Member - John and Val

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Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 21: Broadwater Lagoon to Grafton

Member: Member - John and Val 

. Leaving the Broadwater Lagoon we thought that by taking some back roads we could bypass Dalby and move on south more easily. Leaving the Conservation Park on a road that was being upgraded we ...

Created: 15 Dec 2011 14:17 Views: 21305

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 20: Clermont to Broadwater Lagoon

Member: Member - John and Val 

. It was foggy next morning as we drove back into Clermont where we filled up our water tanks at the friendly tourist centre. Then south to Emerald through dryland cropping areas,...

Created: 14 Dec 2011 15:59 Views: 22566

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 19: Atherton Tablelands to Clermont.

Member: Member - John and Val 

. After a week with friends on the Atherton Tablelands we left their home feeling relaxed and refreshed. Troopy was clean and tidy with fresh oil and a new fusible link installed....

Created: 25 Nov 2011 18:26 Views: 20324

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 18: Flinders River to the Atherton Tablelands.

Member: Member - John and Val 

. What was meant to be a lazy day quickly became a very busy time beside the Flinders River. There was “housework” to do, taking advantage of plentiful fresh water,...

Created: 21 Nov 2011 14:22 Views: 22132

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 17: Fossicking and moving north.

Member: Member - John and Val 

. We had only gone a couple of kilometres along the track to the amethyst fossicking area when we met a vehicle coming out. We stopped for a chat and to check that we were on the right track....

Created: 19 Nov 2011 21:24 Views: 21790

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 16: Exploring historic mining areas.

Member: Member - John and Val 

. Fresh camel tracks showed up clearly beside Troopy next morning, but we had not heard any unusual sounds during the night. We didn’t see any camels in this area but they were obviously around,...

Created: 16 Nov 2011 16:05 Views: 21712

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 15: Exploring around Mt Isa.

Member: Member - John and Val 

. It was hot as we left Mt Isa on the good gravel road that goes south to Duchess. There were interesting rugged hills and the occasional tempting side track....

Created: 14 Nov 2011 18:58 Views: 22760

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 14: Diamantina NP to Mt Isa.

Member: Member - John and Val 

. We had a bit of driving ahead of us today so we were pleased that the gravel road from the Diamantina NP in to Boulia was in good condition....

Created: 04 Nov 2011 20:43 Views: 20598

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 13: Diamantina NP

Member: Member - John and Val 

. A cool morning saw us on the road early, heading across rolling open country towards the old homestead that now serves as the park headquarters and visitor centre....

Created: 29 Oct 2011 14:44 Views: 25335

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 12: Birdsville to Diamantina NP

Member: Member - John and Val 

. Next morning we had a brief trip back through Birdsville to the garbage tip to discard oil from Troopy’s last oil change, and admire the mountain of spent tyres,...

Created: 26 Oct 2011 17:36 Views: 24572

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 11: The Birdsville Track

Member: Member - John and Val 

. The next day dawned calm and clear. Good for boating, but it was time to move on. Initially we followed the bypass track around Lake Killamperpunna,...

Created: 24 Oct 2011 15:43 Views: 21551

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 10: Lake Eyre and Cooper Creek

Member: Member - John and Val 

. Cooper Creek drains a large area of inland Queensland, parts of South Australia and the Northern Territory, and a small area of NSW, a total area of about 290,000 square kilometres,...

Created: 22 Oct 2011 15:01 Views: 22177

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 9: Mulgaria Run - Farina to Roxby Downs

Member: Member - John and Val 

. Farina lies north of Leigh Ck, about half way to Marree, and has an interesting history. The area was originally proclaimed a town in 1878 and named “Government Gums” because of the River Red ...

Created: 20 Oct 2011 16:49 Views: 22937

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 8: The Flinders Ranges.

Member: Member - John and Val 

. We set out from Copley and took a side trip in to the Aroona dam, unfortunately now closed to campers. Some new visitor parking areas had been developed since we were last there and these ...

Created: 15 Oct 2011 14:55 Views: 21237

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 7: The northern Flinders Ranges.

Member: Member - John and Val 

Next morning we made slow progress with lots of stops for wildflowers, mainly red and blue flowered Eremophilas, quandongs and mistletoe....

Created: 14 Oct 2011 18:41 Views: 22096

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 6: Sturt National Park to the Flinders Ranges.

Member: Member - John and Val 

Next morning we took the opportunity of some fine (but still grey) weather to do a bit or repacking so we didn’t get on the road until late in the morning....

Created: 11 Oct 2011 20:30 Views: 26011

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 5: Trilby Station to Sturt National Park.

Member: Member - John and Val 

Leaving Trilby we safely negotiated the 3km of slippery track back out to the main road. Once there we called Liz on the UHF to give her a road report – there was a minibus at the station ...

Created: 09 Oct 2011 11:15 Views: 25265

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 4: Bourke to Trilby Station on the Darling River

Member: Member - John and Val 

The Gundabooka NP near Bourke takes in the Gundabooka Range that rises 500 metres above the surrounding plain. The range was an important place for aboriginal people in the area,...

Created: 08 Oct 2011 15:03 Views: 23680

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 3: Goobang National Park to Bourke

Member: Member - John and Val 

We woke to light showers next morning and reports of extensive wind damage over much of the state. Time to head west. We headed for Narromine and stopped at the “I” centre....

Created: 02 Oct 2011 18:02 Views: 21559

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 2: Canberra to Goobang National Park

Member: Member - John and Val 

On big trips we plan for an easy first day to allow everything to shake down, and oversights and packing deficiencies to become evident....

Created: 01 Oct 2011 14:37 Views: 20357

Following the Big Wet - 2011 Trip – Part 1: Preparation

Member: Member - John and Val 

Dorothea McKellar summed it up perfectly: I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains....

Created: 29 Sep 2011 16:25 Views: 23772

Fitzgerald River NP to Home

Member: Member - John and Val 

. Back to previous chapter - Albany to Fitzgerald River NP The fine sunny weather was too good to last as the cold wind and showers returned. Undaunte

Created: 16 Oct 2009 15:52 Views: 27474

Albany to Fitzgerald River NP

Member: Member - John and Val 

. Back to previous chapter - Northam to Albany From Walpole our plan was to head towards the Stirling Ranges NP, but first we explored the Flinders Peninsular s

Created: 12 Oct 2009 16:40 Views: 29398

Northam to Albany

Member: Member - John and Val 

. Back to previous chapter - Mullewa to Northam While we were rejoicing at once more being among real trees, we remembered that big trees need rain - and the rain

Created: 03 Oct 2009 13:23 Views: 24728

Wildflower Country - Mullewa to Northam

Member: Member - John and Val 

. Back to previous chapter - Carnarvon to Mullewa From our flower bedecked camp at Mullewa we explored the local area, finding new delights at almost every tu

Created: 04 Sep 2009 11:17 Views: 26525

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