Day 77

DAY 77 – Friday

Thomas was up early to go for a run along the beach with Josh before school, while Mitch slept in.  We spent the day at Natalie and Michaels, packing the car to go to Fraser Island.  Michael gave Darren some hints and tips about Fraser Island as he had been there many times.  He also started giving Darren all of this fishing gear that he would need for the island.  In the end Darren had to say that he had everything, to stop Michael from pulling more gear out of his tackle box to give to us.  We went for a quick drive to BCF to get the things that we needed.  The boys spent the day in and out of the pool and generally relaxing.  We booked the ferry to go to Fraser Island the next morning.

That night Darren cooked some of his Spanish Mackerel for tea, then we had a few drinks and watched Hawthorn V Geelong in the Semi Final.  The power went out at about 10.15pm, so we all went to bed.  The boys slept in the house with Josh again.

Day 76

DAY 76 – Thursday

We drove into Harvey Bay mid morning and went straight to the Tourist Information Centre.  I gave Natalie a call and left a message that we were in town.  Then we drove along the waterfront checking out the caravan parks to see where we would stay.  As we were driving along, Natalie called back and said that we were welcome to stay on their property in the van rather than at a caravan park, so we decided to go straight to their place. 

When we got to their place, we met Natalie and she showed us where to park the van.  We got settled and had a cuppa with Natalie and she set the boys up with the PlayStation.  Later in the afternoon she went to pick up her kids from school.  She had a 14 year old boy, Josh and an 11 year old girl, Josie.  The kids became friends immediately and spent the rest of the day between the PlayStation, the pool, and riding their scooters.  We met Michael when he came home from work, and they invited us to have tea with them.  That night Darren and I slept in the caravan and the boys slept in the lounge with Josh.

Day 75

DAY 75 – Wednesday

The boys woke up early and got their fishing gear organised, then went down to the river for a fish.  They came back for breakfast without any fish.  After showers we went into town and did some shopping before heading to the Bundaberg Gingerbeer Factory.

We learned about how Gingerbeer was made, and the boys were excited to do a taste test at the bar at the end.  We got to taste the 14 different varieties of soft drinks made by the Bundaberg Soft Drink Company.  We purchased enough drinks to last the rest of the trip (and then some!).

In the afternoon, we went for a drive to the coastal areas that are easily accessible from Bundaberg.  First stop was the Bundaberg Port which was set in the river rather than on the coast.  Next we drove through Burnett Heads and then Bargara, where we stopped at the local council chambers to have a look at a beautiful wood carving of the ocean.  From there we went to Innes Park where we found a nice place to stop for some nibbles and a drink.  It was a nice grassy area that was a submarine lookout during the war.  The boys took the opportunity to climb down the rocks at the oceans’ edge.  We drove through Coral Cove and had a quick look at the resort that was located there, before heading to Elliott Heads where we stopped and the boys had a play on a playground while Darren and I went for a walk along the beach.

Once back at the van, we had tea, and decided to put a message out on Facebook to see if anyone knew of somewhere that we could leave the caravan in Harvey Bay while we went to Fraser Island for a few days.  It wasn’t long before I had a message back from Michael McIntyre.  They had friends in Harvey Bay (Michael and Natalie) that they had been in contact with, who were happy for us to leave our caravan on their property.  Michael gave me the contact details and said to give them a call.

Day 74

DAY 74 – Tuesday

We woke up and it was raining.  Darren did some finishing touches to Johns tv, and we packed up in the rain.  We said goodbye and headed south once more, stopping in Bundaberg.  The caravan park we found was right beside the Burnett River, and the boys made plans to do some fishing while we were there.

The rain had stopped so we laid everything out to dry and headed for the tourist information centre.  We picked up a lot of brochures and found that the last tour of the Bundaberg Rum Distillery was at 3pm.  If we went straight there we would just make it.

The tour showed us the process of making rum, from molasses through fermentation to the bottling and packaging.  The boys were happy to find that they got a taste test of the molasses and a smell of the alcohol after fermentation, but after that there was nothing for them!

At the end of the tour, the adults were served two drinks each to sample the different products that were bottled at the distillery.  Much to Darren’s delight I don’t like the taste of rum, so elected to give him my two drinks and drive home.

We then went back to the caravan park and had a shower, and decided to go and have a look at the lookout.  We thought it would be nice because it was getting dark and we would see the lights of the city.  Unfortunately, the area is really flat and the lookout is not very high, so the view was nothing fantastic.

We drove back into town as the rain started, and it absolutely poured!  The rain was so heavy that we had to sit in the car and wait for it to ease before going into Eagle Boys to get pizza for tea.  It had stopped by the time we got back to the caravan and ate the pizza, so the boys were able to sleep in their swags outside the van.

Day 73

DAY 73 – Monday

Pancakes for breakfast after a bit of a sleep in.  Darren managed to get Johns tv running on 12volt, as it had previously only been working on 240volt.  Mitchell, Thomas and I had a Bocce competition.  Then we went into town and bought a surf board (Darren and I paid half and the boys paid a quarter each).  The boys were excited about trying it out so we headed straight to the beach.  The guy from the Surf Shop lent us a second one so that the boys could both surf at the same time.

Darren decided that listening to the boys’ lesson was enough for him, so he would have a go as well.  He did really well and stood up of the board a few times.  Thomas got sick of the water first, but Mitch was keen to keep going, so I stayed and watched Mitch, while Darren and Thomas went to get lunch.  They came back with pies which we all ate at the beach.  After 4 and ½ hours (much to Mitch’s disgust) we dragged him out of the water and headed back to camp.

Once we were back at camp, we decided we needed showers.  The camp itself had long drops and cold showers only, so Darren set up his portable shower and we all enjoyed a wash.  After that Thomas took Johns’ dog, Skipper, for a walk down the beach while we enjoyed a drink and some nibbles with John.

We invited John for tea and while we were sitting around before tea, another guy that was camping at the campground (Neil) decided to join us.  He bought prawns, fresh bread and a homemade cocktail sauce for us to share.  He told us that he once made that cocktail sauce for the queen.  Thomas was quick to get a copy of his recipe!  Neil finished up staying for tea as well.

Day 72

DAY 72 – Sunday

During our drive the day before, the boys had noticed a skate park directly across the road from the campsite, so this is where they headed as soon as they woke up.  This meant that Darren and I got to have a sleep in.  They came back for breakfast, excited about going to Surf School.

We headed for the Surf Shop at about 9.45am and waited for them to get organised.  After filling out all the paper work and a short safety brief we all headed off to walk to the beach.  The surf teachers met us at the beach and the kids carried their boards down onto the sand.

They spent the next half hour catching a few sand waves, when the instructor showed them how to get to their feet on the board.  After a few dry runs it was time to hit the water.  Both boys managed to stand on their first wave, with Thomas being the first up out of everyone.  The next few hours was spent catching waves and wiping out.  While the boys were surfing, I sneaked into the Caravan Park showers and “stole” a hot shower.

When the lesson was over, the boys helped carry the boards back to the car, and then we went back to the Surf Shop where they were presented with their Certificates.  Then it was back to the camp, where Darren set up the portable shower, and all the boys washed off.

After lunch the boys decided they needed another swim, so we went back to the main beach and they swam while Darren and I went for a walk.  Then we went back to camp for more showers and the boys went to the skate park again.

Darren and I sat down for a drink before cooking tea, and Darren invited the guy that was camping behind us over for a drink.  His name was John and he had a really interesting story.  He had been a boat owner (originally from Warrnambool) and had skippered boat charters all over Australia, taking celebrities such as Lee Marvin and John Denver.  He had invented the “Sea Brake” after an incident on a charter that had nearly cost his life, and it is now on every boat in the world.  We sat and chatted until late, and then Darren, Mitch, Thomas and I watched “Wild Boys” before going to bed.

Day 71

DAY 71 – Saturday

The boys got up and went fishing early, having been told by a couple of locals where they might get onto some barra.  Meanwhile Darren and I packed up the camp.  We hooked the van on and drove over to where the boys were fishing to pick them up, then we were back on the road again.

We drove into Agnes Waters about mid morning and found Workmans Beach Camping Ground.  We set up the van, and Darrens priority was the television (Hawthorn was playing GC Suns).  As soon as he was sure he had a clear picture, we went for a quick walk along the beach that was a short walk directly down from where we were camped (to keep me happy and be sure that we would be back in time for the footy).

When the footy was over we decided to go for a drive.  Agnes Waters and Town of 1770 are very close together, so we drove along the road to 1770 first, and then back to Agnes Waters.  The boys were keen to do the $17 surf school that Kristy and Chris had told us about, so we found a brochure and went to the Surf Shop to find out the details.  It turned out that we didn’t need to book, so we went back to camp.

DAY 70

DAY 70 – Friday

We left Yepoon and Darren had to pull up a short way out the road to pump up one of the car tyres that hadn’t been pumped up enough after 4wding.  Then we headed into Rockhampton, stopping to look at some shops before getting back on the road.

After a short stop at Gladstone for fuel we headed through to Tannum Sands and parked near the beach.  I cooked 2min noodles for lunch and then we went for a walk along the beach.  It was quite a windy day so the beach was full of kite surfers.  The boys stopped and talked to one guy that was getting ready to start, and he gave them some of the finer points of kite surfing.  They were great to watch and the speed he got was amazing.

Then we headed to a free camp on the Calliope River.  We found a great spot back off the river bank and it wasn’t long before the boys had the fishing gear out and were heading to the waters edge.  Meanwhile Darren got started on doing an oil change on the car.  Thomas gave up on the fishing first and came back to help Darren with the oil change.  When he had finished we went for a walk along the river to see how Mitch was going.  They all fished for a bit longer then we went back to the van for tea.

While I cooked tea, Darren lit a small campfire behind the caravan.  We sat around the fire and ate tea, enjoying the serenity of the camp.  The boys could hear a rustling in the bushes so they got out their torches.  The rustling turned out to be bilbies that were rummaging for food.  We also saw a possum that enjoyed a piece of Thomas’ hamburger.

Day 69

DAY 69 – Thursday

After having bacon and eggs for breakfast, we packed lunch and headed to Byfield National Park.  Our first stop was Upper Stoney Creek where we had to cross the creek to get to the parking area.  We walked to the swimming area and noticed that the signs warned about there being freshwater stonefish in the creek.  They suggested that you swim rather than walk or wade!  Darren, Mitch and Thomas walked back across the creek on the road we had driven on, and decided that the water was too cold for swimming.

The visitor guide showed a track to the beach that was a medium 4wd track, and we decided to go for a look.  The first part of the road was bitumen, which soon turned to gravel.  We met a few cars going the other way, and stopped to chat to one guy that was pumping his tyres back up.  He said that the view was awesome, but that the first hill was a “doozie”.  Before long we came to an area where you could pull off the road and the sign suggested that you let your tyres down for the next part, so we did.

It wasn’t far before the track change to sand and we were thankful that we had let the tyres down.  Darren was enjoying the chance to drive in the different conditions.  The first hill was steep and sandy, and seemed to go on forever.  When we reached the top the ground flattened out but the sand continued.  We completed the first track and decided to do the Death Valley Loop, which was more of the same.  We finally came out at a small secluded township called Stockyard Point.  It was made up of three sandy tracks and maybe a dozen houses.  The population was 10.  One of the roads was Thong Ave, and it had string across the street in about three places.  On the string was a sign saying “Thong Ave” and a heap of pairs of thongs.

We drove out onto the point where there was a lookout.  It gave us a beautiful view of a long sandy beach one way, and Five Rocks Point the other way.  Then we took another track to Nine Mile Beach. 

We drove along the beach a little way before coming to an area where the water was running across the beach along a bit of a channel.  Darren checked that it was safe to go across, before we actually crossed it.  We parked at Waterfall Creek parking area on the beach, and the boys played on the sand dunes.  Then we had lunch, and headed further along the beach.

Darren was in his element driving along the sand, but as this is something I am a bit phobic about, it was a white knuckle drive for me.  It didn’t help matters when we came to a part of the beach where the tide had not gone out far enough and the sand was a bit soft.  Darren turned around and drove out of it pretty easily, but not without scaring the hell out of me in the process.

We drove back to some orange sand dunes called Orange Bowl, where we parked the car and the boys ran off to explore.  Darren and I sat on the beach for a while, then followed them for a look.  When we had enough we dusted off the sand and got back into the car.  Darren found a book of Queensland National Parks Legislation on the sand so he picked it up and put it in the car.

The road to leave the beach was over a small sand hill through a narrow gap.  Darren did not hit it on the right angle and we all got thrown around on the way over.  Then we followed the 4wd sand track to take us out of the park.  We hadn’t gone far when Thomas noticed that there was another car following us.  Darren pulled off the road to let them pass.  When they pulled alongside us they stopped and we saw that they were rangers.  Darren asked if they had lost a Legislation book, and it turned out that it was theirs.  They were pretty happy to get it back.

Back on the road again, we made our way out to the area where we had let down our tyres, and this time we stopped and used the compressor to pump them back up.

Once back at Yepoon, the boys wanted to climb on the “web” again, so they did that while Darren got some things for an oil change from Super Cheap Auto.  Then we went to the car wash and washed off some of the sand, before heading back to the caravan.  The boys went to the skate park while we cooked tea, and then we walked over to pick them up.

Day 68

DAY 68 – Wednesday

We packed the van in the morning and headed toward Rockhampton.  On the way we decided to call into Yepoon for a look while we had lunch.  After calling in to the Tourist Information we decided to drive 20km and stay at a council caravan park at Emu Park.  We selected a nice sheltered site and set up the van, then decided to go for a look around.

Our first stop was the Singing Ship.  It was basically a white sculpture of a ship that was erected to honour Captain Cook, who had landed here and walked up to this point.  The amazing thing about this sculpture is that the masts of the ship were made out of wind chimes, and with the wind blowing from the ocean, it was constantly “singing”.

Next we headed north to the town of Yepoon, where we found the swimming beach.  We went for a walk along the beach while Mitchell and Thomas played rugby/football and the sand.  Along the Esplanade we also found a “climbing web” and Mitchell and Thomas swung and climbed on it for a while before Darren couldn’t resist joining them.  On the way back to Emu Park we checked out a few fishing spots, but nobody seemed to be catching anything. 

Great Keppel Island is just across the way from Yepoon, and we went to the booking office to see about going across on the ferry.  The ferry was booked out for Thursday so we couldn’t get on. (They also told us that the insurance companies had stopped them from running any water sports, so that if you did go across, you were limited in what you could do).

Back at camp, we went for a walk along the beach before watching tv.  Thomas went to bed early, and when Mitch went, he saw a possum at the base of a nearby tree, but it ran up when Mitch scared it.  He cut up an apple to try and coax it back down and left it at the bottom of the tree when he went to bed.

Day 67

DAY 67 – Tuesday

We packed up camp, said goodbye to the Pentlands and headed for Mackay.  We had been in touch with Anthony that morning and he had to go to Rockhampton to pick up something for work, so we decided to travel and meet him along the way.

We stopped at Mackay and had a look at The Good Guys and Harvey Norman to get a price on a small washing machine for the van, and were going to stop there for lunch, but we were out of the city before we knew it.  Serena was just the other side of Mackay so we decide to stop there instead.  When we got there it was raining, and we parked in the shopping centre and went to the supermarket.  For lunch I cooked some hotdogs on the stove, and we all squeezed into the van to get out of the rain.  We rang Anthony to see how far away he was and he suggested that we meet at Flaggy Rock.

Flaggy Rock was a very small town with one little shop.  It was an ice-creamery.  Mitchell and Thomas both had an ice-cream, while Darren, Anthony and I all had coffee while catching up.

When we said goodbye to Anthony, we headed to St Leonards free camp.  It was at an area that was obviously used to hold rodeos.  We found a place to park and had just set up when the rain came pouring down.  Another camper that had been there the night before said that the amount of rain they had had was amazing. 

Mitchell and Thomas had been playing in the rodeo ring when the rain started, and hadn’t been able to find proper shelter.  When the rain stopped they came back muddy and wet, but wanted to keep playing, so off they went.  They came back about half an hour later muddy and smiling.  We gave them a towel and some soap and sent them off to the shower.

We had tea, and then because it was too wet outside for the swags, we watched tv and all slept in the van.

Day 66

DAY 66 – Monday

Up with the chooks, when the alarm went off at 5.45am.  The boys had breakfast and packed their stuff for a morning of fishing and headed out to the front of the park where they were being picked up from.

I got up and had a shower then headed off to check out the local shopping.  I managed to fill in the morning wandering around the shopping centre (in peace), then sitting up at the lookout watching the boats come and go from the harbour.

Meanwhile, the boys were off fishing....

We were waiting for our ride to arrive when another couple walked up to where we were standing, they too were off on the charter. We chatted for a while when a Toyota troopy pulled up and our Skipper introduced himself. Arriving at the Jetty we boarded the “Reel Deal” and off we went, 40 minutes later we arrived at our first spot where we baited up and cast in hope. It wasn’t long before I was on, winding in hope of landing a “Biggun” I was soon disappointed L to find that my catch was too small..... and back it went. Most on the boat were landing fish of various species but nothing was of legal size when all of a sudden my rod bent over and was going berserk.... a few minutes later up to the surface came this ugly Moray Eel, Yuck, Back it went quick smart. This continued on for some time when our skipper decided that it was time to up Anchor and try our luck somewhere else. We travelled for about half an hour before dropping Anchor again just off Hayman Island where we could just see the resort. Here we fished for about 40 minutes or so with no-one catching anything that was of any substance so once again our skipper weighed the Anchor and moved a short distance to another reef. By this time I was beginning to think that we were going to go home empty handed when all of a sudden the game reel out the back started screaming as line peeled off at a very fast rate. The man that we met whilst waiting for our ride was first up, as he grabbed the rod I wished that it was me fighting this monster as line continued to peel off the reel. He fought the fish for about 20 -30 minutes before we got to see this beautiful big Spanish Mackerel come along side the boat to be gaffed and dragged aboard before it was bled. High fives all around as we rejoiced in landing a major catch for the trip. Our own rods back in we continued to fish in hope of landing an edible species for ourselves dreaming of a nice Sweetlip or a Big Red Emperor when all of a sudden the game reel started screaming once again, this time the skipper called me over and I took hold, keeping the tip up as best I could this beast of a fish just kept taking line while I waited for it to begin to tire, when that time came I just pumped and wound as fast as I could trying to regain as much line as I could. It wasn’t long before It decided that it was going for another run, line peeled off once again much to my disgust as I had just spent a lot of energy winding all that back on.... when I hear that there was another one on and Mitch was now fighting one of his own. Here we were, the Gemmola boys going toe to toe with the biggest fish that either of us had ever experienced. Looking over my shoulder to see how Mitch was going the skipper said “He’s doing just fine, concentrate on yours  so you don’t lose it” so pump and wind I go again dragging line back that I had just lost. This went on for some time before I hear that Mitch has his in the boat and now it was all eyes on me. This fish has now had about five or six runs and each time I am gaining a little bit of line due to his runs not being as long and the break between runs gets longer. Needless to say I was starting to get a bit Puffed but I was not gunna let this one go. They say time flies when your having fun and this was very much the case as it was about a good 40 – 50 minutes of fighting this fish that now seems like seconds as I manage to bring the big silver beast of a marine creature alongside the boat to be gaffed by the deck hand and brought aboard. Shaking from adrenaline and excitement not to mention the hugest grin on my face I was giving out high fives to anyone and everyone, yet another dream come true.... That was 2 down and one to go for the Gemmola’s only Thomas left now, although I couldn’t imagine what Thomas was gunna do if he hooked one as both Mitch and I struggled with ours. Well we didn’t need to worry because soon Thomas was battling a fish of his own, luckily it wasn’t a Spanish Mack as he struggled with the rod but was able to land his own edible species of Sweetlip and when measured was found to be over legal length. Mission accomplished just in time as the skipper said that we were over schedule and we had to get going because he had another charter waiting for him to get back, Anchor up and off we go heading for port. Along the way we managed to see a Whale jumping out of the water in a playful mood but due to time constraints we couldn’t slow down to enjoy the spectacle that it was providing. Back at the Jetty we weighed our catch and took the obligatory photo’s with My Spanish Mack weighing in at 25kgs and Mitch’s 12kgs the other one was 15kgs, once this was done the Skipper and his Decky were busy cutting slabs of flesh off our fish for us to take home. Wow what a day, one to never forget J J J......

Darren spent the afternoon filleting and bagging the fish for the freezer.  Mitch swapped his time between swimming and helping Darren, and Thomas was happy spending time with his new friends.  Later in the afternoon, Riley asked if Thomas could go into town for a drive with them, so off he went.  When they came back they asked if Thomas would like to go to the skate park with them.  He quickly grabbed his scooter and helmet and was off again.

Kristy came over for a drink until Chris came back with the kids, and then it was time to go and cook tea.  We had the Sweetlip that Thomas caught and some of the Spanish Mackerel that Darren caught, with salad, and it was beautiful.  After Chris and Kristy had put their kids to bed, they came over for a drink and we swapped notes on what we had done so far.  (They were heading where we had been and vice versa).

Day 65

DAY 65 – Sunday

When we woke up, it was humid but not raining.  We went down to the office to get some brochures on fishing charters.  The guy at the office told us that one of the other campers near us had been on a charter the day before.  We went and had a talk to him and he was happy with the charter he had gone on.  We decided to go for a drive down to Schute Harbour. 

When we got there, we first went up to Lions Lookout, which gave us an amazing view of Long Island, Daydream Island and all the boats in the harbour.  We parked at the wharf and went for a walk, thinking that we could book the fishing charter here.  The place was a bit deserted and the only shop that was manned was the booking place to go to Daydream Island.  We had a look at what was to offer, but it was all a bit expensive. 

After a walk along the wharf to see what people were catching, we got back in the car and went back to the park to see if we could book a fishing charter for that afternoon.  The fishing charter was booked out for that day, so the boys booked in for a morning charter for the next day.

We drove into town and went for a walk along a small beach, then went to the Lagoon which is a manmade water pool on the foreshore.  Darren and I walked around while the boys hit the water for a swim.  We relaxed there for a couple of hours before deciding to explore the town some more.

Our tourist map showed another beach north of the town and we decided to go there.  After driving around the countryside for about an hour, we found that none of the roads actually take you to the beach.  They all came to dead ends that had large gates into private estates.  In the end, we gave up and headed back to the van for lunch.

Back at the park, the boys went for a swim while Darren fixed a loose wire on the air conditioner in the van.  The boys met up with some kids that were camped in the park and Thomas played in their van for the rest of the afternoon, happy to have some kids his own age to play with!! 

After tea we went across to the van where the boys were playing and introduced ourselves.  The family was from Beaumaris and they were Chris and Kristy Pentland, and their kids (Tamsyn 11, Riley 10, and Taj 5).  We had a drink with them before going back to our van for bed.

Day 64

DAY 64 – Saturday

We packed up early and headed to Airlie Beach, disappointed to arrive in the first real rain of the holiday.  We found a park and set up the van before heading into town for the Saturday Markets.  It was still drizzling rain but we wandered around and looked at all the stalls anyway.  Mitch found a hat with a spinning “rotor” on top and bought it for himself. 

Next we went for a drive around town and stopped at a Caravan/RV/Camping shop.  We looked through all of the vans on display and drooled over a couple, before checking out the camping gear inside.  Luckily I managed to get Darren out without spending too much, and we headed back to camp.

The rain had stopped by now, but the humidity was terrible.  We put the air conditioner on in the van and the boys decided on a swim in the pool.  Darren wasn’t moving too far from the tv because they were showing Hawthorn V Bulldogs, so he cracked a can and lay back on the bed.  The boys shared their time between the pool and the tv, and everyone was happy that the Hawks had a win.

After the footy, Darren and the boys went for another swim and we had a few drinks before tea.  We had roast turkey for tea and then watched Indiana Jones and went to bed.