2026 - Winter Escape to QLD

Sat 30 May - Thu 18 Jun 26 - Gladstone & Rockhampton New daily posts added below. Thu 18  Jun:    17 to 24 Degrees, mostly clear with light easterly winds. I started the day with another long morning walk then took Mum to a GP appointment as a follow up to her surgery so I could join her while I'm still in town - needless to say, Dr Abi was thrilled to see Mum smiling and pain free again. With us leaving Gladstone tomorrow, I had a few more odd jobs to finish and appointments to schedule - in home Physio appointment Tue, GP review Wed and Orthopaedic post-surgery review in July. Meanwhile Noeleene was busy in the Greenhouse and Olli was running himself into the ground playing with Greg's dog 'Whiskey'. After lunch, school mate Barry and Helen dropped by Mum's for a visit for a couple of hours, and it was great to catch up. A few more farewells followed, then we had dinner with Mum before returning to the van, ready for bed. It's been a very busy day, and pre...

Fri 29 May 26 - Biloela to Gladstone (123km) A very fresh 5 degrees and clear at Biloela to 24 degrees, clear and sunny at Gladstone. With only a short distance to drive today, we left a little later, stopping briefly for coffee at Calliope Crossroads, then continuing to Gladstone to Mum's house. Mum wasn't expecting us until Sunday, so it was a bit of a surprise for her. A brief hello and a cuppa, then we continued a whole 350m to the caravan park where will stay for the next 2-3 weeks. A very convenient location to mum's house, it has cabins and only a few van spaces. Cabins have been built over both the drive-through slabs that we have stayed on previously, but because the cabins are not yet operational, we were able to park between the cabins on a large grassy site, and have access a wooden deck from one of the cabins. A great little private spot, with power and water and all amenities for only $260 per week. After setting up, and a bit of a rest, we returned to mum...

Thu 28 May 26 - Wandoan to Biloela (261km) 14 Degrees with 26mm of heavy rain, hail and thunderstorms overnight, reaching 24 degrees and mostly clear with strong afternoon SW winds.  The Waterloo Plains Environmental Park at Wandoan is a wonderful place to stay for a night or two, but it would be so much nicer without thunderstorms, hail and heavy rain and a resultant quagmire. I woke at 01:20 to the sound of thunder nearby, then the heavy rain started falling, and it didn't ease until after 08:00am, hence I didn't get much sleep last night. By the time the rain did ease, we found ourselves parked on soft boggy black soil. With a break in weather, I stepped outside to prepare to leave, then engaging 4WD, we moved to firmer ground before finishing packing and leaving the campground. Lesson learned. With no set plans today, heading north following a 4.5m wide load traveling at 80k/hr  for about 40km gave us plenty of time to decide. After overtaking the wide load, we continued t...