18th May  We visited the Historical village in the afternoon for a look around and also to stretch our legs and clock up another 5 km walking. An interesting place but being a voluntary run project it was a bit tatty. Worth a look though.

I tried my hand at the Ministry thing but didn't think it was my thing. Didn't quite get the feel for it.

Don't think I looked the part either. Helen liked the ambiance of the miners cottage though thought it might be a bit cold in the Winter with all those gaps in the walls and floor.

 Anyhow we finished the tour with a Toasted Sandwich and a cup of Tea before walking back to the Van.

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Sat 19th
 We left early on our way North heading for Carmilla beach,which looked to be a good spot in the book, by the Beach. We stopped for lunch at Marlborough. then carried on to Carmilla beach.
 It was a 6km detour to the Beach and when we got there we found it pretty full and very sandy. We decided to carry on and finally made it to Mackay where we booked into a Caravan Park.
 Its nice to be on power again and to have a nice long shower and get the washing done.
We will travel on towards Cairns tomorrow and try to be there by the 21st as I have the car booked for some warranty work to be done on Friday.
Thats it for now.
Cheers Helen and Dave

17th May 

The last day at Inskip and the rains came and it got pretty wet. Some nice cloud formations though.

 Here is a bit of crap heading for Fraser Island. The rest hit us later. By this time we already had a fair dump, so we were out between showers stretching our legs. It gets a bit boring sitting in the van with the rain pouring down.

 

 It didnt stop the Fishermen though. Not that it made any difference,they still couldnt catch anything.
Didnt see a Fish landed the whole time we were there.

 We finally left Inskip after 8 days and a nice relaxing time, ready for our trip North. On Wed it rained all day and dumped 40mm on us. The only upside of this was I managed to collect 75litres of water off the awning roof to fill the tanks.
We headed up the Bruce Highway with the intent of getting to the Calliope River about 3pm but with the amount of roadworks and hold ups, we didnt get there until 4.45pm. We stopped in at the Boyne River rest area but it was pretty full so decided to carry on.

This is a lovely spot but you are only allowed to stay 48 hours at a time.

A nice view down the river from the old main road bridge. We are on the left bank behind the tree.

Here we are, taken from across the river, on our way to look at the Historical Village. By the time we got back there were a lot more Caravans around the area. They were still coming in after dark.
A very popular place but plenty of room for everyone to camp.
I will add the Historical Village tomorrow if I have reception.
Cheers Dave and Helen

Mon 14th 
I have better reception tonight so I will continue.
The trees are in full flower so we have birds during the day and Bats at night.

We try and get a good walk in every day to keep up the fitness,so we go down to where the Ferry goes across to Fraser Island. A walk of around 6 km on loose sand which feels more like 10km by the time we get back. This is one of the Ferry's that go across and if you talk nicely to the skipper he will take you across for nothing as long as you don't have a car.

Funny looking things but built for a purpose. They are double ended with ramps at both ends so it can just nose up to the beach and the 4+4s can just drive off and on. At the other side its the same with the vehicles always facing the right way. At $80.00 a round trip its a bit expensive but its the only way across.
Now with a bit of idle time on your hands it gives you time to think!!  At Inskip you don't have water on hand so you have to get it from Rainbow beach in 20liter containers, which you have to pour into the tanks of the Van. Now they are quite heavy so I realised (after 8 years,not slow this boy) I had a 12volt shower that had a submersible pump that fitted into the containers. Since I had fitted an external 12volt plug I tried it out with the pump with the shower head removed.

A bit hard to see but you get the general idea. Bloody marvelous should have thought of it years ago.
That's it for now, bored you enough for tonight I feel.
Cheers Dave and Helen

Sunday May 13th
Mothers day started bright and early as I was determined to get a photo of the sun rise out of the sea.
 I went down the beach and waited for the Sun to come up only to find a layer of cloud on the Horizon stopping me getting a good shot. Anyhow I got a couple then went back to bed to warm up as it was a cold breeze blowing down the beach.

Being Mothers Day I did the honours and made breakfast. Toad in the hole,Bacon and Coffee. A standard dish when we come here but tasty all the same.

At least Helen seemed to enjoy it. As an extra I made lunch as well. Pancakes which not very original
turned out OK and went down pretty well.
The trees by our caravan are out in full flower so we get flocks of Lorikeets during the day and the swish of  wings in the night as the Bats arrive.
The reception tonight is pretty bad so I will finish this and try again tomorrow night.
Cheers Dave and Helen

Friday 10th    

We moved spots the next day after arriving as a place over looking the water and Fraser Island became available. As we hadn't got fully setup so it didn't take long to move.

From the other direction.

All set up now and enjoying the view and the nice breeze, we get now. The camp is very quiet and the strange thing is, not many people arrived for the weekend, when normally its very busy. Makes for a more relaxed time. Had a go at fishing today (Sat) but like everybody else, got nothing. Not much caught since Easter apparently,very relaxing though.

Looking like that I probably scared the fish away.
When you are not doing much there is not a lot to report for the Blog, so I will leave it at that so as not to bore you to tears.

 Another great sunset tonight. Must try and get a sunrise to add to the blog as they can be quite spectacular as well.
 Mothers Day tomorrow so I suppose Breakfast in bed will be the order of the day. Have managed to Skype the kids from here so thats a bit of a bonus.
Well TaTa for now till next time.
Dave and Helen
         

Wed 9th May    Finally the day arrived when all the little jobs were done, the shopping completed  and it was time to head away North for the start of the Trip.

The car was repacked with the bikes on the roof and we were ready to go.

As we headed  North we passed my old work and all my workmates were standing outside as we went passed and waved us onwards. It was great to see them all there.
We made it to Inskip point in good time just over 2 hours and found a place to set up and settle in for the night.

A nice spot but next morning a better one became available over looking the beach and Frazer Island, so we packed up and moved over.
The Sunsets here are quite spectacular so I took some photos, this is I think the pick.

As we have Internet coverage here, with the wireless connected into the phone aerial on the car, I will be able to update the blog on a regular basis.
Cheers for now
Helen and Dave.

May 2nd    

The part arrived for the Mower and was duly fitted and "Bingo" started straight away and ran great.
An adjustment here and there got it running better so away I went and did a few laps of the property and she went like a dream. She didn't stop or loose power so I must have done something right.

Looks like I have another job to do on Saturday, mow the rest of the property.

With all the guards and bonnet fitted it looks just like a new one. Well nearly anyway.

All right I can hear you all say. He must be getting pretty hard up for stuff to put on the blog and yes, I suppose your right, but hey its better than nothing,--- maybe.
We will be away North hopefully next Wed, so as long as we have reception there should be something a bit more interesting than this stuff. Don't hold your breath though!!
Regards Dave and Helen