FNQ & CQ (far north & central Qld), Part 2

For a change of pace, we had two nights at a cattle station where we worked in lieu of camping fees, bar tending & labouring for the owners who were hosting working dog trials (an attempt to generate another revenue stream). There's no money in cattle or horses & their road trains are struggling under high costs ..... a 3 day road train cattle haul cost over $4,000 in fuel alone and haulage rates are depressed too. Anyway, we loved the experience, including catching up with friends we met last year.

Watching the cattle mustering was fun, with some dogs/owners clearly not up to the task. The one in this photo was sensational, quietly taking control and completing the obstacle course in no time flat. 

Whilst we were cooking dinner, these foals all headed by, with the lass on the quad in full chase. The foals were seeking freedom, but the girl was too good for them. Not often you are camped somewhere and a herd of large animals go by! 

We enjoyed a couple of other fun camp sites including one that backed on to a "disused cattle loading run". Yeh, we hadn't finished setting up and a couple arrived wanting to unlad their 800kg angry bull. The couple were nice, but the bull took an instant dislike to John. It figured why waste time before coming to that conclusion. Once out and in the holding pen, it took a short charge at John who promptly decided to go inside (to change his underwear no doubt).

Bowen (and Proserpine) don’t take kindly to free campers however we found a “home stay caravan park” a few km’s out which was brilliant. The owner was in the throws of setting up a no frills free camp on an old field. She hadn’t quite finished it, so John got his jolly’s driving the tractor to flatten out the middle of the field. Not as much fun as our friends who stayed on at the cattle station where they had a ball including 2 hours mustering in a chopper! Anyway, the owner of this home stay (Lyn) does a really mean damper over the evening fire, it’s worth staying for that alone.

We headed into Bowen for a walk along the beaches which are really pretty. 

Whilst on the walk, we met a fisherman, the only other person on the beach. He was perched on a chair way above the receding tide mark "just relaxing". He lives in a little town which he told us “we wouldn't know” – but we do, one of John’s aunt lives there and they are friends. Small world syndrome again.

We repeated last year’s stop at Boulder Creek, as much as anything to see our favourite camp dog "Rex". He greeted us with enthusiasm and made himself at home sitting with Jane for most of the day. 

Carmila Beach was in our sights and we managed to score a great spot. 

Our friends from the cattle station camp arrived the next day and the pyromaniacs in the two blokes promptly emerged. THE Photo shows just a small amount of the wood that went towards our massive fires two nights in a row with spuds in foil, too much to drink & a heap of people joining us made for a lot of fun. The fishing was also successful if you count quantity, not quality/size. Heaps caught, but all under size, thankfully Jane had the sense to get stuff out of the freezer! 

We stayed out of Rockhampton for a couple of nights and met a delightful (yeh, not really) lady. She promptly called John a dickhead, probably showing good judgement in her reading people, albeit for the wrong reasons. It was our mate who she should have been getting stuck into, even though he'd done nothing wrong either. Had to have a laugh about that one. 

A short time in Rocky saw us at the Council-owned/run zoo which is small but well worth the time. But then it started again ... not only did the lady getting stuck in to John, more wildlife decided to stare him down too.

Jokes aside, we couldn't believe our luck with the koalas which were highly alert and just inside their enclosure right at our feet.

We took a punt and drove out to a bush camp at the tail end of Awoonga Dam. We were expecting it to be dry & boring but figured we'd chance it anyway. It was a real surprise package, 500m wide at the narrowest point even though it hardly showed on the map we checked it out on. The main section a number of km's "upstream" must be massive. Anyway, the Gladstone Area Water Board has provided a great location for folks to chill out, go fishing etc.

Bundaberg beckoned, especially the distillery. We did the tour of the Bundy factory and then held up the bar for a while, made all the more enjoyable by the couple who donated us their drinking vouchers. Having a chauffeur for the day was such a luxury (thanks Greg!!!) After that, cooking wasn't going to happen so we hit the RSL for dinner. 

And so there, in a couple of pages, is the last month of our life on the road. We're continuing to love the lifestyle and, as always, encourage you to get out and live life to the full.

So until we get around to writing the next blog, have fun. 

Cheers,

John & Jane