Queensland 2012

Woodgate Beach is a pretty village south of Bundeberg, the town spreads for about 8 kilomtres along the beach, the beach is flanked by she oaks and is made of white sand as opposed to the brown/grey sand and rocks on a lot of the beaches further north. The town is surrounded by National parks, it seems the local wallarbys have right of way in town, you can see them in most properties any time of day grazing on lawns or sleeping under trees.

Woodgate Beach

The first night we were here the sky opened dropping 128mm of rain. This caused flooding in the National Parks and stopped us accessing at lot of the areas we wanted to see. We did try to drive along a number of 4WD tracks, but were always stopped by a large stretches of water.

Flooded Boardwalk

We stayed at the caravan park at the entrance to the Cania Gorge National Park, this allowed access to the walks without using the car. The day we arrived we drove out the Lake Cania, the dam built in the 1980's flooded the old township of Cania. We also walked to an old gold mine near the dam.

There are four main walks in the National park, we did most - walking about 14 klms. We baulked at the 22 klm return walk to Castle Mountain Lookout.

Decided to leave the coast and head inland, our first stop after negotiating the notorious Peak Downs Highway was Clermont, this is a small town now supporting the ever increasing mining industry in the area. The first game of the State of Origin was being played and there was a party in the camp kitchen opposite our caravan, so being well outnumbered by Queenslanders we decided to venture out to a local pub for dinner. We both had to take 'doggy bags' home as the meals were so big. Kim ordered a rump steak, normally this would consist of one piece of meat, here there were two, add the 'all you could eat' veggie and salad bar, it was quite a meal.

We then went to Theresa Creek Dam, we planned on staying for a few days, but the heavy overnight rain changed that. We decided to move to around Emerald and ended up at Sapphire. Sapphire and the nearby town of Rubyvale is a gazetted fossicking area, the area has produced in excess of 90% of the worlds sapphires.

We didn't have a fossicking licence, so went along to one of the locals who will sell you a bucket of gravel and show you how to look for the sapphires. The photo below shows the gems that came out of our bucket, some are just show and tell, others can be polished and some cut.

Our first stop was at Greenhills, Cape Palmerston, this is a small fishing village south of Mackay. We spent two days here looking around at the National Park and local area.

We then moved onto Seaforth, north of Mackay for two days.

Visited Cape Hillsborough National Park, this reminded us of the Isle of Pines with the Hoop Pines along the hills and cliffs, the area was very pretty.

Drove down to Mackay to look around and to resupply. The marina is quite an attraction, you can drive along the breakwall which encloses the marina.

Booked into the Emu Park caravan park for a week, this is on the coast east of Rockhampton, just south of Yeppoon. The eighteen Keppel Bay islands, of which Great Keppel is the best know are quite visible offshore.

Our first day, Mothers Day, we visited Rockhampton, firstly the Heritage Village markets which were a disappointment, then the Botanical Gardens and the zoo within the gardens. On our way home we detoured to Keppel Sands, a small fishing village, south of Emu Park.

Next day we drove north along the coast to Yeppoon, visiting Kinka Beach and Rosslyn Bay. At Rosslyn Bay we bought local prawns and calamari for dinner - garlic prawns, followed by salt and pepper squid.

We visited the Capricorn Caves, these are limestone caves situated 20 klms north of Rockhampton. These caves were quite different to ones we have been in before, they were dry at the time of our visit, and had far less limestone growth, probably due to the distinct wet & dry seasons. One of the main attractions was the cathedral cave, this is fitted out with pews, lights and sound system to allow for weddings and underground opera performances.

We were booked on a sailing cruise around the Keppel islands, however due to increasing winds they had to cancel. Instead we took a fast cat over to Great Keppel Island for the day. The main resort on the island closed in 2008, leaving a big whole in the tourist activities. There is still a small cabin/hut complex, a number of private houses providing accommodation, as well as a few shops. It is a shame, the island is quite beautiful with its white sandy beaches and clear blue water.