Blogs from Bowen, Queensland, Australia, Oceania
October 9th 2011
Sunday 9th October Well as you might have guessed work it the priority at the moment - John is in his 4th week working for Grant's Painting. 2 weeks in Mackay then the boss needed an extra hand for some painting in Airlie Beach so we packed up the caravan and we are now in the Airlie Cove Caravan Park (the boss is paying for this). John is painting at the Coral Sea Resort overlooking the ocean and the Whitsunday Islands - what an office!!!!!!!! though John would rather be sitting around the pool than painting over it. At the weekend we decided to drive up to Bowen and check it out. We noticed on the drive up that it is very dry - I think they need some rain. We had lunch at the Grandview ... read more
February 28th 2011
Well raining again, nothing new here. We left Port Douglas a little disappointed with the lack of sun but never the less had a great time and saw all the things we wanted to. We didn't have too much of a plan but to just as far south as we could. Much of the area we were about to drive through had been affected by cyclone Yasi. We saw first hand the destruction it caused of houses, farms, crops, even some beaches. Banana plantation crops were broken in half, no wonder the cost of Banana's is $11/kilo here right now. Yikes. Many of these farms will have to start completely over. The further south we got the more water in the fields we started to notice. It was also slowly creeping closer to being on the ... read more
February 8th 2011
I really am letting the cat out of bag here by sharing this little beauty with you. Bowen a hidden gem on the North Queensland Coast in Australia. A small seaside town that jutts out onto the coast and is surrounded by water. You truly feel as though you are on an island when your there. Backpackers flock here from March to October for work on the farms for seasonal picking & packing and retired southerners flock here with camper in tow to share the sun and escape from their otherwise freezing winter. Bowen is a tropical paradise and if you asked a lot Australians if they knew where it was they wouldn't have a clue. However ask them if know what a Bowen Mango is, they will all be familiar with it yet few know ... read more
December 19th 2010
With days now to go, I am only now beginning to feel like this journey is finally going to happen. So much preparation, so much to consider and so much to leave behind. My mind is constantly in a state of ticking the boxes. Sarge & Major (my two puppies) are snoring beside my bed. I can't imagine what it will be like to be without them. Soon I will live it & breath it. I am still in Bowen, I leave for Mackay tomorrow.... read more
December 14th 2010
Hi Guys, It's never dull with The Patterson's How to go from this picture of beauty and serenity .... .... .... .... Well it goes something like this... After 2 brilliant days in Bowen the view from our camper picture perfect. Blazing sunshine, fishing from the rocks, beautiful clear waters, totally gorgeous! The 3rd night was a different story blowing a gale, thunder and lightening and needless to say lashing down. Thankfully we know the leakage hot spots so at 3am we are strategically placing pots and pans to catch the drips. Storms don't normally worry me but we have been listening to the local news and there is cyclone warnings! The following day we go to Ayr and try to seek a bit more shelter! It also breaks the journey to Townsville. Ayr to Townsville ... read more
November 11th 2010
Eerder per toeval in Bowen beland. Probeer maar eens naar het westen te rijden om het regenwoud in het binnenland te bezoeken als daar helemaal geen weg naar toe is. Bowen is een vrij dode stad, maar kleine anekdote: Blijkbaar is de film 'Australia' met Nicole Kidman en Hugh Jackman hier opgenomen. In het dorp hebben de stukjes oud-Darwin nagemaakt, die je nog steeds kan zien. Ook leuk: op een bepaald stukje strand komen zeeschildpadden hun eieren leggen! Voor de rest is Bowen eigenlijk maar voor één reden bekend onder de backpackers: hopen werk in de fruitpluk. Maar omwille van tijdgebrek en euh… paspoortgebrek moet dit nog maar eventjes wachten. We hebben wel ons goede hart getoond: slaapzak uitgeleend aan dakloze backpackende Duitsers, die zijn nachtje onder sterren moest doorbrengen. Én 's morgens hem toch maar ... read more
Team Disappointment escape from Caboolture
Published: October 11th 2010Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Bowen
October 11th 2010
...I used to wonder why cyclists pedalled about the streets sporting helmets with giant long spikes poking out the top, however after my trot this morning to a pretty look-out spot here in Bowen, it all became alarmingly clear: Magpies. Horrid, beastly birds that swoop down at a frightening pace - before you know it they're flapping their feathers and pecking at your noggin. Being slightly afraid of flying flappers i screamed for my life and picked up the pace - eyes to the sky and hating every minute of what was supposed to be a nice morning gallop by the sea. I was also chased by a wild turkey just 2 days ago so these feathery friends are certainly no friends of mine. Seeing that we're on the bird topic i should best mention Gunther ... read more
January 10th 2010
The first day of 2010 dawned beautiful and sultry as every other day so far. Unfortunately the New Years day races idea failed to materialise (we would have to wait patiently 3 weeks more until Australia day on January 26th 2010 to wear our fascinators and zinced noses!). So with some leftover fatigue and food from the night before, I enthusiastically mustered up a modest crew of 2 and we headed for a picnic down by the creek at Plantation park. As you can tell the wildlife is remarkably large, and tame at that such that Olly’s bigger cousin from Billabong sanctuary would allow us to ‘ride’ him, if we could capture him to start with. Adulthood is just another phase of childhood after all, is that not what Sigmund Freud would say??? In fact he ... read more
Wallaman Falls, Townsville, Bowen
Published: October 21st 2009Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Bowen
October 21st 2009
Ok finally heading south. We left cairns for ever on tuesday. First stop was mission beach. As the name says nice beaches. We found a lonely campsite a few kms north with just 10 sites but very nice. We had a lazy day at the beach on wednesday and went rafting on the tully river on thursday. Lots of fun. Crazy really.... jonas fell out all the time. It was really good. We spend most of the day rafting including a bbq and a beer afterwards. We all got wet as you can see on the photos and it really was scary and a bit painfull at some points but so much fun. We left mission beach on friday went to wallaman falls. The highest free flowing waterfalls in oz. Pretty impressive but it sadly not ... read more
September 16th 2009
We had intended heading north from Port Douglas to Cooktown but a wind had come up and we remembered what a windy place Cooktown can be. So we headed south instead. It's a shame we missed going back to Mossman Gorge and the Daintree but we'll do that again next time! We had a couple of nights in Rollingstone .. again .. which always recharges the batteries, and took off again this morning. It's a pretty drive through all the sugar cane which is so much part of Queensland, especially the far north. At Ayr on the Burdiken River and, thanks no doubt to the Burdiken Dam, water is plentiful and it's quite a food bowl with a lot of food being grown. Once away from a plentiful water supply, the countryside looked much drier and ... read more
