Swan Hill Vic, 29th July 2026

 Swan Hill Vic, 29th July 2026

Parked up at the Big 4 Riverside caravan park, Backed in right up to the edge of the river. The wind is fairly howling across the park and it freezing cold. Judy thought she might sit out in the sunshine and read a book, but apart from being too windy and too cold, 10,000 ducks came demanding a feed. We are staying two days, and I feel definitely like I could do with the break after 4 days on the run. 

There is something odd about this place and it turns out we have been here before, in 2015 and parked in almost exactly the same spot! The ducks almost exactly the same as well!

Here's a view out of my back window, now that I've cleaned it....

Murray River. Swan Hill Vic July 2026

We are right next to the Heritage Village which we've been to at least 3 times and despite  them having a light show tonight out across the river we've decided to forego the pleasure this time.

However, back along the road about 15km there is a little place called Lake Boga, a 3.5 x 3 km wide body of water approximately 4 metres deep. Major Mitchell, didn't know when he marched up to it in 1836 that it would be perfect for landing flying boats on. The RAAF and QANTAS did however, and a Flying Boat repair centre was established there for the duration of WWII. It's billed as the Home of the Catalina, and quite rightly as they have one inside, but the base serviced all comers. if you could land it on water, it came here to be fixed.

Home of the Catalina. Lake Boga Vic July 2026

Home of the Catalina. Lake Boga Vic July 2026

Bowen Qld Sunday 21 August 2022

Bowen Qld Sunday 21 August 2022 435km

Longish trip today, but each year the Bruce gets a bit more done to it and the drive gets a bit easier. As mentioned on the way up, the section through Townsville is pretty awful despite being a new superhighway, basically top speed 80kmh, lots and lots of traffic, and it lasts for 40km. We had stopped for coffee at Ingham, where as luck would have it, a big long parking spot was available right outside Maccas.

We took a break at Ayr and found a lovely park one street back from the highway. We had sandwiches and cold drinks for lunch and a bit of a rest before heading out on the last leg to Bowen.

The wind had sprung up by now and was pushing me about a bit, which apart from making the drive a lot more demanding, it was using up fuel at an alarming rate. We were down to the 80km warning sign and 60km to go when out of the blue, in the middle of nowhere, a service station popped up. Naturally we pulled in and topped up. Surprise! Cheapest fuel yet since leaving home.

Made it into Bowen, where we are pretty much right on the water, but that wind hasn’t dropped yet. Lets hope it doesn’t persist for the next five days (it did as it turned out, but what can you do?).

The thing about Bowen is that the van park is small and quiet and ‘nice’. The other thing is that apart from the view of the lighthouse from Flagstaff Hill and a bit of  wander along various sandy areas referred to as ‘beaches’, there is not much else here really. Sure it was the base for the Catalina Flying Boats during WWII and there is the remains of the concrete ‘apron’ of the base and a nice memorial, but that’s it I'm afraid. 

The Lighthouse. Bowen Qld

Catalina Flying Boat. Bowen Qld

The highlight for some would appear to be a bi-weekly visit to the ‘K-hub’ a K-mart and an IGA next to each other. (True, would I make this up?) Still, it suits us for a place to stop and relax next to pool or drink coffee or wander around. 

Coral Cove. Bowen Qld

Queens beach, which is out the front of our place but is totally unusable due no doubt to various past cyclones, but I took a walk around the houses and up the next bit and its quite a bit better. Horseshoe bay is the best beach but the wind is howling and the water isn’t that warm and the ocean looks pretty rough. 

Queens Beach. Bowen Qld

We amused ourselves one day by taking a visit to Airlie Beach where they once had the BEST van park in Australia, and to which we haven’t been for a few years. They owners totally st***ed it up by destroying the pool by putting in a monster waterslide park where the grass and loungers used to be and sticking in 10,000 cabins and pushing all the vans out the back, but that’s another story.

We drove past and on into Airlie Beach proper. At first you think, “Oh wow, they have really done the place up”, but after a while you realise that apart from the original daggy hotel which really has been done up, there isn’t that much that has changed. There is one bit of it, near the magnificent pool area that has started to taken on a Noosa Hastings Street look, but half a street away, its the same old Airlie. We had a really nice lunch in some random bar & cafe and took our leave.

Back at Bowen, the highlight of the week is a Classic Car Show at the Front Beach, near the Yacht Club. I have no idea what or how this happened but apart from a few random old cars there was a swarm of Austin Healys. Lovely! 

Austin Healey 100/4. Bowen Qld

Proper dashboard. Healey100/4. Bowen Qld

We ended our time here with takeaway coffee from McD’s and watching the sun start to set over Coral Bay.

Coffee and Sunset. Coral Cove. Bowen Qld

Airlie Beach Qld 20th August 2017

First I have to say that the state of the road, the dreaded Bruce, from Townsville to Airlie Beach, is much improved on previous years and made for a pleasant enough drive down the coast.

We were a bit apprehensive about going to Airlie Beach, it having copped a belting from Cyclone Debbie at Easter this year. We shouldn't have worried, the debris has largely been cleared away, the most substantial damage having been done to the vegetation, and some of the older, non-cyclone proof buildings.

The first surprise to us was that our caravan park, The Big4 Whitsunday Adventure at Cannonvale, just up the road from Airlie Beach, seemed a lot lighter and brighter than in previous years. They tell us that they carted away 300 trucks's worth of mulched vegetation.

Having been here heaps of times, we haven't been doing much in particular, and once again have resisted temptation to spend vast amounts of money to visit Whitehaven Beach and other sites.

Even though the pool is partially blocked off while they continue building a huge, massive waterslide park, its still a damn nice pool. It's heated, which is nice, and at 730 in the morning I have it mostly to myself so I'm getting some laps in and maybe getting a bit fitter. After a swim, it's time to go for a walk, and down by the marina is a pretty good start.

Old ocean buoy made to look like a martian / thing from the deep. Airlie Beach Qld

 Boardwalk from Abel point marina to Cannonvale Beach. Airlie Beach Qld

One day, out of idle curiosity we took a drive down to Mackay, mostly to check out the caravan park at Black's Beach, which we have heard people go on about. Personally I didn't think it was up to much, but if you could get in, would be OK for a day or two. The beach itself is about the norm for up here, its basically a tidal mud flat.

Blacks Beach. Mackay Qld

We took a detour on the way down via Midge Point, where the beach show all the signs of the cyclone damage.

Midge Point Beach. Midge Point Qld

Race (yachts) week is on here in town and the sailors have taken over all the coffee shops etc. so we ended up at the next marina, the Port of Airlie, where we had a very pleasant lunch at the Coffee Club with a pretty fair view

Port of Airlie marina. Airlie Beach Qld

The Seaview apartments, where we stayed in 1994. They are right across the road from the marina, which was just a mud-flat and mangrove swamp back then. Airlie Beach Qld

The weather continues to be hot and dry, so we usually find ourselves a spot at the pool in our park and veg out for most of the day

JB testing the water at the Big4 pool. Note the waterslide park being built behind. Cannonvale Qld

Me doing 'not much'. Cannonvale Qld

Today the wind has picked up and pool-veging isn't really on. We decided to drive up the coast and check out Bowen, about which we have heard plenty, but seen little. It's actually a bit of an eye opener and we may well stay there next time we come down this way.

Horseshoe Bay. Bowen Qld

Had to grab a snap of this full size combivan painted on the back of a motor-home. Horseshoe Bay. Bowen Qld

Site of the WWII Catalina flying base. Bowen Qld

Ruins of the cafe on top of Flagstaff Hill. Bowen Qld

Mont St Bowen? At low tide the thing to do is to walk out to North Head island and look at the old lighthouse. Bowen Qld