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.
After one of the shortest trips we have had, we head back home. The weather is closing in (rain) so we go east to the coast and then north with stops in Yamba and Nambucca Heads. Next trip will be north for the Wintersun Golf around Yeppoon in Queensland.
March 12 to 18. After a one night free camp outside the Merriwa RSL, we head to Muswellbrook for our second full week of golf at the very picturesque Muswellbrook Golf Club. This week was a little more successful. Lawrie, our fellow traveller from Pelican Waters, won Day 2 B Grade and Siobhan came third in the 54 hole, 3 day Ladies Championship. Bob did also manage a nearest the pin one day. History was made this week – Siobhan and Bob achieved the same playing handicap for the first time – see photo of scorecard. Siobhan is improving and Bob isn’t. The Bowls Club beckons for Bob !
March 4. It isn’t very often that you get the chance to take the caravan around a motor racing circuit. So we give it a treat and drove around Mount Panorama, home of the Bathurst 1000 motor race.
March 3 to 11. Time to head to Orange for our first week of golf. After 2 free camps on the way at Lake Wallace and Macquarie Woods, we book in to the caravan park and catch up with friends we had met last year at other golf weeks. We also join up with Lawrie and Carol, our fellow travellers from Pelican Waters. The golf results do not require detailing, lets just say we all finished in the middle of the field. The tournament was well organised and we played 3 different golf courses over the 4 days.
March 1 and 2. We spend 2 nights at Katoomba in the heart of the blue mountains, whose foothills start about 50 Kms west of Sydney. Why the Blue Mountains ? The numerous eucalyptus trees emit their oil which gives the whole area a blueish haze. One of the most famous views is that of the ‘Three Sisters’, a stunning rock formation. The commonly told legend of the Three Sisters is that three sisters, Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo, lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe. They fell in love with three men from the neighbouring Nepean tribe, but marriage was forbidden by tribal law. The brothers were not happy to accept this and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters. A major tribal battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by an elder to protect them, but he was killed in the fighting and no one else could turn them back.
Feb 26 to 29. Back to Lane Cove River Caravan Park for four nights to visit Sydney. We take a bus trip around the city and beaches (something Bob never did when he lived there.) Learnt lots. We also revisit our wedding venue and take a selfie. Chatswood Golf Club has not changed in the twenty plus years since Bob was a member. We spend a lovely lunch at Darling Harbour with Sheila, Rory and Jack, old friends from Dublin.
How’s this for a view of the harbour ?
BOB AND SIOBHÁN'S CARAVAN ADVENTURES 