SOCIALIZING AT KURRIMINE BEACH - SITES 12 AND 13 (JULY - AUGUST 2015)

Presenting the next couple of months of our lives on the road brings with it a challenge....what to include and what to leave out?  

Given that we have already explored and photographed the town and surrounds on our previous visits, I have no intention of repeating that. Kurrimine Beach has barely changed since our last visit. In any event we were here to relax with friends, enjoy the warm weather and generally have a good time. We were now in holiday mode.

Wintering at the Kurrimine Beach Holiday Park is a social affair. Many here, including us, are regulars.....'Kurrimine Boomerangs' as we have become known. This year we were to be joined by several couples who we had previously met all over the country.  Our very good friends Rhonda and John Vogt were already here, as I mentioned in my last. Others were on the way.

Needless to say the social life can become a bit hectic. Daily 'happy hours' at various sites (ours was a focal point) are par for the course. On Friday evenings (apart from the monthly market night at the nearby King Reef Hotel) all who are willing and able (and that's invariably all the regulars at least) congregate in the camp kitchen where the notorious 'Kurrimine Karaoke' is preceded by wonderful food feasts, all prepared and provided courtesy of the park staff. 

We have never come across anything like it in all our travels. Sausage sizzles, hamburger night, soup night, wine tasting.....the list goes on. And the piece-de-resistance.....'Xmas in July', a bash of significance as we shall see later. Folk actually book for this months in advance.

But let me begin on a smaller scale, and here I must point out that I've selected but a few social events out of many for two reasons.  Firstly, I am acutely aware that these are somewhat self-indulgent and secondly, the photos of several of these bashes have disappeared courtesy of the hackers who decimated our files in Goulburn. 

As I think I have mentioned previously, Liz downloads much of what I have taken onto a hard drive, but she edits according to her tastes.  This doesn't always coincide with what I have had in mind when snapping away. I have been left to manage with what we have retained (which thankfully is quite a bit....the thought of having lost the lot does not bear thinking about).

Site 13, that occupied by the Vogts, is an ideal spot for a large gathering. Within a couple of days of our arrival we put it to very good use.  It was Jo's birthday. 

Many of the Kurrimine clan descended on site 13 for her birthday bash.

I should explain at this point that Liz and I had first met Jo and her Canadian husband Gordon many years ago at the Bellinger River Caravan Park at Repton (just south of Coffs Harbour) on the east coast (this was the park being managed at the time by Tracy and Corey....now the managers at Kurrimine Beach). They now spend many months at KB each winter and are very well known to all who come here regularly.

The guest of honour was soon presented with the obligatory cake and candles (which Gordon had prevailed on us to hide in our van throughout the day) 

and the party continued as the sun dipped very low in the western sky. As you can see, Liz was well under way, looking resplendent in a hat borrowed from John V.

This celebration did kick on. In fact by the time stumps were drawn, there was no longer any need for hats. We were even treated to a superb sunset as a reward for our persistence!

Our second large scale bash at site 13 was a real novelty event. By this time the Allendens and the Eleftherious, two couples we had met in Cooktown and Charleville respectively some years ago, had arrived at KB. Our social group was rapidly expanding. 

Denis A travels with a portable camp oven rig which he happened to mention during one particular happy hour.  That was it.....a plan was immediately hatched. What's the point of occupying a secluded corner site without making the most of it?  A lamb camp oven roast followed by a campfire was the unanimous decision. Managerial permission was obtained, food procurement and preparation tasks were allocated, and the wood was gathered. 

At the appointed hour the corner site of the redoubtable Vogts saw another (different) gathering of the clan. 












The small camp oven was lit and the meat soon began to sizzle.










Caps and corks were popped and the nibbles were passed around. I was grateful for the waiter service....we had enjoyed a particularly boisterous Friday karaoke the evening before and yours truly, who had been encouraged to take a leading role with the microphone,  was still a little jaded.








As mantle of evening enveloped us the meat was carved and the various plates and pots of veggies appeared from surrounding vans and were laid out on the self serve tables.






What a wonderful feed this was. There is no doubt that a good camp oven roast takes some beating. And after feasting to our hearts' content, what next?.....well, off with the oven, in with more wood and it was time to sit around the campfire and solve the problems of the world!  Thank goodness for park curfews.....we had to give it all away at 2200 hours which is probably just as well. Someone had cracked open the port!






The social activity 'Chez Marshies' was a little more subdued, apart from happy hours that is, some of which grew serious legs. We shared several convivial meals with the Vogts ranging from simple sausage sizzles (yes, it does occasionally get a bit chilly at night even in the tropics). 


 











when all was completely informal,















to slightly more elaborate work on the Baby Q









and a much more formal dining setting. After all, this grilled offering had been complemented by John's special mushroom sauce (see above). The least we could do was set a more fitting table under the Marshies' awning!

The Vogts left well before us, but not before Big 'Bob the Dog', their black labrador-samoyed cross, had been given a good scrub in the park's dog wash.

On the morning of their departure he took up his normal travelling position in the back of their 4WD







and we, of course, posed for the obligatory farewell photograph with the agreed plan that we would visit them in Victoria in mid-February 2016. As always we had really enjoyed their company and were very sorry to be saying goodbye.






But it was not long before other Kurrimine Beach regulars and some new-comers were on the scene. The first to arrive were Yadja and Jerry, a Polish immigrant couple. More of them shortly.


Almost at the same time, The Finis had also pulled in. Trish and Silvio are old Kurrimine Beach mates whose arrival lifted the standard of my daily coffee to considerably greater heights. In the true Italian tradition, the Finis travel with a wonderful coffee machine.....morning tea in their van was a much more uplifting experience than we could manage.  A genuine 'long black' from a serious machine does run rings around my usual morning 'instant'.






What could I do but reciprocate?  Again the Baby Q was put through its paces



.








but not before I had presented an entree of freshly caught (that's another story) spotted mackerel fish fingers.












Italians, Poles and Aussies.....true to the flag we fly, site 12 became a mini United Nations for the evening. 







Yadja and Jerry now live at Halls Gap in the Victorian Grampians, (where we have another standing invitation to pop in) but prior to that had occupied an apartment in Adelaide. Where?....right opposite the Glenelg SLSC (of course!).....we realised that there had probably been some evenings a few years ago when we were actually all in the upstairs club bar at the same time, but as I have said earlier, we are now beyond being surprised by these encounters.

These have been but a few examples of many occasions when our annex area became the venue for fun and frolics, but I think these couple of offerings are more than enough. As I said at the outset, these missives are a little self-indulgent, and will be kept to a minimum lest I bore you beyond the normal!

ANOTHER 'REAL TIME' UPADATE (25 OCTOBER 2015)

This will be brief. For those who may have missed my previous missive on our proposed progress south from Far North Queensland, let me now announce that we have arrived back in Adelaide as planned. 

We dropped anchor in the Windsor Gardens Caravan Park on schedule last Saturday (17 October) and have finally settled in, with the full annex and our new front verandah all erected. 

Liz has already gone back to work, with three shifts under belt, including a premature return to her old stamping ground at The Memorial Hospital.  They were so keen to have her back that her contract was brought forward to accommodate her presence on her old ward well before the planned commencement date of 1 November. She was actually offered a position as a casual hospital coordinator, a role she had filled previously. Her response was swift......it takes very little time to say "NO!"

We have completed our first round of medical appointments and start with the specialists next week. Our immediate plans hinge very much on the scheduling of the two eye operations I need to correct the current cataract problems which have been driving me nuts over the past six months or so. 

In the meantime, I shall do my best to complete the chronology of our adventures to date within the next couple of weeks.....when have I said that before??  My confidence is boosted by the fact that we now have new electronic kit....our Internet speed has improve beyond my wildest dreams and I do now have more time on my hands. Ever the optimist!

Needless to say the past week has included a somewhat dizzy round of 'catch-ups' between Liz's working engagements, a programme which looks likely to continue for some time. It is very good to see relatives and old friends again, but I have to comment we are both over big city traffic already, notwithstanding the fact that at last we can negotiate our way around without the need for our electronic navigator. Neither of us have any doubt that by the time our Adelaide 'sabbatical' comes to an end, we shall be more than ready to again hit the open road.

In my next, back to our 'winter quarters' in FNQ and fun at Kurrimine Beach.

THE LAST LEG OF OUR PUSH TO THE EAST COAST - HUGHENDEN TO KURRIMINE BEACH (11 - 12 JULY 2015)

As we pulled out of Hughenden bright and early (as usual) en route to an overnight stop in Charters Towers, we had a real sense of deja vu......an hooting easterly right on the nose. Does the wind ever blow in any other direction in this part of the world? This is exactly what we experienced on the last occasion we drove across here. Ah well, nothing for it...we were on a a schedule. 

Fortunately it did abate within an hour and we arrived in Charters Towers without having sent the fuel gauge past the empty mark. Sadly the few shots I took or our site here, and our visit to the nearby golf club bar, something we had not done on our last visit, have fallen foul of those wretched hackers. In any event, Charters Towers itself is old news, so let's move on.

And next morning there we were, back on the Bruce Highway. It almost seemed like a homecoming.

We had specifically planned our trip east across Queensland to arrive in Townsville at 0900 hours on Sunday morning, and despite the delay of some unexpected roadworks on The Bruce, we pulled into our destination right on the dot.....where??  Dan Murphys of course. We were 'dry'. 

We do our best to have very few bottles in the van whilst travelling any distances. The weight penalty is quite surprising. But one can survive on cask wine for just so long and we knew exactly what to expect of the social life at Kurrimine Beach. A significant re-supply was a matter of urgency (given that once at KB the nearest Dan's is 80 kms away in Cairns)

Liz had placed an on-line order some days ago and we were hoping that an early arrival on Sunday morning would mean that we would have minimal problems with the traffic and none with parking. I love it when a plan works.....apart from a few local desperates we had the entire parking lot to ourselves.

Mind you, I think we did raise a few eyebrows with both staff and customers as we demonstrated just how much one can fit on a Dan Murphys trolley. I was relieved that we had only another 200 or so kms to run.....the van's suspension was to about to be tested to the limit!

So far so good this morning, but as we hauled north out of Townsville Plan 'A' fell apart. We had decided to overnight at one of several free camps not too far north of Townsville before moving on into K Beach as expected on the Monday morning. That would have been fine if there had been any room in the free camp parks we had chosen. They were chaotic. There was one space left in the third and last of our options, but it was a shocker. 

"OK, Liz, Plan 'B'.....let's ring Cardwell and overnight there".  We knew from our previous visit there that Cardwell sports three parks. This should not be a problem. But as you have probably already gathered, there was 'no room at the Inn' in Cardwell. We couldn't believe it. The only two sites left in the entire town were both too small to take a rig of our size.  

We still had a number of options available, but on the off-chance that our site at Kurrimine Beach might have been available a day early, we rang to check. Plan 'C' was on.....the folk on Site 12 had just left. 

Marvellous....on we went. A familiar right turn in the centre of Ingham,

on through that town, and we were back in serious Far North Queensland cane country again. After days and days of driving through the desolation of the dessicated, drought-stricken outback cattle country, this was just wonderful.

Palms had replaced stunted scrub

and our windscreen was now filled with the sight of the mountains of FNQ instead of endless dry plains.

Even the haul up and over the spine on the range on the approach to Cardwell was now a pleasure. 

On our previous trip, this part of The Bruce had been a scene of highly organised civil engineering chaos. What had then been a very trying tow along a single narrow strip of road between masses of huge earthmoving equipment, was now very pleasant drive on a smooth, two laned highway, a pleasure to negotiate. We could not believe the difference.

We were into Cardwell in no time, very keen to see what progress had been made in the redevelopment of the foreshore.

From what we could spot on the approaches to the main section of the CBD, this was a world apart from the debris strewn foreshore (thanks to Cyclone Yazi) of our previous visit...and the sea actually looked blue rather than muddy.

The centre of Cardwell was its usual hectic self, but from the fleeting glimpses of the foreshore we could manage between the mass of parked vehicles, the restoration of the foreshore precinct has been a triumph. We plan to book ahead next year and spend some time here. 

What was equally demonstrated by both the full caravan parks and the amount of traffic in the town, is that the Cardwell tourist trade is again alive and well. We were pleased...this town really took a belting (you may recall that it was this Esplanade which featured prominently on the news reports relating to Yazi....the entire seaward half was washed away as some of our photos of our visit two years ago demonstrated).

Within a very short space of time we had left the massive bulk of Mount Tyson and the town of Tully behind us,

had passed the turn off to Mission Beach

and were making our way through the high, flowering cane fields on the approach to the Kurrimine Beach turn off at Silkwood.

The amount of uncut cane had surprised us. When we were last here at this time of the year there was very little to be seen along the highway. We soon discovered that an unusually wet winter (the normal dry season in this part of the world) had meant that the harvesters could not access the muddy cane fields. The whole cutting and production process was seriously behind schedule. We were actually quite pleased...this presented a whole new aspect to an area with which we were quite familiar.

Finally the Kurrimine Beach road sign, with an empty cane train in the background, heralded the last ten kilometres of our dash across the country from west coast to east coast.

Our arrival a day early did cause something of a stir. Our very good friends, the Vogts, who had arrived a week or so before us, and many of the park regulars who had been told of our coming, were all effusive in their greetings, greetings which all carried the question, "aren't you supposed to be here tomorrow?"  "Yep, we just couldn't wait to see you all". "Right.....what's the real reason?" All was normal at Kurrimine Beach.  

Within a day or so we were fully set up on our home patch...site 12, complete with front verandah

and a makeshift version at the rear to prevent water inundating our slab. What's this stuff falling from the sky? We hadn't seen rain for many, many months and sure enough, within a day of our arrival it bucketed down. Welcome back Mr and Mrs Jonah!

This was certainly something of a shock to our system, but it was warm, our good friends were right next door, we were surrounded by greenery

and within no time the weather cleared, the beer garden sign went out, and the Kurrimine Beach social scene was in full swing. It was very good to be back.

This was just the beginning. To come.....Xmas in July, a camp oven roast, friends coming and going, Friday karaoke, a fathers' day with a difference, some very big fish......and more. This was the beginning of a busy two months.

THE TOWN OF HUGHENDEN (10 JULY 2015)

Hughenden is not large. Population?  About 1,500 on a good day!  Built on the banks of the Flinders River, this town is the hub of the local sheep and cattle grazing industry, although as we have already discovered, things are grim for both at the moment. Rainfall in the area is notoriously fickle.  Despite the fact that when it flows, the Flinders is a pretty big stream, it is not a viable source of irrigation. You will see why shortly (unlike the Gascoyne in WA it does not flow underground!)

One of the town's greatest draw cards is the beautiful Porcupine Gorge, known widely as 'Australia's Little Grand Canyon'.  Only a short 60 kms drive north of Hughenden, the scenery here is stunning, as this shot courtesy of 'about-australia' shows.  We did not have time on this trip to include a sortie to this area on our agenda, but we visited friends in Brisbane who have 'done' the gorge....it is now firmly on our 'to do' list.

Of course, as becomes inescapably obvious as one drives into town, Hughenden is the third of the triumvirate of Queensland outback towns which form the so-called 'dinosaur trail'. The fossilised bones of the largest of Australia's prehistoric lizards, the muttaburrasaurus, were first discovered near the tiny town of Muttaburra (how odd), some 200 kms from Hughenden.  I find it a little quaint that towns like Hughenden claim 'the Mutt' as their own......Muttaburra is actually much closer to Longreach! 

But I suppose when the tourist dollar is of increasing importance to the local economies in these small outback towns, every bit of publicity helps. 

We had had our fill of old bones in our previous visits to Winton and Richmond, so for us it was a tour of the town only, which we began by parking at the northern end of Gray Street near the Flinders River where the huge landmark old Comet windmill stands as a reminder of days past.

This very large wind harness (11 metres high) is not quite as old as I first suspected. It was actually erected here in 1933 and is one of only eleven of its type to have been built. Its performance was as impressive as its appearance. In an average wind, this monster could pump out a staggering 11 million litres of water per day. 

As we wandered down to and across the river bridge, two things became immediately apparent.....firstly this is a wide river (when it flows) and at the moment it was bone dry.

But we could see some signs of green on the far bank,

the fine lawns of the Robert Gray Park, named, as could be expected, after a local luminary from the days of yore.

This is a linear park which assumes even more significance in these dry times. We were curious about the large red rocks which are an obvious feature. They can be found in groups

and standing individually. 

A closer look revealed that the small brass plaques on each commemorate the lives of past members of the Hughenden community, ranging from prominent citizens to local larrikins. Naturally I chose this one as an example!  What a lovely environment in which to present some of the town's history.

But the park has a practical side to it as well. Along this walking/jogging track

are numerous 'work out' stations which provide practical advice to those on the mission of improved physical fitness. We did ramble along the path for some distance, but I have to say our encounters with the various exercise stations evoked nothing but curiosity!  

Our exercise for the day was confined to a good walk and we were soon making our way back across the Flinders bridge to the main CBD .

At the town end of the bridge, opposite the windmill, are the modern Shire offices.

Directly across the road, in complete contrast, the impressive but sadly dowdy Masons Hall seemed to be crying out for a makeover.

A short walk north along Gray Street brought us to the intersection of Brodie Street, where, on one corner we found the Hughenden Post Office.

Liz had a need for the services therein, so in we went. Now it's not often I scramble for the camera inside an Australia Post premises, but these chairs did take my attention. They are certainly different. Just the thing to make a visiting stockman feel at home whilst waiting!

From post office steps we had a good view along Brodie Street which is really the hub of the Hughenden CBD.

As we wandered over we came across a further reminder that we were in dinosaur country....another of these street bins. We had first seen these in Winton three years or so ago and had spotted other versions in Richmond. There must have been a 'job lot' on the market at some stage!

It is actually difficult to get away from reminders of the pre-historic past in the Hughenden CBD. The wall on the local library building

is decorated with this skeletal art













which, on closer inspection proved to be very cleverly done. If you look carefully you will see that all the individual pieces are items which once had another use. The shovel and pulley stand out.












And if this were not enough, right next door is 'Mutt's' winged cousin, again constructed entirely of old bits and pieces. With all these reminders, and the exhibits and information to be found at the Flinders Discovery Centre (which we didn't visit), the good burghers of Hughenden are certainly doing all they can to encourage visitors to make the most of the area's dinosaur links.










But we only had time to see the town and move on. At the far end of Brodie Street, we did come across an operational pub (which had little external appeal for us)

and the local RSL right across the road.

In this same area stands the impressive Hughenden Entertainment Centre

and that's the limit of the CBD in this part of town. We did continue on to the end of the road













where we found the Hughenden show grounds, a patch of green at the far side of a dry Flinders River annabranch flood plain.







This was of some interest to us because this is an alternative camp ground in the town, but as you can see, it is completely devoid of any shade and totally exposed. Admittedly it is far cheaper, and there were a few vans here, but we decided we had made the right decision.









It was time to mosey back along the other side of Brodie Street














where the covered walkway in the centre of the road has been designed to cleverly incorporate the 'fan' of an old windmill.








As we walked back along this side of the street, this shop-front poster caught our eye. It provided some insight into the state of the local economy and the fact that the business folk of Hughenden were not going to capitulate without a fight.














On this same side of the street stands a Hughenden landmark.......The FJ Holden Cafe. We have yet to see a travel show or read an article about Hughenden in which this doesn't feature.

As expected, the interior is a hotchpotch of 50's and 60's memorabilia. An old jukebox, seventy-eight inch 'platters', a myriad of photos and the piece-de-resistance (which you can hopefully make out on the far wall....it's blue) the chopped off front end of an FJ Holden. We did not sample the wares on offer, but have been told they are up to scratch. Much as I hate to admit it, I felt completely at home in here....there was nothing on show I didn't immediately recognise!




By this stage we were happy that we had seen enough of this end of town so we stretched our legs again along Gray Street, past the local Lions club contribution to the street scape, and on back to 'Mutt's' corner.







Here, looking at the back end of the building, we confirmed that our first impressions of the state of the Grand Hotel had been correct. It is such a shame that this fine example of a large country hotel has been allowed to deteriorate to the extent it has. This is just the sort of place where we would have had breasted the bar with verve.











As we walked back to the other end of town to reclaim the Cruiser, I came across something I just had to share. It may not be immediately apparent, but I invite you to take a close look at the state of the fence just above the top right corner of this advertising sign......inspiring??? We liked to think that this had been the work of a jealous competitor , but we doubt it!






Far more impressive were the clipped hedges which line the footpath of the Flinders Highway (the western end of Gray Street) near the local Foodworks shop where we stopped for a small re-supply en route back to the park. 











Before returning to camp we did also stop for a quick look at the Hughenden railway station which is right across the road from the caravan park.









Given the proximity we were more than relieved that the cattle trucks lined up in the siding remained empty for the period of our stay. We have yet to come across a loaded one which presents a perfume one would want to bottle, quite aside from the racket of stamping hooves and bellows of indignant bovine protest. 








Adjacent to the caravan park is the 'fun' end of town. A covered skate park,











the local swimming pool, annoyingly empty and ergo closed (it was hot), 















and a basketball hoop are hard to miss. 

I never could determine if this wall had another purpose or whether it was pure advertising, but it was certainly striking.










Let me end our whistle-stop ramble around Hughenden with the entrance to the town pool where I was struck by two things. Firstly, it did seem an odd place to have erected the local 'Roll of Honour' memorial, standing in stark and somewhat incongruous isolation as it does (these are universally to be found in parks or garden surrounds or near the local RSL buildings).





The other thing which caught my eye was a notice near the pool entrance relating to the contact details of those from who enquiries about opening hours could be made.....who else but 'Rocket' and 'Sheep'......"Good on ya, cobber...no worries, mate".  Only in Oz?

So on that decidedly locally rustic note, we leave Hughenden, glad that we had taken the time to look around the town, impressed with most of what we had seen and keen to return to see more of the surrounds, particularly Porcupine Gorge. The two night rest had been most welcome, but it was now time to press on. The coast beckoned with increasing intensity.