Winter of 2013 in Nanango Qld

As our stay in Nanango is rapidly coming to an end I thought it time to bring the blog up to date and reflect on our stay here.

Natives in the garden

It has been nearly four months since we arrived and set up our camp and Gerrit and Ria’s beautiful property at Nanango in Queensland’s Wide Bay/ Burnett region. Four months seemed a long time to sit still especially for this little black duck as being a restless soul it could have been a trial for me. We fell in love with the property and animals and found plenty to occupy our time. Feeding the house cow and calf, morning and evening as well as Dusty the 35 YO. horse is my major chore. Aileene just loved the vegie garden and spends many an hour tending same. We have had heaps of lovely fresh vegies including beans, red and gold sweet potatoes, pumpkins, leeks, spring onions, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, endive , kale, wombok, silver beet, radish, sugar snap peas, beetroot, asparagus, capsicums, sweet peppers, zucchini, spinach, broccoli and of course parsley.

Milking the house cow came quite easily to me and after the first week and we were able to receive enough fresh milk to keep us continually supplied. Looking after the beef cattle is also a joy. Every couple of weeks or so they are rotated between paddocks to give the pasture a rest and I truly believe that the cattle also get bored as they do move around a lot and are always keen to move house. To entice them in an orderly fashion all I need to do is rock up near them with the ute and a few biscuits of lucerne and they literally eat out of my hands. We have two herds, one the breeding group with bull and a second lot of young ones growing up to be bred or on sold. A highlight of the past week has been the arrival of four new calves with quite a few more on the way. I have been like an expectant father and get quite anxious at night for the new mums especially after seeing a wild dog traverse the property on a couple of occasions.

The only other responsibility is to look after Lucy the red heeler, make sure the fences don’t get broken and water and maintain the gardens.

The Bunya Mountains area

We have explored the local region by taking drives along many local back roads and have been out as far as Esk, Crows Nest, Bunya Mountains, Hivesville, Goomeri, Murgon, and Gympie. Found some great 4wd tracks coming back from Imbil past Lake Borumba and over the mountains. We have been to the markets at all local towns but the Nanango markets on the first Saturday of the month are the best I have seen anywhere. You can purchase anything there from chooks and goats to fabulous fresh vegies and all sorts of produce and bric a brac. We have seen a couple of country shows some dog trials and a great Dexter Cattle show. Love those little Irish Dexters, really compact and beautiful animals. I guess as a Taurus I am biased.

Fungi in the Bunyas

Lucy

With a great fire pit next to our camp spot I have been able to experiment further with camp oven cooking. Have the roasts reasonably sorted and did a wicked lamb shanks recently. We have not been totally on our own with visits from family and friends providing great company and breaking up our time here. At about the half way mark I was feeling a tad restless and wondering how I was going to make it but that soon passed and now as we approach the time to go we sense a feeling of sadness as we will miss this place and for me especially the animals. After four months we sort of have a feeling of ownership and it will be hard to say good bye. I hope that Ria and Gerrit are satisfied with our input and will have us back again in a couple of years.



Dinner from the dam

For anyone with time on their hands, especially retirees I cannot recommend farm sitting more strongly. For a city couple it was a wonderful experience but so easy to handle. I guess it proved to me that I should have bought those 20 acres at Amiens near Stanthorpe that I dreamed of, ten years ago. Hind sight is wonderful I know but boy I am so glad we gave this a go and rest assured we will do it again. I would like to come back here one day and also try others in more remote areas. Although you don’t often receive cash remuneration for these sits the in kind support saves you heaps and you can save money, even living on the pension and a small super investment.



Some wonderful sunsets

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A Dexter bull with Aileene



Fantastic fire pit

One of the new born





The vegie patch



Next adventure UK and Europe (September and October) then back on the road south for the summer. After that I think next winter will take us to the real outback of NSW and Queensland
Bring it on……..! 



Gold Coast to Nanango

On the 15^th April we said good bye to our family and headed out to Judy’s place for a few days of visitations at Mt Sylvia. The devastation from the floods was terrible. Three quarters of Judy’s property was inundated in the January deluge and all fences gone leaving a terribly scarred landscape. Road Tech were busy with dozers and graders etc. rebuilding the roads and pushing debris into the gaping gorge which now crossed her property. So sad to see such a beautiful valley scarred like this.

We travelled up to Nanango during this week to meet our hosts before their departure and had a wonderful lunch with them. We were now more excited about our winter retreat.

 

 

 

 

Back to Judy’s and much wood gathering to keep her supplied throughout the winter. We cut about four utility loads before my back said enough. It was lovely to spend some time with her plus we also caught up with sister Heather as well.

As we were expected at Nanango on the 22^nd to start our induction we headed off   on Sunday to make the journey shorter and to ensure an early arrival on Monday Morning. We had a free camp at Harlin which only left about an hour to get to our winter destination.

 

 

After another lovely lunch we started to learn all that was needed to look after 450 acres, a 35 yo horse (Dusty), a 13yo dog (Lucy), Bella the house cow with calf and 32 cattle. We toured the fence line in the old Ute, inspected the dams and outbuildings and generally got familiar with our new surrounds.

 

 

 

It is a lovely property and we have a wonderful site next to a rotunda which has power and tank water with views to the north over paddocks. In the distance are the hills to the south of Kingaroy and we can almost see Jo and Flo’s place. Shower, toilet and laundry are in the house for us to use.

We were truly spoilt with Ria’s cooking and enjoyed their hospitality immensely. Learnt how to make buttermilk from the house cow’s milk smoked some meat in Gerrit’s home made smoker and sampled the delights of the expansive vegie garden and even had my first attempt at milking the cow.

Gerrit has a great workshop as you might expect from a retired cabinet maker and he taught me how to operate the wood lathe and I even got to make my first bowl with his guidance. Something to occupy my time with, over the ensuing months.

After four days Gerrit and Ria were ready to depart for the West and on Friday morning we bid them farewell and commenced our four month stay in charge of the ranch.

Bella smiling for the camera

Our days have just whisked by and certainly there is no boredom. Dusty needs feeding morning and night and that is about 1500 metres from home so a trip in the Ute has that sorted. The house cow Bella comes up to the house for tucker morning and night. I have now mastered the milking and manage a couple of litres every third day which keeps us amply supplied with fresh milk. The first morning was a bit slow and she pushed me away when her feed was finished and I only managed about one litre. Gerrit got about 4 litres in the same time but I am happy with my progress. She is a beautiful cow and very friendly.

Another chore I have is moving the two herds from paddock to paddock as required. Fortunately they are quite used to being herded and with a bit of Lucerne on board they will follow you anywhere.



Handcraft at Blackbutt

We have done a little exploring which included a trip to the Bunya’s on my birthday for lunch. We go to Kingaroy a couple of times a week as it is only about 24km away.  On mother’s day we went to Murgon for the markets but arrived a bit late. We then planned to have lunch at a great sounding café nearer home but unfortunately it was booked out so will go on the 16 May to celebrate our 43^rd wedding anniversary. We have been to the Blackbutt and Kingaroy shows which are very enjoyable and epitomise life in the country with all the attractions you expect.



220kg of Pumpkin at the Blackbutt show

On the way to Murgon we came across a caravan and car stopped on a dangerous part of road after they had hit a large roo which had smashed in the front of their brand new Nissan Navarra. The driver was of similar age and very distraught. As their car was not running very well I offered to tow their van back to town for them so they could get their car off the road. They were very grateful and it was nice to be able to help a fellow traveller in distress.

Since arriving I have installed a rear view camera system on the truck and van. Should speed up hitching and reduce the arguments and also handy as I have no visibility out rear window anyway because of the fit out I built in the cruiser. Ordered a new annex roof as the old one was mouldy and no longer waterproof. That arrived and I installed it yesterday.

A great shower of rain today has kept me inside so it is a great chance to update the blog. Life is good and we both are enjoying the country way of life.

 

 

Victoria to Queensland

On the 11 March we picked up Aileene's sister Judy from Tullamarine ( thanks brother John) and headed for Lakes Entrance ( Toorloo Arm) to spend some time with their sister Sue and Nicholas. a good trip down in the afternoon had us there for dinner.
We had a pleasant week of catching up with some good home brew, wonderful hospitality and a visit to Marlo for lunch one day. We also did the walk from the foot bridge to the Entrance for the first time. About 5km and very nice although it was very warm.


The Gillard Sisters and Blossom

Next Sunday we were off for a day jaunt back to Warragul for a Gillard family reunion. It was great to see some of Aileene's cousins for the first time in nearly 40 years, plus enjoy some birthday celebrations for the elderly aunts. Heather's daughter Blossom was there also, fresh  from a three plus year stint travelling the Continent and the Americas on a motorcycle with her man Sean. Congratulations also to them for returning with a baby on he way.

Rene 90, Aileene 97 and Nell 85 what a trio.

After the long day out we returned to Toorloo Arm for a days recovery before heading back on the road to commence our long journey back to Queensland.
After hearing of our friends Carmel and Ron's journey up the Monaro Highway we decided that this was the way we would take. It was a great drive with lots of lush green scenery and the climbing was quite easy despite the fact that from memory we reached over 1100 meters on the way.
Our first night was at Nimmitabel #659 For $10 we even got a shower. Quite a pleasant stop. Off again with Canberra in our sights although we did not plan to stop here on this trip. We actually drove through the centre of town for the hell of it and it was great to see these sights again .
Not much in the way of suitable free camps in this area so we kept going and finally settled for #652 at Binnalong. Free with toilets and a good  spot behind the swimming pool adjacent to the footy ground.


The Japanese gardens

Next day an easy drive through Harden and we arrived at Jan and Cam's place in Young before lunch. Jan and Cam we cannot thank you enough for your wonderful hospitality. We had a very enjoyable couple of days which included a trip up to Cowra and the Japanese Gardens. What a magnificent place this was. The information centre in town has a information centre and tells the story of the war time internment of Japanese and Italians plus the story of the infamous break out. These two sites are a must on the nomad trail.
















Our wonderful hosts at Young

From Young we reluctantly did a stint on the Newell Highway but turned off to make Narromine # 1044 our next free camp. We were on our own here on the banks of the Macqarrie River . Not a bad camp but no facilities.
It was then back on the newell heading for Narrabri Showgrounds #907. An exhausting day after being pushed by B doubles at uncomfortably higher speeds than I prefer to tow at. The show grounds were $12 un powered with water and showers and a good spot to camp.
Soon after arrival I was sitting down to an enjoyable coldie when I had an urge to inspect the vans A- frame. I often do an inspection and thank goodness I did as to my horror discovered a massive crack on one side directly under the hitch receiver. As it was Sunday I had to wait until Monday morning to seek help. After a sleepless night and some Googling I decided to get some fuel and ask the servo people for a recommendation.
They said that Faber Engineering ( Home of the famous Faber Toolboxes) would be the best bet. They were! Came out and inspected van and advised they could patch it up enough to get us back to Qld. After the morning in their workshop we were nervously back on the road . Not wanting to go too fast we dodged the newell and headed out through Bingara to Warialda. A beautiful drive which took my mind off the van although I did stop to inspect the frame on many occasions.

Not a pretty sight

As we had emptied the tanks to save weight we wanted a park so stayed at Warialda caravan park #275. A very pleasant grassy park with excellent facilities for $22.
As we were on a mission now to get home to address the van's problems we headed off early through Yetman, Texas, Inglewood, Warrick, Boonah, Beaudesert to home. About 475km and a big day for us but we made it with no more cracks. The boys at www.fabertoolboxes.com.au  did a great job.
Well we contacted our insurers and they have accepted the claim and the van is having surgery as I write. Should be finished at fabricators today. We are replacing the 100mm A frame with 150mm sections and also the material is 1mm thicker grade. Should be better than original. Inspected progress yesterday and I am very happy with the look.
Van should be ready to collect next Tuesday. New tyres on truck yesterday 80k plus on the BF Goodrich and very happy. Service next week. Two teeth repaired and a doctor visit next week should complete the maintenance schedule so we can get back on the road by the 14 April.
Great to catch up with all the family and friends whilst back and our social calendar is quite busy at the present.
We plan to head out to Mt Sylvia on 14th so we can spend a week or so with Judy and have a quick visit to Nanango to meet Gerrit and Ria and prepare for our farm sit for them later in April. Really looking forward to a winter in Nanango and on a rural property


Back on the big Isle

We arrived back in Melbourne at about 6.30pm to be greeted by a hot and steaming Melbourne summers day. Little breeze and all of Melbourne appeared to be at St Kilda beach. We missed the worst of peak hour after disembarking and retrieving our gas bottles. It was too hot to walk Trixie and all she wanted was to get in the car and not leave us after 10 hours in her cell in the ship.

We decided that Beach Rd was the best way to escape the congestion so headed for Mordialloc then towards Narre Warren. A few wrong turns resulted in a slightly longer journey but we arrived at John and Kerrie’s just as the sun was setting.

After a couple of days R & R we were off again this time to chase up a bit of Markham history. Heading out through Ringwood, we made camp at Molesworth Reserve # 225. A good budget park with limited power sites though plenty of room for bush camping. The next day took us around the northern part of Lake Eildon to Mansfield.

We checked into the Mansfield caravan park as there were no free camps nearby and we wanted to check out the historical society for information on the family. Robert Markham my great, great grandfather, his wife Louisa and son William are all buried there and we went and saw the grave.  The ladies at the historical society were very helpful and quite excited to be able to investigate our family name. We already knew that William owned a business in town from about 1900 to approx. 1907.It was known as Markham’s Coffee Palace and is still a coffee shop today. We of course had to have a coffee there and a chat with the current owners who were delighted to hear of our link to the business. They even showed us the cellar that was a relic of the former hotel that occupied the building in the mid 1800’s. Williams’s business also consisted of Livery, stables, bait sales and a boarding house.

Whilst in this area we had to drive to the summit of Mt Buller. It was a beautiful climb up to the summit car park at about 1750 metres. Unfortunately there was a lot of smoke from local bushfires so the views were not so good. As Trixie was not supposed to be there we were unable to walk the last section to the very top.

After a couple of very enjoyable days in this lovely old town we continued our journey north towards Wangaratta and our next camp at Edi Cutting  # 184 a great free camp on the King River. The river was very refreshing as the temperatures were still quite high.

Next day we headed through Wangaratta and Yarrawonga (where Aileene and I met in 1968) and headed for Cobram looking for a good free camp on the Murray. After failing to find our first target we finished up locating #301 at Horseshoe Beach and made camp about five metres from the water’s edge. No toilets but a great free camp and the water was again a delight as temperatures hovered in the high 30’s.

Running out of water and other essentials we decided that we would move again towards Shepparton and visit some cousins. We found a site in a previously visited park at Mooroopna and got a seven for five day deal that made it very affordable. The park is not in the book but outside of the over 50’s village on the Rd to Bendigo. We wanted to photograph some of Aileene’s ancestor’s graves in this district so a week’s stay enabled us to roam around and catch up with some family. We travelled out to Numurkah and Bendigo and generally had a great week.

Black Cockatoos at Nug nug

Aileene’s cousin Di and her husband Karl were keen to take us camping and so we then headed out to Nug Nug reserve near Myrtleford # 137. This camp at $10pn or $15pn with power is a delight and we will be back next summer. It has lovely shade from giant Elm trees and sits on the banks of the Buffalo River at the foot of Mt Buffalo. What a gorgeous park, lots of bird life and very beautiful with good water available. Four nights here and then back to Melbourne Saturday ready to pick up Aileen’s sister Judy on Monday and head for Lakes Entrance.

Camp at Nug Nug

And so ended our third week back on the big Island. Sorry we didn't have many pics but I had a senior moment downloading and lost the lot. Will have to do it again next year!

Nug Nug Reserve

Week 11 Tasmania

Our final week in Tassie commenced with our journey from Snug up the Midlands Highway to Oatlands. This is another lovely old heritage town with a great free camp on the lake adjacent to the only operating flour windmill in the southern hemisphere.
A very lazy couple of days here enabled us to do a mill tour and generally veg out. Life is tough on the wallaby.
From Oatlands we headed for our favourite caravan park on the Isle at Longford. Here we ran into Macca and Jan from about a month ago and our other "Boroma" friends Ron and Carmel. Another couple of days chin wagging and taking it easy so we headed up to Port Sorell only to find no dog friendly spots to camp. As it was so close to Devonport we decided to go there instead and found the Abel Tasman park at the mouth of the Mersey river and quite handy to the ferry terminal.
After a bit of a scout around town we decided to go back to Sheffield for a drive as we heard that the steam festival was on.


What a joy that was to see at least six working steam traction engines plus a small steam train. A great sight to see so much preserved heritage.

The evenings here in Devonport are spent walking along the river to the terminal to watch the ferry load and depart. Quite a sight and also a chance to wave farewell to friends made on this beautiful island.
Today brings to an end our fabulous trip around Tasmania and it is quite sad to think that this time tomorrow we will not be here. We have so enjoyed the Tassie experience and should any of you be thinking of coming over for the first time, do it! Don't just come for a couple of weeks though as three months minimum is needed to enjoy it properly. We will be back without a doubt and next time would aim for a late January arrival.
We towed the van 2455 kms, stayed 79 nights and spent $1733 on accommodation. ( free camps were very busy over holiday period ) and we did 6516 kms in the cruiser.

Trixie on her 10th birthday ( she doesn't like picture taking)

Tomorrow we board the ferry for a day crossing and then a month in Victoria before working our way back to Queensland and a four month farm sit in Nanango, which we are very excited about.

Week 10 Tasmania

Our back door at Gordon

On leaving the far south we headed back towards Hobart with plans to see the Wooden Boat Festival and catch up with Auntie Aileene again. To get there we took the Channel highway through Cygnet ( not a good camp ground) and came across a free camp ($5pn) at Gordon # 133. Despite the book advising no dogs it was OK for Trixie and we selected a great spot right on the waters edge and stayed two nights. The park was still home to two old scallop splitting sheds and the locals advised that there were many more back in the 60's when scallops were plentiful in the  D'Entrecasteaux Channel which runs between the mainland and Bruny Island. A very pleasant place and the weather was perfect.
from Gorden it was a short trip up the coast to Snug caravan Park where we intended to stay and do all of the Hobart things as it was only about 30km from the city and with the long weekend we were concerned about accommodation.

The summit at Mt Wellington

With the fires starting up again the sky filled with smoke but Snug was a good camp and out of the smoke . We took in Mt Wellington one day. Boy what an incredible climb to 1200+ metres but unfortunately the smoke detracted from the stunning views over Hobart. It was cold and windy up there but worth the drive.




Aileene at the summit

Smokey views

Saturday was our day to visit the Wooden Boat Festival. Our new friends Pat and Judy had offered to look after Trixie for the day so after delivering her to Seven Mile Beach Park and headed back into town. Hobart was alive with Constitution Dock and surrounds absolutely jammed with the most incredible array of beautifully hand crafted wooden vessels. Some as small as a bath tub and others ocean going masterpieces. It was visual overload but so pleased we luckily  timed our visit to coincide with this biannual event. We walked and walked and ogled these fabulous boats before enjoying a seafood lunch at the famous Mures seafood eatery on the wharf. back to seven Mile Beach where we found Trixie anxiously awaiting our return but thoroughly spoilt by Pat and Judy who have taken a real shine to Trixie.





The infamous Greenpeace boat was there



Nearly as old as us



Took 9 years to build.



An old steamer



My namesake











After a farewell to our new friends and plans to catch up in Victoria we headed back to camp and some shopping. Next day, Sunday we were back to Lindisfarne to visit our lovely aunt and she insisted on taking us to lunch. What a pleasure to spend some time with a 97 year old and hear some more tales of the past. Fortunately we will see her again in Victoria when there is to be a big Gillard family get together before we start heading back to Queensland in late March.
Another highlight was a vintage car rally in Snug and most were staying in our park which was great for some pics and a closer look.

And so ended our tenth week in this wonderful state.