Winter Trip 2025 - wrap up

 We left Collie on the 5th of May and will arrive back on the 23rd of October after around 17,000km and 171 days on the road (and over $6,600 in fuel). This is planned to be our last caravan trip east of WA, so we covered a lot of familiar ground and some new locations. We visited every mainland State except the Northern Territory and ACT.

Some highlights of the trip:

Are you my dinner?

Monarto Safari Zoo – Lions 360 experience – bucket list item

Ahh - Moorook

Two extended stays at Moorook Reserve on the Murray River – green grass, water, and birdlife

Just us at Fitzgerald Bay

Two extended stays at Fitzgerald Bay (near Whyalla) – ocean views to die for.

Our lengthy stay at Bill and Sandy’s farm near Kilkivan QLD – great spot and good company

Our almost three weeks stay at Paul and Desley’s house in Burpengary (north side of Brisbane) – great company and taught them how to play Sequence 😊 Caught up with my other siblings as well. My brother Gary and I went whiting fishing – only three fish but some good brother time. 

Old Barra Fisherman

I flew up to Mackay to spend three weeks fishing with my brother-in-law Tom. Barra, Barra and more Barra, a few mud crabs and some sweet water sooty grunter, and a saratoga. Great company and great fishing. 

Our two weeks stay at Michael and Leah’s farm in Portland Victoria for Linda’s family reunion. Fantastic to catch up with her large family and Michael and Leah made sure that they looked after us.

Linda won nearly $2000 on a single game of Keno (I probably lost that much playing pokies ☹).

I brought a crib board from an Opp Shop in Streaky Bay and taught Linda how to play crib. She is now almost unbeatable (maybe I should have put this in the “lowlights section below?)

We have a freezer full of fat lamb sausages (fifty of them) from the butcher in Burra (SA). We made a detour through Burra on the way home just to pick them up. Yummy.

Some lowlights of our trip:

Severe dust storms in SA on our way east.

Absolutely freezing weather and lots of rain for at least three months of our trip. The new diesel heater sure got some use!

We lugged our Kayak for 17,000km and only used it at a few places – mainly because when we had planned to use it on the Murray River it was bitterly cold and raining.

Coming north from Streaky Bay to our last stop at Penong before heading across the 2,000km stretch of the Nullarbor (where there are no services) the car started overheating again – talk about stress levels going up! See diatribe below on the four “H’s”.

Our car, despite a new radiator being fitted in Adelaide continued to overheat due to the four “H’s”

Extreme Heat

Strong Headwinds

Long Hills

Dick Head driver – who realised (only after finishing the Nullarbor crossing coming home in near 40C heat) that if the automatic transmission was left in Auto (during times of extreme heat, strong headwinds and long hills) it subsequently hunted between fifth and fourth gear trying to find a happy medium – which also caused a lot of heat. Locking the transmission in fourth gear during these stress times resulted in no overheating and surprisingly better fuel economy.  So, looks like issue is now solved. 

We covered lots of ground, caught up with lots of family, visited new places, I grew a beard, Linda lost weight, I gained some 😊and we are so glad we went. Now to spend some time at home before heading off to Alexndra Bridge in February and then North to Pardoo and surrounds for five months in May.

A very early Merry Xmas to followers of my blog. 

 

BC Fing Great!

When my good wife suggested that I fly up to my brothers-in-law place for three weeks of camping and fishing it was something that I couldn’t miss.

My brother-in-law Tom lives at Mirani near Mackay and thus has access nearby lots of tropical mangrove creeks, freshwater rivers and dams.

I had a bucket list of three species I wanted to catch one last time before I got too old and too far from tropical Queensland – Barramundi, Sooty Grunter and Saratoga – and Tom did everything possible to help me achieve my bucket list.

He provided top quality rods, reels, lures for me to use and most importantly the local knowledge, experience and patience to get to the right spot at the right time.

Over the three weeks we caught barra, blue salmon, mangrove jack, queenfish, cod, trevally, sooty grunter, saratoga, mud crabs, drank a few (a lot) beers, and had some bloody good tucker (in addition to being a great fishing guide Tom is a master chef). 

So fishing, fishing, beers, dinner, fishing, fishing, beers, dinner – repeat repeat.

To put things in perspective it wasn’t just driving down to the local boat ramp and cruising out to catch fish. For example, to fish the Thompson Creek, it went like this:

• Up at 4:30AM to drive 160km to the creek

• Launch down a very steep, very slippery mud ramp that required chocks behind your wheels to stop the car sliding down and then make your way through the mud to get to the boat.

• Navigate through sand bars, rock bars, and channels to get upstream as the tide was dropping.

• Fish standing in the full sun casting lures at every snag for over four hours.

• Being very careful not to put any part of yourself near the water as the monster saltwater crocodiles were always present. DON’T FALL IN!!

• Make your way back to the mud ramp, retrieve boat, drive 160km home, clean fish, drink beer.

• Repeat for three consecutive days 😊

Didn’t quiet achieve my bucket list – lots of Barra, a nice Sooty and help land a Saratoga – but what I did go away with are memories to keep an old fella happy and stories to tell. 

Thanks, Tom, for a “once in lifetime” experience!

Short slideshow is HERE

Condamine - my childhood home

 In 1956 Reg Britton and his young wife Billie (Dad and Mum) brought their first home and some land in Condamine QLD. With them was a toddler (me 😊) and a baby (my sister Donna). I spent all my childhood at Condamine finally leaving in 1970 to go to boarding school in Toowoomba and then permanently in 1971 to join the Navy.

Through hard work and determination Dad established a livestock trucking business and during our childhood years we were what would be considered at the time to be “reasonably well off”. Every school holiday was spent on the Sunshine Coast at Caloundra and when home we had a great ski boat.

Our house

Growing up very small country town was probably the best childhood (I am biased) anyone could ever wish for. Those were the days when children could wander anywhere (as long as they were home by dark) and parents didn’t have to worry about them.

So, it was school, sport, swimming, fishing, shooting, skiing, holidays on the coast and weekends out on my school mates’ farms.

Star pupil in 1966

So, on our wandering around the east coast this trip we decided to spend two nights in Condamine. 

There is not much that is familiar after fifty-five years, but our family home is still occupied and Dad’s truck shed, although falling down, is still recognisable, and some things are familiar close up.

It was good to wander around town and reminisce about my childhood days.

Short video is HERE

Foot Note: Mum and Dad left Condamine late 1971 as well, as increasing competition (every man and his dog were buying a truck and selling services cheap) and the QLD Rail Tax Levy (charged to Trucking Companies who competed with the State-owned Railways) made it unviable to keep the business going.

Inland NSW

 It’s just over 1000 kilometers from the Victorian Border at Mulwala to Goondiwindi in Queensland via the Newal Highway. Our trek took us through some great country towns – from south to north - Narrandera, West Wyalong, Forbes, Parkes, Dubbo, Gilgandra, Coonabarabran, Narrabri, Moree, and Goondawindi.

My dish

We spent eight nights at various showgrounds, free camps and caravan parks.

Some of the highlights/lowlights of our trip north were:

• The big Dish at Parkes Observatory (highly recommended)

• We dodged the “bomb cyclone” that devastated the coast

Peak Hill Mine

• Walk trail through the now closed Peak Hill Gold mine.

• Met some nice folk – who will be heading west to WA

• After leaving the free camp near Dubbo we got 50 km down the road to Gilgandra and the Pajero automatic transmission over temperature warning light came on. These things always seem to happen on a Sunday – so back to Dubbo caravan park. Luckily a guy at the Park recommended a mechanic next door to the Park and he had us up and going again by late Monday. Turns out that the mechanic at the radiator place in Adelaide decided to bypass the radiator cooling line for the auto transmission which was fine until we hit strong head winds and hills. Don’t think he factored in us towing 2,800Kg of caravan?

• Since leaving Dubbo after the repairs, the car has been running great - up and down a lot of hills, so hopefully now (finally) all good.

Now in Queensland – our fourth state since leaving home in May. Looking forward to some warmer weather, catching up with family and boiled salted peanuts.

The video at the link is a mish mash of photos of our journey north. I am sure that we missed many things, but you will get an idea of how the trip went. Video is HERE

Lake Mulwala

 I have been dreaming about fishing for Murray Cod at Lake Mulwala (Yarrawonga/Mulwala) for months now and it was the primary reason to stack the kayak on top of the car. 

Well – as usual it was a great place to camp with views across the lake, lots of birdlife and plenty of flat grassy camping spots. Very quiet at this time of year with only a few campers even on weekends. BUT – after a good ten hours of paddling round in the yak throwing lures at every tree (and there are thousands of them), log and anything else of interest not a single bump, follow or anything to indicate that there was a fish in the lake (probably because the water was freezing).

Did I mention freezing - we have never been so cold on some of the cloudy days, with a lot of frost in the mornings and everything iced up and wet till at least 10AM. So, to go out in the yak – standing in the water to launch and only being warm in the middle of the day (on days it was sunny) was a real challenge. 

Although after the frosty mornings it was usually a beautiful sunny day with the temperatures soaring to a balmy 14C on some days (did I mention the freezing weather?). 

We no longer clean the caravan just defrost it! Just joking – the new diesel heater has been running almost nonstop and works a treat.

We did cop a few days of strong winds and heavy rain with minor flooding under our awning necessitating some extended trench work to try and drain the excess water.

We were lucky to catch up with some friends from Mandurah who were also meandering their way through the eastern states with caravan in tow. Alan and Sally (and Rosie the hound) camped near us for a few nights and was great to catch up and enjoy some time together.

Not sure if I will ever make it back this way, but if I do it will certainly not be in winter. 

Great place to camp, nice country and towns – unfortunately no fish.

Short Video is HERE

Moorook Camp on the Murray

 Moorook is a very small town located on the Murray River between Loxton and Barmera. A Social Club that opens for three nights a week and a General Store that must struggle to keep open is about all there is - except for the citrus and grape farmers.

BUT - what Moorook does have, is one of the most comfortable camps on the Murray River with green lawns, riverside sites, bins, toilets, water, dump point and all this for $12/van/night.

We finally got the kayak off the roof of the car and spent a lot of time trying to catch the elusive (very) Golden Perch (known as Callop in SA) - lots of birdlife but no fish (except carp). The new outriggers on the Kayak worked a treat (thanks Aaron) and we are now both confident on the water. Hopefully we are now ready to land those big Murray Cod when we get to Lake Mulwala is a weeks’ time.

We did some touristy things around Barmera, Berri, and Loxton and fitted in yet another counter lunch at Loxton Pub.

As usual in SA it’s pretty hard to find firewood, but I was lucky to hunt some down nearby. Not sure everyone knows this but apparently it is illegal to cut wood on the side of the road in SA and when the farmer living near where I was cutting wood drove over to see me, I was thinking that might be in a bit of strife – but turned out “Wayne” the farmer,  was just dropping by to say hello 😊

We didn’t do much while we stayed for just over a week – just chilled out on the lawn, caught a few carp – batteries recharged and ready for the next camp.

Short video is HERE

Mannum South Australia

Free and on the river

 We decided to stay at a free camp on the Murray River (Wall Flat) near Mannum for a few reasons:

·        We wanted to spend a day at the Monarto Safari Park and do the Lions 360 Experience (where you get up close and personal with the Lions). The Park was just 23km from our camp.

·        I had to go to Adelaide to get a new radiator put in the Pajero as occasionally (once since leaving Perth) on steady long inclines the temp gauge started going up and we knew we had some hills to cover on our trip to north of Brisbane to Portland in Victoria and home again in the next five months. Adelaide is only 90kmn from Mannum.

·        We were also keen to have a look around Mannum and Murray Bridge as these were our first stop on the Murray.

Wall Flat is a very small free camp about halfway between Manum and Murray Bridge. Probably room for 3-4 Vans. We lucked out and found a nice grassy spot by ourselves. It was a peaceful quiet spot on the river and perfect for our five-night stay.

Feed me!

The Monarto Safari Park is a well set out Park on a huge area where you either walk through or take the bus and jump off at various attractions throughout the park. The “Lions 360 Experience” at Monarto is, as far as I am aware, the only place in Australia where you can get within touching distance (without being on the menu) of adult wild lions. A tip- if
 you’re standing behind a male lion who is about to mark his territory – dodge quickly to the side!

It was great to take the bus trip around the park but the Lions 360 made the day and was the discriminator compared to all other Parks/Zoos we had been to over the years. Lots of photos on the video at the link.

Tough out here?

So, a bit of sightseeing mixed in with laundromat, a counter lunch or two, a long day in Adelaide getting new radiator, a great quiet camping spot, and a unique experience at the Safari Park made our stay a most enjoyable one,

Link to video is HERE