Qld - Noosa

We stayed at Tewantin which is a five minute drive from the main tourist strip at Hastings St in Noosa. Last time we were here, about 18 months ago, the beach at Noosa had been totally washed away by storms but it is now beautiful again. Amazing! It must have taken thousands of tons of sand to build it back up.
We had a delightful trip on the Noosa ferry cruise which takes you on a round trip from Tewantin boat Harbour to Noosa. The captain is very informative and gives a running commentary on the history of the area as well as a view of some of the beautiful homes and units on the waterways.
Staying at Tewantin was very relaxing and out of the hustle and bustle of Noosa. I guess because we have been on the road for so long now, we really enjoy the quieter places.
We stayed here for three days and then we parked our van in the driveway of friends in Mooloolaba for four days. We were hoping to take the kayak out on the waterways here but it stormed for the entire time which put an end to that idea.
Since being in Queensland the last three weeks, we have had rain, rain and more rain. So much for the slogan ‘ Beautiful one day, perfect the next!”

Qld - Hervey Bay

When you think of Hervey Bay, the first thing that comes to mind is whales, and we were not disappointed. We decided on a morning boat trip out on the bay, as the weather had been deteriorating in the afternoons.
We were picked up by the bus at 7:00a.m in the caravan park and the boat left the dock at 7:30. On the way to the northern tip of Fraser Isalnd we were served a hot breakfast and coffee which is my sort of trip. (Not having to think about cooking!) We had only been out for about ten minutes when we saw our first few whales. During the early part of October the majority of the whales are mothers with their babies. Most of the males and teenagers have already left for their long journey back to the southern oceans. We were entertained all morning by the young whales jumping in the air with Mum close by. The mums were spending a lot of time on their sides or backs slapping the water with one of their massive pectoral fins. There were also quiet times while the babies were feeding which was beautiful to watch.
The beaches on Fraser Island have very white sand which was a beautiful contrast to the deep turquoise blue water in the bay. They looked very inviting and we were watching many campers fishing and swimming as we hugged the shore line on our trip home.
Hervey Bay is a growing area with new resorts being built along the foreshore and noticed that many of the older homes have been torn down and grand new ones built.
The harbour area is worth a visit with restaurants, the fishing fleet, whale tour boats, rental boats and pleasure craft.

Qld - Bundaberg

This was our first trip to Bundaberg and we were very impressed with the beautiful old buildings especially in the main downtown area.
Sugar cane fields dominate the local landscape with most of this being used for the making of Bundaberg rum and ginger beer.
We went on a tour of the Bundaberg rum factory and at the end of the tour we were each given two sample drinks. I must say after Mike and I had our two drinks (It was 11:00 in the morning), I was ready for a nap.


The “Barrel”, another tourist stop, is the home of Bundaberg’s renowned ginger beer and several other flavours.







While in the area, we stayed at Bargara, which is on the coast, about a 10 minute drive from Bundaberg. We fell in love with this delightful beachside town where we found great coffee shops, beaches, a golf course and walking tracks along the coast line. Mon Repos, a Turtle Rookery, is about 5 klms from Bargara. The nesting season is from November to early March. We were a little early to see any turtles, but during the season you can purchase tickets to watch them laying which I think would be fantastic.

Qld - Gladstone

Gladstone, a city of 33,000 people has managed to balance a huge amount of industry with beautiful waterways and has one of the highest boat ownerships in Australia. This area lays claim to being the gateway to the Southern Great Barrier Reef with Lady Musgrove , Heron and Wilson Islands only a couple of hours boat trip from shore.

Gladstone is the world’s fifth largest coal exporting port and has the world’s largest Alumina refinery. While in Weipa, on the west coast of Cape York, last year, we watched ships being loaded with bauxite and it was fascinating to see where the journey ends here at the refinery. The final step is the making of aluminium at Boyne Smelters, near Gladstone, which is Australia’s largest smelter.

We stayed at Tannum Sands, a quiet town 20 klms south of Gladstone on the coast. Each morning we would take advantage of the fantastic trails, Mike on his bike and I would walk. Turtleway Bikeway, a 18klm trail hugs the coast and the river, which has great picnic areas along the way. Queensland really knows how to make the most of these areas - here the barbeques, picnic tables, covered areas, play grounds for the kids and toilets facilities are second to none and encourage the outdoor lifestyle.

We loved our stay here but we were glad to say goodbye to the sand flies which made sitting outside at our caravan park impossible.

Qld - Airlie Beach

Well, here we are back on the east coast at Airlie Beach after traveling the longest distance we have covered over a few days on our entire trip. In the past eight days from Darwin to Mackay, we have travelled 2,350 kilometres with a fuel bill of $847.00, our most expensive week of fuel so far.
We stayed at Sapphire for two days on the way and spent the time fossicking for gems and found a few sapphires and zircons, only small ones but it is a lot of fun.

Our weather for the past few months has been sunny with barely a cloud in the sky. We spent two days enjoying the stunning Airlie Beach area and visiting with my cousin Jeff and his family. Then the weather changed. We had 300cm of rain in a few hours, cutting the roads north and south from Airlie Beach. The caravan park roads became water ways with kids floating down them on their boogie boards. The washers and dryers were running overtime as people were trying to dry their soaked clothes and bedding. Some of the families in tents were flooded out and moved into cabins, others just went home. Water was lying in the fields and the sugar cane farmers that were in the middle of harvesting will now have to wait for them to dry out.
Day four after the storm and still no blue sky.

So much for the Queensland slogan - “beautiful one day, perfect the next!”

Qld - Longreach

The two major attractions in Longreach is the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame and the Qantas Founders museum. The Stockman’s Hall of Fame is a very modern building containing every thing related to the cattlemen and farmers in the area, past and present. They also have many “horsey” and cattle events on the grounds throughout the year.






Qantas (Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service) began in this area in the 1920’s as a way of tying the outback together. If you are entering Longreach from the south, you see the tail section of a jumbo jet at the Qantas museum, which is something that you certainly don’t expect to see at a small country airport. The many planes and memorabilia here makes you appreciate how Qantas has grown so much over the years.

The area had flooding rains this past summer and the fields were green and lush with healthy sheep and cattle everywhere. Years ago this area was sheep country but now beef is predominant.


We spent a couple of hours at the Longreach school of the air. Children on cattle stations and remote communities no longer have to use the two-way transceivers. It is now done over the phone with computer support. Most children now have access to satellite internet. We watched a typical “classroom” in progress with a teacher in the glass walled studio and were fascinated with the interaction between the teacher and students over the phone and on the computer.

Qld - Winton

Winton is a very typical western Queensland town with lots of pubs, beautiful old buildings, wide streets, the main one divided by a treed and grassed strip. The country side is very barren and I always wonder what the cattle eat. They all look very healthy so there is good “tucker” somewhere.

Winton is famous for being the town where Banjo Patterson’s “Waltzing Matilda” was written and first performed. In the main street is a “jolly swagman” statue and dinosaur footprint rubbish bins as Winton is part of the "dinosaur trail."

110 klm out of town at Lark Quarry is the world’s only record of a dinosaur stampede. Apparently a huge carnivorous dinosaur ran into a herd of smaller ones causing the panicked rush. In town there is a life-size diorama of these foot prints and many bones which was fascinating to view.