Well we made it to Townsville in
time for Jo’s Birthday enjoying a couple of nights along the beach front
although we were unable to swim in the ocean due to the presence of stingers
and crocs. The girls had a great time playing in the best water park to date
before we enjoyed fish and chips and champagne to celebrate Jo’s Birthday
before heading back to base for cake and candles. We also drove to the top of Castle Hill to get great
views over Townsville, The Harbour and nearby Magnetic Island. We enjoyed
Townsville but it seemed strange being back in a big town after our time in the
outback and away from traffic lights and road works!
Next day we headed to the
backpacker equivalent of mecca, Airlie Beach. Again we found ourselves in a beautiful caravan
park surrounded by dozens of friendly cockatoos and curlews before booking onto
a boat trip round the Whitsunday Islands and having a swim in the huge man made
lagoon on the front. In the morning we got picked up and taken to our boat with
its friendly staff and set off to our first destination, Hill Inlet, where we
walked through the rainforest to an outlook with its postcard view of the inlet
and Whitehaven Beach further down the coast. This was our next destination when
we got back to the boat. As it was nearing the end of the stinger season we
were still all encouraged to wear stinger suits which we wore much to our
amusement. We swam from the boat to Whitehaven Beach, another famous landmark
with its white silica beach, and relaxed for a couple of hours before being
enjoying a great beach bbq. The girls found a friend and had a great time
watching the goannas and playing on the beach. Back on the boat we passed an
island with nesting sea eagles which the crew summoned with a whistle and threw
raw meat for them to catch from the boat before we anchored off Mantaray Bay
for a snorkel over the fringing island reef (part of the great barrier reef)
The girls went in the glass bottomed boat to view the coral and fish whilst we
went for a snorkel to view the thousands of fish around us including a very
large wrasse and giant trevally which the girls fed from the boat. Holly
decided to get in the water to view the reef through a glass bottomed boogie
board and ended up with a fish mistaking her toe for something to eat and got a
small nip! Another great day and as we headed back to base Holly fell asleep in
Jo’s arms. We loved the Whitsundays and vowed to return on a sailing boat one
day when the girls are a bit bigger.
Next stop Mackay where we stayed
to the north of the town at Bucasia and another small caravan park right on the
beach. In the morning we walked for an hour before visiting an old school
friend of Jo’s (sarah) and her husband (Ian) for an amazing lunch and great
hospitality with the girls loving the pool and picking fresh bananas.
Then onto Yeppoon and Jo’s old
university town of Rockhampton. We stayed at Kinka Beach one of the south
beaches out from Yeppoon before driving into Emu Park and then onto Rockhampton
to look around. We also viewed a new mosaic war memorial in memory of a VC recipient before driving
back through the university and back to the caravan park for a fish on the
river. We caught our usual undersized bream and a flathead which wasn’t quite
big enough to keep!
We then headed back into the west
country stopping just outside Biloela to stay with another school friend of
Jo’s (kaylene) and her family. On arrival Michael returned from work mustering cattle in his
Robinson R22 helicopter, and offered to take Tom up and off to another small
Job. This 4 cylinder, 145hp helicopter took them a few miles to a farm of about
800 acres where Tom met the local farmer and watched as a mob of about 150
Belmont Red cattle were rounded up in about 15 mins. A great experience and the
girls had great fun putting the helicopter away when they returned. The next
morning Tom was picked up by another local farmer and given a great tour of his
farm learning about the difference breeds of cattle and the grasses and shrubs
that have been introduced into the bush to ensure sufficient food is available.
The girls all joined Tom up at the farm and had a lovely time playing (all 6 of
them) before we returned and once again hit the road.
That afternoon we called in to
see another school friend in Gladstone (Jo) before heading to Tannum Sands for
a night.
The next day we headed for the
towns of 1770 (first place captain cook landed in Queensland) and Agnes Waters.
We were going to stay the night but as we got there early we decided after our
usual morning break to head for Bagara the other side of Bundaberg as the
weather had cooled off an was cloudy for the first time in months! On the way
we stopped at the Bundy Rum factory for a look and ended up with a bottle and a
couple of souvenirs.
Bagara is another beach resort
town and we had a good walk and a good scoot along the front before enjoying a
rum and coke on what, after 4 months on the road, was to be our last night in
the caravan before we headed back to the place where we started, Noosa! Our
amazing adventure has almost come to an end…..
9.05.12
