4x4 Fun

I'd never been off-road with my husband before last weekend. When I was young I fondly remember my dad barreling the XF down dirt tracks to remote campsites, box trailer in tow. What fun. 

But I've never really been "4WD-ing" so when C decided he wanted to give another go to the mountain trail that I'd freaked out on a few weeks prior, I was a bit nervous. 

Lucky my husband is a prepper - he likes to be prepared for all eventualities. As he loaded a first aid kit, some "Max Trax" and a roll of loo paper into the back of the X-Trail my fears were somewhat assauged. 

The road we'd decided to take started at amount Kilcoy and ended Who-Knows-Where. We'd managed to find it on a Hema map but weren't sure where we would end up as there were multiple intersecting roads. I was having visions of the RACQ rescue chopper having to winch us out. 

I must admit, being completely alone in the Australian bush unnerves me. I was on Yowie-watch the whole time! The difficult parts of the road scared me, whereas C was having a complete ball tacking washouts and slippery corners. The scenery up there is stunning. At times over 600m above sea level, the bush changes from scrubby gums to semi-tropical rainforest as you go. 

In the end it wasn't a particularly challenging trail (apparently) but more than enough for my nerves! After a couple of hours I was ready for home and the promise of a hot shower. 

What I did like was taking the new camera and tripod and practicing our photography. And we even saw a kangaroo. 

Now we just have to decide where to go next! Any suggestions?

Great Southern Land

In honour of Australia Day I thought I'd share with you all some of my favourite photos showing this beautiful land I love.

Lake Sampsonvale, Qld

Sunset over Lake Sampsonvale, Qld

Caloundra, Qld

Glengallan Homestead, Southern Downs, Qld

Sunset over canefields, Far North Qld

Mount Glorious, Qld

Lake Perseverance, Qld

Townsville, Qld

Cattle, Darling Downs, Qld

Gum trees on the hill, Darling Downs, Qld

A Day on Maggie

Townsville is a place I now know well. We spend quite a bit of time there since my husband's parents moved there a few years ago.

We are always looking for new things to do in the area and this visit I decided I wanted to go to Magnetic Island for the day. Known as "Maggie" to the locals, I'd been before when I was young but remembered absolutely nothing!

We took the passenger ferry across (a reasonable fare of $32 return, I thought) and before we knew it we were being turned down to hire a Mini Moke. Mokes are a little bit of an icon on the island but turns out you need to get there early to hire one!

In the end this was a good thing, as it was a blisteringly hot day and in the end I was very happy with the Ford Focus we ended up with (and the ice-cold air con!). I certainly would recommend hiring a car, because though the island is quite small and you can take the bus between townships, it gives you some independance and you don't need to wait around in the hot sun. We saw people walking but the distances between places eg. Arcadia and Horseshoe Bay are quite great.

We took a few snaps at Horseshoe Bay before heading up to The Forts bushwalk. More on this in another post - let's just say for now it was a personal challenge for me, being quite steep and long! Afterwards I was promised a lovely lunch so we drove down to Picnic Bay and ended up at the pub there. One steak sandwich and a glass of prosecco later and I felt revived.

The water is so impressive and every view delights on the island. You can't swim in the summer - one of North Qld's biggest disappointments really - because of the stingers. We saw a few kids in stinger suits splashing about but most people confined themselves to the stinger net, which a local told us they rotate between the beaches throughout the summer.

We headed home in the afternoon a little disappointed that there wasn't much more to do. While waiting for the ferry, we strolled around the marina admiring the boats and yachts and dreaming of a nomadic life. Maggie is a quiet place - people who live there obviously value this and holiday-makers must appreciate the slower pace. But I don't think it's for me unless I ever decide I want the kind of holiday where you do nothing but sleep, eat, read and go for walks.

Come to think of it, that actually sounds quite nice...

 

Have you ever been to Maggie?

PS - this is also my 301st post on this blog - nice milestone!