Townsville

We left Midge Point on Tuesday morning and travelled north to the Mountain View Lake Holiday Park at Palm Creek, Giru (just south of Townsville). We only stayed one night as it was old and run down and full of mozzies but still ok for a one nighter as they had new eco toilets and showers installed.
We arrived at the magnetic Gateway Holiday Park, Cluden, Townsville on Wednesday morning and booked in for a week ( this is a Top Tourist resort). We do not have a slab site but where we are is great and we have such a lot of room. The turn over for this park is phenominal and vans come and go every day. The first day we just got settled and then went to the shops to get essentials that we needed. The next day we went for a walk along The Strand (the seafront) in Townsville and it was just beautiful. It took us over 2 hours to walk the full length and back but it was worth it.

The above three pictures are all of the Strand in Townsville but do not do it justice as it is beautiful.

We came back to the Caravan Site and went to a free concert given by Dennis Cuthel formerly of the Aztecs .It was brilliant he played all the old sixties songs for appox 2 hours with only a five minute break.
Today Friday 27th we went to the CastleHill Lookout and I'm afraid I couldn't do the walks. I tried one but because I'm frightened of heights and some of the steps were on the side of the mountain I froze. So poor Stephen had to do them on his own - he took the pictures for me on my phone as my camera decided to pick that moment to run out of battery.

All the above 5 photos are of different views from the top of the lookout. After this we came back to the caravan site and had lunch and then I washed all my net curtains again, dried and put them back up so that we were all clean again. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Monday 23rd July 2012

We went to Bowen on Saturday and I managed to find a lovely hairdresser who cut my hair perfectly so if you are ever in Bowen look for Quick Cuts (it is on the same street as the IGA store but the opposite side).Bowen is of course where they made the film "Australia" and you can see the pier that the cattle ran down to the ship as it is still there. We were so amazed the the streets are exceptionally wide but the stores are haphazard and you have to walk a long way to find the ones you want. But hey the exercise is good for you.

Bowen Sea front

Horseshoe Bay

From the Lookout at Flagstaff Hill

The other side of the lookout at Flagstaff Hill

The Big Mango just out side Bowen at the Tourist Information Centre

We had a lovely day at Bowen and then came back to Midge Point for dinner. On Sunday we stayed at the campsite and did some cleaning and washing and lo and behold we got a lovely surprise in the afternoon when Ernie and Margaret came and stayed for one night to see us as they were travelling through to their rellies up north. i didn't realise how much I missed everyone from home - it was so good to see them. We had dinner together and Skyped the kids for a chat as Margaret wanted to see how Deb's was getting over the tonsilitis. Then this morning they had to leave - never mind will probably be able to catch up with them again either at Townsville or Cairns before they have to go back.
We are moving on tomorrow but not too sure where we are staying next between Townsville and Cairns there is such a lot to see.

I managed to make these two Birthday cards whilst we were at Clairview as it was raining really hard there and we had to stay inside the van.

Friday 20th July 2012

The Travellers Rest Carvan Park at Midge Point is beautiful even in the rain and it is so peaceful, we are having a very relaxing stay here and will be sad to leave on Monday. Yesterday the sun was out when we visited Airlie Beach and Cedar Creek Falls and today the forecast is for more sun. We were walking along the beach at 7am this morning although it was a little chilly we enjoyed it tremendously. All this walking and I'm still not losing weight (must be eating too much or having too many happy hours).

This is Stephen feeding wild Lorikeets who were sheltering under our awning from the torrential rain we had at Clairview.

This is a Black Cockatoo (I hadn't seen one this close before) who was gate crashing a "Big Morning Tea" we were at on Weds in Midge Point. We had a great time and Stephen won the Botchee (not sure if that is the correct spelling as never heard of the game before) game and we received a Bottle of Muscat Liquer, three glasses a jar of Olives and a box of crackers - we only need the cheese and we have a Gourmet's delight. We won a couple of other small items too.

The entrance to the Travellers Rest Caravan Park - as you can see it had been raining on this day.

Sign welcoming you to Proserpine

Proserpine Museum on the road into the town

Proserpine is a beautiful little town and has a small Woolworths and a large Supa IGA owned by the Faust family. This is a gorgeous store, very clean and tidy and all the assistants were extremely friendly and helpful. Lots of other stores on the main street through town plus several Pubs.

Airlie Beach

Yachts and boats moored off the beach at Airlie

Cedar Creek Falls in between Proserpine and Airlie Beach

We went for a drive yesterday to Airlie Beach - the sun was out and the sky was blue. We played spot the older person for most of the morning as Airlie seemed to be all young backpackers everywhere. We walked along the front for approx 2 metres and heard four languages none of which was English. Seemed to be plenty of tourists about like us but these were a lot younger. We had morning tea on the beach and then went for a drive to Cedar Creek Falls. These are stunning and some people were swimming in the pool at the bottom but Stephen dipped his toe in and said it was freezing. We had lunch there then on the way back we popped in to Proserpine for a large Mozzie Candle as there seems to be quite a lot at the Camp site.By the time we arrived back at Midge Point it had rained and all my washing was wet. Never mind have just put it out again today.

Monday 16th July 2012

We stayed at the Clairview Caravan Park on our next leg of the journey, just passed St Lawrence as it was a muddy paddock when we passed. We booked in for 3 nights (fri, sat,sun) and it was $35 per night. What a rip off. no extra facilities , old amenities block (but clean) had a bar and a small restaurant which made one meal every night and you had to order by 5pm. there were a lot of permanents on this site and the locals frequented the bar and restaurant. Although saying all that we did have a very relaxing time there and we  went in to Sarina on the Saturday. What a very cute place that is and you have to pass the Sugar Mill on the way into town.

We only found out on the Sunday afternoon that crocodiles were in the area of the camp and we, like every one else , had been walking on the beach and along the creeks.

We left there this morning in brilliant sunshine, the first we have seen for a while, and went to a caravan park in Mackay but it was full, then we went to a camp site on the beach at Seaforth but they wanted $21 a night- no showers and no power and you couldn't use your generators so we carried on to The Travellers Rest Caravan Park at Midge Point - we could not believe our eyes - it is set in a tropical parkland and is not too big but has beautiful amenities , a small camp kitchen and fire pit area which I am led to believe is lit every night for people to sit around and chat. Our site is next to the walkway to the beach which is only 200meteres away, so it looks like we are going to enjoy it here. By the way we booked in this site for a week so that we can explore the area and drive in to Proserpine etc.

Friday 13th July 2012

Calliope River Rest Area

Calliope River - where Stephen caught fish

Woodgate Beach on a cold and windy day

Annette  on Woodgate beach


Whilst we were at Bargara we visited Woodgate beach, it's a beautiful sandy white beach but the day was cold and blustery and we still managed to enjoy our picnic.

We left Bargara on Monday and travelled to Calliiope River rest Area No 106 in the Camp Five Book. We didn't get there until just after 1pm so most sited were taken and we had to go into the valley. but the next day when lots moved on we moved to the top overlooking the river and stayed another 2 nights. It'd just a beautiful place and Stephen went fishing and was the only person to catch  anything. He caught a mullet and a catfish.

We were going to Gracemere caravan park but they were fully booked and I booked us in to Yeppoon but they have had heaps of rain so I cancelled that and booked into Southside Village Tourist Park in Rockhampton. We thought we were here for four nights but thankfully they only had a one night vacancy. It is a good site with clean facilities but the noise is horrendous . Trains all night and its next to the track and traffic all night in and out of Rockhampton. We are glad we are leaving this morning. We managed to get all our business done in Rockhampton in the one day and also three loads of washing and drying and food shipping. The only thing I need is a pair of wellies (galoshes) but they are so expensive, so still looking for a cheap pair.

Wednesday July 4th

This is the view from our caravan - every morning we sit out and have a cuppa before deciding what we are doing for the day.

This is the entrance to "the Absolute Ocean Front Caravan Park" it is only a small park but always friendly and full of interesting people from all over Australia.


We went for a drive today to vist "The Fred Haig Dam" at Lake Monduran and it was a beautiful day. This Dam is located approximately 20klms out of Gin Gin - which is another cute town with a great Historical Village.


This is the centre of Mount Perry -

For years the Leopard AS1 main battle tank has played an important role in the Australian Defence Forces' work around the world. But now the time has come for the Leopards to retire, with the ADF introducing the M1-A1 Abrams main battle tank as its replacement in the field.

But the decommissioned Leopards haven't just been sent to the junkyard - rather, they've been given a fresh lick of paint and gifted to RSLs around the country, to go on display.
Mount Perry is one of only six Queensland towns to be granted a Leopard tank, and it can now be seen sitting proudly over the road from the town's existing war memorial.
The local Dingle family provided the money for the concrete slab for the tank to be placed on.


This is the lookout at Mt Perry which is approx half an hour out of Gin Gin.

On the way back to Bargara we called at a friends daughter's house for a cuppa as she lives in Gin Gin and she made us very welcome.

Not planning anything for tomorrow as we are going to relax all day.