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.
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