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 The site has gone and been replaced by a cabin, but t was satisfying to know we hadn't made it up regarding our previous visit.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 Sarina. 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

Townsville Qld August 7th 2023

 Townsville Qld August 7th 2023

We came down to Townsville, only a 50km run from Rollingstone, for our week-long stay, which is a bit of a novelty for us. This is day 3 and we haven't got bored yet. Mind you, it's a 20km drive into town and to the Strand, which is pretty well the main attraction really. 

Just wandering around really, I took a couple of snaps for posterity:

Main Street, Townsville Qld

The Grand Chancellor Hotel, aka The Sugar Shaker. Townsville Qld

Everyone waa just hanging around, so we did the same. Townsville Qld

The marina seems much larger than last time we were here.  Townsville Qld

Our van park is in one of the northern-most suburbs of Townsville, a place called Deeragun. When we first came here in 2017 the van park was just nestled off the side of the Bruce Highway at a nondescript crossroad. At this point the highway runs next to the railway line. There were two trains a day, one up to Cairns and one back. Over the years, they started to do road works behind and around the park. Now it is nestled in between the Bruce Highway, the Railway line, Mount Low parkway and The Ring Road!

Here's a view from up on The Ring Road, for some reason or other there is a set of steps that lead up to, but not onto the RR. Odd.

Caravan Park on right. Major intersection Bruce, Mt Low and Ring roads. Train line just past The Bruce

You would think it would be noisy, but it isn't too bad. Gets a bit busy during morning and afternoon peak hour, but surprisingly quiet except for the odd hoon and the odd police siren. The trains seem much more frequent, hauling all manner of goods into the port for export. Sugar, phosphate, nickel, copper even molasses are the main ones. 

Friday 11th August

We're on holidays, we treat ourselves occasionally. Today's treat was a whale watching cruise on board the Kalinda, a time-worn old timber vessel working out of the marina. It wasn't cheap, but sometimes you have to splurge. Unfortunately, the vessel isn't particularly comfortable when you are expected to sit for hours on end while it plows its way through the rising swell and chop. 

We saw turtles for two seconds. More hours of hanging on and watching others succumb to motion sickness. The clue is to stay outside in the howling wind, focus on the horizon and think of England...

We actually saw the backs of a whale or two, taking snaps was just a waste of time given the extreme motions of the boat and the distance between us.

Lunch was nice though.

Judy sustained a nasty bruise to her elbow from being thrown against a table and back across onto a lounge in the saloon as a larger than normal wave smacked into the side of the already reeling boat. The crew member worked hard to make her comfortable, but what can you do? Still 3 hours to go before we can get off.

Judy on board Kalinda. Townsville Qld

Cape Cleveland Lighthouse Townsville Qld

Turtle. Cape Cleveland. Lighthouse Townsville Qld

Just have to tough it out. Ended up in Townsville Hospital for an ex-ray, a sling and some reassurance.

Saturday 12th August

I did the newest of the the three Parkruns in Townsville : Aplins Weir. And very pleasant it was as well. Even did a 1/2 respectable time.

Later we went exploring and found the Palmetum (yes, that's a real word apparently) Botanic gardens, called thus because it theoretically only has palms, 300 plus varieties of them. Actually, a very pleasant place to visit and a well hidden secret of Townsville. We had lunch in the attached cafe and the meal was excellent. We even has a sunbird come and visit its nest, right behind my head!

Palmetum Botanic Gardens, Townsville Qld

Palmetum Botanic Gardens, Townsville Qld

Palmetum Botanic Gardens, Townsville Qld

Rollingstone Qld

Rollingstone Qld August 6 2023

 We haven't been here for eight years and we can see some changes straight away. They have filled the lagoons that there were creating, installed a huge pool, which is almost swimmable, and put in a few rows of huge cabins.

We found our site on the edge of one of the lagoons and were surprised by the size of the plot. More than enough room to park a van, have the awning out and plenty of room for the car neatly parked next to us. It makes such a difference not to be living cheek-by-jowl with the people next door. Mind you the people on the next two doors were tent dwellers and ran afoul of us when they turned their "music" up full blast. 

Anyhow doesn't matter. They turned it down when asked. I recall from our last visit that there is a big expanse of unoccupied beach right around the corner, so naturally I went exploring this morning.

Rollingstone Beach Qld

Rollingstone Beach Qld

I was going to refer to the beach as "unspoiled", which it is, except for the garbage and rubbish that the land owners who back onto the beach see fit to litter the shore with. But I wont spoil this post with snaps of garbage.

Here's the lagoon behind our van:

Lagoon in caravan park. Rollingstone Qld

The only place we wanted to visit this trip is the little village on the opposite headland, called Balgal Beach.

Main point of attraction is the tiny cafe and bar on the headland, the only thing open for miles, well, the only thing really. We had lunch, took some snaps and went for a drive around. At the end of one dead-end we spied a beautiful Blue-winged Kookaburra. This one must be almost tame because I was able to go right up to it, get the best angle and take my snaps. Mind you the scruffy looking fellow who came out of the house to ask, "what's with the camera," didn't seem right pleased. After we showed him the bird and explained ourselves he was OK and claimed that there was a whole flock of them there every morning. and proceeded to tell us all about himself...

Rollingstone van park is on that opposite headland. Balgal Beach Qld

Looking back at the Fishermans Landing cafe and bar. Balgal Beach Qld

Blue-winged Kingfisher. Balgal Beach Qld

Cardwell Qld August 4th 2023

Cardwell Qld August 4th 2023

As is often the case, at 7am it wasn’t actually raining. A bit windy but warm enough and dry. I took myself off down to the start of the Kennedy Walking Track and proceeded to make the 2.5km trek across the headland and along the beach to Mije Creek. First though, I was really surprised at the debris thrown up and right across the road from the high tides and howling wind last night. The track itself was its normal slightly damp self, being in a rainforest and all, and the beach was pristine. Not one footprint upon it and the tide right out.

I had a lovely walk right down to the end marked by Mije Creek. As I turned around and started back, it started raining lightly, which was okay, not afraid of a little damp. But then it started really raining, forcing me to take cover under the forrest canopy. It only lasted a few minutes and then I was on my way again. Lovely!

Luggers Bay, Kennedy Walking Track, South Mission Beach Qld

Mije creek, Luggers Bay, Kennedy Walking Track, South Mission Beach Qld

Mije Creek, Luggers Bay, Kennedy Walking Track, South Mission Beach Qld

Luggers Bay, Kennedy Walking Track, South Mission Beach Qld

On the way back over the headland, I noticed for the first time ever that you could see straight up into what looked like the remains of derelict buildings. Up until today it had been totally overgrown but obviously something was going on. 

A little private history. Back in 2004, Judy and I stayed in a resort at about this spot. I had to do some sleuthing and discovered that this was the very resort, which may have been called The Point at the time. It seems to have been called the Elantra from 2007 to 2018, but was wiped out twice by cyclones. Seems to have been left to the jungle ever since, but is now for sale. But for $6 million, I think Id want something better than a property that is “a bit run down” according to the Real Estate blurb.

Elandra Resort, South Mission Beach

Back at the van park we had breakfast and packed up our proverbial tent.

We had had change of plan. Normally we would have driven the 65km down and back to Cardwell from South Mission Beach so I could participate in Cardwell’s Parkrun. But given that it’s still raining most of the time and who wants to get up at 530am and drive all that way in the rain to do a run? Not for us anymore, so we found a van park down at Cardwell and wandered off down there today instead.

As it turns out the van park is all of 200 metres from the parkrun start, so its worked out pretty well.

We took stroll around town, found coffee and took a few snaps of some Cardwell Quirkiness.

Apparently they sometimes fancy themselves as a UFO or alien centre or something, so there is at least one place with a flying saucer and some little green men.

Aliens! Cardwell Qld

Then there is this definitely quirky garden in the main street. It looks like its just come into being over a length of time as various randoms have added bits and pieces to the colourful garden. What a great bit of fun!

but no, the Narks are shutting it down. The sign says that due to breaches of insurance policy or some such, the local council is installing a fence and closing it off from public access. They are giving 21 days notice to any concerned parties to remove any property that they might claim, and then the rest is going to the dump. Boo Hiss.

Quirky community garden. Cardwell Qld

 

Cardwell Qld August 5th 2023

Up early to great the sun.....

Sunrise. Over Hinchinbrook Island. Cardwell Qld

Ok, time to stop admiring nature at its best and get down to the business at hand. I'm here to do my volunteer tail walking bit for the love people that run Parkrun in Cardwell. 7am start. Love it.

All decked out in my best parkrun Volunteer outfit. Cardwell Qld

This is one of the smallest (15 including me) and fastest runs for a tail-walker. I was finished in forty-four minutes. Thanks Cardwell Parkrunners!