To the coast

Leaving Winton we travelled eastward gradually moving from very dry outback drought-ridden landscape into more tropical vegetation the closer we got to the coast. Sugarcane and Mango farms are extensive in this area.  Eventually we stopped at Ayr for a couple of days. Ayr is about 88 kilometres south of Townsville and is situated on the Burdekin River, and, with the coast also not far away, it is very popular for fishing. We stopped in a very nice park for several days to catch up on some washing and grocery shopping. The park has some very large Morton Bay Figtrees inhabited by masses of noisy birds. At night this changes to bats and their noise – squabbling and scrabbling along caravan rooftops is quite startling but thankfully around 10pm all settle down and everyone - birds, bats and holiday makers - all get a good night’s sleep.

From Ayr we continued south towards the coast and eventually came to Conway Beach not far from Airlie Beach. This area is very picturesque – tropical and warm, and was quite a change for us after the dryness of outback travel. Conway Bay turned out to be sited a short stone’s throw from a very shallow bay and the park is well set up with a holiday theme catering mainly for retiree travellers who like to fish – and there is bingo, craft days, pizza nights and happy hours each day. For young families there is a large modern playground area (bouncing castle, waterslide, shallow kiddy pools and a ‘train’ for rides around the park). A little too ‘Hi-De-Hi’ for us, but an interesting stop none-the-less.  One day we drove into Airlie Beach as we had heard so much about this place on the Whitsunday coast. We could not believe our eyes- with overdevelopment rampant, the town is huge. Masses of highrise (terraced into the hillside) houses and apartments, multiple shopping complexes, roundabouts, traffic and people everywhere. ALL the major fast food places had at least one outlet. Didn't see the beach at all, but there was a massive port area with boats coming and going. We were just shocked, and admittedly we had just spent weeks in the outback with few (but very friendly) people, very little traffic and wonderful wide open spaces - but still - how did they get away with it in such a beautiful area?

The jetty at Shute Harbour.

We turned away and drove a little south to Shute Harbour and this was much nicer. It is still a small town and very prettily situated. Do hope it doesn’t go the same way as Airlie Beach. Finally, we stopped in Proserpine and this, I imagine, has stayed much as it always has since its founding in the 1890s – a working town with sugar cane mill and old style shops and no pretence at being a resort. All in all it was an interesting tour of three very different towns all within twenty minutes drive of each other.

Shute Harbour.

We decided we had better start the long drive south and so from Conway Beach we overnighted near Wallaroo, then drove into Roma to stop for lunch supplies and also to see if the most amazing Drapery shop that I first saw two years ago was still operating. Ace Drapers in Roma is like no other store I’ve seen. It looks a bit decrepit from the outside, but inside is huge with goods stacked floor to ceiling height. 

The owner keeps buying stock but there is no space left so boxes and boxes get stacked two and three deep outside in alcoves along the shop front (these get taken inside at the end of each day!). He also has several other disused premises that he uses for storage. I have never seen so much fabric in one store in my life and it is quite overwhelming. There would not be anything in the drapery and kitchen goods area that is not available at this shop. 

Of course I found some fabric to buy and some sheets for the caravan too. The cutting table is piled high with more boxes of stock, so the assistant had a bit of difficulty cutting lengths of material. Likewise the cash register is also almost hidden beneath towering items  - but they were still able to take payment!

The ribbon section alone.

Me - searching for fabric. There is another aisle similarly packed with fabric.

 At the nearby men’s wear store we found some nice shirts and shorts for Peter and had a good long chat to the shop owner. He told us more about Ace Drapers. Apparently half the town is embarrassed at its excesses, whilst the other half thinks it should be on the tourist list of Roma attractions. I'm inclined to agree with the latter.

Next stop - Moree with its thermal pools. Looking forward to a dip.

The start of the long trip south

We began our travels south and on the first day came to Townsville. The park we stayed in was beautifully set up and just across the road from the beach with a fine view of Magnetic Island. Sunday morning's main street market was well attended and we enjoyed not only the great variety of stalls selling everything from fresh local produce to homemade crafts and the usual gimmicky of crystals and incense etc, but also the varied and beautiful early architecture of this major coastal town of Queensland.

Our next leg took us inland and we eventually came to Lake Maraboon near Emerald. This park was exceptionally lovely situated right by a lake and nearby dam and so was quite popular for fishermen. It also provided a service we hadn't experienced before - meals on wheels delivered conveniently to your caravan or tent!
First thing each morning a chattering flock of very friendly Rainbow Lorikeets arrived seeking breakfast from the enchanted campers. Despite the many hundreds of kilometres south we have travelled, we are still enjoying hot, summery weather, and are not looking forward to the cool Spring weather at home.

From our base here at Lake Maraboon we drove each day to the gemfields - Rubyvale and Sapphire. We took an underground tour through a mine and learnt about the dangers and sometime the rewards that oldtime miners experienced as they tried to find their fortune. Most of the sapphires found in Australia come from this area and are usually quite a dark blue although other colours are found also. My own engagement ring contains a dark blue sapphire and  so I think it is highly likely it was found here. We were able to buy a few 'buckets of wash' and learnt how to sift and wash the sandy soil to hopefully find some gemstones. This could become quite addictive! We actually found some sapphires and also a couple of zircons - but they were all quite small and not good quality. Oh well - we'll have to find another way to pay for our next trip!

After Lake Maraboon we continued the trip south and once again came to Roma where we had stopped only briefly on our way north. This time we spent a few days here to see what we had missed the first time. A browse of the main street shops was interesting especially one. This was a drapery and I must say I have never seen anything like it in all my born days. It was stuffed from floor to ceiling with items for sale - all higgledy-piggledy. You took your life in your hands when walking down the narrow aisles as the packed shelving  went almost to the ceiling. This incredible shop must have been started around the 1950s and I doubt there has been any attempt to bring any sort of order to the stock in all those years. I think it should be up there on the list of essential tourist attractions of Roma!

We had another surprising experience in Roma. This area was established in the early days mainly because of the oil and gas fields near to the town and a 'sound and light' show each evening tells the story. We joined the queue while waiting for the doors to open and Peter mentioned to me that a nearby couple looked familiar to him, but it wasn't until we moved into the lighted area that we were able to see them clearly - and they us! "South America" we all said together. They were
South Australians John and Bernadette who were also on the trip we took in 2008 to South America. What a lovely surprise to see them again and after the show we really enjoyed a rather long chat. They too were at the same park as we were in Roma and leaving the next day as we were.

We had several overnight stops next - Goondiwindi our final stop in Queensland and then into New South Wales with another overnight stop at Coonabarabran.

At Cowra we stopped for several days and enjoyed sightseeing this rather lovely town. Top of the list had to be the remains of the WW2 Interment camp which was the site of the Cowra breakout of  378 Japanese prisoners in August 1944.  At the same time 231 were killed and another 107 were wounded. All those that escaped were later re-captured. (Four AMF personnel were killed and four were wounded). I hadn't realised that the camp also held some Italian, Korean and Formosan P.O.Ws as well. We also visited the POW Theatre which has a very clever interactive media presentation with a hologram relating the story of Cowra and the details of the escape attempt.

Cowra has since become the centre of Japanese Cultural Heritage in Australia and maintains beautifully the Japanese War Cemetery and has developed (in conjunction with Ken Nakajima, a Japanese Garden Architect), the stunning Cowra Japanese Garden - a strolling garden. We were several weeks early for the cherry blossom trees, but the garden was still quite wonderful.

Goulburn was our next stop and here we stopped for a few days to have a good look around this vibrant town. Peter enjoyed a visit to the Rail Heritage Centre.  In 1869 the first steam railway in Australia was constructed between Sydney and Goulburn (224 kms) and the Loco Roundhouse, built just after WW1. is now the home of the Preservation Society.

We have by now travelled quite a distance south and as a result the weather is getting a good deal cooler and although the days are still fine, the nights are much chillier and blankets are being piled on the bed once again.