BARGARA - BRISBANE (VIA PROSTON) AND A SOCIAL WHIRL (19 - 22 SEPTEMBER 2015)

As we pulled out of Bargara and made our way back through the outskirts of Bundaberg, we were about to travel on an unfamiliar stretch of road, just over 290 kms of it. The Isis Highway took us south from Bundy to the town of Childers, a really pretty little spot, unfortunately made infamous by the arson attack on the backpacker hostel some twelve years ago.

Robert Long, a Childers local, had, for what ever reason, developed a deep seated hatred of the foreign backpackers who flocked each year to Childers to pick produce. On the night of 23 June, 2003, he made good on a threat to burn down the Palace Hotel which had been converted into backpacker accommodation. Fifteen died that night, unable to escape the flames. Long, who was arrested five days later, has been imprisoned for life.

We have something of a personal connection with this dreadful event. A chap we met two years ago in Kurrimine Beach was the Superintendent of the fire services which responded to the blaze.....sadly the events of that night have had a profound effect on him.

But back to the present. As I mentioned earlier, Childers is a delightful town, one through which we had previously passed, and one we fully intend to spend some time in next year. The same can be said for many of the small country QLD towns through which we drove on this leg of our trip.

In Childers we turned south-west and began to head inland from the coast where we were greeted by some magnificent scenery.

The town of Biggenden, through which we travelled shortly after leaving Childers, lies at the foot of Mount Walsh, the huge granite outcrop pictured in the previous photo. From all we have gathered since, this is a place in which one can spent quite a few days visiting nearby areas of spectacular natural beauty. From the little we saw in transit, we have no reason to doubt this.

Once again we were travelling through cattle country,

and we could not help being taken by the stark difference between the green, well timbered hills of this area and the harshness of the dry cattle station properties of the QLD outback.

The much vaunted free camp site and rest area at Ban Ban Springs came and went. We had heard a great deal about this from several fellow travellers, and now having been there, we agree.....another for the 'to do later' list.

The Isis Highway took us through the little town of Goomeri and on to the much larger centre of Murgon. Both have a real charm, as does this entire area. We certainly plan a revisit when we have the time to just potter from town to town as the mood takes us.

On this occasion, however, we left the highway at Murgon and travelled some 50 kms or so to Proston which lies about 90 kms north-west of Kingaroy. We had been invited to stay overnight with our good friends Sue and Noel Peck, whom we had first met four years ago around the campfire at the Evening Star park, just outside Charleville. We have had several encounters with them since, including one when they visited Adelaide whilst we were 'between trips'.

Sue and Noel live on a few acres just out of Proston, a small town typical of this part of rural Queensland. Noel has really set things up well. The property can accommodate three visiting vans at any one time, complete with connections for power and water. Noel fought with 5 RAR in Vietnam and a lot of his veteran mates 'pop in' quite regularly. 

Apart from servicing the local rural community, Proston is 'on the map' for another reason....the nearby Boondoona Dam, a real holiday paradise. After dropping anchor we went out to see what the dam had to offer.

What a spot this is. From a well established vantage point,

we were able to look across the dam wall 

and out along one arm of the dam lake.

A short distance from the wall, a road leads down to the edge of the water where, on the day of our visit, it was organised chaos. This did not surprise us....it was a Saturday in the September school holidays.

The large caravan park was jam packed with vans, as were the many camp sites along the water's edge. Marquees, tent villages and ramshackle shelters of all types occupied every inch of the lake banks. And of course, with skiing, swimming, fishing and red claw netting all on offer here, there were boats of all descriptions bobbing at anchor in front of most sites.

We decided on the spot that this would be a marvellous place to spend some time....but only Monday to Friday and never in school holidays. Our 'to do' list gets longer!

En route to the dam, I had spotted a number of trees in the surrounding countryside which I initially mistook for my old Kimberley favourites....the boab. I was soon corrected. These were bottle trees, a Queensland native, and our our way back to 'Chez Peck', we were shown a real grove of them. Despite their superficial similarity to the boab, these are completely different species.

So with that new bit of botanical information under my belt, it was back to the magnificently fitted out 'shed' the Pecks call home and, joy oh joy, a roast lamb dinner.

After such marvellous hospitality it felt almost rude saddling up first thing the following morning, but we were expected in Brisbane later today and had over 300 kms to travel. So after fond farewells and plans to rendezvous somewhere on the road in the future, we retraced our steps back to Murgon and turned our heads south through Wannai and Kingaroy, home of the peanut and home base of that Queensland political enigma of the 60's, 70's and 80's, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, about whom the less said the better.

From Kingaroy we headed south through Nanango and Yarraman, before turning east towards Kilcoy and the coast. Before long we were confronted with a really familiar sight, two of the peaks of the Glasshouse Mountains which rear skyward in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

We were again approaching an old stamping ground, but this time from a different direction. By the time we had reached Kilcoy we were in do doubt that this was a Sunday. From here to Caboulture, on the northern outskirts of Brisbane itself, we were locked in a never ending tussle with 'Sunday drivers' all making the most of the scenery on what was an indisputably lovely spring day.

For once, I was actually glad to reach the city, where a Sunday arrival did carry the advantage of much less traffic than on a weekday, and where our electronic navigator again came into it own. By early afternoon we had made our way across town to Victoria Point, an old fishing suburb of Brisbane on the coast opposite North Stradbroke Island. Here we were to be the guests of Leonie and Russell Westerland, a  delightful couple we had met in May at 80 Mile Beach on the WA coast.

With a bit of juggling, we set up on their front lawn.

I say 'juggling' because with the length of our van I had to make sure that it didn't hit the house eaves. This did make our exit path a little cramped, but what a completely minor inconvenience that was in the overall scheme of things. As in Proston, Russell is all set up to provide power and water to the numerous visitors who occupy the patch of front lawn we were to call home for the next three nights.

We had a busy schedule ahead of us. Old friends from Adelaide had recently moved to Brisbane and a couple we originally met in Bremer Bay lived nearby. Lunches had been planned.

Kerry and Brian Mateer (Kerry and Liz used to nurse together in Adelaide) have bought a lovely house in bayside suburb not too far from Victoria Point. We were a mere fifteen minutes drive away. Very sensibly, the ability to dine al fresco is a feature of their new home.

We took full advantage of the venue, shared a very tasty lunch and caught up on all the news.

The following day was a repeat, but this time we were off to renew our acquaintances with Yvonne and Les, a couple with whom we had enjoyed many days at Bremer Bay and later in Denham at Shark Bay. They had taken a different route to Brisbane and it was terrific to be able to 'swap travelling notes'. We are very much looking forward to meeting them again somewhere in Oz.

And of course, we spent each afternoon and evening in the most entertaining company of Leonie and Russell (which included another lamb roast.....I had hit the jackpot!!), one of which did get a little out of hand when a liqueur rum tasting morphed into a sip or two of some very old ports.

"You win, Russ......I'm done!" (and as you can see, so is the blog....again it has developed a mind of its own for no apparent reason)

We really did enjoy our Brisbane stay. The three days there were a real social whirl. They went by in no-time. But much as we were enjoying ourselves, our schedule was unrelenting and it was time to go. The rigours of the coldest town in Queensland lay before us.

WE PUSH ON TO BUNDABERG FOR RUM AND REPAIRS (15 -16 SEPTEMBER 2015)

After our free camp stay at Yaamba, we had originally planned to do the same the following night. The Boyne River rest area, about 70kms north of Bundaberg, was our target, but as so often happens on the road, Plan 'B' had to be activated. More of this shortly.

We knew that our travels south were highly likely to be taking us into some pretty chilly weather. We planned to visit Stanthorpe, a town in the southern Queensland 'granite belt' region near the NSW border. Stanthorpe, and its sister town, Applethorpe, bear the well deserved reputation as generally being the coldest towns in Queensland. Overnight temperatures below zero are not uncommon at this time of the year. If we chose to free camp in these regions, our diesel heater would assume a critical role. 

Before leaving Kurrimine Beach I thought it would be a good idea to make sure the heater was operating correctly. We had not used it since leaving Adelaide. You've guessed it....not a squeak!

A set of numbers on the LED control panel screen showed me that we had a range of problems. Out came the relevant manual and I read the bad news that two of the faults were listed as 'Contact your nearest repairer'. Bugger. After a rather interesting series of phone calls to Dometic, the Australian distributor of these heaters, we finally tracked down a qualified repairer in Bundaberg (I was not keen to have to haul the van around Brisbane...a smaller town en route was just the shot). We were scheduled in for the work at 0830 hours on 17 September. This fitted well with our planned visits with friends near Kingaroy and in Brisbane.

From Yaamba, we made our way further south, through the unavoidably hectic early morning traffic of Rockhampton and on past Gladstone. Before reaching Boyne River we poked our noses into another listed free camp area. The Calliope River free camp, not too far from Gladstone, has to be one of the best of its kind we have ever come across.  Large well grassed areas, plenty of shade trees, oodles of manoeuvring room and all this on the banks of a substantial and picturesque river. Needless to say it was very popular, but there would still have been plenty of room for us. Unfortunately we needed a few more kms under our belts, but this spot now bears a rave review note in our Camps book.

We pushed on, lamenting the fact that our schedule meant we had to do so, and arrived at the Boyne River rest area at about midday. Talk about chalk and cheese! It was completely unsuitable. There was even a large sign stating that overnight camping was prohibited. Despite this, quite a few vans and campers were dotted about, but we were less than enthused. It all seemed a bit bizarre....a sign banning camping at a listed free camp site...whatever next!

So what now?  In this instance a rapidly devised Plan 'B' was to press on and try to get into Bundaberg a day earlier than we had previously booked. A quick phone call and all was arranged.....our assigned site was available.

So, after a day which had now become a deal longer than previously anticipated, we arrived at the entrance to the Bundaberg Park Lodge where the office also doubles as a convenience store and take-away shop.

As drove on to our allotted site, the large bank of letter boxes alerted us to the fact that this could be a park with many permanents, and indeed it is.

Passing travellers are catered for, but only in limited numbers. There are only about twenty sites here for folk like us, but as you can see, there are plenty of shade trees and many of the site have good grass.

Except ours!!......or at least that to which we were first directed.  For some reason the office staff did not know that recent plumbing work had resulted in the entire site being covered in red clay, and uneven, damp and clumpy clay at that. This will never do.

A quick return trip to the office sorted all this out. By now I was definitely in no mood to be trifled with. We moved. Although our new home did not have grass and was challengingly narrow, it was beautifully shady and boasted a pretty border garden.

With a couple of hours of late afternoon sun, this was more than comfortable.....the site itself, that is.

This park has one major drawback, its location on the edge of Bundaberg's ring route. This large fence, just beyond the back of our van, is all the separates the park from a very busy road,

along which, during our stay, there was a constant stream of large trucks. The cane harvest was in full swing, and apart from all the long haulage semis using the road, cane trucks came and went all day long (there are very few cane trains in this area) taking the raw product to the mill and returning laden with bales of cane mulch. The racket was constant and something we'd not experienced since leaving Carnarvon.

But we were here now, and I certainly had not intention of changing parks. It would only be for two nights.  

This is a park which would definitely benefit from an injection refurbishment funds. The ablution facilities are tired and in need of a good makeover, although they did display someone's sense of humour

in the signs which indicated which was which.

The camp kitchen is equally in need of a good refit,

and although the park pool itself is clean and of a reasonable size, the surrounds are somewhat cramped between fences and the park office building.

Many of the permanent residents near the transients' area of the park have gone to some trouble to surround their little homes with gardens and trees, but I cannot comment on the remainder....I did not see the point in venturing further into 'the village'.  

Apart from those of us in transit, this park also caters for longer term residents in a series of small, motel type rooms (one of which was the scene of much coming and going.....with none of the passing visitors acknowledging each other, and each visit brief.....ah, the suspicious mind of an ex drug squad detective!)

All in all, apart from the traffic noise, we had a comfortable stay here, and let's face it, we were here on a mission, not as tourists on this occasion. 

Given that we now had an extra day up our sleeves, we took the opportunity to visit a beach location some 50 kms from Bundaberg itself, Woodgate Beach. This had been on our travelling radar for some time, for four years or so in fact, ever since we had met a charming couple from this small beach town in the camp kitchen on a very wet afternoon in Blackall in central outback Queensland.

They were restrained in their praise of their small seaside home town, but left us in no doubt that Woodgate Beach was well worth a visit. They were absolutely right. It is a marvellous spot, with a beautiful long, flat beach, good local infrastructure and a large and very well maintained caravan park right on the Esplanade...another for our 'MacArthur' list.

The extra day here in Bundaberg also gave me the opportunity to check the most direct way in which to get to the heater repair shop....this was a boon....Bundaberg is a large town and, as per Murphy's Law, we were on the opposite side of it to the heater folk.





Thus well prepared, we upped stakes on the appointed morning and appeared on schedule for the work to be done. 









I just love these occasions (???).....we have no choice but to drive around trying to keep The Black Panther entertained whilst awaiting the "come and get it" phone call. We did take the time to check out Moore Park beach, north of Bundaberg (it was not a patch on Woodgate) where we stopped for a while, took Max for a walk on his lead and then let him have the run of the cruiser. He'll always head for the high ground!


The boys at Barron Outdoors are whiz kids. Well inside the projected repair time came the welcome call....."it's all done". The business is owned  by an ex Federal copper. He recognised my service ribbons on the front of the van and within no time we were swapping career notes. Whether that influenced the eventual bill or not I cannot say, but to have the heating burner cleaned and reset and an electrical circuit fault identified, located and rectified for must less than $150 worked for us. We were now fully prepared to take on what ever the Stanthorpe area might throw at us. 

Right, Bargara here we come. Some weeks prior to our arrival in this part of the world we had been contacted by our good friends and ex-neighbours, the Lorenzins (you may recall we caught up with them in Broome when there in May). They were in Queensland in their van, and as luck would have it our schedules meant that we could just fit in a couple of days together. Bargara, on the coast about 20 kms from Bundaberg, was to be our rendezvous point.



We duly set up in the small, rather quaint Bargara Absolute Oceanfront Tourist Park, where our site was different to say the least. Mind you this large fence proved a blessing when, the day after our arrival, this coast was hit by a 'southerly buster'. We were very well sheltered from the wind (we were actually surprised the rather rickety looking fence did not blow over).





This park is well named. Absolute ocean front it is. We had a delightful view from our dining table.










The one thing missing along most of the Bargara foreshore is sand. There are a couple of cove like beaches to the north of our location, but the majority of the foreshore here is lined with large, black rocks on which the storm driven waves crashed incessantly. 









Obviously, with no room to put out our awning (something we would have rectified if our stay had been longer), we were organised in no time. Marie and Dennis pulled in later that afternoon in their monster 'Humpback' van and took up station nearby.






We still had plenty of Kurrimine mackerel in the freezer. I was delighted to cook up a fine feed of fish for the four of us after which we settled in for a few nightcaps which Dennis recorded for posterity on his phone camera.



I have to report being a touch wounded the following morning, and although I joined the others in a drive around nearby Burnett Heads, I declined the offer to visit the Bundaberg Rum Distillery. 






Liz upheld the family honour, with enthusiasm as it eventuated.

The intrepid trio had arrived too late for a distillery tour, which is normally a prerequisite for a product tasting. 












Dennis apparently turned on the charm at the distillery shop, which was originally the manager's house,













and all three were able to indulge themselves in the very well appointed tasting room.






The liberal attitude of the staff was well rewarded from a sales perspective. The clink of several bottles of Bundaberg liqueur rums, of different exotic flavours such as coffee and banana, heralded Liz's return to the van. The Lorenzins had been equally lavish in their purchases. And who was I to challenge Liz's justification that these can only be bought at the distillery and nowhere else apart from on-line (and then only as a minimum of six bottles) so to be able to buy only two was a saving!!! 

I'm a decidedly non-rum person in normal circumstances, but I did have to admit (much later in the day) that these made a fine end to a good meal, and did go exceptionally well with strawberries and ice cream. Well done, Liz (who now keeps a very close eye on the fluid levels in these beautifully presented bottles)

We did enjoy this brief sojourn at Bargara and the company of the Lorenzins. But we could only linger for the allotted two days. Friends in the tiny town of Proston were expecting us.