Brisbane with Friends

Puppy Training

Fixing Stuff

We have been lucky enough to stay with Karen, Troy, Ox and Conan. It is so wonderful to be able to spend some quality time with friends we do not see very often

While Kaz and Troy were working Mark and I ventured into the city. We visited GOMA the gallery of modern art, the Brisbane Art Gallery and the Museum. The museum had an exhibition from the British Museum called Mummy. It was a great exhibition that included an actual mummy, a replica of the Rosetta stone which was mind blowing to gaze upon. The rosetta stone allowed us as a human race to translate hieroglyphics and is one of the most important archeological discoveries in the history of the world. To gaze upon it was a privilege. 

Karen took me shopping for some girl time while Mark was sick in bed and we had heaps of fun just doing what girls do. It was lovely to catch up so thanks Kaz! Sorry to Mark who I left sick in bed but you will be pleased to know I made congie for him and for this I think I should get the good wife award.

With Mark recovered Troy worked his magic and greased the trailer bearings and changed our oil. Thanks Troy!

Shoting Stuff

Puppy Love

Karen gave me some hair tips...thank god!

Rain rain rain

Ox the dog and Conan the rat are welcome additions to the Sexton - Wykamp family and Mark and I would like to say a huge THANK YOU for having us.

Week 23 Update: In Brisbane, where it rains

Slow traveling at the moment, so it is going to be a short and simple post this week.
It is only about 350km from Biggenden to Brisbane where we are staying with Troy and Karen.

A hippie set up complete with chimney and...

pot plants at the back.

Traveling on the Darren Lockyer Way (Warrego Hwy). My hero's road.

Ox, Troy and Karen's 9 month old puppy. He is bigger than a german shephard.

Wykamps do Kamp Ovens

As we made our way from Townsville to woowoonga...wait...where????

Wykamp's beautiful property

Woowoonga is a little hamlet set in rolling hills inland from Bundaberg. It has a little town hall but it's most important feature is the Wykamp family. Jenny, Gerard, Tyson, Claudia and Sammy let us stay with them for a few days and we enjoyed playing tourist with Gerard as tour guide.

Bandit

This picturesque little part of Australia. A few highlights were walking around the recently purchased property, checking out Jenny, Claudia and Sammys school and cooking our dinner in a camp oven.

It was also great to have people to show my scrapbook too. Jenny, Claudia and Sammy have been the first people to see the scrapbook I have been keeping as we go around the country. Mark is sick of looking at it and talking about it and finding space for it! It was lovely to be able to share it with others.

Gerard and I

 As always the best thing about visiting family and friends is that you get to see a small slice of their lives. Spending a night or two with a family; just doing what they do is a simple but wonderful priverlage.

3 Boys

Thank you to the Wykamps for letting us spend a little time with you and getting to know you a little better. Thank you for the excellent camp oven!
Next stop...Brisvagas...Logan to be exact.

Week 22: Winter is coming

As the Starks in the Game of Thrones series would say about winter, we are truly getting close to winter again. Temperatures are falling every day as we head south towards NSW.
Speaking of NSW, well done to them in origin but it was really QLD's to lose.

In the last week, we moved from Port Douglas to Bundaberg and traveled another 1100km. On the way we visited Parenella Park near Mena Creek. It is run by a couple who restored a Spanish immigrants dream. Jose Parenella settled in Australia and with his hard working ethic built a Spanish castle/villa near the Daintree NP. On the park he had his own hydro electric system, coffee shop, tennis courts, castle, service station and more. Unfortunately, it was hit by too many cyclones to survive.

We also went through Gladstone. A few years back, I visited Gladstone a few times to get to the barrier reef. Back then, it was a sleepy seaside town known for fishing and some port business. Unfortunately, the town has become something not very pleasant. The dredging in the harbour and the mining industry has taken the charm away from the town. Recommendations? Do not visit.

Places visited: Port Douglas, Townsville, Gladstone, Bundaberg.

Km Traveled this week: 1100km

The waterfall at Paranello Park at night.

Next up: Biggenden, Brisbane.

Somebody I used to know...

It is lovely to think that you might be lucky enough to have a friend that, after not speaking a word to for 8 years, would let you back into their world. Not only did Cassie offer us a bed she gave us her whole weekend, her beautiful smile, her welcoming embrace and the chance to get to know her kids.

Thank you to Cassie and her beautiful children for making our trip so much more special. A trip to the strand and river way brought back old memories and made some awesome new ones. Thanks and lets not leave it so long between visits.

Paronella Park Perfection

Banana!

Paronella Park is a rare gem when it comes to tourist attractions. It is absolutely worth the entry fee. It is a fantasy land of tropical jungles, castles, waterfalls and magic. It was built by the hard working immigrant hands of Jose Paronella and is 14ha of wonderful. I will let the pics do the talking.

The Delightful Daintree

The Daintree National Park has been on our list since the begining of the trip and so it was with much excitement that we entered into this famous World Heritage Wilderness Area. It did not disappoint.

The Daintree is the only place in the world where the evolution of plants and animals can be 'tracked', sorry if you are still into the Adam and Eve story. The Park has a prehistoric feel as you drive and walk amongst the amazing rainforest and mangroves.

Mossman Gorge was stunning with vast amounts of water pounding over rocks making them smooth and round over time. Like dinosaur eggs the rocks sit, waiting for another drastic change in climate to hatch maybe?

We arrived early and beat the other tourists, so we felt like it was just us exploring this vast landscape. The tree roots and branches were the most amazing creations of mother nature. If you pick any large root and follow it you quickly realise it winds it way for meters and meters, up and down like a roller coaster in search of the best light by which to grow.




A ferry crossing was our entry into the other part of the Daintree and this is the part you see on all the postcards. It is where the rainforest meets the ocean. This meeting like that of a bright green shirt and bright blue skirt is belted by mangroves. Clearly Mother Nature knew the rules. The mangroves, while not as pretty as the forest, had me fascinated. The trees that grow in this area have unique ways of surviving. They wind their roots up down and around, create snorkels for themselves to breath and support roots and sent down to stablise them against the battering coastal winds.

The mangroves also 'make' land. If left alone the mangrove forests will make about 1m a year. I just thought that was fantastic.

Around the National Park cane fields and banana plantations are abundant, lining the roadside like a guard of honor, as you drive through this spectacular part of Australia.

We purchased some Innisfail Bananas and they are the best we have had. Creamy and delicious!

Lots of love, Krystal

Week 21 Update: Big Hat Country

We're in QLD and it's State of Origin Time!!! (Go QLD)

We traveled from Mataranka and made it into Port Douglas after four long days of driving. In between, we went through Bob Hatter Katter country, where nearly everyone we encountered on the highway wore a big big hat in the car.

North Qld is home to many National Parks but none more famous than the Daintree. The park is split into two sections and one needs to catch the barge to cross the Daintree River to access the coastal section. It is a combination of rainforest, jungle, beach and mangrove with sugar cane plantations littered everywhere. A very unique and beautiful place.

Km Traveled: 25299!! Booyay we have reached 25000 clicks. (2664km in the last week)

Places visited: Three Ways, Camooweal (for lunch), Mt Isa, Julia Creek (for lunch), Richmond (for some dinosaurs), Charters Towers (for a free shower!), Townsville, Cairns, Port Douglas.

Highlights: the beautiful thermal pools in Mataranka; cute little desert mice scurrying over our tent all night; friendly QLDers, the welcome sight of Mt Isa (reminds me of Broken Hill); the beautiful east coast and the sugar cane plantations; and the amazing Daintree NP. There is also an awesome ice cream place (Floraville) at Cape Tribulation but I'll let Krystal tell you more about that one.

A very weird setup. Surely this is illegal to have a wooden hut on the back of the ute. Remember it in Terminator 2?

Many trees in the Daintree coil around each other and fuse together. We found this unique one on a quiet section of the park.

Some lost chooks in the Daintree!!

Sometimes it's wee...a sad tail.

I have hummed and harred over publishing this little gem of a story. I have wondered what future employers will think if they find it, I have wondered what my children will think if they read this and then I have wondered what you our readers will think. In the end the joy of telling a good story has outweighed my embarrasment.

We were driving along a long stretch of Outback North Queensland road, not much too see and less to do. It was nice and warm and we had about 600km of driving until we reached Charters Towers and our rest stop for the night. It is dry in this part of the country and if you do not drink enough water you end up with a cracker headache. Having had a coffee and 1L of water already I really needed to pee.

The need to pee and doing so on the side of the road is not an issue. We have been traveling for 5 months now so squatting by the side of the road does not bother me and it is often cleaner than road side toilets.

I told Mark I needed to go and he said he also needed a pee, clearly he was employing the same water drinking strategy as I was.

We pulled over in a little stopping bay and, as is my custom, I squatted near the ute in the little gap between the ute and the trailer. This affords me a little privacy and preserves what little dignity I have left after showering nude, out in the open in most National Parks.

Marks habit is to stand very close to the ute and pee on the other side of the tyre to prevent any "splash back" that my land on his shoes. Ever the neat and tidy man in my husband.

I had my back to him and was doing my business when I feel a little splash on my bare buttocks. I quickly realise that, as it was not raining, my husband must be getting his "splash back" on ME!!!! 

"AHHHH...stop...you are weeing on MEEEE!!!!" I scream.

"What???" Says Mark..."Oh, oh shit, oh sorry."

It was awful but very very funny.

Mataranka Madness!

 Mataranka Hot Springs!

Taz the Fisher Woman

Mal and his Tubes!

It was with great excitement that we reached the small town of Mataranka. Not only is this town the place where the novel "We of the Never Never" was set it is the place where our friends and ex neighbors Taz and Mal live!

Taz and Mal invited us to stay at their place which was so generous and we greatfully accepted the offer. Taz took us fishing for barra. We went to an amazing secret spot on the roper river and put our lines in. Taz and Mal taught us how to cast for barra and we found out that you have to "act like an injured fish" to attract the barra. Despite all taz's skill we didn't catch a fish. It did not matter though as what more could we ask for but good friends and a beer in a beautiful part of Australia.

In Mataranka Mal acted as tour guide and took us swimming in the hot springs where we used our snorkels to view the amazing underwater rainforest that is hidden in the deep blue water. The springs are about 32 degrees every day! Beautiful!

Mark fitting in at the Mataranka Pub

We were also treated to chips, gravy and beer at the local mataranka pub where mark dressed in a flanie so as to better fit in! We had a great time, thanks Taz and Mal for having us and sending us off with a yummy bacon and eggs breakfast.

Beautiful

Next... Queensland!

Week 20 Update: Mataranka

Quick update!

We are in Mataranka spending time with Taren and Malcolm, doing some barra fishing and dipping in the warm thermal pools.

We stayed at Edith Falls the night before. I had my first attempt of trail running on the 8.6km track to the Sweetwater pools. It is dangerous but addictive and enjoyable.

Total km count: 22635km!

Sweetwater Pools at Edith Falls, Katherine

Thermal Pools in Mataranka. A constant 34C all year round.