Drive. Eat. See. Do.

Five weeks of eating, seeing and doing, courtesy of our very own travel co-ordinator who also happened to turn 70 whilst we were away. Bill is a planner, a meticulous planner in fact and none of this would have happened without him.

We embarked on our expedition to Outback Queensland on May 20th and immersed ourselves in all it had to offer. 

Matilda Way and it’s vast landscapes have been on Bill’s bucket list for a very long time. 

Just prior to our road trip, they had received several weeks of teeming rain which resulted in an abundance of green vegetation and the rivers and waterways were looking full and healthy. Quite the opposite of our expectations.

A snapshot whilst driving…..

Blackhall.

Barcaldine.

Longreach. The Stockman’s Hall of Fame. An outstanding exhibition paying tribute to the history and lives of our pioneers. It has recently undergone a $15 million redevelopment to create “ an immersive, multi sensory experience” and we loved it.

Winton. Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum.

Another world class exhibition and home to the largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils in the world.

Burke and Wills Junction.

The final destination of the Matilda Way is Karumba…. a place that had piqued Bill’s curiosity for some time.

It is a popular destination for barramundi fishing. We did a tour out to a sand cay to watch the sunset.

Cobbold Gorge

One of Mother Nature’s natural wonders. 

The narrowness of the gorge ( two metres at the narrowest) and the height of the rugged sandstone cliff formations ( thirty metres )make it truly remarkable. Their small tour boats have electric motors and this makes them run very quietly. We did our tour at 7am. It was breathtaking.

Undarra. One of the longest lava tube systems in the world.

We then drove across the Savannah Way to Cairns and up to Port Douglas known in travel parlance as where the Daintree Forest meets the Great Barrier Reef.

Our first experience of both.

Prettiest little Church you ever did see.

Talk about walking in the wilderness.

Our first foray into the wonder that is the  Great Barrier Reef and my first ever snorkelling success. The whole prospect of trying to breathe when my mouth and nose were blocked off was always beyond me, but I did it! Having “prescription goggles” was a game changer too.

The Low Isles are located 12 kms from Port Douglas and we did the catamaran experience to get there. 

Bill spent some time gazing around and chuckling at all of us trying to squish our bodies into the Lycra suits that were supplied! Including his own!

Wish we could show you the underwater vistas too.




That’s me in the white jeans getting my special goggles.

Southward bound.

No accommodation bookings had been made for our return journey. It was going to be a ramble of sorts. That’s just me ( not Bill’s ideal scenario ). Flying by the seat of my pants half the time. That soon changed when the entire Victorian population descended on Queensland to escape the bitterly cold beginnings of winter. We chose to return via our beautiful eastern  coast and revisit some of our previous holiday destinations and book ahead each night.

Looking towards the Gold Coast from Rainbow Bay, a childhood holiday destination where our Aunty Glad had holiday flats.

Bill’s birthday. Overlooking the beach at Byron Bay. 

That’s braised fennel on my plate for those of you playing at home.

We’d kept a constant lookout for birdwatching sites. This was a beautiful little spot just off the highway. 











Bill wanted to drive over the Sydney Harbour Bridge again. 

So we did!

It really is a sight to behold. In fact the entire precinct is a sight to behold especially if you get in there early before the crowds arrive. Good luck getting there and even more good luck finding your way out!

Tilba. Pretty little village.

Finally our last stop….a visit to see Amy and Helen to share some birthday goodness, gifts and cake for Bill.

This is the view they get to see every day. It’s no wonder they love living where they do.

Walking back home from that said view.

Bill and his bird photos that I missed.

A highlight for Bill. These red tailed cockatoos are an absolute delight to the senses.








A couple of random sights that I missed.

Do you have a book you’ve been searching the country for?

We’ve got you covered!

We love being home, albeit in the throes of winter. 

Our brains are still filled with all that we encountered, realising that there’s still so much to see in this beautiful, unique country of ours.

Before we left…….no filters used. This is EXACTLY how it looked.

Scarlet oaks.

And this…..

This is me! 

We are hopeless at taking selfies as you will have noticed. In fact neither of us particularly likes having our photos taken at the best of times. 

Stay warm everyone.