Coolum Beach

Our four nights at Coolum Beach were nice. The only accommodation we could get was in the Dog Section of the caravan park.  This didn't bother us at all, as usually all travelling dogs are very well behaved.  It's quite a large park, and dogs are forbidden in any other areas of the park, which is a win/win for travellers.

We had long walks on the beach but the bikes stayed on the car, as Coolum is a bit too hilly for us.  Queensland really have it over the rest of the country with their Surf Life Saving Clubs offering great food and exceptional locations on the beaches.  We had a great night and a delicious dinner at the Coolum Surf Life Saving Club.

Beautiful days, but still cold at night

Seafood Platter. Yum!

There was even live music and dancing there! We haven't seen that for ages

Miami Beach - Gold Coast

We love the Gold Coast so had 4 days there and finally met up with cousin Nerolie and Steve, before we crossed that dreaded line of the Queensland/NSW border then into lockdown once ewe got home.

The Gold Coast has great bike tracks along the ocean front, so we did plenty of riding and coffee stops, always with an ocean view.

We also went to the newly renovated Burleigh Beach Life Saving Club for lunch on their balcony. We thought it was going to be our "Last Supper" before heading into locked down Sydney so made the most of the beautiful afternoon drinking beer and Margaritas.

Just like being in Italy at The Gourmet Pizza Restaurant, across the road from the Miami caravan park

While in Queensland we looked for a COVID testing facility and couldn't find one where we could walk-in or drive-in. It seems like all the ones on the Gold Coast required a Doctor's Referral and an appointment, which just makes it harder to get tested. Their testing rates are very low, and it's easy to see why.

Coffs Harbour

Driving from Queensland into NSW was certainly eerie. We drove into Coolangatta to the border with Tweed Heads to get a feel for the extent of the lockdown. The border was guarded but not as much as we expected. It's hard to imagine how they can control a border that is right in the middle of houses and shops etc.

As soon as we crossed this magic line we passed two drive-in COVID testing facilities! No referral required.

The drive down the motorway M1 was really spooky. We hardly saw any other cars, although there were a few trucks. Mostly we were presented with clear motorway as far as the eye could see all the time. Just set the cruise control and sit back! The first day we didn't see one other caravan or holiday-looking vehicle and almost no other cars! Just us silly buggers going towards Sydney.

We wanted one last campfire before we headed home, so found Valley Stay Campground, a nice place a little west of Coffs Harbour. This turned out to be quite a little gem. Nice green grass, plenty of space and of course the required camp fire pit, which we enjoyed.

Plus a game of Scrabble

Bulahdelah

Our last night was at Bulahdelah at the Big 4 Caravan Park. Its a nice park, a touch expensive and power is metered and charged extra, which we disagree with, especially at $45 a night which isn't cheap.

Nice river view for our last night

We had two visitors watching us as we enjoyed the sunset

Overnight, regional NSW was released from lockdown and we noticed many caravans heading north. Talk about making a fast getaway! They certainly didn't waste any time getting out, although they could still only stay within NSW and not cross the magic border into Queensland.  We were surprised to see the first caravan, but they just kept coming. Mind you, we didn't see one heading south like we were!

Being the first day out of regional lockdown, the Plough Inn at Bulahdelah was open. They were really pleased to finally be open and serving customers again. We had drinks and dinner there, so this was really our Last Supper before we headed into Sydney. A nice surprise.

Our Camp by the river

This certainly was a different trip than we had planned. At first we were foiled by floods in Queensland and again in the Northern Territory. Plus the whole way around we had to change our plans due to COVID restrictions and border closures. We certainly had to be flexible in our plans.

We didn't do as much dirt this trip as previous due to the floods, so our planned drive along the Gary Junction Road didn't happen. It's a rough drive from the NT to WA, but with spectacular scenery.  We crossed back from the NT into Queensland via the Donohue and Plenty Highways, but the scenery and condition of the road was pretty ordinary.

We did enjoy many nights bush camping in great places where there weren't any facilities. It was great to explore more regions of our beautiful country, and we've discovered many areas that need to be revisited, especially around Central Australia (MacDonnell Ranges) area.

The highlights were:

Ningaloo Station, Western Australia (always a favourite) with our kids and Merv and Jen

Goombaragin - will always be a special place

Goodberry Hills Broadwater Bush Camp, Outback Queensland. We'll definitely be back here and for longer than 3 nights.

Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary, Northern Territory - this was a real gem.

Tobermorey Station, Northern Territory - a real treat with GRASS

Surat, Queensland - what a lovely little town. An absolute surprise.

Muttaburra, Queensland - another great surprise

MacDonnell Ranges, NT - many places still to explore

There are many more, too many to list here.

The lowlights were:

Middle Lagoon Western Australia, so much so that we won't go back there again

Charleville, Queensland

 This is our last entry for this trip. Our stats for this trip are interesting.

So now we've completed the loop. We're not sure what 2022 will bring, but it won't be a huge trip like this.  Maybe we'll be going overseas before Australian State borders are open!