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Scarborough is our last stop before we take the caravan to storage for sale. Although Scarborough is further from our Unit than Newmarket (Newmarket Caravan Park has closed) its lovely being by the sea.

We feel so lucky to have been able to undertake a trip around Australia even if it was not quite as envisaged. We have had the most amazing time. On completing a trip of this nature most people share statistics with a financial flavour. We will not be doing that as it’s far too scary but here are a few stats:

• 14,064 km covered between 16/11/2019 and 28/03/2020 (4 months). NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia
• 23,020 km covered between 24/03/2021 and 08/10/2021 (6.5 months). Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia.
• 14.5 months living in the caravan over 2 years.
• 3 Car Issues (0 showstoppers ): Broken shock absorber (repaired under warranty!), 2 windscreen cracks, flat tyre (while in caravan park).
• 3 Caravan Issues (0 showstoppers): Broken toilet lid. Broken HDMI cable, 1 flat tyre.
• 1 kangaroo strike plus 1 very very close shave where the roo saw us and slid into the road on his side trying to turn and run away (we were also breaking hard but not sliding….)
• Scariest moment (Alison): Docker River: middle of nowhere, pitch black, no other caravans, Paul asleep and I can see headlights of a car circling the free camp……
• Scariest moment (Paul): Jacob’s ladder, Launceston. Paul got vertigo whilst driving…..big time. I drove down.

Best stuff (very hard to decide and hard to remember the first trip!):

• Dive: Navy Pier, North West Cape
• Snorkel: Whale sharks and Coral Cove, Ningaloo
• Caravan Park: Tarangau, Broome
• Adventure: Horizontal Falls.
• Plane: Horizontal Falls.
• Sight: the back of the Olgas whilst heading for the WA border
• Swim: Ellery Creek Big Hole, West MacDonnell Ranges
• Gorge: Emma Gorge (walk, swim and lunch)
• Helicopter: Miri Miri
• Waterfall: Miri Miri
• Walk: Hancock Gorge, Karijini
• Meal: Whalers, Exmouth (seafood curry)
• Road: any in WA (worst: Gibb River Road and Highway No 1, Mackay to Rockhampton)
• Wild Animals: Cassowary (Alison), Whale Shark (Paul). Paul struggled with his choice so other mentions are: Salt water croc, Manta Ray, Giant Cod, Brolga, Jabiru, Jesus Birds
• Sunset: Broome Beach
• Sunrise: Steep Point across from Shark Bay from our swags.
• Fishing: Port Douglas estuary
• Good Samaritan moment: 4wd snatch recovery for Japanese tourists bogged in sand in Francois Peron National Park
• Boo-boo moment: Caravan wheels log jam, Gibb River Road
• River Crossing: El Questro

A big thankyou for following us on our trip. We have loved getting your comments.

We have visited Yeppoon on the Capricorn Coast (the Tropic of Capricorn Is slightly south of the Yeppoon) in 2015 after Cyclone Marcia had hit. In 2015 the town was still reeling with many places closed due to storm damage, but Yeppoon has been rebuilt including a ‘lagoon’ (public pool) on the foreshore with many restaurants and bars. The tropical islands of the Keppel group lie a short ferry ride off the coast and are part of the southern Great Barrier Reef. A lovely place to hide for 2 weeks during school holidays as we trundle back to Brisbane.

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Even though the weather has not been kind to us, Palm Cove is an amazing place to have some downtime. Although I think Paul would dispute the term ‘downtime’ as he’s been on both a fishing and a diving trip. We are both really enjoying being back in the tropics and being on the coast.

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Leaving Karumba we joined The Savannah way at Normanton (The Savannah Way stretches 3700km from Broome in WA to Cairns in QLD) for 2 nights in Croydon, 1 night in Mount Surprise and 3 nights in Atherton before we reach the sea at Palm Cove (our next ‘destination’).

On 26/08/2021 we sadly left Karumba point arriving at Croydon late morning. After a quick setup we headed 3km out of town to Lake Belmore for a picnic lunch. Lake Belmore was built in 1995 to supply water to the town as well as providing a place for boating, swimming and fishing.

On 27/08/2021 we followed the Croydon Heritage Walk. The council has done a fabulous job of documenting the towns history and preserving the old buildings. Croydon was founded in 1885 when gold was discovered. The gold sustained the town until WW1 when the men volunteered to join the fight in Europe. Most never returned and when some did the mines had fallen into disrepair. As such the town also reduced to its present form of being on the tourist trail of the Savannah Way. The other claim to fame is the GulfLander railway which extends from Normanton to Croydon. When it was built to transport gold but now is a tourist attraction. Unfortunately we didn’t have time in our visit to go on the train.

We loved our short time in Croydon.

On 28/08/2021 we travelled to Mount Surprise along the Savannah Way. Amazing that this is Highway Number 1 as there is a large amount of one lane track. It’s not very busy but if you meet something coming in the opposite direction you need to put two wheels (4 with a van) in the dirt. If you meet a road train, you stop on the dirt. They have right of way! Luckily we only met one today.

Lovely peaceful caravan park for one night in Mount Surprise. And we managed to wash the van (a big job by hand….).

On 29/08/2021 we travelled further along Highway 1 to Atherton for 3 nights to get new tyres, caravan serviced and supplies (yippee, a Woolworths and BWS). Pretty exciting road to Atherton, lots of ups and downs, narrow roads and hairpin bends. We bypassed Ravenshoe, Queensland’s highest town. So Lovely to see green fields after the months in the Outback. The Atherton Tablelands are beautiful.

On 30/08/2021 we had a day of seeing Atherton and catching up on shopping. I got everything on my shopping list. The first time for a long time.

On 31/08/2021 we got the van serviced and (at last) new tyres. We were due to get the car serviced too but that’s been delayed until Cairns due to a broken shock absorber.

On 01/09 we head to Palm Cove for 9 nights. It’s that time of the year again….. wedding anniversary (11 years) and my birthday (60 ish!!)….. so lots of eating out, swimming in the sea, walking on the beach, etc etc. In fact a holiday from a holiday! We are very lucky.

We arrived in Karumba on 21/08/2021 for 5 nights after 3 nights in Normanton.

Karumba is on the Gulf of Carpentaria and the head of the Norman River, it is where the Outback meets the Sea. It’s the first time we have seen the sea since we left Derby in WA. We have missed it. Love the smell of the sea, the sea breezes and so the cooler temps.

As it was a short drive from Normanton after setup we drove around both Karumba Point (where we are staying) and Karumba town. It didn’t take long but we’ve found where the bakery and pubs are!

On 22/08/2021 we went to the weekly market. Not much to say about that….. In the evening we went on the Sand Island Sunset Cruise. The boat firstly took us to the harbour where the prawn trawlers come into. There are 2 seasons: one for banana prawns and the other for tiger prawns. The seasons each last for about 8 weeks when the trawlers stay out in the Gulf the whole time depositing their catches onto a ‘mother’ ship which freezes the green (raw) prawns.

After the harbour tour, the boat headed out to one of the sand islands. There are lots of sand bars near Karumba which have caught many a sailor out, and as there is only one tide per day, it’s a long time to wait to get adrift again. Being surrounded by land on three sides and with Papua New Guinea restricting the movement of water to the north, the second tide is cancelled by the first. The tide takes 12 hours to travel across the Gulf before it bounces back in the opposite direction.

Deck chairs, drinks and nibbles were bought onto the island for us to watch the sun set into the sea. Beautiful. On the way back, as dusk was descending, we were treated to a full moon.

On 23/08/2021 we tried to walk from Karumba Point to Karumba Town along the Norman River. It took a few false starts to find the path and then when we did it was flooded as the tide was too high so we gave up and drove instead 🤣. In the evening we went to listen to the musician at the camp kitchen. We didn’t stay long (he wasn’t very good…..).

In the early hours of the 24/08/2021 the wind woke us up. We had been warned as Paul’s fishing trip had been cancelled (someone does not want Paul to catch a barramundi….). It was windy all day so we stayed local except for a drink at the Animal Bar. It had to be done…… it has a reputation when the trawlers are in port but as there was only us and 2 other oldies late afternoon, it was very quiet.

On 25/08/2021 we went to the Les Wilson Barramundi Discovery Centre. The Centre was established to restock barramundi in the Gulf. It’s run by the council who grow spawn into fingerlings which are released into the gulfs waterways to ensure sustainable fishing for years to come. The Centre also runs tours which we went on to feed a barramundi. Very informative and great fun.

On 26/08/2021 we head towards the east coast stopping firstly at Croydon for 2 nights.

So you’d think we’d be over gorges but I have to say Lawn Hill Gorge is beautiful. And different being more tropical than the Kimberley, for instance. We’ve loved the walks and swimming (swims needed as much warmer than expected. Could do without the cold showers though!).

On 11/08/2021 we left Gregory driving 100km, mainly on gravel roads, into Lawn Hill Gorge NP. The campground is really well laid out with designated camping spots and an almost new amenities block. Very happy until I realised there is only cold showers….. After a ‘long term’ setup (anti flap and mat) we went to the creek to find where the walks started and where we could swim. We are ready for our 4 night stay.

On 12/08/2021 we got up early for our first walk. We had not intended to do the full circuit (8km) but we just seemed to keep going. A really varied walk. Lots of ups (with fabulous lookouts of the gorge) and downs (to walk along Lawn Hill Creek). Half way we stopped at Indarri Falls for a well earned and much needed swim in the creek. We headed back to the van for a rest before a another swim in the creek and then a cold shower.

On 13/08/2021 we had a lazy day ending with a swim in the creek and another cold shower (which didn’t seem so bad this time….).

On 14/08/2021 the walk we were hoping to do has to be reached by a bridge that has been removed due to storm damage, so we headed on to the Constance Range track (grade 4: experienced bush walkers 😄. We must be getting good because it wasn’t that bad!). Once we scrambled up there was a small circuit that afforded 360degree views. Amazing.

On 15/08/2021 we drove the short distance to Adels Grove to catch up with Karen and Sao for 2 nights. A day of chatting, walking to the river and steaks for dinner courtesy of Karen. Best steaks we have had for ages. Delicious.

On 16/08/2021 we drove back to the NP with Karen to pick up a canoe and paddle up Lawn Hill Gorge. Beautiful and very relaxing.

On 17/08/2021 we both drove for a night at Burke and Wills Roadhouse. On 18/08/2021 we part company (although we may met up along the east coast in September) and head to Normanton to get supplies for our next ‘destination’, Kurumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria.

We miss WA roads. We’re back to bouncing around badly damaged (by the road trains) roads. And we’ve had high winds to add to the excitement of towing a caravan. So we’ve decided to drive short distances each day from Katherine to Lawn Hill NP (our next ‘destination’).

We left Katherine on 06/08/2021 driving along the Stuart Highway (the road up the middle of Australia – Darwin to Adelaide) as far as Daly Waters Pub. Luckily we’d read reviews which mentioned how crowded it was so we decided to free camp at the Daly Waters Aerodrome. Great decision,it was very quiet (only 6 of us) with a short walk to the pub. The pub was heaving but we got a table and food whilst listening to live music. Great evening.

On 07/08/2021 we continued along the Stuart Highway to Tennant Creek. We were meant to stay 2 nights but only stayed 1. All I’ll say is that Tennant Creek is not on the top 10 places we’ve visited. E.G. there is ‘temporary’ supermarket (old one was deliberately set alight) which doesn’t stock chocolate (it gets too hot to stock). Paul unimpressed 😄.

On 08/08/2021 we left the Stuart Highway turning east towards the QLD border along the Barkly Highway. The road is straight, straight, straight, there are no bends. We arrived at the Barkly Homestead Roadhouse parking in a drive through slot and a pub dinner before our hop over the border.

On 09/08/2021 we continued on the Barkly Highway which seemed to get worse and worse as we got closer to the QLD border. No issues getting through the border although NT police were checking those coming from QLD. We unfortunately left NT with another crack in the windscreen. Hoping that the newest repair will hold along with the previous crack repair until we get back to Brisbane. On arrival at Camooweal we parked up behind the pub for the night. A lovely evening in the pub.

On 10/08/2021 we travelled to Gregory for another pub stay (theme emerging). First gravel road for ages. I have to say that I have not missed it…. We were due to meet up with Karen (Paul’s cousin) at Adels Grove in a few days time but her plans changed such that we met for our 1 night stay in Gregory. A lovely surprise and a lovely evening.

On 11/08/2021 we drive the short distance (on gravel….) to Lawn Hill NP for 4 nights and then Adels Grove for 4 nights.