SEGMENT 12

July 13: Upon our return from Fraser Island, we had been planning to drive south along the beach all the way to Noosa, but we would have had to wait over 5 hours for low tide; as it was raining hard and was quite miserable, we abandoned this plan, hosed our Jeep off thoroughly to remove the salty ocean spray and took the inland highway south to Noosa. After walking along the coastal path of Noosa National Park where we enjoyed dramatic wave action and spotted a sleeping koala, we met up with a few members of the Sunshine Coast Jeep Club. Roger had been in touch with us since our arrival in Sydney mid-February and we were elated to finally meet him and his friends in person. The club's president Rupert and his wife Tracey invited us to stay with them in their brand-new house built by local architects Bark Design (pic01). Over the next few days, we explored the area in and around fabulous Brisbane and made our way down to the New South Wales border to visit a few small national parks: Girraween, Bald Mountain and Boonoo Boonoo, all known for their massive granite rocks (pic02) and wildlife. Up here at 3000 feet (900m) it was quite chilly and night temperatures dropped to around 30 F (0 Celsius). We enjoyed the tranquil surroundings, then returned north to meet up with the Sunshine Coast Jeep Club for a weekend of four-wheeling at the private Landcruiser Mountain Park. See our separate report on this fun adventure!

Once again heading south, we explored Springbrook National Park with its Natural Bridge, a former cave that collapsed and offers a scenic home to thousands of glowworms, dense rainforests, breathtaking vistas of the huge caldera created by Mount Warning - an ancient volcano - and the coastline. Then we reached Byron Bay, the easternmost point of Australia (pic03), therefore completing all four "extremities" of this vast continent! After spending a sunny and beautiful day at the beach, we were once again driving through heavy rain as we crossed into New South Wales. Our next stop was Coffs Harbor where we were planning to do some more four-wheeling. We had been in touch with some locals for a while: Dion, whom we had met at Cape York, and Michael, co-owner and editor of Jeep Action Magazine, who invited us to stay at their house. The hospitality of Australians is just amazing!

We picked up a new set of tires from our sponsor ProComp, who had gone out of their way (literally, since they are located in Melbourne) to have tires sent to Coffs just in time for the new four-wheeling adventure!
Please see our report on this fun-filled 4x4 weekend!

On Monday, July 31, Michael and a few members of the Jeep Club helped us replace a U-joint and we did an oil change. We pushed on inland and visited the spectacular gorges and waterfalls of Dorrigo and Oxley Wild Rivers National Parks (pic04). Having left the rather moderate coastal weather behind, we experienced freezing night temperatures again, cold enough to make the water in our spare container freeze!

Quite a different sight to behold were the 22m-dishes of the Australian Telescope, actually an array of six dishes that capture radio waves from foreign galaxies, stars and black holes for scientific purposes (pic05). The 64m-radio telescope at Parkes, about 180 miles (300km) south of here, is the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere and played a critical role in spacecraft communications, as featured in the blockbuster movie "Apollo 13". After this technical excursion, we climbed 4000 feet (1300m) to admire the 360 degree view from the summit of Mount Kaputar at over 4,600 feet (1500m). Then we were off to Warrumbungle National Park at the juncture of lush east and barren west where ancient volcanic activity left impressive jagged spires and rock formations.
While the region around Coffs Harbor is known for its banana plantations, this area is big on cotton. Unfortunately, we were passing through during a time of inactivity while growers were waiting for warmer temperatures to start setting new plants - the fields were all harvested.

We made it Back O' Bourke! Bourke Shire is considered the "Gateway to the True Outback" and to Australians is more than just a geographical location; it's a state of mind. To reach this lonely and remote area provides a certain sense of achievement. As we pushed on, the desert stretched away on both sides: red soil, bushes and small trees, and surprisingly plenty of fresh, green grass. There'd been some rain about a week earlier and the stark country was blooming! Past countless cows, sheep and horses, we drove hundreds of kilometers west, savoring the endless skies. Along the way, we visited several national parks sporting impressive gorges, Aboriginal rock art and breathtaking lookouts. Somewhere out there, we camped off the main highway and were surprised to find our car battery acting up the next morning. The Jeep just wouldn't start and so we had to walk back to the paved road to wave down a car for starting help. When we reached Broken Hill, an affluent mining town in the middle of nowhere, we had the battery checked by an auto electrician who found nothing wrong with it. One-time fluke?
Broken Hill turned out to be quite a pleasant spot. We were astounded by the wide, tidy streets with beautifully restored Victorian buildings and all kinds of amenities unusual in the far Outback. Several mines are still digging for zinc, silver and lead and we were especially impressed by the visitor center of one of the operations offering tours (pic06). The town has a vibrant art scene which also shows in the Sculpture Symposium, a display of nine pieces created by local and international artists and positioned on a nearby hill with spectacular views of the town and surrounding desert. Mutawintji National Park is a jewel with is magnificent landscape; on our return, we also paid a brief visit to Silverton, once a thriving mining town itself but now, after the depletion of its ore, considered a ghost town although about 60 people still live there. Back in Broken Hill, we had barely parked our Jeep when we were approached by a journalist of the local newspaper "Barrier Miner" who was curious about our travels. We told him our story, and after he had taken a few pictures, we parted ways.

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