Hervey Bay to Rainbow Beach

I cannot believe how quickly time is flying! We have been here at Rainbow Beach for two weeks already and only now have five days left before we go to Mudjimba for Christmas with Mike, Tanya and our Grandchildren, Michaellie, Nick and Briony. It’s been 2 years since I have seen them so I guess we will find big changes in them!

Maryborough

First let me tell you about our bus trip to Maryborough. There were only the 2 of us and the bus driver, Barbara. She picked us up and we headed the 40 kilometres to Maryborough. This is a town of about 29,000 people but has amazing facilities. Barbara gave us a good understanding of its amazing history that also incorporates Hervey Bay. Firstly Hervey Bay was only a fishing village and people from Maryborough used to take their holidays there. Maryborough sits on the banks of the lovely Mary River and was originally settled in the early 1800’s. The historic buildings and architecture there reminded us very much of Charters Towers. Truly lovely buildings. The town was moved though as the original spot was always flooding. The Council though still keep the maintenance on the old area and its graves as a lovely historical park.

The main city park is lovely and Walter got very excited when he saw the old steam train running around taking people for rides. Every Thursday parts of Maryborough’s main streets are closed to traffic and they have market stalls selling just about everything. You can pick up some great bargains but we stuck to the fresh fruit and vegies. So the old steam train, run by volunteers, chuffs its’ way around the track picking up customers from the markets. We also strolled through St Paul’s Anglican Church that has beautiful stained glass windows and a very old organ.

After the guided tour through the city part, Barbara took us to this amazing old store that opened first for business in 1871 and only closed in 1972. The owner at the time (who was the son of the original proprietors) just walked out and left everything just as is was. Owned by George and Agness Geraghty, IT SOLD EVERYTHING! They imported oranges and wine and sold butter, meat and packaged products as well as rural supplies and serviced a huge area all the way up to Bundaberg and south to Brisbane. Even all the old invoices and ledger books are left in the office!

Barbara then took us for lunch at the Pier side Restaurant that was part of the original customs buildings and overlooks the river. It was a very interesting day!

Rainbow Beach

We left Hervey Bay and arrived at Rainbow Beach about 2 hours later. We have a nice site and its only 5 mins walk to the beach. We can see the water and hear the waves, but not right on the beach. The shopping centre is only across the road but it is just a sleepy beachside place (at the moment!) Like most coastal places it goes berserk over the Christmas period! The beach goes for miles in both directions and to the north just across a narrow strait of water is Fraser Island. To the south is Double Island Point.

On the Tuesday after we arrived our lovely friends Marie and Bill arrived with Nora (Bill’s Mum). They stayed in one of the cabins. We took a drive out to a coffee shop for lunch and then drove over to Tin Can Bay for afternoon tea. When we came back we headed across to the Surf Club for dinner. Lovely little club with views right sown the beach. No too shabby at all! Food was good too! I can particularly recommend the Pesto Reef Fish! They left early next day to drive all the way back to Yeppoon.

After enjoying ourselves on the LARC trip at 1770, we found that there was another LARC here! So we booked ourselves on the Friday trip. Sad to say though that on the day, the LARC has an auto electrical problem. We did the trip though but in a 4WD bus instead. Still and all, it was fantastic. We drove out through the Coolangoola National Park through beautiful forest down to Freshwater. This is a little camping and picnic area maintained by the National Park right on the edge of Teewah Beach. Now for those who have their map out, Teewah beach runs 55 kms all the way down to Noosa. At low tide it is another beach drive. However once we turned onto the beach we drove north again towards Double Island Point and the lighthouse. Quite a bit of traffic on the beach including professional “wormers”. These guys spend hours finding worms that they then on-sell to the fish and bait shops. Back breaking work!


We have never seen water as clear as the ocean on Teewah Beach! It was crystal clear and so very beautiful. When we reached the end of the beach we climbed the 4wd track (about 2 kms) in the bus to the top and the lighthouse. And what a view! All the way to Fraser along Rainbow Beach and south to Noosa. It was spectacular! Whilst we were at the top we overlooked Wolf Rock (about 2 kms out to sea) and by all accounts a great dive site. Also below the headland the amount of marine life visible in the water blew us away. We saw at least 8 Loggerhead turtles swimming around, 2 Manta Rays and a Shovel Nosed ray. The bus driver told us this wasn’t even a good day! He stated that there is usually also about 40 dolphins which weren’t to be seen whilst we were there!

After leaving the lighthouse and going back down the track we then travelled about ½ km along the beach south before turning onto a track called the Leisha Track. This is another 4WD only sand track that crosses the headland and takes you onto Rainbow Beach. We then travelled along the beach beside the Coloured Sands, cliffs of multi coloured sand. This way is only negotiable at low tide. Once getting close to the end it is the rocks right at the end which cause many vehicles grief. We were told that the insurance figure (per year) for damaged vehicles at this point is approximately $1 million a year! What happens is that people get impatient and they can see Rainbow Beach township around the corner of these rocks and get over confident about making in it instead of re-tracing their tracks back along the 11 kms beach, over the Leisha track again and then back up the inland Freshwater track! So they try and negotiate the rocks. It is only possible on the exact low tide and sometimes not even then. The sand can wash away leaving the rocks exposed. Two places in town, including the Information Centre as a Wall of Shame, a wall of photos of the wrecks, some nearly underwater!

Our 4WD bus had high clearance and we struck the rocks right on low tide. The photos we took whilst we negotiated them will give you an idea! Again so glad we did not try it in our car!

We have wandered over to the beach most afternoons with our chairs and our books and have cooled down surfing then come back to read. When the tide is too high we use the lovely pool here. We also drove up to the lookout and took the walk to Carlo Sand Blow. Again the views were fantastic, over to Tin Can Bay, over the top of Rainbow Beach and out to the Pacific Ocean. This is also the spot where the Para-sailors launch from. So we stopped and watched their antics for a while.

Fraser Island (Again)

Fraser Island so intrigued us we found another 4WD trip to take us form here, but this time over 2 days. So last Monday we were again picked up at the front of the caravan park and headed out to Inskip Point where our 4WD bus caught the barge across to the island. It’s only a 10 minute trip from there. So we landed at Hook Point and started another adventure. Tide was still too high to drive around Hook Point on the beach so we took an old mining road inland for about 11 kms before cutting onto 75 mile beach. It’s an amazing beach to drive on and our first stop was Eurong Beach Resort for the “comfort” stop before heading further north along the beach. Again we stopped at Eli Creek and paddled our way all the way up as far as we could go before floating back with the current. Our tour guide had organised lunch why we floating down. Why does lunch always taste better when 1) we are outdoors and 2) when somebody else does al the work!

After lunch we were back in the bus to run all the way up to Indian Head. This is the end of 75 mile Beach. A steep but short climb to the top gave us another spectacular view north up to Waddy Point, Middle Rocks and the Champagne Pools and south right down the beach. Looking west you could also see a number of the sand blows. Looking down we could see two 4 metre long tiger sharks swimming around the headland. Another good reason not to go surfing at Fraser! The good thing about having the 2 days nothing was rushed. We were able to spend a good time up on the headland before climbing back to head back south along the beach. We again stopped at the Maheno wreck and the Coloured sands at the Pinnacles were more photos were taken. Further down we stopped on the beach for Rainbow Gorge. As it is a walk to a sand blow, Walter & I decided not to take it as we had already seen the Carlo Sand Blow. It would have been too much walking for Walter with his painful hip, so we sat on the sand watching the traffic roar past us on the beach and enjoying the view. Following this, we then headed back to Eurong Beach Resort for our accommodation and evening meal.

Next day we headed off at 8 am inland this time to Lake Mackenzie. We did not have any problem going back to this beautiful spot and able to have 2 hours there this time. Being wiser by having been there before, I took my mask and snorkel with me. Never though to take my underwater camera though – I’m still kicking myself over this! I spent most of the time snorkelling around the edge watching the turtles and the many small fish. The visibility is like over 100 metres the water is so clear and no current at all. After a cup of coffee and lamingtons (tour driver looking after us again) we headed over through the rough sand tracks to Central Station. This was initially the centre for the logging operation years ago. This was a barbeque lunch spot, so sausage sizzle it was! After lunch, all of us except Walter walked through to Pile Valley. It is along the rainforest floor beside Wooloonga Creek (also known as the invisible creek as the water is so clear you cannot see it!). Walter did not do the walk as there are also 136 steps to climb out of the valley up to the ridge and the car park where we were to be picked up. He with the tour guide just did the top part of the walk back into a 1000 year old Satinay tree.

Then again it was back in the bus, back to Eurong and back on the beach for the drive right down the beach to Hook Point and back to the barge. (Tide low now) What made our day though was at the south end of the beach was a Fraser Island Dingo and her pup. We had a few chuckles as we watched the little one try to get off the beach by climbing the sand dune and he just kept slipping back. It’s the only time on the 2 trips that we actually got to see the dingos.

Thursday saw us take a drive to Gympie where we did a bit of shopping at Coles and then drove back to Tin Can Bay for lunch. Whilst we were there we realised that the school holidays were about to begin for Queensland and everything was going to get very busy. So we made the decision not to leave coming back to Tin Can Bay for the dolphin feeding to the next week but we would do it tomorrow.

Tin Can Bay

We set the alarm clock early Friday and drove out to catch the ferry from Carlo Point to Tin Can Bay. It’s a lovely trip across the bay, about 20 minutes, so we could go and hand feed the dolphins. The dolphin feeding is free and run by volunteers. They often get up to 3-4 dolphins but only one came in when we were there. His name was Mystique. Poor old Mystique though had been in the wars this week and had been targeted by a Bull Shark. He was missing part of his dorsal fin and one half of his tail fin but seemed to be OK. The volunteers said he has his appetite back which is a good sign and that they have marvellous recuperative powers. He is very gentle when taking his fish from your hand and he definitely knows the procedure! It was a great experience.


Well we had planned to do a 4WD trip ourselves today to go down to Freshwater and Teewah Beach (coming back the same way) for a picnic. However when we woke up this morning it was pouring rain so we have put that plan on old. Maybe tomorrow if the weather is OK.

This will most likely be our last update for the year. I know I will be too busy with grandchildren and Christmas to do anything. Then we head back to Dubbo to get Walter’s hip fixed. Poor fellar has been in so much pain with it and gets frustrated because he cannot do what he would like to. Patience is not one of his virtues!

We both want to wish you all a very Happy and Safe Christmas and a wonderful New Year. If you are travelling we hope to catch up with you somewhere in this great outdoors!

Cheers Rob & Walter

Mon Repos to Hervey Bay and Fraser Island

The time we spent at Mon Repos was very special for many reasons. Not only was it a beautiful place, next to the Turtle Rookery it teemed with wonderful bird and animal life. The history of the area was also fascinating.
In the late 1800's, sugar cane farmers bought in many islanders known as Kanaka's to assist with the cane cutting. Next to Turtle Sands Caravan Park is a hand made stone wall known as the "Kanaka Wall". It was built by the islanders from the stones cleared from the fields. It is heritage listed now in memory of them. They were little more than slaves but treated a bit better.

Being right on the beach meant we were in and out of the water all the time. Both of us are brown as berries. It was also special as whilst we were there, many of our friends came to join us on a number of occasions. First there was Bill and Marie from Yeppoon, then Steve and Vicki who we first met on the Atherton tableland but met up with them again in Cooktown and Ellis Beach, then Heinz and Anita (from Switzerland) who we met in Jindabyne last year. They went back to Switzerland for their summer and returned again in October, flying into Brisbane, to continue their trip around Australia, and last but not least Mary Jane and Kim from Brisbane. MJ & Kim we first met on our 4WD trip to the Victorian High Country 4 years ago, then last year we spent 5 weeks in the outback of South Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland. They have now purchased their first caravan and going to lease their house from 7th January 2008 and will probably join us on the road somewhere! It was great all to be together and swap ideas and travel stories.

We had some great trips and experiences whilst at Mon Repos. Walter and I travelled to Elliot Heads for a picnic lunch, taking our books sitting on the river bank near the river mouth to the ocean. Such a pretty place although we liked our caravan park better! Whilst with Marie and Bill we went shopping in Bundaberg, met Bill’s mum who will be 90 next year, and organised tickets to attend the theatre to see "Men in Tutu’s"! This is an International Ballet Company but spoofing ballet. It was an amazing show, so much talent but hilarious. We had tears running down our faces from laughing.

We found a lovely little café/restaurant over at Bundaberg Port on the Burnett River which became a favourite of us all.

We visited the Bundaberg Rum Distillery for a tour which was very interesting. Each vat was worth $6M of which the Government taxes take 2/3’s! $4m dollars worth of duty….The tour took about an hour. All I wanted was a “Bundy Bear” but found that they don’t sell them as they would contravene their license as it is classified as a toy! So I now have a T shirt instead! With Steve and Vicki we also visited the Bundaberg Botanical Gardens and went through Bert Hinkler’s house. He is buried in Italy where he died in his crashed plane in the late 1920’s but they bought his house from England and rebuilt it, brick by brick and tile by tile until it now stands in lovely gardens just like it used to in England. Also in the gardens was the Fairymead Sugar Museum. This is a history of the sugar industry that began in the area.

We spent a couple of hours there and found it really interesting.

On another day we also caught a river cruise from Bundaberg down the Burnett River to the mouth and returned. Really peaceful way to spend a couple of hours and so very pretty. We also drove up to the only hill around called The Hummock where the view was totally spectacular, 360 degrees over the coast, Bundaberg and the mountains and when the day was clear you could see Fraser Island.

On the first November the turtle laying season opened so we waited about 5 days before booking a tour. The Mon Repos beach is closed at night from this time and you can only go onto the beach with the rangers under very specific conditions. You cannot take any torches onto the beach as any light discourages the turtles from coming ashore. So we went down to the Ranger station at the rookery and the rangers give you heaps of info about the turtles and their laying habits. The Loggerhead turtles, that are endangered, use this beach nearly exclusively, they also get some Green and Flatback turtles too. They are very sensitive to light and they don’t get settled until after they dig their hole and lay at least about 15-20 eggs, it is at this time they let small groups onto the beach to view this special event.

The first time Walter and I went, it was a Flatback Turtle but she didn’t settle and headed back to the ocean. They had already called us down to the beach (in the dark) and we were waiting further down the beach. So when she began to head back they called us through to watch her make her way back into the sea. A week later when MJ and Kim and Bill and Marie came back again, we booked another tour and at 6.45 pm we headed back to the Rookery. There was a nice little walking track down through the caravan park to the Rookery. Needed the torch on the way back though as it was very dark.

This time we were hardly there when we were called down to the beach. This time a Loggerhead Turtle came up to lay and was already digging her hole. The rangers positioned us behind her, outside her field of vision and with a torch buried in the sand behind her so we could watch her dig her hole. The hole is an inverted V….very clever girl! Once she has completed the hole she begins to lay. Fascinating to watch. As soon as she had laid about 20 eggs she is committed to the task so we then could take some photos and walk to the front of her very slowly whilst the Rangers ensured she was tagged and measured. This girl had laid here before so was already tagged. This little lady laid 86 eggs and then spends about an hour filling the hole and bringing the sand level back up to the beach level. Then all torches are off and she makes her way back to the lowest point of light which is the horizon over the sea. This girl got it a bit wrong and had actually dug her hole below high tide mark. This means that all the eggs would be drowned. So as soon as she hit the ocean the Ranger digs them all up, counts them and we help them to relocate them to a “ranger” dug hole above the tide mark. So we saved 86 little turtle babies this night!

The hatchlings take about 6 weeks to hatch and when they make their way back down the beach into the ocean, they are magnetically imprinted with the beach and the females (after 30 years) will return here to lay. It takes that long for a female to reach laying maturity. The males never return at all. Once she leaves her eggs her job is over. She never returns to check on her eggs or young, the babies are on their own! Some parents I’m sure wish this for their teenagers!

Whilst MJ & Kim were at Mon Repos, MJ & I went on long early morning walks enjoying the incredible scenery and animal and birdlife. So many varieties of birds as there are so many different habitats. The bird book got a very heavy workout between us!

We received two large showers of rain whilst in Mon Repos, about 1 ½ inches in each. It was the first real rain we have experienced since beginning travelling!

We left on Sunday 18th just after Bill and Marie who were returning to Yeppoon. Just a little sad to be leaving such a unique spot. So we travelled down to Hervey Bay and to a caravan park at Urangan right near the Marina. Neat and tidy but we really don’t get any views.

We have undertaken a bus tour of Hervey Bay and surrounding area which was interesting. It is a city of 60,000 population now and expanding rapidly. So many building developments! Very pretty along the Esplanade and Urangan Pier is spectacular being nearly 1 km long. It previously was even 238 metres longer but when it ceased operations the end began to deteriorate quickly so it was demolished. Thank goodness the rest of it has been heritage protected now.

Friday saw us catch the ferry from the Marina to Fraser Island. We opted for a 1 day 4WD bus tour instead of risking our own vehicle. When we saw how many 1st time 4WD back packer drivers get bogged etc we were very glad of our decision. It was fantastic and this island is so very unique. We began our trip at Kingfisher Bay and travelled to Central Station and then on to Eurong Beach resort for lunch. Following a buffet lunch the bus took us onto the Fraser Island “Super Highway”. This is 75 mile beach. It is amazing hooting along this stretch of sand with vehicles and planes going in all directions! Our first stop was at Eli Creek. This is a fresh water creek expelling 4,000,000 litres per hour of rain water into the ocean. We paddled up it for about 500 metres. The creek actually goes for about 5 kms up into the island. The water is so pure and clean. A very popular spot for all travellers!

Back onto the “highway” and up to the wreck of the Maheno. This ship was a luxury liner that had been purchased by Japan and was being towed by a smaller ship when it was hit with cyclonic winds. Needless to say the smaller ship could not hold it and it was beached here in 1935. As you will now see from the photos nature in the form of sea and weather have caused its destruction. I believe given another 5 years and there will be nothing much to show, either rusted away or swallowed up by the sand.

Another couple of km’s further on were The Pinnacles or cliffs of coloured sands. Very pretty with the sunlight on them. It was at this point we were offered the chance of a scenic flight over the island taking off from the beach where we were. What an opportunity! The young female pilot also told us that we would get an extended flight as she was just about ready to finish for the day so she would drop us off back down the beach at Eurong Resort. The bus had to return the same way so we weren’t missing anything! So we took off along the beach and flew over the coast line and the island. It gave us a much better perspective of the sand blows, the extent of the fresh water lakes and the incredible variety of vegetation. The vegetation varies from temperate forest to rainforest, beach dunes, lakes and streams. All this on the world’s largest sand island!

Following the flight the bus picked us up and we wound our way through the sandy 4WD tracks to Lake Mackenzie. This is the most beautiful place; the water is so blue and clear. Even though we did not see any, this area is known for the famous purebred Fraser Dingos. There is a walker’s camp area all dingo fence proofed complete with galvanised locked boxes to store your food in. We spent over a hour here swimming and walking around the edge of this pretty lake. Then it was back in the bus to Kingfisher Bay to catch the ferry home. We reached Urangan at 6 pm so it was a very full day.

More rain saw us spend a quiet day yesterday but today we headed up to Burrum Heads and then to River Heads to check out the scenery. Burrum is on the mouth of the Burrum River and it is obviously a very popular holiday spot. River Heads is the mouth of the Mary River that flows through Maryborough. Low tide when we were there so there was lots of sand! There is a 3 metre tide fall here.

Thursday this week will see us on another bus trip to Maryborough, including the markets and a cruise on the Mary River. Sunday we will pack up again from here and head to Rainbow Beach for the next 3 weeks. It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner.

For any wanting to send us anything by mail, it has to be AT LANDBASE before 14th December as this is our Posties last day of posting before the Christmas break.

We both send you much good cheer and hope life is treating you all gently.

Cheers Rob & Walter

From Airlie Beach to Mon Repos

What can I say? Well we have been so busy enjoying this marvellous lifestyle I have not had time until now to update you all of our movements!

Last time I told you that I had to have a diving medical as I am over 55 years of age to enable me to dive at Airlie Beach. How things work in this life keeps amazing me! When I went to the Doctors I was sitting there filling out about 8 sheets of medical history when I was tapped on the shoulder. Who should be there but Judy Smith from Bargo. We met Judy and her husband Tony 2 years ago at a caravan park between Ballina and Lennox Head. Although we had not caught up physically in that time we had kept in touch by email and phone. Neither of us could believe our eyes. It turned out that she and Tony was “baby sitting” a boat at Hamilton Island. We arranged to travel over by ferry on Saturday and have lunch with them. I forgot to ask her the name of the boat.

Friday saw us get up early and head to Shute Harbour to go out to Hardy Reef on the “Fantasea”. It is about 1 ½ hour trip and we were lucky enough to have 5 separate whale sightings on the way out. Me, of course, was going diving and Walter snorkelling. It was a gorgeous day, not a breath of wind with the water that lovely turquoise colour. I had 2 great dives, getting up close and personal with a great Queensland groper and “Basil” a huge Maori Wrasse. Walter went for a ride in their semi submersible sub which cruised along the reef wall.

When disgorging passengers at Hamilton Island on the way back we tried to guess which boat it was that Judy & Tony were looking after. Some big motor cruisers and yachts in the marina that caught our eye, particularly one close to the quay.

Next day we again caught the bus to Shute Harbour ferry terminal and caught the ferry via Daydream Island to Hamilton Island. Saw another whale just off Daydream too! We arrived at Hamilton to be met on the wharf by Judy. I guess our faces were a real picture when she pointed out the boat that Tony was waving from! It was the biggest one and most beautiful that we were admiring from the ferry! It is called Kokomo 11 and belongs to Lang Walker, a Property developer multi billionaire! The boat is worth $40 million….. It certainly showed us what a lot of money can buy. It is total class and the most beautiful timber work and interior design. This is what Tony does. When we were in Ballina he told us that he outfits boats but didn’t tell us it is for this one guy only! He apparently owns 5 other boats including a big racing yacht and is also having another one built in Italy at present. The photos really don’t do it justice. It has a full spa and bar on the top deck, a formal lounge and formal dining room, 1 speed boat and 1 zodiac, 2 galleys, a masters/owners suite complete with office, 2 double guest bedrooms with private ensuites and 2 twin rooms again with private ensuites (all in black and gold). It also is fully outfitted for deep sea fishing and also for diving. They have a normal staff of a chef, an engineer, and a deck hand that is also a dive master, and 2 housekeepers or cabin hands.

Judy prepared a lovely lunch which we had on the second back deck. We spent a great day with two great friends on a boat that you had to see to believe. After lunch Tony hired a golf buggy and Judy and I toured Hamilton Island. Very pretty but very touristy!
From Airlie Beach we then travelled a whole 60kms to Midge Point. We stayed 4 days. A lovely park but the sand flies were too friendly! We walked or rode on our bikes along a couple of tracks through the bush to creeks and lagoons or Rob walked right out on the beach. When the tide went out here you had a kilometre hike to the water!

From here we drove further south to Cape Hillsborough Nature Reserve. This is a lovely spot. We were lucky to get in here because of Queensland school holidays. This meant the park was very busy particularly with campers and camper trailers. This is an amazing place where early in the mornings or in the late evening the locals (kangaroos and wallabies) come down to the beach. There are also a number of walks to do. Walter undertook the Mangrove Boardwalk with me, this is a fairly easy walk through a mangrove forest with 32 different types of Mangroves. It also went past a Shell Midden that is dated over 1000 years old. Very pretty with lots of bird life. I decided that I wanted to do the Andrews Point walk. This definitely wasn’t for Walter with his crook hip. So to beat the heat she got up at 5.30 am and went first to the beach and watched the roos and the sunrise for before starting off. The first section was about 256 steps straight up for 500 metres. When you reached the plateau the views were definitely worth it. It was about 4 kms around the top, overlooking a rocky beach called Turtle Bay and Wedge Island. Wedge Island is joined to the mainland by a causeway that is exposed at low tide. If you want to walk over there you have to give yourself an hour either side of the tide or you might be staying over there for a while! The track from the top is down more steps down to the beach, again you have to time it for low tide or you have to retrace your steps! I had a bit of paddling to do but not much. Another walk was the Beachcombers walk and again you time it with the tide as the track comes down the mountain onto another beach that you can walk back along to the park. So very pretty.

From Hillsborough we then drove further south to Yeppoon. We had a lovely site at the Beachside Caravan Park, just 50 metres from a beautiful beach with views over Great Keppel Island. We gave Bill and Marie a call (we met them at Rollingstone) and Bill drove down to see us then took us for a drive along the coast to Ridges Resort, around Yeppoon including Roslyn Harbour and the Marina. He took us back to their place in Yeppoon for afternoon tea. Marie had been shopping in Rockhampton with her daughter Debbie but was back in time for afternoon tea. They were fantastic to us during our stay in Yeppoon.

We had Barbeques with them, went out in their boat around Great Keppel and North Keppel, with a picnic lunch off a beach on the far side of Keppel, and had many drives, morning teas and breakfast at their favourite haunt called “Food for Thought” Best brekkys! We even travelled with them to stay and their daughter Debbie and son on law Alistair’s property at Calliope outside Gladstone. Deb had organised for us all to attend the Ubobo Spring Fair. As we had to dress appropriately, Marie and I went to St Vinnies in Rockie to buy the hats etc. We had a lot of fun their and came out with hats, blouses, shoes all for under $10! We turned out as the best dressed at the fair! We had a drive into Gladstone with them and saw the huge harbour traffic and loading facilities. Bill also drove Walter and I to Awoonga Dam. After the 2 nights we jumped back into Bill’s car and drove up to Monto and then onto Cania Gorge. We stayed the night in cabins there. Very dry at present and Cania dam very low. Usually there is platypus in the creek but the creek did not have one skerrick of water in it so no platty pussys. What was magnificent though, was the bird feeding. Lots of King Parrots, lorikeets and galahs, white cockatoos come into be fed each evening. The King parrots come right down and sit on your arms or shoulders, no fear at all. Such beautiful birds. Later in the evening the Rufus Bettongs also come into the feeding area to scavenge what the birds miss!

We left Cania Gorge and drove towards Biloeala where we had lunch with friends of Bill & Maries. Darryl and his wife are involved in a huge property development there of 229 blocks of land on the outskirts of the town. The land was originally a Lucerne farm. With the mining around the area it will be a sure fire money earner. They are big blocks and so close to the town. After leaving there we drove through Mt Morgan, another town with heaps of mining history and back to Yeppoon.

We also drove up to Emu Park and saw the Singing Ship (it wasn’t singing though) and to Zilsie. Beautiful views across the bay but land is not cheap. Found a nice block and rang the Real estate agent and he told us it was “cheap at $595,000”. Walter and I also drove up to visit a crocodile farm. This was quite different as he “farms” these 3000 odd crocs for their meat and their skins. The skins when cured are exported to Gucci in Italy. I was sceptical but deigned to try a crocodile dish. I had a crocodile pie and I have to admit it was lovely!

Whilst we were in Yeppoon we also attended Rotary. What a great club this one is and so friendly. They have an amazing project of low cost housing for the elderly. They have a number of both single and 2 bedroom units that they maintain and their tenants only get charged about $70.00 per week. I was also lucky and won the lucky door prize and it was a bottle of red with their own label on it. They buy the wine as clean skins and then label it!

Another 2 friends who we met at Walkamin came to stay at the same caravan park so along with Bill and Marie we arranged to travel to Byfield, about 35 kms from Yeppoon. It is a sort of arty community and also some alternative type lifestyles. We booked on a WaterPark Eco tour. This turned out to be great value for money. We cruised the river in an electric boat, saw water dragons and Azure Kingfishers, we then were taken by truck around the property which specialises in Tea Trees and the distillation of Tea Tree Oil. It was fascinating to look at the processes. Their oil is 100% pure and retails for $15.00 for 100mls. The crazy thing is that they get $50.00 a bag for the Tea Tree mulch! This is getting more and more popular as been found to protect against termites. Following that they had a lovely old horse and sulky ride around more of the property. Following this we went to a lovely pottery place with café and had lunch and then visited another potter and glass blower who apparently provided all the gifts recently for the APEC conference! Had lovely stuff but travelling in a caravan sure prevents you buying anything!

Bill and Marie had us all around again that night for a farewell BBQ as the next day we were heading south once again.

We travelled down to 1770 but were very disappointed in the caravan park there. Worst Park we have come up against. So instead of the 2 weeks we were planning, we changed it to 2 nights. However, 1770 itself is a very pretty place with lots of history. Captain James Cook landed here on his way up the coast, and the beginning of his many troubles too! We drove around and went to the lookouts and beaches and also had a peak at Agnes Waters. Lovely spots but the rates here are astronomical! For a block with no services you can pay between $3000-$6000 per annum just for the view!

We got out of the park at 7.30am on the morning and then left the van in the boat trailer park opposite the Marina as we were headed out on THE LARC for the day!

Now what is a LARC you ask? It is a Lighter Amphibious Resupply Cargo vessel. Totally amazing bit of gear and we were to travel with her up 35 kms of beach to Bustard Bay Lighthouse, the first ever built in Queensland. These fascinating vessels are equally at home on land or sea, were originally for military use. The one we travelled on was named in honour of Sir Joseph Banks who accompanied James Cook.

The beach was beautiful and runs beside Eurimbula National Park. It also has 3 estuary tidal creek crossings as well as a 4WD track up to the lighthouse. They provided both morning tea and lunch. The lighthouse was fascinating and also has a restored lighthouse keeper’s cottage. There is also a graveyard with sad tales to tell of the hard life these early pioneers had in trying to protect seafarers. After lunch the LARC travelled through more water to some large sand hills where they then issued us with boogie boards and instructions to climb to the top and slide our way down. Braking meant dragging your toes in the sand and if you didn’t get enough grip you could end up in the water! (It also takes off your toe nail polish!) Needless to say, I didn’t get much braking power and ended up in the water – I did have my swimmers on just in case!

Tide was in on the way back so much of the trip was in the water. For any coming this way it is a MUST DO!

On return to the Marina we jumped straight into the car (about 4.15pm) and drove down towards Bundaberg. Bill and Marie had recommended Mon Repos to us. What a lovely spot. We are now in Turtle Sands Caravan Park which is also part on the Conservation Reserve. This is where the Great Loggerhead Turtles come into nest and lay their eggs. Apparently they begin this process about the first week in November each year so we hope to get to see this. The Turtle Rookery is right next door to us. The beach is 50 metres in front of us and we are spending each afternoon swimming or reading on the beach, then come back grab a glass of wine and take the chairs back up to sit there and watch the sunset and at present the full moon rising over the beach. Ho Hum, what a life.

Hope you all are travelling well and health is also on your side. Until next episode,

Rob & Walter
The Happy Travellers