"No matter where you go, there you are."

HERVEY BAY (Cont.)

Thursday 28^th September:

Awoke to a lovely misty morning. We decided to go whale watching today. We chose the cruiser “Mikat” for our trip. The weather was magic as we headed out of Urangan Harbour. It wasn’t long before we spotted our first whales, a mother and baby sleeping on the surface. A bit further along we spotted a large pod of males and one female with baby. The baby was playing, breaching the surface and tail slapping. They are magnificent creatures. We had a lovely lunch then slowly headed home spotting more whales. Unfortunately we came across a whale carcass that the sharks had been feeding on. We spotted a 12’ tiger shark nearby. We got back to Urangan at 2.30pm. What a great day.

Friday 29^th September:

Domestics day today, swept and mopped the van. Well that took 5 minutes!! We drove up to Bundaberg with Henry and Vicki to pick up their new car, a Rav 4. After we took a drive out to the Bundy port and had a late lunch of fish & chips. On the way home we stopped off at a quaint country pub in Cordalba. It was rather nice sitting out on the back veranda of the pub overlooking jacaranda trees and cane fields.

Saturday 30^th September:

Ferg helped Henry put the main beams up on the carport he is building. I spent the morning on the internet. We drove into Hervey Bay to do some grocery shopping then watched the AFL Grand Final in the afternoon.

Sunday 1^st October:

Got up early this morning to go diving with the local dive club. We met them at the Urangun boat ramp at 7.30am. Bugger the wind had blown up and the dive was cancelled. Typical there had been glassy seas for the last 4 days. We called into the weekend markets and picked up some fresh fruit and vege. We joined Henry for a dring at Toogoom where he was selling raffle tickets for his local fishing club. Ferg and Twistie had a quiet arvo snooze. Then we enjoyed home made pizzas and pies while watching the NRL Grand Final. Woohoo, the Broncs beat the Storm!

Monday 2^nd October:

We drove into Hervey Bay early to take a walk along the beach with Twistie. Ferg did a 7km walk from Scarness to Urangun Harbour. The weather is perfect for diving today, bugger again! Ferg and Henry have baited up the crab pots again and put them in the creek. Henry took Ferg and I fishing again this afternoon. It was lovely watching the sun set over the creek. We only caught a bream and a whiting but had a great time.

Tuesday 3^rd October:

Ferg spent the morning bowling at the Pialba Bowls Club and I had a couple of hours of retail therapy. Henry and Ferg cooked up a load of mud crabs and prawns for our dinner. We spent an enjoyable afternoon playing bocce. Ferg and I were the champions (this time!). When the light faded and we couldn’t see the bocce balls we all came in and devoured a magnificent seafood feast. It was a lovely end to a wonderful stay at Higgen’s Hideaway. Thanks Henry and Vicki, and a special mention to Pete for the use of your computer, thank you.

HERVEY BAY

Saturday 23^rd September:

Ferg took a walk along the Woodgate beachfront this morning before we packed up. There was no hurry as we were only moving down to Craignish which is just north of Hervey Bay. We are staying at Henry and Vicki’s place. They have a beautiful property with lots of space to park our van, in fact we had several sites to choose from. Henry was off fishing so we had a cuppa with Vicki then set up the van. Ferg and I took walk down the back off the property to the creek. Henry’s dog Opal (Golden Retriever) followed us down and jumped into the creek for a swim. She then disappeared and returned smelling terrible, we think she found something to roll in. Oops! Henry was away all day so we got together for dinner.

Sunday 24^th September:

We went off to the Koala Markets at Urangun for the morning. We got some yummy local strawberries and avocados. Henry’s fishing club had a weigh in at Toogoom in the afternoon so we took a drive up there. It is a very pretty spot. We had a drink at the local restaurant right on the water. Vicki cooked all the fish that Henry had caught for the comp and we had them for dinner.

Monday 25^th September:

Ferg and I drove in to Hervey Bay and parked on the esplanade. Ferg did his long walk along the beach pathway and I took Twistie for a stroll along the beach. We had lunch with Henry, Vicki and a couple of their friends who had driven up from Nanango. Late in the afternoon Ferg and Henry baited up the crabpots and put them in the creek. Ferg and I cooked up a BBQ dinner for everyone.

Tuesday 26^th September:

Henry’s birthday today. We put the boat in the creek and Henry took us out to the ocean overlooking Toogoom. We anchored in the mouth of the creek and within minutes Henry had caught a good sized bream. We spent the next 3 hours fishing various spots up the creek. I caught a lovely whiting and an enormous flathead. We checked the crabpots on the way back and we got one keeper.I had a dental appointment in the arvo and after 2 fillings my purse was considerably lighter.We enjoyed a lovely birthday dinner with Henry and his family to top of a great day.

Wednesday 27th September:

Ferg got up early and drove into Hervey Bay to do his morning walk along the esplanade. We packed up the boat again and headed off up the creek for some more fishing. It was another glorious day on the water. I caught a good sized bream and whiting while Ferg pulled in a bream as well. We also got a couple more muddies from the pots on the way home. We had a quiet afternoon after the strenuous morning. We are having a crab entree tonight with bbq'd fish to follow.

WOODGATE BEACH

Thursday 21^st September:

We arrived at Woodgate Caravan Park and had settled in by 11am. It’s a large park with shady sites. It’s nice enough but the amenities are showing their age. We took a drive along the 16km of beachfront then went down to Walkers Point which is on the Burrum River. It looked like a good place to have a fish, Ferg chatted to a local to get the inside info. From Walkers Point you can look across the river to the township of Burrum Heads. Back at the park we decided to try a swim in the ocean as it looked so inviting. It was a bit cold but very refreshing. Later Ferg took a 6km walk into the Woodgate National Park which was behind the park. I took Twistie for a walk along the beach.

Friday 22^nd September:

Off to fish this morning. We tried the ocean first but with no luck so we drove down to Walkers Point. The site was perfect overlooking the stunning blue river sitting in the shade of a tree, dangling a line. Only problem was the fish weren’t biting! I did catch a little soul but it was a bit one-sided so I through him back. Never mind we had an enjoyable couple of hours. After lunch we both went to bowls. Yes I do bowl occasionally. I had a great time, both Ferg and I both won our games and got to meet the locals. We had dinner at the Woodgate Hotel then back to the van to watch the Broncos flog the Bulldogs. Yippee, the Broncs are in the grand final.

BARGARA BEACH – BUNDABERG

Thursday 14^th September:

Couldn’t get away from Boyne Island quick enough. We had to wash the car down first to get all the bird poop off! We had a good run south through Miriamvale, Gin Gin and Bundaberg. We have booked into the “Absolute Oceanfront Caravan Park” which is just south of Bargara. Our site is right on the oceanfront and I can watch the waves roll in from the van window. After settling in we took a drive along the coast to Coral Cove to check out the dive spots. The wind is blowing strongly at the moment but hopefully in the next few days it will die down and we will be able to do a dive from the shore.

Friday 15^th September:

Our first stop today was the internet café (which is also the dive shop) to update our blog. We then drove into Bundy for a walk around the shops. After lunch Ferg took off to bowls and I had some quiet time at the van.

Burnett Heads

Saturday 16^th September:

It rained last night and it was a bit overcast in the morning so I thought it was a good day for some retail therapy. We found the big shopping centre “Sugarlands” and spent an hour wandering around. On the way back to Bargara we took a side road to Burnett Heads. It is a lovely little fishing village on the mouth of the Burnett River. Looked like a good place to fish. We went out to dinner at the Bargara Bowls Club Chinese restaurant. Yuk, we should have saved our money, at least we got home in time to watch the Broncs flog the Knights.

Sunday 17^th September:

Market day, we headed into the Shalom Markets to check out the local produce and crafts. The vegies were very cheap. We got back in time for some lunch then Ferg headed off to bowls. I had a lovely time relaxing at the van. I joined the happy hour group until Ferg arrived home.

Monday 18^th September:

It’s a beautiful day today, the wind has dropped and the ocean looks magnificent. Ferg and I are contemplating a snorkel around the rocks in front of the van park. We spent the morning pottering around the van. Twistie got her weekly bath. I dropped Ferg off at bowls again in the afternoon and I headed into Bundy for some more retail therapy. Joined Ferg at the bowls club for a few drinks before heading home.

Tuesday 19th September:

We drove into Bundaberg to visit the Bundaberg Rum Distillery. We took the tour and got to sample some of the product. We even got to cuddle up with the Bundy Bear! While we were out and about we decided to try picking up wireless internet. We cruised through the Bargara streets, laptop open and what do you know, we picked up a wireless connection right outside our van park. So now we can sit at the van and be on the internet whenever we like. What a bonus!

Wednesday 20th September:

It's a sad day today, farewelled a great Aussie bloke, Steve Irwin. We watched his farewell tribute on the TV this morning then went out and sat looking at the ocean that took him. We took a drive up to Elliott Heads. What a very pretty spot, I could quite easily settle here. As we are moving on tomorrow we called into the local IGA for a top up of groceries. We spent the afternoon playing on the internet. We are moving to Woodgate Beach tomorrow which is only 45 minutes drive south of here, so we can pack up slowly in the morning.

Elliott Heads

Thursday 21st September:

We got up at 5.30am this morning to catch the sunrise. We made a cuppa and walked the 20 metres to the ocean. It's another day in paradise. It's a hard life but someones got to do it! Packing up this morning, we should be walking along Woodgate Beach by lunchtime.

MIRANI – EUNGELLA NATIONAL PARK

Monday 11^th September:

Slept in this morning, must be all those beach walks. We were packed and on our way south to Mirani which is west of Mackay. We booked into the Mirani Caravan Park for one night so we could visit the Eungella National Park. It was quite a climb up the range to the township of Eungella. We had been told that the best view of the Pioneer Valley was from the Eungella Chalet so we stopped in there first for a look.

We then drove up to Broken River and did a 2km walk through the rainforest. When we returned we headed down to the platypus viewing platform. We were lucky enough to see two platypus and Ferg got a few pics.

BOYNE ISLAND

Tuesday 12^th September:

We left Mirani and took the back roads down to Sarina where we joined up with the highway. We stopped on the southern outskirts of Rockhampton for our lunch and arrived at Boyne Island Caravan Park by 3.30pm. The park is OK, although we were segregated to a lesser part of the park as we had a dog. We took a long walk along the river then drove into Tannum Sands Beach.

Wednesday 13^th September:

We decided to drive into Agnes Water and 1770 to check out the possibility of moving the van down there. 1770 Caravan Park was right on the beach and a magnificent spot to stay but unfortunately they don’t take dogs. Bugger! The other van park was alright but we have decided to move on tomorrow to Bargara Beach. On the way back to Boyne we drove into Gladstone to check out the Coromal Dealership and have a look around the town. We weren't fussed with the Gladstone area, didn't even take any pics. I'll be glad to move on tomorrow.

CONWAY BEACH & MIDGE POINT

Thursday 7^th September:

Moving day at long last although it is sad to say farewell to family, it is nice to be on the road again. We arrived at Conway Beach Caravan Park and settled in before lunch. The park is nicely set out although it is several streets back from the beach. We had a lovely walk along the beach while the tide was out. It seems to go out a very long way here. Ferg and I had a refreshing
swim in the pool after our walk.

Friday 8^th September:

Ferg did a long walk along the beach this morning. We packed the fishing rods and went off in search of a good spot. We tried Wilson’s Beach but to no avail. We ended up grocery shopping in Proserpine, afterwards we drove out to Airlie Beach. The main park in Airlie doesn’t allow dogs so we found another park and beach just out of Airlie. We even got to throw in our lines and Ferg caught a lovely size bream which we took home for lunch. We attended the Friday nighthappy hour and met some of our fellow travelers.

Saturday 9^th September:

It’s another beautiful day. We farewelled Conway Beach and headed south. We stopped in Bloomsbury to vote at the local school then turned east and headed out to Midge Point. We found the “Traveller’s Rest Caravan Park” in Midge Point. We had a lovely site among the trees overlooking the beach. It is very peaceful here with kangaroos and lots of birdlife. We joined our neighbours for a late afternoon drink and chat.

Sunday 10^th September:

Both our neighbours left this morning so we have the area to ourselves. Ferg went for a long walk to the lagoon on the parks property. Late morning we took our rods down to the creek to try our luck. We met up with another couple from the park and unfortunately none of us caught anything. We spent a quite afternoon around the park.