8th December 2011
It has rained for the last 4 days but today is showing some patches of blue sky so we have taken a chance to go for a look at Childers. This meant stopping for fuel which happened at Maryborough where we also called in to the visitors centre for some local information.
The information centre is in the very impressive City Hall, and along with what we saw whilst walking there, we decided to stay in Maryborough and explore it more thoroughly with a walk round their heritage walk. 
We had lunch in Queen’s Park whilst watching the local tourist steam train start its short trip through the park and duly noted the unusual vertical boiler. The walk took us through part of the town alongside the City Hall which was closed off for the local market (unusual being a Thursday) along several other streets with many buildings with grand facades from the 1870 period. 
There is a statue of Mary Poppins on one corner, outside the house that was home to the author of the story, which also gives the city the opportunity to have Mary Poppins festivals. Around mid afternoon we headed for home as the weather appeared to be closing in again and just made it home before the rain started again.9th December 2011
Today is cloudy but not supposed to rain so we made another attempt at visiting Childers, which we did with a couple of deviations to Toogoom Beach and Burrum Heads. Both of these had little to offer other than a boat ramp although Toogoom had a reasonable ocean view but Burrum had a beach full of seaweed and smelt accordingly.
We headed on into Childers with a drive through look at Howard and stopped as we entered Childers at the Heritage Village which happens to close at noon, just before we got there but we used their park table and seats whilst we had lunch. We moved on into the town centre which consists of a side road that runs parallel to each side of Bruce Highway with angle parking between the side roads and the highway. Consequently there is an amazing amount of traffic including huge B double trucks moving through the town with one set of traffic lights for a pedestrian crossing on Queensland’s major road.
There are a lot of old facades and a lot of history attached to the town but the deliberately lit fire at the Palace Hotel in 2000, in which 15 backpackers perished, is what most people remember about the town. The Hotel has been rebuilt as the visitor centre with a motel behind it. We did the Heritage walk around the town and then returned to the Heritage Village for photographs on the way out of town and turned off to Woodgate Beach. This was a real beach that stretched as far as you could see in both directions with a small township, but offered little else so we headed home.10th December2011
It is raining again and is expected to continue for a few days so we will watch the second test match subject to the weather in Tasmania. The rain which was steady but relatively light suddenly changed into a half hour torrential downpour which didn’t take too long to change the road cover from a good covering to about a 300mm river.
It rose high enough to come up to the concrete pad that our annex is on but the people opposite us must be slightly lower than us and had water run through their annex. Once it stopped raining heavily the water drained away reasonably quickly but there is still ankle deep water on the actual road. In the mid afternoon we also had a short thunderstorm but no excessive rain and the evening weather report claimed that Hervey Bay had 54mm of rain for the day.12th December 2011
The weather has stayed rainy for the last couple of days including another downpour creating a river through the park but not as severe as last time.
16th December 2011
We were going to use some free camp areas in the next few days but as the weather is uncomfortably warm at night and we have been using the fan and occasionally the air-conditioning, so we decided to go to Gympie which would provide power and allow us to take a look at the Mary Valley via the Heritage railway.
17th December 2011
We arrived in Gympie around mid day and set up camp with just the awning out but no annex as we are only stopping for 2 nights. This allowed us to watch the Masters Golf tournament until we disconnected our antenna and connected the park antenna which proved to be a bad move as their antenna provided next to nothing and definitely no golf. The end of our cable in the connector broke off as Barry disconnected our cable so now we have no golf at all. The caravan’s wind-up antenna gave us some TV but not much so we settled for recorded material for the evening.
18th December 2011
We arrived at the railway station at 9.30am to collect our tickets and realised it was the 3rd Sunday of the month which meant they put on a heritage re-enactment.
This was the second surprise from this railway as they also allow dogs to travel on board. The re-enactment introduced the good guys and the bad guys (all in period costumes) and explained that the Gold being carried on board would be subject to a hold-up on arrival at Imbil, our destination for lunch. We sat around the roped off area to watch as the bad guys held up the police escort to steal the gold using somewhat loud blanks in their shot gun and pistols. That bit terrified Foxy as we were very close to the shot gun in particular, so Barry took Foxy away before the next outbreak of shots. After the gold was taken along the ladies jewellery we broke off to have our lunch at the pub across the road. After lunch and a walk around Ambil we watch the now captured bandits being punished along with some passengers who supposedly misbehaved in town. They were put into the stocks and the small kids throw pretend rotten tomatoes at them (balloons with a small amount of water in them. The main bad guy was given a dozen lashes with the cat-o’-nine tails which Barry didn’t see as he took Foxy away from any more gun shots and Merry looked away as she thought the tomato paste on the guys back was blood. We then boarded the train for the return journey with a stop at Dagun Station for cheese and wine tasting, for those that were interested.19th December 2011
We moved on again to the Durack caravan park near Brisbane and found it to be an uninspiring park that is designed more for permanent residence than tourists and comes with a lot of do’s and don’ts in case it upsets the residence, so we may move again after Christmas rather than stay the originally planned 4 weeks.
20th December 2011
We have now had an argument with the ignorant management so will definitely be moving on Boxing Day. Barry mentioned the power lash-up with respect to the safety issues as it consisted of a 10metre cable from the power point connected to a 20 metre power cable with a double adaptor draped through 2 cabin carports. As if by magic, in the late afternoon whilst Barry was outside talking to a neighbour, the neighbour noticed the double adaptor connection on fire. Barry disconnected the power from the supply and dowsed the fire but the connecting cables plug and socket plus the double adaptor had completely melted and starting to set the carport paintwork alight. People in caravans are expected to catch their sink water in a bucket and empty it in a sullage drain 20 metres away as there are no sullage drains by the vans. Ours goes out onto the grass regardless and our water supply is via our drink quality hoses connected to a plastic garden hose but fortunately we can eliminate the plastic taste with our filters.
21st December 2011
We drove out to look at 3 cheap campsites and whittled the choice down to the first and the last that we look at. Both are the same price, both have water available plus ablution blocks which we don’t actually need, both allow generator use as there is no power provided and both are situated in scenic areas. We decided on the first one (Darlington Park) that we looked at despite having to travel further for major shopping as there is a small shop on site for bread/milk/ eggs, etc, and will be moving there on the 24th December to have a Christmas with mother nature.
23rd November2011
We did the preparatory packing up including filling the water tanks ready to move out reasonably early in the morning even though it is raining cats and dogs as we have arranged to have the gas hot water heater serviced on the way out.
24th December 2011
We finalised the packing up this morning in more rain and moved on to Darlington Park after the gas heater service was completed and set up camp alongside the river. As we set up the camp the heavens decided to open up yet again but it didn’t affect us too much as we had already got the awning up which allowed us to collect four buckets (36 litres) of rain water to add to the 256 litres that we are carrying. We normally use about 30 litres of water per day so it should last 8 days but we expect to catch a lot more rain water over the 3 weeks we will be here. We are told that the river water is good enough for doing the clothes washing so we won’t have to waste our water on that. On the way out here Amy returned Barry’s yesterday call although Merry had to do the talking as Barry was driving but the good news is she is 4.5 months pregnant. Barry also made contact with Stu and Be who have now moved to the village of Richmond a bit further out of Hobart but a really lovely area with a convict built bridge over the river with an attractive church in the background. You just have to ignore the pathetic caravan park that is slightly out of the village as it doesn’t live up to the heritage standard. This chat with Stu was short and difficult as there is virtually no phone signal where we are which is why our attempts to phone and/or text our Christmas messages didn’t happen. There is no Internet connection at all.
25th December 2011
Two years ago we were staying with Garon and Sue for Christmas Day and last year we were in Hobart and had Christmas day with Stu and Be along with Be’s parents Michael and Jenny. This year are on our own (if you discount the numerous campers spread out over this campsite, who we don’t know from a bar of soap) with a beautiful view across a small river at the hillside with its trees, kookaburras, lorikeets, cockatoos, cows and calves. We are actually surrounded by small hills which might account for our lack of internet signal and very poor phone signal along with being 27kms from the nearest town. We did still manage to have our traditional Turkey dinner without the rain that had been predicted by the weather bureau. Barry spent some time installing a second 12 volt socket so that we could use the 12v/240v inverter to power up our satellite TV receiver and dish and also plug in the TV as there is no other TV reception out here. This was in readiness for the Boxing Day test match
26th December 2011
We watched the test match.
We have two miner birds that seem to be very vain and love watching themselves in our car mirrors which conveniently have extension towing mirror frames to stand on whilst they admire themselves, and do other interesting things.27th December 2011
More test match cricket up until a storm came over us with hail, thunder and heavy rain for about 20 minutes during which time we collected about 60 litres of water and took the opportunity to stand in the rain and wash our hair.
29th December 2011
Barry discovered that the fuse in the cable going from the second battery to the Anderson plug at the rear, which connects to the van fridge when travelling, had blown and tried to melt the fuse holder. This had happen before and had been replaced when we were in Sarina on the northbound trip. Barry has traced the wiring and found that it also feeds the power to charge the caravan battery whilst travelling as all of the plugs have been looped from the one cable. We were under the impression that the fridge had its own cable, so never trust an Auto electrician. The fridge alone draws 23 amps which exceeds the 20 amp fuse, plus there is the additional current draw to charge to the battery. He has now purchased the requirements to replace the fuse holder and fuse with a lower rated fused to service the battery charging and run an additional heavier duty cable and 25 amps fuse to the Anderson plug to service the fridge only. The other advantage of the Anderson plug is being able to connect our solar panels to the charge the secondary battery which runs the Engel fridge/freezer in the car(on its own cable and fuse) when we leave the van and go camping with the tent, or for extra supplies for the Christmas period. The birds have entertained us regularly every day.
30th December 2011
We packed up the camp and moved from our river side position to the other side of the park as another caravan was about to move out from what we considered to be a prime position as it placed us near the kiosk, toilets, dump point and the water supply although it this needs boiling as it comes from the river prior to the swimming area. This didn’t matter to us as we have plenty of drinking water but it is useful for the washing machine and washing. We now look out over almost all of the park and away from a noisy dog that was next to us. We went into town in the afternoon (27kms) to do a bit of shopping, a few phone calls and to use the computer to catch up with the banking, etc. From this we determined that our pension had not been paid into the account on the basis that we had not supplied required paperwork when requested, but when we immediately phoned Centrelink they suddenly discovered that we had submitted them in October whilst we were in Townsville. The payments will now be payed in the New Year so chew on that without an apology. Whilst in Town we filled the water tank in the car as it had been previously emptied to the van tanks and will be filled again tomorrow.
1st January 2012
The noise from the other campers was not as bad as expected, just the usually countdown to midnight and much after that. There was a kiddie’s cricket match in the middle of the park with a bit of adult help but in general very quiet. The birds haven’t worked out where we have moved to so that entertainment has ended. We decided it was time to take a photo of the managers Queenslander houe at night when it is lit up.2nd January 2012
Barry attached a new cable to the caravan battery with a 10 amp fuse and an Anderson plug mounted under the edge of the van below the outside TV and then put an Anderson plug on a short cable to the TV so that we only need to unplug the cable and take the TV inside the van when we travel. The park has now had an exodus which has thinned out the campers considerably to about a third.
3rd January 2012
Today Barry replaced the burnt out 20 fuse holder with a new holder and 10 amp fuse and remade the connection from that holder to the cable going to the all of the plugs on the back of the car. He then detached the Anderson plug from that cable so that it only feeds the usual trailer plugs.
Another early start to beat the temperature and Barry installed a new heavier cable from the Anderson plug through to the front of the car and attached a new fuse holder to the battery. He then stopped to watch the second test match. All that remains to be done is connect the cable to the fuse holder and install a new fuse.
5th January 2012
The final connection of the fuse holder to the Anderson plug has now been made and a temporary 20 amp fuse installed but will be changed to a 25 amp fuse after our next shopping trip. This now allows many options along with running the van fridge whilst travelling, run the outside TV from the car, use the solar panels to charge that battery if and when necessary, and we have a cable to connect that battery to the van battery if required.
6th January 2012
It got hot enough today to run the air conditioner for a few hours until it clouded over in the late afternoon and actually attempted to rain briefly.
Barry walked up to kiosk to check out the managers beautifully restored 1950 Morris 8 utility (8 horsepower pick up) with removable top to the cabin and artwork on the wheel rims. The doors are hinged at the rear so open from the front which was common in that era, and the seats are immaculately leather trimmed. Neal is not a mechanically minded guy and couldn’t confirm, or not, whether Barry’s guess that the engine is a side valve unit as opposed to overhead valves, but either way it is a smooth running engine. The only non-original parts are the added left/right turn indicators which need to be there to be legally roadworthy, but there are no seat belts as they are not required by law as the car came without them. 7th January 2012
We drove along to the Darlington Connection road and over the hill to Lamington and Burgess Park which is managed by the couple that manage Darlington Park. We had conjured up visions in our minds of another park similar to Darlington Park but Burgess Park is very small with enough room for about ten tents/campers/caravans alongside a creek that you can barely see, but it does have a toilet block.
It doesn’t compare with Darlington Park in any way as it can accommodate up to 150 people, but is probably quieter but without the dump point and kiosk is probably used for short stays of a few days only. On the way back we branched off into Lost Valley which has some lovely scenery but ends at a gate to a cattle property but the views were worth the effort. Later we took Foxy for a short but energetic walk up the hill behind our camping ground but it is restricted to the campground property by fencing.
9th January 2012
We had to drive back to a shopping centre near Durack to collect some ordered medication and then drove almost to Brisbane to a large shopping centre to check our situation with Medibank Health Fund. Whilst there we had lunch in a British style pub but was disappointed with the meal. On the way back we did our grocery shopping in Beaudesert and also caught up with some emails and banking on the computer whilst we had some internet coverage. We also had a gas bottle filled and bought some more fuses including the 25 amp one for the new cable on the car.
12th January 2012
Kathy the manageress of the park has had to go to hospital for a couple of days due to an insect bite it is thought as she is prone to problems in that particular arm because of the removal of the lymph gland. This left Neal with the problem of the daily duties such as mowing/money collection/toilet cleaning/etc plus looking after the kiosk which can’t be done with having to go to Burgess Park to perform the same duties, plus trips to town to collect bags of ice/wood/provisions/etc so we have been minding the kiosk for him when he is away elsewhere.
12th January 2012
Neal brought Kathy home from hospital today but she is not to lift anything and must take it easy, but their daughters have come out to stay with them for a while to help out. Neal gave Barry a ride around the park in the Morris 8 while he did his evening check on camp fire sizes, etc.
15th January 2012
We packed up the bulk of our camp ready to move on in the morning to meet up with Richard and Jack and Rory in a couple of days for another camping holiday and then visited Neal and Kathy to say our farewells in case we don’t see them in the morning.
16th January 2012
We moved over to Helensvale which is on the Gold Coast slightly north west of Surfers Paradise and are not too impressed with the caravan park especially at $50 a night (school holidays) as there is no concrete pad for the annex to sit over and is a flood prone area. The ablution block is in keeping with a $50 a night price tag but at the moment the weather is worth a cracker.
17th January 2012
It rained torrentially virtually all night to the point that water has covered the grass under the annex so we now step out into water and it also turns out that our 15 year old tent that Richard, Jack and Rory will be using for the next couple of weeks is not exactly waterproof anymore. We went out and Richard bought a new bigger one and we cut out the waterproof base of the old one and are using it as a ground sheet in the annex. It did ease off raining in the afternoon to set up the new tent which looks pretty good with a heap more room as the old one was designed for 7 people and this one is designed for 9. We don’t think it would be much fun with that many people in either of them but that probably depends on who the others are.
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