Overland Australia

This trip was back to one of our favourite places Cobb & Co 9 Mile and on this trip we were joined by 4 other families (10 adults and 11 kids) for our annual Christmas Camping party/trip. We travelled up on Friday afternoon after taking the kids out of school a little early. Upon arriving we found Bron and Steve and Paul and Sharna who had taken the day off and arrived earlier in the day. After a quick set up we were able to relax and get into a few drinks with the others. At 4.30 the kids got to feed the baby animals which they thoroughly enjoyed. A little later in the evening Jason and Carrie and then Richard and Anne-Marie arrived and began their set-ups. Friday evening was largely uneventful with the adults chilling out with a few drinks as we watched the storms build up around us, the kids were off doing their own thing which was great and why we love Cobb and Co and all that it offers for the kids. On Saturday morning we woke to more storms, we didn't get any rain over

On Friday we had a Public Holiday courtesy of the G20, we met Sharna and Paul at school around 1pm and took the kids out of school early. We hit the road and just after an hour we arrived at the Cedar Grove Camp site. It was a very warm day and it was hot work setting up in the sun, the forecast for Saturday and Sunday was 40 degrees and it didn't feel far off that. As we were finishing our set-up Bron and Steve arrived and once they were set up we went down to the creek for a swim to cool off. On Saturday morning we chilled around camp and prepared for the day, we took the kids down to the creek and enjoyed another swim. Some  other kids were jumping off the rocks into a deep part of the pool and Steve and I couldn't help ourselves (big kids) and we joined them having a great time jumping the 3 or 4 meters into the water. The day was getting really hot and we spent most of our time moving between the swimming hole and chilling out in the shade around camp. Late in the aftern

This trip was a quick overnight stop back to the Lumley Hill campground on Wivenhoe Dam, we left early on Saturday morning and arrived at camp just before 10am. Anna’s parents Greg and Lenore arrived the night before and after a quick hello we were into setting up the camper. It was a warm day with strong breezes coming off the dam, but we were soon setup and enjoying morning tea. Anna cooked up some homemade sausage rolls and for lunch which were really yummy. After lunch we chilled around camp and enjoyed cooling off in the dam. I took my kayak and I put 4 Redclaw traps out hoping to catch a feed. Later in the afternoon the breeze died off and we enjoyed a warm night, Anna and Lenore cooked a beautiful lamb roast for dinner and we enjoyed some great company and a few drinks. We woke to clear skies on Sunday morning but the breeze had picked up quite a lot. I had to paddle out and retrieve the Redclaw pots which was a bit of a challenge with the wind and the waves on the dam. Unf

This was our first family get away after our Birdsville trip and after the dust of the outback it was nice to enjoy some coastal scenery. This was out first time at the Noosa North Shore Beach Campground and we arrived on Saturday morning around 11am to find a very full campground, the manager told us he had over 300 people booked in for the weekend. We drove around looking for a suitable camp spot, there is an open area that was very popular and didn’t offer many options so we found a spot in the bush section of the park and were setup just after lunch. Saturday afternoon was spent chilling out around camp and spending some time down on the beach swimming and fishing. The wind picked up in the afternoon and it brought passing showers for most of the evening and  night, fortunately the spot we had selected was fairly protected from the wind. Sunday morning was overcast with the occasional passing shower, I got up early and went for a fish but the fish weren’t around and along

This is our last day of the trip and we (Anna and I) are a little sad its over and we had such a great time but we have missed the kids and are really looking forward to seeing them. I'm glad the kids didn't come on this trip as I don't think the Races and the activities in town were suitable for young children. We were able to really enjoy ourselves without constantly worrying about the kids. In saying that I'm really disappointed that they missed out on travelling through some beautiful outback regions, but we will be back and next time the kids with be with us. We were greeted with a cool morning with a very heavy dew (first of the trip) in Moreven, we wanted to get on the road ASAP so we all had a quick breakfast and got into the job of packing up. Steve and I did our best to dry as much as the canvas as we could and I was really surprised at how wet the canvas was... Anyway we were soon on the road again and had an uneventful run home. We stopped at Miles to refu

T his morning we woke to a warm morning and after a quick breakfast we swung into our pack up routine and we were on our way again. It was a pretty uneventful run through to Quilpie where we stopped for late morning tea at the Bakery for another pie... After filling the car with diesel we continued onto Charleville where we had a quick stop for a photo in front of the Diamantina Development Road sign and then continued onto our overnight stop at Morven. We stayed at the Morven Recreation Ground which was the first place we had to pay for our accommodation, all of our previous stops had been in free camps.The facilities here are nice and clean and the $5 per nights per camp site is very cheap for what is supplied. Hot showers are available and we all looked forward to a proper hot shower, the camper hot water system is great but doesn't compare to a proper shower. Unfortunately by the time Steve and I got to have a shower all the hot water had been used so it wasn't as great f

Today was our final morning in Birdsville and we were up early to complete our pack up and enjoy another beautiful outback sunrise. After packing up we visited town to get a few last minute supplies and one more pie for Steve and then we joined the progression of vehicles on the Birdsville Development road heading east. We really enjoyed our time out here in Birdsville and I'm keen to come back and visit again when its quieter. The road conditions had deteriorated a little but nothing too bad and the convoy settled into a good rhythm with most opting to stay out of the dust of the vehicle in front. Along the way we stopped at the Dreamtime sculpture near Betoota to stretch the legs and have a quick look around, then it was back into the car and before long we had reached the end of the dirt roads. We pulled over aired the tyres back up and continued onto Windorah where we stopped to refuel and then drove out to the Cooper Creek via the Nature Drive to find a camp site and settle