Bargara, Queensland

Tuesday May 30th saw us back on the road heading South again. We retraced our steps to Calliope where we joined the Bruce Highway again. At Miriam Vale we left the highway and took a series of secondary roads to Bundaberg. We passed the turn off for 1770 on route where we had stayed on our trip through 5 years ago. From Bundaberg we took a short trip East arriving at Bargara Beach Caravan Park. We had booked ahead for this stay as had been advised by people in Rockhampton that it gets very busy with the Grey Nomads during the winter months. We had no trouble booking in but did notice it got considerably busier during our stay. The caravan park is right on the coast, just across from the Surf Club. Staff were friendly and park was well kept. The sites while quite roomy with concrete pads are a bit difficult to get in because the roads are fairly narrow. The managers will help you get on to your site if required. We had a bit of problem lining up with our pad but got there eventually. The amenity block is large and kept spotlessly clean. They clean it several times a day and would be the one of the best on our trip. 4.5 Stars.

Once we got setup Sandra started a few loads of laundry before lunch. During the afternoon we took a quick trip to Woolworths for groceries before taking a walk along the waterfront to the town centre. The coast is quite rough and not that attractive as there are volcanic rocks everywhere. At the surf club and various other beach areas they have formed the rocks into borders/break walls to leave nice sandy patches. The waterfront precinct however is one of the nicest we have seen. There is wide walking/cycling paths all along the coast from the town centre as far as the neighbouring town of Burnett Heads. There are numerous well maintained toilet blocks, picnic/BBQ areas, playgrounds, and gardens along the way. A really beautiful area that is extremely well utilized by tourists and locals alike. Hats off to the Bundaberg Council for creating and maintaining such wonderful infrastructure! We well and truly got our usage of the trails averaging over 10km a day walking during our stay!

Wednesday was another clean up day with Sandra finishing the laundry. We got in a nice morning walk up to Mon Repos Beach and an afternoon walk down to the downtown area. Lots of little restaurants and shops there to visit.

Thursday we enjoyed a fairly relaxing day with a couple of walks down town along the boardwalk.  Found two places that did gluten free fish (grilled) and chips which is a treat for Sandra. Thursday turned out to be a local holiday for the Bundaberg show so most places were closed and the one fish shop that was open was doing great business. It took awhile for our order to get processed but we really enjoyed our takeaway lunch overlooking the water from the park.

Friday we did another walk to the Mon Repos Turtle Centre. This one of the largest Turtle nesting areas in Australia but the season ended in April. We had a quick look around the interpretive centre and a short walk along the beach before returning to the caravan. The afternoon saw us take a drive into Bundaberg to do a bit of shopping.

Saturday morning we had booked ourselves on a river tour on "The Bundy Belle" We enjoyed a 2.5 hour tour of the Burnett River from the main bridge to the Port which is located at Burnett Heads. The guide was informative about Bundaberg history and the weather was quite good although a bit windy.

The boat launched from a Seafood Market/Restaurant called Grunske's so we decided to treat ourselves to a nice lunch. This turned out to be a great decision as we enjoyed the best seafood platter we have ever ordered. So,so much food; and all of it excellent! Oysters Kilpatrick, huge whole  Crab, Moreton Bay Bugs, Prawns, Smoked Salmon, Smoked Spanish Mackerel, Scallops, Calamari, and Battered Fish! Made it through most of it but we were both completely stuffed when we left. Had an easy afternoon with a short walk but not much of a dinner.

Sunday we drove the car to the Mon Repos Turtle Centre where we did a long coastal walk to Burnett Heads. About 12km round trip which was an excellent work out. The path was good and nice views along the coast. Quite a few cyclists and a few walkers sharing the trail with us throughout the morning.

Notable stops were Oaks Beach and the Burnett Heads lighthouse (both new and old). The walk was really good and the weather nice with a bit of wind. We really enjoyed it but were both tired by the time we made it back to the car. We did another walk along the boardwalk to the downtown area in the afternoon to finish off our day. We ended up walking about 15km over the day which was a good effort.

We decided to extend our stay so booked another 3 days on top of our original week. Luckily they were able to squeeze us in in the same caravan site.

Monday we enjoyed a relatively easy day although we did walk along the foreshore to "The Basin" which is a kilometre past the downtown area. We enjoyed another fish and chip lunch down by the beach.

Tuesday was another day with some good walks both morning and afternoon. Did a drive out to look at more of Bargara and did a tour of Palm Resorts in the afternoon. An active retirement village with houses that can house your caravan in the garage. Very interesting but we aren't quite ready for the retirement village lifestyle.

Wednesday we did a bit of grocery shopping and laundry. I did some computer/blog work. After lunch we did a drive out to Coral Cove and Elliott Heads. Both of them were nice but we think Bargara is the pick of the area because of the waterfront precinct. Naturally we did a couple of walks as well.

Thursday was laundry day with Sandra doing everything in preparation for our move to Maryborough tomorrow. Did a nice walk along the boardwalk in the morning. We drove into Bundaberg for lunch at Grunske's again. Had the seafood platter for one this time which was ample for both of us. Did a bit more shopping after lunch before returning to the caravan. We did a bit more clean-up in the afternoon including giving the awning a wash with 30 Seconds. Filled up the water tanks and stowed all the outside stuff away for moving as well.

We've really enjoyed our 10 days in Bargara and look forward to returning. The caravan park is great and the waterfront area is wonderful. Lots of people are here for long term (2-3 months) for winter from down south. The positive thing is that they all seem very active and are enjoying bowls, golf, walking, cycling, and lots of social activities.

Boynedale Bush Camp, Queensland

Friday May 26th saw us bid farewell to Rockhampton and travel a short distance South to Boynedale Bush Camp. We skirted Rockhampton and followed the Bruce Highway south until Calliope. The highway was in good condition and better than we remember from our previous trip. A bit of road construction slowed us down but they did seem to be actually accomplishing something which makes it worthwhile! From Calliope we travelled South West for 25Km arriving at Boynedale Bush Camp which is on the Southern end of Lake Awoonga and the Boyne River. The road from Calliope was fairly narrow but sealed up until the exit to the camp. There is a short 2Km dirt road into the camping area from the road. Near the start of the road is a lookout, toilet, and picnic are overlooking the Lake/River.

We travelled down the hill arriving at a large grassy area near the water with about 20-25 camping groups already set up. That being said there was heaps of room and we found a nice spot near the fence at the back of the area. We parked so we were facing towards the lake which turned out to be a good choice as the sun was primarily at our backs through the late afternoons. As you can see there was lots of space and we weren't too crowded. There are limited facilities here with only a couple of pit toilets and no drinking water. The toilets were chemical ones and didn't smell too badly although when the wind blew the wrong direction we got a bit more than we bargained for!

The spaces filled up considerably during the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Would have probably been 50 groups by Saturday night and we did get one group fairly close to us. That being said there was still quite a bit of open space and luckily none of the groups carried on late into the evenings. Sandra and I joked that we were the last few people up a couple of nights when we retired at 9PM.

There were lots of family groups and seemed a favourite location for the locals from Calliope and Gladstone. A number of people had boats and kayaks to explore the lake/dam. Didn't see a lot of fish being caught but there was some people catching red claw.

We enjoyed lovely relaxing days at the camp enjoying walks up to the lookout each morning to get our exercise ( and utilizing the toilet there that wasn't used much)! We met our camping neighbour, Jeff from Rockhampton who was enjoying a week of quiet away from work, and enjoyed a few conversations and drinks in the afternoons.

This was our first real stint of free camping during the trip and we got to test out our solar capabilities etc. Between the Caravan solar and the foldable solar blanket for the car battery pack we managed to keep everything fully charged for the full four days. The weather was cooperative with lots of sun and we didn't have TV signal which saved the batteries a bit. That being said we remained at full charge and were able to recharge phones, tablets, laptops etc each day as well. I fired up the new Honda generator on the last day for an hour just to test it out. All was good with it as well! We managed to be fairly frugal with our water supply and could have probably gone another two days without issue. All in all it was a good test of our free camping capabilities.

On the Monday we took a day trip to explore the local area on the Gladstone/Monto road. The road South crossed the Boyne River a number of times as well as some fairly large creeks. Because of the recent rainfalls there was considerable water in at most of the crossings. We understand from our conversations with Jeff that this is a rarity in this region of Australia.

We travelled through Ubobo and Builyan before arriving in Many Peaks. We had planned to have lunch at the pub in Many Peaks but as luck would have it they were closed for the day for a family issue. The drive had been good and we were there earlier than we expected so we decided to do a bit more exploring. We decided to return to Ubobo and take the road West towards Kroombit Tops National Park. We had considered this drive from Monto when we stayed at Cania Gorge but had decided against it.

Ubobo was a nice small town with a bit of a camping area at the town information centre. It looked OK and appears quite reasonable with some services. As it turned out we should have stopped here for directions as we had some difficulties later. We proceeded towards Kroombit tops through a series of rural roads/tracks. It was a lovely drive with more creek crossings and rolling hills. Lots of cattle as well to keep your attention focussed on driving carefully. The road condition was relatively good although dirt. Wouldn't be a good road when wet and a number of creek crossings would be flooded.

There were also a number of signs directing us towards Kroombit Tops. Unfortunately these signs proved to be worse than unreliable. I had programmed the location into the Tom Tom as well and all was proceeding nicely until we approached an intersection indicating a Homestead. The Tom Tom indicated to take the turn left towards the Homestead which made sense to my mind as well. Unfortunately, there was a signpost very clearly indicating to continue on the road to the right. We sat for a few minutes before deciding to trust the signage (Tom Tom has let me down more than once before). A bit further down the road we came to another intersection and a sign indicating to continue on the road to the right. All this time Tom Tom was telling me to reverse direction. To make a long story short after quite some time we found someone parked at the side of the road and confirmed the directions. Turns out the GPS was right all along! Unfortunately we were almost back to Calliope by this time so gave up on our quest and returned home to the caravan. Kroombit Tops will have to remain on our adventure list for another visit. Although disappointing that we didn't get to our destination the drive was beautiful and well worth doing

On Monday afternoon we packed up and prepared to leave for our next stop. We had afternoon drinks with two other couples around the fire before dinner. We really enjoyed our time at Boynedale and look forward to returning some day. Would be a great location for a large group of people to get away together!

Gracemere, Queensland

Friday May 19th saw us packing up under grey skies as we said our goodbyes to Cania Gorge. We got on the road in good time and heading North on the Burnett Highway towards Biloela. We stopped there for a quick stretch before continuing on the Burnett Highway to Dululu. Another quick stop before changing to the Leichardt Highway briefly and then finishing on the Capricorn Highway heading East to Rockhampton. The roads were quite good with minimal traffic and the weather holding up pretty well for us. A few sprinkles and we could see where heavy rain had fallen prior to us passing through.

We decided to book into Gracemere Caravan Park on the South West side of Rockhampton. The plan was for a quick stop before heading further North along the coast. The caravan park was on the outskirts of Gracemere near the old Capricorn Highway. Lovely green park with shaded sites and a beautiful rural outlook. The cows came by the fence we were facing each night to bed down under a tree. Amenity blocks were aged but nice and clean (4 Stars). We got settled in before a quick shop at the Woolworths up the road. Sandra got some cleaning done while I caught up on some computer work. We did a couple of short walks near the caravan park in the afternoon.

Saturday morning we took a drive into Rockhampton and out to Mount Archer National Park. We found Rockhampton quite easy to get around in with lots of green park space. Our trip up to Mount Archer was fairly steep and winding but you certainly did get a good view of the surrounding area. We did a quick lookout walk when we arrived before enjoying our picnic lunch. The park was good but needed some upkeep. We found much of Rockhampton was still recovering from Cyclone Marcia which occurred a few years back. After lunch we did a bit of a longer walk on the other side of the park. Quite steep with very uneven ground/rocks to negotiate. Got a few more good lookout opportunities and enjoyed the millions of Cycads and Grass trees. We made our way back to the car before returning to the caravan park. We decided that we wanted to extend our stay for a few more days so stopped at reception on the way back.

 

Sunday we enjoyed a day at the caravan doing some laundry and clean-up. Did a few walks near the caravan park.

Monday we took another drive into Rockhampton with the Zoo and Botanical Gardens our first stop. Both of these are free to visit which is a nice way to welcome visitors. Sandra and gone to them on our previous trip with the Ransleys but I had skipped that excursion. The Zoo was nice but Sandra commented that it wasn't as impressive as the last visit. Lots of cyclone damage with several enclosures under construction. We did get to enjoy the bird enclosure which is quite unique. We also saw Cassowary, Wombats, Goannas, and Koala as per the attached photos. There was also a good size monkey display but they were primarily sleeping during our visit.

We had a morning snack at the Botanic gardens before a quick walk around the grounds. Again there was quite a bit of damage and main buildings were not open. The signage was poor for what was/wasn't open. A bit of a shame as could have been much better. Luckily, it didn't cost us anything at least.

From here we did a bit of shopping at Dan Murphy, Coles, and Artisan Gluten Free Bakery. Managed to get Sandra a lovely gluten free meat pie and vanilla slice. A bit of an experience getting to the bakery because of all the construction down along the river but we got there in the end. I grabbed a don air and we headed off to the Kershaw Gardens for our lunch. Another beautiful park area that unfortunately needed some work after the cyclone. We did enjoy our lunch just before the rain clouds opened up. We headed back to the caravan park where we again stopped at the office to extend our stay for another 3 days. The lady was nice enough to give us the weekly rate which gave us a free night. Very friendly staff and great customer service. We took a walk into Gracemere in the afternoon and explored the shopping district.

Tuesday May 23rd we got an early start as we headed out to Capricorn Caves. Our neighbours at our caravan site had recommended the tour. We arrived in time for the 10am tour which we shared with another 8-10 people. Very interested caves with many different caves and entrances. They offer a variety of tours as well which include some tight caves with a bit of adventure climbing.

Highlights of our tour were the Cathedral cave where they host weddings and opera, as well as the zig zag exit which was a bit snug. A suspension bridge at the end to return to the cave entry was also interesting. The guide was very informative and we enjoyed our tour. We spent the afternoon relaxing and enjoying some short walks.

 

Wednesday we ventured through Rockhampton and out to the coastal community of Yeppoon. We arrived in the late morning and took a short walk along the boardwalk and through the downtown. A lovely coastal area with lots of public picnic areas. We hopped back in the car and headed out to Rosslyn to the Marina for lunch. We enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Waterline Café. One of the best steaks I have ever had with some beautiful prawns. Sandra enjoyed a generous Caesar salad covered with grilled Calamari. Wonderful!

After lunch we did a couple of short walks around the Marina and Keppel Bay. We walked down onto Pebble Beach before climbing to a couple of lookouts. From here we got good views of the marina, Great Keppel Island,  and Kinka Beach. The rock formations were very interesting as well.

Once we had worked off our lunch a bit we jumped back in the car and headed further along the coast to Emu Park. The highlight of Emu Park was definitely the Memorial display overlooking the water. Lovely and very touching! A real credit to the community!

We completed the coastal loop back to Rockhampton and returned to the caravan park for a relaxing evening.

Thursday was spent cleaning, shopping, and preparing for a spell of bush camping. Got a bit more computer work caught up as well as phone calls with our girls and other family. We have really enjoyed our week in Rockhampton and look forward to returning some day. The weather was lovely and the Gracemere Caravan park was a lovely, quiet relaxing environment with each access to everything.