A QUICK WALK AROUND AGNES WATER (13 JUNE 2016)

The name Agnes Water (remember it has no 's') has a somewhat tragic history. In the early 1880's the coastal schooner 'Agnes' left Bustard Head bound for Mackay. She never arrived, and was declared 'lost at sea' somewhere in the area where the town now stands. 

The redoubtable Daniel Clowes established the first pastoral lease in the district in 1883 and named his property Agnes Water in memory of the lost schooner. And now Clowes himself, who did not live very long after he had settled in the area, is remembered through this headstone over his grave 

which lies in the park at the far end of the Agnes Water caravan park.

This is a popular spot. Car parking is provided for those wishing to access the beach

whilst for those less well off, there is only one way to transport the surfboard to the breakers....on foot. This was a more than common sight in Agnes Water, both here and through our caravan park where the completely open access to all and sundry meant we had to be a little more than usually vigilant in securing our bits and pieces. For us, this was a real negative as far as the park was concerned.

Here too, for the much younger, is a well equipped playground

beyond which a pathway leads through the shaded picnic areas to the beach itself.

Here the local authorities have thoughtfully provided public showers to allow those emerging from the briny to flush off unwanted salt, which in itself is unremarkable for a beach town. It was the accompanying notice which grabbed our attention.

Who would ever guess that Agnes Water is a magnet for backpackers?  We found these notices near all the public shower facilities both here and in 1770. 

Given our experiences with many of this ilk who roam the country on a wing and a prayer and very little else, many of whom camp illegally and bolster their stores with goods for which payment is not made, we strongly suspected that this would be one of Australia's least obeyed civic instructions.

From this beach park area we turned in the opposite direction to make the short walk into the Agnes Water 'CBD'.

It was here that we passed the front of the unremarkable looking Mango Tree Motel, and it was also here that we gained a glimpse of the early days of what is now one of the town's biggest money -spinners....tourism.

Tourism has always featured large in the history of Agnes Water. Let me digress briefly. As previously noted, the town began life as a pastoral lease. Some timber milling was carried out in the early days, but right from the outset of the settlement of the area the beach here was a drawcard. Folk would come for miles in their horse drawn buggies, which they loved to parade up and down the sands at low tide. 

A few holiday houses sprang up in the bush settings of the town slopes, but it was not until as recently as 1982 that commercial tourism began in the town.......and you are indeed right.....with the establishment of the Mango Tree Motel.

What we see here now is a far cry from these pioneering days in the industry. I'll let the plaque which stands near the motel entrance tell the remarkable story of hard work and determination to succeed. 

Looking over the town as we later did from one of the vantage points on the high slopes which are a feature of this area, where every street is lined with permanent and holiday

homes of high quality, we found it somewhat hard to accept the fact that all this development stemmed from the enterprise of one Ken Tucker a mere thirty plus years ago. From these pioneering beginnings, tourism now flourishes in Agnes Water......the entire town is geared for it and for retirement living. 

And whilst the Mango Tree continues to thrive as a business (we were both pleased to see this after all the hard work of yesteryear), it now has some serious nearby competition in the form of the Agnes Water Beach Club

and the neighbouring Beachhouse Estate, of which a glimpse through this imposing entrance was all we could manage. These are but two of the many holiday apartments and other short term rentals which abound here.

Agnes Water is not a large town. About 2,000 souls call it home on a permanent basis, but there is no doubt this number swells considerably during the 'high season' when the winter warmth and clear coastal waters draw visitors like moths to a flame. And these are a varied lot. Here the grey nomads (both long and short term) rub shoulders with young overseas backpackers and surfies, young and old, who congregate here to take advantage of the last break on the coast before the intervening bulk of the Great Barrier Reef snuffs out any hope of surf.

In addition to the attractions of the fine beach and the surf, Agnes Water boasts being the town which is closest from which to access the southern section of the reef, has good fishing and boating and is one of only three spots on the east coast where the sun sets over the sea (no biggie for us from Adelaide....but it is a novelty for those who call the east coast home).

As we wandered on past the tourist accommodation and into the town centre, we were surprised by the extent and scope of the Agnes Water commercial hub. This has been established in two distinct precincts, 

separated by the the road which leads out through the town to the nearby 1770.

The Endeavour Plaza was the first cab off the rank in this part of our jaunt.

Here we found the first of the two town supermarkets, the Spa, a good quality fish and chippo

a number of cafes off the centre walkway

and, at the far end, this imposing looking Thai restaurant where I'm reliably informed those with a penchant for this style of food will not be disappointed.

Opposite this commercial cluster was clear evidence that the good burghers of Agnes Water, both permanent and transient, need not be concerned by the fact that the town is a good 60 kilometres off the Bruce Highway, and, as I mentioned previously, 70 kms from the nearest major centre, Bundaberg, when the need for medical attention raises its head.

This impressive looking local medical centre has the lot.....GP's, medical imaging, pathology and dentistry services all under the one roof. 






And we were later staggered to find, just out of town on the way back to Miriam Vale, another dentist's shingle which proclaims that this small town is more than well catered for in the aching tooth department. We suspect they are here for the lifestyle rather than maintaining a thriving practice. Either that or this small community must take the Australian gold medal for poor dental hygiene. We saw no evidence of smiles which exposed teeth which would scare young children so we are sticking with the 'lifestyle' theory.

At the junction of the road into town and that to 1770 we found the Agnes Water War Memorial

beyond which the town 'sevo' stands ready to slake the thirst of the local and visiting autos

and provide a home for one of the several tourist information centres and booking offices.

A short distance up the hill this sign announced that we had reached the second commercial precinct, the Agnes Water Shopping Centre.

The local surf shop was advertising a sale, but we did not darken its doors. 

Nor, surprisingly, did Liz pass through the portal of the Agnes Water bakery nestled in the corner of this block











and neither the pharmacy nor the Cafe Discovery tempted us. But we did make a few purchases at the Foodworks supermarket just next to the chemists after finding that the price tags here were considerably more appealing than those at the Spa, although here in Agnes Water none of the numbers on the goods on the shelves can match Woolies or Coles.




Agnes Water does boast a pub, but sadly for its owners, it is somewhat beyond walking distance from the caravan park. I am sure this has a markedly detrimental effect on the bottom line, and it certainly saved the Marshies' coffers from at least one raid.

There is no doubt that Agnes Water has attracted quite a number of the well heeled to make this their home, even if only for their holidays and weekends. The houses in the street leading out of the park

and elsewhere, on the flat 

or situated to take advantage of the views out over the ocean, were universally of good quality and well maintained.

We did find a development area between Agnes Water and 1770 where the homes were more tightly packed and clearly less expensive, but by and large Agnes Water does say 'money'. We both found it an attractive and well serviced small town where the weather, the beach and the scenery all make for a very good lifestyle for those who call this place home.

A WELL NAMED PARK - THE AGNES WATER BEACH CARAVAN PARK (12 - 14 JUNE 2016)

"Premium beachfront holiday destination on Queensland's Discovery Coast" is the first sentence of the advertisement for the Agnes Water Beach Caravan Park in the relevant caravan parks book. As I mentioned in my last, judging by the fact that a booking made several weeks prior to our planned arrival could only secure us a site for three nights, we were prepared to believe that this is a very popular place. 

It is. This is one of those parks to which folk flee the Arctic travails of the southern States annually for three to four months during winter. I suspect that the death of the present incumbents is the only event which would free some sites for use by others during 'the season'. The question is why? 

This park is indisputably 'beachfront' as hopefully the photos will show. But, like many others, the best 'front of house sites' are occupied by cabins, where the nightly rate far exceeds that of a caravan site (with the obvious benefit to the bottom line). Many of our fellow 'knights of the road' find this particularly annoying.....they seek uninterrupted water views and immediate communion with the briny. We are less peeved. For us an 'absolute beachfront' site means one thing......premium discomfort when the wind whips up, as it is bound to do.....and sand in everything!





Well, let's see what our $40 a night fee bought us here at Agnes Water. On arrival we found that we had been plonked right at the entrance to the park, and whilst our lawn surrounds were good and we did have quite a bit of elbow room, 





we also backed onto the local road which provides access to the park and the nearby houses, so we had the double whammy of park and street traffic. The inevitable comings and goings throughout the day and night meant that peace and quiet was not a feature of our stay, but we took the view that as 'johnny come latelys' we had to grin and bear it.



The park reception area and office, which we suspect is a recent addition to the infrastructure, was just across the entrance roadway. Next to this small but functional building stands a large photo board showing the original building which stood here. What a change the passing years have wrought.






We were at the end of a busy row, and this was the story throughout the park. During our entire stay, as one van would leave another would soon take its place.









There is no doubt that this is a beachfront park....you can just make our the blue of the sea at the end of this park entrance roadway. (that's us on the left of the shot) The large building beyond the park office











houses the park ablutions. These were reasonably fit for purpose, although the showers left a bit to be desired as far as pressure went.









A number of advertising sandwich boards sit at the front of 'the heads'. One in particular caught our eye.









Now we are well accustomed to the courtesy bus services which take punters to and from various pubs and clubs here on the eastern seaboard, but this was something else altogether. And lunch thrown in....loaves and fishes perhaps! I suspect a chilled glass of fine wine would be a step too far in one's expectations, but there is no denying the enterprise of the folk of the local Baptist church in this neck of the woods.








At the next park road intersection, we look to the left along a row of sites and the back of some of the beach front cabins.











And there are more of them off to the right as we look towards the large trees at the southern end of the park.












From this point one of two formal park walkways lead to the sands of the Agnes Water beach about which I'll have more to say shortly.










A large green park separates the park from the beach itself. This is the outlook those occupying the front row cabins can enjoy from their front decks.











The sites at the southern end of the park nestle below a quite substantial and heavily wooded hill. Here too, there was not an unoccupied slab to be seen.





As this panorama taken from the raised car park at the southern end of the park demonstrates

there is no shortage of surrounding foliage. Indeed, the slope of the hill and the trees at this end of the park make it much more sheltered than our end was, as we were soon to discover.




On our second day here at Agnes Water the sun continued to shine, but the wind had begun to rise. Gone were the gentle seaside zephyrs of our first twenty-four hours. It was time to think about rigging our awning for a blow....stay poles supporting the end rafters and the large, yellow tie down strap were soon in place.

These preparations were not without cause. Although the sun did continue to bless our site for the next day, the wind began to do its level best to level us. But without success I am more than pleased to report.....after all we have survived nearly two years in the west! It was during our last day and a half here we learnt the value of being settled at the other end of the park where the hills and trees very effectively blunt the best (or worst) efforts of the south-easterly gales.

Liz and Max the Cat were able to tuck up quite comfortably in the lee of the van.

It was not hard to tell what the Black Panther thought of all the fuss....ho hum......what are my silly humans going on about? It's all a bit of a yawn really.

A major feature of this park, and indeed a real drawcard for many, is its cafe where both park patrons and the general public are welcome. 

The soft comfort of the front deck lounge chairs appeals to some, 

whilst others prefer to enjoy their coffee and cake or a tasty light meal at the long front bench or one of the groups of tables set for the purpose.  And, as you can see, this is a room with a view,

of the elevated cabins at this southern end of the park, including that which stands in splendid isolation...'The Honeymoon Suite' right on the edge of the beach.

And this is what lies before all who survey this scene....the point break, the shore break surf and the fine sands of the southern end of the Agnes Water beach.

From here the beach sweeps northwards, for quite some distance. We did manage one

tramp along the sands, but only the one.....there was just too much else to fit in our very limited stay.

One of the major claims to fame of this beach is its surf. Agnes Water lies on the Queensland coast at the very southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. Here that amazingly large and complex mass of polyp homes (remember the answer to the highway trivial pursuit quiz....the largest living structure on earth!) does not impose its calming influence on the South Pacific Ocean swells as they roll relentlessly towards the eastern Australian coast. 

The good citizens of Agnes Water have been quick to take advantage of this natural blessing, from the perspective of all who revel in the waves. The southern end of the beach, right in front of the caravan park, is home to the local surf school. Each morning and afternoon the standard blue boards of all the 'wannabe Mick Fannings or Kelly Slaters' can be seen in the hands of all the 'newbies' who pay a modest $17 per hour for the privilege.

But as I noted earlier, the weather gods can be fickle. Our third day dawned not only windy, but overcast. The sparkling azure sea and gentle beginners' surf of the promotional posters was but a recent memory.

Those trudging through the sands on their windswept constitutionals were forced to cling to the narrow strip at the top of the beach as the tide and waves put and end to a dainty dabble in the shallows.

A few hardy surfers braved the inshore wash of the grey lumpy seas where an elegant and controlled sweep along the face of the waves had given way to survival surfing.  In these conditions reaching the end of a short ride and flicking out over the back of the wave without loosing the board or wiping out in the shore dump to surface with bathers rasping with kilos of sand became the object of the exercise. 

Perspective in these shots can be difficult to present, so you'll just have to take my word for it that I estimated this offshore roller to have built up to a good 6 to 8 feet in the old surfers' parlance by the time it thumped onto the sands of Agnes Water. 





Whilst we both still roundly reject the billboard claim that this is 'Australia's No 1 Beach' there is no doubt that it is the most northerly good surfing beach on this coast before the Great Barrier Reef spoils all the inshore fun, if surfing is your thing that is. Those who fish from small boats have a very different view about the effect of the reef.


So, with the weather snarling at us and our frenetic two days of sightseeing done and dusted, we decided that there was nothing for it but to break one of our usual rules and join the park latte set in the cafe for a light luncheon. Here we surveyed the grey and gloomy scene from behind the welcome shelter of clear blinds as we munched on a more than passable hamburger, a quiche and salad and sadly succumbed to the 'Siren' smell of hot chips. 


This was pure indulgence, the chips that is....for all the huffing and puffing of the wind, and the occasional sheeting squall of rain, it was not cold. We just pretended we were back in an Adelaide winter (where similar conditions at this time of the year would bring with them temperatures at least 10 or more degrees lower) and had a real need of hot comfort food!

Tomorrow we would be off again, but before I share our next northward adventure, we have to take a look around Agnes Water township and visit the much vaunted Town of 1770.