Tewantin Qld August 25 - September 4
We arrived in Tewantin after another torrid day negotiating the Bruce - but at least this year you can see positive steps being taken to effect a major upgrade. It's funny how these upgrades always seem to radiate out from the capital city; The New Bruce extends almost into Gympie itself, something like 170km.
On arrival, we were given the choice of two en-suite sites: one on the 'right' side, which is the wrong side, and one on the left. It was a no-brainer; you take the site where your caravan and awning are facing the en-suite door. Otherwise you have to walk out and around the front of the van and back down the side to get to the loo, you may as well just walk to the toilet block.
So we settled in and quickly came to appreciate how much better this site is over last year's, it's further into the park and thus quieter and more private.
Tewantin is like a little village; just down the road is the village itself with shops and the marina. You need never leave Tewantin, but if you do, just down the road another step or two is Noosaville, with its fabulous Esplanade and park along the river, and of course Noosa proper. Getting around by car is easy, but there are 10,000 roundabouts and all connecting roads are lined both sides with thick bush and scrub: it can be relatively easy to get lost!
On our first wander around we ended up at the entrance to the Noosa National park, which is on the heads to the Noosa River, and we were treated to a rather nice sunset:
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| Sunset, Noosa style. Noosa Heads Qld |
After a day relaxing, we headed off to Brisbane airport some 160km away to pick up Judy's mother, Shirl, who was coming to visit with us for a week. Shirl is 88 and not done a lot of flying and this was to be her first time on her own.
After settling her into her cabin, we started out to do some of those normal tourist type things.
Shirl was quick to get right into the hustle and bustle of caravan life!
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| Shirl right into the hectic schedule. Tewantin Qld |
First was the fresh food market at Noosaville, then a visit to Hastings St in Noosa. The girls made a beeline for the fashion houses, Shirl shouting herself a stylish new hat, one of the few things, apart from the kitchen sink, that she had failed to bring with her.
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| She needs her rest, so they could hit the shops. Hastings St, Noosa Qld |
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| Judy & Shirley looking for the next piece of fashion accoutrement . Hastings St, Noosa Qld |
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| I've got my hat, now do I need a new bag? Shirley at Hastings St, Noosa Qld |
Another day we took the 4 hour cruise up the Noosa River to the Everglades, which was a great day out, stopping at Harry's Hut for an excellent afternoon tea and champagne. At Harry's there are goannas and snakes in residence and even an overfed catfish. Several goannas were hanging about in the sun but thankfully the snakes were making themselves scarce. Harry' Hut was once the centre of the tree felling industry, right up to the 1970s. It was bought after the mills closed by the local pharmacist from Cooroy (next door and up the hill from Tewantin), one Harry Springs. Today the whole area is a national park, and mostly only accessible by boat, and then it had better be a very shallow draft as we skidded most of the way over the sandy bottom of the big lake. They say that once upon a time, everyone had to get out and walk the last 1/2 a mile!
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| Reflection. Harry's Hut, the Everglades, Noosa Qld |
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| Weird water. Harry's Hut, the Everglades, Noosa Qld |
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| Goanna. Harry's Hut, the Everglades, Noosa Qld |
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| Harry's Hut, the Everglades, Noosa Qld |
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| Cruise boat. Harry's Hut, the Everglades, Noosa Qld |
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| Shirley watching out for Joe Blakes. Harry's Hut, the Everglades, Noosa Qld |
We also took out an electric powered 16ft cruiser for a few hours toddling down the river to Noosa Sound, cruising around and ogling all the very large and expensive looking houses right on the water. Mind you, they have zero privacy as everyone on the water and in all the houses on the water's edge, can see straight in.
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| Judy and Shirley aboard our rented electric cruiser. Noosa River, Noosaville Qld |
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| Sailor Shirl. Noosa River, Noosaville Qld |
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| Noosa River, Noosaville Qld |
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| A welcome cup of tea after our voyage down to Noosa Sound and back. Noosa River, Noosaville Qld |
No visit to the area can avoid going to the Eumundi Markets, and as it's on every Saturday and Wednesday, there's no excuse. I drove the ladies up, but I elected to go for a walk around town and lose myself in Burkelouw's Bookshop for an hour.
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| Shirl at Eumundi markets. Eumundi Qld |
The one thing I have mentioned in the past about the area is that everything gets the 'Noosa' tag, regardless of how far it might actually be from the town of the same name. The Noosa Botanic gardens are no exception; they are at Cooroy on Lake MacDonald.
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| The GrecoRoman amphitheatre at Noosa Botanic Gardens, Cooroy Qld |
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| Noosa Botanic Gardens, Cooroy Qld |
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| An interesting tiny staircase cut into a block of marble, a art-work at Noosa Botanic Gardens, Cooroy Qld |
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| Judy and Shirley having a stroll through Noosa Botanic Gardens, Cooroy Qld |
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| Me getting snap-happy @ Noosa Botanic Gardens, Cooroy Qld |
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| Kookaburra. Noosa Botanic Gardens, Cooroy Qld |
So apart from those few things and a few walks up and down the esplanade (Gympie Terrace at Noosaville) and a couple of visits to the local RSL, there was hardly anything at all to do!
