ON THE CAPRICORN COAST

Thursday 18^th October  We leave the Fraser Coast and drive further north.  Our destination is Yeppoon on the Capricorn Coast.  We drive for about 4-5 hours with a few stops and reach Calliope River a gorgeous spot where we’re free camping overnight.  It’s about 15 minutes off the main road.  We’re worried there might be no-one else around.  If that proved to be the case, we would drive a bit further up to another free stop.  When we drove into the area, our fears were needless as there were lots of caravans, motor homes, trailers and tents already set up.  I think many of them had been there for a while.  It’s a gorgeous spot right on the river.  We chose to stay on the lower level right on the river edge.  Many people were set up on the higher level on the other side of the river.  We went for a walk across the river – the bridge an unused partial roadway now. We chatted to lots of people and discovered many of them had been there previously, some many times.  It’s obviously very popular and you need to arrive fairly early to get your spot.  We had happy hour looking over the river and then settled in for the evening.  Unfortunately we had a dreadful storm once again.  We’re really getting into this free camping and there are so many beautiful areas to stop for free.  We will need a generator for longer stays and will probably get one early next year.  Most people we talk to have a generator and highly recommend them.

Friday 14^th October  We leave our beautiful river stay at 8am.  We have to evacuate a few stowaway frogs from the back of the car that we found when packing up.  We thought that was quite funny.  We arrive in Yeppoon at 11.30.  Heading out of the main town and up to our caravan park there’s a magnificent scenic drive with deep turquoise water that’s quite breathtaking.  We stay at The Causeway in Yeppoon.  It’s a fairly old park, very laid back, but it’s facing the causeway and beside the beach and has character.  There’s a boat ramp at the end of the park where you can hire out canoes, kayaks, fishing boats and paddle boats.  It’s a popular fishing area off the bridge with picnic/bbq areas for families, play equipment and tables and chairs.  It’s already busy when we get there.  There’s a kiosk at the entrance to the park with a big undercover eating area which is always busy for lunch and dinner.  We had fish and chips from there for tea that night.  It was hard to find a seat under cover with groups from the other caravan parks coming out for their Friday fish supper.  It has a very good reputation and is open from 6am to 7pm every day. The car parking area was chockers too.

Saturday 15^th October   Went for a drive to the surrounding areas.  We first went to Emu Park which is a popular tourist area by the beach.  The main feature there is “The Singing Ship” sitting on the hilltop.  It’s a monument built like a ship.  When the wind blows it blows through the monument and makes it sound like it’s actually singing.

Our next stop was Rosslyn Bay which is very beautiful and probably my favourite spot of this area.  It’s a dog friendly beach.  Unfortunately at this time of year there are lots of marine stingers about, so swimming in the ocean is not recommended.  We saw lots of them scattered on the beach, so kept Sally well away from the water.

The main town of Yeppoon is lovely with a beautiful esplanade stretching for miles from the Sailing Club on the corner right past Farnborough Beach.  It’s a new, modern esplanade with floodlight pathways for night time, shaded under cover areas to sit and play areas. The town is quite touristy but not overly done.  I really liked the feel of the place.  We stopped for lunch there a few times and for supplies.  We sat at the City Beach parkway that evening and had a beautiful Thai takeaway watching the ocean.  It was a beautiful mild night, quite magical.

The beach by The Causeway was full of blue/green alga that give off a really foul stench when the tide is out.  We renamed it Yeppong instead of Yeppoon.  Apparently it’s a seasonal thing, but isn’t very inviting.  It also leaves a trail that looks like a petrol spill and resembles crinkled newspaper when dry.  Not very pretty I must say!!

We’re surprised by how flat Queensland beaches are and most of them have deep yellow muddy sand/mudflats.  To be fair, I’m sure last year’s cyclones and floods haven’t done them any favours.  They certainly fall short of what we expected.  Many travellers we meet share our opinion.

We’re amused to find lots of little frogs beside the caravan and Sally spends ages chasing them (not actually getting them as we have her leash shortened).    They even come on the caravan step.

Monday 17^th October  Koorana Crocodile Farm  We decide to make the 45 minute trip out to Koorana Crocodile Farm, although we’re not sure what to expect.  We’re pleasantly surprised and our young host Adam (the son of the founder) is very informative and funny.  It’s a 1 ½ hour guided tour and we can’t possibly imagine what’s going to take so long.  We start off with a very interesting pre-tour video telling us the history of the farm and the family that started it over 30 years ago.  That goes for about 15 minutes then we go out to actually look in the ponds.  We learn some fascinating crocodile facts and see Rocky the biggest crock the farm currently has measuring 4.7 metres and weighing in at over 1 tonne.  Crocodiles can live to the age of 100.  The park has one that’s 103. They grow until they’re 39 years old.  We toured the ponds and watch them eating chicken bits.  Apparently they really don’t eat much as they can slow their heart rate down to 3 beats per minute and may not eat for 12 months.  We see another male who started out with 24 girlfriends in the same pond, but it was too strenuous for him (poor old fellow) and he now has only 4 females to nag him – imagine 24 nagging wives!  We learn lots about their habits and Adam really brings their characters to life for us, telling us where each one came from.  One was a donation from someone that had kept a pet from a baby in his bath, but when he got to 5, his wife insisted he get rid of it.

We learn that crocodiles can hide very well in water less than 3 feet deep.  Adam demonstrates that for us and even he can’t find the one he’s looking for.  He says beware of the crocodile you can’t see.  Never feel secure that the water is crocodile free just because it’s shallow.  I shall never paddle in a river again.  They sense movement by vibration.  Their heads are one fifth of their overall size.  Their ph levels are 1 (in other words pure acid).

We handle a 2 year old crock and are very surprised by just how soft its underbelly is.  We’re also surprised to learn their top skin is full of spiny bones and is like concrete to feel.  Crocodile skins currently sell for $25 per 1cm, which would explain the cost of the souvenirs in the gift shop.  We passed on eating crocodile burgers and kebabs in the café.  Adam tells us it tastes like a sweat pork meat.

All too soon the 1 ½ hours has passed and our tour is over.  We’re both so glad we took the time to drive to the farm.

Tuesday 18^th October  I was looking forward to a day trip to Great Keppel Island today, which has just been refurbished from the cyclone last year.  Unfortunately, we’ve had very strong winds and all boat tours are cancelled today.  This trip only goes each Tuesday, so I will miss out this time.

Wednesday 19^th  Still very windy today.  We’ve seen all we can in the area so decide to move further up the coast the next day.

Thursday 20^th October  We leave the Fraser Coast at 7.30 and our destination is Bowen on The Whitsundays.  We intend to drive for a few hours and free camp half way.  We decide to drive on to Bowen and arrive at The Tropical Beach Caravan Park at 4pm.  It’s been a long day and we’re glad to get set up and have a rest.  It’s a small very pretty, well maintained park right on the ocean front.  The owners are really friendly and helpful.  It’s lovely to hear the ocean so close.  We’re behind the cabins which gives us some protection and shelter.

Friday 21^st October   After chatting to our neighbours and just about everyone else in the park we take a drive around the local beauty spots to Horseshoe Bay, Grays Bay, Rose Bay and up onto the pinnacle called The Interpretive Centre (an aboriginal centre/café), offering  a spectacular 360 degree panoramic ocean vista that is stunning.  We drive down to the Harbour and buy some fresh seafood for dinner that night.  We drive to the famous site by the Harbour where some of the scenes from the movie “Australia” were shot.  It’s barren now save for the facade of the Police Station just about standing.  The town is called the town of murals and features amazing Australiana feature walls throughout the town.

We have happy hour with our neighbours Ros and Rob, originally from Derbyshire in England, now living in Ulladulla.  Lovely people and similar ages to us.  We learn Rob is an Aries and also a Rolling Stones fan.  We reminisce about England good and bad and pass a couple of very pleasant hours and promise to do it all over again the following evening.

Saturday 22^nd October  We went for a drive to Airlie Beach – 1  ½  hours south from Bowen.  It’s a real tourist trap for young backpackers and very dog unfriendly.  The main beach is smaller than I’d imagined.  We felt like we were in any resort in Spain full of bars, shops and cafes.  They were hosting a 4 day Reef Festival so the place was ultra packed and parking was difficult.  They also charge to park.  It was disappointing to find no lookout areas to stop and take photos of the magnificent drop overlooking the harbour coming up the hill and into the town with bright turquoise water.  We drove further along to Shute Harbour where the tour boats depart.  That was very pretty and we found a lovely spot by the water to have our morning cuppa.   We filled up with petrol and drove to a few other beauty spots, driving through Strathdickie (which made us chuckle to think there actually was a place by that name).   We were glad to see the area but wouldn’t be in a hurry to go back again.  We came back to a lovely happy hour with our neighbours Ros and Rob once again.

Tuesday 25^th October We went for a huge daytrip to Townsville – 3 hours north from Bowen.  We stopped off at Ayr and Alva Beach a very pretty but very quiet area.  We drove through Home Hill which has a free overnight stop area by the station which has been recommended to us for future use.  We saw The Big Brolga at a Tourist Information Centre on the way up and have to take a photo.

We have to call into Jayco at Townsville for some clips that have broken off the kitchen cupboards.  We instantly love the feel of the big town and how the old refurbished buildings retain their integrity amongst the new modern ones.  We comment on how spread out the town is and how wide the streets are.  The main beach is caged off and is being rebuilt from last year’s cyclone and floods.  We drove further along the coastline to the designated dogs off leash area and see signs saying “crocodiles spotted here recently”.  Needless to say we don’t let Sally anywhere near the water.  We had lunch in town and a huge dish of ice cream by the beach which melted very quickly as it was a sweltering 30 degree day.  We drove around by the Harbour where the tour boats go to Magnetic Island and up and down The Strand which is the main area of the town.  It’s 5.30 by the time we get back to Bowen but we’ve had a very enjoyable day.

Wednesday 26^th  October We took a visit to “Jocheims Pie Shop” the famous pie shop in town.  Apparently the friendly service by the owner and a history of  the shop to a then unknown Baz Lurhmann sealed the deal for him of where to shoot some of the famous  movie “Australia”.   They now boast an indoor seating area for 65 people full of historical photos.  The pies were delicious.

We also had to have a photo by The Big Mango at South Bowen Tourist Information Centre.

A lot of people staying at the park are working through the tomato season picking and sorting.  Many come here from year to year.

We’ve really enjoyed our stay at Bowen.  It’s been one of the friendliest places we’ve stayed at and we can understand why so many people come back time and time again.  There’s always a happy hour happening by the bbq area overlooking the ocean.  The owner an ex-Hungarian refugee called Ernie always has time for a yarn and to pass on helpful tips, whilst working very hard with his family to maintain the place.

Saturday 29^th October  Sadly we leave Bowen and turn around for the slow trip back to Sydney by Christmas.  We’re heading for Bundaberg to get some repairs done to the caravan and to get the air conditioning fixed which hasn’t worked  properly since we bought the van -  very inconvenient to say the least with the high temperatures we’ve had the past few weeks.  Not happy Jan!!!

There are lots of photos to go with this blog so I will post them separately.  Don't go away just yet.




   
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