Living in the marina

Mon 18^th – Thurs 28^th August 

 

For the first few days, we lived in the caravan in the carpark at Bribie Island Boat Charters but gratefully accepted the invitation from Brendan and Robin to move into the houseboat when our caravan leaked. Breakfasts on the rooftop deck gave us a great view of the birds diving into the water and coming up in a different place several seconds later. In fact, we were watching them so intently that we almost missed the dolphins. There were always pelicans about, often sunning themselves on the pontoons or just floating gracefully in the marina waterways. When they were on the walkways they watched every move we made with their button-like eyes and their heads that seem to turn right around. One day a large group of cormorants came in, obviously chasing small fish that they dived for. Right behind was a group of about ten pelicans chasing the cormorants to get the fish from them. In all I saw them come in like this three times.  Not far away was the boat ramp where there was fairly constant activity of launching and loading boats. There were kids paddling kayaks and even a canoe full of pink ladies, breast cancer survivors, who go paddling most mornings and finish up with exercises on the lawn.

 A friend brought in 3 large buckets of strawberries that Robyn turned into jam and distributed to friends. At night we played cards with lots of banter and enjoyment. It is never boring when you stay with Brendan and Robyn. They seem to have a constant stream of visitors and there is always room at their table for one more. We admire them for their generosity and friendliness to everyone. I’m sure they have the most used teapot in Australia.

Rain

Fri 22^nd  - Monday 25^th August

At 4am Mick was out of bed and heading to the airport for a trip to Sydney to pick up another ex-army land rover that Brendan had bid for online. Another major weather event was predicted and it was already raining when they left. In fact it rained steadily all day and that night. A bit before lunch time Robyn rushed up to the caravan and recruited me to go and man the office while she took a friend to Brisbane for a hospital appointment. Because of the weather there was nobody stupid enough to want to hire a boat, so I had a quiet day answering a few calls, chatting to a few of the marina residents and looking out at the rain. I shut the office at 5:30, went home and cooked some dinner for Robyn for when she got home after dark. A bit after 1:30am Mick and Brendan arrived home soaked to the skin. They had driven the landy back from Sydney in the rain. They said there was as much rain in the car as there was on the outside. The canvas roof peeled back on the driver’s side and the rain pelted in. Brendan stuffed his favourite t-shirt in the gap, but it blew away, lost forever.

The rain continued all through the next day and night too. The carpet in the van was sopping wet – a leak from who knows where. It was wet under my bed and between the beds. We tried to sop it up with towels, but to no avail. Eventually Robyn organised for us to put the van out on a block belonging to their friend, Red. There we were able to connect to power and use the blow heater to try to dry it out. Red also lent us a big tarp that was strung up over the van to stop any more rain getting in. Eventually Red’s father located the leak – a hairline crack in the plate the driver’s side back lights are attached to. When the outside of the van was dry enough Brendan spent a couple of hours going over it and sealing every join with some marine sealant that he uses. In the meantime Red lent us a wet and dry vacuum cleaner and we got more than a gallon of water out of the carpets – it would have taken months with the blow heater. We were so thankful for the help we were given so generously.

Maleny

Thurs 21^st August 

It was Robyn’s day off so she and I decided to drive up to Maleny and have a Devonshire tea at the Maleny Botanical Gardens. Apart from getting badly lost twice because we had no map or GPS, we managed to find it. Robyn had said that she knew the area well, had been there many times. We actually went miles out of our way. The gardens were beautiful – a true labour of love, and the Devonshire tea, taken in a pavilion looking out on the Glasshouse Mountains was delicious and plentiful. There were lots of different areas within the gardens, and a gardener told me that there is the same amount of land again still to be developed. Although there were plenty of visitors, there was plenty of room to roam. When we came out of the gardens we missed the exit and managed to almost do a lap of them in the car until we ran out of track and had to turn around and go back.

 

Next we headed off to Coloundra to meet up with our friend, Kerry, who was expecting us for morning or afternoon tea – whichever. After taking two and a half hours to drive what should have taken a bit over 30 minutes (because we went the wrong way again) we finally got there for a late afternoon tea. Kerry manages a resort and was in the middle of a running dispute with a lady who has a cat in her unit and continually lets it roam freely in the rainforest that is part of the resort. The ranger had come to talk to Kerry about the problem when the cat wandered out of the rainforest: so he captured it and took it to the pound. The owner was most unhappy with Kerry, who has repeatedly asked her to keep the cat restrained, to get the required permission from the body corporate and to get the cat registered – all to no avail. It has already killed one baby possum that Kerry knows about.

We walked around the resort and down to the beach that the resort borders. It was a broad sandy beach with a big grassed area as well. It looked like a delightful place to stay for a holiday – The Rainforest Resort – where the rainforest meets the sea. By the time we left, it was getting dark, and would you believe, we followed Kerry’s verbal directions out onto the highway without a hitch and were back at the marina before seven and had our dinner at the restaurant.

Bribie Island

Mon 18^th Bribie Island

Our first day was mainly spent sitting on a barbecue boat drinking tea and coffee, eating cinnamon bun and talking to everyone who went past. It is always a very social occasion when you visit Brendan & Robyn. Actually it was Brendan’s day off and he was off helping Jim and Gayle who also live in the marina, to work on a boat they are restoring for someone else. They came home on a high because they had managed the impossible and Jim had promised to do cartwheels if they did. I think he squibbed though. We all had a very pleasant dinner on the houseboat and we enjoyed talking cruises with Jim and Gayle while Brendan and Robyn tried to get in some of the stories about their recent trip to Cape York.

 

 

On Tuesday we took Brendan’s 1987 ex-army Land Rover and Mazda Bravo 4WD along the beach because the fishermen were going to drag their nets for mullet and tailor. You can drive along the beach for miles on Bribie because it is a gazetted road. You only need a permit.  They said that the second day of a westerly is a good time for the fish to come in. As we drove along the beach, the tide was out and it took us ages to catch up with the fishermen who were in a gang with a number of cars and boats. We could see Coloundra quite clearly in the distance. They were having morning tea when we got there. It was amazing to watch them use their knowledge of the sea to find the fish. They drove slowly along scanning the sea for “dirty water” and when they thought they were near, a bloke stood on the roof of the car to see better. Then they put the net out from a jet boat which let it out into the water in a big arc and then came up on the sand. The end of the net was attached to the front of a ute which reversed along the beach to stretch it out. At the other end a man had a rope which he looped around the net and then attached it to the front of another car further back. It reversed up the beach to a bank of sand, dragging the net in. It was then unhooked from the car and the rope was looped further along the net and reattached to the car etc. This happened many times and the men worked quickly to get the net in a soon as possible. Even so there were fish leaping out of the water and over the net, covering distances of at least 5 metres and well clear of the water. Finally when the net was on the beach there was a large pocket of tailor in it. The fishermen then went through it, putting the fish into a bin and throwing back all of the undersized ones. All the while there were kites and sea eagles on the lookout for any stragglers that didn’t make it back to the deep water quickly enough.

By the time we had finished this the tide was well on the way in and we wouldn’t have made it back along the beach the way we had come, so we continued along the beach until we got to a track that went inland. When we stopped to look at one of the beautiful views we saw a lace monitor sitting in the scrub. It was slowly making its way through the undergrowth, we think, looking for some eggs belonging to a scrub turkey that was quite near.  It certainly was a rough trip through the 22km that was almost all soft sand with incredible, and very numerous lumps and ditches. We were thrown all over the car, bouncing off our seats and swaying from side to side. Only our seatbelts kept us in the same order in the car. Robyn assured us that he track would improve and become a gravel road after a while. It didn’t. I felt like I had gone twelve rounds by the time we got back to town for a very late lunch.

Later, Brendan’s friend arrived with three huge buckets, filled to the top with enormous strawberries. I hulled and cut up half of one bucket to make the first batch of jam. We estimated that there was at least three kg in that lot alone. While I did that, Mick cooked some of the fish we had been given and Robyn did the vegies. Trouble was, we were too full to eat any of the strawberries which were huge and tasty – well I had to sample one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mick decided I had to have a ride in Brendan’s Land Rover Reluctantly I stood on the caravan step and just managed to perch the very edge of my posterior on the side of the seat. From there, there were no hand holds to drag myself in the rest of the way, so Mick had to go around to the driver’s side and pull me in. Now I know why men love vehicles that look like this one. When we stopped at the shop, Mick went in and I opted to stay in the car. (Actually I didn’t know how I was going to get out without breaking my legs, and I certainly wouldn’t have been able to get back in again.) While Mick was in the shop, every man who came near stopped to look at it – so much for the camouflage paint job. They certainly wouldn’t have been looking at me. They would never have known I was there because the seat was laid back so far that I could barely see over the dashboard.

Cooroy

Monday 11^th  – 18^th August  

We always enjoy travelling through Maryborough. We really love looking at the many beautiful Queenslander houses with their brightly colored gardens. Everything looks attractive and full of character. Instead of going down the highway we decided to travel on a more secondary road towards Gympie and then went through Kin Kin and Pamona along narrow and winding roads through the hills. It was a lovely drive and we arrived at my sister Cookie (Judy) and her partner Rob’s home at about lunch time. As we drove in we were confronted by Rob’s new toy, a 20+ foot Coromal caravan with all the whizz bang extras. He was given the heads up about it by his daughter who knew of some new vans that had been water damaged and had been put on the market cheaply. It was an absolute steal at the price and only had to be dried out. You would never know it had ever been wet. We had a quiet afternoon and a lovely barramundi dinner. Rob made his extremely popular creamed rice for dessert – the best creamed rice you could ever taste.

We did a sight-seeing tour of Noosa and surrounds and went up to the lookout to see some great scenery at the mouth of the Noosa River. It was a pity that it was a bit cloudy and visibility wasn’t perfect. There are wide sandy beaches that have been restored. Hastings Street certainly continues to attract its share of tourists although I can’t imagine how so many similar shops manage to survive.

On a day trip to Gympie we visited our friend Gary. It was good to see him looking healthier than last time we saw him. He seems to be getting on quite well on his own with a small amount of assistance weekly with  housework. It is not so easy when one arm and one leg don’t work properly.

On Thursday night we had dinner with Rob & Cookie at Cooroy RSL. Their courtesy bus picked us up and delivered us home to the front door. As usual the food was excellent, plentiful and well-priced.  The club was fairly quiet and we enjoyed a pleasant evening. The best thing about the home delivery was that it was raining when we got home, so we got in without getting wet. And did it rain! The weather report said to expect a “weather event” Actually it wasn’t as bad as we were expecting, but it did rain almost constantly for a day and a night, at times waking us up with the noise on the caravan roof when it really poured.

Rob brought his mum, Biddy up, to stay for the weekend. She seemed the same as always, recovering from her recent fall and broken arm with no ill effects. I hope I still have my wits about me in my 90s like Biddy does (and I really hope Mick does too.)  We had a couple of very quiet days because Cookie was suffering from the flu. Mick spent them cleaning the car and caravan – they were still full of red dust from the outback. Even scrubbing didn’t remove it completely. We were glad to Cookie looking a bit brighter by Sunday when Bev and Graham called in on their way to Caloundra and we enjoyed morning tea on Rob’s front porch which was bathed in lovely warm sunshine.

A group of kangaroos regularly graze on the grass in front of Rob's house.

The only down side of our stay was the last morning when Rob was putting the bins out and he paused to chat to his neighbour who was taking his dog for a walk on its leash – an American Staffy/ Red Heeler cross. From out of nowhere it dashed around the bin and bit Rob quite badly on the foot, causing bleeding, severe pain and a big fright for both Rob and the owner, who later admitted that it wasn’t the first time the dog had attacked unprovoked. Rob needed medical attention and has informed the local council.

Hervey Bay

Sunday 10^th

 

It was lovely to go to Hervey Bay and meet up with our good friends Graham & Beverly. We have been friends for at least forty years and have shared many good times together. There was no shortage of things to talk and laugh about and many cups of coffee were drunk. In the evening we went to a local pub for their Sunday roast and met up with friends Ayleen and John and met Dot and John who come from Tatura and share quite a few friends and acquaintances with us.

Look at the kms this trusty Rodeo has done, and with a minimum of problems.

 

Boyne River

Sat 9^th

It’s strange how people differ. Most grey nomads are extremely considerate, friendly and keen to share information about good places to go and things to do. Then there is the couple who pull into a large camping area where campers are spread out to allow privacy. This couple drives around and around looking for where they want to stop. They stop at a few spots. “Too close to the toilets….. too far from the lake……   not close enough to the picnic tables  etc.” we hear her shouting – by this time she is walking around with the two dogs on leashes. She doesn’t appear to have a plastic bag in her hand. Finally they decide on a spot – as close to us as they can get. On goes the generator and the dogs start to bark. “Shut up those mongrels!” yells Mick. The dogs are hustled into the van and the generator continues. At six am the dogs are let out, they see the ducks on the lake and immediately start barking. We pack up and go.

Out on the quite narrow road we encountered several wide loads, obviously travelling early on these roads with what looked like giant equipment for the mines further north.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This kangaroo stood in the middle of the road watching us as we drew to a stop, then he hopped away. We have had several near misses throughout the trip.

Finally we made it back to the highway and travelled south until we reached the Boyne River camp spot. It was a big area along the bank of the river and fronting onto the highway. Just near us a young Asian couple cooked their dinner and ate it. Then they launched into a dance routine that they were obviously practising.

Lake Elphingstone

Fri 8^th Aug

We were up bright and early and on the road just after 7am.  Near Bowen we stopped and bought big bags of tomatoes and capsicums for $2 each. There must have been at least 3kg of tomatoes in a bag and they ranged in ripeness. In Bowen we surprised Lyn who is staying in the Tropical Beach Park – a very nice park at the end of a dead end street and right on the beach. She was thrilled because she had been looking for the loggerhead turtles that reputedly come in there and this morning she saw two. We also met her sister, Jill and brother in law, Noel and had a look at their new caravan – really nice and very comfy. They come to this park every year, so are classed as locals. After leaving Bowen we headed inland again, passing through kilometres of tomato crops at various stages of growth. Then we got out into mining country – coal mining. They sure use up a lot of country. Finally we ended at a free camp at Lake Elphingstone with a fabulous uninterrupted view of the lake. The advertised showers didn’t work, but the toilets were clean and had paper.

Saunders Beach

Loading a cane train.

Wed 6^th – Thurs 7^th Aug 

We took a chance and went towards the coast near Townsville and ended up on a dead end road with a tiny camping area with toilets and an outdoor shower. It didn’t take long for Mick and the bloke next door long to commandeer a rake from a council truck that was working in the area and they raked up all the leaves that were around or sites. We backed into a space with thick bush and vines behind us. In front was a small clear area and up a slight slope from that were a couple of picnic shelters with tables and a barbecue in each. Beside them was a sea wall and a huge expansive beach with a river feeding in from one side. It was a lovely spot, with the slight rise to the sea wall and the she oaks and other trees along the edge blocking the stiff breeze from our camp site.  At the end of the area was a lawn area and dotted on that were lots of native food bushes that have been planted there and labelled. Like Taylors Beach, there were lots of sand bars going out into the bay and people fishing from them. The sun shone brightly all day and recharged our batteries fully.

The next morning a few vans went out, but there was a queue of new vans waiting to come in. You have to be there bright and early if you want to go in the free camps along the beaches. I can’t believe that in our capitalist society that they still exist. They are certainly popular. Nevertheless, when you go past commercial caravan parks at this time of year there are plenty of campers in them too. For the two days we stayed I spent a lot of time reading and sewing and Mick met everybody and checked out their vans. We took advantage of the driftwood on the beach and lit the pig to cook our dinner. We also burnt some of the coconut husks in it and they caused clouds of black smoke to come out of the chimney and straight into the back window of the van beside us. I think it was a good thing that we left early the next day.

Taylors Beach

This pond was covered with ducks.

Tues 5^th Aug

We left Hull Heads and headed south with no fixed plan other than to go into a caravan park in order to charge the batteries after four days out and to get some laundry done. As we went through Caldwell we saw a laundromat open on the main street and it was empty so we did an about turn and put a load of washing through. In the caravan Mick rigged up some rope lines from end to end and we pegged out the wet washing and continued on our way. We saw a road leading to Taylors Beach and as we’d never heard of it we hoped nobody else had either, so long as there was a caravan park. We found one on the road in and the owner put us up in the emergency site – backed in between the office and the main entrance. It was quite a pleasant and sheltered site, with a building on one side, colourful trees and plants on the other and the swimming pool and camp kitchen directly behind. The only problem was that when we were in the van, the sound of the wind in the palm trees beside us sounded like it was pouring rain - Mick thought it had rained all night. After we got the rest of the washing dry under the awning, we drove down to the beach. The tide was out, exposing many sandbanks that wove their way through what looked like deep water. Several people were dotted around fishing from the sandbanks.  The mainland extended almost all the way around the bay. Through the opening we could see the difference between the calmness of the bay and the roughness of the open water. At 5pm we went to the camp kitchen for happy hour. Almost 50 people turned up and they were a very friendly lot. Even though they had all been in the park for at least 3 months, they made us feel very welcome and part of the group. They obviously have a number of ongoing competitions on the go – longest whiting, heaviest bream, longest golden trevally. The young chap who keeps the records announced how each category was going by telling them what they would need to surpass to win. It was a jovial group who obviously do this every night. No wonder people come here every year for several months.

Etty Bay

Mon 4^th Aug 

There were showers through the night and it was quite a dull day so we decided to drive up to Etty Bay because we had heard good things about it.  In Camps Australia 7 it is listed as a day visit area, but there is a small caravan park right over the road from the beach. The water was grey and a bit rough, but we were in an area protected from the wind. We went in the office, which also served food and general goods to get the info on prices etc. - $30 per night.

 

 

The park is quite small and very popular, so they suggested that bookings are essential. They had one site we could have had that night, but not the next. We will definitely put it on our agenda next time we are up this way. 

 

 

Later while I sat in the car waiting for Mick in the loo, two cassowaries strolled up and around the car and onto the beach. There was a male and a female and they just strolled around totally ignoring us. Then the male dropped a big turd – and I mean big. It would rival a cow turd in size. Now we know why one of the residents who chatted to us said that they are a pain in the you know what. Imagine stepping out of your van into that, you would be up to your ankle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later as we were driving home along the Tully Mission Beach road we saw another two cassowaries between the rainforest and the edge of the road. 

 

 

At Mission Beach we bought some fish and chips for lunch and went down to the beach to eat it. When we opened the parcel we found that the two pieces of barra that we ordered had multiplied to six. Somewhere else a family of six were probably sharing the two pieces that they got.

Hull Heads

Fri 1^st – Mon 3^rd Aug 
It was a different drive through the hills and across to the coast. The country changed as we got to areas with more water. Suddenly there was green grass on the ground, banana farms, papaya trees and finally, sugar cane. We bought beautiful bananas, oranges, mandarins and pawpaw from roadside stalls relying on the honesty system.

 

 We ended up at Hull Heads, a small slice of paradise where the Hull River meets the coast. We had river on one side and sea on the other and both had expansive sandy beaches. We put out our awning, set out the chairs and after that our only problem was which side to look out at. We were quite near the Coastguard, who collected our $16 site fee each evening. For this we had a good toilet and a hot shower, a free electric barbecue, picnic tables and benches and fresh water taps. The people staying here were all friendly, many of them fishermen.

We went into Tully, the wettest town in Australia with 3 metres rainfall per year and caught up with the shopping. There is a sugar refinery with three chimneys belching smoke into the sky. Outside it is a sculpture of men loading a cane train. Opposite is a giant gumboot with a frog on the front. They call it the golden gumboot - it looked green to me.

Some other campers recommended a good campsite on Meunga Creek, near Cardwell, so we went down to see if it was worth moving into as it had power and hot showers and only cost $15. I guess it was ok, although we weren’t impressed by the state of the sites with long grass, some sites completely inundated by vines and weeds and a number of old blokes with mullets living in feral old buses that were surrounded by junk and obviously haven’t been moved for many years. Most of the power outlets weren’t working so we decided against moving down there. Nevertheless, there were a number of caravanners staying there

On Sunday we had the pleasure of a visit from Lyn Lewis and her two pugs on their way from Port Douglas to Bowen. We always love catching up with Lyn and she and the dogs are very comfortable, if a little crowded in her camper van. She certainly gets lots of use out of it. She has been spending time with her sister as well as catching up with a number of other mutual friends who are staying in Port Douglas. With luck we will catch up again before we have to head too far south.