Monday, 31 July 2023

Chapter 12 - Hervey Bay - Week 2

Day 70 – Monday 31 July 2023 – Hervey Bay Day 7

The start of week 2 in Hervey Bay aligns with the end of week 10 of the trip. Just a few more to go.................

I slipped out of bed and into the shower around 7:30 am. The car was at a local mechanic just after 8 am, for an oil change and a minor service. We have completed over 8000 km, much of it with the caravan, and much of it on undulating roads (to be kind). So the car deserves a checkup.

I walked the 1.2 km back to camp and turned it into 2 km by checking out the local wet-lands or, more accurately, the local lagoon. Birds were hard to find and impossible to capture on film, so I spent time with the thousands of bats (flying foxes) - who were making a very loud noise. I am not sure what the bats would do for local house prices.

Grey-headed flying fox

The lagoon was peaceful, but local signs indicated that the water was unsuitable for wading or swimming.

Urangan Lagoon

I arrived back at camp just after 9am, just as Shirley was emerging from her 'cocoon'.

We had a quiet morning. After lunch Darryl and I sauntered over to the bowls club and each scored a set of 'loan bowls'. They are quite old, but round and work in the normal way. We gave them a try for 8 ends, and look forward to teaming up in the pairs on Wednesday.

Left: Darryl under cover. Right: My loan bowls.

Mid afternoon Shirley and I walked to the mechanic and picked up the car. The tyres had been 'blacked' so it looked faster.

Around 5 pm we wandered into Kay and Darryl's annex with a couple of beers, a bottle of Baileys and a bottle of Pepperjack shiraz. We dined on superb corned beef and veggies. Dinner was superb.

Day 71 – Tuesday 1 August 2023 – Hervey Bay Day 8

At 7:50 am Kay, Darryl and I left the caravan park and headed to the dock for the 'Tasman Venture' boat - for a whale watch tour. Shirley slept on.

Tasman Venture

The Tasman Venture left at 8:35 am and returned at 1:30 pm. The trip cost $125 which worked out at maybe $1 per whale. We had a whale of a time. Pure magic. I took 500+ photos and some appear below. The magnificent humpback whales were often close enough to the boat to jump onto them. They flipped, rolled, clapped and did all the things that whales do.

It was exhausting.

On the way back we scored photos of a different view of the famous 800-metre-long pier.

We arrived home in time for a late lunch, then some relaxation.

Shirley cooked dinner of curried snags and rice. Darryl was impressed.

Day 72 – Wednesday 2 August 2023 – Hervey Bay Day 9

It was the third day in a row that I had to be up early AND Shirley could stay in bed as long as she liked.

Darryl and I were at the bowls club, and had paid our $12 green fees, by 8:10 am. We played 21 ends of a pairs match, against a husband and wife team who I knew from bowls at Diamond Creek. They have retired to Hervey Bay.

The overnight rain continued throughout the morning, sometime quite heavy. We were lucky to have a cover over our head.

Urangan Bowls Club

Darryl and I did well. We lead for 17 ends and dropped off the pace over the last few ends to come second 18-22. Not bad, considering our opponents were locals who play bowls 3 times each week. Darryl had not played for a few years, and I had not played for a few months, and both of us were using old borrowed bowls.

To cap off a good morning I won a drinks voucher.

Around lunch time I met up with a lady who had a worried expression on her face. In no time at all I was Denise's chief technical adviser, letter proof reader, and printer of her legal letter. Phew.

Sixty minutes later I was assisting Denise's husband with internet problems with a permanent caravan park resident. This lady was Greek who spoke very little English. Me and my big mouth.

Just after 5pm I headed to local "Shelly Beach" for a sunset. I was about 90 seconds too late for a really good photo.

Sunset over Shelly Beach

Shirley cooked a chicken stir-fry for dinner.

Day 73 – Thursday 3 August 2023 – Hervey Bay Day 10

The rain yesterday seems to have petered out, and that is fine - as today was setdown as Maryborough day. Maryborough (pop. 15,300) - 44 km away - is a lovely city with lots of history on display, a large amount of murals, and a weekly Thursday market.

Shirley and I have been to the market before, and we hope it is still as good as it was then.

Launched in 2015, the mural trail now has 39 large scale murals and installations adorning buildings in the city’s Central Business District.

The Post Office Hotel - A Grand Old Building

The four of us set off at 9am and were parked in Maryborough before 10 am, one block from the market. The market was a bit disappointing, being smaller than seen in previous visits. However we bought some veggies and had a German sausage for morning tea.

We then set about seeing the art work that was spread all over town. That took some time, and was very enjoyable. We noted that Maryborough was the birth place of P L Travers, the author of Mary Poppins.

Some of the art work appears below. Much more can be seen if you click here.

City Hall and Canvas Backdrop

"Man In The Moon"
(Everything lost on Earth can be found on the Moon - P L Travers)

"The Under Sea"

Jules Francois Archibald
(Started "The Bulletin")

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
"Father of Modern Turkey"

An ex-service woman and two tourists.
(Guess which are which)

Former Prime Minister Andrew Fisher

Mary Poppins

In due course we headed home and relaxed for a while. I had a desire to cook so meat pie and mash potatoes was for dinner, with apple pie and cream for dessert. The Weber played a part in cooking dinner. The troops seemed Ok with that.

Apple Pie

Day 74 – Friday 4 August 2023 – Hervey Bay Day 11

Another slow start to the day, with washed clothes on the line by 8am. Leisurely breakfast. I then cooked a few tasty morsels using two sheets of pastry that would not fit into the freezer.

Both of us then visited Bunnings, for maybe the second time this trip - to replace the Weber gas bottle, and replace a padlock that has somehow disappeared.

That was it for the morning. A lovely tuna salad for lunch, then more time to relax.

Not much happened all afternoon apart from a few computer duties and some sudoku.

We wandered over to the bowls club around 5:30 as last week the food was great and the music was excellent. This week the food was just as good (lamb shanks and fish n chips) but the music was woeful. We wished that we had not bought raffle tickets as we had a 90 minute wait for the draws. Our disappointment turned to joy as one of my numbers appeared on the raffle display. A meat tray was ours - pork chops, burgers, 4 different types of sausages.

Winnings from Urangan Bowls Club

In two trips to Hervey Bay (6 years apart) I have won two meat trays.

Day 75 – Saturday 5 August 2023 – Hervey Bay Day 12

Kay & Darryl headed south to Rainbow Beach to see their daughter, so we headed to the Howard market – around 45 km away. The trip turned into a big circuit as we visited towns such as Torbanlea, Howard, Burrum Heads, Toogoom and Dundowran Beach. It was a great day.

Our first stop was at the Australian Craft and Herb farm, an eclectic mix of great craft, superb wooden products, herb nursery and animal and bird enclosures. I have never seen so many guinea pigs in one place at one time. There must have been 100 in their enclosure. One wonders if there were other interesting plants being grown in some quiet spot out back.

We moved on and stopped at Howard for their feature monthly market. It was OK, but not as good as the markets that we had locally last weekend. We bought a new garden sculpture and some cheap capsicums. Shirley also patted an alpaca, and we pondered a trip on the train.

Shirley and Friend

A letterbox well worth a photo

From there we backtracked to the Bamboo Nursery and Gardens - a well-established bamboo, ginger and heliconia specialised nursery featuring a collection of the world's finest non-invasive bamboos. All varieties (including gingers and heliconias) are growing for display on the 50-acre property with 10 acres of landscaped tropical parklands.

Bamboo and Other plants

Above & Below: Flowers that we admired

We drove through Torbanlea and headed to Burrum Heads on the coast. There were two caravan parks very close to the beach and a fish n chip shop that beckoned. Red Emperor and chips was our choice for lunch, and it was superb. So was the view from our lunch spot.

Our view while we ate our Red Emperor

Toogoom was next on our list as it was on the way. They have a superb sandy beach. Next was Dundowran Beach and Arkarra Lagoons and Wetlands Reserve. This was a haven for birds, big and small. I managed to score a few photos.

Arkarra Lagoon

A resident on a log

Satin Flycatcher

Pied Cormorant and Two Australian Darters

It was 3:30 before we arrived back at camp and we both relaxed in our outdoor chairs. We had a happy hour session with Kay and Darryl and had left over pie mix on toast for dinner (no wine).

Day 76 – Sunday 6 August 2023 – Hervey Bay Day 13

Overnight scattered showers seemed to fizzle out as the sun rose. A few jobs filled most of the morning before Shirley and I went for 3 km walk that included buying some hamburger rolls for dinner.

After lunch we drove to Pialba - a north western suburb of Hervey Bay. We admired the art work and strolled along the beach.

Above & Below: The water park and local whale art

Our beach walk

On our return we found out that the 'Dunga Derby' was about to end at the park beside where we were parked.

For those of you who have not heard the term 'Dunga' the web describes the term as:

Mostly used in small towns in Queensland. Predominantly Maryborough.
1. An exclamation of frustration, usually at an annoying situation. Can be used in the place of words like crap, shit, damn, dang and so on.
2. A term used to describe something crappy or dodgy.

The Dunga Derby has 55 teams who participate in a four-day car rally to help local people in need. The participants seemed to really enjoy themselves. Some photos tell the story. Click here to see many more photos.

Stretched Land Cruiser

Official Recording of the Event

Above & Below: Happy participants

We returned to camp and cooked our hamburgers (from the Friday bowls club dinner raffle) for the four of us. Bun, burger, onion, cheese, bacon, egg, lettuce & tomato. They were pretty good.

This chapter now complete.

Jump to the Next Chapter - Chapter 13
Jump to the Previous Chapter

Open the Table of Contents

Last updated at 7:40 pm on Sunday 6th August 2023.

Tuesday, 25 July 2023

Chapter 11 - Hervey Bay - Week 1

Day 64 – Tuesday 25 July 2023 – Hervey Bay Day 1

The extended periods of rain yesterday petered out overnight and the main noise was the remnants dripping off our tree onto the roof of the caravan. By the time I headed to the shower around 7:45 the sun was starting to appear.

By the time Shirley headed to the shower the rain had returned. It was then off and on all day - rain, sun, rain, sun.......

Hervey Bay (pop. 55,000) is known for the huge numbers of Humpback Whales that return every year, making it the best whale watching experience anywhere in the world. It is also located right next door to the famous Fraser Island (recently renamed to K'gari).

Shirley and I went for a drive to re-familiarise ourselves with Hervey Bay, as well as visit the tourist information centre to get a stack of brochures.

After lunch I made a batch of plain and date scones. They tasted fine, but with some lack of concentration (on my part) some had burnt bottoms. By the time we ate the scones the rain/sun option had been replaced with wind/sun.

As I write this around 5:30 pm Shirley is into 'research' mode.

Day 65 – Wednesday 26 July 2023 – Hervey Bay Day 2

The forecast sunny day did not really eventuate. We had heavy showers overnight, that petered out to drizzle until mid-morning. Shirley abandoned the idea of checking out a market - so we made it an 'arts' day. Our focus was the Pialba area of Hervey Bay.

Our first stop was the Stockland Shopping Centre so I found 'Mister Minit' and got a new battery in my car remote. We also admired the 'Reconciliation Mural'.

Reconciliation Mural
(Trimmed because of the escalators)

Next was a visit to the Hervey Bay Regional Gallery, where there was a big range of art to be admired.

Abstract Sea Turtle

Platypus

"Nala The Whale" - A Symbol of a Major Attraction at Hervey Bay, dedicated to a female humpback whale who has visited Hervey Bay since 1992.

We wandered inside the gallery, where there was 'Origin' feature - recognition of the significance of the 'State of Origin' football in NSW and Queensland. We wondered why the NSW player had four arms. That question remains unanswered.

NSW & QLD Rugby Players in State of Origin.
(The NSW player has four arms)

It was time for lunch so we found a Bakery with great pies and ate them overlooking Torquay Beach. We also found the statue of Moha M0ha.

Moha Moha (Dangerous Turtle) Structure.

The legend of the Moha Moha is based on an encounter with a legendary sea creature by a schoolteacher in 1890. It was allegedly over 10 metres in length, with glossy skin, long neck and long wedge shaped fish-like tail.

Please click here if you want to see all art photos that were a part of "Art Day 1".

Torquay Beach - Looking East

Back at camp we relaxed for a couple of hours as the weather gradually turned 'nasty' again. Around 4:40 we moved into Kay & Darryl's annex for happy hour and a prawn pasta dish for dinner - as cooked by Sue - a friend of Kay and Darryl's. It was superb.

Day 66 – Thursday 27 July 2023 – Hervey Bay Day 3

After some overnight showers the day started clear and sunny.

Our first (tourist) activity was to check out the local wetlands and the walking paths therein. Sudden rain thwarted our plans so we went for a drive.

Our first stop was a photo of more art, at Fisherman's Park. It was huge.

Fisherman's Park Mural

We ended up at 'River Heads' about 18 km away, which is one place to catch a ferry to Fraser Island. It is also the mouth of the Mary River.

Fraser Island Ferry
(Fraser Island in the far left background)

I spotted a Grey Butcherbird and a Silver Gull looking for lunch among the mangroves.

Grey Butcherbird and a Silver Gull

We headed back to camp and had lunch. Later we drove to the Botanic Gardens and had a walk around. We were impressed with the orchid house which is 100% staffed by volunteers - with all plants coming from donations and local purchases (not council money).

Click here to see a complete display of orchid photos.

The volunteer also gave us some information on how to build your own 'Green Frog Hotels'. Maybe an opportunity for a cottage industry.....

This concept has been featured on the ABC Gardening program. Click here to see video.

It was the Kelly turn for dinner so BBQ chicken, BBQ chips, coleslaw and Greek salad was delivered - with olive bread on the side. Roughing it again.

Day 67 – Friday 28 July 2023 – Hervey Bay Day 4

There were more showers early morning, but it seemed to be clearing so the washing hit the machine and was on the line at 7:45 am. The rain stayed away, but the wind was cool.

Shirley and I decided to walk the length of the 800 metre Urangan Pier. We were fascinated by the birds who were fishing. They were diving from maybe 10 to 15 metres and then went under the water for 2 or 3 seconds.

Above Maybe a Petrel or a Booby hunting, then diving
Below: Taking off after a 'catch'

The Pier Looking Seawards

Chris Under the Pier

It was a slow afternoon. I lubricated a window that did not want to open. It now does.

Darryl and I wandered over to the bowls club - about 100 metres - and booked a table for dinner.

The clothes dried and were folded and returned to their relevant home.

Around 5:25 we wandered over to the bowls club, got our table and bought a round of drinks (4 schooners for $18 - two beers and two soft drinks). Our table had a laminated sign with my name on it (within the lamination).

Table Sign

We then ordered our food and nominated a time a bit later, three roast lambs ($20 each) plus fish n chips ($18). Shortly after the "Honey Bees" started to play some great music.

The "Honey Bees"

Our food arrived soon after the music started, and all dishes were excellent. I did not finish my fish n chips.

Roast Lamb

The "Honey Bees" played until just after 9pm - nearly three hours of great music - and excellent guitar music. It was a great night. The cost of the entertainment was a few voluntary and unsuccessful raffle tickets.

Day 68 – Saturday 29 July 2023 – Hervey Bay Day 5

The start of our fifth morning in Hervey Bay seemed a good time to get a sunrise photo. I donned track suit and beanie and was at the Urangan Marina just in time.

Sunrise over Fraser Island and the Urangan Marina

I moved to another position and scored another photo. Not my best sunrise photos but it was good to be there.

Around 8:40 Shirley, Kay. Darryl and I drove to the 'Pier Market' and wandered around for an hour or so. We stocked up on veggies and fruit that were needed. From there we headed to the Torquay market. It was similar to the Pier market but not as good. So we headed to a coffee shop that overlooked the local beach.

Back to camp and then lunch, then a chill out for a while.

It was our best weather since arriving in Hervey Bay so Shirley and I headed to the nearest beach for a walk. It was magnificent with full sun and no wind - maybe 24 degrees. It was one of our shortest beach walks this trip as the beach had so many shells that walking was hard. Of course I had left my shoes in the car.

Although it was a short walk (2.5 km) a quick team meeting decided that we deserved an ice-cream - so we each had a two-scoop ice-cream and watched the view while we ate it.

The pier is a former deep-water, cargo-handling facility originally built to facilitate the export of sugar, timber and coal. It was used for the transfer of cargo between rail and ships. It was built between 1913 and 1917.

Our view while we ate the ice-cream - the 800 metre pier

We got together for Happy Hour and then Darryl and I met at the park BBQ to cook our respective dinners. We both ate in our own caravans.

Later Day 68 became the first day that Shirley watched a detective show on TV this trip - the third time that the TV had been turned on.

Day 69 – Sunday 30 July 2023 – Hervey Bay Day 6

It was another magnificent start to the day. A sleep in for me - arriving at the shower just before 8 am. The skies were clear and the forecast was excellent.

Just after 9am we headed off to the ' Nikenbah Markets', on the other side of Hervey Bay. Although there were gaps the markets, when full, accommodates 237 stalls.

We wandered for 90 minutes, then had a coffee and a donut. Along the way we admired the 3D printer and the vases being made by the young engineer. He was fascinating to talk to (for a former IT person).

Two different views of a Vase and Rose made by a 3D printer.
Using 2-colour cord.

We chilled out back at camp and did not need lunch, thanks to the donuts.

Soon it was time for another beach walk, this time at Torquay beach. Today we managed 3.5 km - a good effort after our stroll around the market this morning.