Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Hervey Bay [Whale Watching] – 25 to 27 September 2011

2011.09.26 at 15h12m55s Hervey Bay2011.09.26 at 15h16m45s Hervey Bay2011.09.26 at 15h44m32s Hervey Bay-8We schedule in a rest day now and then, so on the 26th we went Whale Watching on the Wind Song Whale tour. We were very lucky as the whales were playing and we saw them breaching, slapping the water with their tails and waving their pectoral fins. There was a female with her calf and support whale.

It is awesome to see 25 tons of Hump Back whale fly through the air. We also saw the calf breaching. It was so cute all 2 tons of it. 2011.09.26 at 15h12m10s Hervey Bay

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Rockhampton to Hervey Bay–24 to 25 September 2011

2011.09.25 at 08h55m47s RockhamptonWe left Midge Point travelling south on the Bruce Highway to Rockhampton, stopping for lunch at Flaggy Rock Ice Creamery which has good home made food and easy parking. We stayed overnight at Rockhampton at the Tropical Wanderer Resort.

Rockhampton is caravan friendly with a good supermarket complex.  Kershaw Gardens is nice for a self catered lunch.  We had dinner at Saigon on the River which is a very good quality Chinese Restaurant.2011.09.25 at 09h02m00s Rockhampton

The next day we drove to Hervey Bay stopping  for morning tea at Calliope Market. This is amazingly busy. They have good products and good coffee.
2011.09.25 at 12h36m30s Miriam ValeWe had lunch at Miriam. The Star Roadhouse at the Northern end of Miriam has home made bakery products, mud crab sandwiches made with their own bread and good coffee. The nice thing to do is to drive into Miriam Main Street which is off the Bruce Highway and have lunch on the railway reservation under a tree. Parking is easy.

Childers is an attractive town for an afternoon tea stop. Mammino Ice cream has a shop there which sells ice-creams and coffee. Parking is easy and it is a good break. We stayed at the Big 4 Fraser Lodge in Torquay near Hervey Bay.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Midge Point [Proserpine & Whitsundays] - 17 to 24 September 2011

2011.09.17 at 15h48m13s Midge Point - 11-09 Queensland2011.09.22 at 13h36m06s Midge Point - 11-09 QueenslandWe returned to the Travellers Rest at Midge Point. It is so quiet and we have our resident wallabies and kookaburras.

The great joy here is the large tide range and at low tide one can walk for miles on the sandbars. It is good to have an accurate tide chart as the tide comes in rapidly and in half an hour dry sand can be up to your waist in water.

 

 2011.09.23 at 13h33m37s Midge Point - 11-09 Queensland2011.09.23 at 07h52m19s Midge Point - 11-09 Queensland2011.09.22 at 13h57m57s Midge Point - 11-09 Queensland
2011.09.22 at 13h33m35s Midge Point - 11-09 Queensland

The Japanese earthquake meant a shortage of Toyota parts, and although Toyota’s customer support was excellent in locating dealers with the brake pads and protective rubber boots we needed after two years on the road, it did mean our our travel schedule became a tour of Toyota Dealers in Cairns and Townsville with the front brakes pads finally replaced in Proserpine.

2011.09.19 at 14h02m29s Proserpine2011.09.19 at 13h53m29s ProserpineThis is a small cane town. The Sugar Mill has been running since 1897. The mill now uses the cane waste (bagasse) to power its operation with a small amount sold back to the grid, making it extremely energy efficient.  What is coming out of the chimneys is steam. All the sugar produced is exported. Tricia thinks this is a good example of when you convince people of the need to change they do without government intervention. It is a win win situation for everyone. 
2011.09.21 at 11h59m45s Airlie BeachWe went in to Aireys Inlet to have our camp chairs repaired at a sail loft. While we waited we drove to Shute Harbor the takeoff for the Islands in the Whitsundays. Captain Cook named the Whitsunday Passage as he thought he was sailing through on Whitsunday. Owing to an error in his log he was actually sailing through on Whit-Monday. The islands are in the Cumberland group of Islands.

Some of the Islands of the Whitsundays are very popular Resorts and the area is also very popular for sailing.

We had lunch by the lagoon, protective from marine stingers (jelly fish) at a lovely pizzeria.2011.09.21 at 13h58m53s Airlie Beach

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Rolling Stone–13 to 17 September 2011

2011.09.14 at 16h37m33s Rollingstone Beach2011.09.14 at 14h13m01s Rollingstone BeachRolling Stone is a new caravan Park about 40 kilometers north of Townsville. It has a great location right on the beach.  At high tide one feels like one is on a boat.

We spent a day in Townsville getting the CV Boots replaced on our car.  While we were waiting we toured the CBD.

There was strong competition to become a Capital here with the contenders being Cooktown, Cairns and Townsville. Townsville is now the Capital of North Queensland. 2011.09.17 at 06h31m48s Rollingstone Beach2011.09.15 at 15h21m58s Townsville - 11-09 Queensland

The Railway helped it to become preeminent and provide service to the inland towns. Once it was possible to freeze meat and transport it safely, it was possible to ship frozen beef overseas. This enabled the opening of the hinterland.

Townsville was a major staging Post during WW2 and many soldiers passed through here. The Railway Station was extremely busy. Sea was considered unsafe so everything went by rail. The fleets fighting in the Pacific and the Coral Sea sheltered in Cleveland Bay while they were awaiting engagement with the Japanese Fleet.

In the words of our guide, they walloped the Japanese Fleet in the Battle of the Coral Sea.
2011.09.16 at 11h03m38s Magnetic Island
2011.09.16 at 14h13m24s Magnetic IslandWe spent a day on Magnetic Island. Magnetic Island is so named because Captain Cook thought it interfered with his compasses. However extensive research failed to prove this.
It is funny though how one slows down and moves immediately onto Island time so maybe that is what happened to Cook. We did an interesting tour to see around the Island which is at present a quiet and pleasant holiday back water with appealing Restaurants. Magnetic Island was a defensive location during WW2 as it overlooked Cleveland Bay.

2011.09.16 at 18h00m54s Magnetic IslandThere are gun emplacements now minus the guns, built to protect the American Fleet.

These are the first forts not protecting us against the Russians. Later as the War moved North the 'Resort' such as it was, was commandeered by the Americans for Rest and Recreation. The Americans were responsible for the roads which replaced the footpaths and travel by boat.

The ferry trip to and fro is an enjoyable journey with the evening trip right on sunset.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

South Mission Beach–9 to 13 September 2011

2011.09.09 at 10h39m20s Mourilyan Sugar Museum2011.09.09 at 11h46m54s Mourilyan Sugar MuseumStill going South we visited the Sugar Museum at Mourilyan.

Sugar is extracted by crushing Sugar Cane, a form of grass. Sugar is made in the leaves and concentrated in the stem (or cane) part of the grass; it grows to about 2 meters high.

It is quite hard to cut and very heavy to load and most of the museum concentrated on the development of mechanical cutters and loaders.

It is the major crop from Mossman south to Grafton. They are harvesting and refining at the moment and the air smells like toffee cooking.

2011.09.13 at 09h45m54s South Mission Beach - 11-09 QueenslandWe then drove south to Mission Beach, one of the nicest beaches in Australia. We camped at South Mission Beach. We have enjoyed relaxing and reading and long walks on the Beach.

Mission Beach took a direct hit from Cyclone Yasi. The beach is still lovely and the houses seem to have mostly survived.
We stayed at the Beachcomber Coconut Park.

The cafe here makes very nice coffee. If one walks along the beach towards Wongaling for about 40 minutes there is a great cafe, Nana Thai, just the sort you hope to find, home grown herbs and veggies and very refined cooking right on the Beach. If one doesn't feel like walking it is a five minute drive.2011.09.12 at 18h19m42s South Mission Beach - 11-09 Queensland

Friday, September 9, 2011

Innisfail and Flying Fish Point–7 to 9 September 2011

2011.09.08 at 14h53m27s Innisfail - 11-09 Queensland2011.09.08 at 14h40m14s Innisfail - 11-09 QueenslandWe drove to Innisfail with its lovely Art Deco Buildings making for a  pleasant afternoons walk around town. It is very caravan friendly and one can park easily by the river and have a cup of coffee at the Coffee Club overlooking the River. If you are in transit it is easy to walk down to the town and get groceries. We found it very easy to while away an afternoon overlooking the North Johnstone River and sipping a cup of coffee while we read the paper.

We camped out of Innisfail at the Flying Fish Point Tourist Park. Owners and Managers often love their parks and take great pride in the amenity they offer. They are frequently nicer to use than some hotels we have stayed at.   Although originally an old fashioned council park, The Flying Fish Tourist Park is beautifully landscaped and had their sites set at an approximately 45 degree angle to the road, making it very easy to back in and giving everyone privacy as one does not look directly at the camp next door.

2011.09.09 at 09h32m00s Flying Fish PointThe amenities although old style concrete blockwork, had beautiful plants at the door and a very attractive paint job on the spacious interior.  They were spotlessly clean.
2011.09.08 at 11h20m25s MaMu Canopy Walkway

 

 

 

 

The area had recently been affected by Cyclone Yasi. Although they are still repairing the foreshore there is a very pleasant walk to Flying Fish point.

2011.09.08 at 10h25m51s MaMu Canopy Walkway

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did the MAMU Rainforest Canopy walk. This is in the Wooroonoonan national Park. The walk was erected where cyclone Larry had cleared the land already in 2006 so there was minimum disruption to the rainforest.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Cairns–29 August to 6 September 2011

2011.09.03 at 07h42m22s Bushtracker, Cairns - 11-08 Queensland, LandcruiserWe like Cairns as it has a lovely caravan park and nice Restaurants.

As the service town for Far North Queensland it has good tradesmen close together making it a good place to clean up after a long trip.

We had the car, the air conditioner and refrigerators serviced and had an extra diesel filter put in the fuel line.  John also fitted integrated “Clear View” towing mirrors.

We found a truck wash so John could do a first clean of the exterior of the caravan before giving it a thorough hand clean to get the red dust off. 

Tricia washed the curtains and spring cleaned the inside of the van.
2011.09.04 at 14h47m45s Port Douglas - 11-09 QueenslandWe spent a day driving the remaining portion of the Bloomfield Track from Cairns to Cape Tribulation. This section is bitumen and so quite an easy drive, although you can see its dirt road antecedents and it is very narrow. Still we saw a Winnebago towing a car come down so it is suitable for large vans.

Port Douglas is one of the Ports established during the Palmer Gold Rushes, now an attractive and sophisticated tourist destination.2011.09.04 at 12h36m46s Port Douglas - 11-09 Queensland

We visited their local market and had lunch before crossing the Daintree River on the ferry.

2011.09.04 at 15h38m34s Cape TribulationThe Daintree and its environs was settled by hippies during the sixties and seventies and is now very appealing with a mix of conservation, sustainable farming and eco lodges to stay in. There are a large number of places to camp. 

We completed the drive up to Cape Tribulation and so closed the loop.