Carnarvon Gorge

Last time we came to Carnarvon we met some people who had just camped up at Battleship Spur – about 650 metres above the gorge floor. They had spectacular photos of the sunset and we have talked about going up there ever since. We ended up deciding not to camp up there, but do it in a day trip. We left for the 30km walk just before daylight (6:30am) and made it back just before dark (around 5:45pm). Sunset photos would have been nicer, but we were definitely pleased we decided not to carry heavier packs up the steep gullies and along the sides of spurs!

Four days later and we were back walking in the dark, this time at 5:30am to see the sunrise from Boolimba Bluff (a bit over 3km, and maybe around 350-400m elevation). There was a spectacular pre-dawn orange cloud display just before we got to the lookout. Once the sun rose there were a lot more pinks. Our knees are looking forward to no more mountain climbing for a while!

Other photos from the gorge:

Here are the promised photos from the Gem Fields…

As the moon rose the sun set – stunning.



Learning the finer points of jiggling the willoughby and identifying sapphires.

























Bush mechanics seem to run in the family – Dazz's brother trying to find the short in his trailer lights!

There were rainbow lorikeets morning and afternoon.

A loose towbar and an oil change inside the van

Yes, it’s been a while, but we’re back to car stories. Our simple trip of 800kms up to the Gem Fields was quite an adventure. A few loose bolts on the towbar had been tightened before we left, and one of them was even replaced with a fatter bolt. Unfortunately the nut on the fatter bolt decided it didn’t want to stay tight, so it kept being tightened at regular intervals along the trip.

We came across half of our camping companions at Rolleston where they were just finishing off washing inches of mud from their vans after coming out of Carnarvon Gorge. They all left for Emerald and we set about checking everything, debating whether to have an early lunch before continuing.

As I looked inside I noticed what seemed to be a corner of the dish drainer in the cupboard in the top of the bench. ‘Funny,’ I thought, ‘the dish drainer is still in its place.’ As I scanned for what was out of place I noticed that the rack on the wall that holds the oil and salt was no longer on the wall. After travelling to Tasmania and back with no problem it had decided that the Dawson Highway was too rough and detached. As I put my hand in the open-topped cupboard to return things to their proper place my hand soaked in vegetable oil. Great…

I went outside to let Dazz know that I’d be a while cleaning up (it had leaked over the top of all the containers of flour, rice, pasta, etc. and along the shelf to the next cupboards and some empty containers, and into the cutlery tray). As I pronounced my misfortune I noticed he had the bumper bar off – the bolt he’d bought an hour earlier would need to be fitted as another had snapped.

So while I proceeded to wash just about every plastic container in my caravan in hot soapie water, he took the car around the corner to a garage and had the towbar welded to the chassis in a few spots, added the new bolt, and a lock nut to the other bolt.

There were no other dramas for the rest of the trip, and we arrived at Graves Hill (Sapphire) just before dark, meeting up with the rest of the party.

We’ve had a great week and a half with family and friends (my sister & family for half a week, Dazz’s brother & family and next door neighbours). The kids sifted through piles of small stuff and found quite a few small sapphires & zircons (i.e. match head size!) and the big kids have found some slightly bigger stuff. I also found my first sapphire out specking, but I’m mostly just here for the camping. Mum & Dad have just arrived for a few days, and then we’re off to Carnarvon Gorge. The photos are still all on the camera, but I’ll put some up on the blog next time.

Goomburra with the kids

A few weeks ago we took the kids (Leanne's niece and nephew) to Goomburra for the long weekend. They've both been there with us before and were really looking forward to going again. There was enough rain to make everything muddy, but we all had gumboots so didn't mind at all. Some of the highlights were the fire, chocolate cake from the camp oven for morning tea, pancakes & ice cream for lunch dessert just before we left and going for walks. Of course, the great marshmallow challenge every night was good too!













We've just about finished this lot of marking (hence the new post!) and today we're heading up to the Central Qld gem fields. No doubt there'll be more photos and stories shortly!

Almost famous

The other afternoon I should have been marking, but decided to have a break. I had a Caravan & Motorhome magazine DVD featuring Tassie on my shelf (borrowed from Mum & Dad's supply of magazines and DVDs) so thought I'd pop it in. It had come in the most recent magazine so no one had watched it yet.

They started off at Bruny Island and it was fun to see familiar places. As they showed fields of hops in New Norfolk area I had a flashback and thought the hops were at a similar height to when we'd been there. As I tried to work out what time of year it was I got side tracked by their footage of the waterfalls at Mt Field National Park. Then they showed the campground and I did a double take.

I yelled at Dazz (who was outside) as I tried to get my computer to pause and go back to find the spot. Dazz had no idea what I was doing as he came inside because I was tapping at the computer frustratedly, unable to string two sensible words together. Finally it appeared:

Us camped at Mt Field with Mum & Dad!

We did spend a fair bit of time inside while we were there as it was fairly cold and drizzly, so they must have come in and done their photo shoot and gone again without us even noticing! It's from Issue No. 128 if you're interested in seeing our rig in its movie debut:)

Back in Toowoomba

We arrived home last Sunday night, surprising the family who expected us home the following Thursday. We changed our plans because Dazz's Aunty & Uncle had a change of plans so we weren't going to be able to meet them at the hot pools at Moree on our way through.


We had very enjoyable stays with friends at Ariah Park and Narrabri on the way home - thanks for your hospitality, and once again, sorry for any bad habits your kids have picked up from Darren!

Since arriving home we've had a full week of marking, but have also managed to do some modifications to the beds (making the space underneath easier to access) and have made new cushion covers.





This past weekend we celebrated Leanne's Grandad's 90th Birthday with a weekend at a Caravan/Cabin park at Maroochydore. It was a great weekend with the Uncles, Aunties, cousins (apart from one), spouses & kids. We have been blessed with a Godly heritage and that has shaped our extended family relationships.

The country to the city and back again

Getting out of Melbourne traffic and back to pokey roads was such a relief for us simple country folk. So why did we go back? The Bendigo Aunties were planning a shopping trip, taking the train into the city, so we decided to take the opportunity to see the centre of Melbourne without having the car. We spent the whole day walking around - down the south bank of the Yarra, and back along the north bank and around the city. There were only a few patches of sun (much to the photographer's annoyance) but at least it was fine. Although we didn't have time to go into any museums or galleries, we did get a good feel for the big smoke, and are convinced that we aren't city slickers!

The Great Ocean Road

We really enjoyed the few days we had exploring The Great Ocean Road. We went back to the 12 Apostles three times to see them with different light. We definitely want to come back here and explore when we have more time.

Since leaving the coast we've been visiting friends and rellies, which has been really fun. Only two weeks until we get 'home', with a few more friend/rellie stops on the way.

Adjusting to the Mainland

We’ve had a bit of culture shock coming back to the mainland. Traffic goes faster (and there’s a lot more of it), and the roads are wider and flatter! We drove between Tynong North and the eastern suburbs of Melbourne a few times last week and found it very bizarre to not be able to see mountains. It felt like the Great Western Tiers should have been out to the left and Ben Lomond to the right.
We enjoyed catching up with friends and family in and around Melbourne (thanks everyone for your hospitality). We stayed at Mill Valley Ranch (a Christian youth camp) and our car and caravan fitted in well with the historical feel of the place.

Getting out of Melbourne and to the Otway National Park was wonderful. We found a nice little picnic area beside a river that had been planted with California Redgums. Nowhere near as big as their California counterparts, but a reminder of our trip to the Sequoia National Park about 13 years ago. Autumn is the season of lichen and fungus, and we came across some great specimens on our walks.

Farewell to Tassie

We spent our last week and a half in Tassie in Burnie. We had a solid week of marking, but were also able to catch up with friends, mostly from Burnie Baptist. There were some great wet, cold and windy days to remind us why we're looking forward to winter in Qld this year, but there were also a couple of lovely sunny days. We fitted in an afternoon to the Rhododendron Garden

enjoying the autumn colours. Dazz spied a freshwater lobster in one of the lakes, and he kindly sat up on a rock near the surface of the water for some photos.

We're in Victoria now, and have begun catching up with friends & family. Next week we're off around the Great Ocean Road so stay tuned...