Tag Archives: Camping NZ & Au

Day 18

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Friday 29th

Well the winds got up about 3.30 am, by 6.30 am clouds were coming in over the range so worked in nicely that we were planing to move on today. Filled up with water, beautiful drinking water they provide here. We are heading to Elphinestone via the Nebo Rd, or Little Lizzy Rd, what wonderful country side, dry but still so much to see, along the way Jack saw Moonlight Dam Camping sign and radioed to us as to would we like to have morning tea here, of course we would, so off we go, OMG I wondered if we’d ever get there, but when we did it is lovely. very rough 4×4 drive, along a ridge and windy.

IMG_2753  Lake Elphinestone, We camped here for two nights.IMG_2731  Here is a drag line bucket at the entrance of the town Glendon.IMG_2714  Amazing landscape along the way today.IMG_2704  All these Brolgas in the paddock, what a noise they were making, they were a long way away.IMG_2694  Going along the ridge into Moonlight Dam Camping.IMG_2671  Old trough, was once filled by the windmill in background.IMG_2668  Heaps of room for camping.StarStaX_DPP_345-DPP_361_gap_filling  Did star trails at Lake Elphinestone.IMG_2661  Moonlight Dam Camping area, the Dam was only a puddle but large area when there is water.IMG_2653  Little Lizzy Road, heading to Nebo.IMG_2648  Going through a narrow part of Little Lizzy Road.IMG_2642  The animals weren’t as thin as I expected.IMG_2639  Love this shot, the way the road winds, Jack is the wee white dot at the end of the road.IMG_2635 IMG_2632 IMG_2628

Country side where we traveled today.

 

Day 14

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Monday 25th

Up and away by 9.15 am. Went thru to Sarina and had morning tea at the train station. Then onto Mackay. Stopped at Caneland Central,  did some shopping. The drive and country side was real nice to here, lots of rugged hills and cane farms.  We got away from Mackay about 2.15 pm and headed towards Eungella,  pulled into a rest stop at Plummer River and ate lunch. Had chicken and salad, Got to Boulder Creek at 4 pm, long way out of the way for what there is,  but one never knows until you do it. At least the turn off to Eungella is only 1 km back, good short cut. Not a very big area,  nice wee creek running. We are only staying the one night seeing as its not fantastic.

IMG_2358  Entrance to Boulder Creek camping on left.IMG_2339  Boulder Creek.IMG_2337 IMG_2332 IMG_2330BoulderCreek
 This is the only area to camp in here, not big.

Day 13

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Sunday 24th

Nice weather,  very windy and cool. Had breakfast then headed off down to the bridge to get the incoming tide as it comes in so very fast. Well that was a joke, the tide was on the ebb,  all we got was cold bums. Got back to camp and had morning tea. After we warmed up we headed off to town to catch Sunlander train coming in, but it was 11.40 pm, so we were 12 hours to early. It’s been one of those days, but not in a bad way. Now it’s started raining.  I headed back to camp and when I got there I could here the Brolgas and Curlews calling. We got all packed up as much as we could for the morning. Filled all the water containers etc. One last hot shower as never sure where we’ll end up.

IMG_2325  Don and Jack doing macro on a praying mantus. Couldn’t resist this shot.IMG_2314  Jack walking back from the wetlands.IMG_2312  wet land. Loved the colours in the mud and the posts all ruined.IMG_2293  Train bridge, apparently when the tide comes in it rushes through this gap very fast and is a great sight to see. Another time.IMG_2292  Looking out across the tidal inlet.IMG_2287  Wetlands, lots of migrating birds at times of the year.IMG_2274  Animal holding pens.IMG_2273  Our set up.IMG_2268Mono
 Early morning from the rodeo seats.Did a black and white image out of it.

Day 12

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Saturday 23rd.

Was not cold last night but coolish this morning. Going to be a fine day and has a good breeze, do the washing, Don put up a line, so good. Went and posted some mail to NZ. Went all around the settlement lovely we place. Came across a chap who gave us a photo of the building he saw me taking photos of, got chatting, what a beautiful garden he has,  only flowers in St Lawrence,  cut a bunch for me to take back to camp. Lots of crocodiles here down in the mangroves by boat ramp, but we haven’t seen any and don’t need to. It’s a relax day today.

IMG_2201  Old bridge supports.IMG_2195  Only and best flower garden in St Lawrance.IMG_2183 IMG_2175  Driving back from boat ramp and a the wattles are in flower.IMG_2168 IMG_2163 Main St of St Lawrence, this is the post office and far building the court house.

Day 11

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Friday 22nd

Met up with our friends J & A at St Lawrence.  We stopped for lunch/smoko at Marlborough. We over shot the turn off for here and ended up at Clearview.  What a lovely spot, very expensive.  By the time we turned around and drove back 25 minutes J & A were just behind us. Found a nice flat spot, got set up and went for a hot shower, wonderful amenities here. Bed pretty early, we were all tired for some reason. Nice and warm.
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 Looking back at camp from the wetlands.IMG_2142LawranceCampingFromWetlands And with the wetlands in this one.

Day 7

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Monday 18th.

Very cold night, pea soup this morning, fog real thick, we had a cuppa and sat in the sun to thaw. Went for walk around the area, real nice, we will be back to stay for a week. The Dam is lovely with dead trees everywhere. Some person has planted some gardens with veggies and has painted on rocks to please water me and pick me, dont pull me out by the roots so I can keep growing and feed you. Please put scrapes in the compost pit. Most of the campers near the water sites have gone by 10am so if one came in by 10 you would get a pick of good site. The boys went rowing so I had my shower and washed my hair, did my washing. Morning tea time now, 10.30am what a great life. I ended up by cutting my hair, a wee bit short but a month will help. The days pass quiet quickly when you get chatting with others campers etc. We did star trails again tonight. Rang my friend and said where we are. Heading to Rocky tomorrow to stay with her.

IMG_1976  our set up for a few days, we had a good site right down the back, nice and private.IMG_1951  The Dam at Boynedale Bush camp.IMG_1948  Nice big area.IMG_1944 Fog over the water.

Day 20

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26th April Saturday to 27th April Sunday

Off to Dalby, said cheerio to Kate and  Chris. They left before us.Packed up and left. Got to Dalby, had a few things to do, also fueled up, toilet dump and top up the water, our regular routine in big towns. We headed off down the Moonie Hwy and got to Lake Broadwater, checked the place out, lots of people but decided by Sunday they will mostly be going home as the holiday weekend is finished, and they did, 🙂 such a beautiful spot, lake full of water, it’s a very big lake as is their mossies, 😦 Very big area for camping, lots of trees, hot showers for a $1, flushing toilets, lots of water birds so its a nice relaxing time  winding down to home time. Boo Hoo. There was a snake in the trees down from us, I did not see it, but the man told me to be aware, I said, I’m always aware for snakes. We also had a opossum visit us both nights he was too friendly but so cute, still had to give it it’s marching orders.
DSCF2649  On the road again. Heading to Moonie HwyDSCF2651  Cotton fieldsDSCF2662  Lake Broadwater sign at the entrance, stay awhile, it’s great.DSCF2665  Shore line from boat rampDSCF2669  This area is out of bounds for boats, it’s a wildlife sanctuary. DSCF2681  The opossum visitingDSCF2684  This is the size of the bush camping across the lake at Wilga Bush Camp ground. Its very nice as well but only has toilets, shade and space, not for big rigs though.DSCF2691

Cotton all bailed up ready for pick up, they are huge as you can see with Don in comparison

Day 11

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17th April Thursday thru to 20th Sunday

Went over early and had a hot shower before everyone else got up. Got brekky and sat under the tree. Storm had gone, mozzies were back, and these are big ones, holly hell they can bite. Bite you thru your clothes; I have big welts on me. We headed to Moura, stopped along the way and saw the mine. We fueled up, emptied toilet, and topped up with some food items at Food Works. Going to Chain Lagoons, on our way we called into Theodore, what a lovely town only small on the Dawson River and a free camping spot. We are now on the Leichhardt H’wy heading south, had a lunch stop here and then got to Chain Lagoons and they had a fence across the road to get to the big lagoon, so we took a bush road thinking we could get thru, ha we got in a tricky spot, but with a bit of work we got back out onto the H’wy. So off we go to plan B and onto Lake Murphy, well what a neat surprise, so green, lovely camp spots so much better, no water in the lake but that’s not a problem, we loved it here and stayed 3 nights, did lots of walks, night shooting, sitting around the camp fire, was lovely, we had Apostle birds hanging around camp, they are so funny, chattering all the time. Our friends are here as well. We spent the next few days just exploring and enjoying the time to relax.

IMG_9930Open Cut Mine at Moura
IMG_9931IMG_9938  Apostle bird, they are so social and funny with their antic’sIMG_9974  Babbler with insect in mouthIMG_9987  A Red Necked kangarooIMG_9991  Apostle BirdIMG_9994 Apostles birds

DSCF1555  Our camp spot at Lake Murphy.DSCF1556  Mowed pathways to Toilet blockDSCF1558  Nice big camp spotsDSCF1563 Our friends and us on our walk over to see the creek, which had water in it.

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Empty Lake Murphy, hard to imagine that this is the lake floor.

Day 6

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Saturday 12th April

We are having a very hot day again, it was a very warm night. After breakfast we drove out to the tit bit of the lake, I refer to it as the Island, much larger than I thought, found Whistling Kites and there nest, they are getting fish from the lake. We counted 6 Kites. Checked out where coverage was for the Sat phone. Our friends are due today so that’s going to be nice. Cooked in the camp oven tonight, was yummy. Clouds are coming in so I feel we are in for rain, oh no as these roads are not derivable when wet, hope it’s not going to be much or we will be here longer, Oh, what a shame. Here are a few photos from the day.

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This is the set up we are using, nicely tucked out of the way.

IMG_9313  This is before the sun came up over the hill behind us.IMG_9315  A Darter drying it’s wingsIMG_9324  Just a relaxing view.IMG_9333  Lots of wee birds, this one is looking up sideways, so cant see his eye.IMG_9343  A Whistling Kite with a fish in it’s talonsIMG_9357  Yummy feed.IMG_9380  Not a good view, but took it to show how small the nest is for such a large bird. This is very high in the tree.IMG_9386  Another one eating it’s prey.IMG_9437  I had been watching the Kite on the left for some time, it was calling and calling, then over came the second one.IMG_9458  A Boab of some sorts.IMG_9493 Yes I think the rains are coming, can hear the odd rumbling somewhere in the distance.

Day 3

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Monday 3rd February
My youngest son came up today and we did some tiki touring and found a lovely place called Paradise Park, spent some time there just chilling out. The guys went for the walk up to the Eye of the needle, very hard climb, to hot for me I stayed back. Went shooting stars that night, got some good shots.
IMG_6309  Cub all set up in my son & his wife’s yard. Doing some house and animal sitting.IMG_6321  Rocks at Paradise Park.IMG_6328  Another view of Paradise Park.IMG_6395  Night shot of the old Convent School, Murrurundi, NSWIMG_6398  Star trails and the Old Convent School.IMG_6402 Ghostly tree at night in convent grounds.