odysseyone

The wide open road, long hours of driving, small towns and the big dry… I’m sure these are some of the images and more you would conjure up of a road trip in Australia. Unfortunately our first memory of our Oz trip doesn’t quite fit the bill. We will forever remember our first stop travelling around Australia involving an elderly European woman and a stockpile of dirty jokes. Let me paint a picture… we pulled over for the first time after leaving the Sunshine Coast in Childers, which should have been a brief two minute stop so Rubber Tramp 2 (me) could get the sunscreen out of the back of the van. Is there any other country on earth where you have to lather up in sunscreen for a long trip in the car? Anyway, I was stopped in my tracks by an elderly Finnish woman who was cycling around Childers on a Saturday afternoon with her little dog in the front basket. Seemed harmless enough until she opened her mouth. Rubber Tramp 1 (Justin) tried to chat with her briefly about her homeland but she wasn’t deterred and got back on to the topic- filthy jokes. She rattled off the first one and told us she had thousands stored up in her head. Then she told us another, then another, and it dawned on us that we might be standing by the side of the road for quite awhile listening to all her jokes. We managed to flee and I’ve kept the sunscreen safe in the front of the van ever since. I’m writing this travel diary sitting looking out at a breathtaking view of Mackay’s hinterland from a great campground in Eungella National Park (see reviews below) while RT1 cooks dinner. In case you haven’t seen his new look, check out the image gallery. Justin shaved his head and grew a beard when we left as a money saving measure. Unfortunately the combination has left him looking more biker than backpacker so we think he’s going to have to either grow back his hair or shave the beard. But the beard has become a much-loved member of our family with its own nickname and provides RT1 with endless hours of entertainment, so we’re hesitant to see the beard go so soon. We stayed for the first couple of nights in 1770 and it was love at first night after my inaugural sleep in the van. After sleeping in double beds for the last two months, the queen bed we managed to cram into the van is absolute luxury and a great place to store our junk during the day. Justin fears I might spend the entire holiday asleep as I spend too much time sleeping in the van, which I’ve decided is my second favourite place on earth. Snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef off Lady Musgrave Island has been the highlight of the trip for me so far. As an added bonus, I also had a dolphin leap out of the sea right next to where I was sitting on the boat travelling out to the reef, plus we also saw a couple of whales up close and manta ray swimming in packs. RT1 ruined the whale watching efforts of a solo German tourist, by letting her know she’d actually spotted a boat. She turned out to be a little strange and had obviously been travelling solo for too long- we caught her taking photos of her teddy bear enjoying a tour of Lady Musgrave. She wasn’t the last tourist we saw carrying a teddy around- there was a Canadian guy at Carnarvon Gorge letting his teddy enjoy the sights as well. The highlight of the snorkelling was swimming with a turtle, which was amazing. I could have spent hours hovering over the wide variety of coloured fish if the water wasn’t so cold! I was just blown away by all the colourful fish and the intricacy of their patterns and think its amazing God created such a detailed underwater ecosystem which exists all on its own, whether or not humans are blessed to view it or not. I can’t think of a painting I have seen which compares with the beauty of the reef. We enjoyed 1770 but were happy to head west for a week to get away from all the tourists. It seems Germans have now taken over Australia! Aside from the usual grey nomads and a sprinkling of French tourists, German visitors are everywhere in Wicked Campers. After just a week, I’ve decided that European backpackers are communal bathroom menaces. We spent a few days on Justin’s uncle’s farm in Biloela after leaving 1770. I’m using the Biloela experience to prepare me mentally for the NT. The drive from Carnarvon Gorge to Mackay was also really dry and I find the dead landscape really depressing. We’ve dubbed it ‘wrist-slitting territory’. The saving grace was the spectacular sunsets we enjoyed sitting on the back deck with a cup of tea. I also enjoyed driving around the farm having a look at the new calves. It felt like I was on an African safari when the cows licked the car windows. We travelled to Carnarvon Gorge from Biloela, where we spent a few days enjoying more dry, dusty weather. You know there hasn’t been much rain when the leaves on the trees are coated in dust. We stayed at Takarakka Bush Resort, our only option because the government has nicely shut down the national park campground (which looks much nicer) for all but school holidays. We spent a night 10 kilometres inside the park at a walker’s camp, which was great. It was a lot of fun camping out in the gorge with just two other people, and risking a mild case of Giardia drinking the creek water. It was my inaugural overnight hike, carting about seven kilograms worth of gear 27 kilometres, which I enjoyed but my feet didn’t. We were forced to spend another night in grey nomad territory in the so-called bush resort before we headed back to the tropics. The further west you drive, the more caravans and 4WDs you pass. It feels like every Australian over 65 is on the move; I’m sure Australia has the largest number of 4WDs per capita in the world. Camping with the grey army reminded me of when we first arrived in Tokyo- when you take a quick look around the campsite there’s a sea of grey heads and everyone looks the same. We spent a night in a Mackay caravan park enjoying the winter tropics and having clean feet again, before we headed up to Eungella, where we are currently staying. The campground we are in is a hidden treasure and sitting on a view I’m sure is worth millions (see reviews below). The owner is very friendly and has invited us to come back next month for his 40th birthday party. He’s planning a bonfire so big he will have the fire brigade here to make sure the fire doesn’t get too crazy, and he assures us the blaze will be so big you will be able to see it from Mackay (about 80 kilometres away). Here is entry one in the ‘Matt Bodman Australia-wide’ radio report: we heard our first Matt Bodman radio add outside of the Sunshine Coast while driving through cane fields on our way to Mackay. Rest assured, we will keep you posted if we hear the voice of Bodman infiltrating anywhere else in the country! As an Australian, I thought I had every colloquialism out there. It has been a culture shock for me to hear new Ocker phrases. Here is one that is new for me: “I kicked him up the gumtree’” Justin also overheard a new type of parenting technique while passing through a country town, which I’ll be sure to avoid using if I have children of my own. He heard a mother attempt to get her toddler son to stop crying by saying, “Stop crying. You don’t have a vagina.” On that note, I’m signing out until the next update of our travels. Chetwynd Campground Review Captain Cook Holiday Village, 1770. This campground was quite a big one set under lots of trees, with fairly good facilities including a couple of amenities blocks and a camp kitchen with BBQs. It was a little overpriced and isn’t walking distance to the riverfront. It does accept pets and is full of caravans and backpacker vans if that is your thing. Very handy access to the departing dock for snorkelling tours. Takarakka Bush Resort, Carnarvon Gorge The word ‘resort’ is overrated when it comes to this campground. It is overpriced but the park has the monopoly when it comes to camping in Carnarvon Gorge outside of school holidays. If you like talking caravan shop, this is the park for you. It has a small store, which is convenient. Twice a week shows NP slides, which is slightly interesting but is basically a repeat of the ones I watched at the park when I was a kid. There is a nice lookout over the gorge, which is great at sunset, but the bathrooms weren’t very clean, which earns the park a big thumbs down in my book. Central Tourist Park, Mackay Fairly standard prices and centrally located to the city. This park is pretty small but is still fairly quiet considering it was pretty packed when we were there. Quite a few permanent residents and transient workers stay here. Justin’s favourite aspect of the park was the genuine 1970s tiles in the bathrooms. Eungella Holiday Park Our favourite by far. This van park turned into a self-registration park a couple of weeks ago so make sure you bring enough cash to pay for it (we didn’t!). It is relatively small and quiet. The facilities are old and basic with just one shower, but all can be forgiven for the spectacular view of a 700 metre drop into the valley below. The view is literally mesmerising- our camping neighbour could be found standing for hours yesterday staring out, without so much as flinching. There are also a few kookaburras around to steal your food, a genuine Aussie experience.