So I’m doing the “Big Lap” of Australia – following the longest highway in the world, over 14,000kms, which pretty much hugs the coast (although due to timing, and seasons, I’m actually doing a big ‘figure of 8’ lol).
Here’s where I was and what I did – which is mainly for my daughters and friends to see !
2022
May 2022
- Monday 23rd May – Friday 3rd June: Manly Hotel and Wynnum, Queensland. Basically opening a bank account, getting a mobile phone setup, buying a motorhome, buying household stuff, etc.
June 2022
- Friday 3rd June – Tuesday 7th June: Brisbane Holiday Village, Eight Mile Plains, QLD … first time living in a motorhome !
- Wednesday 8th June: Laidley, free camping.
- Thursday 9th June-10th: Toowoomba (second largest inland city in Australia after Canberra) most cities are by the coast of course.
- Back to Brisbane – round the airport area (for some small vehicle repairs).
- 10th-14th June – Staying at the BIG4 Sandstone Point holiday park at Bribie Island – amazing camp for families / kids – I soooo want to bring my daughters here for a holiday!
- 14th June – free camping, Beerwah Forest Reserve (a couple of kms inland from Caloundra). Surrounded by hippies, new age travellers, drop-outs, and their friends. I got high just by leaving the windows open.
- 15th-16th Rainforest Holiday Village, Woombye (Sunshine Coast). A bit run down, but surprising cool collection of parrots.
- 17th-19th June: Standdown Park
- 20th June: Tin Can Bay – feeding dolphins by hand … how could I resist ?! This is a young dolphin called Luna 🙂
- 21st-22nd June: Cane Holiday Park, Bunderberg – where the sugar and rum comes from 🙂
- 23rd-24th June: Gladstone
- 25th June: Calliope River camping
- 26th June: Rockhampton Kershaw Gardens
- 27th-28th June: Rockhampton Riverside Tourist Park Rockhampton Botanic Gardens (wiped out for couple of days with heavy head cold) and Rockhampton Zoo (in the pouring rain) which is FREE! Unbelievable. Amazing 🙂
- 29th June: Rockhampton Kershaw Gardens (still sick, lol)
July 2022
- 30th June-1st July: Capricorn Caves – great place – recommended!
- Saturday 2nd July: Yaamba Rest Area
- Sunday 3rd July: Ilbilbie Caltex – trucks, trains and noise all night.
- Monday 4th-Wednesday 6th July: The Park Mackay.
- Thursday 7th July: The Leap Hotel.
- Friday 8th July-Saturday 9th July: The Park Mackay. Work and washing stop. Who could drive past a sign for “Platypus Beach” ? Not me for sure.
- Sunday 10th July: Eungella National Park – Broken River. Great place to watch a few Platypus. I honestly spent hours and hours watching them. So amazing seeing them like this in the wild rather than in a zoo.
- Monday 11th July: Gargett Rodeo Grounds.
- Tuesday 12th July: Finch Hatton Gorge (stayed the night at The Leap again).
- Wed 13th-Saturday 16th July: Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park, Cape Hillsborough National Park. Couldn’t resist spending a crazy amount of time with Kangeroos and Wallabies on the beach (up at 5.30am to have breakfast with them!), and hanging around the campground sunning themselves.
- Sunday 17th July: Bloomsbury BP truck stop.
- Monday 18th July: Proserpine – a wonderful name (one of my favourite paintings Proserpine by Dante Gabriel Rossetti), but they call it ProVegas … nothing could be further from the truth! If you have lost your grandparents you will likely find them wandering around this town 😉
- Tuesday 18th-Friday 22nd July: Bowen.
- Saturday 23rd July: Freedom camping in Giru.
- Sunday 24th-30th July: Tasman Holiday Parks, Rowes Bay, Townsville. Some great art along the beach here.
August 2022
- Monday 1st August: Magnetic Island. Wow. Maggie Island to the locals. Highlight for me was undoubtably the Rock Wallabies. First place I’ve been and thought “I could live here.” Stayed Townsville BP overnight.
- Tuesday 2nd August: Rollingstone rest area.
- Wednesday 3rd August: Tyto Wetlands.
- Thursday 4th August: Ingham. Met a great local artist and had a long chat about art. David Rowe has been an artist all his life and had his first exhibition when he was just 11 years old. Checkout some of his work here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.150887685041849&type=3. or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/david.theartist/?hl=en
Bilyana rest area. - Friday 5th-11th August: Innisfail. Wettest town in Australia apparently. I stayed 6 days, and it rained at some point on 5 of them. Babinda Boulders…
- Paronella Park. A fascinating and beautiful place – sooooo highly recommended.
- 12th-14th August: Free camping in various locations, including Etty Bay on the Cassorwary Coast … with Cassowaries everywhere.
- 15th-20th August: Cairns Holiday Park.
- 21st-28th August: Atherton. I happened to be there for a memorial and dedication of the end of WWII in the Pacific.
- 25th August: Tolga Bat Hospital. Totally amazing day. Bat-tastic ! I’m half considering volunteering for the baby bat season … 200-500 babies to bottle feed for four months !
- 1st September: Free camping at Broken Creek.
- 2nd-7th September: Tamarind Gardens Tourist Park in Almaden and Chilligoe Caves.
