My two favourite places to be are the beach and the rainforest – Fraser Island has both, so I am in heaven.

Our first couple of days on the island were spent travelling the Southern Lakes Roads – Lake MacKenzie is everything you expect it to be, and just as stunning in real life as it is in the tourist brochures.

The weather was a bit chilly, but we did get in and have a swim while we were there. It’s a shame that it takes 2 hours to get in to the Lake because it is the best swimming destination on the island and when you visit it is hard to leave.

Every one of the Lakes on the island (and there are a lot) is unique in it’s own way and well worth a visit, so is Central Station, which is in the middle of the island – if you don’t go there, you will miss experiencing the tranquility and beauty of Wanggoolba Creek and it’s crystal clear waters as you walk along the boardwalk amongst the rainforest. A lot of the Islands history is told here as well, back in the day when logging was the main industry on the island. There is an old jetty on the western side of the island which is a remnant of days gone by when industries like sand mining and logging were active on Fraser.

The weather is warming up nicely with cool nights and nice sunny days, we are all missing our campfire at night and everyone has been jumping into bed very early to keep warm.

Time to hit the road and stay on it for a while!

Sometimes you just have to suck it up and spend a couple of long days on the highway in order to reach a great destination, and Fraser Island is one of those great destinations! We had our first taste of Fraser back in 2015, we loved it, but didn’t allow enough time to fully explore and appreciate the Island and all it had to offer, so the aim of this trip is to see and explore everything.

St Lawrence Recreation Grounds provided the first overnight stop – $12.50 a night with amenities, pick your own spot

St Lawrence is known for its wetlands, which you can see in the distance from the recreation grounds, there is a walk out to a viewing area and also a drive.

We camped in late August, not the best time of year to visit, but we did see snakes, goats and a few bird species on the short drive out to the Fitzroy River  bridge. 

There are a couple of good mates travelling with us and we all agreed that the local Pub looked like it needed a few patrons, so off to The Sportsman’s Arms for a pub feed we went, this is an interesting little country pub and is walking distance from the campgrounds.

Up early and on the road again, we had all booked the Kingfisher Bay Barge over to the Island early the next day, so needed to get down to Hervey Bay this afternoon having booked Hervey Bay Bush Escape via hip camp for a quick overnight stay. These young hip campers were very welcoming and their address is only 20 minutes from the ferry which is a bonus. We all sat around what was to be our last campfire for a week, enjoying the company.

What a beautiful day for a boat ride! We are all so excited, Danni and Errol met us at the Barge, and there are now 4 cars in our group, two with tents and two of us with camper trailers. We needed to go across the island to get to Cornwall’s Campground where we had booked to stay for the first week. Traffic came to a standstill at the junction of Eurong and Central Station due to a large tree having fallen across the road completely blocking it. We waited about an hour for a Ranger to show up, the local cop turned up instead, having no idea why there was such a large gathering assembled. Steve had a chainsaw onboard and with full approval of the police he jumped in the police vehicle with them and headed off to clear the track for everyone.

We had a slight delay about 1km before Eurong where the soft sand proved too soft to pull the Hybrid van through – long story short – we got bogged! Hooking up the winch to a tree enabled us to get out and get going again fairly quickly, heading north up the beach and into Cornwall’s Campground to make ourselves comfortable for the week. Can’t wait to get amongst it all – whales breaching right outside our campsite – does it get any better than this!

Just mention the outback and most people envision dusty roads and long hot summers.

If you really want to see outback Queensland come to life, head on over to our Instagram page and take a look at just how colourful the outback can be. It is spectacular if you visit at the right time!

We camped out at White Mountains National Park in late July 2021, this is the best time of year to visit what is known as the Burra Range because the wildflowers are in bloom and the area just comes alive https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/white-mountains/about

Campsite 8 is the largest and also has a fire ring so bring some wood with you so that you can keep warm while sitting out watching the clear winter skies. There are a couple of tracks within the park, one takes you out to the lookout for a great view over the ridges and white mountains that are a feature of the park, if you do this drive in July you will also see all the wildflowers in bloom either side of the track – so pick your time to visit this park to see the colours of the outback in all their glory!

There is also a decent 4wd track out to Torrens Creek which takes a couple of hours round trip, the colours in the gorge and rocks around the waterhole are pretty special and it is really worth taking the time to go out and take a look. Look for the old abandoned Red Truck – once you see it park up the 4BY and take a walk through the beautiful rock formations in and around the area.

Fresh out of a 3 day Covid enforced lock down and we were itching to hit the road. It was originally planned to be 4 days away out west, but hey – lockdown was lifted at 6pm Friday night and we were pretty happy with that!

I first heard about this place some 3-4 years ago while travelling out west to Porcupine Gorge, it’s not far off the main track but definately worth a visit. https://www.visithughenden.com.au/directory-record/29/kooroorinya-falls-nature-reserve

Camping is beside the bush race track where a regional race meet is held annually in May. The friendly caretakers Kevin and Di, and nice warm showers are just a few little things that made our stay an enjoyable one. There is plenty of space to camp and campfires are allowed.

If nature photography and bird life is your thing, then you need to get out here and experience Kooroorinya for yourself. We also caught a few redclaw, put the kayak in and went for a trip along the 4WD Tourist drive which is only 15 km from the Campsite and has some spectacular views across the landscape.

There is an old abandoned homestead close to the campsite and the story of Dingo Del the old lady who lived here is an interesting local one that is best told by the caretaker’s so make sure you ask!

We loved exploring this area and would like to go back for a week to just walk along the Gorge and photograph all the different birdlife that frequent the area daily.

On the 1st May the Club decided to head back to Cathu Forest for a few days with plans to further explore the tracks in and around the area. Once again we based ourselves at the Juxut campground beside Pandanus Creek https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/cathu/camping

It was a lot cooler at this time of year so no one was interested in swimming, searching for some decent wood to build a campfire became priority number one as soon as we had set up camp. Mission accomplished after Ruby took a detour down a few back roads in the State Forest and is proudly wearing a few more pin stripes!

7 vehicles set off on the Sunday morning at 10am ready to explore some tracks and find the waterfall. There were a few technical sections and more water and mud puddles to deal with than last time which made it interesting, we took a different track once we reached the top of the hill this time and we found the waterfall, but so had about 30 other people so the area was full and difficult to find a spot for everyone to park, with someone making the comment that it was as busy as New York! The scenery and views were spectacular, we only travelled about 52kms which took about 4hrs to do, so it is a fantastic 4wd track travelling through some beautiful country.

Sunday night’s happy hour included pineapple, boccocini and fresh rosemary sprigs – thanks Rick, you can come camping with us any time – Yum!

Cathu Forest we will be back – so many more tracks to explore

Visiting children and grandchildren have kept us parked at home for a little while so being able to get to Princess Hills was great – we love this place and usually book the first campsite on the road in when we can get out there with the 4wd club. https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/girringun-princess-hills/camping

I was handed the job of trip reporter – so this is was our 2021 Easter Trip!

Simon had spoken to the Rangers a couple of days prior who advised that one particular river crossing was over 1.2 metre deep and given that most of us were towing vans we all decided we wanted to make it to camp on Friday night without drama which meant taking the long way round.

The Greenvale Rd was eerily quiet with hardly any oncoming traffic, this being so you would think it would be easy to see the wildlife and avoid hitting anything, but Simon managed to collect a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo as well as a few snakes. Everyone was happy to keep travelling on through to the Lynd before re fueling and toilet break. Danni and Errol managed to get a text message through to Marie advising of a fatal accident closing the road between Innot Hot Springs and Mt Garnet, with them stuck in the traffic hurriedly looking at their maps for an alternative route.

Once we got on the road again there were a few people worried about their fuel consumption, with Simon asking what appeared to be a simple question about measuring kilometres point to point. This nearly started divorce proceedings between a certain couple who shall remain nameless. That all sorted the conversation then turned to Simon’s vehicle which seemed to be losing power, so busy were Simon and Ray discussing this that they didn’t notice the giveaway sign at the junction of the Savannah Way turn off.

The turn off to Princess Hills finally appeared, two big signs one saying Princes Hills 116 km and one saying Road not suitable for caravans – which proved interesting considering 3 out of 5 of us were towing caravans! Once we hit the dirt it was time to air down the tyres, and then the fun began with the convoy passing more cars on the dirt road into camp than we had coming in for 3 hours on the bitumen. The scenery became a lot more interesting as we headed towards Girringun national Park. A 3-night club trip would not be complete without the designated stop for firewood, Lindsay would have had a heart attack as we broke rule number 1 several times, I must say our illustrious leader did find us some decent firewood in the end. Loaded up with firewood and back on the track again, everyone was starting to wonder whether we were ever going to get there, then the track into campsite finally appeared. A few bumps and mud puddles later and Errol’s voice came over the radio letting us know that yes, we were nearly there. Errol opened the gate and watching Simon squeeze through it was interesting with about 2mm to spare on the driver’s side.

The campgrounds had been nicely mowed for us and everyone was eager to get out of their cars and get set up. Errol and Danni got the fire started while the rest of us made camp, before you knew it, it was time for happy hour with everyone creeping a bit closer to the fire as the sun went down and the long drive seeing everyone head to bed quite early.

Saturday was a day to relax, swim, kick back and enjoy the area. The quicksand proved a problem for some of us, Marie learned quickly that when you laugh at someone who is sinking, they laugh even harder when it happens to you. I learned quickly that when you wear shoes in quicksand it turns into a major recovery effort trying to retrieve the buried shoes.

Scott got the drone out and nearly started world war 3 with the neighbours camped across the river on Goshen Station who seemed to think that they owned all the airspace and the river frontage within a 5 km radius, he is just lucky we were pretty chilled and sent him some de stress and calm down vibes I think, although he did pop his head up again when Danni went for an early morning fish, letting her know hey MATE there is plenty of other river to fish. If only he knew how much he gave us to joke about that night around the campfire.

The easter bunny started to pop his head up around camp, leaving notes, flowers, and chocolates on camping tables on Saturday evening. Saturday night the fire got bigger and so did the campfire stories.

Sunday morning most of us headed out for a walk past the other campsite and on to the rapid’s lookout. The weather was perfect, and we all enjoyed the morning exercise and the views from the top of the rapids.

Sunday afternoon turned into a male bonding session and Simon’s new van is now officially “the Men’s Shed” with lots of deep and meaningful conversations had by the lads.

Sunday happy hour saw some awesome campfire food with Wayne, Marie and myself all having a crack at something different – with everyone agreeing Marie’s chocolate dessert was the best.

The Herbert River was flowing well and making sure you did not get carried away by the current while having a swim proved the biggest challenge of the weekend.

The Rangers visited us twice to have a chat and give road condition reports, this helped with decision making as to what way to return home with everyone was keen to avoid going back the way we came.

The decision was made to head home via Mt Fox, but not before Simon left his trademark on the tree while strategically exiting the gate at the campsite – no one else managed it, but he just had to leave his mark and hopefully the tree survives.

Wow what a difference the trip home was, with everyone loving the scenery and a few water crossings to see how the vehicles towing vans performed. This was so much better than the way we came in and a really nice drive.

We stopped at Mt Fox campgrounds for a break and to put air in the tyres, then it was back on the road into Ingham and home.

Thanks to Simon for leading the trip and making the decisions you did about the journey there and back – great Easter weekend had by all.

Sometimes you just need some relief from the heat – our 20/21 wet season was a good one – but it stayed hot way too long this year! being able to pick somewhere nice and cool to escape for a few days in February sounded like a good idea and this little gem ticked all the boxes, you will find it on Hip Camp and the host Susan is keen to share her little piece of paradise, which is located on the Tully Falls Rd near Ravenshoe.

Platypus Bend is a secluded little spot, the campsite is right on the creek with plenty of shade. It has it’s very own picturesque little swimming hole where log seats have been carved and placed facing the water so that you can sit and just watch nature in all it’s glory, we didn’t see any of the Platypus that frequent the area on our visit, but took full advantage of having the area to ourselves with long walks along the creek and plenty of chilling by the fire. Yes fire! and we needed the doona as well. This region is the perfect escape from the heat at this time of year.

We called in and went for a stroll down the main street of Milla Milla on the way home just to remind us how pretty this little town is, the locals are very proud of their little town and the main street is a credit to those that lovingly look after it with flowers, murals and mosaic work that give it so much character – definitely worth a visit if your heading to the tablelands.

On the 2nd October 2020 we took an extended long weekend trip to Cathu State Forest. Leaving Townsville before lunch on Friday and arriving at Cathu mid afternoon. We camped in the First campsite on the right opposite the information/entry sign. This site is beautifully sheltered with green grass and is also close to the creek. https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/cathu/camping/jaxut

Being a long weekend it was fairly busy at the campsites, there were a lot of locals from Mackay out and about for the last long weekend of the year. The 4WD tracks in and around Cathu State Forest are amazing – we spent all day exploring on the Sunday and found some nice rapids. Our mission was to find the secret waterfalls, while the rapids were a nice place to stop for a late lunch, we will have to go back again to find the secret waterfalls. Lots of interesting flora and fauna in Cathu State Forest – loved the very curious red possums that come out each night for scraps. Swimming is available in Jaxut Creek beside the campgrounds but there is not a lot of water at this time of year so finding a deep enough hole to swim in was a challenge.

Jervoise Station is out near Greenvale

On the 18th,19,20th September 2020 we were keen to take an extended weekend trip out to Jervoise Station near Greenvale Jervoise Camping&Adventure | Facebook

The hosts of this station stay are wonderful down to earth people who are keen to share the best parts of their property with you, and from the moment you do your meet and greet they are keen to make your stay as enjoyable as possible.

We were given composting buckets to fill with vegetable scraps and return to them so that their worm farm could keep thriving, and a nice little worm souvenir to remember them by as well.

We stayed at Campsite 6 which is one of the larger sites that even has a pizza oven! There was a group of us from the 4WD Club that booked the site as a group so we were chasing the shade a bit, but had a good view of the river as well as the best swimming hole.

The station has some nice tracks to explore and we were able to have a good look around on the Sunday – Ruby even managed to need the assistance of a snatch strap on one particular hill climb – oops!

23rd and 24th August 2020- weekend at Charters Towers.

We have been active members of the Townsville and District 4WD Club for over 10 years. During this time we have been to some fantastic camping spots and made some life long friendships. The best way to keep up to date with club activities is to follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/townsville4wdclub/

The Charters Towers 4WD Club has a great multi use facility just out of town with some awesome training tracks, every year they host at least one weekend get together with other North Queensland 4WD Clubs. This one was a chilly weekend and the first outing in our new C3e, Billy found herself parked up in a paddock behind the Charters Towers 4WD Club house – nice level ground and great weekend mostly out and about on the tracks with the weather nice and crisp for sleeping.

Some of the weekend fun and games included a blind Freddy driving/navigating event – I will let your imagination run wild with that one! as well as learning to handle Charters Towers very own version of Gun Shot.