STOCKY'S BLOG...

PROUDLY SUPPORTING THE ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE

Here's the start of a little journey that could lead anywhere! The bride and I have joined the grey economy. After some fantastic camps with the kids over the years and some on our own like our 2006 Warrumbungles and Mt Kaputar trip, we've banished the 6 x 4 to dump runs and upgraded to a Vacation Camper soft floor. We tow the new setup with our 2006 Subaru Outback and have a couple of big trips planned for 2010 to the Deep North and later to Tassie. While we don't mind the dirt this rig isn't for crossing the Simpson, just some genteel touring and relaxing.







The Great Northern Adventure. With the camper ready to go complete with working 12v electrics we headed north.
After a camp at Rocky we ended up in Bowen at magnificent Horseshoe Bay.
The electrics were working well keeping the 50 litre Waeco running night and day. The 120W solar panels were doing their job so the LED lights, laptop and chargers were all able to be used.

On to Townsville, Rollingstone ( for State of Origin night) Hull Heads, Bramston Beach, and finally Cape Tribulation. After a wander around the North's incredible rain forests we headed back home via the inland. First stop Mareeba on the Tablelands then Yungaburra and then on to Chillagoe, a fantastic trip back in time at the smelter and a sensational camp at Mary's farm stay. A visit to Tom Prior's Ford museum and a tour through the limestone caves topped off a great stopover.

We came back through Irvinebank and camped opposite the pub. A tour of the local mining museum and a coupe of beers saw our lamb shanks cooked to perfection in the camp oven.

Inott Hot Springs beckoned so we packed up and headed for the hot pools. What a great little spot this is, six pools with various temperatures from mildly warm to egg cooker to relax in and a neat little camping area overlooking a lake with wildlife and all around. The road south is being widened and will soon mean a safe bitumen sealed trip is possible from Charters Towers to the Tableland. Can't wait!

Not too many places live up to the hype of over enthusiastic marketers but Undara Lava Tubes certainly does. From the bush camping sites with terrific camp kitchen facilities, to the bar, restaurant, walks and tube tours this place is a real gem.

Our camp setup was proving to be a winner and by now we were getting pretty good at getting the Vacation camper up and down. We'd worked out a way to use one of the side annexe panels as a temporary one-night fly, just to give us a bit of cover in the kitchen / eatery.

Next stop was Fletcher's Creek, a spot just north of The Towers with basic facilities and plenty of campers. We tried to come back via the Burdekin Dam but the water was still coming over the spillway from the wet season. Why this dam isn't linked to Brisbane's water supply is anyone's guess! Anyway, keeping to our inland theme we continued on and camped at Clermont encountering our first real rain.

Blackdown Tablelands National Park is just east of Blackwater and easy to miss, but a couple of nights there won't disappoint anyone. We were in a bit of a rush to get home as something had cropped up so we only had one night there and despite the cold, we'll be be going back to take in all the walks next time.

I promised the bride we'd go to one of the greatest little places on the map on our way home, Cracow. Now it's not that there's much to see or do there, but that's exactly the point. Mine host Fred Brophy, yes that Fred Brophy, runs the pub, when he's there, and besides the continual grinding and thumping of the gold mine the watering hole is about all that happens in Cracow. The ghost town appearance of the main street tells a story of past boom and bust. Fantastic.

The pace quickened now and we headed through the citrus belt picking up some A grade oranges at Gayndah and headed home to BrisVegas. Now to get ready for the Great Southern Adventure...

The Great Southern Adventure including the east coast and Tassie will be up soon ...followed by the BLLHD (Big Lap Left Hand Down) . Yep the Vacation camper has covered some Ks!!

Click here to make a donation to the Flying Doctor...