Blogs from Sapphire, Queensland, Australia, Oceania

We departed Moranbah early and headed south. Before too long we had the opportunity and passed our third vehicle, a very heavily laden road train. As we approached Claremont Greg noticed that the front stone guard on the caravan had opened again! This time the reinforcing of the struts worked and they did not tear out. We decided that the guard was flexing and the tongue of the lock was pulling out, so out came the duct tape again. Thank God for duct tape! We stopped for a break in Capella and discovered that the seafood truck had come to town. It visited every four to five weeks, but since it was there we could not resist some smoked trout. The owners had found a business opportunity and filled the niche – impressive. In Rubyvale, the ... read more

Hope you enjoy the photos of our first week on the road. In case you don't have time to read the detailed blog entries, the abridged version reads as follows: Day 1 - to Tamworth, Day 2 - over to Qld Goondiwindi, Day 3 - Roma, Day 4, 5, 6 - Carnarvon Gorge, Day 7 - travel to Sapphire via Emerald.... read more

We Want To Be Gem Fossickers! Maybe only for a couple of weeks just for the experience. Will try to make it back here sometime so that Peter can dig me up a nice yellow sapphire or 2. (It's the only way I'll probably ever get one) Anyway we came very close to catching "fossicking fever" but fought it and only stayed a couple of days. The hundreds of little mining claims just past Rubyvale are like a scene from the movie Mad Max. A real shanty town feel to it with heaps of people out there trying their luck...retirees, young families and quite a few shady looking characters. Paid the highest fees here to camp in a caravan park. Not very good facilities but I suppose they have to make up for the 4 or ... read more

If anywhere in Australia has reminded us of New Zealand and the Waikato, it’s the Atherton Tablelands. With rolling hills, volcanic origins, pockets of rainforest, dairying, waterfalls and rivers that run all year round, it also doesn’t have the humidity of Cairns, 70km the other side of the coastal ranges. With only slight protestations from Rhys, we did the waterfall circuit, taking delightful short bush walks to seven waterfalls cascading over basalt ridges. Even he of the jaundiced “not-another-gorge/scenic lookout/waterfall/etc” admitted they all had their individual beauty and character. In Yungaburra we walked alongside Peterson Creek and watched half a dozen platypus (platypie? platypussies??) ducking and diving - we’ve seen a few now, but it’s always a thrill to watch them in their natural habitat. We were not so lucky looking for a Lumholtz tree ... read more