On the 13th of May, Terri worked her final day at Coffin Bay Hotel. On the 14th of May it was my 31st birthday. Celebrations were in order.
We went to our favourite eating place, the pig farm, for some lunch and tasty beverages.
Our favourite barman, Bruce, and a few characters from the pub joined us and it turned in to a very festive afternoon. I had an awesome pork burger and at one stage i had a beer, a glass of champagne, an espresso, a smoke and a plate full of cake in front of me. I was feeling very cheerful.
Later that day, some more friends from the pub threw a bit of a going away / birthday party for us. It had been a long day. I knew that I had a good night, but my memory of the details was a little hazey. The next day, Terri showed me some photos of how much fun i was having.
There was a camp fire. There was fireworks which made everyones dogs wee on their owners. There was a whip, which apparently i was very fond of, and there was lots of friendly locals who made us feel like we were part of the Coffins family.
Then there was the day after. Ideally, we would have laid half dead on our bed for the entire day. But, instead, we went on 5 hour boat ride to Hopkins Island to swim with wild sea lions. Terri scored 2 free tickets from the pub earlier in the week. We were both ill and it was a struggle. But this was an opportunity we didnt want to miss because of a hangover.
It was a long and nauseas ride.We got to the remote island, put on wetsuits, and jumped in to the icy cold ocean. I think the sea lions could smell the toxins oozing out of me. Instead of swimming with us, they sat on the protected beach and looked at us like a bunch of stupid, cold humans. A couple of sea lions came out for a quick sniff, but overall there wasn’t a lot of swimming with sea lions going on. Still glad we soldiered on and did it. They are funny looking creatures, like ultra cute, swimming puppies with big black eyes.
We spent the next week preparing to hit the road and waiting for the terrible weather to pass. Our rough plan was drive to Adelaide and see what happens. On the 24th of May, we left Coffin Bay after living there for over 4 months. It was a challenge to get our heads back in to travelling mode but we were both keen to hit the road and have some new adventures.
Port Gibbon - 1 night - 24th May
We had been told about Port Gibbon by our old friends, Judy and Ken at Farm Beach. It was only ~250kms up the west coast of Eyre Peninsula. A good distance to get us back in the swing of life on the road.
We recently spent a bit of money on a fancy car battery charger and thicker wiring our car. So we were keen to live off the grid for a while and do as much free or cheap camping as possible. This was to save some money and because free/cheap camps (and the people you meet there) are generally more interesting than caravan parks.
Port Gibbon was a good start. It had fairly clean long drop toilets, tap water on each site, it was right on a clifftop on the beach and it was free. Donations were accepted by this Pluto money box cactus dog.
Germein Gorge - 1 night - 25th May
Next day we hit the road again, destination unknown. We would drive for a while and pick a spot out of our camps book. We drove for a couple of hours up the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula, reached Port Augusta, did a giant u-turn crossing a bridge over the Spencer Gulf and then back down the East coast of the Yorke Peninsula for another hour. The sun came out for a while and the Flinders Ranges were in the distance to the North. The scenery was different and beautiful.
Eventually we picked a place out of our camps book. We were feeling confident and keen to get another free night somewhere. We picked a place called Germein Gorge. No facilities but away from the highway and free. Now we had to find it. The book gives directions and our gps is occasionally helpful but it is a mission to find these little sites sometimes. I took the correct turnoff from the highway but missed the next turnoff and continued driving for another half hour before realizing and pretty much ended up driving in to the Flinders Ranges. Some of the steepest and windiest roads we had seen.
We were driving through a mountain range. The roads were tiny and hills either side of the road were so steep, they were like cliff faces. All covered in giant gum trees which looked like they would fall over and wild looking sheep which pounced around like mountain goats. It was beautiful but these roads were not made for towing caravans.
We soldiered on for a while but eventually decided that we must have missed the turnoff, so we stopped, turned around and went mountain driving for another half hour back to where we came from.
We soon found the camp site and set up just before dark. We were feeling good about finding another free camp and conquering our little mountain trip. There was nothing but trees. We were bush camping.
Adelaide - West Beach Van Park - 4 night - 26th - 29th May
After 2 nights of free camping and self sufficiency our confidence was peaking and we were keen to continue our run. But Adelaide was really only a days drive away and as we get closer to the city, free camp options become scarce. So, we went with the flow and drove into Adelaide.
We started getting in to the metro area at about 4pm. Peak Hour! And it was busy. Unfamiliar roads, roadworks everywhere and it was raining. It was a stressful arrival to the city but eventually we found our destination, West Beach Van Park. Right on the beach and close to the city.
We treated ourselves to an ensuite site for 4 nights. The communal caravan park toilet/shower experience starts to wear thin after a while. Listening to grey nomads go to the toilet while you take a shower or smelling it while you brush your teeth is not fun . So it was special to have our own little shed next to our van with a shower and toilet. A huge novelty for us.
One day we caught a bus in to the city to see the centre of Adelaide. It was a lot like being in the Hay St Mall and fairly uninspiring. Busy and full of the same shops that you see anywhere else. I think this was the day that we realized that we wanted to spend more time amongst wilderness not the rat race.
We discovered the Central Markets which was my favourite part of Adelaide. A huge fresh food Market in the middle of the city. Any food you could think of was there. It was overwhelming. I wanted one of everything.
I think there is a lot more to Adelaide than what we saw. But this was not the right time. The city was already eating away at our savings, the weather was cold and wet and we were craving some more time away from civilization. So we found ourselves a good priced, second hand Honda generator and hit the road again. Heading for warmer Queensland via outback SA and NSW.
Burra Showgrounds - 1 night - 30th May
With our new generator we left Adelaide feeling really confident and self sufficient. We were heading bush and escaping the winter. The Barrier Hwy would take us all the way up to the SA/NSW border, Broken Hill and the NSW Outback. An hour in to the drive I realized I was on the Sturt Hwy and heading for Victoria. Ooops. It wasn’t all bad though. We turned off the hwy and took the scenic route through rolling green hills back in the right direction.
After our little detour, the day was running out so we found a little camp on a horse showground in a place called Burra. It cost 10 bucks per night but included 240 power, toilets and hot showers. Best value yet !We camped right in between the show horse track, a wool shed and the scouts hall where little old ladies would gather at night time for a little dance. Weird.
Broken Hill Race Course - 1 night - 31st May
Today we crossed in to NSW. A camper at Burra had mentioned to me that there was a free camp at the Broken Hill race course. It wasn’t in our camp book but headed for Broken hill and tried to find it any way. After a long day of driving and a few laps of Broken Hill, we found some thing which looked like a race track. As we drove closer we were glad to see our camper friend from Burra.
Our friend had just spoken to the race course people who said they weren’t allowed to have campers anymore but they would sneek him in anyway. We just tagged along and scored ourselves a spot in the pavilion just metres from the edge of the race track and right next to a massive grandstand.
There was one jockey practising on his horse. Not another person in sight. Golden hills of the NSW outback in the distance. Golden sun setting in the west .This was a surreal location.
Muccollochs Rest Area - 1 night - 1st June
I really only know Pro Hart from the carpet ads and the big red dingo on the roof in Freo. His gallery was impressive with heaps of different styles of paintings and the paint cannons from which he shot paint filled Christmas decorations at bits of carpet and called art.
We left Broken Hill feeling glad that we had stopped for a bit of outback culture. Now we were heading in to real outback country now. Nothing but small towns with big gaps of nothing in between. This stretch seemed to go on forever.
We stopped for lunch in Wilcannia, an aboriginal town and home of the briefly famous Wilcannia Mob. They had that song ‘Play tha didge, catch a fish, put it in da fridge’ or something like that. We didn’t see them there, I think they are in juvi now.
There was not a lot of camps to choose from out here. And the choices were nothing more than a bit of gravel right on the side of the hwy. We stopped at a small town which had a little camp with a pub next to it. The pub had signs on it ‘Pub/Museum. All welcome!! Bring your camera !!’ So we grabbed our camera and went in for a look. It was a dusty old bar with some dusty old farm bits laying around. A woman came out, ‘what can I get you?’ We said, ‘we are just having a look thanks.’ She yelled back sarcastically, ‘Oh great, every one is just having a look!’ and stormed out of the room. Terri and I looked at each other in confusion, walked out to the car and got the hell out of here. Some people are way too angry.
It was starting to get dark so we had to stop being so fussy. We found a gravel rest stop on the side of the hwy which had a few trees and a long drop toilet. As we pulled in, our friends from the last two nights showed up. We camped next to each other and shared our first campfire together.
I cant remember our friends names but they were a friendly older couple who were nice to hang out with for a few nights. In normal life, we probably wouldn’t have met people like this but when your on the road it is very easy to find common ground with the most unlikely people. Just sitting on the side of a hwy in the midde of nowhere, eating sausages and sharing stories with friendly stangers.
Eden Hill Rest Area - 1 night - 2nd June
Just another patch of gravel with a long drop toilet.
We are meant to be escaping the winter but it keeps getting colder.
The nights are freezing!
Nyngen - Riverside Van Park - 3rd June
After a few nights without showers and a growing pile of clothes , it was time to check in to a park for a couple of nights.
With town name like Nyngen and a shire name like Bogan, I didn’t expect much from this area. But it was actually really nice. Lots of friendly locals. We camped just metres away from the edge of the Bogan River. The Bogan river flooded big time in the 90’s . It had been raining quite a bit lately so I was keeping my eye on the water levels the whole time.
We had been finding signs of mice in our car for the last few days. I was feeding them ratsack but they wouldn’t die. After setting up at Nyngen, I realized I had parked right on top of the scene of a recent mouse massacre. There was at least 20 dead mice in the grass right under our van. It was gross. I was just hoping that no living ones were joining the mouse party which was currently happening in my car.
Dubbo – Terramungamine Reserve – 4 nights – 4th–7th June
Dubbo was the first big town we had been near for a while. We had some admin to take care of, phonecalls to make and groceries to buy. This was a good chance to do all these things.
The van parks in Dubbo did not look very inviting and we were still keen to continue our run of free/cheap camps.
We found a spot in our camps book called Terramungamine Reserve. It was pretty close to town and it was free. Perfect. Now we had to find it. I typed it in to the GPS and off we went. After a few gates and a few kms of dirt road we ended up in a farmers backyard, scratching my head and looking at the gps with confusion. Then the farmers dogs found us and started howling at us. Terri said something like, “Paul, stop staring at that stupid gps and get out of here before somebody comes out with a shot gun!” I did a very awkward 7 point turn and got out of there.
The gps is generally quite handy and I think it has saved us from a lot of shuffling through paper maps. But it does get confused occasionally. I tried again and eventually we found the site.
Terramungamine Reserve is a big patch of gravel and grass on the side of Macquarie River. It had flushing toilets and several other vans who were utilizing this free camp. One of the campers had an old noisy generator which he apparently needed to run all day and in to the night. He was one of several inconsiderate dicks who we have encountered on our travels. Inconsiderate dicks who cant manage without 240v for 5 minutes and have no regard for fellow campers. I think people like this should have stayed at home.
A highlight of Terramungamine Reserve was the Grinding Rocks. A short walk from the camp takes you to a patch of large rocks on the bank of the river. The rocks are covered in hundreds of little grooves. These grooves were created thousands of years ago by aboriginal people sharpening their stone spears and axes by grinding away on these large, hard rocks. Apparently it would take several hundred hours of grinding just to sharpen one blade. I felt a little spoilt when I walked back to the van to run the generator so Terri could watch Neighbours.
There was a 3 night limit here but nobody was enforcing it so we stayed 4. Packing up and driving every morning gets a bit tedious so it was nice to stop for a few days.
I bought some old fashioned mouse traps and put an end to the mouse party in my car. By the time we left I had clocked up a death toll of 10+. Mummy, Daddy, Uncle Micky and all the kids are now snake food.
After a few days of washing ourselves with a bucket of water and a flannel, it was time to treat ourselves to a hot shower. We drove about 300kms and Lake Keepit was our destination. A huge campground on the side of a giant lake in the middle of a state forest. It was a bit of a flash back to the 80’s. It looked like the sort of place you would go to for school camp.
It was not school holidays though. This place was deserted. We had the whole campground to ourselves. It was eerily quiet.
Every once and a while we hit a bit of a low point and get a bit home sick. This happened at Lake Keepit. Having thoughts like - What are we doing again? Why are we hanging around a deserted lake? Where are we going and why? I need some goon !
Highs and lows are part of life and we got over it soon enough.
If you look to the sky around this part of the country, you will see aeroplanes with impressive exhaust trails pouring out the back of them. I thought it looked cool, but according to signs on the side of the road, it is part of a government conspiracy to poison the population with chemicals from above. Chemtrails. They still look cool.
Swamp Creek – 3 nights - 9th – 11th June
Today was an easy 100km drive to Tamworth. I imagined Tamworth to be a little country town with a tin shed and a few guys playing country music. It is not. It is a small city with a Woolworths, McDonalds and every other shop that you find in every other city. We found this a little uninspiring so we headed about 50kms out of town for a real country experience.
After 50kms of winding roads through green farmlands and a couple of kms of skinny dirt road we found a free camp called Swamp Creek. It doesn’t sound pretty but is actually a really nice patch of grass on the side of a little creek which runs down from the Great Dividing Range.
There is a big sign at the camp saying – Flash Flood Risk Area! So once again I spent a lot of time looking at the water levels and hoping our van wouldn’t turn in to a leaky boat.
The weather was still wet and freezing. Literally. We had our coldest night here. One night I put the fridge thermometer outside and it read -4c. I put my head in the fridge to try to warm up.
One day we took a short drive to a little town called Nundle. This was a real country town. A little old church and school, an antique shop, a little stall where little old ladies sold their jams and tea cosies, a café and a big old pub.
The pub is run by the great grandson of some old dude who owned it back in the 1800’s. This old dude apparently acquired the pub after winning it in a poker game. Score!
There was rumors that it would snow on a nearby mountain in the next few days. I haven’t seen snow yet, so it was tempting to hang around. But we didn’t. Food was running out and the gloomy weather was getting us down. Onwards.
Moonbi Lookout – 3 nights - 12th-14th June
We left Swamp Creek and headed back in to Tamworth to get some groceries, booze, petrol and replace a broken headlight. By the time we had finished stuffing around the day was nearly gone and the weather was still wet and terrible. So we found a free camp just a few kms up the New England Hwy. It was only a short drive but it was up a massive hill. This hill would seem to continue endlessly for the next few days. We were in the Great Dividing Ranges.
Moonbi was an unattractive carpark with panoramic views over greater Tamworth. The weather was so terrible. Still. There were no views except for grey clouds and fog. We didn’t want to be driving in these conditions so we ended up staying for 3 nights. Cabin fever began to set in.
Glenn Innes Caravan Park – 1 night – 15th June
The weather was still shit but we had to make a move. It had been 6 nights without a shower. It was time for a caravan park. We decided we deserved an ensuite site. So we drove about 200kms up to Glen Innes.
The rain and wind was crazy along this stretch. And this hill doesn’t end. We keep driving upwards and never seem to come down the other side. These ranges are huge. Towing the van up is a big test for the Patrol. I can hear it working hard but it is coping well. Very slowly but we’re moving.
We hear on the news that the northern coast of NSW is flooding badly. Glad we decided to cut through the outback instead of along the coastal roads. We are far enough inland to avoid all the carnage but its still blowing and raining hard. When we arrive at Glen Innes I see that the front van window cover has been ripped off and hanging on by a single rivet and about to fall to pieces.
The ensuite site was a big relief. I have always been a big fan of long, hot showers. But after this trip, my appreciation for showers and other modern conveniences has reached new heights. We made the most of power points, taps and flushing toilets and I fixed the window. Didn’t do much else. Still raining.
We made a shocking discovery whilst in Glen Innes. KFC’s in NSW don’t do Hot and Spicy. WHAT ! How do they survive?
After leaving Adelaide we were keen to get away from it all. We definitely achieved that. We spent a lot of time away from civilization and in the middle of nowhere. It was a quiet time. Now we were craving some excitement. So we decided it was time for some theme parks. Gold Coast here we come!
Lismore Caravan Park – 1 night – 16th June
With Queensland in our sights we drove about 300kms to Lismore. The road is still really winding and hilly. We drive through thick bushland for ages then stop at a pub in Drake for some lunch and a break from the crazy roads. This is a country pub with heaps of 80s style memoribilia and good wedges with sour cream/sweet chili.
The road towards Lismore finally starts to flatten off. We had developed a taste for hot showers and were happy with our free camp efforts across NSW, so we looked for another park.
We found one near the centre of town and it was the scariest thing we have seen since leaving. This was white trash central. Broken down old vans with piles of shit lying around everywhere. Kids toys, broken cots, old furniture, car parts and whatever else were scattered all over the place. Dodgy people peering at us from behind piles off rubbish. I wish we had gotten a photo of it but if we got the camera out, I think, somebody would have reached in the car and stolen it. And I was too busy trying to turn around and find the exit. No way were we staying there.
A bit further up the road, we found a much nicer park. We were still in NSW but it looked like tropical QLD. Palm Trees and lush green plants everywhere. Finally the clouds had broken, blue skies shone through and for the first time in ages, it wasnt cold. That turned out to be the end of our winter. Since that day it was 20c and fine nearly every day. Much better.
After seeing the white trash park, we were a little suspicious of the locals so we found a site at the back of the park, next to the river, away from the permanents and everyone else. We got setup and settled in. Then a huge engine noise came rumbling over us. Our site was right next to the helipad for the SE QLD emergency services. We spent the night watching choppers take off and land, smelling the aviation fuel and enjoying a few wines. Different but nice.
Gold Coast - Main Beach Tourist Park – 21 nights - 17th June – 7th July
We got up early this morning to watch a full lunar eclipse. Showers, breakfast, packup and on our way to Surfers Paradise. We were more excited than we had been for a while.
Small winding roads through lush, green forests for fifty kms then we hit the coast. Byron Bay, the famous hippy town. We considered going via Nimbin but decided that we didn’t need that sort of distraction right now. We had theme parks on our mind.
We spent the morning in Byron Bay. Walked along the main strip and reached the beach. The East Coast! This was a major achievement for us. We made it! I felt like stabbing a flag in the ground and taking a photo then jumping in the ocean. But I didn’t have a flag and I had left my camera and bathers in the car. Doh! So we turned around and walked to the markets instead.
We both love a good market and this one was very inspiring. Full of organic veges, mung beans, meat carved from happy animals and people wearing ponchos and sandals. This place had a very natural feel to it, but I did get the impression that it was a bit more commercialised than it once was and has lost some of the things that made it special originally. Still, an interesting place to be. I wish had spent more time there but I was busting to cross the border and get on a roller coaster.
So we got on the Pacific Hwy and drove 100kms north to Main Beach, Surfers Paradise, QLD.
We were back in the rat race. Big motorways, shops everywhere, heaps of cars and roadworks, so many roadworks. It was overwhelming but new and exciting.
Main Beach is a big, clean park. Across the road from beautiful beaches and surrounded by high rise apartments which tower over everything. Its walking distance to the fun on Capel Ave and just down the road from Sea World. We spent the next 3 weeks here.
These 3 weeks were a roller coaster in themselves. Some really good times at the theme parks, restaurants and beaches. Some shitty times when we realized how much money we had spent and how little we had left. And some anxious times as we tried to find new jobs and figure out what we were doing again.
First we went to Sea World. We saw a bunch of sea animals including our favourite, the Giant Penguin. They really are that big! I was keen to get Terri on as many rides as possible. We started small with the Bert and Ernie ride. Its a mini ride for kids that goes up and down and gives a mild falling sensation. Terri shat. We got off and Terri said, 'Im not crying, my eyes are just watery.' Sure. Such a scaredy. But she came good and we ended up going on all the big slides and coasters at Sea world.
The day finished with a big Pirates show. Acrobatic pirates that ride jetskis and boats and then come ashore for some audience participation. From an audience of hundreds, the pirates picked Scaredy Terri to be a character in the show. For te next 30 minutes Terri had pirates with microphones coming and going, kissing her, asking her questions and teasing us. Terri was embarrassed, I thought it was hilarious.
Terri had some courage now. We went on nearly all the big rides at Movieworld together. Even the big, new Superman ride. The Superman queue was really long and Terri was on the verge of running off the whole time. I coached her through it until she was strapped in and couldn't turn back. Superman is a crazy fast coaster that pulls over 4g. She wimped out on the Batman ride though. Too high.
Wet and wild was my favourite. Im a sucker for a good slippery dip. Terri bailed on the big scary slides. Aqualoop is the best. You are locked in to a capsule and then a trapdoor beneath you falls away. You are now falling straight down a transperent tube at 60 kph. It loops around and spits you out before you realise what has happened. I like it!
After a couple of weeks of fun at Surfers, it was time to start thinking about working again. We applied for a few jobs around surfers with no success. Eventually, I managed to get a job with my old pals Staging Connections. I signed up, got uniforms and then didnt here from them for a week. I realised these guys werent going to have nearly enough work for me. Living on Gold Coast is not cheap.
So we began ringing Fruit farms all over the place. No success. At this point I thought our journey was over. Finally somebody called back with some work in a place called Wamuran. 2 hours north of Surfers. The place is called Pinata Marketing and the work was packing pineapples and strawberries. Yes. We'll take it.
Terri seized the opportunity to fly back to Perth and get a dose of her nephews and family. I did a solo mission up the Pacific Hwy and found a van park near to work. There are some scary van parks in this area but but I eventually found a nice place called Toorbul. Right on the shores of the Pumicestone Passage, a body of water which runs between the mainland and Bribie Island.
We spend the next 6 weeks living at Toorbul and working 20 minutes away in Wamuran.
Toorbul Caravan Park - 43 nights - 8th July - 19th August
and
Donnybrook Caravan Park - 43 nights - 20th August - 30th Sept
12 weeks of packing pineapples and strawberries with 100 giggling korean girls and a bunch of other nationalities. Aussies were definatley in the minority but it ended up being a good place to work. Painfully repetitive but nice people and lots of hours.
Life is domesticated over these weeks. Work, Eat, TV, Sleep. We check out Brisbane and nearby towns on our days off. Work gets busier as the season moves on and by the end we were doing 12 hr days, 6/7 days per week.
Lots of free stawberries. Strawberries for dessert every night. Yum
After a few busy weeks the season ended suddenly and we were told we could return in a month for the Mango season. We could check out the Sunshine Coast for 4 weeks with the piece of mind that we have more work to return too. Perfect. It didnt work out that way but we werent to know at this stage.
Caloundra - Dickie Beach Tourist Park - 2 nights - 1st, 2nd Oct
Maroochydoore - Cotton Tree Tourist Park - 7 nights 3rd -9th Oct
Noosa Heads - Tewantin Caravan Park - 4 nights- 10th - 13 Oct
Inskip Point Campground and Fraser Island -10 nights- 14th - 23rd Oct
Rainbow Beach Caravan Park - 5 nights - 24th - 28th Oct
We are now at Rainbow Beach enjoying hot showers and looking for work. The mango thing fell through so we are on the search again. Might be heading to Byron Bay to pick berries.
Thats all for now. Here are some photos of Sunshine Coast and Fraser Island.
Miss yas all. Love Paul n Terri.
