Let’s Go!

Jun5

Queensland Road Trip, May 2022

Let’s go on a road trip! Come with us to Townsville and west on the Savannah Way to Karumba on an adventure in far north Queensland. 

After a relaxing week at Golden Beach on the Sunshine Coast, it was time to hitch up the caravan and head to northern Queensland. The day we left home was cold and rainy – jeans and jumpers weather. As we headed north-west on the Warrego Highway the temperature rose and we didn’t need our warm clothes again until the very last day on our way home.

Our first destination was Townsville in far north Queensland and to get there we travelled through towns we’ve been to before. This time we passed through Miles, Roma, Springsure, Capella, Emerald and Mackay without needing to explore.

Even though this part of the journey was familiar, there was still plenty to see along the way. We only drove for 2½ hours before stopping for our first morning tea of the trip, at The Creek Café in Miles. One of Glen’s travel goals is to eat a vanilla slice in every café in Australia and this one lived up to his expectations.

The playground at Capella comes with warnings: don’t take your horse in to play and watch out for snakes!

These four legged lawn mowers were grazing in the backyard of the Tourist Information Centre in Proserpine. Llamas or alpacas? We didn’t know and neither did the lady inside.

Bowen is famous for its delicious mangoes. We saw rows and rows of mango trees but it wasn’t mango season, so the only fruit was this giant-sized beauty on the way into town.

Sugar cane, farmed all the way from Bundaberg to Mossman, grows on both sides of the Bruce Highway.

Not far south of Townsville we crossed the Burdekin River, still in flood after many months of rain.

Finally, after driving 1,474 kilometres over three days, we arrived in Townsville. The tree-covered slopes of Hervey Range made a beautiful backdrop for our free camp site.

A stunning bush sunset, the first of many on this trip, was the perfect welcome to north Queensland.

*some photos taken through the car windscreen by the passenger

38 thoughts on “Let’s Go!”

  4. That was a long trip. I hope your gasoline isn’t as high as ours. 🙂 We also don’t have a lot of free campsites, but wow – that’s a SUNSET! We spent several years camping so I have to ask about the enclosure around your awning. Is it for shade, privacy, or what is its purpose?

    Liked by 1 person

    • Judy, this is just the beginning. The whole round trip was 5,570.2 km! And yes, Glen’s vehicle uses diesel and the prices were higher the further west we went. But we weren’t going to stay home just because of that.

      The extra shade cloths attached to our awning are for both shade and privacy, depending on where we are. At this particular campsite, they were more for shade as it was still very hot, with maximums of 30+ most days so we needed as much shade as we could get. Sometimes we use just the side one for some privacy and sometimes we don’t bother at all.

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Woha, simply mind blowing scenes and what a wonderful trip!

    Looks like an ideal place to explore, looking at all of these stunning sceneries.

    This brings back memories on an expedition I took part in the beautiful island nation of Sri Lanka in South Asia.

    I set out on a journey to explore the longest river of Sri Lanka; River Mahaweli with a group of kayakers paddling for 3 long days.

    And trust me when I say this, it was ‘heaven on earth” from lush greenaries to all the flora and fauna simply captivated me. Read the full story here, https://sachsattic.wordpress.com/2022/07/24/exploring-the-river-mahaweli-on-a-kayak/

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