Thursday 17July we departed Inskip Point, a magic part of the world near Rainbow Beach. Darryl and Kay headed south to the Sunshine Coast while Shirley and I headed north to Hervey Bay. We called into Maryborough on the way and were pleasantly surprised by an excellent market, as we were about 11 months ago. We stocked up on fruit, and had a german sausage for an early lunch.
We duly checked into the Harbour View caravan park in Hervey Bay, set up camp, and had a long hot shower. It was very pleasant after four days in the bush. We then went looking for a watchmaker to fix my watch (Hervey Bay being a pretty big town), only to find that they have all retired and the nearest watch repairer is in Maryborough—50 km away. So much for that idea.
The Boat Club, 200 metres away, beckoned for dinner and so off we went and had a great meal of barramundi. We bought $5 worth of raffle tickets and duly won a meat tray of pork chops and sausages plus $20. It was a great evening, great food, live music and a tray of meat.
I was up early on Friday and did the washing while Shirley slept in past 9am. I later washed the car (of salt, sand, sap and dirt) while Shirley folded and ironed the clothes. It was a slow day, but we decided to go for a mid arvo walk—to a local market. There were 3 stalls so the market stroll turned into a beachside walk. It was a very windy day along much of the coast.
The sausages that I won last night became dinner and we returned to the Boat Club for a “Feed A Farmer” musical concert. It was a charity event to help the plight of drought affected farmers. It was an amateur event run and performed by amateurs and so it showed. However we had some fun and supported a very worth cause, as there are many many people out in the bush who are doing it very hard. Many struggle to put food on the table and support their kids education.
On Saturday we visited our third market in as many days. Although this market was better than yesterday’s it did not take up much time or any money. So it was time for another walk, along the Torquay (suburb of Hervey Bay) promenade, and a coffee on the edge of the beach.
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| St Peter |
I bought a new Radio/CD/Aux unit for the caravan and spent some of the afternoon installing it. Now we can play iPod music though the new unit as well as the sound from the TV. Boys toys.
After the installation and test phase we went for an extended walk around the nearby marina. No coffee, just walk. We admired the statue of St Peter, a memorial to local fisherman who have died at sea. We despaired at the damage caused by vandals a few weeks after it was erected in 2013.
As it should be Sunday was a relaxing day and we used it to visit some local towns with interesting names like, Dundowran, Toogoom, Burrum Heads, Howard and Torbanlea.
Dundowran was memorable because of the size and (probable) value of the new homes. They were very impressive. Toogoom will be remembered because of the great views of the water (see photo) while we drank a lovely coffee and ate a muffin.
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| View from Coffee Location at Toogoom |
Burrum Heads is apparently the place to go if you wish to camp near the water in a quiet location with great beaches. Whereas Dundowran seemed to be mainly residential, Burrum Heads has mainly holiday accommodation. We could easily handle a week there.
Howard is an old coal town and has lost its former glory since the coal mines closed. However a (former) Melbourne couple have spent a long time there restoring a former magnificent home (called Brooklyn) back to a semblance of its former self. It is a beautiful 110-year-old home.
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| "Brooklyn" |
We do not have much to report about Torbanlea, although the pub looked ok.
We visited a Hervey Bay bakery and bought two awarding-winning pies for lunch. They were good.
Monday 21 July was the start of a new working week, so I went for an early morning walk and caught the sunrise at Urangan Pier, about 2 km away. Although it was chilly the views towards Fraser Island were worth the walk.
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| Urangan Pier (Hervey Bay) at Sunrise
We relaxed for a while then went for a walk along the Torquay beach. It was a pleasant way to spend an hour.
The rest of the day was focussed around two animal stories, as follows.
The first involved a baby Noisy Minor (who really lived up to his name). (I will call him) Fred apparently fell or was turfed out of his nest. He choose Shirley’s foot (who was reading a book) as a resting place. Fred’s parents were not impressed and decided to swoop Shirley and me, being successful at brushing our hair—a good feat in my case (finding hair to ruffle).
Twenty four hours later Fred was still on the scene and his parents were still in an aggressive mood. Fred needed flying lessons. His parents needed aggression management.
The second animal story started around 11pm when it appeared that a possum with hob nail boots decided to do some line dancing (Fred’s chirping was probably the music) on our caravan roof. The little rascal continued until scared into moving by the flash of my camera. He apparently moved to the caravan next door where the occupants tolerated his presence (so that they had something to complain about this morning).
Tuesday was washing, cleaning and shopping day, but we had time to walk on the Scarness beach and constantly avoid Fred’s parents. Fred was still chirping.
The weather was lovely, being our best day so far in Hervey Bay. It is a pity that we are about to depart.
We walked to the Boat Club, had a drink, played the pokies (ask Shirley about the fishy pokie machines) and had a great flathead dish for dinner.
Wednesday 23 July was the time to move on and this time we moved about 210 km south to Maroochydore. It was an uneventful drive, which was good, and camp was established by lunch time. Our site was about 30 metres from the ocean beach.
During the afternoon we caught up a good mate Leo (whose better half, Judy, was enjoying some retail therapy).
We wandered down to the local food centre with Kay & Darryl and their friends and had a good meal of beef ribs and chicken wings.
9am Thursday saw Leo and I on the bowling rink, which was only a 10 minute walk away. We had a good win but did not come home with the “bacon”.
Shirley and I had a good walk on the beach after lunch and a bit of a relax before we meet Leo and Judy for an excellent Thai meal.
Friday started with an early morning walk on the beach. The cloud formations made for many photo opportunities. I returned and enjoyed my breakfast until I broke a tooth. The rest of the morning was spent finding a dentist and sitting in a chair while he repaired the damage. All is now good.
After a very light lunch (for me) Shirley and I returned to the beach to check out the sandbanks at low tide. It was another pleasant walk.
We saw another dog enjoying a ride on a board (as per the story a couple of weeks ago). As shown in the photo he is standing. A short while later he was sitting. About 45 minutes later he was laying flat out on the board. Must be tiring business.
Saturday 26 July also started with an early morning walk on the beach. This time the cloud blanketed the sky and photos did not happen.
After a slow morning Darryl and I went to the airport to meet Fay, a good friend with whom we were travelling (also John, then) at this time last year. Hugs all round, coffees, walks, followed by fish and chips for dinner accompanied by the obligatory wine. Most of us slept well.
On Sunday it was bacon and eggs for breakfast for the five of us. While Darryl and I did the dishes the women walked to the local market. Darryl and I met them at the coffee shop for (you guessed it) coffee.
On the way back I took the adjacent photo of a guy who must love his TV. He sleeps in a tent. His TV antenna pole is a branch of a tree. The antenna is tied to that branch (see red arrow and circled antenna). The branch is tied to a chair. Later, when the wind started, a second heavier branch was tied to the chair to stop it moving. Creative?
We had scones, cream and jam for lunch, then went for a much needed stroll along the beach (photos on the next page).
The weather was magnificent—sunny and about 23 degrees.
Monday 28 July was the day for a drive in the country. So at 9:30 we set off for The Blackall Range, or the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Our first stop was Mary Cairncross Park where we had some great views of the Glasshouse Mountains—which were south from where we stood. When James Cook came to Australia most of this area was covered by big red cedar trees and rainforest. Now there are only little pockets left.
  We were soon in a lovely little town called Maleny where we stopped for coffee and had a lengthy walk around the town.
It is a great place to visit and stroll.
After lunch we headed back to Montville where we engaged in another lengthy walk of the town. Darryl and I went one way while the 3 women went off together. It was another pleasant couple of hours, and is even better than Maleny.
The drive back to Maroochydore was just beautiful, with plenty of steep hills up and down.
It is very pretty country.
As the sun was setting Darryl and I headed to the river bank to catch the sunset.
Triple B—beach, beer and beautiful sunset.
Tuesday was washing day. However I had time to nip down to the beach (about 6:15 am) and catch the sunrise. Fay was already there, seated on the beach. The photos were duly taken, the washing was completed, showers and breakfast happened and the day began.
Lunch was two kg of king prawns with fresh bread and a glass of wine.
On Wednesday we took Fay to the airport for her trip home. We then went for a drive to Caloundra and saw some more of the Sunshine Coast. Apart from that it was a relaxing day.
He had home made pizzas for dinner.
Thursday 31 July was bowls day, at Coolum Beach. It is amazing how many people you meet that you know or know someone in common. It was an enjoyable afternoon.
Friday 1 August was another quiet day with the major activities being coffee/cake, walk on beach and visit to Bunnings (because we could).
Saturday was quite the reverse, a very busy day. It started with a 6:25 am photo of the sun rising behind the caravan.
Soon after (8:30) Shirley and I headed off to the Ginger Factory at Yandina. It was a great spot to visit with the ginger beer being the highlight. The car then moved about 1.5 km to the Yandina Market, where we had an enjoyable stroll—without investing in anything significant, although the BBQ sausages smelled very good.
We then headed off to the famous Eumundi Markets, to find out that we were about 5678th in line for a car park. We could not believe the number of cars there. After about 15 minutes we found a park in a quite street about one km from the market. AND what a market it was. Unbelievable. If you come to the Sunshine Coast put it on your Bucket List.
Coffee first. Window shopping for 60 minutes. German sausage for lunch. More shopping, this time costing semi-significant dollars (a state secret). Then some locally made ginger beer (2nd for the day), then some local olives. Maybe a handbag about then. Then some Tibetan dumplings. Maybe a pineapple and some veges. Tired legs. Throw in a toilet stop, lots of enjoyment, loads of music, some laughs—and you have it. Well worth a visit.
We departed Eumundi to visit the nougat place—it was closed– phew.
Then off to Noosa Heads. Too many shops, too many people, not enough parking. Eventually we found a prime spot in the main drag.
Then a walk on the beach, then a mango smoothie, then another walk. Lovely place, but very busy.
Noosa has changed a lot since a mate and I camped on the point in 1970 and had prawns and tins of Carlton Draught for dinner. Those were the days.
We took the 35 km coastal road back to Maroochydore, and saw three beach front weddings for the day. The beach views were also worth a look.
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Last Updated 8:30 pm Saturday 2 August
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wish I was there .... Roger
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