Day 108: Townsville to Cape Hillsborough (Yuwi country)
It took us a while to get moving this morning. We seemed to lack a bit of energy and I guess we were not really looking forward to a fairly long drive down the Bruce Highway.
Our packup was actually pretty good considering that we had taken everything off the truck for the service yesterday. We had the kayaks to put up and the camper to put back on the tray. Pete's skills in backing up precisely are pretty amazing and we were up and going before we knew it - once we had started!
We needed to break up four and a half hours driving somehow, so we decided to stop at Ayr for morning tea and to go to the Ayr Nature Display, one man's collection of butterflies, bugs, rocks and so much more, advertised as a museum of zoology - right up my alley, or not...
Allan Ey, the collector, was originally interested in ornithology and wrote for nature magazines. At some stage in his early married life he moved to Ayr in Queensland and spent lots of time birdwatching and collecting eggs (some 13,000!!!!). His egg collection is now housed in CSIRO, Canberra, and is used for scientific purposes. However, he started collecting insects, shells amongst other things. In 1966 he decided to display them for the public. His displays are artistically rather than scientifically done although he obviously knew how to mount and display things for long term keeping. What troubles me is the number of creatures he collected. In one exhibit alone, there are more than 10,000 specimens of the same beetle type. I am including a number of photos here to indicate the type of excess that I am talking about.
According to his daughter, who has run the museum since her father's death, he built all the cabinetry and put together all the displays himself. Rather impressive is the butterfly coated ceiling - each butterfly cut from a sliver of rock and then varnished.
While there is information about some of the species displayed, the artistry of the display seems more important. Considering that most of the specimens (except for the shells perhaps) would have been alive when collected, that artistry seems incredibly selfish.
Anyway, onwards we travelled towards and past Bowen where we had lunch before hitting the road again. At a place called Bloomsbury, just south of Proserpine we had even more time added to our journey when we, along with many others, were halted because of an out-of-control grass fire near the highway. Fortunately we were stopped just outside a service station, so we made use of the toilets and restaurant, then boiled the billy while we waited the 45-minutes it took for the firies to do their thing.
On the road again to Cape Hillsborough. We were here last about 36 years ago when we travelled north with my good friend Diana, her then boyfriend and a Japanese friend of mine who was out visiting Australia. Pete and I always thought this would be a good place to come back to - finally we've made it. We arrived just in time to set up then wander out to the beach for the day's dying colours.
36 years ago, the campground was a basic grass area behind the beach. Now, we are in caravan central, a full caravan park with kids and people here for a beach yacht carnival!
Day 109: Cape Hillsborough (Yuwi country)
Cape Hillsborough is known for the morning visits of kangaroos to the beach but this attraction wasn't attractive enough to get us out of bed early this morning. Tomorrow morning ...
Instead, after a bit of a slow start we did some of the walks on offer in the National Park. Although it is only 818 hectares, Cape Hillsborough NP is important because it protects some of the last true littoral rainforest in central Queensland. Two of the walks wind their ways around this rainforest, one to the north and one to the south of the camping area. There is hoop pine near the beaches and incredible volcanic rock formations. The southern track, Andrews Point Track, has a number of good viewing platforms where you can see across to the mountains west of Mackay, the islands off the mainland, and the 'Blo-kart' carnival on the beach!
Some of the 'Blo-karts' up close
There are a number of caves the Andrews Point Track but no sign of the microbats that are said to inhabit this area.
We also managed to time our walks to enable us to walk out, avoiding oysters as we went, to Wedge Island. Here we managed to watch a Striated Heron fishing. I have only ever seen this heron huddled down. When 'fishing', it first stretched its neck right up then suddenly dived in the water, caught its tiny fish, then finished swallowing it before huddling down again.
I later went for another of the walks around here, one that introduced some of the plants used by the local Yuiberi clan. This also passed an aboriginal fish trap.
In the late afternoon we were joined by our friends Peter, Michelle and Scott (Peter and Scott were part of the Hinchinbrook team). We had a very enjoyable natter over befores, dinner and supper.
Day 110: Cape Hillsborough to Clairview (Koinmeburra country)
We did get up before 6am this morning to see the kangaroos and wallabies (Eastern Grey Kangaroos and Agile Wallabies) on the beach. While seeing wild kangaroos on the beach is always special, seeing the crowds of people watching was even better.
What I hadn't realised until I asked the chap involved, was that Mackay Tourism pays for him to give a little kangaroo food to the kangaroos every morning. The excuse for doing this is it enables him to keep the tourists away from the animals. Apparently where 10 years ago they might have had 15 people on the beach, these days they can get up to 200! When you see a mother just push her young child in a stroller up beside one of the kangaroos as Pete did, you can see that perhaps there is justification for this. Apparently, the kangaroos have always come to the beach to feed on mangrove seeds. These must have something in them that supplements their diet. However, mangroves aren't always seeding and there are no mangroves left on this beach, if there ever were any. Really, it is just a tourism gimmick and I'm not sure how healthy it is for the kangaroos. Whatever the case, at least getting up early meant that everyone enjoyed sunrise.
Unfortunately, our camper was under a tree that bats and three scrub turkeys enjoyed last night and the canvas was a mess this morning. We were lucky however, that there was a brick wall in the vacated campsite next to our's that Pete was able to use to clamber up on the camper to clean it. It seemed to scrub off okay - lucky we were able to do it sooner rather than later.
After packing up we drove up to a mangrove boardwalk we had seen on our way in. So many different types of mangroves! Tall and upright ones, ones with hooped aerial roots, yellow flowering ones and purple flowering ones.
There was even a huge shell midden. Unfortunately, a photo can't show the scale of it (it was behind a fence) but the rock above the midden would have been at least 3 metres in height.
Our final destination for today was a place called Clairview, on the coast about 2 hours drive south of Mackay. The camping is beachfront.
The beach is fun to explore when the tide is low. You can walk out for about 500 metres at low tide.
One thing I've never noticed before is the number of barnacles on the mangrove tree trunks. On lots of the trees they were growing at least 5 feet (160cm) up the trunk. I guess they may well be on mangroves near home ... I will have to look more closely.
There are heaps of oysters growing on rocks on the beach so you need to walk carefully and with shoes on!
There are also lots of mangrove trees. Some, such as this beauty, are truly photogenic.
There were a number of birds singing in the trees, but few that I could see. I did manage to find the hiding place of one of my favourites, the Australasian Figbird.
Back at camp it is also always fun to watch other campers and to see their setups. This one was a first for us (photo is taken from inside the camper).
Day 111: Clairview to Seventeen Seventy (or the Town of 1770) (Gooragan country)
Awoke to sunrise from inside the camper this morning. Beautiful but chilly.
Another long drive today - almost 450 km. We have never been to Seventeen Seventy before so decided that this would be a good place to look around. We are staying in a caravan park in town rather than either of the nearby national parks because of our limited time.
I took to sign-watching along the trip. Some interesting ones that I wish I could have taken photos of but quick travel doesn't allow that. Two motels in Rockhampton were interesting. "We really enjoyed your stay. Come again soon." I want to know what motel 'really enjoys' the stays of their visitors. Another said, "We treat you like royalty." I was dying to go in and ask how they would treat me any differently to any other motel in town and what 'treating me like royalty' would entail. Calling me 'your highness'? Along the road I also noticed a sign asking, "Keen to Kill?" and a phone number. What could that be about?
We arrived at our destination latish mid-afternoon, surprised at how developed the towns of Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy are. I probably shouldn't be, but stories I'd heard in the past always seemed to depict the places as low-key, beach holiday places. Well, beach holiday places yes, but like so many all over the east coast they are changing. Money is moving in.
Nevertheless, the setting is beautiful. An estuary on one side, the ocean on the other. It is a kilometre walk down a track from our caravan park to the ocean beach. Today was the first sighting of a beach that looks somewhere like home. We are back on the east coast and away from the reef.
When we came back from this walk we decided to go drive down to the estuary side of the town and watch sunset and the people watching sunset. Boats were coming in to the boat ramp and people generally enjoying themselves.
Sunset was lovely, but gone are the long, drawn-out sunsets of the north and west.
Day 112: Seventeen Seventy (or the Town of 1770) (Gooragan country)
Another day off before the final two days' onslaught to home. We had hoped to take the kayaks out on the estuary today, but very strong winds overnight persisted into the day putting a kybosh on that idea. The wind was cold and strong. Brrr.
Instead we decided to do a walk from Captain Cook's monument to the 1770 Lookout. Again our plans were dashed as they are doing work repairing the walk between the two places. So, we just did the lookout walk, nice and short but with some great views.
Captain Cook's monument marks the spot where he first landed after Botany Bay - his second landing on the soil of what we now call Australia.
After completing our cold walk we drove around the townships of 1770 and Agnes Water, and got out to explore a beach and Reedy Creek boardwalk - a private conservation area. I was amused to see this sign. I thought - insurance gone too far.
However, I was wrong. Pete was hoping I'd miss my footing on the stepping stones. All my bushwalking skills were required.
The actual melaleuca and palm forest being protected is beautiful. There are also climbing maidenhair ferns that you can see in the first photo below. They climb up the melaleucas for about 3-4 metres.
We had a quiet afternoon during which I went on a short mooch around the track to the beach to see what I could see. As always, I found a few things.
Once again we went down to the estuary for sunset, this time for dinner and a drink at a bar. While the view was a little less clear because of moored boats, the evening was lovely. Yummy pizza at Katrina's Bar.
Day 113: Seventeen Seventy to Burpengary (Gubbi Gubbi country)
A long day's drive today. We stopped for a welcome morning tea break at the Bundaberg Botanic Gardens. It's funny when and how you learn things. The Gardens looked inviting so after finishing our coffee we decided to walk around for a bit. I learned three things - at least - in our short walk.
Fact 1: Eastern Water Dragons have been around, as they are now, for about 20 million years!
Fact 2: A group of turtles is known as a bale.
Fact 3: Baby eels, or glass eels, born in salt water (usually in the Coral Sea for eastern Australian eels) only develop their colour when they adjust to fresh water. This is a Short-finned Eel.
Next stop was for lunch at a place called Tiaro, south of Maryborough. We had noticed on our map that there was a park called Memorial Park but it was full of RVs, obviously staying overnight there. We backtracked instead to a placed called Petrie Park, on the Mary River. A much nicer place for lunch. I was surprised though, to see this sign. There is a southward migration on!
After a brief but necessary stop at the Buderim Ginger Factory (we just can't resist some good old Buderim ginger), we have ended up at a pleasant enough 'farm-stay' at Burpengary, just north of Brisbane. Eggs Bennie for dinner.
Day 114: Burpengary to Wooli - home! (Yaegl country)
Grocery shopping and the nightmare of the drive from Burpengary to the NSW border is over. After brief stops at Fingal Head and New Italy for morning tea and lunch, we are home.
During this trip, the car and camper haven't played up at all and have done everything required of them.
Despite weighing close to our GVM of 4.5t when fully loaded (with full diesel and water tanks), we managed an average fuel consumption of just a tad over 16L/100km.
After having travelled 13808 km over 4 months, we are glad to be home albeit with slightly mixed feelings. Life on the road treated us pretty well. But then, we come back to this. Say no more.
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