2021 Jul-Dec Australia
In July we joined our friends Lyn & Bob camping at the Borumba Deer Park – it was their first outing with a caravan they had recently purchased. A steep learning curve for them, but the weekend was a great success, if cold! Gail & Garry also came along in their van. They all tried to persuade Keith and I to ditch our tent and get a van, but neither of us seemed to work up enthusiasm for the idea. It seemed that a sizeable chunk of money would spend a lot of time parked on the side of a road somewhere – our house didn’t have storage capacity for a van…
On the basis of that logic, we decided to change our SUV and get vehicles that reflected our changing lifestyle. We traded in our SUV and bought a small saloon car for ‘about town’ and a large twin-cab 4WD ute to take off-road to the more inaccessible regions of outback Australia. We could load all our camping gear in the back and not be burdened by towing a caravan or camper.
In August our bare rooted roses arrived from Victoria so Keith got busy planting them – according to my colour-coordinated plan, of course!
From about June to October, the humpback whales migrate from the Antarctic to the warmer waters of the Great Barrier Reef to give birth. This ‘humpback highway’ runs past the Sunshine Coast, so in September we all joined a whale watching expedition just off the coast. We didn’t have to go far to see the whales.
In September Gail & Garry and Lyn & Bob joined us at Burrum Heads, about 225km north in the Hervey Bay area. Known for its beautiful beaches, fishing opportunities, and relaxed community atmosphere, Burrum Heads provides stunning natural scenery and recreational opportunities. We enjoyed a few days camping there.
In the same month, Keith and I took a trip to Toowoomba, about 210km southwest of the Sunshine Coast. The Carnival of Flowers is an annual event in Toowoomba, where public and private gardens are on display to the public. The first Carnival of Flowers was held in October 1950 and was a resounding success, with more than 50,000 people lining the main street to watch the opening parade. This heralded eight days of festivities focused on Toowoomba’s beautiful gardens. Money raised from the carnival went to local charities. The following year, the date of the carnival was moved to September, to coincide with the school holidays. Since then, the carnival has continued every year and is visited by thousands of people from around the State and the country. The displays were certainly spectacular.
At the beginning of November, we returned to the Bunya Mountains with our other friends Ruth & Kelvin and once again enjoyed the walks.
As Keith was turning 70 that New Year’s Eve, we decided to celebrate three times! We planned to drive out to a little-known spot called Cameron Corner, about 1,400km west of us, just off the Simpson Desert. Its claim to fame is that it is located at the junction of South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales. Each state has its own time zone; NSW is first to pass midnight, then SA 30 minutes later and QLD 60 minutes later still. So, you just walk a few metres to cross each State line and celebrate as you go! The town swells from five inhabitants to about 50 party goers.
We set off on 22nd December and stopped the first night at Milmerran then on to the Nindigully Pub. We hoped that would be a fun place to spend Christmas. We thought it a bit odd that we were the only tent set up on the banks of the river… A couple of hours later the owner of the pub strolled over and explained that, following the recent very heavy spring rains, the sandflies were out in force – and we were likely to be eaten alive. Not quite sure what to do since it was already past 6pm we slathered ourselves with insect repellent and hoped for the best!
Well – despite our precautions, the inevitable trip to the toilets resulted in both of us being badly bitten – the itching was unbearable. First thing next morning (Christmas Eve), we packed up the tent and headed to the nearest town St George in the hope of finding some last-minute accommodation over the Christmas break. The only availability was a 6-berth cabin at one of the local caravan parks. Since beggars can’t be choosers, we accepted and booked in for three nights. We hastily headed to the nearest pharmacy and stocked up on antihistamines and ointment for our bites. The heat and humidity were almost unbearable so, thinking to sooth our itchiness with a dip in the cool swimming pool, we changed into our bathers. Armed with towels and wide-brimmed hats we immersed ourselves up to our necks – only for our exposed heads to be surrounded by clouds of insects! No relief whatsoever. We quickly adjourned back to the air-conditioned cabin and didn’t go outside again for three days! Our carefully planned BBQ Christmas menu was cooked on the electric frying pan in the cabin – and our only consolation was that, at least we didn’t run out of wine or beer!
So much for our plans for Keith’s birthday – reports that all the rivers between St George and Cameron Corner had suffered from flooding and washed-out roads decided us against venturing further west. After Boxing Day, we packed up and headed back home!