Day 103 – Tuesday 6 September – Yeppoon Rest Day

It was a slow start to the day. Washing machine was started at 7:45 am, shower happened, washing was hung out, breakfast occurred.

Around 11:30 we got motivated to go and buy some food - as we need to eat. Not sure that is a correct statement.

Shopping happened. Lunch followed. The bed then looked so good that I grabbed a book and read for a while. I did not sleep.

Happy hour happened with Kay & Darryl, before we returned to cook two pork chops, with vegies.

Our family of Kookaburras returned to serenade us - all four of them. It is not a good photo, as it was too dark. Hopefully you get the idea.

Day 104 – Wednesday 7 September – Last Full Day in Yeppoon

The day started gloomy, but warm. It chopped and changed all morning, as both camps (Kay/Darryl and us) started to prepare for our departure tomorrow.

As late morning approached we readied ourselves for our last meal at the marina - for this trip anyway.

A superb lunch came and went. While at the marina, a diesel top-up was on the agenda. Tyre pressure was also checked.

We also noticed that the 2022 Variety Bash wind-up was at the Marina. There were lots of interesting colours and shapes on the many vehicles. Some of the folk involved are staying in the same caravan park as us.

The following photo shows a few of the cars. I think the first photo shows a 1928 Oldsmobile - Model F-28.

Happy Hour happened, then a snack dinner. The day was done. It was an early night.

Day 105 – Thursday 8 September – Going South

It is always sweet and sour when a great holiday comes to an end - and we are fast approaching that point. However after an early night there was time and motivation to get my last beach-sunrise photo of the trip.

As I sat on the beach at 5:55 am my phone indicated that it was 19 degrees, although the sea breeze made it feel a little cooler. The wind direction and the forecast made for choppy waves and cloudy skies - a good start.

The second photo is a close up of the first photo.

There was time to get back into bed with the laptop before it was time for a shower.

We drove out of the Yeppoon park around 8:40 am and had a mere 165 km to drive - an easy day. We soon passed through Rockhampton. By the time we had settled into a routine we were starting to notice the busy train line on our left-hand side.

Within around 40 km we saw two loaded coal trains heading south to Gladstone, two empty coal trains heading back to the central Queensland coal mines, two goods trains and a train loaded with new concrete sleepers.

It was interesting to note that the coal trains had electric locos.

We had planned to stay at an excellent free camp at Calliope – making it a short day. However, the heavy rains yesterday made is an unwise selection. So on we pressed.

Plenty of road works were on offer.

We stopped at the Boyne river rest area. However we decided that it was too cosy and chose to move on. Kay & Darryl decided to stay so we said our goodbyes. Before we departed we visited the “Retro Café” and bought four fresh jam donuts. Yum. That was lunch.

We had a coffee at Gin Gin (and resisted the temptation of a 'pulled pork pie') and then headed through even more road works before finally stopping at Apple Tree Creek – around 200 metres from the pub.

We drove around 375 km for the day.

Day 106 – Friday 9 September – Apple Tree Creek to Beenleigh

The start of our sixteenth week was gloomy, what with rain over night and the news of the death of Queen Elizabeth. The rain continued, off and on, for most of the morning.

The first phase was the drive to Gympie, home of the famous "Gympie Muster" - an annual musical and activity extravaganza. We endured a lot of road works in that short distance. We drove around Gympie but could not find a place to park so we headed south - stopping soon after for a cuppa.

After leaving Gympie we drove onto the M1 motorway, which effectively means that there is a motorway nearly all the way from Gympie to Melbourne - a distance of 1920 km. It will be interesting to see how much is actually motorway, and how much is a gap between two bits of motorway. Stay tuned on that one.

The motorway was mostly an excellent road and before long we were on the edges of Brisbane - where we stopped for a diesel top-up and some lunch.

Not long after we stopped at a noisy free camp site beside the motorway - and not far from the Beenleigh Rum Distillery.

We went for a walk around the adjacent Hugh Muntz Park and saw an Australasian Darter, an Australian White Ibis, a tree full of bats and a few rainbow lorikeets. It was a pleasant walk.

In two days we have moved 730 km closer to home.

Day 107 – Saturday 10 September – Beenleigh to Kempsey

I went for a walk, in thick fog, around 6:30 am and found a noisy minor looking for breakfast in a knot hole in a large gum tree.

We hit the motorway 2 minutes after leaving our camp site and headed south around 7:50 am.

Except for a 20 km break in the motorway though Coffs Harbour, and a deviation into Sawtell for a superb steak pie for lunch, we were on the motorway virtually all day - all 460 km of it. That makes 640 km of motorway, out of 660 km since Gympie. 98% of it is a magnificent road, and 95% of the scenery is breathtaking. We saw the sea a number of times.

We left the motorway and headed 10 km into Kempsey, to camp at the showgrounds. It was sunny and 23 degrees.

Day 108 – Sunday 11 September – Kempsey to Budgewoi

Our trek south continued just after 8am, with the motorway continuing to be a great road. We stopped for a cuppa and continued on. The motorway had another break as we skirted Newcastle.

I had a shudder as we crossed a bridge, just south of Newcastle - far too narrow for modern traffic. The bridge has a sharp right-hand turn at the far end. Last time we crossed this bridge, a truck squeezed me such that the mirror on one side touched the truck, and the mirror on the other side touched a bridge girder. I was thankful that Shirley was asleep.

We moved on, not really impressed at the close foliage on both sides of the road. They seemed a fire danger to us. This is a common theme of the major road between Brisbane and Sydney.

We arrived at the tiny town of Budgewoi, which is nestled between Lake Munmorah to the north, Lake Budgewoi to the south and the ocean to the east. The caravan park was a picturesque spot with us having a site in view of Lake Munmorah.

Above: Lake Munmorah from our caravan
Below: Our local beach

We visited our local beach (above) and then headed back to camp.

I later decided that a sunset photo was a chance. However I had to walk 10 metres into the sandy lake Munmorah to get the right angle. A couple from Ballarat watched with interest.

Shirley conjured up some great spaghetti bolognaise for dinner.

Day 109 – Monday 12 September – "The Entrance"

The day started sunny and mild and just got better and better. We did a load of washing and went for a drive.

Our first stop was the Norah Head lighthouse, which has been magnificently restored. In the days of kerosene powered lights the lighthouse keeper would practice emergency descents by rope outside the lighthouse - in the case of a fire in the lighthouse. Not for the faint hearted.

We also spotted a "New Holland Honeyeater" who was happy to pose in multiple positions.

We then drove to "The Entrance", a town not visited by us since the late 1980's on a family holiday. It has not lost any of its charm.

Views from our lunch venue.

Above: The Entrance itself

Below: The bridge from north to south

We drove to "Toowoon Bay" and checked out the excellent beach for youngsters.

We relaxed for a while and packed various things ready for the departure tomorrow.

Day 110 – Tuesday 13 September – "The Entrance" to Yass

We had a sleep in and did not get away until 8:45 am. Not long after we were back on the motorway and stayed there all day until we decided to call it a day - at Yass. It was a trip of around 385 km - with a head wind for most of the way.

The M2/M7 Sydney ring road was superb. It seemed strange getting through Sydney without any stops at all.

We had intended to do a 'free camp' but an overnight forecast of zero forced us to find a powered site - so the Yass Showgrounds was it.

We have travelled around 1350 km down the motorway from Gympie, with the only gaps being around 20 km at both Coffs Harbour and Newcastle and a very short break at some other small town. We have about 570 km of motorway to go.

Today was just as scenic as previous days as we travelled through the hills around the Hawkesbury River.

We gave up counting trucks. They seemed to be the most common form of vehicle on the road, particularly south of Sydney.

I suspect that today (or definitely tomorrow) will be the last time that I wear shorts for a while.

Day 111 – Wednesday 14 September – Yass to Benalla

Our shorts are now gone.
And our jeans are back on.

And that says it all. It was 2 degrees when we woke, 6 degrees when we got out of bed and 9 degrees when we hit the road at 9am. A late start, but the day was fully planned and choreographed. It later turned into a beautiful Spring day, reaching around 18 degrees at Wodonga - with no wind.

Again it was a scenic drive - although the wooded coastal areas of northern NSW had turned into rolling plains of farm pastures. Sheep became a lot more common, as did the yellow canola crops.

We had a head wind for the first couple of hours, then a tail wind for the rest of the day. We stopped for a coffee at Tarcutta, then lunch at Wodonga - and a diesel top-up. It had been 835 km since our last fuel stop.

We parked beside Belvoir Park Lake in Wodonga and had a sandwich. It is a lovely spot for a rest. It was typical of the countryside we have travelled through since Cairns - wet. Most dams, rivers and lakes that we have seen along the coast and inland along the Hume Motorway have been full - or in flood. Most ground that we have walked on has been wet, sometimes saturated.

Below: Belvoir Park Lake

We drove the remaining 110 km to Benalla, passing the Winton Solar Farm. It was huge and may be the biggest we have seen around Australia - and we have seen a lot of them.

According to their website it is a 85-megawatt Solar Farm project, and will provide clean energy to over 52,000 homes.

We set up camp and drove into Benalla to admire the great street art. I have a couple of samples below, but please click here to see more.

Above: This is my favourite and is featured on the front page of the Benalla tourist brochure

Below: The blossom is real and a small example of the many trees we have seen in blossom over the last two days.

We have seen much of the art work before, but it is an impressive part of Benalla. It was a quiet evening.

Day 112 – Thursday 15 September – Home

It was a miserable start to the day as we packed up for the final time this trip - in the rain - and headed to Melbourne. For some reason we seemed in a hurry and were on the road just after 8am.

We had a coffee at the half way mark and arrived home around 10:45.

The rain had stopped before we got home so unpacking the caravan was OK, and done smartly. The washing machine hid in the corner as it knew what was about to happen.

We were pleasantly surprised by the great humour of the garden custodian - Glenda, our neighbour - who had looked after a few statues very well. As locals would know this was because of the chilly winter.

Pete the Pelican was particularly susceptible to the cold and got special treatment. Fortunately he was not given a Collingwood scarf. The booties were a nice touch, as was the plastic rain-coat.

So our time on the road has ended. It has been a great trip for many reasons.

The motorway did extend from Gympie to the outskirts of Melbourne except for parts of Coffs Harbour, Newcastle and a small town somewhere - a trip of around 1930 km.

It was at least two lanes each way for all of the above route. It is also a scenic route to drive - although it has a lot more hills than the inland route.

We were welcomed home by friends and family.

It is too early to plan for next year............