5^th News letter.

Carmila Beach Monday 18^th May 2009.

 

 

What beautiful spots this coastline of Queensland has to offer.  We have been very fortunate in so far as the last two nights we have found what is referred to as Free Parks and both places although worlds apart so to speak, have been equally as interesting and very beautiful.  I am getting way ahead of myself so will go back to where I left off with my last news letter.

 

 

We spent approximately 2 weeks staying at the Cotton Tree Caravan Park on the Sunshine Coast, roughly from Wednesday 29^th through to Thursday the 14^th.  The reason for such a long stay was because of a dental problem that had been developing for some weeks.  I would love to say that all is well now, tooth wise, however life is never that simple.  Living with the same view day after day is not my idea of traveling so we were both very pleased to say goodbye to the Sunshine Coast and be back on the road again. We did however, organize a few things that were pending such as another storage facility and took the opportunity to catch up with friends again.  It was also an opportunity to sort through what we had on board and to leave some things behind and heaven forbid pick up some others that we MUST have.  All in all we rationalized that the weight was about the same, however we freely admit to being a tad stubborn when it comes to weight.  Our tent, which we haven’t used for several years, got to have an airing as we ask ourselves “do we really need a tent that size to go to Cape York”, however as a great many of our decisions are based on money, we decided to take it with us rather than buying a new smaller one.

 

Our first night on the road was Thursday 14^th and despite the fact that we are over Caravan Parks we found ourselves ensconced in yet another one at Manduran Dam,  North West of Gin Gin.  It had come recommended by a friend, however apart from a beautiful night sky full of stars, the only other attraction was fishing which seems like a great waste of time.  The next morning we walked along the dam wall and the reality of the drought was very evident. 

 

Determined to start our Free Camping, out came our CAMPS AUSTRALIA WIDE book and I started to chart a course for Calliope where there is a rest area beside a river.  All sounds quite lovely you may say except every GREY NOMAD and their assorted dogs were also there enjoying what was soon to become a crowded affair.  We spotted a toilet block on our walk so I decided to poke my noise into it, however I  quickly withdraw in shock at the condition of the facility.  It’s amazing that some councils expect people to use places in such appalling condition.  My new book may be called ‘The Loos Around Australia’.  Another interesting part of FREE CAMPING as we were soon to find out, is the need that some older gentlemen ( vulgarly known as deaf OLD FARTS) have to use LOUD, NOISY GENERATORS.  My particular favorite is sitting out side enjoying nature at its best, to find your neighbor (who is too close to you anyway), starts up his GENNY to go inside his van and watch television, probably with the AIR CON on. 

 

Saturday 16^th we drove to Gladstone and I was struck by what a prosperous city it is.  It has extremely beautiful water ways and beaches that unfortunately are over shadowed by the high profile Industry that dominates almost everywhere you look. Aluminum production and the electric power generation station dominates the landscape, which unfortunately make it a catch 22 situation.  I was reminded by Ken that this was the town that our older son some 23 years ago, discovered and consequently become obsessed with THE WOMENS WEEKLY BIRTHDAY CAKE BOOK, which did not leave his hands for many days and was treasured for many years before outgrowing.  May I say many a birthday cake was copied from that book.  We headed North to Rockhampton and then on to Emu Park where we were treated to beautiful seascapes that almost take your breath away.  We found a lovely caravan park called Capricorn Palms on Mulambin Beach and for the first time I felt we were in the tropics mainly because of the change in vegetation.

 

Sunday 17th we drove into Yeppoon and were immediately struck by the amount of construction taking place.  It appears to be an up and coming town with some very attractive apartment buildings under construction which have potentially got glorious views.  Heading back to the highway Ken spotted a sign advertising THE CAVES, so of course off we go to see THE CAVES.  Fortunately for me I found out earlier that they contain BATS so announced that Wendall and I would enjoy a quite hour or so sitting in the car minding our own affair without the BATS.  Sadly they will only take a minimum of two people at a time through the caves and as there was only one who was interested Ken missed out yet again. Our camp that night was at St Lawrence at a recreational reserve.  I not sure what we expected by the term reserve and were surprised to see a rodeo just winding down.  Once again it was standing room only with the GREY NOMADS fighting for positions with their many and assorted forms of travel.   Ken being the more adventurous one of us decided we would go as far away from the crowd as possible which turned out to be a very good decision.  We met another couple Sherry and Ray and invited them over for a drink and much to our delight were able to share perhaps the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.  The most gorgeous pinks and reds mixed with blue and grey painted their pictures in the sky just for our enjoyment.  Drinks ended up being dinner with each bringing what we had to the table, resulting in a great night. 

 

Wanting to spend a little more time with our new friends, the next day we all headed up the Bruce Highway to our new camp at Carmila Beach.   We are in a wonderful position with our chairs down on the beach watching the tide come in on an almost deserted beachfront.  The down side of course is the midgies, you need plenty of insect repellent to cope with them.  This has proven to be such a glorious spot that we have decided to stay another day and fight the midgies anyway. 

 

Tuesday 19^th. Geordie flue to Japan for a two-week holiday, I hope he has fun.  It’s raining today, however it has not stopped us from a walk on the beach and a chance to meet up with another couple that we met at St Lawrence.  Perhaps we are all following one another meandering around this huge country, who knows. Tomorrow we are moving on, heading north to see where it will take us.

 

 

Hope this finds you all happy and well.  Would love to hear from you all when you have the time.

 

Love  Elizabeth.