Month: February 2018
The Pubs of Winton
Winton Qld, Aug 2014 We enjoy a meal at the North Gregory Hotel in the grand dining room. It is such a relief to have a hotel meal that isn’t deep fried as has been the norm on this trip. … Continue reading The Pubs of Winton
Fishing Fleet, Lakes Entrance
The Gippsland Lakes have an area of approximately 400 square kilometres. This boating paradise is the largest inland waterway in Australia. Lakes Wellington, Victoria and King can provide days if not weeks of exploration for sailors. The area is serviced by the larger towns of Sale and Bairnsdale but the lake shore towns of Paynesville, Metung and Lakes Entrance are all about boats and marinas, cafes and pubs, wooden jetties, fish (flattie tails of course) and chips. Sea, salt spray and relaxation. And Ninety Mile Beach a seemingly endless stretch of beach protecting this playground from the ocean. Park your rig, … Continue reading Fishing Fleet, Lakes Entrance
Commonwealth Hotel, Orbost
Sept 2012 We walk up to the Commonwealth Hotel also known as the Top Pub, as opposed to the Bottom Pub at the other end of the main street. It is 5:00pm and it’s Friday. The pub fills with locals who all look way too old to have just knocked off especially with their spreading waists and craggy faces. The cheery young bartender has a luxuriant mop of black hair that would have the patrons envious. The bar has suffered many cheap renovations no doubt performed by some of the old locals now breasting the bar. Under the counter, beer … Continue reading Commonwealth Hotel, Orbost
RAAF Bunker Museum
The RAAF Bunker Museum at Mallacoota was built in World War 2 for radio surveillance of shipping in Bass Strait, this underground bunker played a pivotal role in assisting maritime convoys to negotiate the strait. Prior to this base being … Continue reading RAAF Bunker Museum
Urangan Sands
There is an impressive pier at Urangan, Qld on the Fraser Coast. Over 800 metres in length it stretches out across the sands to reach the deep water of Hervey Bay for this was once a cargo pier. To my … Continue reading Urangan Sands
Oh Lord won’t you buy me a generator?
We both have a manageable coffee addiction, probably fuelled by the fact that Woody worked in the coffee industry for many years. Because of this we travel with a small espresso machine that makes a pretty good coffee. However, being on 12 volt battery power when free camping means that we must resort to our Italian stove top pot. This makes quite a good cup and keeps the ‘beasties’ at bay until we are back on real power again. Nevertheless I’m extremely envious of those new vans with lithium batteries that will power an espresso machine. Continue reading Oh Lord won’t you buy me a generator?
Maroochydore Beach at night
SS Dicky
The trader SS Dicky ran aground on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast in 1893. In 2015 the wreck was removed from Dicky Beach for safety reasons. I probably should have categorised this post as ‘No Longer Point of Interest’ but it is a lovely beach! Continue reading SS Dicky
The Cornish Miners
It is said that the old Cornish miners of Broken Hill used to sleep sitting up, because their lungs were too damaged by lead and dust to allow them to sleep horizontally. They had traipsed up from South Australia, with their worldly goods in their wheelbarrows, after the copper ran out at Burra in the early 1880’s. Can you imagine how it must have felt pushing a wheelbarrow 350kms across semi arid land? Continue reading The Cornish Miners
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