12th August 2011 to 25th August 2011

12 August 2011

Once again we packed up the camp and moved on to Ravenswood which is inland and higher elevation than Townsville, with the intention of visiting Dalrymple Dam.  We arrived at about 1.00pm and rejoined Val and Barry (2) and set up the new camp which we found would not let us receive TV at all well whilst Val and Barry could receive 21 channels despite us trying with the same type antenna and a superior antenna, plus no-one else in the campsite can receive anything other than those using a satellite dish.  We have a dish but our decoder doesn’t decode digital programs and SC10 is digital and is the preferred channel.  There is a group of campers here for the weekend from the Townsville 4WD Club who come out once a year and tidy up the cemetery as a community gesture.  Being ex members of the Red Dog 4WD Club we had a chat with them and told the story about Red Dog, the film of which has recently been released in cinemas.

13^th August 2011

We drove the 40km out to the Dam which is basically what we would call a weir, albeit a big one, although it did have a few sluice gates on one side. 

At the moment there is some water overflowing the wall so the road that crosses below the wall is closed to traffic but offers an interesting effect as the water flows down the wall, along the river bed for a short distance and then drops into a waterfall amongst the rocks on the riverbed.  The waterfall looks fairly small  from the viewing platform but is probably a lot deeper than it appears as it is producing some spray rising into the atmosphere.  The discolouration on the side walls of the weir indicate that there is at least a metre rise in the water level in the rainy season, which also accounts for the ‘Saddle Dam Walls’ between the hills to increase the containment area.  With the crossing road being barricaded off we were unable drive, or walk, down the road to get a really close view, so had to be content with the view from the lookout platform. 

The adjacent caravan park is rather desolate, whereas the showgrounds at Ravenswood is shady with 2 hotels available and numerous points of interest as the result of an old disused mine and a new open cut mine nearby plus a quartz outcrop called ‘White Blow’.  On the drive to, and from, the dam we crossed several creeks complete with cattle in the shade and using the remaining pools of water and at one stage came across two Wedge Tailed Eagles but unfortunately they didn’t hang around for photos.

14^th August 2011

We walked into town to wander the main street to take photos of the Catholic church, ambulance station, hotels, post office, miners hut and a few other points of interest and then drove to the more out of the way spots, such as a quartz hill called ‘White Blow’ and finally up to the mine look out for a view over the open cut mine (hole). 

The walk included checking the menus at both hotels and based on the menu and prices we elected to have the evening meal at the Imperial Hotel.  When we arrived there in the evening the menu had changed, the chef had changed and the prices had appreciably changed, so our minds were changed and went to the Railway Hotel. 

This was fortunate as we met several other couples from the caravan park in the Hotel and all joined forces on one long table to share experiences and tales.  The meal wasn’t exactly brilliant but the company was good and we found out some useful information for another cheap stop off point near Charters Towers.  We also received an email from Neil and Linda letting us know about the troubles that they encountered trying to find a caravan park that takes dogs and actually have vacancies in Townsville, so that may be one town we don’t both with.

15^th August 2011

As arranged, we met Val and Barry (2) on the first tee of the local 9 hole golf club for free game of the interesting course.  It is maintained by the local mining company and has grass greens but the grass used is kikuyu, and therefore not a smooth surface, even after removing the roo poo prior to putting.  There is a bid by Optus to take over the land for telecommunication purposes in preference to community purpose so there is a good chance that the golf course will be another thing of the past for this town.  After lunch we moved the van to another site to get out from under the large overhanging tree which was providing the birds with bombing raids and covering the van, and hopefully to improve the TV reception, however the later part failed miserably but the shower water should run away better.

16^th August 2011

Took an 80km drive into Charters Towers to have a quick look around and do a bit of shopping.  The town has many of the old buildings from the gold rush days and plenty of statues around to help gain the history of the place.  We will be moving here at the end of t5he week and will have to do a town heritage walk.  On the way home we diverted into our next caravan park for a look as it was recommended to us during our dinner a few nights ago as a great place to stop for a while and it exactly that.  It is alongside the Burdekin River which floods to a level that almost covers the fixed buildings of the campsite, usually as the result of a cyclone but we will be heading south again before then.

17^th August 2011

We spent a fair amount of the day setting up the newly purchased digital decoder and can now receive more channels than you can point a stick at, including SC10 and channels from other States so we can now check on WA news, etc.  Unfortunately the old analogue decoder is now only a paper weight as it is only a matter of time before all analogue signals will vanish.  Merry took on the job of iron Woody’s trousers ready for his big day tomorrow at the Vietnam Veteran’s Ceremony, alongside 2 groups of Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Clubs that have arrived in town on their Harley Davidson’s.   One group camped at the showgrounds whilst the other group camped at the Railway Hotel.

18^th August 2011

We checked that Woody was properly tarted up and that his medals were set correctly on his jacket, although he had the Bikies set them up for him last night, and then attended the ceremony outside the courthouse.  It was a small but moving ceremony with about 20 veterans (bikies) and Woody but also included the kids from the local primary school, a few local spectators and tourists.  Between the 21Vets there was an impressive array of medals ranging from none to ten but we don’t know what any of them were for, but just being there and surviving deserves one.  After the ceremony we made for the Golf course for another 9 holes seeing as it is free in Ravenswood and Foxy can come round with us.  However, overall this round of golf was not as satisfying as the previous round but in Barry’s case it is still considered okay considering the surgeon who grafted a slice of his hip bone into his wrist, claimed he would not be able to play golf again.  Then again, some of his old golfing friends would probably claim he never could.

19^th August 2011

We walked into town and out past the Imperial Hotel in the general direction of the cemetery to check out the job done by the 4WD club.  After we had walked past the local school the road returned to dirt and around the next bend we could see the cemetery in the distance so returned to the caravan and promised to drive out there tomorrow.  The return journey was via a slightly different route which took us past some of the remnants of the Deep Mine Mill.

20^th August 2011

We took the promised drive to the cemetery-established in 1875 which was looking very tidy since the visit from the 4WD club.  As is the case with so many of these pioneer cemeteries there were numerous tiny graves for very small children, a few of whom died of blood poisoning as a result of picking pimples.  On the return journey we deviated to take a photo of the mine site processing plant and then drove up to the lookout again for more photos of the town and surrounds.  Being the weekend the park has increased from 3 caravans to 13 in the course of the afternoon.

21^st August 2011

We had another slightly better game of golf today but despite the non-brilliant golf we and Foxy enjoyed the walk.  We seem to be the only people using the course yet the greens and tees are watered and mowed regularly courtesy of the Carpentaria Gold Mines.  The fairways are all brown dry grass but it would be interesting to see this course during the rainy season, but rain or shine it is not a good idea to go off the fairways as the grass is knee high and thick, plus hiding roos and other not so nice surprises.

22^nd August 2011

Once again we packed up our site and moved about 80km to Bivouac Junction which is about 22km short of Charters Towers on the banks of the Burdekin River and is also quite cheap but pleasant.  The only downside, which is similar to Ravenswood, is the very poor TV reception and the site we are on is not suitable for satellite dish reception because of the trees in the way.  The camp site has The Drovers Kitchen which has a log fire burning each night for socialising with an occasional performer of some kind and also has chickens and peacocks roaming through the camp, and wallabies feeding between the camp and the river.

23^rd August 2011

Surprise, surprise, we have spent much of the morning taking down our annex and moving to another site which offers a clear view of the sky to the north-east and now have heaps of TV channels to choose from.  As a result of this moving, we postponed our intended photographic trip Charters Towers until tomorrow so long as the weather doesn’t turn bad, which is a possibility as it is already slightly threatening.   We did take a stroll down to the river for a look at the junction of the Burdekin and the Finning Rivers.

24^th August 2011

We went into Charters Towers along with Val and Barry (2) after crossing the road to view the railway bridge at close quarters and then did the heritage walk as the town rightfully boasts many interesting old buildings and included a visit to the Miners Cottage Museum where they teach you the art of gold panning. 

 The museum side of things wasn’t too flash as it was too cluttered to appreciate any individual item and is therefore, not on our list of recommendations.  However, the theatre/cinema is well worth a look inside, especially the box office area.  We were also going to do the drive around the town to find the parks and statues but our company piked out, so that will happen another day.

25^th August 2011

Today was partially spent being taught the use of the Photoshop program to allow us to improve our photos by removing unwanted items, such as the odd bird flying through just at the wrong time that looks like a black blob in the picture, sun spots and power lines.  It will also allow us to join a series of photos to make a panorama although Barry’s camera does that within the camera and Merry’s allows it to stitch together in the computer.  However, it will allow us to alter any that do not work out right due to the camera not being held level for all of the photos.   Barry is particularly interested in making a montage of several highlight photos from different locations that blend together.

1st August to 10th August 2011

1^st August 2011

We packed up the camp and headed off towards Bowan and arrived at the Bowan Palms Caravan Park at about 11.30am as it was only a about a 50 minute drive north from Airlie Beach. After setting up the new campsite without the annex as we will only be here for a couple of days, we drove into town to get a prescription filled, and then went on to Rose Bay to look at the prize winning beach which was actually for being a clean beach.  When we had a one day trip to Bowan with the grandkids and Richard we were not particularly impressed with the town but the beach front was reasonable   Having now discovered the available walks our overall view of the place is much improved and Herbert Street (the main road through town is okay) but the street off the side leave a bit to be desired.   At rose Bay we took a walk which was mainly uphill plus more than 200 man-made steps and more rough rock steps to Mother Beddock Rock.  From here we had the option of returning to the car or walking down another track to Murray Bay and then along to Horseshoe Bay (another award winning beach), but we took the first option and started to return home, but called into a vet on the way as Foxy has had a problem with her front left foot for a few days.  She was then booked in for a sedated inspection tomorrow.

2^nd August 2011

We took a drug drowsy Foxy into the Vet at 10.00am and left her for her treatment and drove out to Horseshoe Bay and took the walk to Murray Beach via a Lions Lookout which offers rather special views but was very windy, and then having climbed down from there we climbed up another track to a WW2 radar station site which was just as windy, and had very little to show for itself, other than a few eyebolts set into the rock and a few pipes sticking out of the rock.  After the descent from there, we continued on to Murray Bay.  As you approach the beach in Murray Bay you can see a resort with neat tended lawns and Private Property signs which seemed a bit strange and also appeared deserted.  Further along the beach we passed what appeared to be a mermaid washed up on the beach and then met another elderly couple sitting on the beach.  The man was actually sitting on a cocoa nut and appeared to be trying to hatch it but was more able to inform us that the resort had been this way for at least 5 years.  We continued on our way to Mother Beddock Rock passing another mermaid and then met a fisherman who informed us that it had been bought by Gina Rinehart for $15 million, to use as offices and accommodation for staff when she puts a rail line through from her coal mines in the Bowan Basin.  At a junction in the track we had the option of climbing up to the Mother Beddock Rock and down the other side to Rose Bay (1.3km), back the way we came past all the mermaids again (1.1km) or another track with nothing to indicate where it went.  Probably because of the mermaids, Merry insisted we took the last option and it quickly brought us out in the car park behind the resort which we had explored yesterday, so we knew that by walking along the road it would return us to the main road to Horseshoe Bay at Queens Bay.  From there we walked along the beachfront back past Greys Beach to the car at Horseshoe Bay and then returned to Queens Bay which is a lovely quiet spot, and had our picnic lunch.  After lunch we phoned the vet and was informed that Foxy was ready to be collected so we drove back to the vet on the way home and discovered they had uncovered a prickle in her foot that had caused an abscess between her toes and worked its way over the top of her toe to cause a second abscess.  In the process of flushing out both abscesses the prickle also came out and fortunately saved her from a small operation on her foot and us from a big operation on our finances.  The walks have changed our view of Bowan quite considerably despite the town needing a bit of refining although it does look like they have realise this and are starting to do something about it.

3^rd August 2011

We packed up the camp and moved on to Home Hill which offers a 48 hour free camping virtually in the middle of town alongside the old railway station. 

On the other side of the road are excellent toilet/shower facilities.  We left the caravan and drove out to another WW2 radar site which had a couple of concrete bunkers called igloos and then on to a lions lookout which confirmed our opinion that the area is very flat with a few distant hills and explains why it has flooded so many times during the rainy season, or after cyclones and destroying the rail line many times.  The new ‘Silver Link’ metal bridge which is much higher maintains the connection with Ayr for both rail and road. 


The railway station still operates in a fashion as the ‘Tilt train’ stops here, which provided a photographic shoot of a bullet shaped train that can reach 160kph with externally decorative carriages.  The name ‘Tilt Train’ is because the carriages are mechanically tilted to lean into bends by up to 8 degrees, but normally 6 degrees, to allow for the speed, a bit like motorbikes but not to the same degree.  However it did derail in 2004 and was then restricted to 100kph until 2007 whilst track conditions were improved.  This track from Brisbane to Cairns seems to be quite busy, including through the night, although it isn’t too noisy.  Foxy’s foot has improving quite well since the vet treatment.  

5^th August 2011

As the Home Hill Comfort Stop is a 48 hour arrangement we packed up to move on to Alva Beach, about 17km from Ayr, but as we were not in any particular hurry we did the town’s heritage walk first.  We actually bypassed Ayr town centre on the way to our destination and arrived a bit before noon and spotted the neighbours that we had in Airlie who invited us over for a cuppa as soon as the van is in position on our allotted bay.  After the cuppa and a chat we set up the camp site which included a modification to the outside TV bracket to gain more downward angle.  Later in the afternoon we took a walk with Barry and Val (yes another Barry) to the beach which took us past a tree that had been adopted by a Male and female red-tailed black-cockatoos, but unfortunately they wouldn’t open their tails for us except in flight which was too quick for a photo.  As previously arranged during our chat, we picked up Barry and Val and headed into Ayr with all eyes trying to spot where cane was being burnt.  In the Mackay region they don’t burn the cane prior to harvesting but in this region they do.  This gets rid of the unwanted leaves and flower stems which the Mackay region either ploughs back in, or produce mulch and fertiliser.  We had been advised that the cane burning is quite spectacular and worth seeking out.  We turned towards Townsville and drove for a while without a glimpse, but on the way back saw promising signs.  We turned down the heavy-truck town bypass and then crossed the railway to the right and turned immediately right again.  This took us up to the edge of some cane fields and turned into a dirt track alongside the cane and soon met an intersecting track to the left, along which we could see them burning off about 150 metres down the track.  Everybody got out for their photo shoot, except Barry (1) who moved the car to a safer area and walked back to join in the fun.

Merry and Barry (1) then walked back to the car for their tripod to improve the night photos, and found that the view was better from the top of the car.  Whilst on the car, the other couple came and joined the elevated view and by sheer luck they torched the corner of the field we had originally stopped at, so it was fortunate that we had all moved, but now had a grandstand view and was close enough to feel the heat.  As the fire started to die down a harvester arrived ready to start cutting the cane through the night and get it on its way.  The experience was great and visually was quite a spectacle as informed, and we feel lucky to have found the opportunity on our first attempt.

6^th August 2011

We spent some time downloading photos to computers and watching last night’s videos in HD on the TV. Val’s camera only takes stills, but with a tripod they should be okay but she wasn’t game to show them to us after watching the videos with sound, but not the heat.

7^th August 2011

We now have new neighbours next to us, who like so many here, are fishing types as that is all there is to do here but this one has a pet bird that has been taught to continuously and repetitively whistle pointless tunes.  Add to this irritation another camper near us who is both loud and foul mouthed, the park is not as good as first thought, with the addition of coconut trees that threaten to bomb your car at any moment.  There will not be a return visit once we leave here. Queensland is covered palm trees which we don’t like particularly, and has guaranteed that the one we inherited in our Geraldton home garden will go as soon as we return to live there.  

8^th August 2011

In the afternoon we drove the short distance into Brandon and noticed that the field we filmed being burnt off a few nights ago is now a freshly ploughed field ready to start all over again.  Brandon is a very small village 6.5km north of Ayr, and we found that its only points of interest are an old wooden church and the war memorial which used to be a WW1 canon that went missing During WW2, but more recently an artist produced a statue of a WW1 Aussie soldier to replace it.  There are several stories as to where the original cannon went, such as the Federal government removed all gun from north Queensland, another suggests it found its way into the local iron foundry and another claims no-one knows what happened to it.  However, the current statue is a welcome change from the few regular variations on a theme.  We then drove back into Ayr and found a few points of interest to photograph, but despite being a reasonable size town it doesn’t offer much.  

10^th August 2011

We hadn’t actually done a proper tour of Ayr other than a quick drive through for shopping so we had a more serious look around and found the Mason’s Temple and then went back towards Bowan to Plantation Creek Park. 

This has very long Snake totem pole near the entrance, a visitors centre,  a picnic area and an open air chapel for weddings, etc and at the back of the park is a sacred aboriginal cultural and interpretive walk which suffered badly in the last cyclone and is still being cleaned up, by anyone but aborigines.   From here we drove to the Burdekin Theatre to view the sculptures that adorn the front entrance to both the theatre and the library.  On our return to the caravan park we did a lap of honour to find some more people that had camped near us in Airlie Beach and spent the remains of the afternoon with Neil and Linda and their enormous dog.  Barry (2) and Val joined us and we planned to meet up again in a couple of days at Ravenswood Showgrounds so that we can visit the Burdekin Falls Dam and also Charters Towers.