Yamba NSW August 27th 2023

 Yamba NSW August 27th 2023

"Flew" down the Pacific Highway to Yamba. Not sure if the big huge ridge over the Clarence River was open as year, but it certainly is now and completes the 'superhighway. Yaba is about 15k away on the coast and as we drove in we are both wondering if it's the same place we had come to before. Given that it's been eleven year, some change is expected and of course our memories aren't as sharp as they may have been. Theres plenty of change around, new buildings, new housing estates and the like. 

We arrived at the Blue Dolphin van park and were even more bemused. We must have stayed here but it just didn't look right.

They have lots and lots of cabins and new amenities and a ne office. And three pools and a swim-up bar.

I went back to my archives and found a photo from 2012, we were defiantly here! The site has gone and been replaced by a cabin, but t was satisfying to know we hadn't made it up regarding our previous visit.

I too a walk along the river this morning and took some snaps: 

We took a drive around the place, going first to Angourie Beach where we discovered "The Blue and Green pools".

On closer examination I saw some really rusty 'rock' that had a familiar straightness to it. A little sleuthing reveals that the pools aren't natural, they were created when they quarried the rock to make the train walls in the mouth of the Clarence, way back in 1860.

Rock Pools, Angiurie NSW

Rock Pools, Angiurie NSW

And because I like them I took a snap the lighthouse at Yamba.

Lighthouse. Yamba NSA

 

 Biggara Waters Qld August 25h 2023

Easy run down the Bruce, across the Gateway Bridge and down to the Gold coast.

Our spot this year is near perfect ES300. Must ask for this if we come here again.

Friday night we went out on a Dinner cruise from Seaworld, and we lucked into a great little tablet on the back deck. The food was superb, couldn’t help but go back former prawns n fish n calamaris. The cruise goes way down the Nerang river and into a few of the side canals. My but how this place has exploded! All luxury mansions and hi-rise apartments. Great be out on the water with all the lights and movement.

Gold Coast at night

Gold Coast at night

Saturday morning we were up at six and headed off down to Kingscliff, just so I could do another Parkrun, but this was special. This was my ‘K’ that I needed to complete my ‘PARKRUN’ challenge. Had a hot breakfast at Kingscliff itself before wandering around the hinterland a bit, stopping at Brigalow down near Byron Bay for a look through the usual Nimbin style shops. Didn’t even stay for coffee, wandered off back to the van park instead.

Saturday night we went out with Reg and his daughter Tabitha, to our usual spot at Manu’s Italian Restaurant at Paradise Point. Great food, good company and a very pleasant night all-round. You know you’re having an enjoyable night when you realise that the place is empty and waiters are putting tables away and packing up!

Tewantin Qld August 20th 2023

 Tewantin Qld August 20th 2023

Sunset over the Noosa River. Noosaville Qld

Another totally exhausting day crashing our way down the Bruce.

And, just when you thought it was tolerably bad and not far to go, it all turns to the “real mccoy”as my father was wont to say in polite company. You can almost see the end in sight, just 20km into Gympie, a quick sandwich by the park and ponds, then onto the Bruce Proper and sail down to the Noosa turnoff.

But no, this last twenty kilometres were the worst we have seen this trip. The road is atrocious, that’s the best I can say. It looks like bits and pieces have been patched up, there are one or two signs that big things may have been planned but have now been forgot. Its just awful.

Perhaps there is light at the end of that tunnel. Down near Gympie itself, off to the east you can see a massive bridge / overpass and road works. Then the penny drops: they are building the Gympie bypass and the rest of the roads are a minimal maintenance regime. Think: Pacific Highway for the last 20 years. Its going to be fantastic - one day.

Gympie itself was hosting a market and traffic jam. We were lucky to get out alive. An alternative to the park is Golden Arches, but they just aren’t accessible Gympie. We did see one sigh on our way in suggesting there was another MCDonalds at a place called Traveston some 25 odd kilometres past Gympie. Neither of us had ever heard of it. There being no alternative for lunch in Gympie we pressed on and finally reached the Bruce Proper and the travel smoothed out and we started to relax. Two big lanes, divided road.  Everyone is happy. Hammer time. 

But what’s this? A new exit - and it goes to a place called Traveston and promises to have a big roadhouse complete with a McDonalds. Of course we just had to take it and see for ourselves. Turns out its a brand-new huge service centre with plenty of RV parking (when you find it) and with a what has become the norm for thees places: an attached superseded pig-pen.

We bought Maccas coffee and a sticky bun from Dingos Bakery or somewhere, sat out in the sunshine and pontificated on the ills of the world.

Traveston Qld Service Centre. Image: borrowed from 'net

Finally strolled into our normal van park and lucked into what we think is the best site in the place. The pool is heated to 30°C, there are no yobbos with fire-pits and all is right with the world.

Took our usual stroll down Gympie Terrace (in Noosaville - not Gympie!) along the river, went into Noosa proper for a look-see and an ice cream, and finished the day with dinner at he Royal Mail Hotel in Tewantin, one of the nicest places to eat in the area I reckon.

Sunset over the Noosa River. Noosaville Qld

Bundaberg Qld August 19 2023

 Bundaberg Qld August 19 2023

Just a transport day to get closer to Tewantin. 320 kilometres worth of transport. The road is sort of Ok, great in parts and only two slow-me-downs for roadworks... that didn’t exist. That is annoying. Only thing was that the wind had picked up and was buffeting us from all quarters and it was handwork and a really tiresome trip all round. Another thing, ‘my’ bedroom window popped open, which it hasn’t done for some tome. We stopped and closed it, but by the time we got to our rest stop, it was open again. Odd, really odd. Oh and the spare tyre on the van has moved across to the left about 300mm! On this leg, most would stop at Miriam Vale, which is the turnoff for 1770 and Agnes Water, and for the foolish, Bundaberg.

I was staring to struggle and as we came into Bororen, a tiny town about 10km north of Miriam Vale, I made a snap decision to pull off into the large, well marked but mostly empty RV parking, next to the brand new toilets, and take our 2 hour rest break there, instead of in ‘MV’ which is always crowded with travellers.  We had a choice between the Red Rocket Diner, the Big Giraffe and the Big Record Diner, complete with thousands of LPs, DVDs, CDs and even the odd Cassette!. 

We chose the Big Record, because it was closest. And they made fine coffee and great raisin toast.

Bororen Qld

Bororen Qld

Bororen Qld

I bought a $1 Kenny Rogers CD with lots of songs i’d never heard of. It were total absolute garbage of course and if we weren’t as environmentally conscious as we all are these days, it would have ended its days as a frisbee out the window at 102kph. As it is, it’s gone straight the the laundry, the resting place in every van park for any unwanted magazines, books, DVDs and the odd CD.

We had booked into the Bundaberg East Cabin & Tourist Park, which ‘someone’ said we had never bee to but which I reckoned was the the first one we ever stayed at, back in 2013. I was right, its a odd quirky place, and now that the factory, whose wall we are backed up against is closed, quite quiet and pleasa

Rockhampton Qld August 18th 2023

Rockhampton Qld August 18th 2023

No, not a time warp, more like Ground Hog Day. All the things I've written about this stretch of the Bruce are still true, The road surface is just OK, but the road is windy and undulating and narrow. No roadworks to talk about, just hundreds of caravans that think doing 82 1/2 kph on a 110 stretch of road is OK. It’s not. It’s just very frustrating and when the very rare overtaking lane appears, I find myself ‘going for it’ instead of letting the stream cars and trucks past, because the snails all speed up to 105 because it’s a nice straight road... 

I incurred the wrath of one truck driving cowboy because I passed a van instead of letting the truck go around both of us first. He then proceeded to tailgate me, attempting, and finally overtaking in the most dangerous of manners. Not happy with that, he then proceeded to do the same thing with all the other vans in front of him. Too bad if you were coming the other way, or that there wasn’t room in between the two vehicles in front, he just rammed his way through. We could see the taillights of the vans come on and the swerve to the left to let him back in each time. Idiotic driving.

Now, an hour later and we rolled into Rockhampton, and guess what? we pulled up next to him at the traffic lights.....

Bull, image borrowed from internet. Rockhampton Qld

 

Sarina Qld August 17th 2023

 Sarina Qld August 17th 2023

It’s almost like a time warp: all the roadworks from last year are still there, perhaps even multiplied. They start as you pull out of Bowen and never really stop until you get to Mackay, which they have now bypassed with a Ring Road. I missed t he turn and had to take the old bypass, which was just fine.

The plan was to spend two nights in Marina. On the Friday we were booked to do the Sugar Mill tour, and on Saturday I was going to go the 30km back into Mackay to do Parkrun. The mill tour we had booked months ago based on our experience last year, when it had been booked out for weeks. Judy had done a check and found that they had plenty of availability, so a plan was hatched to do the tour this afternoon, and decamp to Rockhampton tomorrow. As it turns out, I haven’t done the Rockhampton Parkrun, so that’s a bonus for me.

The Sugar Mill tour turned out to be a Sugar Shack tour, which was Ok and informative as the guide told us all about cane, haw they plant and harvest it, and how they process the canes to produce sugar and lots of byproducts. The biggest claim about sugarcane farming is that “nothing is wasted.” Even the muddy sludge gets sent back to farms as a nutrient rich topsoil.

Original sugar cane "billet" planter.. Sarina Qld

Original local invention. Full cut stalk picker-upper. Sarina Qld

Chopped stalk sugar cane harvester. Sarina Qld

Bowen Qld August 14th 2023

 Bowen Qld August 14th 2023

Came down from Townsville to Bowen, about two-hundred kilometres. Not a bad trip, except for a great stretch of road surface that could have been Pebblecrete. Whatever it was it produced a really harsh ride and was basically hard work to drive on. As soon as we rolled back onto normal bitumen, it was like sliding along, effortless compared to the other.

View from Flagstaff Hill, Bowen Qld

Bowen has lived up to our expectation, a great site in aa great van park. Absolutely brilliant weather. Couldn't ask for more. We did the half-hour tour of town including Flagstaff hill, the esplanade and the ex-flying boat base, and a bit of a look into some shops.

One of 14 Lighthouses in Queensland. Bowen Qld

Finished the afternoon laying by the pool. I even went in despite everyone saying it was freezing. Maybe I'm getting used to cold pools, but it didn't seem that bad.

We decided to treat ourselves to dinner out and ended up at the Grand View Hotel, where apart from putting roasted chilli on Judy's salad, we had an excellent meal.

On my walk this morning, I was amused to see the 'fishos' all lining up at the boat ramp, waiting their turn and then following all their other mates out to sea. 

Follow-the-leader fishing. Bowen Qld