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Post by atouchofglass on Mar 22, 2008 9:20:59 GMT 10
Greetings Everybody!!!!
Is there anyone out there that is doing a run to North Queensland?
If so where too?
The reason I ask is a desire to know of some better spots to go camping.
I'll start this off with two areas that I know of.
Babinda Boulders... overnight or a couple of days There is a small camp area there possibly able to park a van overnight with toilets.... no potable water and only ten minutes outside Babinda. Babinda is about 30 - 40 minutes south of Cairns
Tinaroo Dam on the Atherton Tablelands Only for smaller vans... very popular with locals and tourists alike One of the most popular areas around Tinaroo is Phong On Bay. Water skiers delight. No amenities at all
Atog
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Post by hooligan on Apr 1, 2008 0:09:35 GMT 10
Hey Atog, That'd be nice but I don't think Border Security will let me out of Mexico ;D Cheers, Gristy
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Post by atouchofglass on Apr 1, 2008 6:20:13 GMT 10
Hooligan If you have travelled the length and breadth of the East coast any tips on good spots would be appreciated. So I'll start a new thread East Coast Van Spots
Atog
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Post by atouchofglass on Aug 16, 2008 13:41:30 GMT 10
Another one for you all Koombaloomba Dam just outside Ravenshoe it was the place to go waterskiing I was told ......
That is until Tinaroo Dam was put in....being closer to Cairns Tinaroo is now the hot spot
Atog
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Post by kiwijim on Aug 17, 2008 1:02:50 GMT 10
"Hey There" ATOG, listen Mate, if you are looking for some GREAT camping spots on your run North... I suggest you make sure the van is firmly attached, build up a great head of steam, shove the tow-wagon into over-drive, then head North as far as you can go, chuck a lefty at the top, then head straight for a couple of thousand clicks, There are thousands of camp spots on the WEST COAST.... Happy Travels ;D kiwijim
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Post by atouchofglass on Aug 18, 2008 6:21:04 GMT 10
Hey Kiwijim Is that a trick of photography or are those mudflats? ;D ;D ;D ;D Just had a coulple of your fellow sandgropers over for tea a few days ago.... You may know Lovshack? They had a taste of Queensland Mud crabs...ummm ummmm Now there's a treat you blokes over the West are missing out on. ;D ;D ;D Sadly the Olympic won't be going anywhere for a while... Not close to finished yet No tow car No petrol money Glad though ;D ;D Now I can search for the next tow car Now I don't need petrol money Now I've got money to finish the van ;D Live's great in the Sunshine State.... ;D And anywhere else in this brilliant land called Australia Atog High on life not on drugs
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Post by kiwijim on Aug 18, 2008 9:45:34 GMT 10
G'Day ATOG, "Hey Bloke" you should buy some specks with all that wealth that you have at the moment....... ;D Picture of mud flats, !!! "GEZ" We in the WEST don't know the meaning of the word. Now if some-one was to come to the West, we could give them a feed of CLEAN Blue Manna Crabs straight from the CLEAN Indian Ocean. Sorry these are only small ones at short notice. kiwijim
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Post by atouchofglass on Aug 18, 2008 17:14:49 GMT 10
Hey Kiwijim Yep over here we call them blue swimmer crabs.... very sweet flesh ... We use em as a back up for the mud crabs... ;D ;D Just ask Lovshack what muddies taste like.... Atog the seafood fanatic..
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Post by atouchofglass on Sept 18, 2008 7:02:53 GMT 10
Another really interesting place to visit is the Chinese temple in Atherton on the ..... Atherton Tablelands
spent an hour or so there and looking at the history of the Chinese community in the North Queensland area
Fascinating stuff
So if you ever find yourself in the region..... It is a must visit
Cheers Atog
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Post by atouchofglass on Jan 14, 2009 15:48:27 GMT 10
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Post by mike on Jan 15, 2009 12:29:22 GMT 10
Atog Now that's what we like... No crowds, just peace and quiet. (The National Parks and Wildlife had to 'close' the Royal National Park in southern Sydney a few times over Christmas ... " because it was FULL". Imagine that! ) Loved that little bird swimming on the water out there on the lake... That fungi looks better than some ice cream cones. Great pics. Cheers Mike ;D ;D ;D
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Post by atouchofglass on Jun 9, 2009 18:32:12 GMT 10
Had to put this up as it was a brilliant sunrise on Sunday morning Even use it as my background on the computer Cheers
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Post by kiwijim on Jun 9, 2009 19:59:19 GMT 10
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Post by atouchofglass on Jun 10, 2009 5:13:05 GMT 10
Touché ;D ;D Think I deserved that one ;D ;D After all the flak I've given you about the top photos of WA But as you know those were taken from my front verandah ..... not the verandah of a tourist trap and copied Say hi to Baaarrrrbraaa for me ;D ;D ;D Cheers Atog
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Post by atouchofglass on Jul 5, 2009 18:40:32 GMT 10
Herberton Mining town from the 1880's or there abouts Decided to go to the Herberton historical village today Got as far as the front door Didn't have quite enough cash to get in Looks good from the outside Decided to have a look around the town instead Came across the Mining Museum Decided to spend a bit of time there This is beside the entrance Fantastic mineral display And truly lovely Guides..... Betty and Bill Well worth the visit but you will need a couple of hours to see most of it Lots of mining gear and information regarding Herbertons birth and changes Including a railway carriage seat from one of the carriages used at the Undara lava tube site Herberton early today Also came across this quirky house/? being constructed Will go back another time when I have more time Cheers Atog
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Post by atouchofglass on Jul 6, 2009 6:07:45 GMT 10
Little bit extra in the Herberton information centre and Mining Museum A charcoal burner Maybe useful today considering the price of fuel Perhaps a little bulky for cars of today though Front a smooth and shapely eeeer aerodynamic piece of engineering The bit in front of the Grill of your car Don't all race out to get one.... This is the first I've seen Cheers Atog
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Post by atouchofglass on Mar 7, 2010 16:33:25 GMT 10
Gidday Everyone Well the Cheese and Kisses was cheesed off with the weather in Cairns this week and last. Talk about humid So....... We decided it was time for a short break Up to the Atherton Tablelands Packed up and off Friday afternoon Arrive at..... Lake Tinaroo ;D ;D ;D ;D About 5.30pm There is a caravan park not far from the dam and it is not a bad spot to stay The weather was magicCool nights ....... no humidity ..... blue skys....... friendly people.... What more do you need? Just a nice camp spot Part of the Discovery group. All the amenities are good.... a little older but clean and well cared for. Just be careful in the gents showers..... hot is cold and cold is hot Could give you a nasty shock. Spent part of Saturday touring around and had a look at the Atherton Markets on Every Saturday .... not great but picked up some nice fruit and veg and a couple of novels for those long nights doing nothing when traveling Nice people at the markets as well .... Very laid back approach Next day did a bit of a tour around and of course went to have a bo peep at the dam This is a bay across from the caravan park The lake is a bit low at the moment Notice the pontoons? The ones out in the lake have an 8mtre mark up near the shade sail..... Hmm perhaps it gets just a bit more water at times ;D ;D Bit of history embedded in the totem poles Wanted to go to the Tolga markets which are much larger but got sidetracked and ended up at the Peeramon Pub ;D ;D ;D ;D Over a hundred years old Now you gotta drink to that There were a few bikers there enjoying some amber ale as well Very enjoyable weekend Hitch up and back down the range.... slowly Home by 3pm ready for a new week. Still too d@mn hot in Cairns Wish we could have had the week up at Tinaroo.... and perhaps a couple of other pubs in the area ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Will stay there again time and weather permitting Might even get a few red claw yabbies.... mmmmm foooood Cheers Atog
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Post by bobandjacqui on Mar 7, 2010 17:39:08 GMT 10
G'day Atog, Great to see you out using the van Tinnaro looks like a great spot. How's the panelvan running now? All sorted I hope and have you worked out those level rides yet? Mate great photos. Cheers Bob and Jacqui. ;D ;D ;D
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Post by millard1399 on Mar 7, 2010 22:11:15 GMT 10
G'day atog, I'm not surprised you've been thinking of ways of escaping the wretched humidity in the Cairns area. And what better way than zipping up to the Tablelands? Some wonderful photos there. ;D
I seem to remember the Peeramon Pub from a visit there in (I think) 1994. From memory, the bar walls were plastered (no pun intended) with business cards from anyone who came in for a drink and wanted to leave their "calling card". I left one of mine pinned on the wall with the hundreds of others that were there. Haven't been back there since, but I guess that theme has now been long gone.
I do remember the pleasant visits around that region...Lake Placid, Tinaroo Dam, the curtain fig, tea plantations, the lush tropical forests.
Great to hear you're taking the Olympic out on the road and getting away from it all. Any further modifications to come on the van, now you've given it a test run or two??
cheers, Al.
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Post by atouchofglass on Mar 8, 2010 7:49:51 GMT 10
Gidday Everyone Seeing most of the questions relate to the vans (caravan and panelvan) ;D ;D ;D ;D will post the replies on my Olympic thread The weekend was great Sadly returning to Cairns heat and humidity All is well other than that. Picked up some Tumeric at the markets and going to give that a go at growing. Just for something different. Also picked up some purple potatoes..... Will see what they taste like in the next couple of days We also saw a very well restored maroon S series Valiant. Mate that lives in the area says there are two similar here. Just another one of my "Wants" ;D ;D ;D ;D Sorry guys no photos The Peeramon pub nearly got demolished because of damage in Cyclone Larry. So now the bar is at the side in a new section while they save up for repairs...... The main bar is closed until then. You never know your business card may still be there. ;D ;D ;D Cheers Atog
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Post by kiwijim on Mar 8, 2010 16:48:45 GMT 10
Howdy Atog,
It's great to see you out and enjoying the country side,
those photos are giving us some pretty good ideas of what to expect when we finally get to your part of the world,
As long as the humidity has packed it in when we arrive, it looks like there are some really beaut places to rest the Thomson for a while.
Keep them coming Mate, the more we see, the better we like it.
Cheers kiwijim.
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Post by lisa on Mar 22, 2010 13:51:03 GMT 10
Hey ATOG! Well after much stuffing around due to excessive (read: non-stop for over a month now) rain giving rise to some unexpected leaks plus a few unexpected extra car repairs (my regular service turned into a $700 nightmare - I needed two new tyres, breaks machined and some stabiliser pin kit thingy ma bobber... hmmm.... so that's what that odd "clunking" sound was! Anyway, the Chesney is now 100% roadworthy, registered, totally marine grade waterproofed and all set to hit the road north at last! We are heading up from the Sunshine Coast to Townsville starting this wednesday ;D ;D to take my son to the Little Athletics State championships... I will be sure to give updates to how we fare with the old girls first major run in about twenty years! SOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!
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Post by lisa on Mar 22, 2010 13:55:42 GMT 10
Oh, by the way.... "We also saw a very well restored maroon S series Valiant. Mate that lives in the area says there are two similar here. Just another one of my "Wants".... SNAP! Me too! I've been dreaming of an old Val for a very long time now. I told my son (now 14) that when he gets his licence he can have the VX Commodore and I'll get myself my dream Val. Of course an R series would be nice... Check out this sweetie I just put in to this week's Vehicle Mania article... Attachments:
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Post by atouchofglass on Mar 22, 2010 16:58:29 GMT 10
Hey Lisa Glad to hear you are making progress with the van. I'm sure the trip to Townsville will be a decent shake down for the Chesney As for the Valiant...... well..... the S series is always a want. Even better would be an S series stationwagon..... now that is rare. . Almost as rare as a Drifter panelvan ;D ;D ;D I can dream ;D ;D ;D All the best Atog
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Post by lisa on Mar 27, 2010 17:53:27 GMT 10
WE MADE IT!!!! 1600kms and the van is holding up like a dream - the car on the other hand.... Was seriously thinking of coming up to Cairns (so close is so tempting) but I have to be back in Bris for work on Thursday so might have to make it for another time when I have more time... that Palm Cove caravan park is tempting me though...
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