Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas for 2017

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

A Christmas Graphic I made a couple of years ago.

May you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Glorious New Year.


Great Oyster Bay East Coast of Tasmania, Australia.

Proserpine, Queensland and Gunna Go Caravan Park!

Proserpine in Queensland has a sugar mill after the mill was built the town was established in 1890.
Gold was found back then but the mine is closed.
It's a small town with one Main Street.
Proserpine is not that far from Airlie Beach - The Whitsunday Islands and The Great Barrier Reef.
This year in March there was a cyclone Debbie came across and it was hit and miss.

The Prince of Wales Hotel was built in 1904.

The Sugar Mill above, below part of the Gunna A Go Caravan Park where we stayed for 7 nights.

There were two parts to this caravan park, the not so noisy and noisy - having said that the train line went through right behind us - but we didn't hear it during the night where some people did.  At least we were asked upon arrival, the quiet or train noise.  Didn't bother us at all.

The Caravan Park was lashed by Cyclone Debbie and was recovering well.

Was wonderful to be amid the palm trees.

The Bar below which was Licensed and open each evening.

Don't know what the plant above is, it's very pretty.  Plant below is Mother In Laws Tongue.

A new sign, was not one there when we went out but one when we returned.

Beautiful old tree which had been trimmed after the cyclone.

Mackay Botanic Gardens 2

More photos on Mackay Botanic Gardens.

Mackay Botanic Gardens, Queensland

We visited Mackay Botanic Gardens when we were there in Winter 2017 and it was a warm humid morning.

The photo below is the Aloe Vera plant with the flower beginning and in full bloom along with a few other flowers and a feathered friend.

Mackay, Queensland

The Mackay region producers more than a 3rd of sugar cane.
One of the first white settlers to travel through the Mackay region was Captain James Cook, who reached the Mackay coast on June 1, 1770 and name several local landmarks.
Over the years Cyclones and floods have tormented Mackay.
Older post on Mackay here .

The above photo is the breakwater road going towards the Marina on the right.

The above building is in Mackay, couldn't find a parking space to take photos of the city.

To Mackay, Queensland.

After Emerald in Queensland we headed to the sea coming through mining country and after that National Parks.  The road we wanted to travel on was closed due to Cyclone damage earlier in the year as the rain has washed away the road, so we travelled several klm on a narrow gravel road with no Petrol Stations along the way, lucky for us we had plenty of diesel in the tank.

We called into a Caravan Park in Mackay and stayed 10 nights as it was a bit warmer in the tropics.  Many times we have stayed in the same caravan park and this time development had taken place with much improvement.

One open cut mine above, below part of the Darling Downs on the way.

The new concrete slabs at the caravan park, plus the bus fitted out as a caravan, below the Marina at Mackay.

Odds and Ends in Emerald.

Never expect to see roses at the Botanic Gardens but there they were all in a row - some didn't look real healthy but others did.

Could hear Kookaburras looked up and there they were.

This one is the Blue Winged Variety.

Was fiddling around trying to get just the centre portion of the blossom in focus, think I achieved!

Above is the huge 23m high Van Gogh replica painting of "Sunflower" situated in Morton Park in Emerald.

Crochet I do when travelling, made 6 rugs this past winter in the tropics of Australia.

Emerald Botanic Gardens.

To the west of Emerald is an area known as The Gemfields, with small towns such as Sapphire and Rubyvale indicating the type of gems found there.
The sapphire fields located there are the largest in the southern hemisphere.

Photos of the Botanic Gardens.

Cacti

Below bamboo.

The above photo is a 'free caravan/motorhome' park for self-contained ones.  We didn't do that.

Emerald, Queensland.

Emerald is a town in the Central Highlands of Queensland with a population of about 13,500 people.
The British Colony of Queensland was established in 1859.
There is the Fairbairn Dam near Emerald which overflowed in January 2008 with major flood of 1,000 houses being affected and more than 2,500 people being evacuated.

Emerald is a service town for a large number of industries in the area.  Extensive coal mining operations are carried out in the district.  Cotton is grown in the area, and is processed at the Yamala Cotton Gin, while other agricultural activities include grapes, citrus and grain growing.
Wikipedia.

We were pleased to stay in Emerald for a few nights before heading to the coast as we thought it about time we did.

A lot of signs are made like the one below in the area and surrounding areas.

View of the Dam plus surrounding area.

On the way to Emerald, Queensland.

Selection of photos taken on the way to Emerald in Queensland.  We went through a few mining areas.  Was odd to see this little 'shop' at a major intersection near the Highway.
The machinery was taken out the vehicles window.
The long train carrying ore, saw a lot of these coming and going as we travelled in this area.