Voyage Statistics

Total Days - 5
Total Kilometres - 2247
States Visited - NSW & QLD
Luxury Nights (in the QEIII Royal Suite) - 1
Sook Nights (not in the QEIII) - 3
Whale Sightings - Nil
Kangaroo Sightings - 2
Moron Drivers Sighted - 100+ (mostly in NSW!)
Maximum Road Rage Level - 5 (out of 10) in NSW
Stopped By Police - Once
Stopped By Brisbane Lions Cheerleaders - Nil
Overall Stress Level - 2 (out of 10)
Overall Satisfaction Level - 8 (out of 10)

Fredo's Famous Pies

Does it seem like all we do on our voyages is eat? Maybe so, but we sure find some tasty gems along the highways and byways of Australia.

One of the most famous eatieries is Fredo's Pies at Fredrickton just north of Kempsey on the Pacific Highway.

Here is crew member Simon with the Marilyn Monroe firgurine which has been a landmark for many years.

They have about 80 varieties of pies, but I was keen to try a crocodile pie....

So.... here is a Man-Eating-Crocodile....

Very tasty I must say and about as close as I want to get to one of those overgrown lizards!

Farmer's Kitchen

The Farmer's Kitchen at Eungai between Kempsey and Nambucca Heads. This new roadside eatery is outstanding... good food, good service and good location. Definitely worth a stop to enjoy their fabulous food. Their GRILLED QUESADILLAS are to die for. (click back there for the recipe)

Check out their fresh fruit and veges... their selection of boutique sauces and condiments is amazing.

Click here to visit their website.

The Woodburn Cafe

The QEIII outside the 24-hour cafe at Woodburn. This cafe is one of the few good eating places on the Pacific Highway after hours, which is usually when we steam past. The interstate truckies also stop here during the night and the only problem is the unholy noise from the birds who roost in the trees opposite. You cannot hear yourself think at 2am when they screech and chirp non-stop.

A Hidden Gem

This quaint little cottage is on the highway just near the bridge at Wardell, which is between Woodburn and Ballina. Normally you wouldn't see it as you flash past at 100 kph but we were stopped by a roadworks crew working on the bridge so we were surprised to see such a hidden gem right next to us. Worth a visit next time we are coming north.

You can only imagine how old the cottage is. Wardell is an old sugar town and the wooden loading docks are still down by the bridge. In the old days they used to cut the cane, transport it via small gauge railway to the river docks and then load it onto large cane barges. From there they would take the cane to the local mill... in this case the mill at Broadwater.

Broadwater mill today. These days the cane is transported to the mills via a fleet of cane trucks which run back and forth 24 hours a day during the cutting season.

Cloudcatcher

A shot of Mt Warning, "The Cloudcatcher" or "Wollumbin" in aboriginal language, about 20 clicks away, taken from the Murwillumbah bypass. It is unusual to see the mountain without any cloud on top.

Read the story of Wollumbin here ----> Wollumbin

The QEIII @ The Gabba

The QEIII with Simon outside the Gabba in Brisbane. This is the home of the Brisbane Lions AFL team and is the main cricket ground in Brisbane.

The oldest QEIII Crew Member

Here's our oldest QEIII crew member, my mum Irene (Mim) who is 92 and thinks she is back on the Oriana, being served morning tea in bed by the cabin steward.

One for Mick the Engineer

This shot is for Mick our Chief Marine Engineer who reckons the QEIII weighs about 30 tonnes full loaded.

A Great Campsite

Here's our camp at the Pacific Sands Tourist Park at Nambucca Heads. Nestled under a canopy of trees and just 40 metres from the beach this park is a great spot for an overnight or maybe a longer stay. We have our own private ensuite with all facilities which makes for a very pleasant camping stay.

Click here for the Pacific Sands website.

North in July to catch the Sun

The Captain (Dave) and new crew member Simon ready to sail north to Brisbane where the weather will hopefully be a little warmer than in Sydney. We'll overnight along the way and maybe get to see some of the picturesque coastline of northern NSW.

Newest QEIII Crew Member

My nephew Simon Parkes is the newest crew member on the QEIII and here he is prior to our voyage north to Brisbane with his friend Jessica. He was presented with his QEIII cap and t-shirt at his Mum's birthday bash.

"Le Tour de Fairfield"

Latest QEIII Crew Member Ian Finlayson in the latest QEIII cap and t-shirt ready to depart on "Le Tour de Fairfield".

QEIII senior hostess Miss Lizzy and Ian.

The Crew Behind the Crew

The QEIII Maintenance Engineers prior to another voyage north.

It takes a lot to keep the QEIII shipshape and ready to handle the ravages of the open road. The Pacific Highway is a particular challenge, like the Pacific Ocean after which it is named! Funny about that.

Anyway, behind the regular cruising crew is a dedicated team of engineers who keep the QEIII seaworthy, not to mention roadworthy, and up to the strict maintenance standards of both the Queensland Transport Department and the Darling Harbour Maritime Museum.

Our engineers of choice are the team from Jim and Christine Baird's Penrith Ultra Service. Jim, Mick, Jarod and the other specialist mechanics are always ready to tackle any problems and maintain the QEIII to a strict maintenance program.

Jim is the boss and a very experienced engineer, an up and coming computer geek, a part time soccer supporter, a Mt Panorama Bathurst race-driver and a certified V8 petrol-head!. When Jim first laid eyes on the QEIII he shook his head in amazement. I think he thought that under the hood was a bucket with a whole lot of unconnected engine parts swishing around in there. He still shakes his head, but these days because of the eccentric behaviour of the QEIII Captain!


Chief Marine Engineer Mick. Mick reckons the QEIII has a displacement of about 15 tonnes and that some of the older bridges on the Pacific Highway will be under severe strain as we sail over them on our trips north.

Jarod is our problem solving genius and due to his dedication and tuning prowess has squeezed at least another 20 knots out of the old girl... the QEIII, not Miss Lizzy! He's not keen on the exhaust system though and we think he'd rather we fit a smoke stack in place of the standard muffler which is always causing him a problem because the bolts keep snapping. It's the speed Jarod... the speed!

Seriously though.... we can highly recommend Penrith Ultra Service for all your mechanical needs and their website can be found at ... http://www.ultraservice.com.au/index.htm

Thanks guys... you are the best!

Our new QEIII cap and t-shirt being modelled by Charlie.
Click for larger image.

New QEIII Crew clothing.

We've just received our new QEIII caps and t-shirts.

The QEIII

Here's the QEIII at Emu Plains ready for another trip. We've added a roof-top water tank and a cargo basket.



We've got plenty of lighting for those overnight trips... aircraft landing lights up top and LightForce 170's on the front bar. All up, almost a million candle power.



Not to mention the rear-facing spot light up the back for getting the attention of those wombats who insist on driving behind you on high beam.

The Cowra/Snowy Tour 2003

Liz on the stern of the QEIII at Tumut during our Cowra/Snowy trip in July 2003 with Wendy and Nick. Would you believe the next night in Cooma it dropped to minus 14 degrees C.! However, the snow was late that year and we managed to traverse the Snowy Mountains Highway from Tumut to Cooma without seeing any snow at all!

January 2005

Here's a few snaps from the road on a typical Brisbane trip taken in January 2005.


A wet day on the F3 near Cooranbong heading north.

A long way to go yet and the rain looks like it's set in for the duration.


The Hexam bridge over the Hunter River.

The Macksville bridge... scene of many a truck accident as they pass on the narrow bridge.

The famous Fredo Pies at Fredrickton just north of Kempsey.

The Sid Bourke Forest Park which is a great spot for an overnight just south of Coffs Harbour.

The BP Truck Stop at Halfway Creek between Coffs and Grafton. This is all new dual roadway now and this stretch of the Pacific Highway is a lot safer although there was a fatality near here when a P-Plater swerved into a tree to avoid hitting a kangaroo.

The Harwood sugar mill on the mighty Clarence River just north of McLean. Many years ago my mate Ventry Lewis and I used to water ski on this river. He now has a cane farm on Chatsworth Island just a few clicks north of here. We would ski for miles on the big river... from Ulmarra to the river mouth at Illuka. Often we would get "wrecked" at the Sedgers Reef Hotel at Yamba.

Mt Warning hidden amongst the clouds.

The narrow road into Wollumbin (Mt Warning Caravan Park). This view never ceases to amaze me with the sunlight dancing through the thick canopy of Artic Beech trees. The scene changes from minute to minute and there is a comforting feel about it.
Crossing the mile-long bridge to Redcliff and Kippa Ring north of Brisbane. The old wooden bridge on the left is where my Dad and I fished when I was about 5 years old.

The infamous Coopernook Bridge... one of the narrowest on the whole Pacific Highway and due to be by-passed in late 2005. The truckies call on the CB when approaching this bridge to let other trucks know they are crossing so others heading in the opposite direction can wait until clear.

The BP Truck Stop at Gooloongoolook between Bulladelah and Taree. This is a good place to stop for a feed or just a coffee and is about 3 hours out of Sydney so about the right distance for a Stop - Revive - Survive.

This is what the whole 1000 kilometres of the Pacific Highway between Sydney and Brisbane should be like. This long straight is on the Wooton by-pass which goes from Buladelah in the south to almost Nabiac in the north. Maybe I'll see it completed in my life time. I often think of all the people who have died on the bad parts of the Pacific Highway whilst the federal government sits in it's plush $1 billion plus monstrosity... the money could have been better spent on the Pacific Highway upgrade.

Christmas 2001

Most Christmas Days the family gathers out at Len and Judy's at Silverdale. 2001 was no different except that Sydney had been battling bushfires for a couple of weeks and Christmas Day started out hot and windy. We'd watched the fires up on the mountains the night before and we woke to a thick pall of smoke hanging over Emu Plains.

Liz decided to head out to Silverdale early in her car, Charlie and I decided to go later in the QEIII. A good decision as it turned out.

At Wallacia we were stunned with this menacing scene heading east across the mountains and wondered if it would reach Warragamba and Silverdale.



Right in the middle of Christmas dinner all hell broke loose. The firestorm had jumped the dam and was heading straight for Warragamba and Silverdale. Everyone except Len, Greg, Charlie and I gathered the valuables and pets and drove to Emu Plains, taking 2 hours due to road blocks etc.

We stayed to save the house and it was a terrifying 2 or 3 hours before the danger had passed. The house was safe but Silverdale was a disaster area with many houses destroyed and those remaining had no power, no phone and no way out of the area. All roads were blocked.



For the next 2 days the QEIII became our home and our base. We had scanning radios so we could stay up to date with the latest emergency news and we had power for lighting and our gas cookers. Importantly we had plenty of ice in the esky and plenty of beer.

Megalong Valley

A very pleasant picnic in the Megalong Valley with Liz, Wendy and Nick. Nick is trying to see if he can spot the International Space Station which is orbiting 136 miles up in space. He should have been watching the bloody big bull-ant just 6 inches from his left leg!

Malaney

The QEIII at Malaney in the hinterland of the Queensland Sunshine Coast with the magnificent Glasshouse Mountains in the background. What more can you say!

Cheap at Half the Price!

The QEIII at Kangaloon in the Southern Highlands. The farm on the right was for sale and Liz thought she could settle there quite nicely and I could become a farmer. It's a 100 acre cattle farm called Amberley in a magnificent location and we checked it out at the agents in Bowral. They only want $3.6 million although I reckon we can knock them down to $3.5 with a bit of slick talking. Liz said we could afford that if I got a job with the Macquarie Bank as an investment manager and she stayed working at the hospital until she is 235!

Start Your Engines!

This one is for Jim and the boys at Ultra Service. The QEIII on the grid at Mt Panorama with Charlie at the wheel. The V8's and other cars are just a little late getting to the track but we're ready to go.


The QEIII at the top of Conrod Straight. At this point we're doing about 110 knots. That's not our speed... it's what our guts are doing because I am driving and taking the photo at the same time. Let's see Brocky do that!

Wind Farming

Out near Blaney in the Central West of NSW, one of the windiest and coldest places in Australia, they have erected these wind generators and it's a strange sight as they loom up in the distance. There are about 12 in this farm and they provide all the power for Blaney and surrounding areas.