Chapter 8 - Queensland Coast - Part 1

Chapter 8 - Queensland Coast - Part 1

Day 36 – Tuesday 18 July 2017

I was on the beach before the sun rose, but was disappointed as the sun used the clouds to hide. However the following photo was worth the walk.



The clouds soon disappeared and the sun rapidly increased the temperature.  I took a photo of the caravan site as a comparison from earlier sites.



Our Relaxed Environment

We did some cleaning then went for a drive into Yeppoon and a walk around town.  Some time later when eating lunch we had a visit from a Blue Faced Honeyeater.

Blue Faced Honeyeater

Some time later I was able to get a photo of a Straw Necked Ibis, sitting on top of a TV antenna.

Straw Necked Ibis

Around 4pm the music started, from Neil Duddy.  He was very good and continued (except for a short break) until 7:20 pm.  It was a very pleasant few hours and continued our cultural theme.



Pleasant Environment for Music - Note the lack of long trousers

At the break in the music we scored a $2 cup of pumpkin soup and a roll.  It kept us going until we ate Shirley's Thai pumpkin curry around 9pm.  We increased our Country CD collection to seven from this trip.

Day 37 – Wednesday 19 July 2017

There was some rain overnight so we had a slow start.  Later the cloud drifted away and the sun appeared.

Just after noon I headed off to the Yeppoon bowls club for an enjoyable afternoon.  I played a match with guys from South Australia, Victoria, NSW and Queensland.  We won our match but not good enough to come home with a prize.

Shirley went for a long walk on the beach.

We met up around 6pm on the lawn in front of live music - Neil Duddy again.  I picked up our fish and chips around 6:30 about 30 metres from where we sat.  It was a pleasant evening.

Day 38 – Thursday 20 July 2017

We joined forces with our neighbours from Shepparton and went for a walk to the top of Bluff Point - a return walk of 2.3 km.  Although fairly short it was steep enough for a good cardiac workout.

View from Bluff Point - Looking North towards Yeppoon

Shirley & Chris & New Friends

View from Bluff Point - Looking South West

Capricorn Palms Tourist Park from Bluff Point - Our Caravan Circled

Around 2pm Shirley and I had a stroll around Emu Park and took a photo of the "Singing Ship", that commemorates James Cook plotting this part of Australia in May 1770.

The Singing Ship

On our return Fred (fellow walker from this morning) helped me to reattach a loose mud-flap.  There was lots of mirth for the people looking on.



Skilled Tradesmen at Work

I grilled a couple of magnificent steaks for dinner.

Day 39 – Friday 21 July 2017

We both read well into the night so it was a slow start, with 9am breakfast. 

After some idle time we drifted into Yeppoon for some food and diesel shopping.

More relaxation followed until I cooked some scones for our new friends.  It was a pleasant afternoon.



We wandered down to the pizza truck in the caravan park and were disappointed to hear that there was a two-hour wait. So left-over Thai curry and rice became dinner.

 

Day 40 – Saturday 22 July 2017

It was a very cold night and morning so it was another slow start to the day.  We said goodbye to our new friends and I gave the outside of the caravan a wash – to remove some of the Birdsville dust.  It looked much better.

We drove into Yeppoon to visit the Saturday Market, and soon found out that it was a Sunday market.  So we went for a three kilometre walk along Rosslyn Bay beach.

Rosslyn Bay Beach

 

The rest of the day was relaxation with plenty of birds dropping in to say hello.

Top:  Silver Gull and Straw Necked Ibis with a metallic sheen
Bottom:  Emu and Masked Lapwing

After much research I have established that the following guy is a Bush Stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius).

 

 

We had BBQ pork ribs for dinner.



Day 41 – Sunday 23 July 2017

After a very mild night it was a slow day. We did some more cleaning and some pre-departure jobs for tomorrow's move south.

During the day famly friends (Loz & Pete & kids) called in for a quick stop as they continue on their journey to the top of Cape York.

It was a relaxing afternoon.

We had spaghetti bolognaise and fresh damper for dinner.

Day 42 – Monday 24 July 2017

As usual we departed Yeppoon around 8:20 am. The car was hardly warm when a “$1 Pines” sign appeared.  So we stopped and bought two magnificent pineapples for $2.  The first one that was cut was superb.  The other one can wait.

$1 Pineapples

We stopped for coffee at Mount Larcom which had a superb short-term-park for grey nomads and travellers.  I was amused by the signs to the entries of the amenities.

Ladies to the Left - Gents to the Right

We bought bread in Calliope and moved on to Lake Awoonga – our home for two nights. We had a choice of two locations – one with TV reception and one with lake views.  We chose the latter.

We established camp, had lunch and went for a 3.5 km walk along the lake edge.  The local (Gladstone) council have done an excellent job with the lakeside picnic and fishing facilities.

Lake Awoonga

Later that afternoon we were treated to a three-Kookaburra exhibition that is hard to see in big cities.  Two were adults and one was a juvenile. All were exhibitionists. I took 128 photos.  I include one below, including one adult and one juvenile. This is one of the treasures that you can enjoy when you are in the right place at the right time – usually in the bush – as we were.

Laughing Kookaburra - Adult left - Juvenile right

 We BBQ-ed a couple of great snags and steamed some veges and ate like kings.

Day 43 – Tuesday 25 July 2017

It was cool enough for a beanie and jacket as I headed out for a walk at 6:45 am - the start of our seventh week away. 

A couple of Kookaburras greeted me with their morning song.

It took a while to find the right place for a sunrise photo, but the walk was worth it.

Sunrise over Lake Awoonga Lake

I read a sign that gave details of the dam construction and the fish that had been stocked into the Lake.  Top of the list was 2,668,350 Barramundi with an average size of 40.6 mm. We only need one!

After breakfast Shirley and I repeated the walk and I scored a photo of the dam wall.

Lake Awoonga Dam Wall (40 metres deep at wall)

Lake Awoonga serves two purposes in that it is the principal water supply for Gladstone and is the principal fishing location in this region.

Black Kite

Around 4:30 this afternoon a crow (or raven) and a couple of smaller birds were on the ground when the pictured Black Kite flew too close to them for comfort.  So the crow and the two little birds took off after the Kite.

It was then a dogfight for 3 or 4 minutes as they in turn all chased each other around the sky. 

The Kite started to win when the little birds gave up, so the crow then headed for safety.  The Kite then flew around above our caravan while I scrambled to get the camera.

It was not a late night.



This posting is now complete
Last Update 4:45 pm Tuesday 25th July.



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