Chapter 5 — Discovery Coast

It was Tuesday 8 July when we departed Tannam Sands and headed a short distance south. We stopped a short time later at Miriam Vale for morning tea and a walk around.  We then turned off the Bruce Highway and headed to the coast—to a place called Seventeen
Seventy, or 1770.

We established camp then Shirley and I went for a walk to the local surf beach.  It was a pleasant 10 minute walk.

1770 Surf Beach

On Wednesday we had a historical and botanical day. We first visited the site where Lieutenant James Cook landed (after calling in to Botany Bay) on 24 May 1770.  It is marked by the usual memorial.

We then followed a path though a rain forest and walked though a colony of thousands of butterflies.  They were magnificent.

We admired the rainforest and coastal views (particularly the clear water).

and then returned to camp for afternoon tea of scones, cream and jam  - watched very carefully by a very friendly kookaburra.

Wednesday 10 July was the day for Shirley and I to go bush.   We headed off to Deepwater National Park for some serious sandy 4WD touring.  Most of Deepwater NP is rainforest so the views were magnificent.  We had four stops.  First was Wreck Rock Beach—not as good as Broome’s Cable Beach—but it was pretty spectacular.  You can also camp there—but I would not like to try and tow a caravan in there.

Wreck Rock Beach

Next stop was Middle Rock Beach. Shirley and I had 5 km of beach all to ourselves, so we went skinny dipping (just joking).

 

Middle Rock Beach

Our third stop was Flat Rock Beach, for obvious reasons. It was just as good as the above two beaches—with plenty of flat rocks.

Our fourth stop was the Paperbark Forest Boardwalk.  Picture a lovely rainforest with lots of paperbark trees, narrow boardwalks and scary stepping stones.  

They were scary in the sense that a slight stagger would mean a fall into knee deep murky water (of doubtful quality).  

This particular location is home to the Giant Burrowing Cockroach—the world’s heaviest cockroach that grows to 8 cm in length.  Apparently goannas enjoy them for dinner.

Deepwater National Park Drive

Friday was a quiet day with a casual walk in the morning and free time in the afternoon.  Our walk allowed another couple of bird photos to be taken. 

The first was a flock of pelicans taking to the air and the second was a Double Barred Finch that sat long enough to take a photo.

 
Saturday 12 July was a another “go bush” day.  This time we headed into Eurimbula National Park, west of Agnes Water. No sooner did we enter the NP when we were stopped by two cars blocking the road.  The first had stopped to check our a “road kill” kangaroo when they noticed movement.  Investigation showed the dead mother was still home to a very young joey.  The second car was a local lady who offered to take the youngster to the local vet.  Needless to say the camera were clicking repeatedly.

 

  



Our next stop was Eurimbula Lookout which gave us wonderful views of the district.

So on we travelled, another 4WD sandy track, another rain forest, more lovely beaches.  We stopped for lunch and were visited by a local goanna.

 


Our favourite beach was Bustard Beach, definitely the best beach we have seen this trip.  It is a pity that it is so hard to access.

The adjacent “no name” beach also had a lot of character.

For dinner we went to the Agnes Water Surf Life Saving Club where Pop Standen was playing—the same musician we had listed to in Tannam Sands the previous week. This time he had swapped the harmonic player for a saxophonist.

The music was excellent and was supported by a local artist who painted the dining area while we ate and listened.  We are the group in the middle of the painting, with Shirley in the yellow top.  The courtesy bus was handy.

On Sunday we left 1770 and headed south.  It was an eventful day and we stopped at a free camp site at a place called Apple Tree Creek.   We soon found out that the pub had no meals on a Sunday night and the pizza place was closed.  So we had to fend for ourselves.

On Monday we continued further south, via Childers and Maryborough, to a magnificent place called Inskip Point, 10 km from Rainbow Beach.  Inskip Point is a peninsula that stretch from Rainbow Beach to near the southern tip of Fraser Island.  All of it is sandy and most of it allows camping.  There is sufficient space for over 2500 campers.  Most people camp within 50 metres of the beach and most need a 4WD to get access.  Some site are effectively on the edge of the beach.

We found two great spots to establish camp about 40 metres from the high tide mark, among a lot of smallish to medium trees.  We made space for a camp fire between the two caravans and settled it.    

Night one had us cooking roast beef and veges in the camp ovens.  Another great fire by Chris & Darryl.

Tuesday 15 July saw me on the beach for an early morning walk. After morning tea we went into Rainbow Beach for a walk around the town, then walked to Carlo Sandblow—a spectacular sandy walk with magnificent views.  We returned to the car just before the rain started.

Pies from the bakery were the choice for lunch—and they were excellent.

After lunch Shirley and I went for a long walk from the camp site and visited the place where the Fraser Island barge departed and arrived.  The barge seems to go back and forth all day, from a very early hour.

 

Another campfire was lit and the dinner menu was stew and damper, eaten beside the fire.  Just to cap off a great day we had strawberries and ice-cream for dessert.   

Then the rain started—just enough to force us under cover.

Bacon and eggs was the way to start Wednesday. Our big exercise for the day was a walk on the beach at Rainbow Beach to visit the reason for the name—the many colours in the sand.  As it was high tide we failed in our attempt to we decamped to the bakery for coffee.  By then it was time to buy another pie and head back to camp for lunch.

After some quiet time we returned to Rainbow Beach and this time visited the coloured sands.  It was worth the walk.

Darryl then decided to try his hand at fishing while some daredevil flew a motorised para-glider up and down the beach. 

We had left-over stew and damper for dinner, followed by fire-toasted crumpets for dessert.

 

Thursday was the day to depart Inskip Point.  But not before I was up early to get some photos of the sunrise. 

 

Darryl and Kay headed south to the Sunshine Coast while Shirley and I headed to Hervey Bay. 

Trip (approximate) summary to date:

Distance (km)   5200

Nights                 50

Free camps            8

Diesel cost      $1255             (average of $1.61 per litre)

Accommodation          $1429

This posting is complete as of 1pm Friday 18 July.
Please come again to read about Hervey Bay and beyond.