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Off Bruce Highway
Refuge from a torrential downpour. On a superb, clear and sunny Wednesday morning, 1
st May, it was essential to take one final walk along the Bicentennial Walkway before drifting out of
Airlie Beach. The views along the waterfront are something special and inevitably got me thinking about all the towns/cities visited thus far on this saunter down the coast. Here’s the thing; there is not one that had up to that point, not created a really good impression. This leads to the question; so, what is so noticeable about these places we had stopped at for a couple of days on each occasion? The list thus far includes Port Douglas, Cairns, Cardwell, Bowen and Airlie Beach and not forgetting the many towns/cities we had passed through but which had been explored as well keeping in mind, it’s never a straight line to anywhere. It’s all in the eyes of the beholder but here is a short list of what stands out about these Australian towns/cities:
(1) They are all neat and well laid out and there is a good blend of new, modern buildings with some of the
Armstrong Beach
Tiny park but nice and rustic. old buildings still standing and functional e.g. the old town hotel. No high rise structures.
(2) There are very few derelict, run-down buildings to be seen (this amazingly applies in some of the really small towns as well).
(3) Streets are immaculate and signage very good. No litter in sight. Roadside verges manicured.
(4) Really impressive walkways/boardwalks and promenades. On the coast, a public swimming pool which is often a feature.
(5) Kids playgrounds, BBQ and picnic sites (zero litter) and open-air gym work out equipment.
This leads to the really important question; how do they get all of this right? Not sure, but I suspect it boils down to well run local authorities, pride and ownership of the good folk who live there and without doubt, the sense of community and involvement of the Aussie people which has been noted before.
A left turn onto the Bruce Highway as instructed by Cyril, meant we were on course for a small coastal town,
Sarina, about 180kms away. Away from the coast meant being engulfed again by endless sugar cane fields. The weather had turned gloomy and a torrential downpour resulted in an unscheduled stop
Clearview
Coffee and fly fishing. Is this heaven? at
The Leap, a model 1800’s roadside eatery/pub. A bunch of locals, who looked as though they were permanently glued to their veranda seats sipping beer, mumbled as we darted in through the rain that this “bloody rain wasn’t meant to be falling in May on top of the 1400mm since December.” The no bullshit Barmaid looked at me with disdain, bordering on contempt, when I ordered two cappuccinos mumbling something about the “f…g machine takes so long to heat up” which I decoded as; “You prick, we really only serve beer here.” She was right; 20 minutes later, two not so hot coffees were served up. This wait provided time to read up some of the original Aborigine stories about this region which were graphically displayed on the walls of the pub. They were certainly brutal days for both the indigenous people and the early settlers who moved in to farm there.
Brutey was looking sparkling after the deluge and the hard-core dudes were still intently watching their beer glasses for leaks as we eased out of The Leap car park. Not far down the road we drifted into
Mackay, a city of some 83,000 inhabitants. Expectations were
Bruce highway
A barrage of signs WILL keep anyone awake. high but it stood out as just another impressive place ticking most of the boxes listed above. A quick trip around the beaches to the north of the city revealed much of the same; huge expanses of brownish, sandy beaches with creeks and lots of mangrove trees and the inevitable signs warning of the dangers of salt water crocodiles which, along with the “stingers” (jellyfish), are real beach spoilers. This is what LPG has to say about Mackay; “It’s only a 90-minute drive to Airlie Beach and boats to the Whitsundays” and “Mackay is a convenient base for excursions out of town.” Ouch!
Down the road south was our destination, Sarina. Drifting into this fairly small town off the Bruce Highway left a lingering thought; I wonder how many Aussies actually turn off at this point? Very few, I would imagine as most would be rushing north or south to more exotic and populated tourist hotspots. It wasn’t that impressive (but still ticked most of the boxes mentioned above) and was not our final stopping point which was
Armstrong Beach, about 20kms due east on the coastline. Now, when one is on the road, there is always that lingering
Yeppoon RV Park
This is a seriously good position and view. question; is this going to be a good spot to stop and stay? We drifted into the
Armstrong Beach Caravan Park fairly late in the afternoon and immediately noticed two flashing key indicators: firstly, this had to be the smallest RV/Caravan Park we had ever seen and secondly, it was quite full (would we get a site?). In the most rustic RV Park office possible anywhere, a few clicks of what sounded like a keyboard revealed that there was indeed a spot available. Brutey was duly lined up and parked just in time for sundowners and an assessment of our park and fellow campers. Fascinating! This was “grey nomad” territory on steroids and over the two nights we were there it became apparent, in our many chats with fellow campers, that they were there for a while (up to two months) and some of the caravans looked as though they would be there for ever.
A huge flat beach was no more than 40 meters from our site and a lot of the good folk there were keen fishermen which got my attention. The problem for me (and as Sue always says, there is some damn reason for me
Capricorn Coast
The Singing Ship. Hugely impressive. catching bugger all!) was the very shallow water and its awful brownish colour. It didn’t look fishable to me and despite my best attempts (keeping a beady eye for crocodiles), my catch ratio remained zero. On reflection, this was a good place to stay as it ticked an important box for us on our travels which is to try and find out of the way places with an element of the unknown. Not surprisingly, the Lonely Planet Guide, had nothing to say about Armstrong Beach other than the RV Park where we stayed for two nights.
A good, rustic break ended as we eased back onto the A1 (aka Bruce Highway and Pacific Coastal Way) with a heading to
Yeppoon, 326km south. The sugar cane continued to dominate the view out left and right and, once again, time to reflect on things Australian. This is a controversial topic but here goes. SA has an obesity problem for sure, but it was astonishing to see how many Aussies are not seeing the inside of a gym or other place of exercise. A quick Google revealed that a 2017-18 Australian Bureau of Stats National Health Survey showed that 67 percent of
Emu Park
Stunning layout for a tiny coastal town. Boils down to pride and community. adults were overweight or obese. That is a staggering number and it was particularly noticeable in the female category (apologies offered).
There is always a distraction up ahead and a sign denoting
Clearview was too good to miss as the ocean close by looked superb. This coincided with a need for a coffee break but a quick check of the ocean had me thinking…there must be fish here! Pulled out my fly rod and within minutes I was on the shoreline offering a seductive fly to hopefully, willing and gullible fish. Not to be. Retired for coffee wondering where the hell these elusive fish were.
Onward the journey continued and the road signs clearly catered for travellers like ourselves with relentless signage imploring one not to fall asleep. At one point there was a sign encouraging a game of trivial pursuit with a question: “What is the highest peak in Queensland?”. I kid you not. So, now you are awake, thinking, and a few kms further on there is the answer! Clearview, apart from fishing disappointment, was the end of the sugar cane and the countryside reverted to what it once was. Open, grassy fields with the ever-present
Capricorn Coast
Rosslyn Bay. Endless beautiful bays and beaches. eucalyptus trees dotting the landscape as far as the eye can see.
Just short of
Rockhampton, Cyril duly instructed a left turn and Yeppoon was in range. Heavy cloud overhead morphed into a heavy rain shower and this looked ominous for a planned three-night stay. Seems a lot of rain falls just inland of the coast and we drifted into the
Beachside Caravan Park with no sign of rain. A beachside RV spot allocation meant that the entrance to a splendid 7km beach was no more than 20m away. Bliss! The
Capricorn Coast at its shimmering best.
Woke to a brilliant, cloudless day with real plans to explore this new little haven and, once again, Yeppoon was a mirror of so many of the small coastal resort towns visited thus far. Attractive, smallish main street lines with pubs and eating joints and a spectacular walkway/promenade hugging the coastline. The public pool, named Yeppoon Lagoon, had a stunning layout and if there is a better setting out there anywhere, I want to see it. First up, GPS Sue, had located the Sacred Heart Catholic Church and off we went for 09h00 Mass. This Church has cornered the best spot
Capricorn Coast
Wreck Point. Capt James Cook was first to navigate this bay. in town sitting on top of a hill with magnificent views through huge front windows. Ever observant, I noted that the congregation looked like a serious gathering of grey nomads. By my estimate less than five percent of the good folk there were young families and kids.
Down south we found
Emu Park, another small resort town with a huge park filled with families doing the Sunday BBQ thing. What was truly remarkable was to find a superb War Memorial, located on a headland, in remembrance of Aussies who have lost their lives in Wars over the years. A huge sweeping bay and beach provided an opportunity to stretch the legs on a good 3km walk before an al fresco bit of “tucker” on the beach.
Threading our way back to Yeppoon we came across the Singing Ship, sitting prominently on a headland. This impressive sail like structure commemorates Captain James Cook and his exploration of the bay in May 1770. Concealed organ pipes use the sea breezes to create eerie music. Impressive!
Drifting along this scenic coastline stops were made at
Kinka Beach and
Rosslyn Bay before arriving at the
Wreck Point Lookout. The main reason
Yeppoon
This is the public swimming pool! Wow! for this historical lookout is related to the sinking of a vessel, Selina, in this bay on its maiden voyage in 1847. An impressive lookout structure with a walkway containing information displays on one Captain James Cook. What an explorer and to boot HMS Endeavour was only 105ft in length (here’s the thing, Brutey our RV, is 7m in length which is 23ft). Those must have been tough sailing days with only 56 of his original 90 odd crew finishing the journey. Malaria and dysentery were a scourge. Further on was
Cooee Bay which true to its name was cute and tucked away. A truly impressive coast line with a number of surprising places of real interest made it very easy to reminisce over a glass of chilled wine gazing at the ocean right in front of us.
The bad weather had definitely moved on and Autumn had set in which was confirmed by the following morning being cloudless and calm. The fish issue needed attention so
Ross Bay was located and within ten minutes I was on the beach fly fishing into the mouth of a small harbour inlet on the high tide. My spirits were lifted somewhat
Yeppoon
The walkways/promenades of these coastal towns are spectacular. when I saw a fellow “papgooier” (bait fisherman) catch a nice queenfish. That’s where it ended. An hour later, packed the rods away and settled for a 30km drive out to the Byfield National Park. This is a rain forest area north of Yeppoon which unfortunately was not accessible for Brutey in view of many unsealed roads.
A late afternoon 4km walk along the
Farnborough Beach (which fronted the RV Park) was a fitting finale to our time in this stunning town. Over the inevitable sundowner moment, we discussed whether many Aussies actually know where Yeppoon is and the LPG kind of confirmed this: “Yeppoon has a rich diversity often overlooked by travellers from other parts of Australia.”
One of the joys of the RV thing is interacting with fellow travellers and in conversation with our neighbour, he made mention of a place south by name of
Tannum Sands. Quick bit of research and decision made.
** It is 08h00 here on Wednesday 8th May and very aware of the National Election back home later today. Hard not to give this some thought and I am concerned at the outcome as I feel it will not signify Yeppoon
Artwork on a wall of a public toilet. the change we so desperately need. The prospect of an ANC/EFF coalition is the worst possible outcome and future for SA.
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Peter ( Spike ) Henderson
non-member comment
Good to hear your news
What a wonderful update - thank you. I must say very envious seeing all those neat, clean, tidy little towns and RV Sites - very impressive !! Sadly i must admit i thought it was Wilkins or Prior writing sad stories on the blog about the sad state of the fishing success - then i remembered you also struggle Will have to catch up in Trennery's on all the goings on - Lots of love from the Hendersons and remember ............. behave yourselves , we know Aussies too ( sadly ) TRAVEL SAFE