End of year trip 2017, Day 4

We were up nice and early after a good nights sleep and after coffee and a quick pack up we headed of to have a look at the other two campgrounds in the park. We eventually found them but neither was as good as the one we had stayed at the previous night. While the road was rough and gutted in a few places it wasn't really challenging to drive and there were no real sights to be seen, so we decided to head back out of the park.
Shane had realized that he hadn't tied his shovel on properly and it had escaped and run away, so on the way back we had had to keep an eye out for it. We eventually found it about 100 metres from the previous nights camp. Then it was back out through the park and the farm roads to the main Capricorn Highway where we had a quick drinks stop to decide what we would do for the rest of today. We decided to head a bit further inland to have a look at Blacksland Tableland National Park. Unfortunately the parks web site showed no camp sites for the evening but we went for a look anyway.
The tableland is a couple of hundred metres above the surrounding plain and the road was twisty and steep but still a relatively easy drive. We stopped at the first lookout (Horseshoe lookout) for a quick look and had some lunch as well. 

Then it was off into the park for a look at the main campsite, where unsurprisingly, there were quite a few empty sites, although the web site said that it was full. We had a quick look at some nearby rock pools and Shane had a quick swim to cool off, even though it must have been 5 or 6 degrees cooler on the tablelands than Down below.

We continued out to the Rainbow Waters walk were Shane went for a couple of km walk and I stayed in the shade at the car park writing up the day's activities and reading a book. Then it was off for a drive around the 4wd loop which took us to another spectacular lookout. 

As it was getting late we needed to find a camp site, so Wikicamps to the rescue. We found one about 50 Kms away, so headed back down from the Tablelands and drove to the back of Comet and a spot on the MacKensie River. It was a km or two off the road down a pretty rough track but it is not too bad. We set up quickly and had some dinner before sitting around and chatting for awhile and going to bed early when the mozzies arrived.

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End of year trip 2017, Day 3

Up early, had a quick bite to eat and coffee and then packed up and left to go to Yeppoon. Found a nice coffee shop and had an iced coffee before heading off Capricorn Caves (near Mt Etna Caves). We got there just before 9 am and booked on a Geo Tour at 10:15, This gave us heaps of time to refuel with tea and scones and get cameras and walking gear sorted out. It was ok but too much fossils and not enough Caves. 

Then we drove out to Mt Etna Caves and walked around the circuit but you couldn't actually get to the cave part.
We headed south back into Rockhampton to find a tyre Store and a Repco for Shane. Unfortunately, they couldn't fix Shane's tyre so we ended up with KFC for lunch. Shane then headed off to do some shopping while I sat in a park in the shade and worked out where we were going to head for the evening.
After Shane had refueled and done some shopping, we decided to head out along the Capricorn highway and have a look at Goodedulla National Park. It was pretty slow going getting there as a lot of it was over farm roads that were not meant for high speed travel. Then when we got into the park the roads got worse and it was obvious from the branches and trees over the road that the ranger hadn't been in for awhile. The Hema maps didn't show all the roads or campsites while the pdf I downloaded from the parks web page was sorely lacking. Lots of intersections with a small number on a fence post and no signs meant it was a maze. The camp site we had been aiming for didn't seem to exist, so we kept on driving until we came across an old shed which looked like it was still occasionally used when they mustered the cattle that were around. 

It was getting close to sunset and it was near the river which had a little bit of water in it, so we decided to set up camp. Of course we couldn't set up on the nice flat area around the shed we had to bush bash the cars down to a nice little spot closer to the river. 

Shane went for a quick swim in the river and then we lit the fire. We cooked diner and sat around the fire before heading off to bed.

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End of year trip 2017, Day 2

Up relatively early, around 6'ish, had coffee and breakfast. We packed up and left camp a bit after 7 and headed off to explore the Byfield National Park as low tide was around 10:30 am for beach driving. Bit of a rough road into the park and then got to the point where we had to air down, I went to 18 psi at back and 16 psi at the front.
There is quite a long steepish hill of soft sand to get over on the way in and I thought I was going fine until a deep bump took away all my momentum and I couldn't go any further. This was with the stability control turned off but still high range. I had to back up quite a bit and tried a few things , like low range, rear diff lock, but I couldn't get any further. So I let the tyres down to 14 rear 12 front and after a few tries got a couple of metres further but I still couldn't get up the hill. So then it was down to 10 psi rear and 9 psi front and I was able to get enough momentum up to get me past the big bump and I could continue up the hill. Shane of course came up without getting stuck with his tyres at 18 psi, he was in first gear low range however.
We continued out to Stockyard Point for a look and there is quite a few fishermen's shacks there. There was a spectacular view from the point both north and south.

Then it was a quick drive to Five Rock Beach where we had to walk 500 metres or so down lots of steps but it was worth it. The beach is spectacular and there was a little fresh water stream running down the hill. We walked up to the Five Rocks at the north end and then Shane went exploring while I headed back to find some shade and write up this diary. Then started the painful walk back up the hill. We had a quick look at the camp ground and at least half the sites were vacant even though they showed as booked on the web site.

We headed over to the main beach and had a look at a little waterfall before driving down to the south end of the beach and going across to the inland side to have a look at the Corio Bay day use area. Nice spot but a bit swampy. 

Then back up the beach calling in to have a look at some of the camp grounds, they also were not as full as they were supposed to be. We took another narrow soft sandy track back to the main entrance road near the top of Big Sandy and headed down it. Much easier than coming up. We had to wait a bit near the bottom as a couple of cars had got them selves bogged. We found a shady spot on the road and put some air back into the tyres.
We stopped in at WaterPark Creek day use area and had some lunch before going on a loop walk around the area. We thought it was going to lead us to the swimming hole but it was a false promise. So, we ended up walking back along the road and over the causeway and simply jumping in. Very pleasant way to spend 30 or so minutes. Then it was back to camp for a lazy afternoon before dinner another early night in bed.

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End of year trip 2017, Day 1

I was up early and breakfasted at mum and dad's place, before heading north at around 6:45 am. It was a pretty easy drive with not much traffic and very few trucks. Stopped off for an early lunch at Miriamvale a bit after 11 am and continued on into Rockhampton where I refuelled.
Shane was still a while away so I continued onto Yeppoon where I was able to check the bookings for the national park. The only available space for two nights was at Red Rock camp site, so after checking with Shane I booked a spot (trailer or tent) over the internet and then headed out to the camp site. Yeppoon is a nice little town but it was very busy with holiday makers. 

I followed the signs out to Byfield and found the camp site pretty easy. On the way in, there was a beware of crocodiles sign on one of the creeks, so I'm not sure about swimming.
The camp site is nice and big with a table and fire pit also shady and well grassed. You can get to this site with a 2wd no problems. I've got a nice spot down the back and Shane can pick where ever he wants. 

After getting set up I relaxed for awhile and cooled off. Shane arrived just after 4:30 pm with all four wheels still attached.
We sat around and chatted for awhile, had some dinner and a drink but ended up going to bed early as the mossies were vicious.

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Weekend trip to Lamington National Park

Slept in a little on Saturday morning but was up, packed and driving out around 8:30 am. I headed north to Nerang and turned off the highway towards Canungra. A quick stop at the pie shop in Canungra for a sausage roll and iced coffee and then it was off towards Lamington national park and O'Reillys.

There was lots of damage to the road in the aftermath of the latest heavy rain from the remnants of cyclone Debbie. The road is normally pretty narrow and windy but it became even narrower as land slips had taken away bits from each side of the road. No real dramas just a slower than normal trip. Just before O'Reillys I turned off onto Duck Creek road and followed it until the John Shepard Lookout where it was closed, also due to damage from the cyclone. 

However, there is a smallish flat spot to the right just above the lookout and this was where Shane had set up camp. I parked the car and joined Shane around the camp fire which was struggling a bit because the wood was quite wet from rain a couple of days earlier, however a little diesel fixed this. 🔥🔥🔥. After a bit of lunch I got Blute setup on a nice flat spot and we spent the afternoon chatting around the fire. 

Just before sunset Shane got his camera out and got some nice photos as the sun quickly went down behind the hills, although the colour in the sky lasted a almost an hour.

Then it was dinner time followed by more chatting around the fire before finally heading off to bed as the temperature got down below 10 degrees. Although chilly overnight I don't think it got below 5 or 6 degrees. We slept in a bit in the morning before Shane kick started the fire again and we had some coffee to wake up a bit. After breakfast we had a lazy morning around the fire before packing up and heading up to O'Reillys for a quick lunch. The parking up there was crazy. The trip down the hill was a bit more tricky as there was a lot more traffic heading up the hill but I eventually made it back to Canungra and then had a pretty good run back to Nerang and then home at around 2:30.

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Weekend trip away, May 27-28.

Went shopping and did the chores first thing on Saturday morning. Packed some clothes and fresh food into Blute and the camper and headed off a bit after 11 am. Refuelled and headed north on the motorway, turned off at Mudgeeraba and headed for the Hinze Dam. Had a look at the water coming over the spillway and then had some lunch in the picnic area. Nice little spot.

Took the back roads up towards Beechmont and stopped for awhile to watch the hang gliders taking off from the side of the road. Continued onto Canungra stopping off to have a look at a nice little camping spot - Sharp Park, green grass and a toilet block, about $8 per night. Then into Beaudesert before heading south to Rathdowney. Tuned off to the Lions Road, lots of signs saying "Bridge Out" no through road into NSW but I had checked the map before hand and it looks like you can take a dirt road detour through the Border Ranges national park.
Continued onto Andrew Drynan camping area and arrived a bit after 3 pm. Found a nice spot at the back of the grassy area and setup for the evening. There is flushing toilets but no showers and the man came round to collect the $8 at around 4:30 pm. I got the fire going in the little fire pit which looks like an old tyre rim.

There are around 20 to 25 camping groups but all are pretty well spread out. Internet access is good via the phone with 4-5 dots of Telstra 3G access.
Cooked and ate dinner before relaxing around the fire reading a book. The temperature had started to plummet around 4 pm once the sun had disappeared behind the hills and probably got down to around 10 deg C over night. Went to bed around 8'ish and read for awhile before turning in for a nice peaceful sleep.
I was out of bed around 7 am and it was about 10 deg C so I got the hot water boiling for a cup of coffee. This warmed me up as I checked up on what had happened in the world overnight and watched the rest of the campers slowly start to stir. After a leisurely breakfast and more coffee I got things packed up and headed off southwards.
I stopped in at the loop lookout but couldn't see any trains, so continued on and had a look through the Border Ranges national park.

When I got to the Pinnacles lookout the road was closed, so I had to retrace my steps and head back towards Kyogle. In Kyogle I stopped for a quick look at the Sunday morning markets and found a very tasty sausage roll for brunch. Then it was off east towards Murwillumbah however I stopped in at Crams Farm on the banks of the Clarrie Hall dam and had the rest of my lunch sitting peacefully by the lake.

From here it was back onto the main road before turning off towards Tyalgum and following a twisty narrow road. I stopped in at Byrrill Creek campground in the Mebbin national park, nice little spot.
Then it was off towards home via Chillingham and Tomewin and down into Currumbin. All up about 370 Kms and a very pleasant way to spend the weekend.

Vic High Country Trip, Day 7 and 8

We slept in a bit and had brekkie before going for a drive at around 9 am. After driving across the Murray river at a shallow crossing we found our original target, the Davies Plain track closed, so we went exploring a couple of other tracks.
After driving the Tom Groggin Track and Paddy Joy track, among others we had a bit of lunch and stopped off for a look at Wheelers Creek hut. 

In the afternoon we found a few other nice tracks and then ended up on the mount Pinnibar track which led to the top of Mt Pinnibar and a spectacular view. 

Today's tracks all had some very steep sections so there was a lot of low range driving, but the track surface was pretty good so while slow it wasn't that hard.
Then it was back to camp for a swim in the creek to cool off but as there was a fire ban we didn't have a camp fire to sit around after dinner so we headed off to bed relatively early.

Today the others were going to do the walk to the top of Mt Kosciuszko but as my knees were playing up I would amuse myself around Thredbo. So we had a sleep in and a lazy breakfast before driving off to Thredbo where we couldn't find a park down near the chair lift station so Phil and I ended up parking up the top car park and walking down to the village.
We got Day tickets to the chair lift and headed up with all the mountain bikers. 

After coffee and morning tea at the restaurant at the top of the chair lift the others started walking to the top of Kosciusko while headed back down to the village.
I wandered around having a look and had lunch from the bakery down by the stream. 

There was a bit of rain but I found a spot under cover and wrote up some blog entries for posting while I had a reasonable signal. When the others came back from the walk we headed back to camp for a swim in the creek to cool off. No campfire as we still had a fire ban, do it ended up being an early night in bed.

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Vic High Country Trip, Day 5 and 6

Had a bit of a sleep in as we weren't shifting camp today. After a leisurely brekkie we went for a drive to explore the area around Long Plain. Beside the road there were tons of Brumbies in evidence, some looking well fed and healthy others looking a bit on the skinny side. We headed further into the park on Long Plains road stopping at Cooleman to explore and old homestead and its outbuildings. 

Then we continued onto the spectacular Blue Waterhole where we went for a bit of a walk to see the creek and waterhole and look for the caves that were supposed to be there. 

After this it was back to camp for lunch.
In the afternoon we took the road out to Currango homestead which is quite a nice place and is set up to take guests in a quiet rural setting. To get there we had to drive over the dried up bit of Tantangara Reservoir, once again lots of Brumbies taking advantage of the green grass here. Then we followed a fire trail which led us around the far side of the reservoir to the Dam wall which was constructed as part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. After that it was back to camp for drinks and nibbles followed by dinner and another night around the campfire with the neighbours. It wasn't quite so cool this evening.

Although it didn't rain overnight there was still quite a heavy dew so packing up camp involved a lot of rearranging of tents, trailers, etc. to get them dry. We left about 08:30 and we're heading towards Tom Groggin where we would base ourselves for a few days exploring. Our first stop was for coffee and morning tea at Cabramurra and then we moved onto Khancoban to refuel and have an early lunch. We stopped along the way at a couple of lookouts and dams for a photo or two. The food at the cafe in Khancoban was pretty good.

Then it was onto Tom Groggin on the border between NSW and Vic and right on the Murray River. It was pretty hot when we arrived but there weren't many people there so we quickly set up camp in a nice area and headed off for a swim in the river. It was as a little brisk but given the heat outside quite welcome.

Then after drinks and nibbles and dinner we sat around the camp fire for awhile until it started to cool off and we headed off to sleep.

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Vic High Country Trip, Day 3 and 4

Had a bit of a sleep in before showering and packing up, then headed up to the Oberon bakery for breakfast at 8am. Then it was off south to Goulburn where we got onto the Hume highway and continued on to the Yass Service centre where we refuelled and met up with Phil.
We took the road to Wee Jasper and started exploring the dirt roads in the forestry and national parks. Unfortunately, the road we needed to get to our planned campsite for the night was closed so we had to loop around back towards Canberra and finally ended up at Woods Reserve for the night. It was a nice little spot down by a creek so we set up camp for the evening.
By now the temperature was cooling down a bit so it wasn't too hot. After dinner and an entertaining show put on by some of the other campers we retired to bed relatively early. All up we did about 400 kms today.

We had organised ourselves to leave at approx 8:30 am however it was drizzling a bit so everyone had a bit of a wet pack up. We stopped at a national park day use area and put some air back in the tyres as we were probably going to be spending most of the day on bitumen roads.
We stopped off to have a look at Brayshaw's hut on the way 

and continued on through the Namadgi national park past Shannons Flat and stopped off in Adaminaby for fuel and an early lunch. Very good coffee and meals at the bakery.

After this we headed off along the Snowy Mountains Highway to the Long Plain Campgound where we quickly set up camp 

before setting off to explore the Yarrangobilly Caves. We went on an unguided walk through one of the open caves and then had a guided walk through Jillabenan Cave which was pretty spectacular. 

After this we headed off to the Thermal Pool which involved an 800 m walk down a pretty steep hill, my knees were complaining vigorously at the bottom. The pool wasn't that warm but we had a swim anyway before trudging back up the hill to the car park.

Then it was back to camp for some dinner and we sat around the campfire with our neighbours Peter and Robyn. The wind came up and it got quite cool so it was off to bed relatively early.

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Vic High Country Trip, Day 1 and 2.

Got up at about 6 am , showered and finished packing, leaving home about 7 am. Headed down the highway and had an easy drive to Grafton where I turned off to Ebor where I had morning tea and then onto Armidale and Tamworth. Getting out of the car at Tamworth for lunch at Maccas was like opening an oven, it must have been around 40 deg C.
From Tamworth I head south west through Premer before turning south on the Black Stump Way. Lots of storms around with some pretty strong winds which had brought down a tree across the road but I could sneak past it on the edge. Around Coolah I ran into some very heavy rain and with the wipers going full blast I had to slow down to about 40 kph on the highway. Once the rain and lightning disappeared I had to pull off the road to let a huge bit of mining equipment go past. It was towed by 4 or 5 prime movers and pushed by another two.

Around 6'ish I decided to stop for the night at Gulgong caravan park as I was starting to feel a little weary. Nice little place and seems quiet. Had about an hour of rain and lightning after I went to bed, very relaxing hearing the rain on the roof of the camper. All up about 750 kms today.

Slept in a little and had a shower before leaving around 7:30 am, nothing open in Gulgong for brekkie so I headed off to Mudgee. Got there around 8 and had a walk around, then coffee and brekkie, refuelled Blute. Then headed south towards Bathurst stopping in at Windsmere Dam along the way to have a look.

When I got to Bathurst I thought I would go and have a look at the motor racing track but when I got close to it I realised from the traffic they were having some sort of event there so I turned around and went for an early lunch at Maccas.
Then it was a pleasant little drive south to Oberon where I checked into the caravan park and then went exploring around Lake Oberon and Oberon Dam. Not a lot to see so headed back to the caravan park for a restful afternoon until the others came back from the Jenolan caves.
Chatted and caught up with everyone else for awhile before we headed for a walk to town for dinner at the Thai place. Came back to camp and chatted for awhile before heading to bed as it had cooled down a bit. All up about 230 km today, with Blute averaging around 12.7 l/100 km on the trip down.

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Aus Day long weekend 2017, Day 3 & 4.

After brekky and pack up we went exploring to see if we could find the old mines that I had visited last time. We eventually found it but on the way we ran into an exploration crew who were doing some new drilling cores to look at the viability of starting up the mines again. Shane and I spent quite awhile wandering around the old mine taking photos of the old equipment.
One of the drilling crew had told us about a track around to Emmaville so we went off exploring and after finding a locked gate on the main track we tried a side track which on the map looked like it should take us where we wanted to go. However the track deteriorated quickly and became impassible, so we headed back to check out the Mystery Face rock just out of Torrington. While Shane walked up to have a look and take some photos I lounged around at the bottom and read a book.
On his walk back to the car Shane decided that he need a Steak and Kidney pie for lunch, so we headed back to Tenterfield via the back roads and past some nice looking camping spots on the Mole river.
Back in Tenterfield both Bakeries were closed but one of the open Cafes had pies but no Steak and Kidney so we had to settle for Steak and Mushroom pies and milk shakes for a late lunch.
We then headed north to visit Basket Swap national park and drove out to check out the camp ground where there would have been tons of space but we continued onto have a look at the Falls. After a quick walk around and a few photos we took a nice relaxing swim in one of the pools at the top of the Falls.

Then it was onto visit an aboriginal site Woolool Wooloolni where there was quick an impressive set of standing boulders. The walk out and back was only a bit over half a km but in that distance I think I was attacked by about ten million leeches. We decided to camp at the shed in the car park as it seemed to be mercifully free of leeches and would provide us with a bit of protection if the rain came in. We set up the camp fire in fireplace in the shed and had dinner and sat around for awhile but retired early to bed.

There had been no rain overnight but when we woke up the cloud and mist had closed in and it seemed pretty gloomy. After coffee and brekkie and a quick pack we headed off. I wanted to get home around lunch time so I could start getting organized for the next trip which was less than a week away. We went back to the Mt Lindsay Highway and turned south to Tenterfield and then east on the Bruner Highway towards Casino. We investigated a few side roads along the way but they didn't lead to anything interesting
At Tabulam we had a quick stop for iced coffee and then on the way into Casino Shane's main fuel tank ran dry, so he did a bit of coasting down hills while he pumped some fuel from the auxiliary tank into the main. He made it, no worries into Casino where he refueled. Then it was onto Lismore and finally Bangalore before hitting the M1 north for the final run home. It was a pretty smooth run at the speed limit with no real bottlenecks. I said goodbye to Shane at Tweed Heads where I made a quick stop to pick up a new memory for my GoPro for the next trip.
All up over the three and half days, I had covered 880 km and visited quite a few NSW national Parks. When I got home I unpacked most of the boxes from the camper so that I can restock things that need it over the up coming week. Another enjoyable couple of days touring around with Shane.

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Aus Day long weekend 2017, Day 1 & 2.

Woke up about 6 am and had a quick coffee and shower before throwing the final stuff in to the fridge in the camper. I left home about 7 am and headed north to Nerang then west to Canungra and Beaudesert where I had a quick breakfast. Then it was south towards Rathdowney where all the traffic turned off towards Lake Maroon leaving me with a nice clear trip to Woodenbong.
From here I headed west towards the little town of Liston where there was a turn off to Undercliffe Falls which is where I was going to meet up with Shane. I found the Falls and Shane just before lunch time and we sat down for a chat and a drink before taking a quick look at the top of the Falls and then finding a nice little spot for a swim in the pools above the Falls. 

We decided that we where going to stay the night so we shifted the cars to a quieter spot and had some lunch. While we were having a lazy afternoon reading there was a procession of locals using the swimming holes. For dinner on Australia Day I had cooked a roast lamb shoulder and some vegetables in the Cobb oven over a couple of hours. 

We were sitting around the campfire after having just finished dinner when the rain started so we quickly packed up and headed to bed early in the nice dry campers. It didn't rain a lot over night but came in waves.

It was still overcast and misty in the morning so we quickly packed up and headed back to Liston and then continued on towards Tenterfield stopping off at Bald Rock and Boonoo Boonoo national parks on the way. Both had empty camping spots if we wanted to stay. At Boonoo Boonoo we walked around to see the waterfalls and then stopped in at the old mining site at Morgan's Gully.

On the way into Tenterfield we stopped off to have a look at the old Tank Traps and then Thunderbolt's Hideout. In Tenterfield we had lunch at one of the Bakeries and decided to head out to Torrington national park for a look. We ended up camping in the 3rd camp site at Torrington which was 4WD access only. There was one other camp site taken then and some late comers arrived after dark but it was very quiet and peaceful. As my knees were a bit sore after the morning walks so I spent the arvo reading while Shane went back and visited Ugly Falls for some photos. After dinner we sat around the fire for quite awhile while there was thunder and lightning all around us. Early on one of the local Wallabies came for a visit and was quite unafraid of us while we took some photos. After my last visit to Torrington where it poured with rain for several days I expected some overnight rain but it didn't eventuate and we woke up nice and dry.

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End of year road trip, 2016. Day 7.

I woke up to the rather pleasant sound of rain on the roof of the camper at around 6 am. This is a much more pleasant sound than rain on the roof of a tent or awning. As we were in the process of heading home we quickly packed up and hit the road to Biggenden where unfortunately the bakery was closed. So we headed south west to Ban Ban Springs on the Burnett highway where after a quick look at the springs I found the service station sold quite a good sausage roll for breakfast. We were going to head through the back roads to the back of Gympie to Kilcoy but the rain made it seem like a good idea to stay away from the dirt roads.
We continued to head south through Goomeri and Nanango with the rain still drizzling but eventually drying up. The main excitement came when Shane got a flat tyre just north of Harlin, because of the positioning of the guard rail and slope of the ground he couldn't quite get his car completely off the road, so I did a U-turn and came back around to park behind him with the hazard lights flashing to warm the oncoming traffic. He got the tyre changed pretty quickly and we headed into the servo in Harlin to check the pressure of the replacement tyre and have a quick dink and rest.
From there it was a pretty good trip home through Esk, the outskirts of Ipswich and the Logan Motorway before hitting the M1. Shane turned off at Jacobs Well and I continued onto the normal traffic jam at Robina, which I escaped by taking the back roads around Tallebudgera and Elenora to get home. It was bloody hot back home after the comfort of and air conditioned car. All up I had done about 470 km today.

Summary
We ended up having a great seven days away seeing lots of varied terrain, from the bush and scrub, to rainforest and the beach. I got to try Blute out on many different roads and found that it handled everything really well. I was especially happy with how it handled some of the steep rocky roads we drove on in the national parks. Now I'm looking forward to the Victorian High Country trip in February. All up we covered just over 2,000 Kms in seven days and had a very pleasant trip staying away from the holiday crowds.

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End of year road trip, 2016. Day 6.

We were up early and having breakfast so that we could hit the road by about 7 am. We continued into the park and climbed up the side of the ridge before driving along the top of the ridge for quite awhile. After we found the main campsite with a map we decided to backtrack a bit and drop in and see the other camp sites and lookouts. The road was signed "No trailers" and it certainly got steep in a couple places. The Blute traction control came into play a few times but got up the hills with no worries.
After we left the national park we dropped into the little town of Bilburin and had quite a delicious milk shake. Then it was south to Monto to refuel and have lunch. Shockingly over this leg of the trip Shane's patrol used marginally less fuel the Blute. The Blute fuel economy was up around 15.3 l/100 Kms. This included lots of off road stuff like steep and rocky tracks, sandy tracks and mud, and since it was carrying at least half a ton of camper and gear I guess I can't complain too much.
From Monto we headed south and east before stopping off for a look at an old copper mine in Mount Perry, where the temperature was up around 37 degrees. 

We then decided to stay at a spot called Lake Paradise which was located on the side of a dam, but when we got there it was pretty hot and exposed. 

So we decided to continue on, ending a bit further south at a place called Chowey's Bridge which is an out of the way picnic stop at an old Qld railway bridge. 

Shane went for a swim in the water in the creek below the bridge but I didn't like the idea of the walk and climb to get down there. 

We had the place to ourselves so we set up camp for the evening with the plan to head home in the morning. All up we did about 310 Kms today.

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End of year road trip, 2016. Day 5.

We woke up pretty early as there was no real protection from the sun and decided to hit the road straight away. So we got going just after 6 am. We headed south and decided to stop in and have a look at the other campground Eurimbula Creek. On the way we stopped and climbed up to the top of Ganoonga Noonga lookout which was a sharpshooter 800 metre walk. The view wasn't so good as it was overcast. The after the walk down we went onto the campground which seemed quite nice as it was nestled in behind the beach.
Then we headed into Agnes Waters and found quite a good bakery for an early morning tea. The drive to The Town of 1770 was quite different to when I was here many years ago as there has been a lot of development. It was hard to drive around as people seemed to be ignoring the parking restrictions and coming close to blocking off the main road. We went up to the main lookout at Round Hill Head and by now the sky was clear and it was getting hot.

To get away from the crowds we headed back through Agnes Waters to drive down through Deepwater National Park we stopped in at the campgrounds and I managed to catch with Anne and Paige at the Wrecks campground where they were involved in the annual Turtle research.
After lunch and a walk on the beach we decided we needed to head inland to get away from the crowds at the coast. 

We picked Bilburin National park as it looked like it had a few camp grounds and wasn't used that much. So we wandered westwards towards it and after a 14 km drive we came to the first of the camp grounds - Granite creek. It was completely empty so we set up there for the evening. 

Unfortunately it only had very spotty phone coverage, so our internet access was very slow. We got the fire going and settled in for the evening. We had one car come in and then take off to one of the other camp grounds. After dinner we went to bed reasonably early, not staying up to see the new year in. We had a fairly lazy driving day of only around 170 Kms.

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