11TH JULY 2013 - EAST COAST QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

Heading south down the coast towards McKay today through cane country. The crops are looking lovely & healthy with their bright green foliage & flower heads, & in different stages of production. They look quite similar to our toi toi. On the bare paddocks which have already been harvested there are 100’s of back & white ibises gorging themselves on whatever has been left behind. Because it is meant to be the dry season there are numerous road works & contruction in progress. Between Townsville & Ayr, new bridges & highways in order to raise the height above flood waters next wet season is a priority & it is seriously huge money being spent. And what they do, they do well. Our destination today is Home Hill, a small town south of Ayr. It is extremely RV friendly & we have been told it has good overnight parking. On arrival we are surprised to find that the parking is actually in a road between the railway line & the back of the town centre shops & even though it is early in the day is already almost full. It’s lunchtime anyway so we decide to stop for that & check the situation out. There is a beautiful new ablution block in a vacant section with showers & toilets & even a covered kitchen area with stainless steel sinks & benches & lovely S/S barbeques. Backpackers in their ‘wicked’ vans would love it! So even though the parking is not ideal, the facilities are great & obviously designed to keep nomads in town for a day or two to spend some money. The meals in the local pubs were a good price from what we saw on their advertising boards though we didn’t indulge. It was interesting to just wander the street but it was obviously another struggling little town with empty shops & businesses.

Wharf at Bowen used for the movie "Australia"

12th – Very cloudy day & slow progress on the highway due to lots of slow caravan drivers & a convoy of army vehicles & their machinery. At Bowen by morning tea time on the waterfront, where we discovered that it was here that the movie ‘Australia’ was made. Although portrayed as Darwin, the whole set was constructed here in a large open area between the town & the jetty. It would have been so interesting to have watched it all happen with cattle yards, the hotel (the original one still standing), & even the bombing of it all when the Japanese invaded. Of course it was all high security with walls around it, but when the filming was finally completed the locals were allowed in to look & speak to Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman & the darling little aboriginal boy, to me the real star of the movie. I questioned why it wasn’t left as a tourist attraction, but of course on this coast they are hit by cyclones & none of the set met those standards so down it all came. Such a shame as Bowen doesn’t have a lot to attract people to it & is known not to be RV friendly. Continuing alone the highway we bypass Proserpine which is the turnoff to the Whitsunday Islands where we had a 10 day sailing holiday with two friends about 5 years ago. Again this is all cane fields. Our destination is Seaforth, a small seaside village we have visited before just south of McKay. It has a council caravan park with ablutions & water but no power & we intend to stay for a week as it is very cheap & right on the beach. Also we can get a bit of exercise walking or cycling a bit. Unfortunately on arrival it is quite windy, drizzly & cool (13deg), & remains that way for the whole time we are here. Thankfully most of the rain doesn’t last for long but hangs over the close by hills of the Hillsborough National Park. One day we drove into McKay & fossicked round the city which is pleasant & has a lovely waterfront bounded by a large river. The rest of the time was spent reading & playing games, & cleaning the vehicles ready for sale. We have had several enquiries due to Stu’s signs on the van which is quite encouraging. He has also now advertised online so hopefully something will come of that in the next few weeks. By the time our week here is up we will be glad to hit the road again as we are tired of the dreariness & cooler weather, are bored & have itchy feet.  The other thing is the noisiest birds I have ever heard.  They are large birds called Bush Stone Curlews which we have experienced before, but there are so many here & they come out to perform at night.  Delightful I don't think.  Must say they are quite funny as they' freeze' when they are approached & think they can 't be seen.  We  are running out of places to go before we return to Landsborough & my so so must get the books out again & find a new destination.

 

 

Rainbow Lorikeet

 

 

Red Tailed Black Cockatoo

 

Our final couple of days were spent getting more exercise with a 14km bike ride one day, & a 10km walk the next.  The latter was along the beach to a natural causeway to two islands, covered in rather volcanic rocks.  The smaller of the two we managed to climb as we had been told it had once been the site of a WWII gun emplacement or such like.  It was a     nice view of the surrounding coastline & lagoons near the shore with the sea a delightful mix of blues from the reflection of the sky & sunshine.  We had taken a picnic lunch & felt like we were on a desert island with not another soul to share it with.   It was quite a long walk back with the wind against us but a really enjoyable day.                                                      

 

 

Deseet Island at Seaforth