Lightning Ridge 19-10-12

We got to  Lightning Ridge late morning and went straight to the Opal  Caravan park - Michael joined us up to the "Top Tourist Park" group and we now get a discount when we go to their parks, we have already saved the joining fee so it promises to be worth while.  The park is new, but the ground is made up of tiny quartz pebbles, no shade and we could not see how we could possibly get our tent pegs into the ground [a drill was available from the office].  There was no shade and it is very hot.  We decided to  take cabins for this stay.  They are quite nice (being very new).

When Tony and Jennifer were here some years ago, they said that the place had a definitely unfriendly feel with signs warning people to 'go away' 'not wanted here' trespassing etc.  It is nothing like that now, tourists are welcome.  Perhaps they have realised (like Sapphire) that tourist income is more reliable than opal mining, especially since eventually the opals must run out.
Lighning Ridge is a really interesting place.  I knew about the opals of course (who doesn't), but it also has a lot of fossils.  Michael and I went to the Australian Opal Centre to  have a look at some of the fossils discovered here.

Deposits at Lightning Ridge yield some of the rarest, most beautiful and precious fossils in the world. The sandstone at Lightning Ridge once formed the floor of an ancient shallow inland sea where plants, aquatic life and occasionally the bones and teeth of animals were preserved. As they tunnel through these sediments searching for precious opal, miners sometimes find these fossils,  The most famous and significant fossils from Lightning Ridge are those of some early mammals. Mammal fossils are not often found in Cretaceous fossil deposits, since the generally rare, tiny and delicate mammals of this period were far outnumbered by the more successful and diverse dinosaurs. In Australia Cretaceous mammal fossils are almost unknown, which is why the Lightning Ridge fossils are so important.

There are serious plans to build a very large museum to house many 10's of thousands of fossils not yet able to be displayed.

We went to  John Murray's art gallery, love his stuff, very quirky with a very australian sense of humour  http://www.johnmurrayart.com.au/.  Would have loved to have purchased some originals, but they were a bit out of our price range.

This interesting old cabin is right on the main street.









Hehe, of course we went to  some opal shops, the ones I liked cost thousands of dollars (just like the sapphires in Rubyvale (what a surprise)!  One of the shop keepers gave Tony very detailed information about opals and the quality of same, but he wasn't induced to buy any Haha.

Our trip ended at Lighning Ridge and we then travelled home over the next 2 days, so this is the last blog entry. 

We wish to  thank Tony and Jennifer for a wonderful trip!  

As always Tony your organisation was excellent and we enjoyed the company of the two of you very much.

Michael and me

Tony and Jennifer

Takarakka Bush Resort to St. George. - 18/10/12

A big day of travel – some 400+km, in hot temperatures of circa 37degrees.

We say our farewells to Peter D. who is driving back to Brisbane today [ some 11.5 hours].  It was really great spending the few days with Peter and we all look forward to catching up with he & Sue in the future.   Hope you have good news Peter concerning the arrival of the new grandchild when you get home.

We had our first stop at Injune for a coffee break.  It was a very neat town and the lady at the Information centre was very friendly and informative.  We had started to encounter large farm machinery in transit on the roads……very oversized…approximately 1.5 lanes wide.

We followed an oversized truck for some distance and Tony was anxious to pass him.  He asked Dot to get on the CB and get the driver to let us know when it was safe to pass.  Dot chatted to the driver who was quite agreeable and he was overheard to call his support vehicle with the request – “I have 2 little ones behind me”  Hehe love it.  He duly let us know and Dot called Tony on the CB – '”now Tony”  no sign of Tony in the rear view mirror, Dot calls again “Tony NOW’  No  sign of him.  Dot calls again “NOW TONY NOW”  Finally the troopie appears in the rear-view mirror passing the truck.  Phew.  Tony admitted later that he had his foot flat to the floor and was peddling hard and didn’t think he was going to be able to pass!!!!  Haha is this one up  for the PRADO with turbo, we had heaps of juice left and could have gone faster.

A further 120km onto  Roma for some shopping and lunch.    A backlog of Telstra messages started to come in.

Around another 200 km through a variety of landscapes we arrive at St George mid afternoon and seek a bit of extra comfort via a motel  for a good shower and fresh clothes.

Tomorrow’s target is a caravan park at NSW’s Lightning Ridge.

Takarakka Camp Resort 15/10/12 – 17/12/10

Monday 15/10/12

We have to get the walking footwear out of the roof bag in preparation for our walks.  Peter D. had sussed out a few of the walks in the National Park  the previous morning, and came up with  a couple of easy walks to start with.

Firstly we tackle Baloon Cave – 1km from the carpark through wooded forest with fan palms, cycads and a variety of plants, some in flower.  Baloon Cave is part of the entry point to the gorge used by Aboriginal people for thousands of years. The sandstone overhang features fine examples of stencilled Aboriginal rock art.    

Then onto Mickey Creek Gorge – 2.5km from car park which leads to narrow side gorges where the walking track becomes a rock hopping adventure.  These have lovely little streams through them, along with lovely natural air conditioning.  Tony, Peter & Michael head off further into the gorge, having to clamber along ledges as well as up over rock step-ups.    Finally Tony comes to a section which going up . was a major challenge, but descending would have been even more difficult.  Peter manages to get a couple of photos with Tony in a challenging position.  Jen commented later that it was important that he had done up his fly.

Following this, it is off to the Rock Pool which is surrounded by fig and casuarina trees.  The pool has male catfish tending the young offspring, as well as platypus and turtles.

Back to the park for lunch and afternoon nano nap for Tony and catch-up time for Peter D with Michael & Dot.

At 5:00pm we head across to the assembly area to hear an address from Simon, one of the local guides.  He gives us an informative history of the area from a geological, the aboriginal and local use pre and post National Park status and wildlife. He points out the best walks and features of the park to be tackled.

 

 

Tuesday – 16/10/12

A big day ahead with walks covering circa 12 km anticipated  We head off around 8.30am and drive to the National Park and tackle the Art Gallery [5.4km from visitor carpark] walking through woodland and crisscrossing the river via large stepping stones. The Art Gallery has over 2000 Aboriginal engravings, ochre stencils and free hand paintings over the 62m long sandstone walls. Unfortunately examples of visitors engraving their names/initials over the artwork as far as back as 1952 can be seen.  Surveillance cameras are now in place as a deterrent.

Unfortunately Peter had a knee injury playing up and Dot and Michael and he would catch up with Tony & Jenny as they waited at a resting seat/s on many occasions.  As we head back we divert to Ward’s Canyon, which is a small but beautiful side gorge – a great photo opportunity.  The short steep track winds through spotted gums and around a small waterfall into a beautiful cool place [it is starting to warm up]  containing the world’s largest king fern.  Water containers were replenished in the lovely cool running stream.

Back to the main track and then another diversion off to Moss garden where water drips constantly from the sandstone walls which supports a lush carpet of mosses, ferns and liverworts.  A currawong flew down and took his trail bar out of his hand as he attempted to pass a trail bar to Dot.

We all head back to the main track and then back to the carpark, (where an echidna is wandering around} ….unfortunately in the heat of the day arriving home around 3.00pm for a very late lunch.  Tony’s recommendation of having bananas to stave off cramp is taken up.

We had encountered a couple of French lads [with little English] leaving for the full circuit [32km] at around  2.00pm without water….they arrive back at the camp kitchen around 7.00pm totally exhausted.  Their evening meal was potato chips.    Peter D said they should be eating meat & vegetables.  Michael suggested Duck a l’orange which was met by a “Ugh”   Peter D quickly translated with a “Quack Quack” which the French boys understood,,,,,,,This broke Tony up completely.

 

 

Wednesday – 17/10/12

Everyone pulled up reasonably well after yesterdays effort.  A very quiet day with a small walk around the park in the morning and then Tony takes us off to another private safari park for a Devonshire scones & coffee for morning tea.

Back to camp for a casual lunch and some housekeeping tasks in readiness for tomorrow’s departure to St. George.

Dot gets Peter D. to transfer some photos to her laptop and then together look at the features on her Nikon camera, whilst Tony has his usual nano nap and Michael does some work on the blog.

Michael is pleased to have Peter D with us since it takes some of the pressure off Michael being the butt of Tony’s jokes – hehe.

Lake Maraboon to Takarakka Bush Resort [Carnarvan Gorge National Park] 14/10/12

Before leaving Lake Maraboon, we must acknowledge our camp neighbours Ian & Jillian who introduced us to the red-claw [yabbie/marron like ]  with some samples for an entree taste.  They have a large Bushtracker van pulled by a large GMC vehicle.   This is this home, as they have been on the road for the past 6 years.  They indicated they catch up with others who have been on the road for the past 12 years.

We also met another couple when we went to talk about their Roadstar Daintree caravan, as we had been interested in a Daintree a couple of years ago. They were in the midst of shelling a milk crate of large red-claw they had caught,  for subsequent freezing.  They gave us a pack of tails [400gram, 8-10 pieces], which we gratefully received and enjoyed over two nights with a garlic butter sauce.

On the road at a leisurely 8:30am and travelled through some interesting country with impressive mountain ranges.  We stopped at Springsure for a coffee reviver at the Information Centre, which contained quite a bit of history memorabilia plus quilting and sewing magazines which Dot had to purchase.

 

 

 

 

Then onto Takarakka Bush Resort, located just outside the National Park.  We arrived around midday, and caught up with Peter Daunton [part of last years trip] who had driven up from Brisbane the previous day.  It was great seeing Peter who was tender hooks, as wife Sue was in Perth with her daughter who had been admitted to hospital in labour

The campground is in a  treed environment, with great facilities – very large camp kitchen with gas cooker facilities, BBQs, hot water urns, sinks with hot & cold water plus cleaning accessories and large bench/seats catering for circa 40-50 people at a time.  A small general store with supplies including a range of wines @ $20.00 per bottle…..a must for our evening meal with Peter D.  The only thing lacking was Telstra 3G coverage!!!!!!!!!!

Kangaroos wander around the grounds and a range of bird life abounds.

It was very interesting watching the variety of vans and 5th wheelers, and talking to a number of their owners who in some cases have sold up and this is now their permanent home.

The National Park is obviously a mecca for serious bushwalkers.

 

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Emerald–Lake Maraboon 10-10-12 to 13-10-12

Had an uneventful trip to Emerald (much of the country was interesting), all the fun started when we arrived.  The trip (500+km) has taken longer than expected and it is quite late (5ish) when we get to Emerald). First job was to find somewhere to stay, the caravan/cabin park in town seemed to be the most sensible since we were not familiar with this area.  The caravan park was pretty crowded (which we don’t like), but we went into the reception area anyway.  They sent us way down the back and we were dismayed to see how close together all the caravans were.  All the cabins (or most of them) were being used by workmen from the mines.  We were not at all happy with where they wanted us to go and could not even see how we were going to get our tent into the allocated spot.  It also looked very possible that piles of people would surround us.  On to another park, we were told it was pretty ordinary and full up anyway.  Oh dear.  We decided to  stay in a motel for the first night and look for a camping spot in the morning.  Hmm, no room at the inn at all, not a vacancy anywhere.  We were talking to  each other on the CB radio when a man butted in and asked us what we were looking for.  We told him and he informed us that we had no hope in town, but that there may be vacancies at Lake Maraboon about 20 kms out of town.  He also told us that we would have to  go  in the back way since the road across the dam wall was closed.  A very helpful,citizen!

Off we went.

Arrived at the park feeling a little dispirited and again sent down to the back (this park is pretty full too).  We don’t feel too enthusiastic about anything at this stage but have no choice so we settle in.  It is getting dark as we set up.  Michael fortunately heard on the radio, as he came back from reception, that we were due for a storm that evening.  Bummer, Tony is quite confident in his troopie, but our tent has only been exposed to a very slight shower, a storm with possible hail sounds a little threatening.  Michael puts lots of guy ropes on the tent. The wind began to build.  Sure enough just as we finished tea, the thunder and lightning started, then the pouring rain.  The tent came through with full marks, not a single drop inside and it withstood the wind very well indeed, needless to say the troopie didn’t even notice the storm.

Next morning we are feeling more enthusiastic and the park looks a lot better.  Michael and I have quite a large site (for a tent) and we have a huge off road van being towed by an American truck next door, no-one else on the other side.  There are vacant spots around us, so we have quite a private little spot.  The showers in our are are a bit old, but there is a newer shower block some walk away.

We drove to  the information centre to see what was what, checked out the mine tours and the lady in the information centre booked us into Carnarvon Gorge.  We had morning tea and drove to Rubyvale for a mine tour into a sapphire mine.  Had lunch in the pub at Rubyvale and went on the tour.  This proved to be very interesting.  Tony who had not thought he would enjoy it did so.  We were the only ones in the party and our guide was great.  And oh my, the jewellery in the shop was fabulous.

When we got back to the park (which is now great, hehe) our neighbours had come back from their fishing trip and had some ‘redclaw’  these are large yabby type creatures who are vegetarians!  We get all the info on how to catch them and begin to feel enthusiastic about having a try ourselves.  We need opera nets!

Next day Michael and I head off into town to buy some nets and to go back to Rubyvale where we had a go at fossicking for sapphires.  We found a few little pieces and one quite large that is a blackish colour and called a ‘bomb’, not worth cutting.  One little piece is quite nice and I am having it polished into a cabochon (it will be quite small when finished but it is a memento of our trip to Emerald).

When we get back with the nets, we bait them with potato, dog biscuits and orange (these are some of the suggestions we had).  We took them down to the lake and dropped them in.  Tony could hardly contain himself and kept on wanting to go and check his net.  We were told that they are night feeders and to  wait until morning.

Our neighbours (Ian and Jillian) had caught a bucket full and gave us a dozen small ones to try.  We grilled them on the BBQ with some butter and were quite impressed.

Next morning, off we went quite excited to see if we had caught any.  Michael and I had 4, Tony had 2, but they were quite large.  Great excitement.

We have lots of lovely birds around our campsite.

It is now getting quite cold at night and it may not be long before we need long pants instead of shorts.  Michael and I have brought way too many clothes and the ones we don’t need are on the roof of the car.  We decide to get the bag down and transfer some of the warmer type clothes into our bag.  Oh dear, one of our bags of clothes is soaking wet, the canvas roof carry bag has leaked, probably during our storm. Just as well we found it, the clothes would have become mouldy pretty soon. 

Tony has become enthusiastic about powered sites and we get them as often as possible.  Two days ago it suddenly occurred to him that now he was on power he could use an ELECTRIC jug and a toaster.  He had a toaster but went out and bought a jug.  He has been boiling water as much as possible, including water for us.  We couldn’t stand it any longer and today we went out and bought a jug and a toaster for ourselves, civilisation while camping!

Mum, dad and the kid.

We will be without internet connection for the next 4 (I think) days.

Horseshoe Bay to Burdekin Dam 8-10-12 + 09-10-12

Woke to a lovely morning, the wind has died right down now.  Went to do our shopping for the next 3 days, then Michael and I drove to the outside of town to photograph the ‘big mango’.
We caught up to  Tony and Jenny and started off to the Burdekin dam.  We passed acres of corn, tomatoes and rockmelons on black volcanic soil. 
The country is largely huge granite boulders and granite mountains.  Similar to Magnetic Island,  Bowen’s Horse shoe bay had granite boulders the size of houses.  Tony wanted one for his front yard.
We decided to stop in Collinsville for lunch and enjoyed a very interesting drive, through some great country.  There is a lot of water lying around in dams and ponds, we are very surprised since it is the end of the dry season.
After lunch we head off to the dam down the ‘back road’.  (There is sealed road from Charter’s Towers, but this is not for us – hehe).  The back road is a dirt road but is in very good nick. On the road we see a deer, Tony tells us it is an Indian spotted deer (Chital) and that they were released 100 kms the other side of Charters Towers 30 years ago. 
Finally reach the dam and can’t see the camping ground, there is a “T”  intersection, so Tony and Jen go to the left and Michael and I go to the right.  Pretty soon Tony is calling us on the CB to tell us that there is no camp down his road.  Michael and I drive down a very steep winding road to see the dam ahead of us – WOW, we have to drive on a narrow road right across the front of the dam wall.  Still can’t see any camp, but we travel on across to the other side and up the steep road.and find the park overlooking the dam. 
Surprisingly, it is a very nice park, not at all what we were expecting, there is even a swimming pool and the cost for a powered site is only $15 for a couple.  We have been paying $32 to $44 per night to date.  The park manager comes around in the morning at 7:00 AM to collect the fees.  There is a motel and several houses there, but the motel is closed and looks uncared for.  The only houses that seem occupied are the dam manager and his offsider.
We find a  couple of nice sites under some trees (not large or dangerous).  There are sprinklers at either end of our ‘row' and Tony moves them closer to us to discourage potential neighbours.  This works for him, but next day a couple with a large caravan pull in next to us and simply move the sprinkler.  Sigh.
We have 10 peahens wandering about, numerous birdlife and as dusk falls we get hundreds of kangaroos.  Lovely.
The next morning the park manager comes about and is inundated with questions (from us of course).  The dam took 4 years to build and there were 1500 workers.  A small village was built to accommodate them with a school to year 10, shops, medical facilities, police, pub, swimming pool and tennis courts.  The town has disappeared, there are remnants of foundations about, the roads and some footpaths are still there, the tennis courts are still there but in a dilapidated condition, the town swimming pool has been filled in.  Very interesting indeed.
We went for a walk through the park to the lookout over the dam.  There are many picnic tables and chairs, assembly shelter and a camp kitchen, .    Tony is convinced that he could make this park successful and a money maker.
In the small information centre there is a model of the dam that simulates different conditions, including a minor and a major flood (works electrically)
There was a green tree frog in the ladies loo, this is the first one we have seen on this trip.
It is hot and the pool is great, it is a little grubby (leaves) and Tony tells the manager that we will clean it out for him., Tony also appoints himself assistant groundsman and undertakes to move the sprinklers around. The park manager (who is actually the dam controller) is the only staff member there, a married couple is on holiday.  This means that he is responsible for the dam, the cleaning of the camp ground facilities (not done while we were there) mowing and collecting fees.  I think he was glad to have Tony’s help for a little while.

Horseshoe Bay 5-10-12 to 8-10-12

This is a very pretty spot,with 2 bays very close to our caravan park and several others within walking distance.

Horseshoe Bay is on the North side of the peninsula and Gray’s Bay is on the west.  This results in 2 quite different beaches, Gray’s bay is sheltered and the sea is flat, Horseshoe Bay has small waves and is the most popular of the 2 beaches.  Hehe, the waves are very small, but it makes it possible for children to use their boogy boards for some fun.  The 4 of us can’t help thinking about our grand children and how much they would love it here (and other places we have seen).  Our water babes would have a ball and the beaches are quite children friendly.  There is a life guard at Horseshoe bay until the end of the school holidays, but thankfully he looks bored out of his brain since there is nothing to do.  The swimming season will end on all of these beaches very soon, the stinger season is rapidly approaching and only people prepared to take a risk or people covered in stinger suits will go in the water (irukandji and box jellyfish).

Michael and Tony have been in for a swim every day and thoroughly enjoyed themselves, we have all walked on the beaches and ventured up onto the lookout over the bay, which initially looked very difficult, but was not so bad, the path being very well planned and winding it’s way up.  Tony and Jen walked across into another little bay where it is theorised that Gina Reinhart owns one of the properties.  The scenery was fantastic.

We have wandered down to the little cafe on the corner where the others had the boring usual (coffee, coke) and I had a berry breeze (mixture of berries and berry sorbet)  YUM.

On Sunday the wind died down, what a pity that it hadn’t happened earlier as this is our last day.  This morning we walked to  the monthly market, about 2 km away, love these although I rarely buy anything – am tempted by heaps of stuff though, but do not have the room to put it in the car.  Tony told us that we had to walk to  the market this morning (2.5 km) since we were putting on weight. When we were there, he had a bacon and egg sandwich (he had already had breakfast), he has said that he will miss out on lunch.  Tony is very fond of bacon and egg sandwiches and has them almost every time we stop for a coffee at morning tea time.  This one was apparently pretty good since it was cheap – cooked at the Rotary tent.

Michael and Jen have been badly bitten by something at Wunjunga and are now covered in bites and itching badly, Michael in particular.  We think it must have been no-see-ums, since we have no idea what they were bitten by.

I bought a pineapple, rockmelon and some bananas in Bowen, the pineapple in particular was delicious, running with juice.  Tony and Michael and me have enjoyed bananas and custard for dessert.  (Tony introduced M and me to long-life custard, not as good as mine but an OK substitute out here).

We leave tomorrow to head for the Burdekin Dam and then Emerald where I hope to do a little fossicking for gemstones (in a fossicking park where thousands have gone before me, any hope do you think?).