Corindi Beach, New South Wales (28 - 30 January 2015)

Corindi Beach small seaside town located on the mid north coast of New South Wales.  It is 33 kms north of Coffs Harbour and 50 kms south of Grafton. Not much there except the caravan park, a shop and a Tavern so it is a place to chill out and walk the beach.  The sound of the ocean was lovely and the weather even better - 18c overnight to 27c during the day...a blessing after all the hot weather we have had lately.

We drove into Woolgoolga  to do some shopping and also into Coffs Harbour.  Established in the 1870s, Coffs Harbour used to be all about Bananas....that is many banana plantations and all things banana....banana spits and chocolate coated bananas come to mind as well as the "Big Banana"  a local tourist attraction.  One of the first of Australia's Big Things, the Big Banana was built in 1965 and is still going strong.  We have stopped there before so did not do so this time.

Happy 50th Birthday "Big Banana" 

There are still banana plantations but now days blueberries are a major crop and many of the hill slopes are covered over to protect the blueberries, most probably from bats.

Under cover Blueberries......there are many hills and valleys covered like this

The population of Coffs was recorded as 45,500 in the 2011 census but would be much more if the greater regionally area was taken into account.    It apparently has the most livable climate in Australia.  Food for thought when we decide to settle down in one place in the future.

Coffs Harbour was originally named Korff's Harbour after John Korff who was forced to take shelter from a storm here in 1847.  Its name was accidentally changed by a surveyor for the crown in 1861.

Coffs Harbour jetty is an historically important timber wharf where timber from the hinterland was transported.   There is the Solitary Islands Marine Park, Muttonbird Island which is accessible by walking along the breakwater as well as a number of National Parks...Bellinger River, Bindarri, Bongil Bongil, Cascade and Dorringo, to name a few that are in the area.

Apparently, a  number of notable residents are or have been.....Jon English (singer, songwriter, actor) Deborah Knight (news journalist for channel 9), David Helfgott (concert pianist), Russell Crowe (actor), Wendy Matthews (singer), Jack Thompson (actor), Dick Smith (entrepreneur), George Negus (author, journalist, current affairs presenter) as well as a number of sports people.

We had a lovely short drive up to Sealy Lookout at Korora in the Bruxner Park Flora Reserve in the Orara East State Forest. Apart from a number of bush walks there is also the Forrest Sky Pier which offers magnificent views of Coffs Harbour.

Lovely, leafy journey to the lookout

Forest Sky Pier

Spectatular views

The  forest around the Bruxner Flora Reserve

Corindi....never fear, we won't forget you,we will be back to visit or maybe to stay, one day.

Bye Bye Brisbane....hello Pottsville (27 January 2015)

I am not going to write much about Brisbane, because to me, Australian major cities are pretty much the same ....  lots of people and traffic, lots of time spent waiting at traffic lights and if shopping is your thing, then the shops are all the same too.  Of course, cities do have icons that distinguish them from each other,  lovely restaurants and often surrounding by scenic spots and Brisbane is no different.  There is the Brisbane River, South Bank, the Glass House Mountains and the pretty townships of Eumundi, Maleny and Montville.  These places are well worth a visit and we   have done so on a number of occasions because we have been to Brisbane many times.

This time, we stopped at Lawnton (Brisbane) over the Australia Day Long Weekend to visit two friends and to pick from things from Kedron for our van.  We needed to replace the internal water filter which should be done every year but there was an issue with the water when we were Atherton and we ended up with mud in the external filter which meant that the internal one would be compromised as well.  The internal filters we use are hard to get so we bought a spare as well as a couple of sacrificial anodes for the Electric/Gas water heater which are also difficult to source. You learn in Australia to be prepared...if you want one, buy two.

We had lunch with friends at a Turkish restaurant in Bulimba, a suburb located 4 kms north east of the Brisbane CBD on the southern bank of the Brisbane River. We didn't see them but the area has a number of historic buildings and is also home  to several Army Cadet Units at the Bulimba Barracks.  Anyway, it was a very hot day, but we enjoyed the company ...it was a timely visit as one of our friends was celebrating his  birthday. Food was pretty good too.

Then, the next day, we whiled away a couple of hours having lunch with another friend on Australia Day at a near by Tavern.  I had  been very hot and the aircon was not up to scratch but the meal and company was great.

Had a look and found another van park close by.  Tom (our GPS) took us to this park via a number of narrow back streets.  When we got there we found out they have no sites as it is a permanent park and not only that, they were closed for lunch.

So, we drove to where the TV people were, double parked the rig and Nick went in to get the remote, leaving me there in case we had to move.  Got the remote and decided to get out of Brisbane and make our way down the coast.

We stopped at Pottsville, a quaint little holiday village on the Tweed Coast where we stayed overnight.

Not my photos ....but a pretty ones of Pottsville

Bill Potts owned the first house in Pottsville around 1930 and the location was initially named Potts Point. Soon though, the town was renamed Pottsville to alleviate any confusion with the place of the same name in Sydney.  Next day..... Corindi Beach - a favourite little spot of ours.

Clermont to Brisbane (22 & 23 January 2015)

Established in 1864, Clermont is a small agricultural town as well as a hub for large coal mines in the area and is located some 945 km north of Brisbane in Queensland. The 2011 census recorded a population of 2177.

Clermont is named after Clermont-Ferrand in France; Clermont-Ferrand was the ancestral home of Oscar de Satge, one of the first European graziers who owned the Wolfang Downs pastoral run.

Originally. Clermont was built on low lying ground next to a billabong (lagoon), and it turned out that flooding was a major problem.  There were four substantial floods between 1864 and 1896 with the biggest flood being in 1916.  A total of 65 people died and with the population at the time being only 1,500, that was quite considerable. It was a great loss and I would imagine it was a big impact on the community.

The 1916 flood remains one of Australia's worst natural disasters in terms of life lost. Following the flood, many of the wooden buildings of the town were moved to higher ground using steam traction engines.  A local amateur photographer, George Pullar took numerous photographs of the moving buildings, published in the 1980s as "A Shifting Town".

Leo Hotel being moved along Lime Street after the flood

Gold was discovered in 1861 which lead to the town being established.  The goldfield was proclaimed in 1862 and copper was discovered soon after.

In the 1880s up to 4000 Chinese people were resident in Clermont, mining for gold and copper. This led to racial riots and the Chinese were removed from the region in 1888.

Coal was discovered in 1864, 20 kms north west of Clermont but was only first mined in 1890.  This mine, Blair Athol, supplied customers in Asia and Europe with up to 12 million tonnes of thermal coal per annum before closed 122 years later in November 2012 when the coal ran out.

Located 12 kms north west of the township, the Clermont Mine began operations in April 2010. When the mine reaches full capacity it will produce up to 12.2 million tonnes of thermal coal for international markets.  In October 2013, RIO Tinto sold its 50.1 per cent stake in mine to fellow mining giant Glencore-Xstrata and Sumitomo for just over $US1.05 billion.

The railway was extended north from Emerald to Clermont in February 1884. We saw about 5 or 6 very long coal trains with up to 5 engines either coming or going, so the line is very busy these days.  However, no passenger trains are available to or from Clermont.

Murals at Clermont

Well, we stayed overnight at Clermont, had a walk around the town in the morning and then headed off to Dululu with me driving.  I have not towed the van before, but Nick is a good teacher and he said I did very well.  You have to drive in "sports mode" which is using the gears rather than automatic to get good fuel economy and also to look after the engine, especially so that it doesn't overhead going up the hills, of which there where quite a few.

The beauty of our new lifestyle is that every thing is subject to change, and when we drove into Dululu just around 2pm, we decided to continue on a further 72 kms to Biloela.

We stayed at the Discovery Caravan Park there which turned out to be a dump....not recommended at all  (note to self....put comment on Trip Advisor).  The good thing was that there was another Kedron parked next to us,  owned by Ralph.  Unfortunately, Ralph's wife had taken ill and was in hospital so Nick did the decent thing and spent a couple of hours with Ralph, sitting outside talking about this and that, as you do, with a number of glasses of wine of course.

We decided to go straight through to Brisbane the following day.  There have been some significant rains in the ares and it is lovely a green.  Below are photos taken on the road near Cania Gorge National Park.

Next Stop.....Brisbane or as it is quaintly known, BrisVegas.

On the move again

Atherton is a picturesque rural community about 92 kms from Cairns by road.   Predominately  a farming area with all the usual suspects for a tropical climate.....bananas, sugar cane, potatoes, peanuts, maize, avocados, coffee, tea, pineapples and other tropical fruits such as mangos, papaya, limes, dragon fruit and lychees.  Of course there are a number of farms gates with fresh vegies as well.   There is a buffalo farm that produces buffalo milk and cheese, plus goats and cows for milk products and artisan cheeses, hand made chocolates, fruit wines and liquors, beautiful waterfalls,  B & B's, a number of dams for water sports and fishing, camping....tell me again why I am leaving......

Atherton as seen from Bones Knob, Tolga

Some locals....Curlews, noisy little things at night

Look carefully, Nick is there ;)

View from Hallorans Hill

Now these are horns!!!

The truth is we will most probably come back here to live when we have finished our travels, but that is well into the future. 

Our first stop.......Charters Towers, a heritage city, which is 483 kms south west of Atherton, where we have spent two days touring.

The World Theatre

Inside the Stock Exchange Arcade.  A National Trust building, the Stock Exchange Exchange was built in  1887-88

City Hall - built in 1891, it was originally the Queensland National Bank

Post Office, built in 1892, the clock tower was added in 1989

Charters Towers sense of humour

The approaching Storm

Gold was discovered here in 1871 by Hugh Mosman, George Clarke, John Fraser and the party's horse boy, a young Aboriginal, Jupiter, who is credited with finding the nugget of alluvial gold which started the rush.  The goldfield was proclaimed in 1892 which turned Charters Towers (or just Charters to the locals) into a bustling metropolis, which in its heyday boasted as being the second largest city in Queensland. 

The Royal Private Hotel, built in 1988.....a bygone era restored. 

Between 1872 and 1924, approximately 30 vertical underlying shafts and tunnels were dug by the large number of miners who worked their claims in the hope of fining the reefs below Towers Hill.  Many of these are still visible. At the height of the gold rush there where 29 crushing mills, 95 hotels and one of the very first regional Stock Exchanges in Australia.  

The buildings are beautiful and although it was 39c in the shade, we still walked around the town, following a trail what is known as the "one square mile". We visited the Stock Exchange which is now an arcade, the Assay Mining Museum, the World Theatre which is a beautiful building.  There are so many lovely buildings in Charters, including the Visitors Centre which is housed in what was once the Union Bank, built in 1880.  

We drove out to the Macrossan Bridge Flood Marker to see the heights that the Burdekin River has reached over the years....it is hard to imagine the river being that high when you are standing next to it. 

Macrossan Bridge Flood Marker - the second from the top was the flood level in 2009.

We also drove up Towers Hill, saw some mine shafts and some of the 30 bunkers which were used to store bombs, detonators and ammunition for use by the Townsville based RAAF which is 92 kms away.  The camouflaged bunkers had ramparts of rock rubble placed near the entrances to slow down and deflect the force of any explosion inside and none of the bunkers face each other to ensure that an explosion in one did not set off explosions in others.  

A Seismograph Station was installed in 1958, the International Geophysical Year.   Since 1962, the Towers Hill Station has been part of the United States of America Iris world wide network of 120 seismic stations.  Recordings are digitised and sent to the University of Queensland in Brisbane and then on to the USA.  

Some facts about Charters Towers supplied by the Lions Club include:

• Charters is 1100 feet or 335.2 m above sea level
• The annual average rainfall is 644 mm
• The first gold escort took 29 000 oz out of Charters Towers, and the second 31 000 oz
• In 1887, gold was $4.40 an oz.
• In 1887 a miner eared $6.00 per week.
• A tradesman earned 80 cents per day
• A bottle of 3 star Brandy cost 80 cents.  
• In 1875, rump steak was 10 cents a kilo.
• The population was once 30,000.
• The deepest shaft on the field was the Brilliant Extended.....3040 feet or 926.6 m.
• The largest nugget was the Prince  of Wales, weighing in at 143 oz 12 dwts, found by Tom Hoy. The charters Towers fire Fire Brigade purchased its first motorised vehicle in 1916. 
• The Charters Towers Region which includes Pentland, Greenvale, Homestead, Ravenswood, Mingela and Balfes Creek is larger that the State of Tasmania. 
• During WWII, 15,000 US personnel were stationed in Charters Towers.

It is the wrong time of year to be touring around here.  It you like heritage architecture, gold mining and anything to do with WWII, then this is where you should come but do so in the dry season.  Maybe we will return one day to spend more time here.  

We packed up this morning in the rain, and headed off to Clermont on our way to Brisbane.  The rain seems to have abated for now, but it looks like there is more on the way.  Tomorrow we are off to Dululu. 

I am owning up

I am owning up…..my blog is not up to date !!!!  Apart from my post about parting company with John and Deb, the last post was at  Wave Rock in Western Australia.  Since then we have been through South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, so I have quite a bit of catching up to do, which I intend to do over time. 

Also, the dates a post was done is not necessarily the date we where at the place I wrote about.  Here is where we have been, starting on day 1 when be left Atherton, Far North Queensland for Mt Surprise on 26 April 2014 up to and including 11 November 2014 when we arrived back in Atherton, Far North Queensland where the journey began.  

Day Place / State or Territory

1 & 2       Mt Surprise, Queensland

3               Normanton, Queensland

4 - 7          Mt Isa, Queensland

8 - 10       Camooweal - Billabong on Georgina River, Queensland

11            Attack Creek, Northern Territory

12            Daly Waters Pub, Northern Territory

13            Adelaide River, Northern Territory

14 - 23     Darwin, Northern Territory

24            Bridge Creek, Northern Territory

25            Gregory, Northern Territory

26            East Raine River, Northern Territory

27 - 29     Wyndham, Western Australia

30            Mary Pool camp area, Western Australia

31            Nillibubbica Rest area, Western Australia

32            Sandfire Roadhouse, Western Australia

33            Port Headland, Western Australia

34 - 36     Dampier, Western Australia

37 - 38     Robe River Bush Camp, Western Australia

39            Nanutarra, Western Australia

40 - 41     Barradale Bush Camp, Western Australia

42 - 45     Carnarvon, Western Australia

61 - 62     Geraldton, Western Australia

63             Cervantes / Pinnacles Desert - Western Australia

64 - 87      Perth, Western Australia

88              New Norcia, Western Australia

89              York, Western Australia

90               Kwolyin bush camp, Western Australia

91 - 93       Tressie's Museum and Caravan Park, Western Australia

94               Burracoppin Free Camp, Western Australia

95 - 98        Kalgoorlie - Boulder, Western Australia

99               Bromus Dam bush camp, Western Australia

100 - 103    Esperance, Western Australia

103 - 104    Fraser Ranger Station, Western Australia

105             Madura Pass Lookout

106             164 peg bush camp on the Nullarbor, South Australia

107 - 108    Smoky Bay, South Australia

109 - 113    Streaky Bay, South Australia

114 - 115    Pildappa Rock Bush Camp, South Australia

116 - 119    Port Lincoln, South Australia

120 - 123   Whyalla, South Australia

124 - 126   Nurioopta, Barossa Valley, South Australia

127 - 133   Mount Barker, Adelaide Hills, South Australia

134            Cameron's Reserve Bush Camp, Nhill, Victoria

135            Marong, Victoria

136 - 145   Dingley Village, Melbourne, Victoria

146             Rosedale Bush Camp, Victoria

147 - 150    Lakes Entrance, Victoria

151 - 152    Genoa rest area Bush Camp, Victoria

153 - 157    Merimbula, New South Wales

158 - 165    Burril Lake, New South Wales

166 - 179  Lane Cove National Park, Sydney, New South Wales 180           Lithgow, New South Wales 181           Dubbo, New South Wales 182           Narrabri, New South Wales 183 - 184 Toowoomba, Queensland 185 - 197 Lawnton, Brisbane, Queensland 198          Gin Gin, Queensland 199          Clairview, Queensland 200          Deeragun, Townsville, Queensland 201         Atherton, Far North Queensland

We were on the road for 200 days,  165 of those days we travelled with our good friends John and Deb.  We have had an awesome time together, seeing what there is to see and making good memories.  You can see that we have moved pretty quickly in some places but Australia is a big country so sometimes there are huge distances to travel to get from one place to another.  The distances and the changes it brings is part of the enjoyment of travelling in Australia.  Some are daunted by the distances but if you look you will see changes everywhere although some are very subtle.