20 January 2025. Finally after all the holdups over the Christmas holiday I am on the road. Spend the whole day at Horseshoe bay after an overnight stay at Cuthalungra. Beautiful weather and warm water. Next Mackay to Luke and Nikaela. Luke told me already that they had a few jobs planned. They certainly had. A water leak in the main line to the house. The soil was peppered with stones which made digging very difficult. Luckily Luke has a mate who has a digger and was able to borrow it for the trench in the front yard. Next day installed a new line and filled it all back in. The other job was to scrape all the spray on tiles of the back veranda. Another hard job with the jack hammer. This worked reasonable well for the first half. The second half did not work at all. Bought two angle grinders and diamond disks. Nikaela's father had come up from Rockhampton to help out. Finished the job on Australia Day. The easiest job was to seal the leaking veranda roof.

I also still needed some work done on the bus. I found someone who said that all was OK. Put all the parts back in. Bus ready and the jobs around the house on hold because of the rain. Time to make tracks again.  Last night I did the cooking. Mackay was just on the edge of the rain depression. Townsville is copping a beating. Stopped for a look around in Middlemount and found a lookout over the open cut mine and decided to stay for the night. The picture is the view from the bus.  Diesel price here $2.45 L. the most expensive . Normal around $1.80.  This is a coal mining district and you frequently have to get off the road when you find this opposite you.

Travelled south via Bilowela, Cania Gorge, Monto and Gaindah. Camped at the lookout overlooking the Burnett River and orange orchards. This is a holiday exploring National Parks. 5 February stopped for the day at the Kimbombi Falls and rest area.

We passed this area several times over the last 20 years but now I discovering some gems we just drove passed previously like the Coomba falls. A lot of the photo's of gorges and waterfalls don't look good unless you show them really large. Also did all the walks in Crows Nest National parks. 12000 steps today. 7 February.  Toowoomba and ready to spend some money there.  After all the running around in Toowoomba ready to explore Main Range and Border Ranges National Park. Unfortunately on the way there the bus made some funny noises which turned out to be a broken control arm for one airbag. Drove to Allora rest area and had to wait till Monday to get it repaired. 

Everything fixed in the morning and back to Main Range National Park. It was a long walk to Bare Rock Mountain but well worth it. Magnificent views over the Cunningham Highway. Started at 12.30 and back at 5 with 30 000 steps. I wanted to stay near the Maryvale pub and have a meal there but they are closed on Monday and Tuesday. So it was pizza night.

Cunningham's gap valley

Next day the bog city of Warwick for Aldi, laundry, fuel and bits and pieces. Another 90 KM and parked beside the road for the night near Urbenville. Urbenville has a free camp and when I spoke to another camper there he mentioned there would be a  rodeo in a few days. There is also a waterfall where we stayed a few times over the years. The rodeo was typical for a small town. They had a classic car show, fence post manufacture, bucking bull rides and a live band at night. The band played till 10 PM there were only ten people left. Farmers go to bed early.

A tree hour return walk got me to this lookout in The Washpool National Park. Half way between Glen Innes and Grafton.

19 Feb.  We have been in Glen Innes a number of times over the years. It is a small place but has some interesting architecture.
More shopping and a cup of cappuccino. They have a free rest area beside the golf course. There were a number of campers there. I intend to head south but made a detour via Walshpool National Park, Grafton and Cathedral Rock National Park, New England National Park and Armidale. The road is called the Waterfall Way. We previously been to the spectacular waterfalls but never done any which involved a long walk.

Camped in a free camp in Uralla just south of Armidale. They call it a prospecting area there supposed to be gold here. The place was packed. From Uralla via Tamworth, Gunnedah to Coonabarrabran where I stayed at the golf club. The temperature is picking up and the days are around 36 degrees. 27 Feb. Another National Park. Warrumbungles N.P. We went there six years ago and it has one of the best views in Australia, so I had to visit again. I could feel that I am six years older. First time no problems. This time I was knackered. Drove to Gilgandra and had a meal in the pub. In a lot of outback places you can camp for free beside the pub in the hope you spend some money there. It is 9PM and still 33 degrees in the bus.

Warrumbungles National Park. The skinny rock is called the Breadknife

Dubbo. Filled up with diesel, wanted to started the car and nothing. I got towed to a spot where I could charge the batteries and drove to a battery place but it was not the batteries. The alternator gave up the ghost. Friday afternoon and nobody could do anything till Monday. Stayed three night in a caravan park. Outside temperature 40 degrees. Monday to a garage and at one o clock after $2250 all fixed. Now parked beside a river with the sound of cockatoos. After I got here I realized we camped here one and a half years ago also.   Three nights here, very relaxing.

                           Pinto Falls Reserve                                                                                   Bathurst

4 March. Via Wellington to Orange. We never spend much time here over the years but it is a very interesting place with lots of wineries and great nature reserves. Did a couple of bush walks. Two nights here at the showground. Next two nights in a pine forest and one night in Bathurst. It took me 8 and a half minutes to go around the track. The V8ts do it in just under two minutes.  Heading in to the Blue Mountains National Park. The Kanangra Boyd NP is famous for it's Kanangra Walls. Sheer sandstone cliff faces.  It's a 30 KM unsealed road  in. The altitude is about 1000m and the closer I got the fog got fairly thick, less than 100m visibility. Luckily the sky cleared during the afternoon which gave me the time to do all the bushwalks on offer. Stayed the night in the National Park and woke up with a blue sky. Took a few more photo's. The wall is more impressive the longer you you spend at the lookout. No photo can express the sheer size of the wall and the valley.

                           Kanangra Boyd wall                                                                  This is sheep country

Another day another National Park. 30 KM of very winding road and when I got to Wombyan N.P. they told me it was closed. There were a few walks I could do but not the caves. I was actually opening the next day after 3 month due to heavy rain. Two nights in Goulburn and off to Yass and Batlow via Tumut. All the roads I have done this holiday we have done before but this is one I did not do. Some bitumen but a lot of rough gravel. One night in Batlow and on to Jingelic via Tumbarumba. We have camped here a number of times previously. I could not help myself and had to climb that hill. Stayed here two nights.

          Camp beside the Murray River                                                                       Paul in  Healesville

20 March Entered NSW and followed the Murray river till Albury. Getting closer to Paul. Also had a fair bit of rain and they need it here. Everything is very dry. At home it is raining cats and dogs. 300mm in 24 Hrs.  After two month travelling finally arrived at Pauls place in Healesville. He turned out blue skies for me for the weekend which also means 5 degrees at night. Met the people Paul works with in the mower shop. It was good to catch up with Paul and do it probably again next year. Next t Dutch friends in Anakie. I had not seen them for a long time and it was good to catch up with Bart Mai Goedegebuur. This was the end of the trip and I am heading home. Spend one night in Kilmore, Ballina, Hume Dam and  one night in Curryong. This place is famous because the man who inspired Banjo Paterson poem lived here. Went to the museum, did some repairs and had dinner in the pub. The weather forecast for the rest of the week was good and decided to do the Snowy Mountain Highway to Jindabyne to walk up Mount Cosciuszko via Charlotte Pass. The on the way it started to rain and the forecast changed. Parked overnight at Charlottes Pass,(the start of the 22KM walk)  in the hope that the weather changed. It changed only marginally but I still decided to go. On the way a bit of rain, a lot of wind and freezing cold. Took me 2hrs and 15 minutes to the top. The wind was so strong and it was so cold. When I got back in the bus I put the heater on and shivered for an hour. A hot shower was all I needed.

The man from Snowy river and the Snowy River in the way to the top of Mount Cosciuzko.                So cold

Next stop Canberra. Visited the portrait museum, old parliament house and the war museum. I had seen it all before but these made the greatest impression previously.  This time the portrait gallery had a lot of contemporary arts which does not interest me much and the war memorial is undergoing extensive extensions which meant only WW 1 and 2 were accessible.
2 April heading further north to Morton National park. There are two significant waterfalls in the park and I visited both. Especially Fitzroy falls is very popular.

Off to Warragamba. a big free camp near the Warragamba dam. I had to weave my way around Sydney and I thought because it was a Saturday morning it would be quit on the road. Not so. This time I ended up on a road we never travelled before. This does not happen very often. Putty road to Singleton. Very popular with bike riders because of the winding road. Shopping and laundry in Singleton. All the laundromats can be paid with credit card. We used to carry a lot of coins especially for the laundry. Found a great spot for overnight with a view over the Hunter Valley.

Another great spot for two days just north of Gloucester beside a fast running stream. No good camping here after heavy rain because there will be a meter of water here. Only two other campers here.
9 April Heading further north via Armidale for shopping and Wollomobi National Park. The park is on a road called the Waterfall Way. There are a lot of waterfalls here and over the years have driven this road several times. I only stopped at the Wollomombi Falls which is the most spectacular one. This time I could do all the walks to different viewpoints. Last time they were closed. A lolt of pubs in the country have free camping around them in the hope you spend some money there. I parked in two of them on the way to Grafton.
12 April. I was looking forward exploring the Border Ranges National Park. But when I got there it was closed. They had a lot of rain the previous month and a lot of tracks must have been damaged. Also the weather is turning to rain. Heading north again and are back in Queensland. I did not climb mount lindsay but it gives an impression what the landscape is like on the border of NSW and Queensland.

The further north the warmer it get's. Reavelled via Rathdowny and Boona. On the way I visited Queen Mary falls again. Camped beside a lookout for another waterfall. You can't find a caravan park with a view like that. Bypassed Ipswich towards Sommerset dam. I am well and truly past Brisbane and the traffic is getting heavier.

                  Queen Mary falls                                                      Glasshouse mountain Mount Ngungun

The Glasshouse mountains were named by Captain Cook because that was what it looked like from the sea. At the moment most walks are closed because of the bad weather over the last few month. But mount Ngungun was very popular. The photo taken by a Belgian couple. Parked overnight in Gympie. A lot of free camps are used by homeless people to set up permanent campsites although you are only allowed to stay 24 hours. The next couple of days I did fairly quickly. Home via the coasgtal road. Stayed one night in Mackay and from there to Fletcher Creek where the Motorhome club had a weekend organised for ANZAC day. ANZAC is Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. The 25th of April is an important day. Only on that day the game Two Up is allowed to be played. Head and Tails.

                                                          Two Up with the motorhome club

26 of April. Back home again. The house was in perfect shape. Over and out.