While we’re staying in Charters Towers the Outback Oasis Caravan Park puts on a cracking evening. Nathan ‘Whippy’ Griggs is the World Champion whipcracker for the most whip cracks per minute. And his record stands at 530 cracks in a minute. Nathan is quite a character and he put on a breathtaking show for us certainly like nothing we had ever seen before. Continue reading What a Cracker
So you used to go camping and loved it but these days things are busier and it’s easier to just book a hotel or fly to a resort somewhere.Just for a minute cast your mind back, what was it that you liked most about camping? The freedom Simplicity Back to basics Back to nature Food that never tasted so good The smell of canvas Waking up to the warmth of the hot summer sun and the screech of the cockatoos Sleeping soooo long The stars at night and searching for satellites Falling into bed dog tired and with sandy feet … Continue reading What is it you liked most about camping?
I am fascinated by old fence posts and unusual fences. It is not unusual for me to shout stop quick, which with a van on the back isn’t always easy. Poor Woody has to wait patiently while I gallop back up the road camera in hand. Here are just a few that have caught my eye and isn’t the one made from bed springs quite something? Continue reading Fencing
Port Douglas in Far North Queensland has a fascinating, beautiful and well kept cemetery. When walking past the cemetery one tombstone stands out from the rest. That is the one of William Thomson “who went to his death by cruel and treacherous murder”. The farmer William Thomson was murdered by his wife Ellen and her lover John Harrison in 1886. They were both hanged. Ellen was the only woman to be hanged in Queensland. Continue reading Death in Paradise
We’ve spent the night in a quiet and spacious rest area called Barradale in the Pilbara. Surprisingly quiet in fact considering the amount of passing motorists and the road crew who are working on the nearby bridge. I wander over to the facilities and meet a young family who have just stopped. “We’re from Pannawonica” says one little girl “and we’re going to New Zealand. It’s so cold here and Dad got us up at four (am). Would you like to see me do cartwheels?” Her two brothers are doing double jointed tricks and their Dad explains that they’re off … Continue reading Roadside Dunnies
Wyndham, WA is remote in fact it is about as far from Perth as it is from Singapore. It no longer gets newspapers. When the service was stopped they were told that they just don’t buy enough. Over dinner I hear a local declare “I watched the News tonight.” Another replied “Oh I gave up watching TV a long time ago.” I guess what happens in the rest of the world or even in Perth, bears little relevance to the folks out here. In Wyndham especially when you live in a tin bungalow in the tropics over 3000kms away and … Continue reading What’s Happening in the Rest of the World?
Our friend Kay lives in the NSW Southern Highlands. The house is set in 105 acres of bushland garden and farmland and it overlooks a series of lakes. There are black cockatoos of the yellow tailed variety. Rosellas and king parrots squabbling in the garden and swans gliding on the dam. The evening is still but far from quiet as there is a cacophony of voices rising up from the dams, a gaggle of croaks and squawks. As we traipse out of the cosy farm house towards our vans Kay asks us to shake out our shoes. They have deadly … Continue reading Spiders
Fitzroy Crossing, WA is quite small and a good way back from the river but we are later to learn that the town was moved when the bridge was built. We cross the river and stay at the Fitzroy River Lodge which is a charming resort style place offering glamour tents, a hotel and caravan park accommodation in vast expanses of shady lawn. Michael’s 3 Hour Tour The Lodge offers a town and gorge tour and though a little dearer than the Parks tour of the Geikie gorge we decide to take it and our lives are richer for it. … Continue reading Fitzroy Crossing
Now here’s a post that will confuse the heck out of the international readers but a friend recently reminded me of this important pre requisite for senior caravanners most of whom are living with a chronic illness. There is a health programme in Australia called Chronic Disease Management Plan. The advantage of this scheme is a regular visit for a check up by your physician and the chance for you both to discuss your health and the results as determined by the relevant specialists that you are visiting. It is also a chance to get prescriptions for your medications prior … Continue reading Keeping Your Vitals Up To Date
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