A NEW PARK FOR US - CAPE PALMERSTON (22-28 JUNE 2016)

We both really enjoyed our return to the Yeppoon area, and after our second visit to the delightful town of Emu Park, we have agreed that this has joined the Golden Beach area of Caloundra as somewhere we could quite happily take up residence if ever we had to leave SA. But of course, that’s not likely.

Now it was time to move on yet again, pushing further north up the Queensland coast and, today, a new destination, the Cape Palmerston Holiday Park, a stand alone park near the tiny coastal holiday town of Greenhill some 80 kms south of Mackay.

Compared to the reasonably short hops we had been making to date, today’s journey of just under 300 kms was the longest we had faced for a few weeks. After leaving Kinka Beach, rather than retrace our steps to join the Bruce Highway at Rockhampton, we went across country, through the little hamlet of Cawarral

along a road which was decidedly ‘secondary’. But this was by far the quickest route

back to our old friend ‘The Bruce’.

We were still travelling through grazing country where we had the ridges of the Great Dividing Range as a distant backdrop,

and the occasional long goods train replacing the coal trains as a travelling companion.

Some sixty kms into our journey saw us passing the free camp at the tiny highway hamlet of Yaamba. For those of you who follow our adventures closely, you may recall this is where we spent a night last year when we were heading south.

And it was here that our afternoon in the pub became highly entertaining when a truck driver misjudged the height of his container and tried to take out the roof of the small service station opposite. We were pleased to see that the replacement roof was not only higher but still intact.

As the morning wore on the traffic on the Bruce began to build up, as we expected it would.

I was happy to pull into the large highway service station at Marlborough for a quick break and a sip for the Cruiser.

Although we were still in ‘dry tropics’ country and its expanses of timbered grazing lands, the imposing bulk of the Great Divide was coming closer and closer.

We cruised on past Clairview, where a few years ago we had spent the night at the particularly quaint caravan park just north of the huge Shoalwater Bay military training area. By now we were well into the day’s travel. Our destination was some forty kilometres this side of Sarina, and, look at this......now less than 1,000 to Cairns! 

Within what seemed a surprisingly short time given that we had not done these kms for quite a while, we had reached the quaintly named Ilbilbie and were turning right off the highway onto the narrow road which would take us the remaining 10 kms or so to Greenhill.

As the quite narrow road rose and fell through the rolling hills

we could soon see that we were back in cane country once more.

Just short of Greenhill the unsealed entrance road into the Cape Palmerston Holiday Park reminded us of why we don’t do ‘off road’, but this was thankfully short and in no time

we had pulled up at the park office.

The 63 acres of the Cape Palmerston park has been developed by a local landowner. As is the case with more modern parks, the site sizes are generous and, in what we both believe to be the only way to design a park, they are angled in off the roadways....this makes mooring so much easier. And for once, I can provide you with an overview....taken from the photo in the park office.

Because Cape Palmerston is so isolated (even the previous Greenhill general store just down the road has now closed) the park office

is well stocked with camping essentials, 

fishing gear, bait and other goodies.

As I wandered around checking out the stock whilst Liz did the booking in honours, here was the absolute tell-tale sign that this is a park to which folk come for many winter months and just ‘chill’.

And so, formalities completed, it was down the hill,

a right hand turn into our roadway

and on to our site.

Here, despite the ease with which site access can be gained, the park staff actually escort newcomers to their assigned patch and assist with putting the vans on. I was happy to accept the help, although of all the parks in which we have stayed, this is one where this assistance is hardly needed.

Another welcome feature of this park is the fact that the direction in which the vans are facing is alternated. This means that there is always a good sense of one of our favourite things....’elbow room’.

We did later discover that if ever we were to make a return visit here, we would insist on facing the opposite way.  As we were, when the prevailing sou'-easters of this region hit a few days later, we had to pull in our awning overnight for peace of mind. The other lesson we learnt at this point was that the sites further down the slope provided a much more peaceful existence in these conditions.

At the end of our roadway we could see the roof of the amenities building.

This is something. This large, modern facility

is one of the best we have come across.

The laundry is equally big and well equipped

and here we find another sure sign that this is an isolated camp where the staff go to some lengths to ensure that their guests are entertained.

Now this is something we had not come across previously (and, frankly, did not rush off to indulge!)

Just below the ‘heads’, and wisely located at the edge of the huge, well grassed camping area of the park is the camp kitchen and the park fire pit. The kitchen itself is still something of a 'work in progress', but is adequately equipped.

We had arrived on the day of the second ‘State of Origin’ ruby league match. This borders on a religious experience for those here in the eastern states, and the kitchen was bedecked with flags, ribbons and balloons in the colours of the rivals....maroon for QLD and blue for NSW.

Having spent so much time in FNQ, we are now quite solid ‘Cowboys’ fans, and certainly support QLD in these bone crunching contests.....and on this occasion they didn’t let us down (Liz has even admitted to now knowing some of the rules...and believe it or not actually bought a QLD flag in Yeppoon....when in Rome!).

We did toddle down to join the festive throng for the first half of the match, but fatigue then tapped us both on the shoulder. We shouted for the boys during the second half in the comfort of our mobile lounge.

Before I leave this quick tour of the park facilities, I have to mention the gardens. Here a real effort has been made. The plantings are extensive.

It will be a few years yet before the trees have grown sufficiently to provide good shade, but the park shrubs

are certainly well enough advanced to splash the grounds with colour

and a few of the taller trees have also been chosen for their flowers.

So why do folk come to Cape Palmerston? As the promotional brochure says.....'fishing, crabbing, 4 wheel driving, beach 4 wheel driving, beach walks, bird watching sailing and other general boating.

But here there is a catch. Only 100 metres to the beach.....sure, when you are at a point only 100 metres away from it! For us, from our site to the sands was a jaunt of more like half a kilometre. And then, at low tide, there is a walk of up to another kilometre or so at times to reach the water's edge with the constant retreat over the sand flats as the tide rises. This can make fishing challenging to say the least!

Now I have to make it clear that we were not put out by this other than from the aspect of ‘truth in advertising’. As the old journalistic saying goes, ‘why let the truth get in the way of a good story’. It’s just annoying.

But that having been said, this is a really beautiful park, and we could well understand why many make it their winter retreat. But for us, the isolation turned to bite us. More of our midnight travails and other Cape Palmerston adventures in my next.