Judy & Brian Tour Oz

Had a lazy old sort of day, coffee at the bakery, lunch from the bakery, nap…. We had a swim in the pool and decided to go and find the markets that had been advertised around the place. On our way out, we stopped at reception and booked ourselves in for an extra night, it’s just that kind of place. Found the markets at one of the van parks at the Point. No signs or anything out on the road mind you, just one or two extra 4x4s. It was only tiny, 4 stalls in all, but wait – I bought something! One stall had fishing stuff by the trestleload and a pair of reefwalker shoes caught my eye. They are soft / mesh / rubber soled slip-on shoes for walking on reefs or beaches and in the water or wherever. My current pair I bought last year in Gladstone or somewhere for $25 and have nearly had it. Now here they were, the almost identical pair on this stall for $12. Should have bought both pairs! Judy found a bracelet marked down to $2 and we bought a ‘bag’ of prawns fro $9, probabl...

Ok folks, get yourself a cup of tea and a sticky bun, this might take a while. Day 2 - Morning Early start at the Normanton Railway Station for our ride on the historic Gulflander train. This is a classic railway:It was supposed to go between Normanton to Cloncurry to service the proposed mines, but change of government and discovery of gold in Croydon saw the line diverted after the first 15 miles to go to Croydon instead. It is run by Queensland Rail and, apart from a weekly mail run that goes all the way and takes passengers as well, it takes tourists on an demand basis on short rides out to the 20 mile, Critters Camp. It seems that some of the tour operators call up and charter the train, then it gets scheduled for the run and takes any other passengers that can be found. The train today comprises two old Rail Motors that were converted to carriages, towed by a 1950s rail motor designed and built in Ipswich in 1950. The rails are laid on steel sleepers just sitting on ...