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Big Thing Far North Queensland – Kadimakara

admin — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:04:50 +0000

Kadimakara – Giant Lizard Of Dreamtime

The Plaque nearby has this information for visitors to read.

‘Kadimakara’ was constructed by a world reknown Japanese sculptor, Mr Mitsuaki Tanabe to draw attention to the the need to conserv the last remaining areas of wild rice in the world.

It is situated in the Mareeba Tropical Savannah and Wetland Reserve, one of the only small number of areas in the world which supports pure wild rice, which predates and is uncontaminated by commercial rice.

The sculpture has been kindly donated by the artist to Ausralia and its people.

The sculpture is made of stainless steel, is approximately19 metres long, 11.36 metres wide and over 2 metres high at the head. It weighs in eccess of 10 tonne.

Mr Tanabe was supported in this project by the Rotary Club of Shizuoka in Japan in District 2620. The five sections of the sculpture were transported from Japan in two large comtainers and the Rotary Club of Mareeba of District 9550, under the guidance of Mt Tanabe, reassembled the lizard in its new home at the Mareeba Wetlands Reserve. It was officially unveiled on Saturday 17th June 2006 by its creator and by the Hon. Warren Entsch, Federal member for Leichhardt.

The Rotaty Club of Mereeba is proud to be involved in placing this sculpture in our district highlighting the vital importance of biodiversity and the conservation of genetic diversity.

Photos and Infomation supplied by a reader – Thanks

BIG4 Holiday Parks Queensland Pay for 4 Nights Stay 6

admin — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 21:18:29 +0000

STAY SIX NIGHTS AND PAY FOR ONLY FOUR WITH BIG4 IN QUEENSLAND

BIG4 Holiday Parks across Queensland are offering travellers a ‘Pay 4, Stay 6’ accommodation incentive to visit the beautiful sunshine-state for their next holiday.

Visit any of the 23 participating BIG4 Queensland Parks listed below, between 14 March and 10 June 2011, for a great break that won’t be forgotten.

Choose from a diverse range of BIG4 Holiday Parks designed to suit every travelling style whether it is a family holiday, a road trip with a group of friends or a romantic weekend away with someone special. And with destinations from the Gold and Sunshine Coasts right up to Rockhampton and Cooktown, there’s a holiday to suit everyone.

Each unique Park is located close to tourist hotspots and all showcase a wide range of accommodation options including modern ‘city-style’ cabins big enough for the whole family as well as grassy ensuite sites where you can pitch a tent for the ultimate outdoor holiday.

The Park facilities on offer also ensure the kids are kept well entertained and parents relaxed. From adventure playgrounds and giant jumping pillows to outdoor entertainment areas and spa pools, BIG4 Holiday Parks offer a unique holiday experience that suits both the modern and the traditional traveller.

To take up this offer, simply browse the participating parks at big4.com.au, choose an accommodation or site option that best suits your needs, enter the promotional code ‘QLDONSALE’ and enjoy your Queensland adventure.

Participating parks include:

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort, Airlie Beach

BIG4 Airlie Cove Resort and Van Park, Airlie Beach

BIG4 Atherton Woodlands Tourist Park, Atherton

BIG4 Brisbane Northside Caravan Village, Brisbane

Brisbane Gateway Resort, Brisbane

BIG4 Cane Village Holiday Park, Bundaberg

BIG4 Cairns Crystal Cascades Holiday Park, Cairns

Aussie Outback Oasis Cabin and Van Village, Charters Towers

Cooktown Holiday Park, Cooktown

Ashmore Palms Holiday Village, Gold Coast

NRMA Treasure Island Holiday Park, Gold Coast

BIG4 Point Vernon Holiday Park, Hervey Bay

Fraser Lodge Holiday Park, Hervey Bay

BIG4 Innisfail Mango Tree Holiday Park, Innisfail

BIG4 Kingaroy Holiday Park, Kingaroy

BIG4 Port Douglas Glengarry Holiday Park, Port Douglas

Discovery Holiday Parks – Rockhampton, Rockhampton

BIG4 Forest Glen Resort, Sunshine Coast

BIG4 Maroochy Palms Holiday Village, Sunshine Coast

BIG4 Toowoomba Garden City, Toowoomba

BIG4 Townsville Woodlands Holiday Park, Townsville

Kahler’s Oasis Caravan Park, Warwick

BIG4 Capricorn Palms Holiday Village, Yeppoon

The offer is available on selected types of accommodation and sites and is subject to availability at each park (availability and options will differ from park to park).

About BIG4 Holiday Parks

BIG4 Holiday Parks is a Franchise Group comprising more than 180 holiday parks across Australia. The group provides a range of high-quality accommodation options from powered ensuite sites for caravan and motorhomes to luxury cabins. With a consistently high standard across all its parks, BIG4 has also set the standard within local holiday park experiences and is the recognised industry leader. BIG4 Holiday Parks’ BIG4 Club has over 170,000 members who enjoy significant discounts on accommodation bookings as well as ongoing benefits and discounts with BIG4’s partner organisations. Being a BIG4 Member means you’ll not only get savings on BIG4 accommodation, but also access a whole host of other holiday benefits thanks to BIG4’s Local Member Benefits program. BIG4 Holiday Parks recently signed a master licensing agreement with North America’s Kampgrounds of America (the leading campground operator in Nth America and Canada) for the Australian, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and East Timor markets. BIG4 is a proud supporter of The Humour Foundation’s Clown Doctors™, a philanthropic organisation committed to bringing a little cheer to children and their families’ undergoing treatment in Australian hospitals.

For more information on BIG4 Holiday Parks visit big4.com.au

Driving And Exploring Outback Queensland and New South Wales

admin — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 22:49:23 +0000

Driving the Outback is an exciting experience and adventure, outback Queensland and New South Wales has many wonderful and interesting places and attactions to visit.

This map shows Where the Barkly Highway crosses into Queensland to Mount Isa and then continue driving south through Charlieville to Dubbo.

This is the itinerary that we travelled when my family drove through OutBack Queensland and New South Wales on our ‘First Big Trip’. This was an amazing trip through this unique part of Australia.

Day 1 Barkly Homestead to Mount Isa.

We left from Barkly Homestead on the Stuart Highway and drive cross the Queensland border to Mount Isa. Which is very much a mining town. We stayed in a Caravan Park and went to the Mining Museum in the morning and then drove to Winton via Mckinlay.

Day 2– Mount Isa to Winton

We left Mount Isa and drove to Mckinlay, which is home to the ‘Walkabout Creek Hotel’ famous for the ‘Crocodile Dundee’ Movies. This one is a replica for tourists not the original shown in the movie. Still great to see, we had a beer there of course

We then drove to Winton. When we got closer we saw on the map that a gravel road looked shorter. Guess what! It wasn’t! So we arrived about 6 oclock. Most places were booked out, luckily the North Gregory Hotel had 2 rooms, so each family squeezed into each room using some of our own bedding. Turned out to be a great adventure, kids loved it. We had our tea there and the hosts were terrific. The water did smell like ‘rotten egg gas’ which was not good

The North Gregory Hotel is where Banjo Paterson first sung ‘Waltzing Matilda’ unfortunately the hotel has burnt down 4 times since then so it was not the original hotel. A museum has been built called the ‘Waltzing Matilda Centre’ dedicated to Banjo Paterson

Day 3 & 4 – Winton to Longreach

We left Winton QLD and headed for Longreach. We setup camp in a caravan park and did the usual shopping to stock up and looked around Longreach. Longreach is home of the famous ‘Stockmans Hall of Fame’ which we visited the next day.

The ‘Stockmans Hall of Fame’ really was worth the visit, full of Australia’s farming and outback history, being farmers ourselves it made it even more interesting. The displays have been creating in many ways to make them more interesting and interactive. The building itself is made of timber, stone and corrugated iron and is very unique and was opened in 1988.

Day 5 – Longreach to Blackall

We left Longreach and travelled to Blackall, set up camp . Blackall has an Aquatic Centre with a Olympic size pool with a spa, but the difference the water is from an artesian bore. So the water was very warm even in the big pool, the spa was beautiful, nearly too hot to get into. We did stay there for quite awhile and relaxed.

Day 6 & 7 – Blackall to Charlieville

We drove to Charlieville. The first night of our trip in Port Augusta on TV the Charlieville Camel Races were advertised to be on 21^st – 23^rd July, so we worked out itinerary so that we could be at Charlieville for the Camel Races.

The next day was an amazing day, first we walked to the Camel Races which was about 10 minutes away. About 6pm was a rodeo and after that was a Troy Cassar-Daley concert.

Camel races are great fun, they also had yabby races, shearing competitions, feral goat races and more. The camels were funny, one ran the wrong way, they wouldn’t go when supposed too and we found it’s best to always bet on the favourite, they seem to always win

Later we went to the Rodeo and the Troy Cassar Daley concert, both were excellent and we were exhausted

Day 8 – Charlieville to Bourke

Day 9 – Bourke To Dubbo

Driving And Exploring Outback Queensland and New South Wales Itinerary

admin — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 22:49:02 +0000

Driving the Outback is an exciting experience and adventure, outback Queensland and New South Wales has many wonderful and interesting places and attactions to visit.

This map shows Where the Barkly Highway crosses into Queensland to Mount Isa and then continue driving south through Charlieville to Dubbo.

Day 1 Barkly Homestead to Mount Isa.

Day 2– Mount Isa to Winton

Day 3 & 4 – Winton to Longreach

Day 5 – Longreach to Blackall

Day 6 & 7 – Blackall to Charlieville

The next day was an amazing day, first we walked to the Camel Races which was about 10 minutes away. About 6pm was a rodeo and after that was a Troy Cassar-Daley concert.

Later we went to the Rodeo and the Troy Cassar Daley concert, both were excellent and we were exhausted

Day 8 – Charlieville to Bourke

Day 9 – Bourke To Dubbo

Driving And exploring Outback Queensland and New South Wales is an exciting journey, this itinerary shows how unique our outback is. This example is just a small part of what there is to see, so take the time to discover what other amazing sights there is to see on your road trip around thei beautiful unique country.

Plan and Prepare For Your Own Aussie Adventure

Fraser Island A Campers Paradise

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 22:31:36 +0000

Going camping on Fraser Island in Queensland is a very exciting experience, 4 wheel drive vehicles are required as most driving is on sand or rough tracks.

Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and is located about 300 kilometres north of Brisbane. A permit must be obtained from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Office prior to arriving on the island.

Fraser Island Map

My family have been to Fraser island 3 times now and every time is a great adventure. The first and third time we camped alongside the beach, which was great just a short walk and we were on the beach.

When camping in these areas there are no amenities so it the same as bush camping. There are several types of campsites and many have basic amenities. The second time we went we stayed at Dundabara Campground which had amenities but was further from the beach so we had to drive to the beach. Campfires are not permitted in most areas check with authorities first.

Driving on Fraser Island is interesting, the Seventy Five Mile beach is the highway so normal road rules apply and the general speed is about 80 km/ph. So anyone walking on the beach must be well aware of vehicles when walking to the waters edge. Occasionally we could come across people who seemed to have no idea vehicles can travel on the beach, even had to dodge a sunbaker, who soon moved. There is also plenty of driving tracks inland that are mostly narrow and meeting other vehicles can be a squeeze to get passed. Driving on the beach is only accessible when the tides are low, so care needs to be taken as to when you drive on the beach as many vehicles have been washed out to sea as the tide rises.

There are many sights to see and many places to visit, the shipwreck ‘Maheno’ is on the beach so it is easy to see.

Inland there is Lake Mckenzie a big favourite for every visitor, it has the whitest sand and beautiful blue water.

There is also Eli Creek which is near the beach, also very popular. It is a shallow creek that you can walk up, then float back and is surrounded by forest, also has a board walk and bridges.

At the top end of Fraser Island there is also many stunning places to visit like Indian Head, Champagne Pools, Cathedral Beach, Orchid Pools, Waddy Point and much more.

If you are not so keen on camping and 4 wheel driving, Fraser Island has several resorts and tours can be arranged, so everyone can get to see and explore it’s stunning scenery.

For more information about camping and exploring Fraser island check this QLD Gov. website Fraser Island Camping Information