Bon Voyage Brisbane!

Soon after arriving back from Fraser Island, it was time to say goodbye to Brisbane, family and friends.... for a while anyway. As most of you know, the weather was only getting worse since our return from Fraser and we weren’t too sure our original plan to travel down the east coast over summer was such a good idea. With most of the country in flood, we contacted our friends Cheyne & Casey at Davenport Downs and luckily picked up a few months work until things dried up!

First things first though, it was off to NSW to spend some time with my family before heading off again. Sadly that was a bit short lived as I was sick for most of our stay and then the rush began to get to Davenport ASAP!

That’s right, another challenge. By now Toowoomba and Brisbane had been hit by disastrous floods and we soon found out we only had a small window of opportunity to get to Davenport Downs before they too started to experience the wet season. Our friend Jo was heading to Davenport with us and so the planning began to find a way to travel from Lismore NSW to Davenport Downs QLD.

Easier said than done! News broadcasts were reminding everyone that there is no possible route from NSW into QLD but you all know how determined I am and it was now or never if we were to make it to Davenport. All that said, we found a way....via Dubbo and we had to leave the next day if we were to make it.

As exciting as it was, I was sad to say goodbye to my family so soon. It always seems to be such a fleeting visit and we had intended a much longer stay this time around. However, as fate had it, the next day we were packed, picked up Jo and on our way.

You did read correctly... VIA DUBBO! How well do you know your geography? Instead of travelling the normal approx 1400km trip from Northern NSW to Davenport in far south west QLD, we were in fact going to travel 800km south, IN THE WRONG DIRECTION, to Dubbo in order to travel north to Bourke and Cunnamulla where we could cross the border. Bugger.

If it wasn’t enough that we had to travel 2200km instead of 1400km, we had to tag team constant driving over 30hrs straight to ensure we arrived before the channel country began to flood. With the 3 of us, 1 person could sleep (if that was possible), 1 could observe and the other drive. We ended up doing this in 2 hours shifts.

WE MADE IT! I remember my Mum warning someone never to tell me i can’t do something. Where there is a will there definitely is a way. It certainly wasn’t smooth sailing though, as if we hadn’t had enough water and driving, only 10km from the Davenport Downs station homestead we got bogged! Can you believe it? We had conquered so much in the last 2190km and so close to our destination we had to call for help. Eventually we were  “Home” for the next few months and it was exciting to be working as a station cook again and for Ben to experience station life!



Nearly there.... bogged about 10km from the homestead at Davenport Downs.




After getting ourselves out we had to pull the truck out too!



Raining In The New Year!

Eventually, with some hesitation, off we went to Fraser Island with a group of friends to see in the new year. Bad weather  and further forecast rain for the new year wasn’t really the summer introduction i had hoped for on Fraser, but I missed our summer holidays and camping trips with friends too much to pass it up.

So rain, hail and a little bit of sunshine, off we went. Luckily for us the weather fined up when we arrived and although overcast we saw little rain in our 5 day visit. We set up camp with the rest of the crew on the far north of the island and settled in with a few quiet beers.

Again, as usual, the weather stopped us from doing a few things... fishing and swimming mostly. Although there was some fun in the water, a bit of swimming, surfing and drifting down Eli Creek, it was mostly too windy for fishing.

It was amazing the amount of water around the island from the heavy rain in the week before our arrival. It made for great entertainment watching vehicle submerge themselves in one deep crossing. It proved to come in handy Ben carrying all those tools when Jarrod broke his steering arm in the middle of the crossing. We also briefly explored Eli Creek and travelled to the western side of the island to try some fishing. No Luck.

We saw the new year in with shots, cocktails, fireworks and circle work on the beach... even a nudie run from the girls if I remember correctly. (Not by me though!) Then, too soon as always, it came time for everyone to head home. We decided to stay and explore the island some more on the last day taking in some great 4wding around the rocks at the north of the island and along the inland track back from Lake Mackenzie. The recent rain made the inland track challenging, especially towing the trailer, but WOW Lake Mackenzie...Terrific, Tranquil & Tremendous! It’s like a scene from a James Bond movie, as you’ll see from Ben’s pic below. I was somewhat disappointed we hadn’t come here earlier in the stay and spent more time relaxing at this amazing inland oasis.

So too, it was time for us to head back to the mainland but I can’t wait to revisit the island again, next time in warmer weather!

The boys heading for a huge break! Ha ha.



Flooded crossing where many people come unstuck!





Babysitter Ben...



4wding the northern island.

My name is Bond, James Bond!

Friends, Family & The Festive Season.

Now, late November and getting closer to the festive season, it’s time to return to Brisbane and Lismore to spend time with family & friends before heading off again. Planning on sticking around until New Year, we both picked up some casual work until Christmas to top up the bank account.

It was special being able to spend time with both of our families on Christmas day. Even if it did mean driving from Lismore to Brisbane. Our nephews, Brodie & Cooper are growing so big now and it was magical waking up with them and my brother, Jason, on Christmas morning. There is nothing like being around children at Christmas. Seeing the excitement in their faces while emptying their stockings truly made me smile and brought back many childhood memories.

After breakfast in Ballina, we headed back to Brisbane to spend the evening with Ben’s family where plenty of laughs were had playing “Minute To Win It” games and seeing Brooke dressed up as Santa!

Of course, we did more than just celebrate Christmas in 6 weeks, there was Corrie & Sue-ellen’s farewell to Canada, Koby & Charlottes 1^st B’day parties, visiting Brooke & Michael’s new house, and a nice (but rainy) overnight stay on the sunshine coast.

I definitely can’t forget to mention and recommend 2 fantastic restaurants that Brooke & Michael introduced us to!

Pepi’s Mexican @ Newmarket – awesome and affordable Mexican food.

Mundo’s @ Bardon – Yummo! Brazilian BBQ where meat is carved and served fresh at your table.

Highly recommend both restaurants if you’re in Brisbane. Both affordable, great service and fantastic atmosphere.  Thanks Brooke & Michael... can’t wait to get home and go out again!

Bear @ Christmas

Xena @ Christmas



Brooke playing Santa to Ben.




Minute To Win It.... look at the concentration!



Ben's Minute To Win It!

COOKING @ KOOMBALOOMBA DAM

 Go on... have a laugh... I still am! I had heaps of fun putting this together while Ben & Xena were fishing at Koombaloomba Dam.

NOTE: I had to shrink the file substantially in order to load onto the website, this has resulted in loss of quality. Unfortunately this is only good to view in the size displayed on the blog, not in full screen mode. I am still working on how to do this without losing the quality but i certainly wasn't uploading a whopping 300MB file!

Byfield National Park

National Park (NP).... As beautiful as some of them are, they are dreaded words on our trip. NO DOGS. So with some prior planning we drove the quite boring stretch of road between Mackay and Rockhampton to take Bear & Xena for a 2 night stay of their own at a well researched and very reputable boarding kennel near Yepoon. I imagine it's like having children really, dropping them off and saying goodbye, hoping they'll be happy and looked after. I was very sad leaving them for the first time on our trip, I felt we had left something behind! I am not sure why I worry though... they have always had so much fun playing with other dogs at the kennel in the past.

So with the kids dropped off we weren't too much further from the entry of the park. Since moving to Mackay, both Ben & I have been wanting to visit Byfield but better late than never! Known for its great sandy 4wding and fishing... we were very excited!

Wow.... Nature at one of it's best! We drove through a large amount of state forest before reaching the NP, confronting us with towering sand dunes, narrow tracks, long stretches of beaches (white and sandy as i knew them, not coral), deep blue ocean.... and NO-ONE ELSE TO BE SEEN! It seemed we had the entire NP to ourselves for the weekend. Woohoo!

We set up the camper behind the dunes right on the beach, in between 5 rocks and the inlet and not having to walk the dogs, we weren't entirely sure what to do next. We are still getting used to this RELAXING thing they talk about!

I can't wait to go back to Byfield NP, the sea was a bit rough to launch our small boat this time around, and I can't remember why we didn't get any fishing done here??? From memory I think it was more to do with Ben's keen enthusiasm for 4wding! For the one full day we had in the NP we explored the "Orange Bowl", an amazing sand blow that, to Ben's disappointment, can no longer be driven on. So, in attempt to satisfy his need for speed, we explored on foot and Ben revisited his childhood of tobogganing down the sand dunes. As fun as it looked, I decided to be the photographer!

This really is a place you could explore for days. It's a shame we didn't get a chance to catch any fish or crabs, it really looked like a promising place... and so peaceful. We didn't see another car, besides the ranger, all weekend! Next time I think we will stay for a week. Another thumbs up location!

Rain Rain Go Away... We're Going To Mackay Today!

That's right.... RAIN! For those that know us you will be familiar that nearly everywhere we go it rains... well this is no different. The weather turned miserable at Kurrimine Beach so we decided to head for Mackay to stay with friends Chris & Shantelle for a few days. I was sad to miss a stopover at Bowen but we have spent alot of time on the coast between Cairns and Mackay so it wasn't anything we haven't seen before.

We arrived in Mackay... still raining and had an enjoyable few days catching up with friends, watching TV for the first time since we left and enjoying staying in a house during the bad weather. THANKS Chris & Shantelle!

Not long though and the weather improved and it was time to leave "Home" and continue south down the coast! Next stop Byfield National Park.

KING REEF - KURRIMINE BEACH

Finally... we made it to King Reef, a place we had planned to be our first stop of the journey! Better late than never!

A short drive from Paronella Park and just north of Mission Beach, lays a tiny picturesque town on the Great Barrier Reef. We decided to give the caravan park a miss when we found a small, basic and more affordable council run camping area right on the water... beautiful! The weather wasn't the best, a bit windy to hit the reef in our small tinny, but there was plenty of beach to run the dogs and an inlet to throw a line and "TRY" for some mud crab!

The reef is just 300 metres from the shore here, the closest it comes to the coast, boats can only be launched at high tide and by tractor as the water is extremely shallow for hundreds of metres offshore. We did explore the coastline briefly in the tinny... we didn't find the awesome fishing spot we were after though... and the only fish we caught was the gar fish that jumped right into our boat! The wind started to blow and we ventured back to dry ground.... If only the weather was better for our stay... the locals all headed out one one fine day, they seem to know the spot to go!

With no luck at the reef we decided to hide from the wind and launch the boat into the inlet. Ben was so excited that today was his day and he was going to catch a mangrove jack! It was all I had heard about for the last few days. Can you imagine the look on his face when I caught the only 2 keepers. I really did feel terrible for him.... no really... i did! At least we had fish on the table for dinner! (And i had a great time catching them.)

NOTE TO SELF: Beautiful place...next time tell the wind to bugger off.... don't let Krystle catch all the fish and ask the locals how to get to the reef fishing spot!

Ben's Mangrove Jack.......

Krystle's Mangrove Jack!!!