Blogs from Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 13

Sunday We left Longreach & split into 2 groups. Keith & Bryan definitely didn't want to do recently flooded tracks (we had heard some stories & were a bit apprehensive as well) also needed to be in Melbourne by 29th. Ian, Brenton & I wanted to give some of the back roads a go & also decided to go South to Barrington Tops then back North to Brisbane & fly home from there. Vague plan is to do Tasmania next, so Ian & I will probably have another ride Brisbane to Melbourne before that happens. 54kms out of Longreach on a single track sealed road we turned off onto a back country gravel/dirt road that soon became more like a farm track. Lots of water damage everywhere, not only on the track but still large flooded ... read more

Crocodile Dundee. Thursday: Back to Bikes & Riders after a night sleeping in the camp-ground. Sleeping under a piece of plastic a very rare if ever, previous experience for me. At the bike shop we fitted lowering links to my new bike, due to me being vertically challenged & nearly unable to reach the ground. Out of Mt Isa by around 10am on sealed roads heading East for Mckinlay. We stopped for lunch at the Mckinlay Walkabout Hotel (they were out of food as they had just catered for a Tour.) The hotel was used in the Crocodile Dundee movie if you recall the bar scenes where Mick, Sue & Walter hung out. The bar is more like being on a film set, rather than a bar. Full of memorabilia, photos etc.etc. Quite interesting but a ... read more

Friday Left Halls Creek & we were soon on a rough winding gravel road, heading East, which soon changed to a better road & then equally quickly bad corrugations..bad enough to loosen your fillings. Riding on the very edge of the road seemed smoother but this had it's own challenges as suddenly it could turn into soft sand or a large pothole. Keeps you on your toes! After a while we experienced smooth long straights but even these were variable with the odd rough patch. Around 11am we stopped under a Coolibah ? tree to eat our service station sandwichs & take a break. Shortly after getting going again,we met 2 graders so the road improved where they had been working.100kms later, I experienced a rear puncture on my bike. Taking the wheel out we found ... read more

Part of the riverside site where the gardens are located was originally a botanic reserve. It was established in 1828 to provide food for the early penal colony. The City Botanic Gardens officially opened in 1855. Macadamia Nut - This tree planted by Walter Hill in 1858 is believed to be the world's first non-Indigenous cultivation of the macadamia. F. Jemmy Morrill and the brolgas sculpture - Queenslander Lindsay Daen created this bronze sculpture. It is on permanent loan from the Queensland Art Gallery. The sculpture is of 22-year-old seaman, James Morrill. In 1846, he was the sole survivor of an outer edge Great Barrier Reef shipwreck. Saved by the Aboriginal people, he lived with them for 17 years before returning to the European settlement in Bowen, North Queensland. He helped to improve indigenous and early ... read more

The CMCA RV Park in Bundaberg is adjacent to parkland and just a stones throw from the main shopping area/business district At $6/night member price and with access to potable water and dump point it is ideal for our last stop in centralQueensland. We have been extremely lucky with the weather since the downpour in Charleville and temperatures remain in the high 20’s, so it is going to be a very comfortable few days getting to know new areas of the city as well as reacquainting ourselves with some familiar places. Bargara is one of the latter. It has been quite some time since we were last up this way and understandably the town has grown significantly since then. Despite the holiday resorts that have sprung up and the large chain shopping centre, the esplanade precinct ... read more