DonPattie

From Townsville, we moved 100km south to Ayr, the heart of the Burdekin Shire. This was at the suggestion of Terry Franzmann (See previous blog) to play at a Veterans’ Golf Tournament. We played 36 holes, 18 on each of Monday and Tuesday. We weren’t really eligible, as we don’t have Australian golf handicaps, but the club was very generous to let us play. 36 holes of golf, a barbeque lunch and a dinner for $50 each seemed good value to Don. We both had an average day on Monday, but on Tuesday, Pattie played a blinder. She won the day and won an iron! (Steam iron). She’s got bragging rights in the golf now, especially as she won 4 golf balls too, and Don left empty-handed. Ayr Golf Club is a lovely (flat) 18 hole ... read more

We omitted to mention that on the way from Charleville to Blackall we came across a recently upturned car and caravan. It appears that they lost control, fishtailed and overturned both the car and caravan. Luckily no-one was hurt. Many of the accidents involving cars and caravans are single vehicle accidents illustrating that towing a caravan is not always a doddle. The choice of a towing vehicle and the dimensions and dynamics of the caravan are very important. We would also have to say that that particular road would be the worst sealed road we have traveled on in our journey. Parts are safe at 100kmh, and parts are dangerous at 70kmh. Oncoming traffic also adds to the hazard, by narrowing the available road. When we arrived in Barcaldine, we stayed at the same campground we ... read more

We’ve traveled almost due north for a while now, and we have been on the middle of the line defining low rainfall to occasional rainfall. This has marked a return to the best part of our Australian odyssey - a return to the songs and poetry of the Australian Outback. We are about level with Rockhampton on the Capricorn Coast, but 650km inland, about halfway to the Northern Territory border. From Dubbo, we stayed at Bourke (Back o’ Bourke), Cunnumulla, (the Cunnumulla fella), Charleville (the vortex guns), and Blackall (beyond the black stump). The common element of these towns is the rural decline, attempts to grow alternative crops once the golden age of wool was over, and the effects of Government incentives and constraints. They recognize that tourists are a major part of their survival and ... read more

We’ve now left Melbourne, heading east into Gippsland. It was named by Strzelecki in 1840 after Governor Gipps of NSW. (Bet the Victorians hate that.) It has a comparatively high rainfall and has lots of dairy, sheep and beef. It was originally thickly forested and while they have milled a lot of it, there are some substantial tracts of forest still. There’s quite a lot of new planting, too. The country is gently rolling, so quite familiar. The farms look quite prosperous with good buildings and new tractors. They had some gold, but have dug all that up and sold it. There are still huge deposits of brown coal, soon to be subject to the new carbon tax, but used extensively for power generation. See our Tasmanian blog about zero carbon tax on inter-state power exports ... read more

We got to play the original Barnbougle course today – the Dunes. It opened in 2005, while Lost Farm opened in 2010, and they are, obviously, very similar, even though the owner used two different golf architects. Loved them both, they are a real destination, just a pity they are so expensive from NZ. The dining room, lounge and rooms at Lost Farm are better than at the Dunes, due to being placed on top of the highest sandhill around. On Thursday 7th we left Barnbougle (Bridport) and came east, then south to Coles Bay where we had 2 nights at a lovely B&B. The countryside is much hillier than we have been used to, and the land is basically only cultivated in the valleys. The roads were quite narrow and winding, so progress was slow, ... read more