforts...but my heart is still (and likely always will be) still mourning the Winnie.
This trip was bookended by two very special events ... a June engagement party in Bundaberg and a September wedding in Kingscliff ... the time in between was ours to fill with lots of adventures.
We set off from home mid afternoon on the 6th June and made it as far as a roadside stop the other side of Mildura. It felt like this moment would never happen.... but here we were... finally on the road.
The next night we made it to Forbes... we stopped at The Wheogo park campground a wonderful free spot right in the heart of Forbes. (Totally recommend)
From Forbes we decided on a detour out to Lightning Ridge. We had never been there before so why not visit. The road was atrociously bumpy (particularly near Walgett) and we were diverted onto a goat track near Lightning Ridge.. but we eventually made it to Lorne Station Caravan Park for a few nights.
Lightning Ridge is a really interesting Opal mining spot (a lot like Coober Pedy)... and well worth a visit. We enjoyed exploring the various Car Door Tours which included an Opal mine tour .. bottle house.. Amigos castle and various mining areas. We also soaked away a long day of walking in the Artesian Bore Bath.
From Lightning Ridge we had Bundaberg in our sights ... we were keen to reconnect with family and friends there and the Engagement party date was approaching.
We had one overnight stop at Moonie (overshadowed by a 5G tower) then onwards to Bundaberg on the 11th of June. We pulled up in the yard of our friends for 9 nights and did all the family and friend things. Catch ups... dining out...spending time.
Then with a hankering for beach walks... we moved just out of Bundaberg to Moore Park Beach. This meant we were still close enough for catchups...but with the bonus of morning beach walks... and the sound of waves at night. We stayed at Moore park for 6 nights... and it was among our favourite spots.
With the first of July came a change of direction and we began the trek North. Our first stop was Gracemere just out of Rockhampton and then onwards out to Sapphire. We stayed at the most gorgeous park in Sapphire... tucked in the trees on the side of a hill. We also had the opportunity there to fossick for some sapphire - we were pretty chuffed to find some pieces.
Next plan was to head west out into dinosaur country... so from Sapphire we stopped at a small donation camp at the small town of Jericho then on to Lara Station Wetlands for some bushwalks and birdwatching. It was a really lovely spot with our van pulled up to the edge of the water.
We left Lara station and made our way to Ilfracombe for three nights. Ilfracombe is a bloody fabulous little spot just out of Longreach. The park is fantastic and the Wellshot Hotel next door also has great meals and cold drinks. We thoroughly enjoyed our 3 nights here and used it as a base to head in to Longreach.
On the 11th July it was time to head out to Winton - dinosaur country. We had heard lots of stories about the hairy bush rat plague and how cars and caravans were having their wiring chewed. We didn't really have much problem other than they chewed our sullage hose and made it into a soaker hose. Easily repaired with duct tape.
We had an awesome time in Winton ... we stayed at the Winton wanderers caravan park with its lovely drive through sites and incredible starry sky. The Age of Dinosaurs experience in Winton was fantastic. We learned so much.... I admit I am not really a 'dinosaur person' but even I enjoyed it.
We also visited the Waltzing Matilda centre .. Arnos wall of junk.. a Chinese garden and were lucky enough to be there on the weekend of the opal fair so saw lots of boulder opal. We
From Winton we headed toward Hughenden for another dinosaur experience at the Flinders Discovery Centre the home of the Muttaburrasaurus. The highlight though would be the drive we did out to Porcupine Gorge ... it was about 70kms out of Hughenden but we had a mud map from the visitor information centre that gave us distance marks with little highlights along the way... it added a little interest along the way.
From Hughenden we were ready for sea air again....so we headed back to the East Coast via an overnight stop at Charters Towers.
On the 16th July we setup at Rollingstone just north of Townsville for 8 nights. We had stayed in this park a few times before and knew we enjoyed it. It was so lovely to be on the waters edge... and in the evenings we could see the turtles poking their heads up along the shore line. Mitch and Meg also joined us and lots of fishing was attempted with minimal success. There was a resident croc in the creek where they fished so I always felt slightly on edge.
We filled in the days easily .. played some golf at Mystic Sands... drove up to Ingham and out to Paluma Range National Park for some bushwalks and waterfalls.
It was about now that we encountered trouble getting spots in caravan parks. Its busy along the East Coast in winter and I spent hours on the phone trying to secure spots to stay. In the past we have much preferred to just 'wing it' with accommodation but when you are towing a caravan.. winging it isn't quite so easy. This meant we resorted to booking ahead so our overnight spots were secured. The upside was that there was no daily hustle... the downside was sometimes we were locked in to places we didn't particularly enjoy.
We spent 2 nights at Groper Creek just the other side of Home Hill .. nestled on the Burdekin River with a small jetty and boat ramp. It would be a great spot if you had a boat and met up with all your mates to fish... but we felt like the odd ones out... tucked in among the seasonal regulars. It would be a beautiful spot though if your van was on the waters edge.
From Groper Creek we moved on to Proserpine for 3 nights. We stayed just out of town at the Gunna Go Holiday Park. They had lovely green sites and a cane train rattled past the back fence regularly. We used this spot as a base to day trip out to Airlie Beach.. Shute Harbour... and Cedar Falls. Proserpine Dam was also a lovely spot for a drive.
From Proserpine we moved on to Blacks Beach near Mackay for 3 nights. This was a lovely park right on the beach. I absolutely loved this beach for walking in the morning...so it got a big tick from me. In Mackay we visited the usual spots... the marina and breakwater... some of the coastal towns. We also spent a day and drove out to Finch Hatton Gorge and Eungella National Park... even spotting a platypus or two.
On the 1st of August we moved from Blacks Beach to Cape Palmerston Holiday Park . This park would be my favourite of the entire trip. We had stayed here previously in 2017 so it was lovely to revisit. Mitch and Meg joined us for some of the time which was lovely. We walked on the beach.... the boys fished in the creek... we joined in the quiz night and had a game of golf. Our week here went quickly and we wished we had booked longer.
On the 10th August we moved to Rules Beach for a week ... Mitch and Meg were also at this park and we managed to get a super spot on the fence line alongside them. It was a pretty rainy week while we were at Rules... the beach was a short walk and we could hear the waves roaring and crashing in the wild weather. It was a nice week to hunker down .. cook some scones and watch some Netflix... with the sound of the waves as background noise. We took the break in the weather for a game of golf at Baffle Creek but that was about all we managed this week.
Our next stop was back to Moore Park Beach again.... we had enjoyed it so much on the way up the coast it seemed the perfect spot to return to. We once again enjoyed lots of family and friend time... more fishing... and we had the car serviced.
It was time to say goodbye to family and friends.. Moore Park / Bundaberg and move on down... so on the 27th August we set up at Poona Palms. We had lovely spot right under a lovely old tree.. and the estuary/beach was a very short walk. It was a nice spot... but I did miss the sound of the ocean. We were in Poona for over a week and used it as a base to visit Tin Can Bay.. Rainbow Beach ..Maryborough and Hervey Bay.
We played golf at Tin Can Bay... and the highlight was the day we took the barge over to K'gari (Fraser Island) from Inskip Point. It was so much fun... 150kms of beach driving in to Lake Mckenzie and up as far as the Maheno Wreck (which was a lot more wrecked than last time we had seen it). It was added fun to enjoy this with Mitch and Meg too.
On the 6th September we travelled down to Hastings Point for 9 nights... this was another ripper of a spot. The beach was lovely...and the park had a cafe right at the front gate (loved my morning Chai)
We were able to catch up with more family... do last minute shopping for the upcoming wedding and play some golf. We played a round at both Chinderah (x2) and Pottsville. The whales were so active out the front and each day we would take a walk to the lookout and see them. This is a spot we would definitely stay again.
On the 16th September we moved to Kingscliff Ingenia park ... it was the long awaited wedding and all the kids/ grandkids were arriving. We spent 10 fantastic nights in Kingscliff.... jam packed with special times. We had lots of lovely wedding functions and catchups... and the most incredible wedding of Shaun and Ben. Their eye for detail .. the location and the love they were surrounded in was so special and we were so blessed to be among their chosen friends and family.
There were some very sad farewells as one by one the group started heading home.
From Kingscliff we travelled on to the Maroochy River Farmstay Hipcamp with Briony and Jarrad and Jarrads family... and then on to the Alex Beach Caravan Park for 6 nights.
On the 3rd of October we left Alex Beach and moved to the Kenilworth Showgrounds for 5 nights. This was an awesome spot... and also close to the famous donut shop. We did lots of exploring around Montville, Maleny - visited the waterfalls at Kondalilla..went out to Booloumba creek twice .. with its creek crossings. Played cards at night. Went to markets at Kenilworth and Imbil. So nice to be out in this country.
On the 8th of October we began the trip home .. first stop was Moree where we booked in to the Gwydir Caravan Park with its artesian pools. It had been a long day on the road so we appreciated the drive through sites and the pools that we soaked in until they closed at 10pm.
The following night we pulled up in a roadside stop near Weethalle and then on 10th October we arrived home.
It had been 4 months and 4 days
14700 kms
31 books read
15 golf courses played
1 engagement party
1 wedding
beaches, dinosaurs, islands, theme parks and rainforests
So bloody lucky!
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