Author: Gary

We are based at the base of Queensland’s highest mountain on a small property in the rainforest… and yes, it has been raining & it is forecast to rain for the next week ☔️.

With solar production expected to be negligible over coming days and the batteries at 84% capacity on arrival the property owner very kindly offered 240v power when needed! We’re set for a 4 wet day stay 😊!

It was difficult to position “dishy” as it’s affectionately called for it to have an unobstructed view of the southern sky. Dishy’s usual placement is on a pole fixed to the side of the caravan. With the extension cable connected and using the ground support all areas around the van were tested without success. The only solution was to mount dishy on the car’s roof rack resulting in some but intermittent reception. Still rather impressive when considering the rainforest all around, the heavy cloud cover and that there is next to no 4G/5G coverage.

On such a wet day we made a short drive to Babinda where we bought pies for lunch 😁

The tropical wet weather is developing

Another 1st class off grid site… and all for a $10 donation per night. This 2 night site was in reasonable proximity to Wallaman Falls (the highest, permanent, single-drop waterfall in Australia); TYTO Wetlands & wall mosaics (Ingham) and Lucinda Jetty (The jetty is 5.76km in length, the longest in the southern hemisphere). The 1st day was a perfect sunny day allowing the drone to capture the Herbert River, Macknade Sugar Mill in operation and fly over the surrounding cane fields.

Some of the driving hazards you come across in North Queensland and never in NW Sydney 😁

Enjoyable stay about 30kms south of Townsville on a property owned & operated by a lovely Christian couple. During the 2 days we… revisited Castle Hill; enjoyed a great seafood lunch on the Esplanade to celebrate my birthday; did a big shop, sorted out a minor caravan aerial issue and attended the local Uniting Church Sunday service following an invitation extended by our hosts Jean & Brian.

The freedom, flexibility, choice, peace and cost savings staying at “off grid” sites is our preferred way for travelling around Australia. Adequate electricity production (solar) and battery storage is an important prerequisite for travelling this way. Our caravan has a total of 1,060w of solar panels on the roof which is complemented with a portable solar panel (200w). This portable solar panel is being replaced with a larger 300w panel to help with production during the winter season ie short daylight days. This level of solar production supports many electrical uses ie all the usual 12v applications (lights, TV, sound system, water pump, personal devices recharge) plus with the inverter, many 240v appliances eg induction cooking; washing machine; air conditioning; Starlink; microwave and if there is enough power generated, heating our water instead of using gas.

Pushing further north and the temperatures are rising 😁! Couldn’t resist stopping at the Big Mango at morning tea stop to buy a mango sorbet… Yum! 😋

What a little gem… spacious, peaceful site and the bonus was the presentation, exotic fruits/ bush tucker tasting and tour given by Nick (property owner). We also bought some of the yummy produce!

Welcome to QUEENSLAND…

Arrived late afternoon after a non eventful 5 hour drive. Beautiful location, so peaceful and a good base to access Byfield National Park and beaches within 4WD close proximity.

And the weather for day #1 was absolutely perfect for a 4WD challenge to Stockyard Point Headland and a drive down onto the beach for lunch and a well earned swim. It was such a great day.

As inviting as it looked the water temperature was too cold so there was no swimming ☹️. Instead we did a circular walk and chatted to a fellow travelling couple who were staying in the adjacent campground.

Upper Stony Creek

It doesn’t get much better than this. Just 6 sites spread over a large area, all with fire pits. Canoes, swimming, walks, lots of birds all for $30/night for 2 people.

A very special evening spent with Jenny and Brian at their 2 day glamping location. It was such a great privilege to share a bbq meal together. Jen and Brian have been through so much, yet their faith in our Lord Jesus has never been stronger.

Our 3rd time staying at this Hipcamp site. It provides no facilities but is in close proximity to Jennifer’s Mum, Brian and Jenny and where we choose to have caravan warranty work and services done. What it does provide is a large open space for a few campers where you can relax, have a fire and enjoy the peaceful bush setting 😊🙏.