Lapping It Up Around Australia | Local & travel website
Lapping It Up Around Australia
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25.01.2022 Our stay at the serene Carnarvon Gorge National Park was our official introduction to the incredible sights we were about to see on our Lap around Oz. Camping out at the Takarakka Bush Resort & Caravan Park - Carnarvon Gorge Queensland and waking up to a chorus of over a hundred kookaburras every morning just reminded us how amazing, unique and crazy (in an awesome way!) this country is! Check out our latest vid for your own personal tour! #exploring
25.01.2022 Today was about blue skies, wide open spaces, sunshine and sunflowers as we spent our time cruising around this beautiful region and taking in the sights. The landscape was overflowing with fields and fields of sunflowers which none of us had ever seen before but is something the area is famous for this time of year. Our day was, relaxed and subdued just like all of the wonderful locals that we met. Just incredible what a difference a couple of hours drive down the road makes!
25.01.2022 On top of the world #sandunes #sunset #straddie
25.01.2022 There’s something about the cool crisp country air in Bendigo that veggies just love! My nurturing Aunty has an incredible assortment of fresh produce growing in her garden but this is the current pride and joy who we decided to affectionately name ‘Big Bertha.’ We all had a guess at her weight before she’s ready to be plucked within the next week and my attempt to show the size of her (bigger than the kids heads combined) really doesn’t do justice to how impressive she is! We’re pitching around the 20kg mark and will be interesting to find out the actual number at her weigh in after she’s picked stay tuned! #pumpkin #countrygarden #veggiepatch
25.01.2022 It's amazing what's in your own backyard if you look! Just 'down the road' in Fig Tree Pocket in Brisbane is the beautiful and welcoming Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. It was established in 1927 by Claude Reid to rehabilitate sick and injured koalas when koalas were being culled for their fur and is the worlds oldest and largest koala sanctuary! How did we not know about this?! So here's our way of spreading the word and encouraging everyone in the area to go along and support this wonderful and historical sanctuary, or any wildlife sanctuary that is local to you, as they all play an important part in conservation and also letting the kids get their kangaroo feeding fix!
25.01.2022 It’s been a while between visits to the airport (14 months to be exact) and bit of a 180 putting masks on in Qld to take them off in VIC but hey, the borders are open and we’ll take what we can get! See you soon Melbourne #skyhigh
25.01.2022 We have a magnet of Australia on our fridge that has been mysteriously 'moving' apart over the past few months. The culprit was my 11 year old daughter. I asked why she kept separating the magnet, she replied 'That's just how Australia looks now.' What a bizarre world where even our kids are looking at this as being the new norm. Looking forward to when these pieces can be safely and responsibly put back together PS - she did mention n frustration that Tassie was stuck to Vic, so wasn't completely accurate lol! #australia
24.01.2022 Slow down, Look up and around you, you’ll be surprised what you see. This clever fellow was perched in a tree next to the main footpath leading to the school busy dissecting a tasty seed pod. It was interesting to watch who would notice him on the school approach and not surprising it was always the kid pointing him out to their preoccupied parent who would’ve otherwise missed this rather novel visitor.
24.01.2022 Welcome to Winton! The home of AB Paterson's Waltzing Matilda, the Musical Fence, The Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum and one of the most incredible sights we saw on our lap - actual dinosaur footprints at Dinosaur Stampede at Lark Quarry Conservation Park. The amount of history in this central Queensland town is off the charts and we can't wait to go back there again one day. #winton
23.01.2022 A little highlight reel from our day at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
23.01.2022 If you haven't got any plans today and wanting to 'explore' and experience a bit of Australia, it's all here and online!
22.01.2022 Hi ho! Hi ho! It's off to the Zoo we go! Watch out Darling Downs Zoo, we're coming
20.01.2022 Welcome to Darling Downs Zoo and our first family outing on our 2017 Lap Around Australia! Darling Downs Zoo is a family owned and operated business where the love for their animals is obvious as soon as you walk through the entrance and an experience we wanted to share on our virtual lap around Australia. We had an absolute ball here and it's a perfect venue for a family day out with it's relaxed atmosphere and awesome range of animals. While the Zoo is sadly closed at t...he moment due to the COVID-19 restrictions, I would recommend everyone to pop Darling Downs Zoo on the list when we can all travel again. And in the meantime, give their Facebook Page a Follow and Like and we can help support these Ozzie attractions and businesses virtually, just like our lap! Until then, put on some comfy walking shoes and join us for a tour and our day at the Darling Downs Zoo See more
20.01.2022 Late afternoon indulgence time! Another iconic Bendigo ‘Must do’ that always makes our itinerary is Bendigo’s very own Beechworth Bakery whose menu will reward you with every single bakery delight you can imagine - and more #bakery #nomnom #bendigo
20.01.2022 Why thank you Melbourne, it’s lovely to see you again too! Thanks for the beautiful welcome #rainbow
20.01.2022 I was so excited to see this pop up in front of a house around the corner! When we were doing our lap we were so spoiled for choice with book swaps at neally every camp site we stayed at. It was such a great way to find out about books we’d never heard of or may have never explored. Can’t wait to come back to this little Street Library and swap our first read #streetlibrary #bookswap
19.01.2022 The Vertical Slide at the Discovery Centre Bendigo was definitely a highlight of the visit with Linc suiting up for his 7 metre drop which launches by him dangling above the slide holding onto a single bar for 5 seconds before letting go and then falling hitting speeds up to 40ks p/hr. High fives to him for this one as the rest of us stayed with feet firmly planted on the ground #verticalslide #scienceforkids #bendigo
18.01.2022 An essential outing every time we visit Bendigo is the fascinating antiques warehouse ‘Antiques and Collectables ’ which links onto the equally charming Bendigo Pottery. Sooooo many intriguing and nostalgic treasures to be found. Lucky for my bank balance, our luggage allowance home is unforgiving so no extravagant purchases today, just lots of exploring. #bendigo #antiques #bendigopottery
17.01.2022 If you’re going to have pit stop on your road trip, do it somewhere nice and support a small business and community With only 40 minutes left until we arrived at Bendigo there was no negotiation from one of the backseat passengers that we had to stop ‘now’. So instead of waiting for the next service station along the Calder Highway, we took advantage of a signage of a rest stop off the highway at a gorgeous little place called Harcourt. Pulling up next to an old memoria...l park we ventured across the road to the quaint Harcourt Produce and General Store @harcourtproduce. As soon as we walked in we were greeted with a beautifully arranged assortment of fresh produce and locally made gifts and utensils. So we grabbed a bag of quinces as a gift for my Aunty, some freshly brewed coffee (always welcome after a day of travelling) and some bakery goods for the kids. And we didn’t have to wear masks! So even though our rest stop was be a few k’s off of the highway, it was worth the detour #reststop #supportsmallbusiness #generalstore #countryvictoria See more
16.01.2022 In keeping with the true spirit of our 2017 experience, we were 'offline' during our time at the absolutely spectacular Carnarvon Gorge. With no internet or phone reception, except for a very small pocket on the verandah of the café giving you enough to check messages but not reply (bliss!), really added to the experience where time was spent exploring, talking, interacting, meeting the local wildlife and just being present. This is another one of those must-visit places when the world opens up and we'll be sharing our highlight reel tonight to give everyone a glimpse of this absolutely incredibly beautiful place
16.01.2022 When I asked each of the family members what their one memory of Longreach was, we came up with: Brolga birds, QANTAS planes, Stockman's Hall of Fame and windmills. ... I think that actually perfectly sums up this iconic Ozzie city! See more
16.01.2022 Turtles, turtles everywhere! It's turtle mating season and these little bachelors and bachelorettes were floating all around Tangalooma and Moreton Bay looking for their perfect partner. This particular frisky swimmer spent a bit of his time scratching his shell on the anchor chain. Obviously cleaning up a bit before a big date #turtle
15.01.2022 And we're off on our virtual lap around Oz! House and dog looked after. Clothes culled. Supplies stocked. Camper trailer packed. ... FJ fuelled up. Kids pumped. We are sorted! Our initial departure back in 2017 was delayed by a week as Cyclone Debbie smashed through Queensland which also caused school closures (quite ironic since the schools are now also shut?!), so the kids missed out on saying good-bye to their friends. We were grateful though that the cyclone happened BEFORE and not during or first few weeks on the road! The weather was still pretty average as we left the GC but gradually cleared up as we headed inland to our first destination, the beautifully fresh and vibrant Darling Downs region See more
15.01.2022 Ready for our Sunday session
13.01.2022 Our ANZAC day on our lap around Australia back in 2017 was spent quite timely at Townsville, Queensland which has a large army presence due to the nearby training facilities but also a HUGE amount of history tying the regions relationship with the defence force, both Australian and international. It was a fantastic experience and very special for our family to be a part of it, especially since we got to share it with some close family friends. It's quite surreal watching this video back with streets aligned of thousands of people and the military bands walking shoulder to shoulder. #LestWeForget
13.01.2022 Sometimes you’ve just got to get a bit creative on how you can travel vicariously #jigsaw
11.01.2022 From Gorges to Horses . . . Thank you for the warm country welcome Emerald! Nothing like the annual Easter Rodeo to meet all the locals!
10.01.2022 Final stop in at Beechworth Bakery to grab some take away coffee as we pop into visit Nanna before we head off to the airport. A nice little reminder to mask up from their mascot hanging out near the coffee machine #coffeetime #beechworthbakery #maskup #bendigo
09.01.2022 Exploring the beauty, tranquillity and overall loveliness of Tamborine Mountain National Park. Located just a hop, skip and jump away from the famous Gold Coast coastline, the Witches Fall section of park is officially Queensland’s first national park opened back in 1908. It’s a beautiful stroll for all ages and wonderful to see some of the magnificent gentle giants welcome walkers with their huge trunks and sprawling canopies #rainforest #mounttamborine
08.01.2022 Good morning from our first 'virtual stop' at the picturesque Spring Creek Caravan Park! We could not of asked for a better place to spend the first night of our big lap than this beautiful spot which we found through the bible for all travellers, WikiCamps. Grassed campsite (we learnt to appreciate how amazing that was when we got out in the dust!), spotless facilities, friendly neighbours, surrounded by farm land and the owners/managers were so accommodating, it really was ...a real 'country' welcome! The quaint campsite also had a nod to Australian history being an Cobb & Co station with one of the original carts still there, taking pride of place in the spacious area. Even though this campsite wasn't geared towards kids (we were the youngest there by 30 years!) with no playground, we were openly welcomed to the family campsite and kids being kids, found things to do! Running around the open spaces, climbing trees, chalk drawing on the one piece of concrete we could find, feeding the horses from across the fence and the grey nomads absolutely loved chatting with them! Now we're all set up and ready to explore the region See more
06.01.2022 On our way to Carnarvon Gorge and we strategised our pit-stop to make it somewhere of interest. We stopped at the town of Roma to stock up on food and spent half an hour walking around stretching legs where we came across Heroes Avenue, a very special monument created by the the township in 1918 for the fallen soldiers of WW1. "In their honour, a bottle tree was planted for each soldier as a living memorial to their duty to the nation." The heritage listed avenue has 138 b...ottle trees extending from the Railway Station to the Cultural Centre. We took some time with the kids to read some of the plaques and they were shocked at some of the ages of the soldiers and how young they were. Roma is one of those places that keeps pulling through disasters with surviving major floods and struggling through droughts and if you do end up driving through this region (when we can start roaming around again!) make sure you make an effort to stop at towns like this, appreciate the history and support them any way you can. #travellingQueensland See more
05.01.2022 QLD long weekend calls for a pre-lunch time jam session
05.01.2022 Just a quick pause during our virtual lap to wish everyone a Happy Earth Day! With all this weirdness happening to the human race, planet earth just keeps on spinning and for anyone who loves to travel, would appreciate that we now more than ever we need to look after it. Earth.Org Who better to reiterate this fact than the legend himself . . . #EarthDay2020
04.01.2022 Back to our old stomping ground! IE a caravan park. Haven’t been back to one of these bad boys since our lap around Oz We made the call to spend our first night at the Big 4 Caravan Park before bunkering down with family for the week and what a great circuit breaker it was! We stayed in a quaint cabin which the kids used purely for sleeping in between bouncing up a storm on the air pillow, swinging around at the playground and spending hours in the indoor play centre - all included in the stay.
04.01.2022 Good morning from Yuleba! As we cruise our way up through Queensland, we thought we would try our first Free Camp set up. Found through WikiCamps and given rave reviews, we set up camp here and we're instantly greeted by the two resident geese who scoped out our set up and joined us for dinner and breakfast! We had our first campfire cooked breakkie and pretty much felt like we were living the dream #bushcamping
02.01.2022 Our first day of 'Home Schooling' aka learning on the road, started in the iconic town of Longreach, Queensland, home of QANTAS and the Stockman's Hall of Fame, we didn't actually reeeeaaaaally need to open up the text books with so much history waiting to explore. But in an effort to keep some 'routine' we whipped out the school books and iPad and commenced our first day of school. But being in Australia, the local wildlife was just another part of our open air classroom - much to Lincoln's delight who spent the next ten months looking for similar distractions instead of schoolwork :) #homeschool
02.01.2022 When the sand ripples like the water
01.01.2022 After an amazing day at Darling Downs zoo (check out our vid in the post below!), we packed up the camper trailer and fare-welled the beautiful Spring Creek Campsite. As were packing up, the kids befriended one of the grey nomads, a kind and fairly active guy named Bill, who was camping there with his cattle dog Betty. As we were checking out of the campsite the managers told us that Bill had just celebrated his 92nd birthday! He had been travelling around the country for ...years but had set up at Spring Creek for a while and become one of the 'locals.' He had apparently started travelling after his kids tried to put him into a retirement village after his wife passed away, so he sold everything, bought a caravan, threw his dog in the passenger seat and hadn't stopped looking for new adventures since. So just like Bill, we packed up and hit the road for our next adventure. See more
01.01.2022 It ain't a real road trip around Australia unless you fill up on the side of the road #pitstop
01.01.2022 All packed and ready to go and not a spec of red dust on the trailer or FJ - yet! We wouldn't be pulling up on this front lawn again for another 276 days with the extra load of 1000 more memories and experiences joining us. Looking forward to reliving it all again through the world of technology and lockdown
