As I mentioned in my last blog, Conway Beach had been living large in my imagination for a couple of years. The photos I had seen and the associated promotional blurb which lauded the location of the park on a wide beach at the mouth of the Proserpine River, a seaside idyll where fish would virtually leap onto one's line from beach or river bank etc, etc, etc. sadly did not match reality.
This is the photo on which many of my hopes had been pinned in which the caravan park itself can be seen immediately to the rear of the small village on the seafront with, of course, the Proserpine River extending off into the background.
One of the things which will remain imprinted on my brain as a result of this trip is to regard all prospective destinations with a healthy dose of scepticism and a very open mind. You may recall that I had formed the view that promotional photographers in this part of the world must be banned from working at any time other than on a full tide. This aerial shot of our new temporary home is a case in point, for here is the true picture of the beach and river mouth at low tide,
looking out to sea, and,
after a tramp of what we estimated to be at least 1.5 kms, looking back towards the coast and the barely visible row of seafront houses. And this was not the lowest tide we experienced whilst there! A combination of tide variations of up to 6 metres and the very flat seabed resulted in these extraordinary tidal runs, which meant that my preconceived vision of an area similar to, for example, Southport at the mouth of the Onkaparinga River, were as far from reality as we were from home.
Ah, well, lessons learnt and off to make the most of things, which did not include beach fishing. Having said that, I must make it clear that this is a fishing park. In fact, many of those insitu on our arrival had been there for two to three months. Like Karumba on the Gulf, Conway Beach was the wintering destination of choice for many, some of whom had been coming here for many, many years. And there are fish and muddies to be had by the bucket load, from a boat. I would estimate that we were in the minority group of about 10 percent of park residents whose equipment did not include a topper tinnie.
Despite all, the park itself did live up to its reputation as being spacious, colourful and quiet. Conway Beach could best be described as a hamlet, and the park reception area and adjoining cafe/camp happy hour area serves as the local convenience store and take-away shop amongst other things.
It is an extremely popular spot, not only for those of us escaping the travails of the southern winter, but for many Queenslanders who make this their annual fishing destination. Notwithstanding the fact we had booked well ahead, on the day of our arrival we took up the last available site which would take a van of our size, and this was in the park 'back blocks'. Just as we found in Sawtell two years ago, sites which back onto forest areas can provide interesting visitors.
'Bernice' the brush turkey paid us regular visits, even to the extent of wandering though our annex area, where, would you believe, the great black hunter viewed her with total disdain (we have worked out that Max does not consider any bird longer than 15 cms to be potential prey...beyond that they are objects to be ignored in the hope they will just go away),
as did 'Grenville' our resident goanna who was also of proportions which did not interest Max, but certainly held my attention!
Max, however, did discover in short order that there was a plethora of local lizard life which fell right within his sights. And don't ever let anyone try to convince you that cats do not have decent menories. Each morning the 'black panther' would howl at the door and, when released with Liz in tow on the other end of his lead, would do the rounds of all the nearby areas where his interest had been previously stimulated, such as here at the edge of our slab.
And for all who are now bemoaning the loss of our valuable wildlife, I must report that the pictured skink, as is always the case with Max on the job, escaped this encounter totally unscathed. I am sure Max would starve if left to his own devices in the wild!
Whilst still on the subject of our park, it is indeed colourful (with a local model to match).
Even the 'heads' are painted in theme.
And whilst fishing was off the agenda, and the lack of Internet access on site was a pain, the folk of Conway Beach were delightfully friendly and we did enjoy using it as a base for our exploration of Airlie Beach, Shute Harbour and Cape Gloucester, about which we have a remarkable tale to tell later.
Unlike Conway Beach, Airlie Beach fell precisely within expectations. Flash apartments, on the hillside taking in the views,
and on the marina,
a narrow beach, mud flats and moored yatchs
and a main street crowded with backpackers, tourists from a cruise ship at anchor off shore, together with an eclectic assortment of locals, provided a general scene which we have seen replayed in so many similar 'resort' venues.
And at the dire risk of sounding like an old fart who cannot remember the heady days of his youth (and I can), the picture was completed for me as I wandered past one of the several large, open hotel bars to see a group of 'footy trip' lads, all sub-twenty something, all in cloned T shirts which advertised their purpose (and in case they forgot who they were with), well into the contents of tables sloshing with jugs of beer, and already 'loud' at 1130 hours.
Despite a well manicured and laid out esplanade promenade strip (not well represented in the shot)
and what appeared to be an inviting and well situated yacht club on the foreshore, we decided after an hour or so that Airlie Beach held only limited appeal for us.
Shute Harbour was next on the exploratory agenda.
The dock facilities, the 'sea gateway' to the Whitsunday Islands, lie at the seaward (that almost sounds trite!) end of a long inlet which, as can be seen, also provides a very sound looking mooring for yachts and other private craft.
Hayman, Hook, Daydream, South Molle, Whitsunday, Long, Dent, Linderman (which we could see from Conway Beach) and of course, the famous (?) Hamilton Island, make up this group which I suspect is the best known of all the island groups of the Great Barrier Reef region. They have all certainly been well promoted over the years, but, on all the information I could glean (including in detail from the barber I visited in Airlie Beach...barbers and cabbies...where would we be without them?) the post Yasi tourist dollar has been conspicuous by its absence. This is a tale consistent with that of Mission Beach to the north and its nearby islands, and Airlie Beach itself.
Whilst Hamilton Island boasts an airstrip, somewhat pompously (and incorrectly) proclaimed in the tourist information sheets as the 'Great Barrier Reef Airport' (those involved with the major airport at Proserpine are apparently mightily miffed by government concessions and the like which the owners of Hammo have managed to cajole, [extort was the word used by the barber] in respect of this facility), this is the only resort island in the group to do so. Shute Harbour provides the point of embarkation for those whose visit is by sea, including a couple of business like barges which resupply the group as needed.
Notwithstanding the fact that low cloud was still hanging along the inlet at 1000 hours, we found Shute Harbour to be a very pretty spot, one which would, no doubt, serve well to whet the appetites of those en route to their 'holiday of a lifetime in the sun'.
Our visit to Shute proved that a 'ferry terminal' is indeed a 'ferry terminal', some are just more picturesquely located than others!
The harbour also provides quite substantial general docking as well as a large, and on the day of our visit, obviously well used public boat ramp. All in all, an impressive and active small port facility in a delightful setting.
For us, the general ambiance of Shute Harbour provided a real counterpoint to the hubbub of Airlie Beach, but more delights were in store as we then travelled on to Cape Gloucester. A story for another day including, as I alluded to previously, another of those extraordinary travellers' tales of coincidence and chance meetings. Stay tuned!
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