11 May—12 May 2002 As we left Tenant Creek we re-fuelled, bought some more ice, and headed north on the Stuart Highway, stopping at the Old Telegraph Station north of town. We were hoping to reach Mataranka by nightfall, but this proved to be too ambitious so we pulled in for the night at Daly…
Tag: camping
Into the Northern Territory
10 May—11 May 2002 The journey from Mount Isa to Tennant Creek is over 650 km. This was the longest drive we planned to complete in one stretch. Susie and I swapped the driver role every two hours, and this made it manageable. We checked out both caravan parks at Tennant Creek, and settled for…
Carnarvon Gorge to Winton
2 May—3 May 2002 We packed up and left Carnarvon Gorge, and drove two hours north to Rolleston, and then on to Emerald, where we stopped at a big, well-stocked supermarket to replenish the esky. We then headed west for two hours until we reached Alpha, where we stopped overnight in a very ordinary caravan…
Carnarvon Gorge day 2
30 April 2002 Today we went on a long bush walk. I packed the lunches last night and made the morning coffee. It’s hard to wake up the crew here. I’ve got some assistance this morning from a chorus of currawongs. The animals here are precocious, although they do not pester us directly for food. …
Carnarvon Gorge day 1
29 April 2002 Carnarvon Gorge is located in a national park about 150 km north and west of Injune. When we arrived, we set up camp and went on an afternoon walk. Susie and Ruby spotted a freshwater turtle, and Clare and I spotted several catfish grazing on the muddy creek bed. We scoured the…
North-west through Qld
21-25 April 2002 We packed up at Broken Head Caravan Park and went for our last swim in the Pacific until we complete our round trip. The weather was gorgeous as usual. The waves were great for body surfing, but treacherous. There was a rip sweeping north along the beach and out to sea. I…
Byron Bay day 3
21 April 2002 We had a light breakfast and then headed into to downtown Byron Bay. When we arrived we rang Dick Cornish to wish him happy 70th birthday, and we purchased some supplies. Then we headed to the main beach. There was a surf patrol which inspired confidence, but as it turned out, the…
Byron Bay day 2
20 April 2002 We spent most of today swimming at Broken Head, south of Byron Bay, where Clare and I witnessed a small drama unfold on the beach. A Japanese surfer was pulled from the water unconscious. We watched some surfers trying to resuscitate him. When his chest was compressed, little spouts of water shot…
Minnie Water to Byron Bay
18-19 April 2002 Minnie Water was great. I spent much of yesterday in the surf with Clare, who is easing into this travelling lifestyle. The surf was rough and full of rips, so I stayed within a depth of 5 feet. We had a nice soup for lunch cooked in the Dutch oven suspended from…
Bellingen to Minnie Water
17-18 April 2002 We spent yesterday at Cate’s house in Bellingen (or just outside Bellingen to be accurate). This was a chance to catch up on some badly needed sleep, and also to catch up on improvements that Cate has made to her house. She works on her house as if it were a piece…
North through NSW
15-16 April 2002 It’s hard to believe that we actually departed more or less on time. We pulled out of our home in Marrickville, Sydney, about 10.00 a.m. waving goodbye to our neighbor Jim and his kids, and Lyn and Greg from across the road. We stopped for petrol and air at the local service…
Wundercliffe 