Blogs from Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 1324

June 7, Sunday. Left Berkeley Homestead this morning after watching a fantastic sunrise. East along the Barkly Highway the countryside is very much like what I saw yesterday. Crossed into Queensland, which comes to the grand total of four states, one territory since beginning of May. Spent the day driving and designing a trailer and a business name. The scenery only gets better around Mount Isa. Which is where I picked up two German girls and took them to Cloncurry. Campsite is okay, it’s not fantastic but anywhere I put my tent up is where I call home. Good evening talking with locals at the pub then returned back to the caravan park where I caught with the two German girls; we were staying at the same park. Now this is the life. June 8, Monday. ... read more

We arrived in Cairns after having visited Brisbane. Cairns, then a small city on the northeast coast of Queensland, had many interesting things going on. The group visited sugar cane farms out from the town. We saw sugar cane being harvested and then transported by narrow gauge railway to the mills. The sugar cane trains were called "trams", but were locomotive hauled, using steam or diesel engines with the cane on flatcars. Sugar cane was then and now a major agricultural industry in Queensland with much of the stock sold for export. Cains was also our base for a voyage out to the Great Barrier Reef and Green Island. Green Island is located some 17 miles off of Cairns. It is a small island and in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. Our group of ... read more