Hi all, well what a busy day it has been AND very very wet. We are certainly not used to wet and warm days. Tomorrow is the real start. Today we went to bunnings, had lunch at a local shopping centre and had dinner at a steak house. The Cape still seems so far away. Tomorrow we are planning to drive to a remote town called Weipa. It is approximately 800km from Cairns. We are planning to camp along a couple of rivers on the way. We most likely will have two overnight stays. Have a look at the map I have added to see exactly the road to Weipa. I might not be blogging for a few days now so don't expect another blog till Tuesday/Wed this coming week.... read more

Hi all, we have reached our first destination which is the Coconut Palms park in Cairns. We got here in the dark to a welcome from the grand kids and my son and his wife and a few others. After 3 days driving and over 3,000km we are glad to have reached this point. Was another interesting day today. We stayed overnight at Barcaldine in self contained cabins. Went across the road to an open eatery and I had pork belly. I was in heaven. The day this morning started at 6am and we were in open country and plenty of kangaroos around. I had another 3 near misses and we counted 211 dead kangaroos and I pig between Barcaldine and Muttaburra. These are really dumb animals. They see you coming and just head for the ... read more

he everyone, we have survived day one with plenty of excitement. Started the day at 4.50am and drove for 12 hours through to Bourke in New South Wales. This is as planned. We stopped many times to stretch the legs and has lunch etc. Got to Bourke and had to go through town to get to the Kidman park. Was a very interesting evening with Bush poetry (yes bush poetry) and dinner put on by the park. Was a great evening in front of a big fire and about 70 other people. We slept in their "cabins" which looked like converted 40 foot containers. Had a good night sleep after the poetry . Have a picture of one of the towns called Cobar. No picture of Bourke as it was getting late when we arrived.... read more

Well everyone, it has been a hectic build up to the big day. A wedding and also a trip, my head is spinning. My son Michael is getting married on Saturday 9th May and we are leaving for the Cape at 5am on Tuesday 12th. A lot has happened since the last post The biggest of which I got new tyres (I have nearly spent as much money as one would spend on an expensive guitar (Joseph)). The Troopy is now done. I have turned the two fridges on today and also put on the solar panels to test everything. Also had to change the windscreen. Good thing I had RACV glass insurance. I got sprayed with rocks from a passing truck last week. Now have a brand new windscreen. Also no rust under screen and ... read more

The trip is getting closer now. The Outback drawers are in. Look good and very practical. With only 42 days left (yes I know I have a countdown) before we take off time is now running out. I even starting packing the drawers today to test to see how things will fit in. the next and last big piece is adding a new winch. The one I had broke on the last trip. Winch will get in next week.... read more