Thursday, 16 July 2009

Tourist attraction @ the beach (Cap Hillsborough National Park QLD - 15/07/2009)

Yesterday at the reception, they advised us to go on the beach at 6h15 to
see the kangaroos... They are not coming in natural manners, like coming to
breath the fresh ocean air: one caravan park employee is feeding them every
morning for the campers!

Camp Fire and sausages (Cap Hillsborough National Park QLD - 14/07/2009)

Holidays @ the beach (Cap Hillsborough National Park QLD - 14/07/2009)

The bikes need new tyres for us both.
We ordered them at a shop in Mackay and we have to wait, why not wait at a
nice place?
For more, that gives us some rest!

Coconut!! (Mackay QLD - 14/07/2009)

This coconut woke us up during the night.
It fell from the tree, fortunately not on our tent!!

Washing line, camp style (Mackay QLD - 14/07/2009)

Warm enough for a swim? (Mackay QLD - 13/07/2009)

For Diana yes, not yet for me...

Sunday, 12 July 2009

Sunset on Mackay (Mackay QLD - 12/07/2009)

Arrived and tent-set @ the sugar cane city (Mackay QLD - 12/07/2009)

Lunch next to Connors River (Marlborough road QLD - 12/07/2009)

Today, we avoided the highway because the traffic was supposed to be packed
(end of the winter Holidays in Queensland...)

During the lunch, the river was quiet, we did not meet any crocodile...

Come with us on the road!!! (Broadsound Range on the Marlborough Road QLD - 12/07/2009)

Bus for Cows (Marlborough - 12/07/2009)

Our favourite place (Marlborough QLD - 12/07/2009)

We stop at petrol station every 250km... You imagine how often we stop with
more than 2000km on the clock!

Ducky, Dock & Dacky (Marlborough QLD - 12/07/2009)

This is our friends for this morning (they were waiting for some bread from
us...)

Dish washing (Marlborough QLD - 12/07/2009)

We do with what we have....

Breakfast with chilly morning (Marlborough QLD - 12/07/2009)

Since Calliope, the weather is very good (sunny and warm) but the mornings
are very cold!!!

Good night next to the highway (Marlborough QLD - 11/07/2009)

We had the truck driving on us all the night...
Difficult to choose an other caravan park as the next one is in 100km and we
are exhausted...

Camping w/o pictures... (Calliope QLD - 10/07/2009)

The place was so peaceful that we forgot to take pictures....
We have met Darren, a motorbike fan and we got some advises about shops where to change our tyres and roads to take on our way up.
 
The day after, not so much pictures yet... we stop at a rest area where you can have a free drink:
They are a lot of fatigue accident on these long highways, the government organised this kind of area to make people rest.
We met nice people who gave us some tips about farm work: there is a lot of work in Bowen for tomato picking, that's a city which is after where we want to stop, Mackay. We'll see once there...

Off-road (Between Miriam Vale and the Boyne Valley QLD - 10/07/2009)

Today, we avoided the highway and lost ourselves in the inland roads. We did
not meet kangaroos on our way but cows... We were going through cattle
fields, that was nice!

Diana and her friend (Bundaberg - 10/07/2009)

R U ready? (Bundaberg QLD - 10/07/2009)

Saturday, 11 July 2009

265 km again... (Bundaberg QLD - 09/07/2009)

We did not respect the idea of a short trip today...
We wanted to stop at Childers but the caravan park did not look as nice as
we knew.
We finished at Bundaberg where the caravan park is not amazing as well...
Our neighbours are not the nice pensioners we met but farm workers...

Today no motorway!!! (between Kin Kin and Wolvi QLD - 09/07/2009)




As the day before was exclusively motorway, we decided for a change and looked around for the Queensland's landscape. About animals: we saw some wild horses, wild dogs and new birds.
Unfortunately, between Maryborough and Bundaberg, we had to take the highway again. With our packing, we are not going faster than 80 and the speed limit is 100... The long queue behind us is happy to reach the overtaking lane. Everybody quite respects our slowness, expect one giant truck who nearly wanted to drive over us!!! It was easy to decide who win the road fight, we had to go on the stopping lane (fortunately, it was a large and brand new lane) and then 3 giant trucks overtook us!!!

Hard morning (Noosa Heads QLD - 09/07/2009)





After 5 days on the road, we start to feel exhausted... Our mornings are difficult!!! Not for others, already awake for fishing. It is decided, Today, we will have a short trip!

And the wind was angry (Noosa Heads QLD - 08/07/2009)




We arrived after 265km of motorway. We just pasted Brisbane through the expressway... On the way during a break at an exit of the Bruce Highway, we met another nice guy who was happy to meet people from other country because it ''opens his heart''. We are also invited to stay to his place in Maleny.
It was crazy to build the tent this night!!!
We understood the meaning of each ropes to fix around the tent. We even wondered if some rope were not missing as the tent was folding because of the wind.

Ready to go between the showers (Tweed Heads NSW - 08/07/2009)

It has been raining all night long... This morning the sun is showing his
face, but some showers are coming and going, we had to be fast!! Anyway, we
were lucky to have a little bit of sun.

Here we are on the map (Tweed Heads NSW - 07/07/2009)

You can see all the way we've done on the map.
There is still more than this distance again to do for arriving to our aimed
destination.

Wetland (Tweed Heads NSW - 07/07/2009)

After Ballina, it was raining non-stop, we couldn't ask for a tent site, we
needed to dry up: tonight we'll get a cabin.
Unfortunately, Queensland people are having their holidays. We had to check
cabin availabilities in 3 caravan parks before finding one. The situation
was quite interesting under the rain....
After crossing the wetlands of New South Wales, the scenery is all
reproduced in our room as you can see.

Lunch Break @ Aldi store (Ballina NSW - 07/07/2009)

It is starting to rain, now...
We had our lunch behind the Aldi protected by the roof extensions :P ...
This is a city where we could have stopped for fruitpicking... The weather
condition are not there yet..

Coffee break (New Italy NSW - 07/07/2009)

The weather is getting cloudy, very cloudy....

Late arrival - night tent setting (Grafton NSW - 06/07/2009)

Arrived after 253km.
Our nights are getting better in the tent, we wake up less often (just once
this night). It was not as cold as the previous nights but we still had the
inside of the tent all wet... In the morning, our neighbours had a chat with
us and we are now invited in Wagga Wagga for our way back South during the
summer.

Walk on the beach (Port Macquarie NSW - 06/07/2009)

The caravan park was situated next to the beach.

Tent setting @ Sundowners Breakwall Holiday Park (Port Macquarie NSW - 06/07/2009)

It was a cold night again in the tent...
We've met rider fellows that were testing a kind of folding caravan that
they could tow to their Goldwing (Honda Motorbike). They advise us some tips
about our trips to the north, especially about crocs!!

Sunday, 5 July 2009

Sunset (Port Macquarie NSW - 05/07/2009)

After 232.6km we arrived at Port Macquarie where we are staying for the
night.

A little bit of off-road in the forest (between Killabakh and Comboyne NSW - 05/07/2009)







We were fed up with the highway again and went lost ourself in the forest
for a little bit of fun!!!
we've got freezed there!!! But beautiful!!!

Lunch break (Wingham NSW - 05/07/2009)