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All hooked up ready to leave Brisbane
All hooked up ready to leave BrisbaneHi Everyone
Welcome to our Blog
After many years of dreaming about this change of lifestyle we are finally living the dream.
We will attempt to keep it up to date with where we are and where we are heading
next along with some of the things we see or experience along the way.
We left Brisbane on 30th July and travelled to Bowen stopping over night at Gin Gin and Flaggy Rock.
We spent 4 weeks at Bowen in the Queens Beach Tourist Village which is in
excellent condition with friendly owners and excellent facilities.
Bowen has plenty to offer with a 9 hole Golf Course alongside the beach,
fishing, snorkelling, Lawn Bowls, walking trails and a historical Cinema. The
caravan park was full when we arrived with 90% Victorians, it is a popular spot
for southerners to come and escape the cold winter and they stay there for 3 to
4 months year after year and have formed a small community with organised happy
hour each night and a sausage sizzle each fortnight to raise money for Cancer
Research, there was a seafood night for the princely sum of $12 a head
Bowen Golf Course - 1st Hole
Bowen Golf Course - 1st Hole 415m par4 with beach all the way along the right side. comprising oysters, prawns and bugs. We played golf twice a week each hole has
2 tee blocks and it is a challenging layout, Caroline won the ladies comp one
day and I managed a ball in the rundown a couple of times. Made some new
friends who were from the Newcastle area and played golf with them a few times.
Witnessed the release of two sea turtles which had been rehabilitated after
being rescued with propeller injuries. Walked through town to see the Murals
Bowen is famous for as the first town to depict its history with murals. Once a
year the tide is low enough to walk across to Lighthouse Island through knee
deep water which we did on the day before we left. Had a guided tour of the
Koorelah Tomato factory where they pack thousands of locally grown tomatoes all
through winter. The walks along the beach and from Rose Bay through to
Horseshoe Bay were spectacular. Bowen was the base for Catalina Aircraft during
the second world war.
Had a great time when we caught up with Garry and Kaylee who were on their way
up to Cairns, went on a day trip from Airlee
Bowen Golf Course - 9th Hole
Bowen Golf Course - 9th Hole 125m par 3 directly towards the beach so usually into a strong wind. on the Whitsunday Express
with them visiting Whitehaven Beach, the Hill Inlet Lookout with views back
along Whitehaven Beach and Whitsunday Island and then snorkelling at Mantaray
Bay. The following day we played golf with them at Bowen.
Attended the Bowen Summergarden Cinema which was built in the 1940s to see The Last Cab to Darwin. Met some wonderful couples and now have a few places to stay when in
Newcastle, Canberra and Victoria, obviously it will need to be during summer as
they will all be in Bowen during winter.
Bowen was a great place to relax and wind down after the busy time we have had since
retiring. The awning only lasted 2 weeks before breaking again this time at the
centre hinges of the arms so a new Fiamma Awning was ordered and awaited us at
Townsville.
We left Bowen on 29th Aug and travelled to Townsville to stay with Trevor, Jo
and their 3 girls. Played golf at Townsville Golf Club which is reciprocal with Nudgee, course was in good condition but is undergoing major redevelopment at the moment. The new
awning was installed with the help of Trevor and to date has
Bowen Golf Course - Clubhouse
Bowen Golf Course - Clubhouse held up well and is far better built than the original Dometic. Purchased some bicycles so we can get around towns without always using the car, just when I thought I had convinced Caroline that a mountain bike was the practical choice the Sales WOMAN suggested a Townie so Princess Caroline is now the very proud owner of a bright orange Townie.
It was great to catch up with Trevor and Jo and spend time with the girls.
Left Townsville on 5th Sep and travelled here to Charters Towers where we are
staying at the Dalrymple Tourist Village, we played golf on Sunday in the local
comp on the 9 hole course with 2 tee blocks for each hole, sparse fairways but
lush greens and fringe areas, Caroline played well with 36 points. Charters
Towers has not had any rain in a very long time. We have ridden into town a few
times and did a walking tour which gave us an insight into the history of this
town, at the height of the Gold Rush Charters Towers was the second largest
city in Qld. Fortunately most of the grand historic buildings are still intact
and used on a
Bowen Golf Course - View from Clubhouse 1
Bowen Golf Course - View from Clubhouse down the first hole overlooking Queens Beach daily basis. Went out to Leahton Park where they breed Texas Longhorn
Cattle and currently have the Guinness Book of Records for the longest set of horns in the world with JR who was born and bred here, the host could have been John Parkerâs twin brother and was very entertaining, well worth visiting if you are in Charters Towers.
Played golf again today with the Vets (a first for us young vets).
We will be leaving here tomorrow (Sat) and heading on to Hughenden, currently the plan
is to make our way through to Tennant Creek via Mt Isa then down through Alice
Springs on to Port Augusta and then across to Perth. The only dead line we have is to be near Perth Airport by 19th March as we have booked airfares back to Brisbane for 2 weeks over Easter to catch up with the family and friends.
The weather has been excellent since leaving Brisbane with only a few cold
nights while in Bowen and the only rain was a short sprinkle in the early
morning one day in Townsville
Feel free to come and join us if we are in a location
Bowen Golf Course - View from Clubhouse 2
Bowen Golf Course - View from Clubhouse over 9th/18thgreen towards Greys Bay you would like to visit or
suggest things to do or see in the areas we are heading to.
If you no longer wish to receive emails about this blog then send me a email and I will remove you from the email list, I fully understand that some of you may be totally bored by my ramblings or insanely jealous that you're not out here doing the same.
When viewing the photos you can click on "Story" box to read any comments I or others have added to the photo.
Thatâs all for now from the not so grey nomads.
Kym and Caroline
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Paddy
non-member comment
insanely jealous but keep up the good work