Day 64 – Friday 29 July – Airlie Beach
It was time to move and at 8:30 am we did, south. There was a lot of roadworks in the 135 km to Bowen. However, that was achieved OK and we bought some Gulf Barramundi and Spanish Mackerel at Bowen.
Soon after leaving Bowen we passed the sole Agave Farm in Australia. This region has the same micro-climate as the region in Mexico that is famous for the same plant - that is used to make Tequila.
I could not get a photo as we travelled past so the adjacent photo is courtesy of the Aussie Agave web site.
It is an interesting story about what is happening in Australia with Agave. Click here if you would like to read more.
We stopped at a road-side stall and bought a pineapple.
By 12:30 we were on site at Airlie Beach and by 1:30 camp was established and lunch was eaten. It was a pretty spot.
We soon realised that we had lost the light cover for the external light that illuminates the awning (on the RHS of the caravan in the above photo). A visit to a local caravan accessories place provided a solution. So now we have a new light that is brighter than its predecessor.
By late afternoon the cold wind drove us inside for Happy Hour.
Around 6pm Darryl cooked the barramundi while Shirley made an accompanying salad. The barra and salad went superbly with the Pepperjack shiraz mentioned yesterday. Life is Ok.
Day 65 – Saturday 30 July – Airlie Beach
The wind continued over night and in to the morning. However the sun was shining and the temperature was fine if you were out of the wind.
We met up with Kay and Darryl at the Airlie Beach Saturday market and bought a cucumber and some corn cobs. We admired the view, then walked down the main street and had an excellent mango smoothie, plus some window shopping.
It was a relaxing afternoon. I chatted to a guy from Canberra who was glad that he was not home for the -6 weather this morning.
We settled for snags n onion gravy with mashed spuds and vegies for dinner - as the wind continued to blow.
Day 66 – Sunday 31 July – Airlie Beach
As we were going to bed the wind dropped and the scattered showers started. That is Ok, as it is good to hear the rain on the roof of the caravan. The scattered showers continued all night and moved into continuous rain as I was walking back from the shower just after 7:30 am. That was Ok as my (little bit of) hair was wet anyway.
Each time the rain eased and we made plans the rain started again. However, it was not cold, being 19 degrees at 9 am.
I had time to produce a catalog of some of the birds who frequent our camp site.
Clockwise from top left: Bush Stone-curlew, White Ibis, Duck 1, Duck 2
Bottom: Australian Brushturkey
While it cooled Shirley and I went for a drive and ended up at a school fete. 90% of the activities were rides for kids so we headed to the 'snag in bread' stall. The queue was far too long so we headed home for a salad lunch.
Day 67 – Monday 1 August – Airlie Beach
The day started sunny and that was the case for most of the day - our best day for a while.
Morning tea was a birthday celebration for Darryl with the left over chocolate cake. It was not really his birthday but we needed an excuse for the cake.
It was time to restock the cupboard and off to Woolworths we went.
After lunch it was a 3 km seaside board walk - and the coffee shop was closed.
It was time to cook the curried sausages for Darryl's birthday dinner, so we did. Happy hour happened, then dinner. All was good.
Day 68 – Tuesday 2 August – Airlie Beach
It was a rude awakening at 6:20 am as a Brush-turkey (with gum boots) clomped around the roof of the caravan. I suggested that he go somewhere else and he did. As I got back to sleep some campers decided that it was time to leave Airlie Beach - and most campers have a loud voice early in the morning - me included.
I lasted in bed until 7:45 - a pretty good effort for me.
By the time we sat down for breakfast - cereal and pineapple - all was quiet in the camp. However the sun was out and the forecast provided optimism of a nice day.
At 9:45 the four of us headed to Cedar Creek Falls, quite a scenic spot. We did not have a swim and resisted the temptation
to walk to the top of the falls. That is for another day.
We bought some bananas at a road-side stall.
We then drove to Conway Beach, another scenic beach location. Its bonus was the caravan park that had an excellent “Route 66” style café where we had coffee and milkshakes.
It was a pleasant spot to relax. A walk on the beach can occur another day. Most of the cabins and amenities in the caravan park were painted a wide range of colours. Every cubicle door inside the amenities was a different colour.
Onwards we pressed, this time having a walk around Proserpine. Shirley bought a couple of items, before we stopped at “Prossy Pies” – allegedly the best pies in the region. They were very good.
After lunch Darryl
decided that we needed to check out Lake Proserpine (also known as
Peter Faust Dam). It is a big body of water with cheap camping allowed
in one area. It is a pretty spot and was noted as a future stopover point.
We arrived back at camp in time for a coffee and some relaxation. Later we listened to an entertainer who played for a couple of hours.
Day 69 – Wednesday 3 August – Airlie Beach
It was the best start to the day for some time so Shirley and I headed off to the local Par 3 golf course for a hit - me playing, Shirley scoring. It was my first 'hit' since my thumb operation in February.
I was happy with my game and the hands were fine. Back into golf when we return home.
It was a pretty course and around 24 degrees by the time we finished.
We talked to a Melbourne couple who had bought a new set of clubs (for her) up from Melbourne. They were not even out of the original packaging. At the first tee they opened the packaging and found out that the clubs were left handed - and she is right handed. Not happy.
After a couple of hours of relaxation we headed into 'Airlie' with Kay & Darryl and had a mango smoothie - before a 3 km return walk along the beach front.
We BBQed a couple of excellent scotch fillet steaks for dinner. They were superb.
Day 70 – Thursday 4 August – Airlie Beach
The last day of our tenth week started with magnificent holiday weather, and just got better. Shirley got a new battery for her watch. Then we drove a few km north such that we could see Airlie Beach across the water, and we checked out 'Northerlies' - a bar and restaurant and flash accommodation.
We returned to camp and had a salad for lunch.
Motivated by the success of the Aussie swimmers in the Commonwealth Games we decided to 'hit' the pool. The water was a superb temperature for relaxing. Shirley won the new event 'sit at the edge of the pool and relax'. No one was able to match her performance.
I returned to camp and gained a valuable cooking lesson - "if you are going to cook muffins in the microwave use more than one cupcake paper". They are the flattest muffins known to man. I will do better next time.
Around 5:30 we headed to Banjo's - a local relaxed restaurant. Tonight was 'Lamb Shanks' night. The four of us had shanks and they were superb - for just $17.50.
We were home early.
Day 71 – Friday 5 August – Airlie Beach
There was a thick fog as we had breakfast, but it had mostly lifted when we went for a seaside walk around 9:30. There are lovely views in most directions when walking at Airlie Beach, particularly if walking near the ocean.
We drove from our walk to the local green-grocer and stocked up on fruit and vegies - particularly local tomatoes, which looked really good. I also topped up the diesel - the cheapest at $2.08 since Port Augusta at the end of May - for our weekend trip south to Yeppoon.
After lunch I lowered the awning and checked it for bird deposits and dirt. Although it was pretty good I gave it a refresh.
We then headed to the pool, to defend our titles from yesterday. That was duly achieved. I was disappointed that the number of 'reserved' lounges in the pool area exceeded the number of people in the pool. I wondered where the rest were.
Day 72 – Saturday 6 August – Transit Day 1
Airlie Beach was behind us by 9am - slow by our standards. But it was a shortish transit day.
Soon after departure we stopped and bought local road-side-bananas for $2 per kg. Not long after that level crossing lights started flashing when we were maybe 200 metres away. I had time to stop and get the camera ready for the following photo - of an empty sugar cane train.
The two guys in the loco waved.
Around 60 minutes later we stopped for coffee where sugar cane was being harvested.
There are some variations on the way to harvest sugar cane, but the process at this location was as follows:
1. The tractor and trailer follow the harvester, to collect the sugar cane.
2. The tractor delivers the 'cage' on its trailer to a waiting train (an empty train shown above), then returns to the harvester with an empty 'cage'
3. In the interim another tractor has been following the harvester.
4. When fully loaded the train heads to the nearest refinery.
We headed south on a pretty poor major highway (A1). We stopped at Sarina for lunch and Shirley knew where the pie shop was. So chunky beef pie and lamington for lunch.
Around 1:30 we arrived at St Lawrence Wetlands for our stop for the night - the same spot as this time last year. We chatted to neighbours and visited the wetlands. The excellent birds were outnumbered 1000 fold by mozzies so we returned to camp.
I was able to catch a sunset photo before Shirley served spaghetti bolognaise for dinner.
It was still 20 degrees at 7:30 pm.
Day 73 – Sunday 7 August – Transit Day 2
Craning his neck to stare at me
Apologies
to William Wordsworth
We departed the Wetlands around 8:30 am and headed south. Morning tea was a cuppa at Marlborough. The road was pretty ordinary.
Relaxation was encouraged and maybe enforced. We were made welcome by the local kookaburras.
Dinner was a couple of snags, a bit of tomato, mushrooms and an egg - and a couple of chips. Good Sunday tucker.
This chapter is now complete. We have travelled 11856 km to date.
Last updated at 8:20 pm on Sunday 7 August.
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