Day 7 - Gympie

Left Toowoomba at 09:00 this morning and arrived in Gympie at 1:15. Rob and Cecilia had just arrived and were setting up their caravan and Lanie had flown up and arrived a few days earlier. By the time John and Marie arrive on Friday Saskia's place will look like a caravan park. Anyway, no more driving for a few days and lots of relaxing, lots of chats and a few drinks. The weather is cooperating - mid twenties and blue skies.

Day 6 - Toowoomba

Lazy day in Toowoomba today. After catching up on washing etc we had an early lunch at one of our favourites, Cafe Valetta located just out of the city. It's a beautiful cafe in a beautifully restored grand home across the road from one of the main parks here in town. This was our 4th or 5th visit. It was warm, the sun was shining and we started the day with a glass of bubbly.




We will probably head off to Gympie tomorrow, a day earlier than planned. We are now only 270km from our destination and it will be nice to catch up with Saskia and Pete and whoever else has already arrived.

Day 5 - Toowoomba

We left Goondiwindi just before 8 am this morning for the relatively short trip to Toowoomba (220 km). After an uneventful trip we arrived here around 11 am and checked into our usual place - Garden City Caravan Park. We stayed here last year and to our surprise we were allocated the exact same site. Spent the afternoon catching up on a bit of shopping.

Day 4 - Goondiwindi

Left Dubbo at 7:45 this morning to travel North along the Newell Highway. Stopped in Naribri for lunch in a nice park, and to stretch the legs. As we observed last year the Newell Highway seems to be the main route for caravanners to travel to and from Queensland. We decided to call it a day in Goondiwindi just over the Queensland border. We arrived just before 3 pm and it was so sunny and warm that we enjoyed a drink sitting outside. Tomorrow we will reach Toowoomba where we'll stay of at least a couple of days.

Day 3 - Dubbo NSW

No travelling today as we visited the Dubbo Western Plains Zoo. A very similar layout to the Werribee Zoo but a lot more facilities and the ability to drive your own car from exhibit to exhibit. The total distance is about 6 km. We saw some incredible sights including a hippopotamus that has been trained to hold his mouth open for dental work.




The weather is improving all the time and I noticed it was 25 in Gympie today which is definitely heading in the right direction. Tomorrow is a long day as we will probably try to reach Toowoomba which puts us within 275 km of Gympie.

Day 2 - Cooma to Dubbo

Woke up at 06:00 this morning to the sound of gentle drizzle on the caravan roof. After a quick breakfast it was time to get an early start. Fortunately we had a drive through site which means we were still hitched to the car. All we had to do was disconnect the water and power and we were off. For most of the morning we experienced light rain. Stopped for fuel in the outskirts of Canberra and then on to Yass where we spotted an interesting looking coffee shop. Found somewhere to park the car and van (not always easy) and had one of the best coffees ever. Then we were back on the road with the aim of reaching Dubbo as we want to visit the famous Western Plains Zoo there. We reached our destination around 3 pm and checked into a very nice Big4 park there. By then the rain had stopped and in fact the skies were clear. Found a great steak restaurant this evening The Lions Pride and enjoyed an excellent meal accompanied by a very nice glass of the local Red Earth Shiraz. Tomorrow the zoo.

Day 1 - Traralgon to Cooma

Our first day on the road. Got away this morning at 8:15. Stopped at Stratford for coffee, and to give the van a good check over. Everything was shipshape so we continued on our way with lunch and a fuel stop in Cann River. Lunch at Shorty's Little Pie Shop which we had visited before - great homemade fare. By the time we headed up the Cann Valley Highway the day had turned truly majestic. A brilliant blue sky and a bright green landscape - what a day! We reached Cooma just before 3 pm and checked into the Snowtels Caravan Park. Our kids might remember this park where we stayed around 1982 or so - I remember the apricot trees and the donkey and pony rides.