Our trip to see Arthur’s opal mine, and some transport museums.
Shepparton’s MOVE
Shepparton’s Art Museum
Chrysties Museum
The Dish, Parkes
Taronga Western Plains Zoo
Old Dubbo Gaol
Lightning Ridge
Arrival
Opal Mine Adventure Walk In Mine
Fred Bodel’s camp, the oldest remaining camp
Astronomer’s Monument
Australian Opal Centre’s SPARK show
Chambers of the Black Hand
Lightning Ridge to Ipswich
Queensland Museum Rail Workshops, Ipswich
Noosa
South Pacific Resort
Noosa Coastal Walk
Surfers Paradise
Surfers Paradise to Port Macquarie
Departing Surfers with one last look from the balcony, followed by a walk around the nearby area.
Then hitting the road again, stopping at Maclean for lunch and then a taking a Tourist Drive through Nambucca Heads. This place is beautiful and will make a great stopover next time we travel through the area.
Arriving at Port Macquarie and staying at the Port Macquarie Hotel. The lovely art deco decor and location is offset by the parking, which can be difficult. It’s in the main town, so the car isn’t needed once parked.
Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie to Gerroa
Gerroa
Arriving at Gerroa for two nights at the Discovery Caravan Park. Kiama was too booked out, but Gerroa down the road has worked out well. The park is beside the Crooked River and beach, which makes for a scenic walk.
Kiama
Gerroa to Home
Trip Summary
| Date | Overnight Stay | Distance/Travel Time | Accommodation | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, 29 Aug 24 | Shepparton | 173 km 2:00h | Wyndhamere Motel Shepperton | Clean modern motel that provides great value. The restaurant doesn’t seem to be operating. |
| Fri, 30 Aug 24 | Parkes | 518 km 5:41h | Coachman -Hotel Motel | The accommodation is attached to a hotel which provides meals and entertainment. Despite this noise was not an issue. The bathrooms are basic, but it’s cheap and fine if you are just using it for sleeping. |
| Sat, 31 Aug 24 | Dubbo | 120 km 1:20h | Countryman Motor Inn | Basic accommodation that is suitable for passing through use. Looking shabby in places, but it was good where it counted, that is the bed and room were good. |
| Sun, 1 Sep 24 | Lightning Ridge | 353 km 3:50h | Crocodile Caravan Park | Basic and cheap, but comfortable and clean. The camp BBQ area is excellent for group gatherings. The location is excellent being close to town, there’s even a bottle shop next door. The pool is great for a quick dip and the internet is very fast, at least while we were there. |
| Mon, 2 Sep 24 | ||||
| Tue, 3 Sep 24 | ||||
| Wed, 4 Sep 24 | ||||
| Thu, 5 Sep 24 | Ipswich | 683 km 7:32h | Cumquat Accommodation | Cumquat is a beautiful heritage building immaculately restored. The rooms are spacious and clean. The hearty breakfast provides a great start to the day. Dining options within walking distance are limited, but the nearby Essence of Indya should provide a pleasant dining experience. |
| Fri, 6 Sep 24 | Noosa | 229 km 3:00h | South Pacific Resort | The garden, the pools and the rooms are beautiful. Love the Hawaiian islander style of the property. The Thai restaurant has reasonably priced, tasty food, but it can be a bit noisy for nearby units. It’s not open Mondays so there’s some peace. |
| Sat, 7 Sep 24 | ||||
| Sun, 8 Sep 24 | ||||
| Mon, 9 Sep 24 | ||||
| Tue, 10 Sep 24 | Surfers Paradise | 179 km 3:00h | Anacapri Holiday Apartments | It’s a bit shabby and not well maintained here and there, but mostly the accommodation is OK and good value. I could not get the internet to work despite many attempts to connect to it. The friendly guy at reception wasn’t interested in the issue. The road traffic can be noisy so earplugs are recommended. The view across to the river is quite nice. The location is a short walk to the G tram and a bit further on is the beach and Cavill Avenue. |
| Wed, 11 Sep 24 | ||||
| Thu, 12 Sep 24 | Port Macquarie | 438 km 4:26h | Port Macquarie Hotel | A lovely art deco look, but make sure to get an on-suite room, unless you’re happy with a common bathroom. There’s no room fridge, just a small one in the common room, where the only microwave is too. There’s no view. And parking can be difficult. Great location and it’s ok if you get it cheap. Probably better options if you keep a look out as you drive into Port Macquarie rather than relying on booking websites. |
| Fri, 13 Sep 24 | Gerroa | 510 km 6:10h | Discovery Parks – Gerroa | Solid caravan park accommodation, with many options available. The property is showing its age in places, but the motel style rooms are clean and modern. The internet works quite well but is restricted to “safe” websites only. The location is great with the adjacent river. Gerroa itself doesn’t have much regarding groceries and dining, but nearby Gerringong 3km away has these and more. The park has a kiosk which has the typical caravan park supplies. The camp kitchen is modern and clean. |
| Sat, 14 Sep 24 | ||||
| Sun, 15 Sep 24 | Home | 815 km 8:32h |
Total distance (odometer): 4,121km
Average consumption: 6.8l/100km
