Ah G'Day....... Just thought we'd better up date you with what we've been up to for the last few weeks. We're still a bit further on then where this blog finishes but we'll tell you about that next time. Hoo Roo
When we last spoke the rain and cold had caught us in south west Queensland and it didn't let up for the next couple of days as we drove east to the coast sadly forgoing the Eulo polo cross competition and the Cunumulla tattoo show. We spent a freezing night camped in a shed at St George, the inland fishing capital of Queensland. Not sure if a comp was on but all the caravan parks were full. It was a particularly cold day and night with a top temp of 8 degrees celcius (14 below average).
Caravan Park?
So much for sunny Queensland. Next day we were up and gone and not stopping until we hit the coast. The roads had been damaged by floods earlier in the year making for a bumpy ride. We eventually made it into Kingaroy, peanut and navy bean capital, then on to Bundaberg the rum capital of Australia and at last a little warmth. It was then further north to the town of 1770 named for when Captain Cook was there, and eventually to Rockhampton the beef capital where we stopped for a few days to warm up. Days were spent bush walking , cycling and even a couple of games of golf.
Whilst in Rockhampton we received a call from friends Ken and Tracie who had, on the spur of the moment decided to fly up from Melbourne to avoid the cold and hire a 10 metre motor catamaran out of Airlie Beach to cruise the Whitsunday Islands for a week and insisted on us being their guests. What could we day but say yes of course!! So we headed north, dropping into Mackay to stock the bar for the boat. There was a mining expo in town and the bottle shops were all sold out of rum so we stuck to champagne, wine and a beer or 20. We spent a few days around the Airlie, spotted a couple of crocs in the Prosperpine River and checked out the local camp draft and rodeo. The beaches all have the obligatory bottle of white vinegar on standby in case of stinger (jelly fish) attacks and instructions on resuscitation procedures if someone is stung. Their main point being don't give up as MOST people recover. Even though out of stinger season we decided to join the back packers in the pool.
Welcome Aboard!!!
The day finally arrived as did Ken and Tracie and we boarded out boat ‘Finesse'. The hire company guide had a look of concern when he saw the amount of booze we loaded on. He would have been downright scared if he say how much was loaded after he left. The first night was spent in the marina and by morning we were old hands at this sea faring stuff having worked out our forward from our aft. A couple of hours in instructions and we were away - 4 land lubbers that had never driven a boat taking a quarter million dollar vessel on the not so high seas. The skipper and Gilligan were sorted but the girls were fighting over who was Ginger. We picked Hook Island as our first destination and took off as only Skipper Ken knows how - full throttle. The boat performed quite well considering the amount of excess liquid it was carrying.
We anchored safely and brought out the champagne and spent the rest of the evening swimming and telling old salty stories, all confident in our abilities. The next morning it was back to reality having successfully launched the dinghy we suddenly realized we hadn't inserted the bung and the dinghy was sinking fast. Our instructors last words soon came back to mind ‘replace the bungggggggggg'. It was all hands on deck and within a few minutes the dinghy was drained, the bung in place and the hire bond safe - for the moment.
There's a whale attached...
Skipper and Gilligan
The next week was spent circum navigating the islands, watching the migrating hump backed whales, racing dolphins and swimming with dugongs and turtles as well as snorkeling and lounging on deck and on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world - Whitehaven - and we should know we've seen a few!
All too soon our week was over and we returned the boat mostly intact. We were all suffering from sea legs and it took a few days to adjust. Quite disconcerting especially when laying down. Van packed, we spent a night bush camping inland at Terrible Creek which made a nice contrast to the boat with a roaring fire and Irish stew. The next day was onwards to Townsville where we farwelled Ken and Tracie. Thanks guys for a lovely trip and looking after your friends in low places.
So, when in Townsville there is only one thing to do - get back on a boat and head to Magnetic Island - one of our favorite places in the world.
With Pete and Kath on...
It was even more enjoyable by the surprise arrival of Pete and Kath Taylor who were travelling southwards and we spent a week bushwalking, swimming and generally lazing about. The island is very laid back and under developed which only adds to its charm. Truly idyllic, we could stay forever however, they called an election and we had to go and vote, besides we have family in Townsville so we'd better go and say G'day.