A short stay in Bowen

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We had intended heading north from Port Douglas to Cooktown but a wind had come up and we remembered what a windy place Cooktown can be. So we headed south instead. It's a shame we missed going back to Mossman Gorge and the Daintree but we'll do that again next time!

We had a couple of nights in Rollingstone .. again .. which always recharges the batteries, and took off again this morning. It's a pretty drive through all the sugar cane which is so much part of Queensland, especially the far north. At Ayr on the Burdiken River and, thanks no doubt to the Burdiken Dam, water is plentiful and it's quite a food bowl with a lot of food being grown.

Once away from a plentiful water supply, the countryside looked much drier and crops were replaced by cattle, until we came to Bowen. Bowen grows mangos, tomatoes, capsicum and there are some salt flats at the edge of town.

We have never been able to get into the caravan park at Horseshoe Bay here before but were able to get a site this time. It's a little crowded dust bowl of a caravan park, with peacocks wandering around, but Horseshoe Bay itself is a nice little beach. Tomorrow we'll have another look at Bowen itself, no doubt now recovered from the time Nicole, Hugh and Baz were here making 'Australia'. It's a nice little town - the murals on the buildings are favourites.

After this, we've booked into three nights at Airlie Beach ... we're now booking early at favourite spots due to Queensland beginning their school hols this week, Victoria and NZ the following and then NSW starting theirs ... a month of families on holidays and no doubt most heading for Queensland and Northern NSW!

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