Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Day 1: Wed 11 May - Hippo Farm to Moonie, 443km, 16-22deg.

We slept really well last night after a very busy day preparing both the van and house for our 3 month holiday, hopefully to Perth and back.  With the MTBs firmly attached to the back of the van, and after going through all the check lists we do before leaving on holidays with the van, we got away at 9am. As this first day's drive is one we've done many times before we didn't plan to stop for much.

Had take-away coffee from the German Cafe at Kilkivan with some of Wendy's homemade cake in the park nearby. However, fumbles-Greg spilt his (in the truck) so Wendy shared hers; isn't she nice. Lunch was the usual (tinned fish & salad) at a free camp/rest area not far out of Kingaroy on the Dalby road. The road today was excellent in the main with short stretches of "melon holes" which are a bit rough, so max speed on these areas was about 80 kph.

We made it to the thriving metropolis of Moonie (a dozen houses + the Crossroads Pub/Cafe/Servo/Shop/Art gallery/motel/caravan park all in one) about 4pm. Got a drive-thru site so we didn't have to unhook the van. After a quick walk around the block we were both looking for dinner. It was a cool 16deg at 5pm, so we went straight to the pub after the walk. Wendy had a steak, chips and salad, while Greg had chicken breast with the same. A bottle of McWilliams Sem Sav Blanc cost $12 odd, was not too bad and washed the food down nicely.

The only problem with having dinner at 6pm is you want to go to bed at 7!!  However, we managed to stay awake a little longer, but not much. A very pleasant first day on the road.


Kilkivan

Art by John Murray

Dinner


#P10 Moonie Cross Roads


Oil and gas at Moonie

The one-stop-shop at Moonie


Budgie Smugglers by John Murray



Day 58: Thu 7 Jul - Goondiwindi to Home, 528km, 6-21deg, (must be back in Qld) cloudy early then clear and sunny

Today we complete the final leg of a journey of just over 8 weeks, 12,193km across the bottom half of the country towing our home away from ...