Following a hectic 7 months being political campaigners for an independent candidate in the federal election (who did win), we took a quick trip to Queensland in June looking for some warmth and a change of scene. The first night away did not bring warmth – in fact the water in Belle froze when we camped at Willow Tree. My idea of going up on an inland route and back down the coast didn’t seem so clever after night one.
11/6/22 Frost on the ground and frozen water pipes at our first camp in Willow Tree.Its not often we get to drive by fields of cotton, but we saw lots of these in northern NSW around Gunnedah.
After a quick stop in Gunnedah to buy warmer pj’s at Best & Less, we went straight to Moree and the hot springs. We like staying at a caravan park that boasts four hot springs (one at 36, 37, 38 & 39 degrees C) and a soak in the pools felt like a good idea. So good that after dinner in the van, we also had another soak.
In our haste to get into Queensland we drove 500 kilometers over 5 1/2 hours and stayed at a bush camp we had visited previously.
Our bush camp at Barambarah, near Murton, Queensland.
Given our destination of Hervey Bay was within reach, we had time to stop along the way so Dick could do his regular balance class on Zoom. I did a thorough tour of the shops in the town of Goomeri (population 664), which was a nice little town with a pumpkin festival and lots of gift shops, while Dick did his class in the local park.
Dick keeping up with his balance classes on Zoom.
I was keen to return to Maryborough as its an interesting little town, and has a Mary Poppins connection. We only had time for a brief lunch and loo stop.
The locals in Maryborough say they have the fanciest toilets in the world and they offer tours of them. We couldn’t understand why there were so many people standing outside the public loos – they were tour guides!
Then we settled into our caravan park in Hervey Bay, home for three nights. I managed a nice sunset beach walk. After four days of driving it was good to have some down time, and Dick was not well with a cold. Also I had a favorite dress shop to revisit, and nice beaches to walk, and sunsets to photograph.
It was nice to feel warm and enjoy a long walk along a beautiful beach at Hervey Bay.This Urangan Pier was built in 1917. It is 868 m to the end and another nice sunset walk.I couldn’t resist the stunning Hervey Bay sunsets.
We also went back to Maryborough to visit the market and particularly to visit the Mary Poppins Museum, which is located in the old bank building where PJ Travers, author of Mary Poppins, was born. The museum tells you all you’d want to know about PJ Travers and Mary Poppins.
A good opportunity to say hello again to my old friend, Mary Poppins. They really love her in Maryborough.
From Hervey Bay we caught our flight to Lady Elliot Island, where we spent 3 nights. The 35 minute flight was on this 12 seater plane.Coming in to land on Lady Elliot Island – the runway goes thru the middle of the island. Its a 45 hectacre (111 acres) coral cay, the southernmost island on the Great Barrier Reef. Its in a highly protected Green Zone and is a sanctuary for more than 1200 species of marine life.
On arrival we were given an orientation tour before lunch, and then we saw a presentation on manta rays in the Reef Education Centre. The resort is an eco resort and has been recognised for its dedication to the protection and preservation of the natural asset. Guests are asked to commit to the island’s sustainability pledge.
It is possible to walk around the island in 45 minutes, so we started to do that on our first day.We got as far as the sunset drinks – what else could we do!Two views of us enjoying the sunset drinks. We did not move from our chairs, just looked different ways to face the camera.
Evenings were fun with quiz nights, island bingo, guided night walks or games. We soon had our regular group of friends to spend the evenings with.
Named one of the top five destinations in the world to scuba dive with manta rays, and being one of the best barrier reef locations to dive and snorkel; is what attracts most visitors. So on day 2, I did a refresher snorkeling lesson and then we snorkelled in the lagoon. The water was not deep but we saw lots of colored fish. The island offers lots of education presentations and land tours as well as snorkelling and diving trips. We went to the whale presentation, saw a bit of fish feeding and did a guided reef walk.
Day 3 was our glass bottom boat/snorkel tour and we saw a manta ray under the boat. I snorkelled with the instructor and we immediately saw a large turtle plus lots of fish, coral, giant clams, green parrot fish, and sea anemone. Being in the sea is not my most comfortable state but I am glad I did the snorkel trip, since we were in one of the best places to do that.
Another sunset viewing on our last night.Before we left we had time to do the ‘Behind the Scenes’ tour, where we learned about how the island manages power (batteries & solar), waste (treatment and return to the water table) and water (desalination). They are proud of their sustainable solutions and happy to explain all to their visitors. Here we are in the battery room hearing from the maintenance guy.Back on the coast Dick wanted a beach camp and I was happy anywhere with good internet, so we had two nights at Inskip Peninsula, just north of Rainbow Beach and near the ferry to Fraser Island. One beach walk and a day on the phone sums up our stay, after we had no phone or internet service on the island.We then enjoyed a great day with our friends, Janice and John, who introduced us to the Noosa Everglades, one of only two everglades in the world. We’ve now seen both and they are very different. Our day started with a lovely lunch at Kin Kin and then we drove to habitat noosa on Lake Cootharaba. The lake is known as the gateway to the everglades and its 10km long and 5 km wide with an average depth of 1.5m (5 feet). We are cruising across the lake on our eco tour to the everglades.We are still surprised that we had not heard of the everglades on our multiple trips to Noosa. Over 44% of all of Australia’s bird species reside here, more than in Kakadu Park in an area 25 times smaller.We had a lovely cruise – the afternoon light really highlighted the reflections and it felt like we were in a very special place. Only 20 kms from Noosa, it felt like a world away.
Before starting the drive home we caught up with a few friends; a quick visit with Gordon and Joanne, lunch with Pamela and Rod and later dinner with Allan and Barbara and an overnight in Allan’s driveway, our favorite driveway camp. We also had to visit Explorer Motorhomes in Brisbane for a water pump repair. Having no heater and then no water, our trip was starting to feel like real camping!
Another good visit with Allan and Barbara, this is just before Allan is off to bowls.Decided to take a look at the Glass House Mountains as we were driving by. They were named by Lieutenant James Cook in 1770, as they reminded him of the glass furnaces in Yorkshire. The 12 mountains are the remaining cores of 26 million-year-old volcanoes. We did the walk at this lookout and also admired the mosaics set in the lookout walkway.Our drive home featured some nice beach walks as we camped at Kingscliffe and then this place at Grassy Head – nice camp with a 3 k walk on a beautiful beach. From here we had a lunch stop with Mick at Port Macquarie before getting to Anna Bay.Our last night away was spent with Jen and Kevin at their place at Anna Bay. We also managed a beachside lunch stop before we left.Of course we were keen to get home to see the grandkids. Here is pied piper Dick playing his harmonica for Seb and Jake.And a cuddle with little Ruby, now 10 weeks old.
Our winter escape was 17 days, 3000 kms, fine weather, visits with friends and lots of variety. Good to be home and here to celebrate the boy’s first birthday. Not so good that we have covid but it seems inevitable these days and much better to have it at home. Best regards to all.
