The drive home...

We got away at 6:25am this morning and whilst it was light, it wasn't broad daylight.

The boys were excited to go over the sand tracks again so we wound down the windows and bounced around again for an hour, which they loved!!! I think they really do enjoy the outdoors now although you wouldn't know it because it all seems so normal for them now. And that is how we wanted it......

Rocky for breakfast as promised, then on to Gin Gin for lunch & Eumundi for afternoon tea and then on to home by 6pm thanks to the slowing from roadworks all the way down.  The boys were quite good considering the mileage and the crap food we put down their throats. A big day for two youngsters without much complaint from them.

We both look forward to getting back to the structure of daily life, particularly the type of food consumption and exercising etc. Whilst its good to bend the rules for a while, it seems that we are more disciplined when we have our normal daily lives governing our bad habits....

Nat's back to a work, while I start a new role at Border Express. With our new financial goals and our commitment in doing things we say we will, who knows where we will be in 10 years.

Cape trip done. We have now done close to 40,000 klms from top to bottom & side to side around this magic country. Not a bad effort we reckon!!!!

If you get an opportunity, get off your arses and do it, you won't regret it.

Jase & Nat.

 

Perhaps the last day.....

This morning we woke to a low level fog & cloud covered sky. After breakfast the boys decided to try and ride their bikes on sand, so they went as high as they could on the grassy stuff and went hell for leather down the slope and into the soft sand. They came off as much as they stayed upright but all good fun in the end.

Last night until midnight I managed to burn the firewood in its entirety because we are thinking about heading home and bypassing 1770 tomorrow morning. This will give us an additional 2 days to get sorted for work and clean everything up. We will see how we go given the difficulty getting in this place, and the 800klm from the bitumen to home inclusive of roadworks. My guess is we might find a free camp along the way but at the end of the day, we are booked in at 1770 and it wouldn't hurt to drop in there for the beachfront site.

You may by now have an idea that we enjoy the beach camping......

The fog didn't lift, in fact it was more cloud than anything so what was a forecast of sunshine failed to eventuate. We decided around lunch time that we would press on home tomorrow with an early start and predicted arrival time at 5pm if we don't dick around.

The afternoon was spent climbing sand dunes, playing orbit tennis, connect 4, who's who & doing puzzles with the boys, so it was good. We also managed a swim when the sun came out at 2:30. The boys went in nude and it as bloody funny seeing the two of them with their budgie tans. Maverick just started diving into the waves which I haven't seen him do before, then his conservative big brother followed. Great to see the waves don't scare them any more. A little sun and salt water time was a good way to spend an hour also.

The boys had their first drive of the Prado today also. They sat on my lap and steered the car for about 5klm each with no assistance. They absolutely loved it, as did I. They can't wait to tell their teachers they drove on the beach at ages 6 & 4. What a great way to learn how to drive, it's how I did and it made me so happy. Mum might tell another story....

All of the campers within our vicinity left and also left behind firewood, so I went from zero to hero in minutes after raping the leftovers. We had more than we did last night and all the signs were pointing to another big night around the fire.

We packed literally everything up after tea so we can get away tomorrow at 6:30am. We bribed the boys with Maccas breakfast at Rocky if they were good, it always works....

Now we had no neighbours, we all had nude bush showers by the car. The boys love it and so do I when Nat has hers.... I was all laughs & smiles so she said "we'll if you want me to be a bush bitch then get used to it - there would be plenty of women that would be too prissy to do this!!"

What she didn't understand was the I wasn't laughing at her, I was perving at her and just loving it....

We sat by the fire and had some drinks for the last time for what we think will be a while. It's great when Nat gets a bit pissy because she is so funny. We chatted and made plans to save the world and went to bed in the Mann Vann of the last time also on this trip.

750klm await tomorrow, then our own bed and clean up time for the next few days.

We will do a little summary in the next couple of days after we get home and sign off until our next Mann-Venture.

Jase & Nat.

 

 

Byfield National Park and some serious tracks....

When I picked Byfield as a destination I knew it was north of Yeppoon and that it was going to be too expensive to go to the hotel there, so we would do the National Park thing.

What I didn't know that once in Byfield which is actually some distance from Yeppoon (and we didn't even go through Yeppoon) there is a 25klm track in to the beach sites that took us 90 minutes.

All of this on top of the 430klms we travelled to get here from Cape Hillsborough. Gold Daddy.....oh it's Dad now, I forgot.

Anyway, after fueling up and the locals giving me a funny look when I asked if I could take a camper trailer in there, we set off toward the beach. I must admit they were very helpful but not confident I should take the trailer in there, particularly one as big as ours.

On the way in I hollered down a bloke coming out with a trailer. He said I would be all good just keep right at the junction and "give it some berries going up the hill!!!!!!" He also said to drop the tyres down to 10psi and 8psi in the trailer. I was a bit reluctant to do this because I have never needed to do this ever and I learnt to drive on sand. There are some pretty hairy tracks on the sand islands around SEQ so I thought I would just go to 12 on the trailer and 15 on the car.

As we started to ascend, just as the guy described, I gave it some berries and the junction just appeared around a corner and you guessed it, I ended up on the left and the steepest, rutted out part of the dune. This dune was big, steep, soft, rutted, chunky and narrow, so not much room for error. We got about 70% of the way up and the Prado with 1500kg behind it said no dickhead, too hard.

I jumped out, my tail between my legs and promptly let the tyres down to 10 & 8 respectively and tried a few more times to get up with no luck because of loss of momentum. My only option was to reverse all the way down, which is a challenge in itself when you can't see and have 2 boys just jumping around like crazed people because of all the excitement.....

We made it to the bottom again and I got as much momentum as I could, took the right track and just bounced around like you wouldn't believe up this track. The smiles on the boys faces were priceless and we were all in fits of laughter when we got to the top because that is exactly how the guy described it, and the only way to get up there with a trailer on the back.

Without a doubt the toughest sand track we have ever attempted and now conquered. Brilliant stuff.

It was a further 30 odd minutes from there to the campsite and again we were blessed with a grassy, shady site, protected from the wind and quiet with the exception of the waves crashing in on the beach. Blue skies again and the forecast is for more of the same tomorrow.

2 nights here although I think it would be nice to stay more. It really is a pity we have to go back to work, we could easily do this full time without many complaints.

It should be a nice couple of days

Jase & Nat.

 

 

Sensational day of nothing.....

The tide was in mid morning so we made the most of it. The beach took on a totally different complexion with the water in so close and only sand being exposed. The difference in pictures tell the story.

We managed to swim and do everything we have blogged already when it comes to time at the beach which again, is bloody great. Mavvy is tanning up well and even Zander, whilst his skin is awfully dry, is looking like he is browning well too. Mum is very particular about sunscreen but at the end of the day, when you are in it as much as we have been, the skin just starts to brown as a natural barrier to the sun. We are all looking very tanned and relaxed I must admit.

The day really didn't bring any accomplishments other than the above and a few games of UNO & Zander's new puzzles for his birthday. Kookaburras found some old steak bones from somewhere and 3 of them decided to try and pick any meat left on them right beside us as we waved from our camp chairs, which was cool. Add to that the scrub turkeys and goannas getting around and this sort of stuff is priceless for the boy's awareness of native animals and the bush in general. 

These are the days that make it. You feel like you are on holidays.

Gold........

Jase & Nat....

Cape Hillsborough

This morning my parts had still not arrived TNT so I called them up to chase it down. We only had 100 odd klms to go but we had to be out by 10am and my taillights weren't working. 

I lodged the enquiry and she told me I would have a call back within the hour. I had a call back within 15 minutes saying it was on route from Mackay to Proserpine. I asked her if I could pick it up and she said she would call me back to arrange. They called back within 10 mins and said it would arrive at 10am at Proserpine and the agent would ring me when it was available.

I had a call at 10am from the agent and went and picked it up at 10 past 10.

The new StartTrack.......you could could learn a thing or two from TNT and I never ought I would ever hear that come out of my mouth.....

Southward to Cape Hillsborough and upon arrival we found a magic campsite. Quiet, shady, own track to walk to the beach and pit toilets about 100m away. This is what camping is all about. It was lunchtime so we sorted that and then spent some time at the beach. With the tide out there was at least 1klm of mudflats so not really inviting, but nice all the same. It looked as though the tide came in a long way by the sand markings which meant at least 50m of sand based swimming at the turn of the tide. However plenty of mud there at this time for the boys to walk in and throw at one and other, which s what they did and had a shit load of fun doing it.....

Once we got them cleaned off and started dinner, I finally got to use my fire pit I bought from Bunnings given the National Parks only allow fires above the ground here. Not that anybody cared, there were fire remnants everywhere and by the look of it they used wood gathered from the park. Not us, we used the pit and brought our own wood, because we care about enabling our boys to take their kids to places like this down the track.

Nat & I managed to spend a couple of hours by the fire after the boys went to sleep which was great. We just talked about everything over a few drinks and it was nice to just do that by the fire again. It's not the 5 star Big 4 resort, but it sure as heck beats it hands down in our opinion.

Life is good

Jase & Nat.

Ocean Rafting Safariiiiiiii......

Today was Z Mann's birthday and we had a big day booked. We awoke and of  course did presents in bed before light outside (just small gifts because we have a fish tank at home for him) and then started to get moving for the bus pickup. I'd arranged for some parts for the trailer to be sent here under warranty and checked at reception to no avail, while the boys just rode around the park meeting new kids and generally being pains in the ass to whomever had to deal with them....

The bus arrived at 9 or so and we were greeted by a Maori dude called Will about 50 years old. He was pretty cool but the way he spoke just got the better of me after a full day on a boat listening to his exasperated endings to sentences. As an example....." Hey guyyyyyys, are you ready for a big dayyyyyyyyyy, on the boat raftingggggggggg, we gonna have some foooooood, and smash some waaaaaves, and go to paradiiiiiiiiiise, for some down tiiiiiiiiime you gonna luvvvvvvvvv ittttttttt........

Bloody annoying.

Anyway, we set out and got the front seat which in hindsight was the most fun but the most uncomfortable also. First stop was snorkelling for an hour just at the northern tip of Whitsunday Island. The water was cool at 22 degrees but we all managed to get in and give it a go. First real time for the boys and they had their little wetsuits which was pretty cute. Whilst Zander was much better than at Exmouth, Mav didn't really get it so we tried, and I think they would have persisted but they just got too cold and wanted back on the boat. Nat & I just swapped watching them and got to have a good look around. The water was a bit murky but all in all pretty good. Some good underwater shots and a good way to spend some time.

Next stop was Whitehaven Beach, and let me say it looks just like it does in the pictures. We had a magic day with no clouds in the sky and low tide on arrival so we got to see all of the white sand. A short walk to the lookout allowed us some great shots and then a little schooling from Will on the sand. It is 98.9% pure silica sand which means it doesn't get hot in the sun. In fact the sand was quite cool under foot. It is the best quality sand to make glass anywhere in the world which is why the yanks wanted to mine it. In fact the sand taken from here was used to make the Hubble Telescope because of its pure silica content.

After this we went to a sheltered part of the 7klm beach and had a buffet lunch. It wasn't the greatest, stale bread rolls and basically a bit of cold meat and salad thrown together, but it didn't matter, we were in paradiiiiiiise......

Will took the boys to see some goannas and I got to just laze in the sun - perfect.......

On the way back to Airlie the wind came up and it was an enjoyable but bumpy ride. Zander got a bit scared for a bit so they just decided to go to sleep. How, I am not sure, we were smashing thorough waves and getting airborne constantly without so much as a movement from the boys. We had to brace their heads so that they didn't get any whiplash!!!

Back on terrafirma and Z wanted Maccas for tea. Not sure why as we have that once a fortnight at home, but that's what he wanted so we did it. A woolies sponge cake finished the night with a happy birthday singalong from us all, and that finished off what was a pretty big day by anyone's standard.

Off to Cape Hillsborough tomorrow which should be nice as it is National Park action....which is gold....

Jase & Nat.....

 

Airlie - Day 2

Today, considering it is Zander’s birthday tomorrow, we booked a sea rafting adventure for the day inclusive of snorkelling and 2 hours on Whitehaven Beach. It looks fantastic so we thought it would be great for the little Mann and we will look forward to this for tomorrow. 

We decided to venture into town (park is 4klm away) and have a look around. Unfortunately the main street is all dug up as they are redoing the bitumen but we still managed to get up and down each side and have a bo peep. Not much has changed since we were last here although Shute Harbour Road which is the main entrance point has shot up amazingly and everything you need is now readily available along this road.

Back to the pool and we literally stayed there in the sun for about 4-5 hours. Nat had a poolside massage, I read most of the day between going down the slides and swimming with the boys, while Nat watched them go to the jumping pillow or playground. Dad made & brought sangas poolside for lunch so we didn’t lose the lounge chairs and the boys looked smashed by 3pm.....

Down to the supermarket to stock up for the next week and the day was done. I can tell you, sitting around doing nothing certainly does agree with us and we now feel like (Nat in particular) that we are rested.

Bring on tomorrow and number 6 for Z Mann....

Jase & Nat....

 

 

Airlie Adventure

After pulling nearly everything down yesterday, we arose early and had a fast brekky to be on the road by 7am, which was funny because we tried to explain to the boys after 90 minutes of driving that the Toms’s would just be surfacing now....they didn’t get it...

500klms today and we really got lucky with the roadworks to be honest. Not many delays which was great and the prediction of being set up by 3:30 was spot on. It gave us time to have a look around and see what was on offer, and of course for Zander & Mav to do their social thing again. This time there were kids lining the streets so it wasn’t hard to find for them.

This really is a good park for kids, everything they need. The list is too long but if you get the chance, bring your children here. We decided to stay another night based on the fact it is good to let the boys go bananas so we can relax a little, and after Mission we feel like we have started to do so. The boys found the jumping pillow. I just have to suck up the fact we are with a thousand other families all weeing in the same pool and making shit loads of noise.....but that's' what you get.

2 National Parks await after this so I can have my quiet time then...

Jase & Nat.

P.S - Nat loves it here because we had cheese and wine afternoon when we arrived and there are hair dryers in the toilets!  She also mentioned this morning they even have a laundry basket and trolley in the laundry to hang out your clothes!  Luxury.....

3 days at Mission Beach....beautiful....

The drive from Flying Fish Point to Mission was all of about an hour, so it was nice to have an easy journey for a change. We stopped to pick up some presents from Kmart for Zander’s B’Day and had a nice coffee and some really fattening cakes before we moved on.

When we arrived, the boys eyeballed a waterslide and playground before we’d even hit the driveway, so we knew we might get some down time by letting them off the chain and just watching them.

After checking in we got a site right beside the dunnies which was not ideal but what do you do in school holidays with an oversize camper trailer. As it turned out it was a great spot and relatively quiet and dark at night. A lot of van parks light the amenities up like a Xmas tree but not here.

Zander again infiltrated some families to find new friends within minutes and clung on to this 6 yr old kid called Zane, who tried to (and did) convince Z Mann his name was Zander so he thought that was pretty cool. As it turned out this little kid was a real pain in the ass and his parents need to pull their heads in and start parenting.

More on that later.

We managed to get some beach time and pool time in the first day, sus out around the local area (which was South Mission Beach) and a few drinks and nibbles later we all found ourselves playing UNO and laughing uncontrollably at how the boys have figured out how to cheat at such a young age. They had Friday movie night after this and they were out like a light...

Day 2 we went into the main township for a look and whilst there is not much there, it really is a nice spot. We could easily have a holiday home here for the winter if we had the coin....The sand is grainy and a yellowy colour, which isn’t ideal but still nice all the same. You can still see scars from Cyclone Yasi also which must have been a massive storm, but to their credit they are very resilient and bounce back like true Queenslanders.

We arrived back to find out from some quality friends of Zander’s that the so called other Zander was just coming into our campsite and pinching the boys bikes to ride. Pretty cheeky if you ask me. I told him when I saw him it wasn’t on and he knew what I meant. During the stay he also became very pushy with the boys and started coming over to bludge food also. On the beach he pushed one of the kids into a hole we had dug (I gave him a serve after that) and was hogging the football from all of the other kids. By this time we were over him and all the while, we didn’t see his parents once over the 3 days. He was in the pool on his own, down at the beach on his own, in the playground on his own, and generally annoying all the travellers......on his own. It was good to see the back of him....Pool time again and some swims on the beach rounded the day off. The good thing about having them so busy all day is that they go to sleep fast, which enables us to have some us time.

Day 3 we just lazed by the pool and beach. Some quality sunshine whilst our friends and family froze in single figure rain affected conditions in Brisbane. Bugger.

We built a massive boat on the beach with the long handled shovel and then played footy with a number of kids. It was really cool and we are enjoying this time with the boys travelling on our own again. Up early tomorrow for a long drive to Airlie where the word is  the park is super for kids.

Mission – if you haven’t been here it is somewhere you must come for a look at this time of year, safe swimming beaches and friendly people. Great stay.

Jase & Nat.

 

How to get kicked out of a caravan park.....

Today we had all the sheets and clothes in the washing machine by 8.30am.  Well Daddy did anyway because Mummy didn't want to....
The good thing is that it will dry quickly in this weather so we will be all good by this afternoon.

The boys wanted to play mini gold, go to the beach and spend some time in the pool, so given we are alone now it is a good opportunity to have some time with them, so the plan was in place.  Washing hung out and mini gold done - check....
We needed to get some spades and buckets, and some gear to service the Prado, so we went into Innisfail to get it afterward.  A great deli made us a nice coffee and a short drive around the town made us think what a nice area this would be to live in winter... Flying Fish Point is beautiful too with some very nice and expensive houses beachside.  The area was recommended to me by a couple of old work mates to visit while we were up here and they were right....nothing here but that is just how we like it!!!!

On our return I walked across to the beach to see how the tide was.  On my way out a gold Magna came hooting around the corner into the park via the exit and passed the no entry sign, almost hitting me.  As they went past, an overweight woman (thing) in the passenger seat said to me "gee your lucky mate".
Obviously this aroused any irritations I might have about what happened so I went over to their cabin (they are permanent residents) and asked them to come outside.  A bloke that looked about 20 and like a women came to the door and I asked if they just came in the park in that Magna.  He said yes so I asked him if he could slow down as I have 2 kids that are riding their bikes around.
He said he didn't come in effing fast and I didn't know what I was talking about.  So I looked at the waste of a human in the eye and said idiot, you did, you nearly knocked me over, and you came in the exit a hundred miles an hour.  Then his fat Mrs stood over him and started whining about something to me which pissed me off even more and then told me to mind my own business and then shut the curtain.  I then said just make sure you don't do it again or we will be talking again.
They told me to F off.
I then mentioned it to Nat in the scaled down non aggressive version and said I had concerns about the welfare of our belongings given grubs like this will do anything to get back at people.  So we just put everything in the car if we were away from the camper.  Another couple from Narangba in Brisbane arrived in a camper and reversed in right beside them, which made me smile given the quality of neighbours they now had.  I wandered the boys up for a swim with the intent to tell the park owners when I was finished and I saw Nat talking to them as I went.
Shortly after Nat came to the pool and said the shit had hit the van and the grubs were getting evicted!  Apparently the guys from Narangba overheard them fighting and swearing etc (I might have riled them up a bit) and he went over to ask them to stop.  This bloke isn't big but he doesn't look like he will take crap and then they gave it to him too.  He didn't back down either and gave it straight back.  The owner drove past in the golf buggy and was waved down and told by the new arrivals to move them or they are getting out and telling everyone about the scum that live her (much the same as I was going to tell them) and he on the spot told them to piss off!!!!
Good on him.
The idiots then kept going and then whinged about having 2 kids and homeless because of the "travellers" carrying on about nothing!!!
Bloody funny in the end.  They packed up, pissed off and took their friends from a couple of cabins up with them.  Great story for us to laugh about over a few beers before the footy tonight.

Down to the beach we went and did volcanoes, monster trucks and sand castles.  Believe it or not we have our children back and they are once again starting to listen and do as they are told.  Lets see how long it lasts.

There is a free sausage sizzle and nibbles for the origin tonight on the big screen in the BBQ area of the park.  Streamers up everywhere and quite colourful to be honest which is great.  We will head up and watch the maroons square the series hopefully!

Go the maroons - Jase

Flying Fish Point

We decided last night that we would press on tomorrow and stay at Flying Fish Point for 3 nights instead of 2.  We needed to wash all our clothes and high pressure water blast the dust off the boys... and the trailer/car.

The drive was about 500km and around 180 of the last we will see of unsealed road on this trip.  There might be a little beach work and a couple of national parks, but we can wash the dust off now and feel a little cleaner.

Once we made it through Laura and pressed on to Mareeba and the peanut country of Tolga and Atherton, we were amazed at the landscape changes once we turned east and headed for the coast via Malanda, Milla Milla and the Palmers region.  The ranges through that sector were simply beautiful and we didn't know they existed.  Had we known we probably would have planned to stay a night or two up there.

It was around 4.30pm when we arrived at the van park after getting supplies at Innisfail, so we had enough time to devour a BBQ chicken and get organised after setting up.  The boys were pretty tired to be honest and given they had nothing but their socks to play with on the 6 - 7 hour journey today, we were happy with the way they behaved.  This was confirmed by the no fuss bed time when we asked at 7.15am.
Needless to say they had made 4 new friends by the time tea and no doubt will be trying to stalk them tomorrow.

It looks like a really nice place here and we think we will enjoy our little stay.

Jase and Nat

Lakefield National Park and a big dick.....

After a nice hot shower this morning and a coffee from the local grocer, we caught up with the oldies and headed south once more bound for Lakefield.

The trip was only a couple of hundred k's at best so not too bad a day.

Zander and Mav made sure they said their good byes to the Mackay family as soon as first light was even a possibility!!!!! We just can't stop them.....

We stopped at Musgrave Sation again for a break and then only had about 80klm to go to the reserved campsite.

Along the way we were approaching quite a steep decline into a dip and I said to Nat tell the guys quickly on the UHF. She quickly grabbed it and said "guys there is a big dick coming your way" This was the funniest bloody thing I have heard or seen since Zac had his panic attack. She looked mortified and we just lauged for 10 minutes solid. Se couldn't even hold the microphone. I was still having spurts of laughter hours after just thinking about it. Geez it was funny.

When we arrived it seemed a little like déjà vu and we thought back to El Questro Station in the Kimberley. Extremely private sites by the river and nobody in sight. This is what I love and long for on our trips.

We set up and the boys went bananas in the dirt playing monster trucks and riding their well used bikes around an area that would house plenty of campers.

I found 45 minutes to read my book and have a bit of a power nap, but unfortunately if it is daytime in any fashion, my energised kids just keep coming in wanting my attention.

I have to admit, my patience has been a bit thin with them over the last couple of weeks because they have been an absolute handful. One thing we learnt last year was that when we are alone in more remote areas they are so much better  than in van parks or travelling with other people. Whilst it has been excellent doing this trip with the Toms's - and we say that sincerely - the boys are so attracted to Zac & Emily and as a result they just become so disobedient because they think they are 10 years older than they really are. Zander in particular who is sharp as a tack knows at a young age how to manipulate us and press our buttons. I am sure that is the same with all kids but Mav is so different and knows when he has crossed the line. Z Mann just keeps pushing......and pushing, where as Mav will just be quiet and listen.....

Anyway, Rob & Darren went down and tried their luck fishing while I was trying to have a sleep with no luck. In fact the word was that they are going to keep moving tomorrow and go to Cooktown because there is nothing to do here. I think Mum & Dad are thinking the same, as are Rob & Caroll.

We are not sure, I think we might stay another night as per the booking because it will be nice to be on our own again - how we like it to be honest - and probably how everyone else feels after 2000klm in the dirt. Much harder for the others given they are in a tent too, they really have done well.

Tomsy has the fire going, how much wood is left will have a huge bearing on our decision as to whether we stay tomorrow night or not. By the look of it there won't be any left!!!!

A great 2 weeks all had with Mum & Dad & the Toms. Brilliant to have the company along the way and we wish them all well on their journeys around Oz. We wish we were going with them, or a least travelling again. We have been blessed to have this opportunity for another 6 weeks after 6 months less than a year ago. The next 2 weeks with the boys will be great. We aim to give them as much of our attention as we can, because it will be all systems go when we get back.

Jase & Nat.

 

Sexchange Hotel

Today we all really felt like we would have liked to stay another night. Hindsight as I have said, is a great thing. We would have stayed 2 nights at Elim Beach, 2 nights at Vrilya, and chopped one night off Weipa and Punsand Bay had we known where we were going.

Anyway, packed up again and southward to the Coen pub, called the Sexchange Hotel. After lunch at Bramwell Roadhouse, and then an ice cream at Archer, we arrived there at about 3pm. The campers all go out the back and for $5 per head, we thought it was good value. The oldies found a free camp out by the river but we wanted to stay at the pub because a few coldies and a counter meal sounded like the go.

After setting up, we had a couple of beers and got chatting to a family from Mackay. I have to thank Zander because we meet so many people through his social skills. He is like clock work, he will stalk them slowly until the kids see him, then he moves little quicker and before we know it has infiltrated their camper or van, and like tonight.....sitting some random adults camp chair talking to an adult while he was chopping wood.

Funny stuff.

Just as funny was the Brahman bulls just wondering the streets and in the middle of the football field chowing down on the cricket pitch....

There was also 2 beautiful staffies running around the campground which belonged to the owners. They are such great dogs and I think we might be the boys one in the near future.

We all moved up to the bar where we had fish and chips which was pretty greasy but nice all the same. In talking to Barry Mulley the publican, he said his family used to basically own Carole Park in Brisbane and tat he and his five brothers moved to Cairns as young adults and from their up to Coen. There was a heap of NRL/Cricket memorabilia onto walls in frames and one in particular signed by Norm Provan. I asked who was the Dragon supporter  was and he said all of the family backed them because when Provan retired he bough a caravan park in Yorkeys Knob in Cairns and he used to go to their training sessions and show them how to play when they were young. They now have moved on to firstly the Broncos in 88, then the Cowboys when they joined the comp......but the dragons still hold a small place in the 11 strong family.

Great yarns.

After dinner we basically hit the sack after another tantrum from Zander from being over tired. We just wish he would get some sleep while on the road because he is just non stop all day and doesn't take a breath.

We would recommend this for an overnight stay on the way up. Cold beer, go food, decent amenities, fires allowed and friendly people.

Off to Lakefield tomorrow, then we part ways with our fellow travellers. It will be nice to spend 2 weeks just as the Manns in out home away from home.

Jase & Nat.

 

Vrilya Point for some....

Today we where going early so that we could try to get to Vrilya Point and spend as much time as we could given it was an overnighter only.

The local knowledge was that it was 23klm south of Jardine River ferry and then an hour to 90 mins to get in.

We decided to stop in at Seisha on the way back because we are close and it made sense. We were of the understanding that it was the main town up here and the best serviced because it has Loyalty Beach Caravan Park there also. The van park is also noted as the best on the tip, yet it is 30klm from there.....

Our impression - Bamaga was better in terms of stock in the supermarket and Loyalty Beach was too crowded. We took a punt on Punsand Bay and we got it right. While it wasn't 5 star caravan park, it was OK considering the location and you could have fires there also. In all honesty the are very few caravans up here - if any, it's all camper trailers or tents....just how we like it.

Southward was the direction and we planned to be at the point by 12pm, but getting supplies took a little long and the reality was we wouldn't be there until after 1pm if all went well.

Well, let me tell you, things didn't go to plan....

We crossed the famous log bridge that everyone who goes here talks about - not even a challenge if you pick the right lane. Then we encountered severe corrugations for the next 20k or so which as always, is very boring.

We arrived at a creek crossing with a little challenging bit on the other side and while we were assessing which line to take and how to approach it, we look around and my Mum & Dad, along with Darren's Mum & Dad decided they had had enough and reversed out and took off!!!!

I asked Dad as he was 15 point turning through the bush what he was doing and he said "We've had enough, we are going back to the flat road"

Rob echoed his feelings and off they went. 

I said to them we are 500m from the beaches as I could see it clearly on the GPS topographic map I have, yet they still decided to go back. They said they would meet us at Bramwell Roadhouse and meet up tomorrow.

This seemed strange as the had another hour minimum to get back to the main road, then another 160klm to get the, and it was already after 1pm.

Whilst we understand they are retired and want to look after their cars, the reality is that some of the things we have been doing so far, far outweighs the complexity of what we had in front of us - and we then were where we needed to be!!!!

Anyway, we let them go off in a huff and we drove another couple of minutes to a beautiful beach - the best we have seen so far, and within 30 minutes we were set up 50m from the water having lunch on the beach.

We are disappointed that they didn't persist for a little bit further, but that is OK, they just missed a great spot because I think they didn't like the corrugations. Dads was running 30PSI which would have had them bouncing through the roof.......no wonder he was cranky. We had 23-25 and we found it tough going. 18 PSI on the way out it will be.....

We caught up with a couple from Perth who have 2 lovely daughters and the boys as always were captivated but them. They played with them all afternoon and we made monster truck tracks and volcanoes again. All of the kids managed to find hermit crabs and walk around the rocks looking for anything they could find, Tomsy and I threw in a few lures with no luck.

It really was worth the drive in and in reality it would have been easier to drive down the road and stay at a roadhouse, sometimes the best places are there for a reason - because not many people can get there......

No fire tonight, we a just sitting on the beach in the dark trying to croc spot. We are almost out of beer so we are regulating the intake, which probably will do us some good......

Archer River Roadhouse tomorrow in what will be a big day, pick the oldies up along the way and we will be essentially half way back to Lakefield, then onto Innisfail after that for the homeward journey with just the Manns.

Jase & Nat.

 

 

 

A day of relaxation....

A great opportunity today to just catch some breath. The reality is we have been moving quite quickly to get here and we all deserved a day to not do too much.

The day involved washing all the cars, beach cricket, building volcanos in the sand, starting to pack up a little and just trying to do nothing.

I think we all made good use of the time one way or another.

A communal dinner was arranged yesterday so we could all eat together and enjoy each other's company.

Darren did his wiz band beef stew while Mum had a roast pork she needed to get rid of, so we chucked it in our BabyQ which provides great results with roasts (as we learnt last year on our trip) Everyone did their own vegies and we all had a bit of a buffet before sitting down to a fire that was literally pumping.

We found the perfect fallen tree on the way home yesterday so we got the Mini Boss out and it just massacred this tree to provide us with plenty of fuel for a great fire.

As I sit and write this, once again it is just Darren and I.

Last year it was always just me on my own so it is nice to have a partner in crime when it comes to just sitting around watching wood burn. There seems to be nothing more relaxing.

Nat mentioned today that she feels like she has been on the road for ages, which we think makes it feel like a bit of a continuation from last year. We at not complaining, that is for sure. The simple fact is unless we had endless cash and plenty of leave up, these types of opportunities don't come around often so we will suck it up while we can. 

Once this fire which is currently hot enough to melt beer bottles burns down we will hit the sack and get up early to head for Vrilya Point.

It comes highly recommended by many and is a frequent spot for all of the fishing shows to venture to.

In terms of fishing I have to admit this trip hasn't been much about that. I have all I need to be out every day, but I have just not been motivated. It's been just nice to not do to much.......other than try and get the boys listen to us......

Jase & Nat.

 

 

The Tip of Australia

On the advice of a local, low tide was the best time to go to the tip and get some shots at the sign that is there. This way you can almost walk the whole way around on the beach, then come back over the rocks to do a full loop. Obviously you can do this in reverse which is what we did. Low tide was at 4:30pm so we thought 1pm would be a good time to go and this way the return beach walk would be right about low tide.

The morning consisted of Darren and I fixing my trailer indicators and generally getting things sorted, along with some reading time which was nice, so the afternoon plan to do the tip worked in nicely.

The drive out there was spectacular rain forest with a nice little creek crossing to keep us honest. Magical and what we had all expected the trip here to contain more of. They leave the best till last.....

Out there the clouds started to clear also which meant we would be all good for a nice walk and some time out there.

Over the rocks for about 500m there were some great views of the neighbouring islands, and the tip itself. Well worth the walk so we are glad we did the harder route first.

Out at the sign there were only a few other people so whilst it would have been nice to have it all to ourselves like we have had so many spots in our travels, it would have been selfish for us to expect such at what is one of the most sought after locations to get a Polaroid in the country. Just brilliant to tick this one off and get to another location many might never see.

The beach route back was nice, although slippery and muddy in spots. Great to see the point from ground level and get some more shots of the boys playing around and generally loving the time on the beach.  

We all decided to splurge on dinner at the local restaurant called the Corrugation Bar. The meals were reasonably priced and quite nice for somewhere so remote. The beers were not so cheap but what do you do. These people have to stay afloat so whilst it hurts a little, in the scheme of things it is water off a duck's back.

A couple of family silly face photos and we were all spent really. Not much to do after that other than a couple of lines of chocolate and a few chapters more of my James Pattinson thriller.

I think the Cape beard needs to go tomorrow. I need to start thinking about looking half decent for my new employer.....

Jase & Nat, from on top of Oz.

 

 

Punsand Bay, nearly there....

Without far to go today, there was no rush to get moving. I decided that the copious amounts of mud we had accumulated yesterday needed to come off so we tried to pack up quickly and run the hose over the trailer and the often used spots on the car.

In hindsight I should have done this on the road as I made a bit of a mess for the next campers in our site. I was dirty on myself so apologies to whomever this may have been.

The OTT progressed further north and we decided it would be quicker to go that way on the advice of some people. There were two creek crossings that were in their own right were let's say challenging to look at yet seemed easy once we were through. It is amazing what these vehicles can do with a simple suspension raise and a snorkel. It does make for a fun day. Of driving when the adrenalin gets going after putting $70k cars into the unknown. Great stuff and although the boys love it, it seems to be " ho-hum" now.....just another creek crossing, can we put Curious George back on now please?

We made the main road and moved further north to the Jardine River Ferry where we got touched up big time at $150 return for a 40m ferry ride. The boys however love a ferry ride so some things are just worthwhile money.....not to mention it keeps the locals employed.

The town of Bamaga is the gateway to the Tip so we stocked up on supplies at extremely inflated prices. As I said before, you just need to suck it up when you pay $7.50 for a block of chocolate.....

Punsand Bay was a short 40 minute drive and is where we are camped for 3 days. It was comical to watch Darren & Emily pitch the tent and seeing Zac fake sleeping on the camping chair!!!! He is just a professional at finding ways to get out of work, much to his Dad's annoyance. It is so funny to watch...

Funnily, the purple pyjama lady was here again and she took the boys for a couple of hours which was great. It helps her too given it occupies her girls also.

The tip is literally 7klm from here so after 3500klm we are going to stand there tomorrow. We plan to do the afternoon low tide and walk the beach to the sign, then climb the rocks in the way back.

Can't wait....