At last! At long last! I'm doing the miles again. Yesterday I pulled out of Cairns after 2.25 years, 2 operations, and my health restored. What was planned to be a 2 week stay was ever so slightly extended by a very dedicated doctor and her associated specialists. For that I'm forever grateful. I met some really great people, joined Sing Australia which in itself creates a national network of acquaintances. I was a little nervous at first, bearing in mind I had a few glitches as I prepared to hitch up. It all went well. It felt so good to be motoring south to my destination of Lucinda. I chose this little coastal place to get back into road mode. It's main reason for being here is the sugar industry. The 5 kilometre, yes, 5km jetty contains a conveyor which loads the sugar from the mill to the ships. It's massive! I've already met a couple of lovely couples. One couple retired and just kicking back from a hectic life of retirement and community commitments in Townsville. The other couple determined to catch a fish, any fish, between NT and here. The road between Cairns and here is a patchwork quilt of roadworks and bridge construction. That's life on the road. I'll keep you all posted of my progress, if your interested. (And if you're not).

So happy for you. All the best of luck to you ~ enjoy. Cheers

Oh! Yes, We are interested CG. Want to be kept informed every step of the way. Good luck with your trip and may it go smoothly. Happy travels!

Oh yes please GC, we are heading for Townsville Jan/Feb, so hopefully might catch up with you at some stage.

"GO GRANNY GO".......Yes I am shouting as Chris has been chafing at the bit for so long and so happy she has hit the road again at last........a mine of information this lady !! Happy Travels Chris, Vic

Yep. Back where you belong "on the road again" I can see your big smile and feel your renewed enthusiasm in your posts. Keep letting us know where you are. Some of us will catch up with you somewhere out there. Johnw

Great that you are back on the move, Granny. While you are in the area, have a look at the caravan park at Forrest beach, not far from Lucinda. In 2009 we went there for a few days and stayed a month.

good for you love - we hope all your roads are smooth and not too potholed....

Hi Chris, best wishes and happy travelling. take care, Jim

Hey Happy and safe travelling make the most of every day Helena.

Thanks everyone. Your support is wonderful and I really do appreciate it. I have a couple of blog. One is Big Blog, About My Age, Blog Spot, all under the "cruising granny" thingy. I have been blogging my writing work, so my travel progress gets included. Stand by for further developments.

You go girl, jolly nice news Chris.

Safe travell Chris, & will be great to see you again. Daryl

I've changed my itinerary already. I'm heading to Townsville tomorrow to catch up with a girlfriend from Pt. Lincoln who's also a nomad. She's upgrading from a campervan to a motorhome, in spite of being worried about driving the "big vehicle" when she set out. She also sold her unit, in spite of being worried about "having a base". That's travel for you. I checked out Taylor's Beach yesterday, but I don't think I'll get to Forrest, but I've heard nice things. This is an interesting little patch of Oz. Low lying flood plain, covered in sugar cane, and at the moment, a lot of water. It's very swampy and the mozzies are in mozzy heaven. Most of the houses are uninhabited this time of the year.

I would be very surprised if you didn't take a different fork in the road Chris, the adventurist in you does that.

And she hasn't even met me folks. Well spotted FF. That's travel and the advantage of having wheels under you. You can't do that in a jet as you fly over the country from point A to point B. Just love it!

Excellent news Granny, travel safe.  If you happen to detour again and end up in S E Qld, PM me I would love to catch up. 

Notice you have new Avatar too, is this part of your new "travel image"?

Come to Maggie is. if you get the chance.I have a house here. Its a bit too expensive to bring the car and van, but a day trip is worthwhile. Contact me if you want. Bill

How absolutely great, get rid of the ' in Cairns for now ' wording...maybe ' on the open road again' We all enjoy your advice and comments...and you do feel you know folk on here even if you're states apart. Just the best news Chris... Cheers Robyn

HI Chris, hope you enjoy Lucinda. We were married there on the beach front 34 years ago and it was a beautiful place then. The caravan park was right on the beach but now it has moved back up to the top. We used to sit on the jetty and catch some great fish and catch with all the locals. And some of them had some great fishing tales to tell. Enjoy yourself and keep well...... Pauline and Ian

It's not a new image, just a new avatar to stop the boredom setting in. Can't be too predictable and reliable. The wheel cover is still there, as is the Grey Nomads sticker. Thanks for the thoughts Clazanddaza. I enjoyed our visits. I'll freshen up my signature so it's a bit more current. It just feels great to be making miles.

Update: 3 nights in Charters Towers after a quick 2-day, unplanned stopover in Townsville. Caught up with a Pt. Lincoln girlfriend heading north, as I was heading west. Great to catch up again. I had to fix my door catch today. What a crap job! I had springs, screws and sprockets popping out everwhere. I finally worked out how it fitted back together, complete with grease, and it works like a charm. I was about 2 hands short to hold it all together while I put it back on the door. Note to self: The next time you pull the catch off, hold it tight at all times or the thing will explode all over the ground in front of you. Then the jigsaw starts all over again.

 Awsome.... Brilliant.... Atta Girl !!! Best news I've read in the GN's Forum for ages!
At long last you are finally getting the medicine that always make you happy CG; Travelling.

Our 'Big' Isuzu Metroliner bus/motorhome conversion project, is in it's last stage. And we are looking forward to meeting you on our 'Maiden Voyage' around Oz in it, early next year.

PS Know anyone who might now like to give our little Coaster LWB a new adventurous owner?

Fan-plurry-tastic, Chris.

Buon Viaggi.

You bet Rolly. Fan-bloody-tastic! As or the Coaster bus, advertise on ebay and other sites and I'm sure someone would be very happy to give it a good home with many happy hours attached. There are nomads under every rock and behind every tree I come across. They're either doing it, planning to do it, or bemoaning the fact they can't do it yet. The worst is the singles who say, "I'd love to do it, but I'm on my own." My response is, "SO!" Why sit around home moaning and being miserable, and worst of all, inflicting that misery on others because life isn't the dream they hoped it would be. Tough t!tties! If you have the means and capability to fulfill the dream, just do it! It's good.

Happy to hear you're on the road again.

Safe travelling
Jon & Hylda

Thanks everyone. I just love it here.

After all those kms I have travelled, I towed through the rain today for the first time. It's not the first time the van had seen rain after 5 wet seasons on either side of the country, but it was the first real time I'd towed through heavy rain, and it happened between Hughenden and Richmond. The country is green, the wattles are almost finished flowering, the gums are flowering, and it's beautiful out there. I'm in Richmond until Friday when I'm moving on toward the "Isa". The road out there is sealed but very undulating and uneven. The water lay in the wheel ruts almost turning the van into a boat. When I pulled up, the van step was wet and my bed was wet from a little leak, if there is such a thing, from the pressure vent. It dried out by bed time. It was weird being cold, although the humidity was 80% and the temp 15deg. Richmond has a great little, new park overlooking the man-made lake and parklands, with a descriptive native plant garden, explaining the plants and all their uses. To cap off a great day the sunset was brilliant. Red, orange, gold, grey to purple as the sun caused the storm clouds to literally glow. I took a photo with my phone, but I don't know if it did it justice. I left my phone in a mate's car in Townsville, so he's sent it to a relative in the Isa where I'll collect it. I met a fellow solo female nomad in Charters who's also heading west. She is in Richmond too, with her dog, so we walked around the lake which is set up to count the "steps" of exercise, an exercise area to do chin-ups, a climbing wall and other facilities for exercise, and a brilliant water feature and kid's playground. It's all a credit to a very small, outback community. If you're passing this way, check it out. It's run by a couple who have done 3 years of van travel and really know their stuff.

Correction: I left my camera in a mate's car in Townsville, so now I'm in Mt. Isa I can collect it from his niece. I made it to the Isa, and plan to spend 3 nights here. More maintenance, just tightening loose screws and stuff. It never stops on these aluminium boxes with staples and pop rivets. The road between Richmond and Cloncurry is flat, straight and boring. From Clong to the Isa it's rugged and hilly, but nothing steep. It's very dry out here, with a little green on the road edge from the run-off. I'd love to see it out here after a decent rain with water in the creeks etc. You won't hear me say "boring road" very often, but this strip was boring, and for some reason everyone appeared to be going east. The 2way radio was quiet as well. I confronted one small, oversized load - only 3.5 metres with an escort. This riverside park is busy with travellers and a few long-termers. Very pleasant though. I had a little stop-over in Richmond which wasn't on my itinerary. I had one of my "vague-outs" and got caught by the park manager. She promptly put me in the car and delivered me to the hospital emergency. They even kept me in for the night under observation. These vague-outs cause me to blank out but I'm still aware of what's going on around me, but I just can't participate. I tried to talk but it didn't make sense. I got a bit hot and sweaty and very pale. I also can't read or write during these episodes. The medicos are stumped, so I just get on with it. It's not epilepsy or stroke. Just vague - more vague than usual. Everyone else worries about these things, but I just get on with it, and usually no one knows about them. It's all good. I'll keep you posted of my progress.