Day 215 - Monday 31 July - Around Bundy

Day 215

Monday

31 July 2017 –

Bargara – Bundaberg

Another glorious day to get out and enjoy though we were slow to get started, staying in bed until 8.15am before finally getting into the morning rituals. There were plenty of people around us moving on to their next destinations. We had breakfast, Paul had a shower and just after 9am we were ready to take off for the Bargara Golf Club.

After paying for 9 holes, we were directed to the back nine and began our round in the warm of the sun. Paul wasn’t playing as well as the last round which was obviously annoying him. It was however a good excuse to be outdoors and getting the steps up.

When we had finished the round and packed up, we stopped in at Woollies for a couple of bits and then made our way to the Bundaberg Regional Council office where they had a “Denizens of the Deep” wood carving exhibition. The carvings of an underwater world were created by Arthur H Clark out of Mango and Hoop Pine timbers and they were quite impressive.  

We then returned to the van for an hour. Paul rang the brewer of a small brewery at Baffle Creek to organise to come by tomorrow. We had our lunch and then headed into Bundaberg city. We did a wander down the main strip stopping at a couple of stores to buy a few things. Paul had hoped to pick up some Harley Davidson models we had seen advertised yesterday for $4, but they were sold by the time we got there. 

We returned to the car and drove to the Bundaberg Barrel where we decided to do the tour of the small museum based on the iconic Bundaberg Ginger Beer. It is normally $12.50pp to go through the centre but we were lucky enough to get in at 2 for 1, as one of the interactives wasn’t working. 

We read the posters, pressed the touch screens, completed the quizzes and watched the short DVDs, giving an insight to the family owned and run company that pumps our 1000 bottles a minute!

Once we completed the tour, we were able to taste test their range of soft drinks. We were familiar with three; ginger beer, lemon lime & bitters and sarsaparilla, but they actually have a range of sixteen and they were all quite good. They actually reminded me of a line up of Vodka Cruisers and I figured they would make good mixers. We picked up a carton of six varieties for $28 which should mean I have plenty to keep me going though I will probably need to top up the vodka. 

On our way home we stopped by the old brick water tower that was constructed in 1902. We heard from Claire that when the Burnett River flooded it did so to the level of the third story window.

 

Once back at home we made ourselves comfy, happy to be lazy for a while. I read that a small tornado had ripped through Warwick and hoped that our home has weathered the storm.

We organised dinner and ate, before heading out for a walk through the suburb. It is noticeably cool at night now and I need a jacket when out from late afternoon, however the days are warm as toast.

When we returned, Paul happily read, while I finished up the blog, it was then time to turn out the lights.

Heard a tornado went through our home suburb and the nearby surrounds, was glad to hear that the storm missed our home, though there was plenty of destruction around the place.

Day 214 - Sunday 30 July - Beers in Bundaberg

Day 214

Sunday

30 July 2017 –

Bargara – Bundaberg

After a good night’s sleep, I woke just after 7am feeling fresh but I was content to stay in bed and read until just after 8am, when we both got up and into the day. We had breakfast and then put through another load of washing, before I went for a shower. Once I was back and the washing was put out, we were ready to get into the day.

We drove in to Bundaberg, being Sunday there wasn’t a lot of traffic and it wasn’t particularly busy. We did a drive past the Farmboy Brewery, but there wasn’t much going on. When then navigated to Bargara Brewing which looked far more promising.

Once we knew where they were, Paul’s next priority was a BWS for a cheap carton of Hop Thief. As we drove along a rather large huntsmen scurried along the windscreen, settling next to my side mirror. It then decided it would be better to be on my window. Paul thought it would be funny to go to open my window and received a thump for his troubles. When we stopped, I crawled out his door, while he went to find the spider, but she had jumped ship at some stage, or at least I hope she has.

The first spot didn’t have what he wanted, but they directed us to a large shopping centre that could help out. It was fortuitous for Paul, as we past another brewery on the way.

We stopped for the carton first and then returned to Kalki Moon Distillery and Brewery. The distiller, Rick was happy to chat up his newly opened establishment. He had been a distiller at Bundaberg Rum and this was obviously his passion. There were no beers to try as they cant offer tastings without also offering food, they could however offer their liqueur and gin for tasting, so we started the day with these instead. 

We returned to Bargara Brewing Company, which was now open and Paul set to work with an initial tasting paddle of four beers. The owner/brewer, Andrew sat with us briefly to discuss what he is creating and offering Paul some oak chips for home brewing that could be collected on Wednesday. 

Paul finished the first paddle and moved onto the next selection, not having to pay this time, so that made him feel better. Claire and Olivia joined us with her Father in Law, Brian, after arriving in his new mustang that was very nice. 

 We sat chatting, before ordering our lunch and more drinks. It was a lovely afternoon with good food and company and before we knew it, it was 3pm and we were ready to say our goodbyes.

Paua and I wandered the main strip of town, checking out the shop fronts before making our way back to the van. 

Paul was accosted by nomads enjoying happy hour when they saw his “Beerologist” shirt. We unpacked the car, collected the washing and changed in to walking gear, ready to walk off lunch and our lazy morning. 

We followed the footpath towards central Bargara, passing Archies Beach and Kellys Beach, before crossing the water causeway and making it to the golf club. Paul checked in at the clubhouse to see if he needed to book a round for tomorrow, he didn’t and then we finished up at Christen Park, where they have great metal sun lounges along the esplanade. 

We made our return run towards home, happy that we were making up the necessary steps for the day. The sun was setting and the mozzies were beginning to swarm, so it was time to get indoors.

 We made it back just before 6pm and it was time to get in to dinner. Paul had his brewery review homework to do, while I threw together savoury omelettes.

After dinner, I went through the photos and loaded what I could. It wasn’t long before we were both ready to head to bed. 

Day 213 - Saturday 29 July - Back to the coast in Bargara

Day 213

Saturday

29 July 2017 –

Boynedale Bush Camp – Bargara

Paul was out of bed at 6.15am, to pull the yabbi pots and as he went to leave he let me know the lake was shrouded in fog, so I was up too. Camera and tripod in tow, I wandered down to the lake edge to watch the fog swirl across the water. It was worth getting up to enjoy the view and watch the sun rise over the lake and hills behind, but I was bloody freezing and by the time I got back to the van my hands were frozen. 

I had intended to go back to bed, seeing it was only 7am, but Paul, back with no yabbies, was up and he was ready to start making a move, so I reluctantly made the bed and had breakfast as I went through the photos from the morning.

Just after 7.30am we were ready to move on, pulling out of the campground well before most were up. The GPS was set to our Bargara destination giving us an arrival time of 10.30am. We made our way along the Bruce Highway, which was pleasantly quiet, probably something to do with the time of day. We then turned off, to follow a more coastal route, though you could not see the water.

We passed the sign, left to 1770 or right to Bundaberg and made the right. Before organising to catch up with Claire, we were going to head to 1770, but we will leave it for this time. 

We have moved well away from the tropical rainforest setting, with the landscape returning to gum tree woodlands. There were also plenty of sugar cane farms and market gardens as we approached Bundaberg and the glimpse of rich looking soil showed why things grow so well.

We skirted around Bundaberg city and made our way to the coast, finally arriving at Absolute Oceanfront Tourist Park in Bargara for 10.20am. I checked in, as Paul wrestled with the car that had become stuck because of one of the tie down straps. Once the car was off, we had a tight fight getting the van into the site, eventually we had to unhitch the trailer and push it into space, then back the van in before bringing in the car, but we did it! Finally by 11am we were set up.

I set off for the laundry to throw in a load and Paul went for a shower. Once the laundry was done we pegged it out and checked out the view of the water, it seemed like a nice place to sit and enjoy a drink and Paul thought it might be a good fishing spot.

I went for a shower and then returned to make lunch. Paul had phoned Marty and Damon for a chat, catching up on the home front. I then rang Mum and Dad to do the same. Dad is off to Europe next Saturday and is busy organising last minute bits. 

 I then rang Claire and we organised to meet at a park by the beach.

We took off in the car, heading north and looking for the landmarks Claire had given me. We parked where we could find a space and then waited fro Claire and Livi to arrive. Paul was busily talking to Merida when they arrived, so Claire and I took the opportunity to catch up while Liv played on the playground equipment.

When Paul was ready, we walked around to a busy café with a large windmill on its roof and ordered some ice cream. We took the opportunity to sit in the winter sun on their deck and continue to chat as we scoffed our very large desserts.

When we were done, we walked back to the beach and Claire offered to show off her in-laws unit. It was only a short walk along the esplanade and then we walked into the ground floor apartment, said hi to Kay and stood out on the small balcony overlooking the beach. Lewis was now awake and happy to entertain us for a bit, though he wasn’t feeling the best. Claire and Kay had also been sick but were now on the mend. I kept my distance as best I could, not wanting to become infected.

We stayed for about half an hour, before heading on to the shop for a quick food stop and then we made our way back to the van. We booked in for a further 2 nights, which at first was going to be a struggle, the sign out the front said no vacancy now, but they eventually found a different spot for us to move on to for the extra days.

When we returned to the van I began loading all the photos on to the blog and Facebook. Paul began dinner and we ate soon after. Knowing we hadn’t walked much, we took off to check on the view at the back of the park, chatting to fellow travellers and exclaiming how busy the park was with vans crammed into every possible space. We then we extended the exercise to the main drag, where we walked the suburb before making our way back ready to enjoy the quiet time.

Day 212 - Friday 28 July - On to Boynedale Bush Camp

Day 212

Friday

28 July 2017 –

Rockhampton – Boynedale Bush Camp

We woke to a glorious morning and a campsite that was slowly coming to life after last night’s antics. Most of the campers were heading on and were busy readying their vehicles for the next leg of their travels, us included, though we were a little slow.

We waved each couple on as they slowly filtered out of the camp, said our goodbyes to Robyn, Peter and Kevin the dog and then we joined the procession. We opted to drive the van and car out separately and make it to the bitumen of Belmont Road before we loaded the car on the trailer.

We fuelled up the van on the way and then followed the GPS to our next free camp 163km away and about 50km on from Gladstone. The A1, Bruce Highway, was an absolute mess, even the bits that looked in reasonable condition were like driving on corrugations and then you had the potholes that had been fixed poorly. We think Queensland definitely gives SA a run for its money in the worst roads category.

There were plenty of road works happening as well, where the highway was down to one lane and Paul mused that they were busily putting in more potholes just to make the drive more interesting.

At 11.30am we made it to the township of Calliope and then it was only 30min to our final destination, Boynedale Bush Camp. Thankfully there was a large sign indicating where to head off the road and we followed the gravel track past the paddock of cows before seeing the many campers already set up. 

We entered the one-way loop and located patch to claim as our own and set ourselves up for the day. We then went for a recce, checking out the water of Lake Awoonga and the dead trees protruding from the water.  Despite the number of people, it did appear quite a peaceful place. 

On returning, I made up lunch and we ate. I was still hungry after my liquid dinner. We watched a couple of videos from last night cringing at just how bad it was, well not my part anyway. It was a laugh, but I was told there would be trouble if I uploaded it. At this point he is safe, as the internet and phone coverage is patchy at best and unless I leave my phone in the right place on the table, I have nothing but emergency calls at best. I am still disgusted with how bad coverage is in Australia considering we are not far from Gladstone.  I contacted my cousin Claire, using speaker so I didn’t have to move my phone, to see how long she would be in Bargarra, a small town on the coast of Bundaberg and then set about ringing a caravan park in the area and booking ourselves in for the next three nights. 

With that sorted, we gathered up the fishing gear, chairs and books and took ourselves off to a spot Paul had spied earlier that he thought might bring him some luck. We set up on the steep bank, unable to find flat ground to set out the chairs, so we perched precariously instead. I read my book as Paul set up his rods and the yabbie nets. It was certainly a hard way to spend the afternoon. 

Paul had a few bites, reeling in a number of catfish that he then threw back. I tried to take a photo but came crashing out of my chair as it precarious nature tipped me out sideways as I went to turn around. We both had a good laugh at that one.

I went off for a walk to try and add some steps to the dismal count for today. I walked as far as the road along the lake would allow, not far and then back along the entrance road. All the while I was being watched by the cows, who began following along with me and then decided they wanted to get a little closer. I was a little freaked by it, so I returned to Paul and his fishing story of the one that got away. I always seem to miss the action. He did pull in a large catfish shortly after that he filleted. 

We persisted with the fishing for a little longer and then I packed up and returned to the van to organise a real dinner. As the sun set, it turned the sky pink and was quite a pretty backdrop against the lake. I took some photos before returning to the dinner.

Paul returned with nothing further, I finished dinner and we ate. I then had time to go through the photos from the past few days and sort them ready for loading. Paul opted to head to bed and read and it wasn’t long before I also joined him.