Tuesday, May 30, 2006
DIVE TRIP - WHEELER REEF & YONGALA WRECK
Departed Townsville, Friday night 26th May on "Sea-esta" Pro Dive liveaboard dive boat. There were thirteen passengers on board, mostly back packers from France, UK and Canada. We steamed out at night and arrived at Wheeler Reef early on Saturday morning. We enjoyed three good dives during the day.
On Sunday morning we had one more dive on Wheeler Reef before heading to Davies Reef. The weather had set in and it was quite miserable with the rain. There is no area on Sea-esta to sit comfortably out of the rain so we were all snuggled in our cabins between dives. Davies Reef had some good swim throughs to explore and Ferg got some good photos.
We moved to Yongala Wreck early on Monday morning and we were in for our first dive at 6.30am. Ferg was crook due to the swells coming through so I went for the first dive with our friend, Robyn. Luckily Ferg rallied and was able to go in for the second dive. As usual Yongala was spectacular, we saw at least a dozen turtles, bull ray, sea snakes and masses of various reef fish. It was sad leaving the wreck as it will probably be quite a long time before we get another dive on it.
The trip home was long and boring as usual, it's always the worst part of the trip. We arrived back into Townsville at 4pm. All the passengers and crew met for dinner at Bistro One later in the evening. It was a nice ending to our trip.
Friday, May 26, 2006
JUDE'S RETIREMENT DAY
Well the time has finally arrived. Walked away from work today for the last time. I was very sad for those I have left behind. I will miss the friendships I've made over the past 14 years. I was given a lovely send off and a gift of a bread maker for the caravan. I can almost smell the bread cooking in our van in the early morning. Although my departing is tinged with sadness, I can also feel the tingle of excitement as the big trip looms ever closer.
Ferg and I are off on a 3 day live-aboard dive trip tonight. We had promised ourselves one last trip out to Wheeler Reef and Yongala Wreck. Our two favourite dive spots. Prodive had a last minute special going that we couldn't resist. Robyn is coming along also, so we are all looking forward to some good diving. Weather also looks good. Back next Monday and will hopefully post some of Ferg's good underwater photos.
Well the time has finally arrived. Walked away from work today for the last time. I was very sad for those I have left behind. I will miss the friendships I've made over the past 14 years. I was given a lovely send off and a gift of a bread maker for the caravan. I can almost smell the bread cooking in our van in the early morning. Although my departing is tinged with sadness, I can also feel the tingle of excitement as the big trip looms ever closer.
Ferg and I are off on a 3 day live-aboard dive trip tonight. We had promised ourselves one last trip out to Wheeler Reef and Yongala Wreck. Our two favourite dive spots. Prodive had a last minute special going that we couldn't resist. Robyn is coming along also, so we are all looking forward to some good diving. Weather also looks good. Back next Monday and will hopefully post some of Ferg's good underwater photos.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
COUNTDOWN TO DEPARTURE DAY
Had a garage sale in late March and sold a lot of our bric brac. One of the ladies who came to the garage sale, came back a few weeks later looking for a coat we had for sale. After selling her the coat we got chatting about our proposed journey. Ended up selling her our house and saved on Real Estate fees! We have sold one of our cars and will sell the other one hopefuly in a few weeks. Still have lots to do around the house cleaning out all the cupboards. Can only take a few possessions with us in the van so there will be another garage sale before we go.
Went away with my Mum to the Orange Textile Forum in May. Spent a night in Sydney and had half a day wandering around Darling Harbour. Spent a week in Orange, very cold but extremely pretty with all the autumn colours in the trees. The forum was a great experience. The second week was spent at Pete (Jude's Brother) and Marlyn's place at Stokers Siding. It is always so peaceful there as the photo shows the early morning mist over the dam.
It was nice to be back in Townsville with Ferg. Only five weeks to go until settlement on the house. After the two weeks away it was hard to get back into work. Decided to bring my finishing date forward and leave work on the 26th May. That way I'll have a couple of weeks before settlement to clear out the house.
Had a garage sale in late March and sold a lot of our bric brac. One of the ladies who came to the garage sale, came back a few weeks later looking for a coat we had for sale. After selling her the coat we got chatting about our proposed journey. Ended up selling her our house and saved on Real Estate fees! We have sold one of our cars and will sell the other one hopefuly in a few weeks. Still have lots to do around the house cleaning out all the cupboards. Can only take a few possessions with us in the van so there will be another garage sale before we go.
Went away with my Mum to the Orange Textile Forum in May. Spent a night in Sydney and had half a day wandering around Darling Harbour. Spent a week in Orange, very cold but extremely pretty with all the autumn colours in the trees. The forum was a great experience. The second week was spent at Pete (Jude's Brother) and Marlyn's place at Stokers Siding. It is always so peaceful there as the photo shows the early morning mist over the dam.
It was nice to be back in Townsville with Ferg. Only five weeks to go until settlement on the house. After the two weeks away it was hard to get back into work. Decided to bring my finishing date forward and leave work on the 26th May. That way I'll have a couple of weeks before settlement to clear out the house.
MAIDEN VOYAGE TO LUCINDA
Finally we are able to get away for a weekend to try out our new van. We booked into the Lucinda Caravan Park on 8th and 9th April. It was pouring rain in Townsville and we were delayed an hour but were finally on the road by 2pm. The Pajero towed well as we cruised up the highway and even the rain disappeared. We arrived at Lucinda at 4.30pm, found our site and set up the van. Being our first time we took it slow and steady but by 5.30pm we had our feet up under the annexe and a cold one in the hand.
Pat and Ray invited us to dinner so we spent an enjoyable few hours talking about their travels around Australia. (They had been around 3 times.) Ray cooked up some fish he had caught that morning. We got back to our van just in time to watch the Friday night footy match featuring our team "The Cowboys".
Up early the next morning and down to the jetty to do some fishing. We got lots of bites and caught a few grunter but threw them all back. Stayed for a couple of hours then hunger got the better of us and we returned to the van to cook up a breakfast feast. The rest of the day was spent fishing, swimming in the pool and relaxing under the annexe. We introduced ourselves to our neighbours and spent happy hour with them chatting about their travels.
Our last morning so we tried to get in some more early morning fishing. Unfortunately the heavens opened up and we got drenched. Never mind we had lots of fun. The rain eased off and after breakfast we took a 2km foreshore walk. Ran into Pat and Ray on their bicycles. We started packing up at 9am, again taking our time so we didn't miss anything. Next time we'll have a checklist to make it easier. We got on the road by 10am and had a smooth journey home. Can't wait until we are on the road permanently in early July! Not long to go now.
Finally we are able to get away for a weekend to try out our new van. We booked into the Lucinda Caravan Park on 8th and 9th April. It was pouring rain in Townsville and we were delayed an hour but were finally on the road by 2pm. The Pajero towed well as we cruised up the highway and even the rain disappeared. We arrived at Lucinda at 4.30pm, found our site and set up the van. Being our first time we took it slow and steady but by 5.30pm we had our feet up under the annexe and a cold one in the hand.
Pat and Ray invited us to dinner so we spent an enjoyable few hours talking about their travels around Australia. (They had been around 3 times.) Ray cooked up some fish he had caught that morning. We got back to our van just in time to watch the Friday night footy match featuring our team "The Cowboys".
Up early the next morning and down to the jetty to do some fishing. We got lots of bites and caught a few grunter but threw them all back. Stayed for a couple of hours then hunger got the better of us and we returned to the van to cook up a breakfast feast. The rest of the day was spent fishing, swimming in the pool and relaxing under the annexe. We introduced ourselves to our neighbours and spent happy hour with them chatting about their travels.
Our last morning so we tried to get in some more early morning fishing. Unfortunately the heavens opened up and we got drenched. Never mind we had lots of fun. The rain eased off and after breakfast we took a 2km foreshore walk. Ran into Pat and Ray on their bicycles. We started packing up at 9am, again taking our time so we didn't miss anything. Next time we'll have a checklist to make it easier. We got on the road by 10am and had a smooth journey home. Can't wait until we are on the road permanently in early July! Not long to go now.
WELCOME TO OUR STORY
Well here goes, our first entry into Blog World! This is a journal of our journey of the rest of our lives. Let me introduce ourselves, my name is Jude and my partner is Ferg and currently we live in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. We are both avid scuba divers and underwater photographers. I am a textile artist and I am currently enjoying the arts of silk painting and embroidery.
In December 2005 we decided that life was too short and there was so much that we wanted to do. We made the decision to sell our house and all our possessions, buy a 4wd and caravan and set off around Australia. First step was Ferg retiring on 31st January 2006 after 24 years as a Prison Officer. He was not sad to see the back of the place although he will miss the mateship it provided.
We had been talking about this change in lifestyle for several years and
had been researching caravans and 4wd's for sometime. We had attended the Brisbane Caravan Show in June 2005 which opened our eyes to all that was on offer. We started looking for vans locally in February and found 20' Coramal in Lucinda which was a 2 hour drive north. We fell in love with it and Pat and Ray the owners were wonderful. We looked at many other vans after that but could find no better than the Coramal. So in March we decided to buy it and Pat and Ray delivered the van down to Townsville.
At the same time we had been looking at various 4wd vehicles and eventually decided on a new Mitsubishi Pajero GLS. We purchased it from Brisbane and it was freighted up to us. It arrived one week after the van and a day after Cyclone Larry hit the north Queensland coast. We were on tender hooks for awhile thinking both van and car would be blown away before we had actually used them. All ended well for us, unfortunately not so for others further north in Innisfail.
As the Pajero was new we had to clock up some kilometers before we could tow the van. We took of one Sunday morning at 6am and headed west. We drove out to Mingela, Ravenswood and down to the Burdekin Dam. We stopped there for a picnic lunch and dangled our new fishing rods. No luck, so we headed back through Ravenswood and out to Charters Towers. We turned north onto the Lynd Highway then east onto the Hervey's Range Development road. We stopped at Keelbottom Creek for another dangle and caught our first fish which lived to swim the creek another day. All up we clocked up over 650km in the day and had a wonderful time. The Pajero finally got it's Hayman Reece hitch fitted and we were itching to take the van for a run.
Well here goes, our first entry into Blog World! This is a journal of our journey of the rest of our lives. Let me introduce ourselves, my name is Jude and my partner is Ferg and currently we live in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. We are both avid scuba divers and underwater photographers. I am a textile artist and I am currently enjoying the arts of silk painting and embroidery.
In December 2005 we decided that life was too short and there was so much that we wanted to do. We made the decision to sell our house and all our possessions, buy a 4wd and caravan and set off around Australia. First step was Ferg retiring on 31st January 2006 after 24 years as a Prison Officer. He was not sad to see the back of the place although he will miss the mateship it provided.
We had been talking about this change in lifestyle for several years and
had been researching caravans and 4wd's for sometime. We had attended the Brisbane Caravan Show in June 2005 which opened our eyes to all that was on offer. We started looking for vans locally in February and found 20' Coramal in Lucinda which was a 2 hour drive north. We fell in love with it and Pat and Ray the owners were wonderful. We looked at many other vans after that but could find no better than the Coramal. So in March we decided to buy it and Pat and Ray delivered the van down to Townsville.At the same time we had been looking at various 4wd vehicles and eventually decided on a new Mitsubishi Pajero GLS. We purchased it from Brisbane and it was freighted up to us. It arrived one week after the van and a day after Cyclone Larry hit the north Queensland coast. We were on tender hooks for awhile thinking both van and car would be blown away before we had actually used them. All ended well for us, unfortunately not so for others further north in Innisfail.
As the Pajero was new we had to clock up some kilometers before we could tow the van. We took of one Sunday morning at 6am and headed west. We drove out to Mingela, Ravenswood and down to the Burdekin Dam. We stopped there for a picnic lunch and dangled our new fishing rods. No luck, so we headed back through Ravenswood and out to Charters Towers. We turned north onto the Lynd Highway then east onto the Hervey's Range Development road. We stopped at Keelbottom Creek for another dangle and caught our first fish which lived to swim the creek another day. All up we clocked up over 650km in the day and had a wonderful time. The Pajero finally got it's Hayman Reece hitch fitted and we were itching to take the van for a run.
