Thanks to Thejuicenut at http://pearsnotparsnips.com/ for alerting me to the fact that I didn’t put up a picture of the charming and historic Burns Philp warehouse in Normanton up in outback Queensland. It looks a little dim as the photo was taken at sunrise during an early morning stroll. Quite possibly we were savouring the coolest part of the day. Continue reading Burns Philp another era
August 2014 We’re in western Qld and neighbours at the back of the roadhouse are Melburnians desperate for a good coffee but too tight to pay $20 for a powered overnight site. So they lug their coffee machine over to the picnic table and plug into a free power point there. Such a hassle when the poor old roadhouse owners are struggling to make a buck out here anyway. Woody calls these types ‘Tight Arse Tuesdays’. Continue reading Just to Save a Buck
July 2014 Welcome to Normanton “Outback by the sea” says the sign. The slogan pretty well sums it up although the sea is the Gulf of Carpentaria 70kms away at the mouth of the Norman River. It is very much … Continue reading Normanton
Port Douglas, Qld Winter 2014 About four vans down from us there is a caravan with a monstrous bra hanging from the clothes hoist. Clothes come and go, but the bra stays. I wonder if they’re using it as a satellite dish? Continue reading Dodgy Reception
Winter 2014 Even with the tide out the harbour is pretty and there are islands in the distance. The town itself is very hilly and the streets wide, two or three times wider than any usual country street. Any spare … Continue reading Bowen, Qld
July 2014 We’re in Normanton on the Gulf of Carpentaria and I hear a Grey Nomad complaining about the heat (it’s 31 degrees and feels like 41). A local curtly rebuffs her with “wait till summer when it’s 56 degrees and 80% humidity!” Continue reading It gets warm in Normanton
Pretty as a picture the Apollonian Hotel at Boreen Point near Noosa Heads on Queensland’s sunny Sunshine Coast just begs you to stop in for an icy cold beer. Boreen Point is a relaxed fishing spot on the shores of … Continue reading Boreen Point & the Apollonian Hotel
Georgetown up in the Gulf country on the Savannah Way in Queensland is quiet, small and spread out with big wide streets and it’s hot. We buy groceries at the servo / supermarket and vegies at the fruiterer/cake shop. We call on a charming old butcher, he has a small shop with no display case. He cuts the meat on demand as you read from the list on the wall. Hmmm steak sounds good. Woody likes his daily newspaper, but here they are five days old. We scratch our heads because the mail truck has just been through, he doesn’t … Continue reading Georgetown
There is no caravan park in the Sunshine Coast hinterland town of Kenilworth, Qld, they don’t need one. The showgrounds are huge and well maintained. When we arrive Brian the caretaker is moving his van under the newly renovated house that comes with the job. Given Queenslanders passion for moving buildings hither and thither I wonder where they moved the house from? We are backed up to colourful bromeliad gardens. There are brand new toilets and showers are just a short walk away. Across the street is Jocks and Frocks laundromat. The brightly painted shops of town are busy and … Continue reading Kenilworth Showgrounds
Mountain View Hotel, Little Mulgrave, Qld The Gillies Range road spirals steeply down the mountainside from the Atherton Tableland one hairpin bend after another. At the bottom we have to hit the brakes and turn sharply into the Mountain View Hotel on the Little Mulgrave River. It is so easy to fly past this place. The charming old Queensland pub has a view out over the cane fields towards the mountains. But the hidden treat is the deck out back that overhangs the rushing mountain stream. Above the bar there is a sign for FNQ Lager…”So good you have to … Continue reading The Good Old Mountain View
