Arrive at Rockhampton at set up for a 2 night stay. Have a game at Rockhampton Golf Club to suss it out for the main competition the following week. Then we move on to Kinka Beach which will be our base for the next 10 days or so. We set up the annex for more comfort. Two caravanning friends from home join us at Kinka Beach.

The site we have at Kinka Beach is lovely, with some interesting wildlife, if not a tad tight to get into – see photos of tree next to bedroom window.

The first week of golf we play at Rockhampton, Capricorn Country Club and 2 games at Yeppoon. No major successes to report on the golfing front (yet).

Fortunately the overnight temperatures are improving which means we can now free camp on the way north. A stop at Benaraby gives us access to the beaches at Tannum Sands and Boyne Island as well as Lake Awoonga. This is followed by a 2 night free camp at River Ranch where we snagged a top spot on the river bank.

Biloela is quite a sizeable town so we decide on a 2 night stop. We were here last in 2011 but only overnighted. Biloela is the aboriginal word that means cockatoo. Just outside the town is a large coal mine , dam and power station – the Callide.

Biloela boasts a very well presented local attraction – their water tower has been painted with all the local history of the region.

One aside- being a mining town, there are quite a few single male workers based in Biloela. We decide to try a local hostelry for a cold beer and quickly backtracked through the door when we realised that the bar staff were quite unique – young, female and VERY scantily clad.

Our original plan to head north inland using free camps was abruptly altered when the temperature overnight at our first stop was 2 degs !! And so electricity and caravan parks now became a priority.

First stop is Woodford to get the caravan cleaned and set up and sneak in a game of golf with the Woodford Vets who are hosting Redland. We come home with a dozen balls for Siobhan’s nearest the pin shot and another ball each in the rundown.

Next 2 night stops are at Dalby and Chinchilla. Dalby is the centre of Australia’s richest grain and cotton growing area. Chinchilla is known as the ‘Melon Capital of Australia’, and plays host to a Melon Festival every second year in February – the next is to be held in 2017.

With temperatures close to single figures overnight at home, the wanderlust is re-awakened. Time to dust off the caravan and head north for warmer climes. We will take a couple of weeks heading north inland before we turn due east and settle in Yeppoon for a couple of weeks golf. A 13 year anniversary (of meeting) dinner at Tides restaurant in Caloundra gives us a very pleasant send-off.

Proposed Itinerary.