Birdsville and Beyond - day 13

A very very cold night, a quick pack up and we said goodbye to our travel companions to head back to Sydney.
A heard of sheep almost didn't want to let us leave.

We took a coffee and cake stop along the way in our favorite place in Leura in the Blue Mountains.

Then via the car-wash back home.












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Location:Oxford St,Surry Hills,Australia

Birdsville and Beyond - day 12

Chilly morning but after pancakes and packing up the sun warmed everything up nicely. Through inland roads and tracks we're slowly heading south. The tracks were very muddy, making the car all red again.

After lunch we decided to head for the historic town of Hill End, a spot where some of the others have been before. A nice place on the Turon River.










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Birdsville and Beyond - day 11

Only a few drops of rain overnight. After breakfast and packing up we set course for Thargomindah for fuel and coffee. Along the way we spotted an Emu with 3 babies and drove through a huge swarm of locust.

The roads we intended to take us south appeared to be all closed. So we detour towards the Mitchell highway to get past Bourke.

We set up camp not far from Bourke.








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Birdsville and Beyond - day 10

Today we continued to follow the road to Windorah were we stopped for lunch and fuel, to continue towards Quilpie.

Along the way we encountered some heavy rain and a dust storm.

After a short break we set off south to search for a dry spot. Almost all the land was wet, but up on a crest we found a rocky high spot.














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Location:Quilpie Thargomindah Rd,Quilpie,Australia

Birdsville and Beyond - day 9

Early wake to see the sun rise over Big Red.

Bad weather coming into the Simpson, so a speedy pack up and a drive back to Birdsville. With the northern road being opened up, the whole town has emptied out and it looks like a small desert town again.

We got an update on the road reports at the servo and found a suitable route north and then east, a lot shorter than the alternative of the day before going up al the way north to Longreach.

Along the road from Bedouri to Windorah we stopped to set up camp.










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Birdsville and Beyond - day 8

One road opened up, but the wrong one.
Today we took a scenic flight over the Simpson area for 1.5hrs.

Right after that we set off west into the part of the Simpson that is open, to Big Red, the last sand dune of the Simpson. This is only about 30km from Birdsville. We set up camp at the bottom of Big Red, so we had a bit of a desert feeling after all.









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Birdsville and Beyond - day 7

Still in Birdsville, the road out west opened but only up to the SA border so we're still going nowhere. We're also waiting for some parts being flown in for one of the landcruisers.

If all goes well we plan to take a 2day trip into the Simpson tomorrow. There is the risk of bad weather coming in again and being stuck longer.












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Location:Eyre Developmental Rd,Birdsville,Australia

Birdsville and Beyond - day 6

Still at Birdsville today. A very sunny day, most of us just relaxed and did some work on the car. We got word the roads will probably not open before Thursday. And not even the road we wanted to take.
So we'll be out here for a while. New supplies will be flown in tomorrow.













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Location:Eyre Developmental Rd,Birdsville,Australia

Birdsville and Beyond - day 5

After a very rainy night we decided to scout for a dryer and less muddy spot, which we found after a drive around the area. We packed up camp and put everything back up 5min down the road.
The weather had cleared up and the sun dried out all the wet gear pretty quick.
The races for today were cancelled as well so today was a rest day.

Just after we came into Birdsville last night, they closed off all the roads into town, which basically means everyone is stuck here for a few days.















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Location:Eyre Developmental Rd,Birdsville,Australia

Birdsville and Beyond - day 4

Early rise today because we had a lot of ground to cover. We drove off at 7:30 to cross the border into South Australia. A section of the Bore Track took us to Innamincka for fuel, lunch and a hot shower in the public shower.

After that we headed up the Cordillo downs track. Because of the recent rain this track was very difficult. We got stuck in the mud a couple of times and had to use the snatch strap to get pulled out. Everything, especially Arjan, was covered in mud. Due to the wet terrain we decided to push on to Birdsville despite we prefer to set up camp in daylight.

Unfortunately Birdsville had a lot of rain, so it was very hard to find a decent spot in the dark and rain with a very hard wind blowing. Around 11pm we finally sat in the tent dry-ish. Hopefully tomorrow will be dry.










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Location:Birdsville Developmental Rd,Birdsville,Australia

Birdsville and Beyond - day 3

Today's section took us from the campground to Tibooburra where we fueled up again and had a coffee. From there we went north through Sturt National Park towards the Queensland border. Just before the border we noticed one of the tyres being a bit soft so we put the spare on. The track from there on was very muddy and challenging to drive. Therefore we didn't make a lot of progress and set up camp about 20km from the border with South Australia. While Arjan set up camp, Hans fixed the tyre. There was a big steel pin embedded well in the surface. After it was pulled out the hole was filled with a rubber plug.













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Birdsville and Beyond - day 2

After a good nights sleep and a county style breakfast we set course for Nyngan (about 2hrs) where we met up with the rest of the group. From there we drove in convoy to Bourke. After filling up and a quick lunch we left the bitumen roads heading to Wanaaring where we set up camp near the river.














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Birdsville and Beyond - day 1

Today is the first day of our big 4WD tour through south-east Australia.

The past couple of weeks we have been preparing for the trip; getting the car serviced, buying additional camping gear and of course supplies.

We left Sydney around 2pm and set course for Dubbo, NSW via the Blue Mountains and Orange, arriving at 7:30pm. We're spending the night in a motel and will leave early tomorrow morning for the next stretch.

Not even half-packed.

On the road

Dinner in Dubbo.

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Location:Darling St,Dubbo,Australia

BlogPress for iPhone

I've just installed BlogPress on my iPhone. Hopefully I can update our blog on the go; for instance during our upcoming 4WD trip.



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Location:Oxford St,Surry Hills,Australia

May we have your votes please?

No, no, no, we are not talking about the Eurovision Song Contest, but the elections for the Dutch parliament on June 9th .

As overseas Dutch citizens we are allowed to vote via mail. First of all you have to apply for mail-voting with the mayor of The Hague, who handles all overseas requests. After the ballots have been printed, they are sent overseas; together with instructions, forms and a return-envelope. Because it can be difficult to get the votes back on time in The Hague, we can send them to the Embassy in Canberra for processing and counting. 

Hmmm big piece of paper	Arjan's vote, but not for the Animal Party
Ready to go

Family Time

Mum and Dad flew down again to visit us and of course we planned a lot of things to see and do!

Palm Beach

First trip was a drive to the Northern Beaches and to Barrenjoey lighthouse in Palm Beach. It’s quite a climb from the beach up to the top, but the view is definitely worth it. A trip to that area isn't complete with a visit to the Cooks Larder for a taste of their famous cakes. On the way back we stopped at some of the famous surf beaches, back to Sydney for a nice dinner.

Auckland and Rotorua

Over the Easter long-weekend we took a trip to New Zealand's North Island. We flew into Auckland where we spent 2 nights and then drove down to Rotorua, the heart of geothermal activity and Maori culture.

Auckland isn't complete with a visit to the Sky Tower, which we did not only visit for the views but also to have a nice seafood dinner. The next day took us to the west coast, Muriway Beach and Piha. A whale had even decided to drop by along the coast. On the way back we stopped at the volcano crater Mt. Eden which lies in the city itself.

Sky Tower	Muriwai Beach is the most accessible gannet colony in New Zealand.
LionRock at Piha	Mt Eden

We drove from Auckland to Rotorua via the East Coast town of Waihi Beach passing the towns of Paeroa and the gold mine at Waihi. Around Rotorua there are various volcanic and geothermal sights such as Waimangu Thermal Valley and Whakarewarewa (Te Pui) Geysers. On the dive back to Auckland we stopped at the Waitomo Glowworm caves and the Kiwi House to see a real live Kiwi-bird.

This is where the drink L&P comes from	And this is where the Kiwi fruit comes from.
Gold mining in progress	Kiwi-fruit on the tree.
Bubbling lake
	Bubbling mud
A Geyser
Kiwi-bird	Glow-worm caves at Waitomo
Back to Sydney

Cook

The next weekend in Sydney took us on trip in the footsteps of the early explorers, Botany Bay. On 29 April 1770, Botany Bay was the site of James Cook's first landing of HMS Endeavour on the continent of Australia.

Bare Island	La Perouse

After that it was time for Mum and Dad to fly back to the (still cold) Netherlands.