Time to move on again. The cool, wet weather made it a bit easier to leave Elliott Heads – great quiet spot for a holiday. We headed into Bundy, had a quick look at the ginger beer factory and then hit the shops to restock for the last stint of the trip. It was great weather to catch up on school work so we decided to head for a free spot about 25kms out of Bundy and set up for the afternoon. The Wallum rest area was a nice quiet spot with a great park for the kids to run around. The dump toilets were not the cleanest we had experienced on the trip, so luckily there was lots of bush around as well.
Thursday 26 – Saturday 28 August
All of the ‘Heads’ we have stayed at on the trip have been great places so we decided to check out Burrum Heads at the northern end of Hervey Bay. Wow, this is grey nomad city! Looks like a nice spot, but in wet weather we weren’t going to spend much time at the beach so after a walk around town we kept going south to Hervey Bay where we had a few friends we could visit. After checking into a caravan park we headed down to the marina and called in on Billy and Sandra who live on a boat there.
What a great afternoon! It was great to see them again and the kids love “Silly Billy” and Sandra’s Irish accent.
We were then very lucky to be invited back the following day for a trip out into the bay.
Friday was a beautiful day to be heading out on the boat. Bright and sunny with a predicted top of 24 degrees, slight breeze…ideal. With all supplies on board, the first job for the day was to plot the course.
We headed out around Woody Island destined for Kingfisher Bay.
On the way we spotted a pod of humpbacks making their way south…lots of excitement from the boat. It’s funny how the excitement turns to concern (from Ella) as they get closer…”They’re not going to jump on the boat are they?”
As we neared Fraser Island it was time to get the fishing rods out and test out which fish like to eat sausage.
We caught one of those vicious looking pike but that was it. The lures were no good either…just chips for tea tonight.
After lunch and a bit of relaxing on the deck for the ladies…
…we launched the dingy and putted our way in to explore Kingfisher Resort.
Well, didn’t we feel like toffs, relaxing by the pool! We explored a few of the resort buildings before heading back to the beach…and there was our ride looking like a postcard.
Back out to make the return journey.
On the way home the skippers in training had a stint at the wheel…
…and steered us towards another beautiful sunset.
Skippering a boat isn’t really hard at all.
Billy and Sandra came ashore to check out the land yacht before we said our farewells. Thanks for a great day!
The Smithies all crashed very early on Friday night after such a big day on the water and in the sun.
On Saturday morning we checked out of the caravan park and spent the morning at a park on the waterfront where we enjoyed lunch. Luke also showed a few of the other people around (who stopped to watch him) that humans definitely evolved from apes as he swung with ease around the ropes course in the playground.
We were lucky enough to have another free camp spot at Mike and Debbie’s place just out of Hervey Bay. The kids enjoyed feeding the sheep.
Sunday 29 August
Not too far down the road again (well it’s not that far to Brisbane and we don’t really want to get there). We were on the road after breakfast and called into Maryborough for a look around. There’s not too much open on a Sunday (as to be expected when you are not in a big city). We love it because it gives us the chance to walk around town without much traffic. Depression is starting to set in as we near home so we cheered ourselves up with some bakery treats. The ladies and gentleman of the town (saw them at Warwick and Port Germein) were out and about.
After checking out what looked like the dump markets under Woolies, we continued south and pulled into another great free camp in the middle of town at Tiaro. Plenty of room, there’s a free hot shower and a playground and skate park right near the camp spot. We had driven through Tiaro many times on our way north and had always wondered why people would live here, but we loved it! Lots of friendly people. After some more school work we wandered into town and looked around the shops. The tourist info centre had some great stuff for sale at really good prices. We decided to splash out on a souvenir when we saw they had “Fat Boys” for sale for $60. We have loved our camp fires around the country when they were allowed – the Fat Boy would allow us to relive some of those moments at home. The kids burnt off plenty of energy collecting sticks and twigs from around the camp area.
We had dinner outside that night and were then joined by some of our neighbours for chats around the fire.
Every kilometre closer to home was another one wishing that it was a year earlier.
The Tiaro area is known for growing macadamias. Ashley was very keen to sample a bag during our stay.
Monday 30 August – Thursday 2 September
On to our final stop before reaching home. Tarnia’s sister Kirsty and her daughter Nyah live at Perigian right near the beach. We had a great few days catching up and playing at the beach…
Searching for pippis…
And pippi races (which pippi was first to dig back into the sand)…
On Wednesday we walked to the top of Mt Coolum – great views from up there. We spotted a few whales heading north.
After lunch we had a play at the skate park – gotta keep those skills up.
Thursday was it – the end of our nearly 12 month journey. The drive back into Brisbane left us with a bit of an empty feeling (although it’s great to be seeing family and friends again). What an awesome time we had. It was great to spend so much time together as a family, with everyday a new place, new people and new adventure. There are so many fantastic places around this country and plenty that we would love to go back to. For now though it’s back to the old routine while we plan the next adventure.
