Paradise lost

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The weekend brought a deluge of holiday makers to Rainbow Beach. A large proportion of the holiday makers are children. Screaming, crying, noisy children. Children who are allowed to stay up until after midnight running around and yelling out. It will only be tow days, we said, and comeSunday afternoon they will pack up and go home. No, this is not what happened. It turns out that Wednesday is a public holiday and a lot of people take Monday and Tuesday off work to make a long long-weekend. Our lovely serene, albeit pest ridden, paradise is lost. Roll on Wednesday.

On Sunday we took ourselves for a planned excursion into Gympie for the market, shopping and lunch. I has read up on a couple of markets through the week and decided this would be a good one because it is later in the day and we wouldn't have to rush to travel the 75kms to get there. Yes, well that would be the Saturday market not the Sunday market that finished at midday. So we followed the Tourist Drive around Gympie instead. Sorry Gympie people, but we couldn't see the point of the tourist drive, there was nothing to see. We did stumble across a BCF and a Mitre 10 store, so we purchased some fishing stuff and things Frank needed to make a temporary repair to the boat loader. Next we went to the town centre to buy Frank a much needed pair of track-pants, because his didn't come along with us. Gympie is dead on a Sunday. All the shops are closed, therefore the cafes are closed too. The best course of action was to return to Rainbow Beach and find some lunch on the way home., except we didn't know the way. Trying to find the way home, we stumbled across a shopping complex and managed to purchase track-pants just as they were closing. Lunch was a salad when we arrived back at the van after somebody gave us directions to get there.

Yesterday being Monday, saw more unsuccessful fishing. A short spell at beach fishing was spoiled by seaweed. We were hoping to have another encounter with the sea eagle, but that didn't happen either. Evening fishing at the boat ramp brought us no success. Today, was housework day, washing, cleaning up and preparing for our departure tomorrow.

I think it is time to move on. I am well and truly over the sandflies and the 400 metre return journey to the toilet. On one occasion I went for a shower only to realise I had forgotten my towel resulting in a 800 metre return journey for a shower. I hope Woodgate Beach has no sandflies, closer toilets and fish. Despite all my grizzling, we have enjoyed our time her. The view is lovely and overshadows all the negative aspects.

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Photos

Australian Bush Turkey
There are a few of these things wandering around the caravan park. This one came everyday for some bread.

Goanna
Frank found this goanna wandering around the caravan park.

Tree goanna
The goanna didn't want to hang around to be photographed and escaped up a nearby tree.

Low tide - Panorama
The tide goes out a long way in these parts, exposing mud flats for much of the day.