Yeppoon

How much brighter the world seemed this morning.  And thank god, because I was pretty miserable guts before bed last night thinking we'd made the wrong decision. The caravan park was greener, more friendly and less scanky.  Even our position was pretty dam good, as I managed to get all the washing and cleaning done within full view of my three in the playground and on the jumping pillow. No yelling and no DVD in sight.  Ah I breathe a sigh of relief. So on to check out Yeppoon.  And like the caravan park, things were a whole lot more sparkly on the drive in to town.  How gorgeous is this place.  I think its the prettiest yet even if it is really spread out.  The islands are beautiful, popping up out of this gleaming blue water with Great Keppel beckoning in the background.  And the endless stretches of wide beaches is unbelievable.  Flat beaches with soft breaking waves, I'm guessing because of the islands and reef?  The road into town snakes along the waterfront and is a pretty impressive drive.  Its not very commercialised, and there's plenty of beach shacks on prime land waiting for development.  Or perhaps not.  Things move pretty slowly up here, and it is 8 hours from Brisbane, so maybe there's just not the demand nor the cash.  So the main street was pretty low key.  Long but nothing to speak of.  The strip along the waterfront has been developed nicely with bike path, walking tracks and playground. And there is a great Sailing Club at the end of the strip on the beach side with a deck that beckons you for a beer.  So we obliged and met other holiday makers, caravaners in fact on their way back to Melbourne.  Poor sods.  A bit more scootering and walking and it was time to get a few supplies and head home.  Back to the jumping pillow and playground.  I didn't see the kids for 2 hours with Rick supervising (more like socialising).  He's met everyone around us. Honestly he is in his element, waving at every caravan we pass, talking shop with anyone who'll listen (and there are plenty of those), comparing notes and constantly telling me of what we need to get in our "next" caravan.  Keep dreaming Rick. I think you need to shave that beard before you do anything else.  I looked at him today and saw a glimpse of Tom Hanks in Castaway.  It wasn't good.  Crumbed chicken for dinner with a stuffed baby pumpkin done in the oven.  A nice way to end the day.

Yeppoon

Not a great day today.  Rick decided to wash the caravan so thought I'd make sushi for the first time for car snacks for the kids.  They get so hungry travelling and I'm forever handing over fruit, biscuits, whatever I can get my hands on. I quickly realised that sushi was a bad idea when the kids had a sample and walked sticky rice all through the caravan. And so began the cleaning, and by the time we left it was 10.30 AM. Farewell lovely Lake Awoonga, we've enjoyed the tranquility of this fishing haven. On to Rockhampton, which seemed to take forever. Lots of road works and traffic. There were caravans everywhere and I'm sure that's not just because of the school holidays.  The kids were restless in the car and Zachie kept bucking like a bull wanting to get out of his seat.  So we were happy to see the big bull on the outskirts of town.  Beef country with a definite cowboy feel.  We stopped briefly on the side of the road for a pit stop and were hit by the heat (and the sign above).  Was it a hot day or sign of things to come.  On went the air conditioner, in July which felt very odd.  Given we were already late, we decided to bypass the town centre en route to Yeppoon which I thought was just down the road.  It turned out to be 50km and so began the disappointment.  Hunger set in followed quickly by the whinging. The DVD's were exhausted so there was no distraction.  The sushi beckoned and the kids wanted lunch. I was so keen to see more of Rockie and felt flat that we were driving away.  We had a booking at a park just south of Yeppoon but Sandy Dunn, Leigh Comerfords husband had offered us his family's beach house just up the road at Emu Park.  They had planned to join us for the weekend, but it was just too far for poor Lee-bee in a weekend from Sydney.  Sandy was mortified when we said we were staying at the Cool Waters Holiday park and insisted we stay.  So we went for a look to check things out, as the caravan park didn't look that great from the "scenic highway".  We got lost of course, and there was more complaining from the back. We put out an SOS but Leigh was in a meeting.  We took a wrong turn and ended up in a dead end with no way of turning around, so Rick had to back the caravan 500m down the road with me directing.  So we fired up the computer and found it on google maps. Finally we arrived and it was magic.  Think Katey Thomas's parents beach house out on a point (Rocky Point) all on its own.  The land is special and the view is unbelievable, but there's not a lot of yard and there's a steep cliff all around the perimeter.  Great for adults, not so for little kids. The neighbour spotted us and drove over with the keys, so we went in and it was dreamy. I could have stayed forever.  This is the house you drool over in those "best beach houses of the world" books. The kids pleaded with us to stay, but sense prevailed and we opted for the caravan park as we knew it would prove too hard to keep them contained and there'd be much yelling and TV watching to keep us sane.  Not worth it, so on to the Cool Waters Caravan Park, which was a great disappointment of course.  Packed like sardines, ferrals everywhere, I was not happy.  They had to put us on an "overflow" site, which is basically on the grass wherever we could fit.  So we're right near the playground and dodgy looking cabins.  Not happy Jan.  A crappy day and all I could do was dream of that beautiful view and comfy sofa somewhere in the distance.

Lake Awoonga

Cliché, but the best thing to come out of Gladstone is the Bruce Highway.  Boring.  What a nothing town.  It was 12 years ago when I passed through with the Ignite the Dream Tour, and not much has changed.  They’ve pumped considerable dosh into the marina and foreshore, but there’s nothing really there other than a pretty playground and boardwalk.  No shops, no cafes, no fish and chip take-away, no atmosphere.  The main street is odd. It snakes around and lacks that main street feel  that you generally get in a country town.  There’s not many pretty old buildings to appreciate and the housing scene appears pretty dismal.  No beautiful Queenslanders, or even modern houses.  Just lots of fibro commission homes.  Everything is overshadowed by the industrial feel of the town which is the reason it exists.  So some trivia for you, QAL (Queensland Alumina Limited) is one of the world’s largest alumina refineries producing around 10% of the western world’s alumina production.  The Port of Gladstone also moves over 30% of the state’s exports and 10% of the nations.  It’s the world’s fifth largest coal export port and third largest in Australia. Blah blah, the list goes on. So we headed up to the look out for a glimpse of the refinery.  Massive and pretty impressive.  Enough said.  Rick was disappointed that we couldn’t do the tour.  It’s such a shame we’re hindered by the kids.  On to Barney Point Beach, a place of interest according to the visitors information guide.  Again boring, but we did see a cargo ship crossing the bay. Riveting.  The kids managed a quick play on some groovy playground equipment that proved the highlight of the day. Back in the car for the obligatory drive through the main street.  Nothing worth stopping for so off to the Marina.  We saw the main bridge in town open on the way for a tug boat, pushing a barge carrying a crane. Max was in heaven.  The marina took all of 10 minutes to walk around and it was back to play in another park.  And that was it. Sushi for lunch that was pretty average at the only shopping centre in town that was pretty rough. A few groceries and we were back at the caravan park.  And the kids were again in heaven as new friends arrived next door.  This time two little girls and madam was smiling.  Prawn pasta for dinner and it was time for bed.  Speaking of, Max fell out of bed last night landing right next to poor Zachie fast asleep with knees tucked up on the floor and his head on the mattress.  It seems to be a common thing with us scooping him back up into bed most nights.  Poor little mite.

Lake Awoonga

Seriously Max is there any chance you can make it to day break.  Honestly where do kids get their energy.  No sooner was he awake and he was mouthing the words "My belly's rumbling. Mummy can I have some breks-fest". Who can think of eating at this hour of the day.  Anyway before too long the rest had joined him and we were up and into the day at 6.30AM.  The neighbours kids were buzzing also, so the rest of the park awoke to seven kids scootering and bike riding down the hill.  It was a pretty low key morning actually.  I did more washing just for something different, and Rick attempted to teach Maxie and Scarlett to ride their bikes without their training wheels.  Maxie got the hang of it, but his confidence wasn't great, so Rick put his wheels back on and bent them upwards to limit his reliance on them. Scarlett kept panicking that Rick would let go of the bike and was just impossible to teach, so that was the end of that.  I used the morning to bake.  Not to be outdone by the scones back in Agnes Waters, I thought I'd throw my hand to baking a chocolate cake in the caravan oven, which might I say, turned out delicious despite improvising on the quantities, temperature and cooking time (the options are 1-6).  So early afternoon, we headed off to do some fishing in a river under a bridge back at Begara, a tiny town just up the road from Lake Awoonga. Maxie caught two fish within 15 minutes of casting his first line.  Pretty impressive given it was his first attempt at fishing and using his fancy rod that Uncle Joel gave him for Christmas 18 months ago.  By days end we'd caught 3 brim and 4 John Dory.  And when we went to leave, Scarlett said to Rick "Daddy can we take the fish home".  Rick said, "no, they're all too small." To which she said, "But what about the tandoori's."  Ah, would that be the John Dory's?  God bless. Too cute. The fishing experience was right up there for the kids, complete with muddy puddles and sludge to walk around in.  Rick was in his element and forever hopeful of that elusive Barramumdi.  I on the other hand was in pain.  It was torture and so reminded me of days past on the banks of the Murrumbidge River.  Even my amazing creation of chocolate cake, cream and raspberries for afternoon tea, was not enough to dull the trauma. Thank god for baby wipes, washing machines and soap.  I was so happy to come home.  Dinner was a delight.  We tried a pork roast for the first time in the Weber Q.  Ah what have I been missing in life.  Divine.  The crackling was amazing and the meat was so scrumptious.  Baked crunchy oven potatoes and pumpkin, beans and broccolini topped off with the most amazing gravy and we were all liking our fingers for more taste sensations.  We finished the night with another skype, this time from Nanna Sandra and Nonno Tony.  Its good to be connected. We miss the grandparents.

Lake Awoonga

Sionara Agnes Waters. We hope to meet again. The weather was stunning sadly this morning with not a breath of air. Lucky for those on the water today or walking along this divine stretch of the Queensland coast. Lets hope the next time we visit your shores, you're still untouched and relatively uncommercial. I highly recommend this place if anyone wants to chill out and enjoy a low key destination and the tree top bungalows would be just perfect. Romantic for those without kids or fantastic for those with rug rats, as you can watch the kids playing on the sand from the balcony. So on to Lake Awoonga, a body of water famous for Barramundi fishing. Rick tells me it’s one of the best inland fishing lakes in the world, but apparently the fish don’t like the cold so things are a little quiet at the moment. I gather he's not hopeful of landing a big one. Actually I don’t think he's ever even landed a little one, although he did land me and I'm quite a catch. Anyway we arrived around lunch, unpacked, set up and met the neighbours.  One big happy family.  The grandparents live on the Central Coast, the daughter and her husband in Broken Hill (she's the principal at one of the schools), the son and his wife live on the Sunshine Coast and apparently their other son is flying in to Gladstone tomorrow. They all have vans and meet at different destinations across the country. Pretty cool. Rick had his first taste of caravan envy as the son in law has a brand new version of our van with extra tanks on the front and various accessories.  Whatever. So we headed into Tannum Sands this afternoon for some groceries and a look around.  The beach and esplanade were really magic.  The council have poured heaps of money into building bike tracks, board walks, playgrounds, lovely marine sculptures and fabulous BBQ areas.  There were gorgeous open fires in each shelter overlooking the water.  I have to say it was very impressive.  We stumbled upon the beach markets that had food stalls, jazz music and interesting little wares.  It was lovely and went on into the night. Had we been a little more organised we could have settled in for dinner.  We did get a wood fire pizza for a snack but the topping was average.  We headed off around 4PM, stopped in for some groceries at Coles and made our way back to Lake Awoonga.  The kids were knackered.  All the playing has caught up with them and they need a nothing day.  Dinner was Lamb Korma, made from the spices we got back in Hervey Bay.  It was average and I’m kicking myself for buying three jars of the stuff.  A skype with mum and dad and the day was done.  Halleluiah.

Agnes Waters & Town of 1770

Up early for a toilet run with the kids again this morning.  I think its time we start using the one in the caravan.  Thankfully they've eased up on toilet trips in the middle of the night since we've been here, but 6AM, sometimes earlier is still too early.  Again they were straight into playing and seeking out their mates.  Lovely, and its been really great for the kids to just stop and make some friends.  I guess they miss that given they were so used to seeing little people every week at preschool. Bella and Angelina were around a lot this morning and we've made friends with their mum and dad.  Their dad's a retired truckie, a gorgeous man, salt of the earth but very kind and a caravaner from way back with lots of advice for us newcomers.  Robin the mum made scones in her Weber today as did our neighbours from Port Augusta.  Perhaps I might get busy baking at Lake Awoonga our next stop as I don't think there's anything to do there other than fishing.  Needless to say, Rick is very excited.  He is already plotting a Barramundi charter.  I treated myself to a fabulous massage at lunch, probably the best I've ever had.  It was at the back of this gorgeous beauty and soul shop with lots of fab clothes and candles.  So I went back in the afternoon and stocked up on a few supplies.  We took off to 1770 for a walk and play.  The view was breathtaking as the wind had stopped and the sun was shinning.  It would be hard to beat on a beautiful day, its very pretty with lots of sand banks perfect for walking out into the water and exploring. We finished the day with a trip over the sand dunes in the "Larc" a vessel that can go on both land and sea.  They were used in the Vietnam war and are massive. The kids had a ball.  We did circle work on the sand and then floored it into the water.  We saw some wild kangaroos and special birds, that weren't very special. We watched the sun set and made friends with a nice family from the Gold Coast who had two boys the same age as Scarlett and Max.  We ended up bumping into them at the tavern just after and settled in for dinner and the meat raffle together.  Sadly neither of us won.  They are staying at the lovely tree top bungalows here at the caravan park.  I think she might have been a professional surfer at some point in her youth.  A good night, but the wheels fell off our older two and it was well and truly time to call it a day.