As we have now discovered, if you are into big, expensive, glitzy, with everything laid on for young and old, 'absolute beachfront' style, Rollingstone is for you. If not, drive on. We shall certainly take that option in future for reasons I'll share shortly.
But firstly we had to get there. We left the Queens Beach park with genuine regret in that it was, and remains, one of the loveliest in which we have had the pleasure of dropping anchor.
We rejoined the Bruce Highway under overcast early morning skies at the distinctive Bowen Fruit Barn for today's 250 kms drive,
crossed the trickle which is the Don River at the moment a short time later
and soon received 'three green lights' for our push north.
This is 'old highway' for us. The small town of Home Hill was soon in our mirrors
as we plodded on through nearby Ayr and eventually made out approach into Townsville, past the factories on the southern outskirts, through the area which had been so seriously threatened by bushfire last year as we came out in the opposite direction. We did note that a serious scrub clearance has since taken place!
We had one very important stop to make in this large Far North Queensland city....you guessed it....our old friend Dan Murphy in the 'Townie' suburb of Garbutt.
We had deliberately planned our arrival here for an early Sunday morning. We knew from previous experience that we would have no trouble finding a parking spot as we engaged in the critical business of resupplying the wine cellar and the beer fridge for our approaching winter sojourn in Kurrimine Beach. We entered the store as 'old friends' and left with a laden trolley and a much lighter wallet!
So with the van now groaning under the weight of the newly packed liquid supplies (but legally so thanks to our new compliance certificate) we made our way back to the Townsville ring route and out onto the highway.
The tiny town of Rollingstone itself is located just off The Bruce some 60 kms or so north of Townsville, but this was not our destination. We turned off the highway near the town and then made our way east along the oddly named Hencamp Road towards the coast.
In no time at all we had reached the visitors' car park
and the entrance to this very large park situated right on the beachfront. From the moment we arrived it was clear that all we had heard of this place was correct, including the cost!
With our dues paid for our two night stay we left the office with our cash reserves $96 lighter (that's right...$48 per night in this resort park and we were not yet even into high season) and made our way through the boom gates down the long entrance roadway en route to our site.
Here at Rollingstone, pets are now welcome, but only in designated areas. Interestingly, when we told the office staff that we had a cat, we were offered any site we liked, but we chose to stay in the 'dog area' deliberately to see how this functioned. To our great surprise, the two dog areas are more than acceptable. One is actually right on the beach as you will see later.
However, we were far too smart to take that option, particularly given that the winds were up, and had opted for a lakeside site. As we crawled on down the road
past the end of the first of the several lakes which are a feature of this park
and the fishing platform at the head of the next.
This is as good a time as any to comment that all the lakes are stocked with barramundi but perish any thought of being able to cast a line willy nilly to catch supper. Yes, guests can try their luck, but only after paying a hefty fishing fee first, and then only using park rigs from designated spots. Welcome to the cash cow that is Rollingstone!
The view along Lakeside Drive made it abundantly clear that the park was anything but busy. During the forthcoming peak season, these sites will be seething with activity.
By now we had almost reached our patch, which was at the far end of this roadway, one which took us past the delightful gardens lining the park pool fence.
At this stage I must say that whatever critical views we developed about Rollingstone, these did not extend to our site. It was huge, flat, and well grassed. We did not even have to unhitch (which was good because we had nowhere to go!)
We were directly 'lakeside' and right next to one of the park ablution blocks.
This was indeed a magnificent site (it extended all the way across to the row of palms to the right of the van), the only downside being the racket made by the lake aerator which banged away for most of the day.
Fortunately the noisy paddles of this machine were turned off before 'happy hour' when we did enjoy looking across the lengthening shadows of the palms as they extended across the now serene waters of the lake.
There is no doubt that the design, gardens, lawns and lakes of this park are magnificent, but as I said earlier, this all comes at a cost.
And again to be fair, the prices charged do allow for the development and maintenance of significant park infrastructure. Our amenities block
housed facilities which were of the standard we expected in a park such as this, well tiled, plenty of space, a good shower stream and kept immaculately clean.
The nearby park pool was a real gem. This shot does not really capture the full scope of this large aquatic playground and its delightful tropical garden surroundings. And this is a pool which is large enough to actually swim in it, laps that is!
This area of the park is 'party central'. Not too far from the pool is the complex which housed the large
and very well equipped camp kitchen
where we took full advantage of one of the clean BBQ plates for a good old evening 'sausage sizzle'.
But here at Rollingstone there is much more to this area. As I noted earlier, this is party central. Pizza nights are a feature of life here,
whilst the park's much vaunted liquor licence allows patrons to buy a drink or two at the bar and cafe
whilst perhaps watching a movie
or being entertained with live music or other theatrical delights performed on the nearby stage. Good try, Lizzie.....'don't give up your day job!'
All of this is complemented by views out over one of the lakes. Pretty impressive stuff, but all designed to 'value add' for the park owner. Our two nights here did not include those on which any form of knees up was on the park agenda, and we were certainly not going to pay inflated prices to sip on a happy hour beverage or two here when we had all we needed on site.
Speaking of sites, whilst many here are 'lakeside', there are plenty available for those who prefer to be closer to the beach. These are but a few of them, complete with colourful en-suite huts.
By panning a little to the right from the previous shot, the proximity of the beach comes into focus
complete with the beachfront pergola which features heavily in the advertising blurb for this park as the very spot for an evening meal overlooking the Coral Sea. Get in early...seating is strictly limited!
Mind you, after the recent kiss on the cheek along this coast from Cyclone Debbie, this structure is now hanging on to its beachfront location by a thread. We suspected that another decent blow along this coast could well see its demise.
As would be expected in a park of this nature, a number of well found cabins form park of the infrastructure. These were just in front our our patch.
With what I thought was a nice touch of whimsy and a play on the name of the area, each cabin is named individually......with the title of one of the songs made famous by the 'human' Rollingstones....complete with the band's famous outstretched tongue symbol.
Just beyond our section of the park, a short stroll through this shady bower
took us to the other 'doggie section'. Here, as I mentioned previously, some of the sites are located on absolute beachfront.
On the day of our arrival this area was quite crowded, but the weather was marginal to say the least. As we wandered about getting our bearings, we were highly amused to see many patrons of this section of the park hunkered down in their chairs, rugged up like 'Nanook of the North', utterly determined to make the most of their prime position irrespective of the fact that a goodly gale was hooting in off the Coral Sea. They reminded us of our British cousins lined up in deck chairs on pebble strewn 'beaches' equally bent on 'enjoying life by the seaside' no matter what!
Which rather neatly brings me to the Rollingstone beach which, like all the beaches of this area, changes dramatically in its outlook with the rise and fall of the tide. But before we stroll along by the seaside, again let me set the scene with another of Google Earth's invaluable overhead shots. The Rollingstone Caravan Park lies on the blunt headland towards the top of the photo, easily distinguishable by the dark strips which are in fact the waters of the park lakes.
A small (un-named) creek empties into the sea south of the park, and beyond that, the much larger Rollingstone Creek meets the Coral Sea at the headland which is the northern tip of Balgal Beach.
This is the beachfront looking to the south from the front of the park at high tide, which as you can see from the shadows, was late in the afternoon,
and this is what we saw in the other direction.
It was a very different story at low tide as we discovered on our tramp south towards the distant headland which is the tip of Balgal Beach.
As you can see here, the park is indeed absolute beach front, a beach which has scoured out badly as a result of 'Debbie'. The storm surge also deposited some large and very interesting pieces of driftwood, including this whole tree trunk.
We were not too sure how long the park pergola would last if this beach is hit again by strong winds and abnormally high tides. Its perch looked precarious to say the least.
Further south along the firm sands of the low tide beach, downed coconut palms
and others, clinging grimly to the washed out bank, were further evidence of the power of Cyclone Debbie and the waves which had lashed this coast.
Grim scenes of destruction
were a constant right along this stretch of the Rollingstone beach.
We continued our ramble south as far as we could go, which was to the mouth of the small creek which runs into the sea here north of the larger Rollingstone Creek. From here, in the far distance, we could just make out the white splash
which, in close-up, proved to be the somewhat iconic (for this area) Fishermans Landing cafe at Balgal Beach. We would have loved to have spent some time at Balgal but unfortunately the camping area there is far too tight for our rig.
So after gazing somewhat wistfully at what might be a prospect in the future once we downsize (whenever that may be!) it was about turn as we retraced our steps on the return gallop back to the park and beyond in the other direction.
Directly in front of the park, and to the north of it, the vista which lay before us as the tide receded even further, will hopefully make sense of the title of this missive.
Here we found much more than sandbars and low tide channels.......rocks,
rocks
and, as we turned the corner around the point, more rocks,
acres of them, stretching north as far as we could see beyond the sand fringe at the top of the beach. These dark brown, quite solid stones did have something of a visual appeal, for the sheer extent of them if nothing else, but they did not make for an inviting tropical beach scene and certainly put paid to any thoughts of casting a baited hook.
This was all far from what we had expected, and most certainly not the picture which is painted in the promotional material relevant to Rollingstone beach. For us it came as something of the last straw as far as this part of the world was concerned, or more succinctly put.....'been there, done that'.
For us Rollingstone and its park were like the curate's egg, good in parts, but the sum of these was far outweighed by the negatives.
Overpriced, too glitzy, too crowded (in the season), a questionable beach and with decidedly limited 'entertainment' options (other than at an additional cost)...this is not our scene. And of all that was on offer here, the thing which peeved me more than any thing else was the fact that there was a charge to have a crack at the 'barra' brimming in the park lakes. I could cope with a payment if the catch were kept for supper, but to put a price on catch and release is a nonsense and, in my view, typifies all we did not like about this place, one to which we shall never return.
crossed the trickle which is the Don River at the moment a short time later
and soon received 'three green lights' for our push north.
This is 'old highway' for us. The small town of Home Hill was soon in our mirrors
as we plodded on through nearby Ayr and eventually made out approach into Townsville, past the factories on the southern outskirts, through the area which had been so seriously threatened by bushfire last year as we came out in the opposite direction. We did note that a serious scrub clearance has since taken place!
We had one very important stop to make in this large Far North Queensland city....you guessed it....our old friend Dan Murphy in the 'Townie' suburb of Garbutt.
We had deliberately planned our arrival here for an early Sunday morning. We knew from previous experience that we would have no trouble finding a parking spot as we engaged in the critical business of resupplying the wine cellar and the beer fridge for our approaching winter sojourn in Kurrimine Beach. We entered the store as 'old friends' and left with a laden trolley and a much lighter wallet!
So with the van now groaning under the weight of the newly packed liquid supplies (but legally so thanks to our new compliance certificate) we made our way back to the Townsville ring route and out onto the highway.
The tiny town of Rollingstone itself is located just off The Bruce some 60 kms or so north of Townsville, but this was not our destination. We turned off the highway near the town and then made our way east along the oddly named Hencamp Road towards the coast.
In no time at all we had reached the visitors' car park
and the entrance to this very large park situated right on the beachfront. From the moment we arrived it was clear that all we had heard of this place was correct, including the cost!
With our dues paid for our two night stay we left the office with our cash reserves $96 lighter (that's right...$48 per night in this resort park and we were not yet even into high season) and made our way through the boom gates down the long entrance roadway en route to our site.
Here at Rollingstone, pets are now welcome, but only in designated areas. Interestingly, when we told the office staff that we had a cat, we were offered any site we liked, but we chose to stay in the 'dog area' deliberately to see how this functioned. To our great surprise, the two dog areas are more than acceptable. One is actually right on the beach as you will see later.
However, we were far too smart to take that option, particularly given that the winds were up, and had opted for a lakeside site. As we crawled on down the road
past the end of the first of the several lakes which are a feature of this park
and the fishing platform at the head of the next.
This is as good a time as any to comment that all the lakes are stocked with barramundi but perish any thought of being able to cast a line willy nilly to catch supper. Yes, guests can try their luck, but only after paying a hefty fishing fee first, and then only using park rigs from designated spots. Welcome to the cash cow that is Rollingstone!
The view along Lakeside Drive made it abundantly clear that the park was anything but busy. During the forthcoming peak season, these sites will be seething with activity.
By now we had almost reached our patch, which was at the far end of this roadway, one which took us past the delightful gardens lining the park pool fence.At this stage I must say that whatever critical views we developed about Rollingstone, these did not extend to our site. It was huge, flat, and well grassed. We did not even have to unhitch (which was good because we had nowhere to go!)
We were directly 'lakeside' and right next to one of the park ablution blocks.This was indeed a magnificent site (it extended all the way across to the row of palms to the right of the van), the only downside being the racket made by the lake aerator which banged away for most of the day.
Fortunately the noisy paddles of this machine were turned off before 'happy hour' when we did enjoy looking across the lengthening shadows of the palms as they extended across the now serene waters of the lake.
There is no doubt that the design, gardens, lawns and lakes of this park are magnificent, but as I said earlier, this all comes at a cost.
And again to be fair, the prices charged do allow for the development and maintenance of significant park infrastructure. Our amenities block
housed facilities which were of the standard we expected in a park such as this, well tiled, plenty of space, a good shower stream and kept immaculately clean.
The nearby park pool was a real gem. This shot does not really capture the full scope of this large aquatic playground and its delightful tropical garden surroundings. And this is a pool which is large enough to actually swim in it, laps that is!
This area of the park is 'party central'. Not too far from the pool is the complex which housed the large
and very well equipped camp kitchen
where we took full advantage of one of the clean BBQ plates for a good old evening 'sausage sizzle'.
But here at Rollingstone there is much more to this area. As I noted earlier, this is party central. Pizza nights are a feature of life here,
whilst the park's much vaunted liquor licence allows patrons to buy a drink or two at the bar and cafe
whilst perhaps watching a movie
or being entertained with live music or other theatrical delights performed on the nearby stage. Good try, Lizzie.....'don't give up your day job!'
All of this is complemented by views out over one of the lakes. Pretty impressive stuff, but all designed to 'value add' for the park owner. Our two nights here did not include those on which any form of knees up was on the park agenda, and we were certainly not going to pay inflated prices to sip on a happy hour beverage or two here when we had all we needed on site.
Speaking of sites, whilst many here are 'lakeside', there are plenty available for those who prefer to be closer to the beach. These are but a few of them, complete with colourful en-suite huts.
By panning a little to the right from the previous shot, the proximity of the beach comes into focus
complete with the beachfront pergola which features heavily in the advertising blurb for this park as the very spot for an evening meal overlooking the Coral Sea. Get in early...seating is strictly limited!
Mind you, after the recent kiss on the cheek along this coast from Cyclone Debbie, this structure is now hanging on to its beachfront location by a thread. We suspected that another decent blow along this coast could well see its demise.
As would be expected in a park of this nature, a number of well found cabins form park of the infrastructure. These were just in front our our patch.
With what I thought was a nice touch of whimsy and a play on the name of the area, each cabin is named individually......with the title of one of the songs made famous by the 'human' Rollingstones....complete with the band's famous outstretched tongue symbol.
Just beyond our section of the park, a short stroll through this shady bower
took us to the other 'doggie section'. Here, as I mentioned previously, some of the sites are located on absolute beachfront.
On the day of our arrival this area was quite crowded, but the weather was marginal to say the least. As we wandered about getting our bearings, we were highly amused to see many patrons of this section of the park hunkered down in their chairs, rugged up like 'Nanook of the North', utterly determined to make the most of their prime position irrespective of the fact that a goodly gale was hooting in off the Coral Sea. They reminded us of our British cousins lined up in deck chairs on pebble strewn 'beaches' equally bent on 'enjoying life by the seaside' no matter what!
Which rather neatly brings me to the Rollingstone beach which, like all the beaches of this area, changes dramatically in its outlook with the rise and fall of the tide. But before we stroll along by the seaside, again let me set the scene with another of Google Earth's invaluable overhead shots. The Rollingstone Caravan Park lies on the blunt headland towards the top of the photo, easily distinguishable by the dark strips which are in fact the waters of the park lakes.
This is the beachfront looking to the south from the front of the park at high tide, which as you can see from the shadows, was late in the afternoon,
and this is what we saw in the other direction.
It was a very different story at low tide as we discovered on our tramp south towards the distant headland which is the tip of Balgal Beach.
As you can see here, the park is indeed absolute beach front, a beach which has scoured out badly as a result of 'Debbie'. The storm surge also deposited some large and very interesting pieces of driftwood, including this whole tree trunk.
We were not too sure how long the park pergola would last if this beach is hit again by strong winds and abnormally high tides. Its perch looked precarious to say the least.
Further south along the firm sands of the low tide beach, downed coconut palms
and others, clinging grimly to the washed out bank, were further evidence of the power of Cyclone Debbie and the waves which had lashed this coast.
Grim scenes of destruction
were a constant right along this stretch of the Rollingstone beach.
We continued our ramble south as far as we could go, which was to the mouth of the small creek which runs into the sea here north of the larger Rollingstone Creek. From here, in the far distance, we could just make out the white splash
which, in close-up, proved to be the somewhat iconic (for this area) Fishermans Landing cafe at Balgal Beach. We would have loved to have spent some time at Balgal but unfortunately the camping area there is far too tight for our rig.
So after gazing somewhat wistfully at what might be a prospect in the future once we downsize (whenever that may be!) it was about turn as we retraced our steps on the return gallop back to the park and beyond in the other direction.
Directly in front of the park, and to the north of it, the vista which lay before us as the tide receded even further, will hopefully make sense of the title of this missive.
Here we found much more than sandbars and low tide channels.......rocks,
rocks
and, as we turned the corner around the point, more rocks,
acres of them, stretching north as far as we could see beyond the sand fringe at the top of the beach. These dark brown, quite solid stones did have something of a visual appeal, for the sheer extent of them if nothing else, but they did not make for an inviting tropical beach scene and certainly put paid to any thoughts of casting a baited hook.
This was all far from what we had expected, and most certainly not the picture which is painted in the promotional material relevant to Rollingstone beach. For us it came as something of the last straw as far as this part of the world was concerned, or more succinctly put.....'been there, done that'.
For us Rollingstone and its park were like the curate's egg, good in parts, but the sum of these was far outweighed by the negatives.
Overpriced, too glitzy, too crowded (in the season), a questionable beach and with decidedly limited 'entertainment' options (other than at an additional cost)...this is not our scene. And of all that was on offer here, the thing which peeved me more than any thing else was the fact that there was a charge to have a crack at the 'barra' brimming in the park lakes. I could cope with a payment if the catch were kept for supper, but to put a price on catch and release is a nonsense and, in my view, typifies all we did not like about this place, one to which we shall never return.
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