On to Rockhampton 31st May 2010

Mo to Monday 31st May
We woke to a much chillier day with the temp going down to 15 deg overnight!. We even had to put a blanket on the bed to keep us warm. However the sun came up to another clear blue sky. We breakfasted and showered early and started to pack up and headed out of Agnes Waters just after 9 am.  As we only had a couple hundred odd kms to go for the day we took our time driving through Miriam Vale and on to the

 Bruce Highway. For a major highway it is still only two way traffic with the overtaking lanes placed every now and again. With all the heavy trucks using this road it sometime  gets very congested and driver fatigue causes most of the crashes which occur on this highway. We ensured that we allowed the trucks to pass us whenever it was safe to do, so they weren't trapped behind us, as we weren't in any hurry.
Our coffee stop was in Mt Larcom which had the best pies and coffee in town. As we couldn't see any other shops around we supposed they did have the best. Well we had to make do with instant coffee as surprisingly the coffee machine had broken down,which was fine by me, however their meat pies were the best, which accounted for the numerous tradies stopping by to purchase them for their lunch.

We drove through RAGLAN and kept our eyes open to see if we could see the Garden Centre and the Camping and Kite Centre. Unfortunately that was in Wales on the other side of the world.

 With the road running alongside the rail line we saw many coal trains, some of which must have had over a hundred coal carriages.
Hitting the road again our next stop was the South Side HolidayVillage in Rockhampton  where we decided we would set up for a few days so we could have a good look around Rockie. Having checked in and found a shady place under the palm trees we headed to the tourist information for maps and to see whats happening in the town.



Beatrice enjoying her coffee at the Mt. Larcom Cafe.

Clare was very helpful at the "I" giving us all sorts of ideas and places to visit. A day cruise to the Keppel Islands, The Archer Park Rail Museum,The Rockhampton Heritage Village,The Military & Artefacts Museum,The Capricorn Caves, the 'Dreamtime' Australias largest Aboriginal Cultural Centre and a drive up to Mt Archer. which we decided to do right away as it was past 3 pm and most of the other places we would need more time for.

The views were great, though it was quite cold up there, however we could see right across Rockhampton and out on the other side to Yeppoon and the Ocean, where we hope to take a day trip out to Great Keppel Island.

With that we made our way back to our home and dinner. Tomorrow we must remember to take our photos at 'The Spire' which marks the where we cross the Tropic of Capricorn.

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Rockhampton The Beef Capital of Australia

Sunday 30th May Agnes Waters

A  beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky. Sat outside and read the Sunday papers, the usual stuff, don't know why we bother some times.

After lunch went back down to the beach which we can see from our camp site and is only a 100 metres away.
The tide was up so swimming was easier with water being much deeper, however a short swim would get you out to one of the sand banks and you could walk with the water just covering your ankles. It created some small body surfing waves which I enjoyed along with Beatrice having a swim out of her depth. ( No she says she was floating in the shallows)

Put on our walking shoes again and drove out about 4 km along Springs Rd to the start of the Red Rock Walking Trail. The blurb said a reasonable amount of fitness is required as there are steep inclines,a boardwalk and stone steps, however the scenery is superb. We found the sign 'Reedy Creek' and drove down the 800 metres along the gravel track and then started the walk following the bollards marking the trail it
 was really quite superb, we walked the boardwalk and the trail down to the beach and walked along for 500 mtrs to the next part of the trail which was a winding path up and over the headlands. Here were the stone steps and the steep inclines but it was all worth it as we could see for miles up and down the coastline.

 It must have been just as it was before white man set foot on this part of the world, except of course for the signs and the marked paths which are necessary to stop the erosion of the bush. We crossed over the headlands making it almost to the end of the trail and then decided to head back as we were mindful of the early sunsets and didn't want to be caught trying to find our way back in the dark.

On returning to the car quicker than we thought and with some daylight left we drove back down the 800 mtrs to the road and then  further along to the Deepwater National Park.  We wanted to see how the owners of the multi million homes accessed their properties which we could see as we walked the track. It seems that it would have been through a heavy timber gated entrance which was all controlled with intercoms and very very private.
With that we headed back to Agnes Waters to stop off at the Caltex garage to fill up ready for our departure tomorrow morning.
Well, having been here last year and having had another good look around we both agree that 1770-Agnes Waters has a lot to offer and our visit has once again been very enjoyable.

29th May Agnes Waters

It had to happen, woke up to a slightly overcast sky and the gentle drops of rain on the canvas. Sooooooo we decided to stay another couple nights as we knew the weather was going to improve over the weekend. Read the Saturday papers in the morning and did some general housework around the place and by mid day the sun was shinning once again.
Drove out to the 1770 Headland and lookout and walked up the track to view the magnificent views up and down the coast line and the entry to the 1770 inlet. We had done this walk the last time we were here but it was well worth doing again and also to see the Kangaroos roaming around and feeding on the grassy headland.

Had a light lunch and then headed to the beach for a swim.  With the tide out the walk out to any depth was quite a way, however the water was warm and I enjoyed a go at some body surfing and watching the surf school taking the overseas tourists through the basics of board surfing with some of the having some success at getting up and riding a few waves in. It was all very tame but the gentle waves were good enough for the lessons.
With Manly playing the cowboys I decided after dinner to take a short drive up to the local Tavern to watch the game on their TV"s. The usual thing in these places meant there was no sound on and a lot of noise from the local rock group performing in the main lounge, however I watched most of it before driving back and listening to the last stressful 20 minutes when Manly were squandering a 24 point lead and only managing to get a win in by 4 points, which was with great luck. Finally we watched a DVD and bed.

Friday 28th May
Awoke to just another wonderful day with not a cloud in the sky.

Breakfast we set off for a walk to the  1770 headland and lookout across Wreck Bay and Workman's beach, a 20 minute walk from where we were. There must have been  over 50 wreck sites listed, dating back to the early 1800's to the last one recorded in 1995.From here we continued on to the Discovery Trail through the tropical palm trees and vegetation and down to Workman's Beach, a small sandy beach with huge outcrops of rocks and not a soul on the beach.

We walked back up the headland once again passing through the bush and the numerous colourful butterflies, orange, bright butter cup yellow, letter box red , large and small along with the odd black ones.We came across a camp site above Workman's beach run by the National Parks with bush settings and just the basic toilet, no power and just one a fresh water tap. We must remember this in case we come by this way again.                                            

Agnes Waters 27th May

Another beautiful day so after breakfast we set off for the 6 klm walk along the Agnes waters beach by our camp site. The tide was going out and we could see the dangerous rips and swirling water around the submerged rocks. No wonder the warning signs are up about the danger of swimming away from the patrolled areas, which was a problem as there were no surf patrols on duty. However no one was in the water. It was still a magnificent walk in the warm sun which took us about an hour and a half return.

After lunch we walked into the small town to visit the visitors information bureau to pick up some ideas as to walks etc and also stocked up on a few supplies.

In the late afternoon we drove down to the town of 1770 (so named as it was the first place that Captain Cook landed in Queensland on 25th May 1770)

We re-visited the bar that we so liked so much on our visit last year for a drink and to watch the sun set over Bustard Bay along with many other visitors standing on the beach and the boardwalk. What a beautiful sight. With that we strolled along the board walk for awhile and then returned to our Jayco for our evening meal.

Hervey Bay to Agnes Waters 26th May

Woke up to a beautiful morning after the rain of yesterday. Not a cloud in the sky and with the sun drying out our canvas covers we were able to pack up the Jayco. At 9.15 am we pulled out of the Australiana C.P with Tom Tom set for Agnes Waters. Not a long drive today as we only had 250 k's to do making our arrival around 2.30 without any stops. Having decided not to go into Bundaberg we headed for Childers where we would stop for our coffee. The country side looked good with it all looking quite green as a result of the rain that had fallen recently. The cane fields now appeared to be the main crops we saw with the sugar industry being the main employer of the local work force.

We drove through Childers as we had spent a few days here around about the same time on our trip last year. We pulled over not long after to stop at a freebie overnight travellers stop for our morning break. Here we chatted to a family of Mum & Dad and 2 daughters 10 & 8 who had been on the road for 5 months and intended to make it a year of travelling around the country. The girls were doing their 3 hours of schooling with Mum being the school mistress. Dad (Steve) was very interested in our X-trail as he had a similar car and was keen to know how we found it handled the work load pulling a caravan. We could only give a good report as we really hadn't had any problems, which made him feel much more confidant about his car, which he also found to be up to the job. Bidding our farewells we continued on to Gin Gin for next our next stop.

Here we visited the tourist information bureau to pick up some more recent maps and info about the region.

Not long after we pulled into Agnes Waters and checked in and finding a site a 100 mtrs from the beach. Probably a little bit too commercial for us, however we wanted to be near somewhere we could watch the State of Origin game in the evening.

Enough said, we lost and being in the heart of the Queenslanders it was in good humour that they gave it to us with their whistles and hoots whenever they scored. Still in was good fun and Beatrice even managed to down a few schooners of beer and actually (enjoyed) watching the game.

Hervey Bay 25th May

Tuesday 25th May

Woke up to the sound of rain which was not what we wanted to hear as packing up the Jayco is not the best when its wet. So we made the decision to stay another day as we aren't on any timetable and can do our own thing as we want.

The caravan park was emptying out as the rain continued to fall. Travellers heading off inland looking for some dryer weather and other places to explore. However it wont be long before this region will become much busier when the whale watching season starts as the whales migrate from the icy waters of the Antarctic each year arriving at Hervey Bay mid to late July and staying until around early to mid November. We have previously enjoyed one of these whale watching boat trips which are very popular with the tourists.

We decided to do some more exploring around the Hervey Bay area and set out for River Heads where the barges leave for Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world.

It all looked quite bleak and miserable in the overcast rainy day much different when we went there a few years ago on a two day trip around the island.

We had a look around this little village looking for somewhere to get out of the rain which happened to be a very nice coffee shop over looking the sandy straits.

With the rain still falling on our way back we stopped off at the local supermarket to pick up some supplies for the next few days.

Looking around Hervey Bay

Monday 24th May

30 Minutes north of Hervey Bay lies the peaceful village of Burrum Heads,

we read in the local tourist guide.Going on to say ' a relaxed atmosphere, fantastic climate ,great fishing and clean safe beaches make it an ideal place to escape the hustle and bustle of busy city life'. It was all true, a very sleepy place though brought to some life by the over flowing caravan park full of grey nomads with their tinnies and fishing rods. We walked out on to the beach which stretched for miles as a result of the tide being way out with the channel into the Burrum River reduced to a very narrow strip, which was busy with the tinnies making their way in and out along with the kayaks. Numerous people stretched out by the waters edge plying their rods in the hope of catching something. As we walked along the beach we didn't find anyone that had had any success.

We had our coffee sitting under the trees and read the newspapers feeling very relaxed and getting into the atmosphere of the place.

We made our way back to Hervey Bay and the necessary visit to the supermarket to stock up on some of the basic food items which would keep us going for a few days.

With that we returned to our base for a bit of reading and writing.

Tomorrow we will probably pack up and head north to Bundaberg which we didn't visit on our trip last year. We'll wait and see what the weather is doing as rain has been predicted

Sunday 23rd May

Maryborough 23rd May

Today we took off for the 38 klms drive south retracing our foot steps to visit Maryborough which we by passed on our way up.

This is a 1847 historic town with some great colonial buildings which have been well maintained over the years along with its history as once being a major immigration port into Australia. We had a good walk through the streets stopping to take few photos one of them being of Beatrice standing alongside a bronze statue of Mary Poppins outside the heritage listed bank building where Mary Travers was born in 1899 and wrote the story Mary Poppins.

Being a Sunday it was very quite with very few people around except for the few other grey nomads wandering around. Only a couple of restaurants and pubs open with the museum and other places of interest closing in the early afternoon.

However we walked down to the Marina and chatted to the caretaker who told us of some of the history of the river and about the now almost decayed wharf which has been abandoned by the government and the historical society as being too expensive to maintain.

Left for our travelling home to read the Sunday papers and a quiet restful afternoon sitting in the warm sun.

Arrival Hervey Bay

Continued on driving up north making good progress until we decided to pull over to the coast and stop at Hervey Bay. Checked in Friday evening and went down to the beach front for something to eat. Enjoyed a great pizza and a beer before returning to our set up at the Australiana Tourist Park on Boat Harbour Drive.

Beacon Hill to Brisbane

Beacon Hill Sydney.

Departed 12th May heading for Urunga where we had decided to stop over night. Arrived at the Park just after 3pm and set up without too much trouble with everything working on the Jayco.

Went over to our favourite pub which we remembered from our last visit a few years ago when we attended Camp Creative.

Brisbane 13th May

Arrived at Rick & Corries on Thursday evening after a tough time negotiating our way through all the new highways and over passes being built which Tom Tom had no idea about. Made a few calls through to Rick who helped us through it all.

Spent a great week with them being taken for some long walks along the river and through the city and to the out lying suburbs of Manly and surrounding areas.

Met Sonja for a cup of Coffee on Tuesday when we made our own way into the city by bus when Rick & Corries attended a funeral of one of their friends.

Had a great time and enjoyed their company.

Departed for our trip up north on the Friday morning in the light rain and the though of having to try and find our way through the traffic to the MI and all the road works.

Managed to clear everything and on to the MI heading north after stopping for coffee and to fill up with petrol.

Departure set for Wednesday 2th May 2010

Jayco having passed its reqo test and its annual checkout we are getting ready for our departure.