Northbound from Port Macquarie........

We packed up and drove out of Port Macquarie on Tuesday morning and so begun the next part of our sun seeking adventure.

We stopped for lunch in a little park beside the river in Urunga and then continued on soon driving towards Coffs Harbour where of course I had to snap the Big Banana as we passed.  We didn't stop here but continued on towards Grafton.

Not far out of Grafton we found ourselves driving beside what looked like fields of Sugar Cane.  We were to discover that these fields are the most southern Sugar Cane plantations in the country and the local Mill at Harwood is the oldest Coal Powered Sugar Mill still operating today.  Very interesting but we didn't linger to take pictures as it was getting late and we continued on to our camp site for the night.

We stayed at the New Italy Rest Area and here we found a great little free camp in the car park of a Museum.  Toilets are provided for a donation and in the morning we spent a little while having a look through the gardens and Museum.  

This is another little known snippet of Australian history and we were fascinated by it.  In 1882 Sir Henry Parkes, Premier of the colony of NSW was made Commander of the Crown of Italy.  This was in recognition of his decision to let 217 Italians to settle in Australia.  These people had been stranded in New Caledonia after a promise of a new life there had failed.  The group made up of families together with some single men and women were very distressed when they arrived in Sydney and were very grateful to be offered the opportunity of a new beginning by Sir Henry Parkes.  The museum tells many stories of the people who settled in the area called New Italy and together with the many artifacts and photographs donated by the families it makes for an interesting way to spend an hour or so.

After we had seen all and had a coffee we hit the road again and continued on to Brisbane where we were going to spend a couple of days and catch up with Brenda and the kids here.  Also Bill had organized to get a snorkel fitted to the car so a park nearby was the idea.  This was not as easy as we had hoped as it was a long weekend in Qld and a huge Caravan and Camping Show was on too.  Most of the parks were full so we ended up a bit further out in Moreton Bay at Scarborough Holiday Village.  It sure was full but we were happy to be able to get a spot for the two nights we needed even though we felt a little like sardines.

From here we drove to Caboulture to JB Caravans to get our TV sorted out.  Wrong remote!  The next day we drove to Geebung for a lock for the caravan hitch and couldn't see a polo club anywhere!  That afternoon we drove into Brisbane and discovered the traffic is almost as bad as Melbourne.

Brisbane's city sculptures add a bit of interest to the city square.  We met Brenda and Shanae and enjoyed a few hours with them.  Dinner at Southbank was lovely and it was good to see them again.  Walking back over the bridge we had a lovely view of Brisbane city at night.

The next morning we left the van down the road from the snorkel fitters and before too long it and the car were reunited and we were on our way again heading towards Gympie.

We stopped that night at Eumundi Sports Ground where we found a great little cheap campsite with toilets and showers.  The next morning we drove into the little village to see their famous Eumundi Markets and enjoyed a wander round here before hooking up and driving on again.

We did make Gympie this time and stopped just long enough to shop at Coles before moving on again.  Lunch was next and we stopped at Petrie Park in Tiaro.  The lovely quite little spot beside the Mary River appealed so we decided to stop for the day and enjoyed a quiet afternoon with the birdies and a very quiet night.

The next morning we drove on stopping for a walk around Maryborough.  Maybe early on a Sunday morning of a long weekend is not the best time to see a town but I felt that it had a very down and out feel about it.  We did, however, persevere and not leave until we had found the statue of Mary Poppins erected to honor the author P J Travers who had been born in the town.

The lovely little town of Childers was our next stop and we enjoyed a walk along the Main Street.  Such a different feel to the stop before.  Driving on again we came into Bundaberg but with time marching on did not stop but continued on to our overnight spot at the Boyne River Rest Area.  We were very lucky to find just one spot left here so parked the van and settled in for a quite night.

The next morning we continued on towards Rockhampton passing through Gladstone, Mt Larcon and finally arriving in Rockhampton where we found a nice caravan park beside the Fitzroy River and settled in for the next couple of days.  Time to do the washing and charge up the batteries.  So much for sunny Qld, we have seen nothing but grey skies for most of our time here so far.  Not so good for the solar panels!

That afternoon we went and had a walk around the lovely Botanic Gardens where Bill found some very cute Apostle Birds and Honeyeaters.  

The Edible Candle tree from Mexico was probably the most unusual tree we saw there that day.  Lots of Banyan, Fig and Palm trees as you would expect in this part of Qld.

Further round we found ourselves at Murray Lagoon and enjoyed the walk as well as the many feathered residents here.

The next morning we had a look in town before jumping in the car for a little sightseeing.  This lovely Cathedral was worth a look.

Our next stop was at The Spire to mark the spot where you cross the Tropic of Capricorn.  Of course we had to take the photo and here it is.

From here we drove up to Mount Morgan to see the Historic township.  Gold was discovered here around 1870 but the man who discovered it kept it a secret for over a decade before he sold the land and the Mount Morgan Syndicate was formed.  At the time it was considered one of the important gold discoveries in the world and the mine was believed to be the largest open cut gold mine in the Southern Hemisphere operating from 1882 until 1981.  It is said to have been one of the biggest man made holes for its time.  It continued to produce gold, silver and copper for the 99 years of operation.

The 'Big Stack' brick chimney still stands today on a hillside behind the smelters and contains over 700,000 bricks.  Viewed from the nearby Arthur Timms Lookout it is an awesome sight.

We ate our lunch at 'The Big Dam' the last and largest of the seven dams built on the Dee River.  The dam is restocked annually with native fish fingerlings and is a favorite picnic spot.

Arriving back in the afternoon we chilled out under the awning for a while as we mapped out our next few days travel plans.  We are heading inland from here for a while - maybe the sun will shine there!

Until next time........