Author Archives: shorty

Days 54 & 55 – Gold Coast Adventure

Posted on Friday, July 29, 2016 by shorty

Our daughter Katie decided to belatedly celebrate her 30^th birthday by escaping Canberra’s cold winter weather and exploring the Gold Coast theme parks, so Katie and her fiancée Mick arranged a 3 bedroom apartment at Kirra Beach (near Coolangatta/Tweed Heads) for a week. We were invited to join them overnight for dinner and a catch up, as Maroochydore isn’t all that far from Kirra Beach. Not really wishing to make the trip in Bertha we hired a car for a couple of days and set off on our short Gold Coast adventure. We’d never driven an X-Trail before and it was a very nice car to drive!

Mid-morning we made our way from Cotton Tree to the Bruce Highway and south towards Brisbane. First stop was at Caboolture for a quick lunch and to pick up some supplies for dinner. Then it was back onto the highway and over the Gateway Bridge. We’ve been over it before and I’ve posted photos in this blog before, but there is something about it that intrigues me so sorry but you’ll have to put up with yet another photo.

Gateway Bridge heading South

Not long after arriving on the South side of Brisbane we were engulfed in some pretty heavy smoke, and the speed limit was reduced for quite a distance. It turned out that there was a controlled burn-off beside the highway in preparation for warmer bushfire weather.

Burning Off next to the highway

Just past the theme parks at Coomera the traffic slowed again. This time the delay was caused by a multi-car pile-up going North on the highway so of course South-bound traffic slowed as well. There were police, tow trucks, ambulances etc in attendance and the highway was completely blocked. The police were getting cars to reverse back to the previous off-ramp as it didn’t look as though any-one was going to get through for quite some time. We didn’t want to imagine driving Bertha in a situation such as this – wouldn’t be much fun at all.

A lot later than expected (I didn’t mention the roadworks did I?) we finally arrived at Kirra Beach. Mick and Katie were staying at the Wyndham Resort and had arranged an undercover car park for us, which was great, and helped us carry our gear and supplies up to their apartment on the 9^th floor. Their friends Bec and Leigh from Melbourne were also staying and it was great to see them again as well. As it was too late to really go for walk, we all decided it was time for happy hour on the balcony watching planes take off at the nearby Coolangatta airport and watch the sunset.

Mick, Leigh and Bec helping celebrate Happy Hour at Wyndham Resort

Views from the balcony at Wyndham Resort

Happy hour then morphed into a delicious dinner, with Mick and Leigh heading downstairs somewhere to a BBQ where they cooked up some meats while the girls put together a delicious salad. Dinner was fantastic and after loading up the dishwasher we settled down to a hilarious board game called “Concept”. It’s a bit hard to describe and none of us had played it before, but it’s a bit like “Pictionary” except that players have game cards with various icons to describe the clues instead of having to draw pictures. I hope that makes some sort of sense – either way it was heaps of fun!.

Next morning after a very inviting and healthy breakfast we said our farewells to the kids (well they’re all around 30, but it’s a relevant term) who headed off to their first theme park for the week, while Ann and I decided to take the scenic route back to Cotton Tree.

First stop was to walk along the actual beach at Kirra Beach. Looking back from the beach this place has certainly changed since we were last here some time ago. Then we headed north along the “beach road” into the ever expanding sprawl that is the Gold Coast.

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We stopped for coffee at a very nice little coffee shop in Burleigh North and a quick walk before heading back to the X-Trail.

Very nice coffee!

At some point we had to re-join the main road through the Gold Coast. Ann remembers Surfers Paradise from the late 60s but could hardy recognise any of the buildings from that era. Even though there are different suburbs listed on the map really it all just seems to be a constant contest to see how high buildings can go and how close they can be built together. There are a few older standouts, and we did see a very nice war memorial, but it all seems to be high-rise buildings and even more development which sadly results in less sunshine.

High rise views along the Gold Coast

Not everything is high rise though!

The Spit at Southport was a nice relief after Surfers and surrounds. We’ve been here several times before and feel quite at home. After a drive around we found a scarce carpark at Mariners Cove and went for a good long walk to stretch our legs and work up an appetite for lunch. There are all sorts of boats and yachts here. We saw a very nice looking motor cruiser for sale at $1.8 million, reduced by $600K – a real bargain!?! We also saw an interesting “church” cruiser before stopping for lunch at one of the several cafes and restaurants at Marina Mirage.

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All too soon it was time to head back to the car and continue our journey home. Back past Australia Fair shopping centre; back over the Gateway Bridge; past Aussie World and the Ettamoga Pub; and finally we were back home in Bertha.

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It was great catching up with Katie and Mick, and to see Bec and Leigh again, and we certainly had a very enjoyable trip back from Kirra Beach exploring places we hadn’t been for quite some time.

But, the adventure wasn’t all over just yet! Ann had a bit of a surprise for me as we still had some time before we had to return the X-Trail hire car. Look what Ann found – Adults Only Car Shop specialising in classic cars, muscle cars, and more. A great end to our Gold Coast adventure.

Nice surprise!

Still thoroughly enjoying the motorhome experience (even if we didn’t take Bertha this time)!!

Categories: 2016 Big Maroochydore Adventure | Tags: gold coast, kirra beach, south port

Day 49 – Cotton Tree, Maroochydore – Update No 3

Posted on Sunday, July 24, 2016 by shorty

Time for another quick update from Cotton Tree.

Last Sunday was another miserable day despite forecasts for an improvement. The regular Sunday Cotton Tree market was still on, but there were fewer stalls than usual and not nearly as many potential customers either. I spoke to one stall-holder and she told me that she was sceptical about attending as the weather was so bad, but at least the market organisers let stall-holders park their cars next to their stalls in case they needed to pack up in a hurry.

Sunday market almost totally deserted

While at the market I noticed some road-works further up 6^th Avenue near the bowling club. I can’t work out exactly what they’re trying to achieve and other people I’ve spoken to aren’t sure either. Another of life’s little mysteries I guess!

Roadworks at Cotton Tree

The weather did improve during the week so daily walks could continue. It doesn’t matter whether the walk is to the shopping centre or simply an adventure, it is nice to be able to get out in the sunshine and do some exercise and enjoy the sights at the same time.

Views along Maroochy River

Making progress

It’s also nice to be able sit outside and read the paper, or read a book, or just snooze. A couple of times we’ve had a visitor outside Bertha – just hope he doesn’t want to actually come inside!

Visitor

Better weather also means being able to enjoy happy hours with friends down by the Maroochy River, and stay out long enough to enjoy more spectacular sunsets.

More beautiful sunsets at Maroochy River

The good weather also brings out the fisherfolk, and there have been some quite good catches recently – even the birds get a feed!

Fishing action

One of my projects this week was to put down the floor in our out-door room. We had this matting with ‘Normous the Trailblazer and it makes a tremendous difference to the cosiness of the outdoor area. It does really need the side and end shade walls in place before putting it down.

Floor now in the outdoor room

Yesterday was a bit warm but I still went for my walk. I must admit that I had to stop for a cool drink along the way, and very refreshing it was too!

Nice place to stop for a cool drink

According to today’s paper yesterday’s temperature in Maroochydore was 31.4 degrees, the hottest July day on record. Unsurprisingly we had Bertha’s windows open and the hatches open in an effort to catch any skerrick of breeze and keep temperatures as cool as possible.

Record hot day here in Maroochydore

Today’s weather is very pleasant and not nearly as hot as yesterday. The market is back to its normal state of business and some progress has been made on the nearby roadworks. It now looks as though they’re attempting to add a couple more carparks and smooth out the corner. I’m sure that it will become more apparent as time passes.

Making progress

Not sure exactly what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day but the great weather means that there are plenty of options.

Just for fun

Still living the dream!

Categories: 2016 Big Maroochydore Adventure | Tags: cotton tree, maroochydore

Day 41 – Cotton Tree, Maroochydore – Update No 2

Posted on Saturday, July 16, 2016 by shorty

We’re still having a great time here at Cotton Tree, Maroochydore and it’s time for another quick update.

Firstly, to those non-believers, here’s a picture to prove that bushy turkeys certainly do inhabit cotton trees. As commented in a previous post, we certainly wouldn’t want to be parked under this tree – things could get a bit messy!

Bush turkeys in a cotton tree

On most days we go for a walk somewhere – Sunshine Plaza being a favourite. Sometimes we need to do a bit of shopping, sometimes we enjoy a cup of coffee or a meal, and sometimes we just go for a walk because the weather is so good. Sunshine Plaza is a bit different in that the shopping centre is largely over water, and it’s a bit strange seeing peddle boats around the shops, and not at the beach.

Sunshine Plaza, Maroochydore

Fishing is a popular pass-time in this neck of the woods and there are plenty of shops selling fishing gear. Even the office at our caravan park sells bait. If you can’t find fresh bait you can always buy it from a vending machine!

Vending Machine for Bait!

Most of our walks take us along the Maroochy River and the views are just magnificent and very hard to ignore.

Can’t go past these views at Cotton Tree, Maroochydore

From time to time something different catches our eye and on one day there was a monster crane servicing one of the buildings along the river. It caused quite a bit of disruption in the immediate vicinity but it was only there for one day.

Monster crane at Maroochydore

Last Sunday, after a stroll around Cotton Tree market, we went over to a nearby park where there was a large festival as part of NAIDOC week. There was aboriginal and islander dancing, and plenty of merchandise stalls, food stalls, rides and activities for the kids, and generally a lot to see and do. The overall theme was inclusiveness, and it was obvious that everyone there was having a great time.

NAIDOC festival at Cotton Tree

Sometimes, though, we don’t have to go anywhere to feel happy and content.

Happy and content

One of the “highlights” of this week was the arrival of the front and back end shade-walls for our awning. We brought the side shade-wall with us but hadn’t had a chance to set up properly and measure the end walls. Julie from Camp Shades did a great job (she made the shade-walls for the Trailblazer as well). This time we were inspired by Sue and Glenn here at the caravan park who had a zippered door included in their end walls and it is a great success. We think that having the shade-walls and ends is better than having a full canvas annex as they provide good protection from the sun and weather in general, yet still let breezes and light in.

New shade-wall front with zippered doorway!

Another sight along the walk into Maroochydore the other day was the start of some reclamation works at the Black Swan Beach. There has been some obvious damage along the river bank so this work was clearly necessary. Apparently it will take 4 weeks, and they have been making good progress to date.

Reclamation Works at Black Swan Beach, Cotton Tree, Maroochydore

The weather for the last few days has unfortunately been a bit ordinary, although not as bad as the weather forecasts led us to believe. Last night however, the storms arrived with quite heavy winds and rain. It was pretty miserable first thing this morning and there was water everywhere but our little enclosed area stood up well and remained quite dry. It’s forecast to rain most of the day (it’s raining as I write this) so today will be an indoors day! There’s a great second hand book-shop in Ocean Street, Maroochydore and I have an unread book just waiting to be started!

It’s been raining at Cotton Tree

The weather is forecast to improve from now on so hopefully we’ll soon be able to get back to “normal” Cotton Tree weather and activities.

Meanwhile, we’re still living the dream.

Categories: 2016 Big Maroochydore Adventure | Tags: cotton tree, maroochydore

Day 34 – Cotton Tree, Maroochydore Update – Warbirds at Coolum

Posted on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 by shorty

On Saturday I accompanied Downunda to an event at the ‘Sun Coast Model Flyers’ model aeroplane club at their flying field not far from Cotton Tree at Coolum. Downunda has been flying model planes for a long time now and is a member of the club, although today he wasn’t flying any of his models.

Today was a special “Warbirds” day held in conjunction with the ‘Southern Cross Air Force’ club and involving other flyers from far and wide. The idea behind the “Warbirds” events is that all planes must be models or replicas of military aircraft.

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When we first arrived a model jet plane was just coming in to land. It looked and sounded fantastic! After-all, it was a real jet, just smaller. Downunda was a bit disappointed that there weren’t many jets flying on the day as in previous years there had been several.

Jet Powered

We had a slow wander around the ‘pits’ area to have a good look at the huge variety of model planes there. Many of the models were considerably larger than I had thought they would be and the attention to detail on some of them was quite incredible. Apart from having fully kitted out pilots and cockpits, many planes displayed ‘correct’ rivets, decals, etc.

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Amazing attention to detail

The larger planes generally had petrol engines and looked and sounded extremely authentic. There was one plane disassembled in a trailer which apparently had a 22 ft wingspan!

The planes represented a number of different air forces, including the Australian, British, American, Canadian, German, and others. There was a 4 engined model with RAAF insignia which we would have loved to have seen actually flying, but unfortunately it didn’t take off while we were there.

4 engined RAAF plane

The Red Baron in his triplane was there, but I didn’t see Snoopy!

Red Baron – where’s Snoopy?

Unfortunately we couldn’t stay all day and were only able to see a relatively small proportion of all the planes actually take off, fly and land.

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There was only one serious incident requiring recovery while we were there, and that plane didn’t look as though it would be flying any more that day at least. We did see some occasional flips on landing but generally there was little or no damage.

Oops!

In closing, I might just mention that from a newcomer’s perspective the flying field itself is quite something. There is a designated area where the ‘pilots’ stand while flying their planes and very obvious safety controls are in place. Pit crew have covered areas under which they can work on their planes and there are larger covered areas for shelter. There are toilet facilities and even a canteen. Several visitors were obviously staying in caravans on-site as well.

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Thanks Downunda for a great introduction to the world of flying model aeroplanes!

Click on the thumbnails to see full size images!

: Amazing attention to detail

: Amazing attention to detail

: Amazing attention to detail

: Amazing attention to detail

Categories: 2016 Big Maroochydore Adventure

Day 29 – Cotton Tree, Maroochydore – Update No 1

Posted on Monday, July 4, 2016 by shorty

It’s been nearly 2 weeks since we arrived here at Cotton Tree so it’s about time we provided our friends and followers with a bit of an update.

First item of business was to move from our temporary site at the Cotton Tree caravan park to the site we had booked previously. The new site was only 100 metres or so away and packing up Bertha and setting up again was very quick and straight forward. Downunda lent us some of his levelling blocks to make sure we were level. Now we have “landed” we have put out the awning and the shade wall, and unpacked the tables, chairs and BBQ. This is a nice large site with only one neighbour and which receives morning sun on one side and afternoon sun on the other.

Set up and comfortable at Cotton Tree

We are only a very short walk from the Cotton Tree shopping centre, which has a nice assortment of retail shops, plus a good choice of cafes and take-away places, and several more up-market restaurants. There is also a craft market every Sunday when the main street is blocked off. We feel very much at home at Cotton Tree as we have been here several times – we even flew up to Cotton Tree last year and stayed in an apartment for a fortnight when we were between ownership of ‘Normous the 5^th wheeler and Bertha the motorhome.

Cotton Tree is named after the many cotton trees in the area, and there are several large examples in the caravan park. Bush turkeys also run around the park and even nest in the cotton trees. We wouldn’t want to be parked under one of those particular trees!

Cotton tree and bush turkey

Living in Bertha means that we have to be a bit more reliant on our feet for transport rather than just drive everywhere, and we are both doing a pretty good job of keeping up our goal of 10,000 steps each day. Fortunately there is a very pleasant walk along the esplanade into Maroochydore and the Big Top shopping centre and Sunshine Plaza. There are other shops well within walking (and bag carrying) distance from the caravan park. Ann bought her wheeled shopping trolley with us and that certainly helps! There is a fantastic second hand book exchange in Maroochydore and we have both found several books we had been searching for without luck elsewhere. Plus we can trade them in on other books when we’re finished with them.

Views along the esplanade at Cotton Tree Maroochydore

Much of the time, however, is spent relaxing, especially down by the river where we have joined in several happy hours and enjoyed the sights. The sunsets here are superb!

Plenty of beautiful sunsets at Maroochydore River, Cotton Tree

There is a nice friendly bunch of people here at the caravan park and even a short walk can take quite a while as you stop and chat along the way. There are fresh strawberries on sale here every Wednesday and the fresh prawn guy comes through several times each week. We have indulged in both strawberries and prawns!

In the interests of travelling a bit further afield than our feet alone can manage, we have rounded up a bunch of bus timetables and we each purchased a “Go Card” which is very much like the Victorian Myki card.

Yesterday we bravely headed out to face the exciting world of the Queensland public transport system, with the intention of making our way to Caloundra as we had heard that there is a great market there on Sundays. Neither of us had been on a bus for ages, but we both had a great time. The buses were clean and tidy, arrived and left according to the timetable, and the drivers were very friendly and helpful to a couple of bus system novices.

It was a very interesting journey in the bus as we had driven to Caloundra before but you certainly see a lot more when you’re a bus passenger. We arrived safe and sound at the Caloundra bus station which is only a matter of metres from the main street and arrived with the market well under way. This is a much bigger market that Cotton Tree with several streets closed off for the duration. It is a lot more diverse than Cotton Tree as other than arts and crafts it also has food stalls of all sorts and several buskers competing for your attention (and donations). Most of the shops along the shopping strip are open as well. Visitors are very well catered for in Caloundra. Ann and I both engaged in a little retail therapy (new shoes for both of us) and enjoyed a very tasty lunch in one of the many cafes.

Sites around Caloundra market

Beach scenes at Caloundra

Classic Car was actually display stand for this stall

At around 1 o’clock the marketeers started packing up so we found our way back to the bus station and boarded the 600 bus back to Cotton Tree. On the way back we stopped off at the Kawana Waters shopping centre for a look around before getting back on the bus and heading home to Bertha.

Our trip to Caloundra was a great experience and we will definitely be doing much more bus travel in the future.

Overall the weather here has been just about perfect and we have had a great time over the last week and a bit. We’re looking forward to more adventures over the coming weeks.

We’ll report back soon.

Thoroughly enjoying the motorhome experience ….

Categories: 2016 Big Maroochydore Adventure | Tags: caloundra, cotton tree, maroochydore

Day 17 – Dalby to Cotton Tree, Maroochydore

Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2016 by shorty

It was raining early this morning so we planned on having a bit of a sleep-in, until the phone rang at 7.20am. All was good but it prompted us to get moving.

Once on the road we thought that we’d do a bit of a tour of Dalby before we really got going. First stop was one of the most famous houses in Dalby, at least to channel 7 viewers.

House Rules

Dalby is a nice town, quite diverse and quite busy. There are heritage buildings and churches, modern shopping centres, a couple of caravan parks, a good tourist information centre in a great garden setting, some big businesses and some small businesses, industry, rural enterprises, and more.

Scenes of Dalby

Back on the Warrego Highway, there were some interesting scenes, including eucalypt plantations, big trucks and a good looking country hotel at Jondaryan.

Scenes along the highway

Our morning coffee stop was at the small town of Oakey, 4 or 5 kilometres off the highway. We were expecting a small country town and were very surprised at the bustling town that we found once we arrived. There is an Army flight base here and some big industry that we suspect is associated with fertiliser, given the odour as we passed. Main street is very busy and the town is quite modern although there are, of course, some old/heritage buildings. We had coffee at one of the bakeries and it was very good.

Scenes of Oakey

From Oakey it was back on the highway and through Toowoomba, where we were very pleased not to come across any of the flooding we saw on TV last night. Our planned route today was quite simple: stay on the Warrego Highway (A2) until it changes to the M2 (motorway), then keep going until we get to the M1 which becomes the Bruce Highway and then eventually turn off onto the Sunshine Motorway to Mooloolaba and Maroochydore.

Being on highways and motorways meant that navigation was straight-forward, and the driving was quite pleasant as the road condition was generally very good to excellent.

Views along the highway

Patriotic Queenslanders – forget traffic conditions

We did face a bit of a challenge when we unexpectedly came to a steep descent, but we got through that OK.

Steep descent

There were some interesting sights on the side of the highway, including a cow and a dinosaur, a Big Orange, and a large red elephant.

We weren’t expecting a dinosaur, Big Orange and a red elephant in Queensland

Eventually we came to the Brisbane Gateway Bridge, which is quite spectacular. We have been over it several times in the opposite direction but this was the first time heading north.

Brisbane Gateway Bridge

As we got closer to the Sunshine Coast we saw our first signs of sugar cane and also vegetables growing under irrigation.

Sugar cane fields and irrigated vegetables

We stopped for a quick pit stop and lunch at a servo just after the bridge and then continued on to Cotton Tree Holiday Park at Maroochydore. Our actual booking here doesn’t start until tomorrow but we had a one night temporary site organised. We did a quick set-up before joining our friends Downunda and Faye and some new friends for happy hour and a beautiful sunset.

Happy Hour at Cotton Tree

Sunset at Cotton Tree

Tomorrow we will move onto our designated site and set-up properly, and hopefully put away our winter clothes for a while.

So far this adventure hasn’t been quite what we had hoped. Concerns about the weather have disrupted our plans and we didn’t get to see many places we had hoped and ended up changing our booking here to get in early. Hopefully we can get to see the places we missed when we eventually leave Cotton Tree and head in the general direction of home.

This will be our last post for a while as we will be in Cotton Tree for several weeks. We will of course post updates of any significance.

Still living the dream …

Categories: 2016 Big Maroochydore Adventure | Tags: cotton tree, dalby, maroochydore, oakey

Day 16 – Roma to Dalby

Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2016 by shorty

It was quite chilly this morning but Ann managed to slide her hand out from under the doona and turn on the heater to warm Bertha up before we actually got up and going. Outside, it was a clear, crisp morning with a bit of mist around. The mist soon disappeared and it turned into a beautiful sunny day, perfect for driving.

Early morning at Roma Gun Club

Almost as soon we hit the Warrego Highway we encountered roadworks, but fortunately we weren’t delayed too long.

Roadworks outside Roma

At Wallumbilla we were struck by the huge grain silos right next door to cattle yards, and the long grass everywhere.

Grain silos and stock yards at Wallumbilla

It was a great day for driving and the highway was in pretty good condition, but there was still water on the roadsides. Having said that, after Wallumbilla we struck more roadworks.

A beautiful day for driving

More roadworks

Morning coffee was at a road-side stop at Yuleba. We had to be very careful getting in and out of this area as there was water on the ground and mud everywhere. We were joined by a worker in an Origin Energy ute and a couple towing a camper-trailer. On a nice day this would be a very nice place to stop, and possibly stay overnight.

Morning coffee at Yuleba

After Yuleba there were more roadworks and signs of very recent grading along the road. We noted the depth of the grading, obviously intended to keep water off the road.

More roadworks

Graded roadsides

We soon drove through the small town of Dulacca and the slightly larger town of Miles.

Dulacca Hotel

Main street in Miles

Lunch stop was at Chinchilla, and we had run down our supplies during 4 days at Roma, we treated ourselves to a good healthy meal at Subway.

Chinchilla

Immediately after leaving Chinchilla we struck more roadworks – a total of 15 kilometres of roadworks in fact – yes we counted! So many workers on the roadworks in this area must be making a huge impression on the local economy!

Even more roadworks – 15 kilometres worth this time!

Traffic on the road today has been quite interesting. Coming from the opposite direction has been a quite constant stream of caravans, motorhomes and particularly camper-trailers. We can’t quite work out why unless they’re all trying to escape bad weather that we don’t know about. The other notable traffic was in the form of B-doubles and other very large and over-size trucks. With so many roadworks along the highway the trucks are all in a hurry so I have made a point of pulling off the road when-ever possible to allow trucks to pass. I would much sooner be behind a truck in a hurry than in front of it!

Huge trucks on the road today!

The other change we have noticed from Chinchilla is that the recent wet weather appears to have missed this particular area. There are no signs of water on the ground and the paddocks simply look dry, although there are some green areas along the road.

Still seems very dry here

Going through the small town of Warra we were particularly taken by the Memorial Hall, which is so unlike most of the somewhat run-down halls in many similar sized towns.

Warra Memorial Hall

Great to see that the roads are all open again

Arriving at Dalby, we checked into the Pioneer Village Caravan Park and reserved our spot with a pair of huge orange witch’s hats before heading out again to the local shops to restock our nearly empty cupboards.

Pioneer Village caravan park

Early motorhome ?

Groceries packed away in Bertha we walked over to the nearby Pioneer Park Museum which is a very interesting collection of authentic old buildings, memorabilia, cars and machinery, and so-on.

Scenes of Pioneer Park Museum

Interestingly, despite the dry conditions between Chinchilla and Dalby, there are signs of the rain here in Dalby. There is water and mud in the caravan park and the museum. What is quite strange too is seeing huge cracks in the ground, usually caused by extended dry conditions, but now looking wet. Just strange.

Today has been a great day, despite the roadworks. We have had a pleasant drive in nearly perfect weather conditions, and have been through some very interesting places.

Still living the dream …..

Categories: 2016 Big Maroochydore Adventure | Tags: dalby

Days 13 – 15 – Roma Gun Club

Posted on Monday, June 20, 2016 by shorty

We are extremely happy that we decided to move from St George to Roma as part of our plan to miss the worst of the thunderstorms/flooding/mini-cyclones that have hit various parts of Queensland over the last few days.

Saturday started off with quite reasonable weather early but by lunchtime there were splatters of rain on Bertha’s roof. The entire population of the Gun Club camp ground immediately stirred into action as awnings were taken down, washing hung out to dry in the wind was brought in, TV aerials were wound down, and last minute dashes were made to the amenities just in case we were all caught inside our respective mobile homes for an extended period.

The light rain lasted all of 15 minutes before it petered out, so life returned to a nervous ‘normal’.

We didn’t go to happy hour at the club later in the afternoon and neither did very many others as the weather was not looking nice at all. By mid-evening the wind blew up and the rain poured down. The downpour continued all night. At least we were safe and dry in Bertha and on asphalt, not grass or gravel as we would have been in many other places.

Sunday morning the skies were still overcast and everything was very wet.

Wet here at Roma Gun Club

Looking out our back window.

There was a very wide variety of vehicles here at the gun club including caravans, motorhomes, camper-trailers, roof-top tents and a bus. Very few left on Sunday preferring to stay here as the wet weather continued.

Monday morning started out fine but overcast although the sun did shine through occasionally. The temperature has been hovering in the low teens most of the day and the wind has been quite strong. Quite a few of the people here decided to make a move but after we saw the damage at Mooloolaba last night we decided to stay put another day and let things fine up and dry out before we headed off.

The last few days here have given us a bit of a break and time to catch up on a number of things. Just so you know Downunda – we haven’t been to a café in days, although we do have some discount vouchers for Bakearoma, compliments of the gun club!

In anticipation of better weather for the next few days we plan on leaving Roma tomorrow and heading east towards the coast.

Categories: 2016 Big Maroochydore Adventure

Day 12 – St George to Roma

Posted on Friday, June 17, 2016 by shorty

Should we stay or should we go? Sounds a bit like a song title to me.

We both would like to stay here at St George for a few days. The amenities here are clean, the camp kitchen is fantastic with a pizza oven and a log fire, the sites are wide and level, what’s not to like? Unfortunately the Bureau of Meteorology thinks that St George will almost definitely have thunderstorms over the next few days and will receive up to 100 mls of rain over the weekend. In contrast, Roma is expected to receive less than half that amount of rain so it was a no-brainer to decide to head north and hopefully escape some of the expected rain.

As was the case for the last few days there is still plenty of water around. After-all most of these roads are subject to flooding – the flood level signs are up to 2 metres in some places. Some sections of the road have been graded to help water escape from the roads, but it is obvious that the sides of the road are very soft.

Graded road edges but still very wet

Morning coffee was at a truck stop on the Carnarvon Highway.

Lunch was in Bertha at Surat where we parked along the river. There has been a lot of development along the river with a walking track, playground equipment, bbq shelters, exercise equipment, interpretive plaques relating to historic buildings, and so on.

Lunch stop at Surat

Bertha at Bertha St, Surat

Surat has some beautiful old buildings, including a Cobb & Co Changing Station, an historic Post Office, and many old “Queenslanders” on stilts.

Some of the beautiful buildings in Surat

Surat is also home to the well-known Fishermans Park free camp, although there weren’t very many campers here today as most had moved to higher and safer ground in order to avoid the anticipated rains.

Scenes of Fishermans Park free camp at Surat

From Surat we headed further up the highway where interestingly we met some cattle on the road. They were accompanied by drovers on horse and motorbikes, but it was clear that the cattle were in charge – they didn’t move for us or the oncoming truck.

Cattle on the road

We soon arrived at Roma and parked near some of the historic bottle trees – 138 of them were planted along Heroes Avenue in tribute to citizens of Roma who perished in WW1. There are some beautiful old buildings in Roma, as one would probably expect.

Some views of Roma

One building that we just had to visit was “Drapery No 2”. We’ve been here before and if anything it’s a bit tidier than last time, but basically it is jammed full of “stuff” – inside and outside. This was a specific destination for Ann and she actually found most of what she was looking for.

Drapery no 2 in Roma

After a walk around town and a coffee and cake at the Bakearoma bakery we drove the short distance to the Roma Gun Club camp ground, as recommended by our friend Downunda. This place is amazing – it’s a little way out of town but it has well priced, bituminised sites with power and water, new and clean amenities, access to the club bar, and we missed the BBQ last night. There are also plenty of unpowered sites. The justification for having these camping facilities is that the club has up to 3,000 people come to some of its competitions, and they need somewhere nearby to stay. Although they hold a Local Government Caravan Park License, it seems that the local caravan parks are making life difficult for the club by applying pressure on the council. For instance, we understand that the club is having trouble getting appropriate approvals for a dump point. How petty! This place is far better than the caravan park in Roma that we stayed at last time.

Bertha at Roma Gun Club

Anyway, off my soap box now, we met many fellow campers as soon as we pulled up and enjoyed an extended happy hour on the balcony of the club. We all agreed that there was plenty of room for competition for the campers travelling through Roma and wish the Gun Club all the best in their endeavours.

Happy Hour at Roma Clay Target Club (Gun Club)

It’s not news that there are some big storms and heavy rain heading for this part of Queensland, so we will be staying here for 4 nights, at this stage, so we may not post a daily blog.

Stay tuned …..

Categories: 2016 Big Maroochydore Adventure | Tags: roma, surat

Day 11 – Lightning Ridge to St George

Posted on Thursday, June 16, 2016 by shorty

Yet another beautiful morning – tee-shirts were definitely the go for the day!

While we were packing up to leave there was something of a commotion in the caravan park as the mains pressure water stopped. That meant no water to cabins, caravans and motorhomes in the park, no water to flush the park toilets, and we assume no water to the neighbouring hotel. We simply switched over to our water tank, finished packing up and soon headed off out of town. On the way we noticed a crew working on what looked very much like a burst water main. There was obviously going to be some serious cleaning up once the water was back on.

About 65 kms along the Castlereagh Highway we hit the Queensland border and stopped for a photo opportunity to celebrate the moment.

Bertha at the NSW/Queensland border

Another 5 kms or so and we stopped for coffee in Bertha at the rest area in Hebel. Hebel is a small stop, I’m not sure if you can call it a town, comprising a general store, a hotel, a very small caravan park, and a compulsory truck inspection service for trucks going into NSW.

Hebel store and hotel

We did notice an interesting road sign going out of town.

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An interesting thing happened at Hebel in that the Castlereagh Highway changed from a B class highway to an A class highway, and the change in road conditions on the Queensland side of Hebel was very noticeable. We had spent this morning and yesterday on the “B” highway and it was pretty tough going with some excellent sections and some pretty terrible sections. Obviously NSW was happy to have a B grade highway but the Queenslanders thought that road users deserved better!

Water on the road leaving Hebel.

From Hebel we noticed a lot more livestock including cattle, sheep, emus and goats. There was also a lot more roadkill – mainly kangaroos. There was still a lot of surface water along both sides of the road.

Water everywhere!

We stopped for lunch in Bertha at Dirranbandi. This is a nice small town with a supermarket, hotel, café, bakery, a caravan park and a few other shops. There is plenty of parking in the main street and this town obviously welcomes travellers. Although we didn’t buy a meal in town we did contribute to the local economy with a visit to the supermarket and I bought a very nice sleeveless jacket.

Scenes of Dirranbandi

From Dirranbandi we continued along the Castlereagh Highway before turning off onto the Carnarvon Highway and into St George. What struck us the avenue of jacaranda trees going into town.

Jacaranda trees on the way into St George

First stop was the Visitor Information Centre for a map of town and some general info. St George was first named by explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell in 1846 and was officially surveyed in 1863. The first bridge was built over the Bayonne River in 1890 and the Andrew Nixon Memorial Bridge and Jack Taylor Weir were officially opened in 1953. The weir has 13 vertical lift gates and has provided water to the town of St George and facilitated the regional irrigation system. The weir and irrigation system has subsequently been considerably expanded. It is even possible to grow grapes here.

Grapes at Riversands Wines in St George

We spent a while walking along the river and the council is obviously developing the river precinct as a very nice, relaxing area for both tourists and locals. Rotary, Lions and Apex have all contributed by way of shelters, picnic facilities, and so on. There are playgrounds, plenty of room to run around and exercise, and even a boat ramp. This is a great place for families and travellers.

Scenes along the river at St George

Eventually we made our way to the Pelican Rest Tourist Park where we were allocated a great site. After setting up it was time to get out the chairs and enjoy a cool drink and a book in the sun.

Relaxing in the sun!

Night closes in very suddenly in this neck of the woods so we eventually had to retire inside.

The weather for the next few days is still looking quite threatening, so at this stage we have no idea what our plans are for tomorrow as we definitely want to be in a safe location when the storms hit.

Looking forward to the weather forecast tomorrow morning !

Categories: 2016 Big Maroochydore Adventure | Tags: dirranbandi, hebel, st george