Day 47 – Saturday 8 July 2023 – Moura to Seventeen Seventy
Our aim was
to travel 280 km to the coast. It took 300 km as I took a wrong turn – too busy
with photos.
The day
started at 5 degrees (outside) so the diesel heater was on for 30 minutes before
Shirley even considered peering over the top of the blankets.
Our departure
had us in Moura (pop. 2000) by 8:30 in tourist mode, so we took photos of the Kelpie, the
water tower and the miners memorial.
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Water Tower |
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| Miners Memorial. Fifty one miners have died in the local coal mines, most from severe explosions and a number from mine-related accidents. |
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| Kelpie |
Just out of town we noted the rocks that designate the 150 degree Meridian.
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| 150 degree Meridian. Two rocks, one behind the other, each with a hole that allows the meridian line to be established. If you look closely you can see the head of the Blog Editor in the hole of the rear rock. Photo taken by Shirley. |
A bit further out of town we detoured to check out the open cut coal mine. From the lookout we could also see the ammonium nitrate plant, the cotton gin, and the grain collection and processing plant. We had a 360 degree view. Quite impressive.
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| Open cut coal mine - from the lookout - maybe looking south east |
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| Cotton Gin and lots of cotton - from the same lookout - maybe looking west. All of the 'things' in front of the plant are bales of cotton, maybe 3 metres high. |
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| Grain management centre - from the same lookout - maybe looking north west |
This was where I took the wrong turn – probably from sniffing too much ammonium nitrate or coal dust. Luckily the ‘google maps lady’ got us back on track – and we saw some new (to us) country.
A short time later we took a photo of some red wild flowers. Shirley and I could not agree on the name, so they will remain nameless.
We slowed
down in Banana (pop. 360) to take a photo of Banana, the bull.
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| Banana - The Bull |
A coal train then blocked our path for a while.
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| Coal Train |
Onward to
Biloela (pop. 5700) - in the news a lot over the last year or so - where I purchased the
cheapest diesel we have seen this trip ($1.75) while Shirley bought possibly the best coffee and definitely the best Danish pastries we have had in a long
long time.
As luck would
have it we stopped in a rest area for lunch and there was a fresh coffee/donut
van on site. We tasted his wares two years ago so we went back for more – so sandwich
and donuts for lunch. We were on a roll……………
Around 2:30
pm we arrived at the ‘Captain Cook Holiday Village’ at ‘Seventeen Seventy’. I
assume that you can all work out the significance of where we are. Camp was
established soon after.
Seventeen Seventy (population 69 at the last census) and Agnes Water (pop. 2729) are sort of two tightly integrated towns.
A coffee
was had and then we needed to feel the sand between our toes – it was about 23
degrees – so we did - we hit the beach.
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| Our first taste of a Queensland beach - this trip |
Around 5pm I went back for a sunset photo. I missed the sunset, but I took two photos soon after.
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Above & Below: Minutes after Sunset - Seventeen Seventy |
The remaining stew and damper were heated for an easy dinner.
Day 48 – Sunday 9 July 2023 – Seventeen Seventy
Four
hundred metres from our campsite was a Sunday market – our best of the trip to
date. We were there by 9:15 am and invested heavily in fresh fruit and veggies
– at very competitive rates. A young lad gave us the hard sell on a pineapple
that we bought for $3.50 and later saw for $2.50. His main spiel was that
pineapples with two heads are sweeter than pineapples with one head – as the
sweetness of the pineapple is determined by the number of leaves/fronds. I
will report back when we have tested the purchased product.
We drove the 3 km to Agnes Water and checked out some of the flash new homes and streets. It has changed significantly since we were here last.
The various shops were checked out, particularly the camping shop where we purchased an Aussie made mossie coil holder (see photo below). I will report back on that item as well. |
| The complete or partial mossie coil is gripped either side by the wire 'crochead'. Note the 'NOT Made in China' notation. |
After
lunch we headed to the ‘Paperbark Forest Trail’ – and what a magic place to
visit. A mere 15 minute walk along narrow boardwalks and plenty of stepping
stones. We were quite happy that it was a dryer season and there was no water
to fall into - from the stepping stones.
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| Paperbark Forest Trail |
From there we visited Chinaman’s beach – a dangerous place to swim, but a great beach for a stroll.
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| Chinaman’s beach |
I
took a photo of the sign at the top of the drive in. I am not sure that I have
ever seen a sign that indicates such a steep grade.
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| Sign at Chinaman’s beach |
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| Main Agnes Water Beach |
It
was time for an ice-cream and another rest before we took our chairs to
Seventeen Seventy’s beach for the sunset.
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| Ready for the Sunset |
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| Day 2 Sunset at Seventeen Seventy |
Bangers and mash for dinner.
Day 49 – Monday 10 July 2023 – Seventeen Seventy
The day started overcast and it took a while for the sun to appear.
Our first activity of the day was to complete a 3.2 km return walk from the Lt James Cook Monument Cairn north to near the peninsula tip. The ‘cairn’ denotes the point that James Cook made his second landing on Australian soil in 1770.
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| The plaque reads.............. UNDER THE LEE OF THIS POINT LIEUTENANT JAMES COOK,R.N. LANDED ON 24th MAY 1770. |
It was a picturesque walk through some rainforest with near-constant ocean views, to our left/west. Many birds sang, but hid from the camera, so I found some flora instead.
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| One section of our walking path |
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| Some of the flora that we saw |
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| One of the views that we witnessed (looking south) |
Lunch came and went, then sudoku, book reading and relaxation.
Then back to Agnes Water for an ice-cream and another walk along the beach.
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| Boysenberry (bottom) & Mango (top) |
Day 50 – Tuesday 11 July 2023 – Seventeen Seventy
The start of our eighth week started slowly as we had to move to another site - the legacy of extending our initial booking. A bit like a seat in a restaurant - you cannot have it until the incumbent decides that it is time to move. Being a patient person I just polished the silver bull bar on the car. Well I would have, if I had one.
Once our new camp was re-established we had a coffee then
returned to the Joseph Banks Conservation Park, to continue our walk of
yesterday. Turtles were seen there yesterday, so we wanted to see if they were
still there.
Alas, no turtles, but a pod of dolphins made up for
it. We watched them for about 20 minutes. The following photo was my best
effort. There were maybe 6 or 7 of them.
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| Dolphins at Seventeen Seventy |
Back to camp and lunch. As I sat down a small bird decided to give me a shot at a photo. I took up the challenge. The following was my best effort.
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| Small bird about the size of a sparrow. More research required. |
My efforts to get a better photo were thwarted by the arrival of a goanna/monitor – maybe about one metre long. He was minding his own business when a kookaburra started to sing. That made the reptile sit up for a good photo.
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| Goanna or Monitor |
Then along came another small bird, about the same size as the above bird. More need for research.
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| Anyone got any ideas? |
It had been a good fauna day, so far.
After a break, just after 2pm, we headed into the
town of Seventeen Seventy for a coffee. Alas we were too late – all closed –
unless you desired something stronger.
We had one more path to walk at Joseph Banks
Conservation Park, so back we went, and discovered a ship’s anchor. Near
midnight 21st August 1873 the “Countess Russell” foundered and broke
up. No lives were lost, and she remained there undisturbed for over 100
years. Cyclonic storms in recent times exposed the anchor, so it was recovered,
restored and placed at this location.
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| Anchor from the “Countess Russell” |
Back to camp, relax, sudoku and reading.
Dinner was chicken stir-fry, a la Shirley.
Day 51 – Wednesday 12 July 2023 – Seventeen Seventy
The washing was in the machine just after 7am and on the line
by 8am. Shirley appeared about 20 minutes later. Our day was underway………..
Around mid-morning we headed into Agnes Water for a
coffee. Shirley’s first choice was closed, so we headed to my first choice – a
recommendation from someone a few days ago. The coffee and the cake were
superb.
A stroll around the shops then back to camp for a
while.
Then the fun started. Our friendly goanna/monitor
returned. We knew it was the same guy as he was dragging his right back leg. He
was in a photo-giving mood, so I took full advantage – even showing his tongue
to the camera. As he wandered off he walked past about two metres from
Shirley’s chair.
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| "I can hear a dog barking" |
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| "Can you hear it?" |
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| "What about you?" |
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| "Do you like my fork tongue?" |
About five minutes later two smaller and similarly marked goannas/monitors appeared and they were also vain and in need of a photo session. By now a small crowd had gathered near our caravan. The markings on all three were impressive.
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| "I may be smaller, but I am just as impressive" |
After lunch, we decided that it was time for a walk to the beach – about 900 metres away – so off we set. After walking on the western beaches of Seventeen Seventy (and taking sunset photos), we now saw the eastern beaches. That is, we were on the other side of the peninsula – only accessible by foot or boat.
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| Looking south to Agnes Water |
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| Us in the middle. Th drift wood is now on the roof rack. |
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| Looking north to the tip of Seventeen Seventy |
It was a great beach for walking, but the water looked treacherous.
Around 4:30, as there were plenty of clouds about, we headed to our preferred sunset-photo spot. We waited, and were not disappointed. I could have provided a number of photos, but the following is “it”……………
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| Cloudy sunset at Seventeen Seventy |
Tomorrow we head inland for four nights, before a return to the coast.
We hope to see some new roses to smell, and maybe some old roses to re-smell (if there is such a word).
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Thoroughly enjoying your trip again, Chris.
ReplyDeleteJudith