Sydney to Longreach

Here we are, just over a month and a half out, and neither of us is missing work.

Our first venture north in the new van began with a (relatively) leisurely two day journey from Sydney to Brisbane.  We stayed for five days, excitedly preparing to continue on with Sherry and Brian (who we will refer to as B1 for ease of reference), Rob's sister and brother-in-law.

Once preparations were complete, the four of us, in our respective vans, left off for the Sunshine Coast where we stayed for a relaxing week at Cotton Tree Caravan Park at Maroochydore.

It was hard leaving Maroochy but we had places to go and people to meet; so we headed for Tin Can Bay.  The bay is a lovely place and a great spot for getting up close and personal with nature.  At one of the boat ramps the dolphins come in daily for a feed and there are always plenty of people to provide the necessaries.  The reward is a close encounter with these beautiful creatures.

While at the Bay we were able to catch up with one of Rob's cousins, John Howie and wife Chris.  John is the local cop in charge and Chris works for National Parks.

Our first overnight after leaving the bay was with another of Rob's cousins outside Murgon. He, Alan Congreve, and wife Glenis, have a 75 acre property that they have turned into a showcase. They have built and stocked a small museum of farm plant and equipment and have planted an olive orchid which appears to be progressing quite well.  They also have a piggery but, for health reasons, now concentrate on holding and fattening herds for other producers rather than having the worry of their own.

It was wonderful catching up with Alan and Glenis, made even better by the visit of Jim and June Congreve, Alan's brother and sister-in-law who they had invited over from Howard, near Maryborough, for a mini family reunion.

We had heard from someone about a great freebee rest area at Ceratodus, about eleven kms past the town of Eidsvold so, after leaving the farm, we headed for there. It was a beautiful little spot backing onto a huge new hardwood tree plantation.

There were about fifteen vans and motorhomes already settled for the night when we arrived.  Not long after we had set up we received a visit from one of our fellow campers, Derek, inviting us to an evening get-together, “happy hour”. Like B1, Derek is a Vietnam vet so they both had a lot to talk about. We enjoyed the stay so much that we decided to stay a second night. Derek and Betty (his wife) also stayed on and became our next best friends.

Because there were only toilets at the rest area, we were able to try out our portable shower and shed. They both worked a treat.

While we were getting ready for breakfast on the second day, a couple with two young children called in to say g'day. They had seen Rob's and my Nissan Patrol in the rest (camp) area and, as they were on their way home after having been to Rockhampton to price a new one, they wanted to see what we thought of ours.  Such was the camaraderie that developed during that brief encounter with Ron & Rhonda, and sons Nicholas and Broden, that before they left they invited us to visit and stay with them on an 80,000 acre property that Ron manages. The property, Beryl, is located between Longreach in the south, Winton in the north and Mundubbera in the East.

From Ceratodus we headed for Cania Gorge where we stayed for three nights. Not long before leaving home we had attended the Sydney Caravan & Camping Show where we met the owner of the local tourist park. We had never heard of Cania Gorge until he told us about it but it became a must see destination.

Both the park and the surrounding district lived up to our high expectations - very pretty and relaxing with a number of not too challenging walks. Kangaroos came and sat at our feet while we relaxed under the caravan awning and birds of all description were fed by the park owners each afternoon. Bettongs, very, very tiny and shy kangaroo type creatures, came out after dark to graze in the park.

While we were at Cania, Dave and wife Marie, a couple we had met during happy hour at Ceratodus, also turned up and our fleeting friendship was renewed.

After Cania we headed for Rolleston.   On the way we stopped at Billoela to do some shopping and again ran into Dave and Marie who had left Cania two days before us.  They were staying in the Biloela Caravan Park and Derek and Betty, our other best friends from Ceratodus, were there also.  After having stayed with us at Cania, Dave told them of our second encounter and of his expectation that we would be passing through in a day or so.  Betty therefore kept an eye out and, when she saw us passing by up the highway, came to town on the chance we might stop to re-provision.  It was quite incredible as we again met up with her.  The experience was indicative of  wonderful and friendly people you meet on the road.

After stocking up we continued our journey towards Rolleston. However, when we arrived at a rest park alongside the Dawson River (about five kms north of the coal-mining town of Moura) we became so enraptured with the place we decided to stay the night. We were later joined by another couple of caravans, a motorhome and a couple of campers.

The freebee stays we have had to date have been great. Usually there are no showers but there is often water and good clean toilets.

The next morning, we left Dawson River and travelled for two hours to Rolleston (population - “Nominal”). We stayed there because we wanted to visit Carnarvon Gorge, about an hour's drive away, and go walking.  B1 & Sherry were not so keen so they carried on to Springsure.  There are a couple of quite big camping areas at Carnarvon but after leaving the highway, the road in becomes a bit ordinary.  For that reason we left our fairly new van at Rolleston and drove out.

The gorge was spectacular. During our visit we walked just over 14 kms to some absolutely wonderful attractions.  They included an area of the park known as the Art Gallery - where there are several aboriginal paintings and engravings, the Amphitheatre - like a large cave with walls about fifty feet high but with a hole in the roof, and the Moss Garden. It was well worth the trip.

After leaving Rolleston we drove to Emerald for a three night stopover. There we played golf and drove out to Fairbairn Dam, a massive waterway that provides water not only for the town and surrounding areas, but also the cotton and citrus farms that abound in the area.

From Emerald we also took the opportunity of visiting the sapphire mining towns of Anakie, Sapphire and Rubyvale. The three towns, which are fairly close to one another, had banded together to present "The Gem Festival".  We attended the festival that finished with an open-air concert starring John Williamson. What a fabulous night it turned out to be. The stars were shining, the crowd was happy, the biggest bonfires I have ever seen were lit by the local SES to keep us all warm, and John Williamson sang all about Australia to a most receptive audience.

After Emerald we stopped at Barcaldine where I relieved in the bank for five months in 1965. It was great seeing the old place again. We called into the Shakespeare Hotel where I stayed and they took me upstairs to see my old room. Even the corrugated shower and toilet area is still there after 36 years. Most of the town has apparently been heritage listed so nothing much changes. B1 was fascinated by the fact that there were six pubs and a couple of licensed clubs in a town of about 2000 people.

Two days later we went to Longreach where my dad was born in 1905 and I was stationed for nine months as a young banker in 1966.

Most of the central western towns have seen the benefits of tourism.   Even Barcy has three museums (including the Australian Workers Heritage Museum).  Longreach has the Stockmans Hall of Fame, the Powerhouse Museum and the Early Aviators Museum which celebrates the town's history as being the place where QANTAS was formed and where it had its first head office.

It was wonderful calling on my only remaining living relative in the town and going to the cemetery, that is also becoming a tourist attraction, and seeing the graves of several of my forebears - including those of my grandparents.  I went back again later in the day to take a couple of photos at which time my only companions were a flock of wild emus. It was a little eerie.

Another of my must visit venues was the Civic Centre where in 1966 I, as a member of the local little theatre, had the lead role in a romantic comedy play that ran for three nights.  The morning after opening night I received a very generous review in the local newspaper.  I hastened to show it to my boss, the bank manager, to which his not so generous response was a gruff, "Everything is funny in little theatre!"