Travels 2021

Covid is once again proving to be causing problems with travelling. As we were unable to travel in 2020 we really needed to go this year to secure our bookings that we had in QLD as we rolled them over last year. 

We left a month later than usual boarding the Spirit 3/5/2021 some restrictions were in place on board with masks required in public places able to use lounges & bar but no food available. With the Tasmanian boarders being closed we have been extremely lucky with only a few cases of Covid, as Victoria has had extremely high numbers of Covid we needed to travel directly to NSW without stopping. 

After disembarking from the Spirit we headed directly to Tocumal for a fuel stop which is just over the boarder in NSW, expecting to be checked at the boarder we were surprised that we were able to enter NSW without being checked. Our plan was to get into QLD as quick as possible so we travelled big kilometres our first stop was West Wyalong next day we were over the boarder in Goondiwindi. We had trouble going past Moree as we love to stay there enjoying the thermal pools but didn’t want to risk the boarder closing. 

Our next stop was Murgon where we met our friends Alison & David, it was lovely to catch up with them spending the night at the free camp in the towns centre we were able to walk to the RSL for an enjoyable meal. Unfortunately they needed to return home the next day so we continued on further north.

We spent the next three weeks in Tannum Sands with our family it was great to see everyone especially the grandkids who had grown & changed so much in 18 months since we had seen them. Leaving Tannum we went on to our usual bookings at Burrum Heads, Bargara Beach & Agnes Waters all up 10 weeks. We found that the talk at the caravan parks was centred around Covid & the travel restrictions that were again coming into place.  We were getting concerned about getting back into Tasmania without having to go into quarantine as now both Victoria & NSW had extremely high numbers of Covid cases & Tasmania had put restrictions on anyone travelling through NSW & VIC. We could have chosen to stay in QLD but if things got worse there we didn’t know when we would get back home, the decision was made to do the big trip home via NT, SA and travelling directly across Victoria only stopping for fuel approximately 5,500 kilometres. 

Our friends Cheryl & Greg from Tassie decided to travel with us & were lucky to be able to change their boat booking to the same night as us. With a couple of weeks to make the journey we met them at Mt Larcom north of Gladstone then headed north towards Rockhampton turning west on the Capricorn Hwy to Longreach then in a north westerly direction to Cloncurry.  Most days we travelled big kilometres between 500 - 600 klms we made sure we would stop every 200 klms for a break not the way we like to travel but we were on a mission. Crossing the boarder into NT we had to stop at the boarder to have our boarder passes checked, ended up the only boarder other than Tassie we had to show our passes after the stress involved in applying for boarder passes. In case we had trouble at boarders we kept all our receipts for fuel & caravan parks to prove that we were just travelling through & were on a mission to get back to Tassie. We had a stop at Barkly Homestead then Devil’s Marbles before making Alice Springs for a couple of nights to wash & stock up & have a rest from the travelling. Up to this stage we were quiet enjoying the journey until around about the SA border I got out of the car and was in extreme pain when trying to walk only consolation I didn’t have pain while sitting in the car but sleeping & walking was a big problem. 

Greg & Cheryl had an evening at the Marla pub to watch the AFL Grand Final, I managed to get it on the fetch box in the van as was unable to walk to the pub. Our next stop heading south was Coober Pedy where we decided I should go to the hospital to get pain relief, what a waste of time was that! A 

Rottweiler nurse triaged me on the doorstep saying she would have to call a dr in & they wouldn’t prescribe anything stronger than I was already taking. Certainly not interested in travellers!  We had a night at Woomera before a well earned stop at Burra for a couple of nights where I was able to see a local doctor who prescribed nerve tablets & pain relief not that it helped a great deal. I couldn’t wait to get home to get to the root of the problem. Upon reaching Tas found out I had two bulging discs that was pressing on the nerve had to have a discectomy to relieve the pressure on the nerve.

Leaving Burra we travelled via Pinnaroo making our way to Bordertown where we would stay for the next three nights before our dash across Victoria, only stopping for fuel & food before boarding the Spirt for home.

Our friends Raeles & Ken wanted us to stop in to see them at Horsham but due to Covid restrictions didn’t risk it, they waited along the highway to wave to us as we passed. Cheryl & I had streamers we waved out the window like a couple of idiots but it was all good fun.

 Arriving in Port Melbourne it was a relief to have those big kilometres behind us & just hoped that we had done all the right things to get back into Tassie without having to quarantine. Border closures had been a real pain in the neck for us this trip. There were tighter restrictions on board the Spirit on the return voyage with us having to go straight to our cabin & stay there until we docked. There were supplies delivered to your door & if you needed hot drinks you could call the purser & get it delivered. All was good when we docked & had our passes checked able to go home no hotel quarantine!

 Hopefully next year will be less stressful.

Masked up ready to catch the Spirit

Wide load on the Newell Hwy

Mural Gulganbone

Thermal pool Goondiwindi

Iron Ridge Caravan Park near Childers

Tannum Sands Beach

Thor Boyne River

Lookout Tannum Sands

Lunch in Gladstone

Jase preparing breakfast

Liv's birthday breakfast

Liv 10yrs old

Sunset Burrum Heads

Sunset Burrum Heads

Enjoying the sunshine Burrum Heads

Burrum Heads friends at lunch Toogoom

Coal Festival Howard

Howard Coal Festival

Bargara Beach

Doreen & Eddie

Cocktails for lunch Bargara Ladies

Beach Babes Bargara

Mouse in the toilet paper

Agnes Waters

Beach Agnes Waters

Archie at Agnes

Family Agnes Waters

Lunch date Sue & Mike Agnes Waters

Cuddles from Thor

Welcome beer Emerald with Cheryl & Greg

Barcaldine

Artwork Barcaldine

Tree of Knowledge

Qantas museum Longreach

Barkly Highway

Stuart Highway

Devils Marbles

Rigs Devils Marbles carpark

Campsite Devils Marbles

Plane storage during Covid Alice Springs

Underground hotel Coober Pedy

Windmill Coondambo

Regular site Cheryle & Greg in front

Burra Copper mine ruins

Miners homes

Welcome sight the Spirit of Tasmania

2020 Travels Cancelled

 Coved 19

Due to Covid 19 we were unable to travel this year 2020 and cancel all our bookings. We have the Spirit booked to leave in June 2021 hopefully.

Gulargonbone -West Wyalong - Cobram

We had lovely weather at Moree every day was in the very high 20’s, as we travel further south I am sure it will not be as warm. Our next stop was Gulargambone a small country town that needs support, many of the shops and businesses are closed and the local community are trying very hard to brighten up the township to attract the travellers so the town will remain viable. Bernadette and Dave that own the local caravan park are great hosts with their happy hour each evening, with damper made in the camp oven. They also put on a roast Wednesday and Sunday nights for $12 a head, profits going to the Royal Flying Doctors, this winter season raising nearly $14,000, well done Bernadette and Dave. We had planned to stop for one night ended up staying for two, changing our plans once again so we could stay for the roast night and for a day trip out to the Warrumbungle National Park and the Siding Spring Observatory, Australia's largest optical telescope. The Observatory is located on the edge of the Warrumbungle National Park around 70 klms from Gulargambone. Some areas of the Siding Spring has restricted access to the public as it is an operational research facility. We were able to go up four floors to the top viewing platform in the Observatory where we could observe the giant telescope.  I cheated by taking the lift, Baz is a little wary of lifts so he took the stairs, he was still complaining two days later of having sore legs.

Leaving the Siding Spring and the spectacular scenery of the National Park with its rugged peaks, we decided to explore a little further afield and ended up at Tooraweenah a tiny rural village where we had lunch at the pub, enjoying a lovely gourmet pizza before returning to Gulargambone.

Travelling a little under 400 klms from Gulargonbone to West Wyalong we only needed somewhere to stop for the night so ended up at the showgrounds, $20 for power and water with very new amenities.

On the road again the next day we were headed to Cobram, one of our regular stop over places along the Murray. Cobram is only about 3 hours from Melbourne so we can travel into Melbourne to catch the boat from there on Sunday. Today we went back over the Murray River to Tocumal market and also met up with Bridget and Don for morning tea at the Bushlands on the Murray Cafe. This weekend is very busy everywhere along the Murray as it is a Victorian long weekend  also school holidays and of course it is also the AFL Grand Final weekend. We returned to the Willows Caravan Park in Cobram to spend the afternoon in the camp kitchen with fellow travellers to watch the Grand Final, a very one sided game with Richmond winning over GWS by 89 points.

Tomorrow brings the end of nearly 5 months away from home, we are so lucky that we are able to do what we do, spending Tassie Winters in the warmer states. We are already planning and looking forward to next May when we will again travel to the Big Island for more adventures.

Bullock Team at Gulargonbone

Baz looking a litte Rustic

Wheat Silo Gulargonbone

Siding Spring Observatory

At least it's not a broom stick

Telescope in the Observatory

Warrumbungle National Park

Selfie

Tooraweenah Pub

Burrum Heads, Kilkivan, Dalby and Moree

Finally heading south after four and half months, not sure we are ready to go home, but missing the Bilton family heaps and it will be lovely to catch up with family and friends.  Will need to do a little maintenance on the van once we are home as the hot water cylinder is cactus. It decided it would start leaking again just before we left Bargara, was going to have it looked at on the way down but have decided to wait until we get home. It only leaks if we hook up to mains water so have just been filling the water tanks and using the water from them and not turning on the hot water. Only replaced the cylinder three years ago, first one lasted five years and this one was supposed to be the improved model! Not happy!

We spent our first night on the road back at Burrum Heads, this time staying at the Adventure Park 10klms out of Burrum. It is located on the Burrum River and the camp ground is alongside a fresh water lake which is a catch and release. Our main reason for going back to Burrum was to buy another folding mountain bike the same as Barry's and to also catch up with Tina and Geoff that came out from Hervey Bay to meet us for lunch. Tina and Geoff had planned to be at Agnes Waters the same time as us but due to Geoff ending up in the Bundaberg hospital for a few days we missed them in transit.

Leaving the coast and heading inland and south, our next stop was Kilkivan Bush Camp a natural camp ground with an abundance of birdlife. Poor old Baz had to make a hasty dash inside the van as he wasn't keen to share his breakfast with a pesky, cheeky parrot, not only did it try to steal his muffin it also left it's calling card on his shorts. Since we were last at Kilkivan they have installed a swimming pool that I made good use of as it was a very hot 30 deg afternoon. Baz was even going to get in until he felt the water only managed to the bottom of his short legs, what a piker!

Leaving Kilkivan we travelled 200 klms to Dalby a rural town in the Darling Downs, the caravan park is situated close to the town centre, after a little rest we enjoyed a pleasant walk up to the shopping centre for a few supplies.  The Caravan park and surrounding areas are a little dusty due to the water restrictions in place due to the drought. The surrounding countryside is certainly drought-ravished with baron paddocks causing many landowners severe hardship some have missed three crops in a row, that is three years with no income.

After a one night stop over at Dalby we travelled down through Goondiwindi, again lack of cotton crops due to the drought. Not only does this effect the farmers it also goes down the line to pickers/workers, truck drivers, accommodation and retail business in the towns. No money from crops no money to spend in the towns, many a retail business is finding it hard to keep going.

Our next stop was Moree, we love going to the Gwydir Carapark with their thermal pools. We booked in for four nights ended up staying for five. Even here at Moree the caravan park which is usually lush and green was dry and some sites had lost all their grass and were very sandy. Hopefully they will get a decent rainfall soon. We would go to the pools morning and late afternoon for a leisurely soak in the artesian water that is sourced from 750 meters underground,

Catch up with Tina and Geoff at Burrum Heads

Adventure Park Burrum Heads

Birdlife Kilkivan

Patriotic House Moree