Blogs from Bowen, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 2

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Bowen January 10th 2010

The first day of 2010 dawned beautiful and sultry as every other day so far. Unfortunately the New Years day races idea failed to materialise (we would have to wait patiently 3 weeks more until Australia day on January 26th 2010 to wear our fascinators and zinced noses!). So with some leftover fatigue and food from the night before, I enthusiastically mustered up a modest crew of 2 and we headed for a picnic down by the creek at Plantation park. As you can tell the wildlife is remarkably large, and tame at that such that Olly’s bigger cousin from Billabong sanctuary would allow us to ‘ride’ him, if we could capture him to start with. Adulthood is just another phase of childhood after all, is that not what Sigmund Freud would say??? In fact he ... read more

...followed by capturing it Steve Irwin style

Wallaman Falls, Townsville, Bowen

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Bowen October 21st 2009

Mission Beach1

Lennart

Ok finally heading south. We left cairns for ever on tuesday. First stop was mission beach. As the name says nice beaches. We found a lonely campsite a few kms north with just 10 sites but very nice. We had a lazy day at the beach on wednesday and went rafting on the tully river on thursday. Lots of fun. Crazy really.... jonas fell out all the time. It was really good. We spend most of the day rafting including a bbq and a beer afterwards. We all got wet as you can see on the photos and it really was scary and a bit painfull at some points but so much fun. We left mission beach on friday went to wallaman falls. The highest free flowing waterfalls in oz. Pretty impressive but it sadly not ... read more

A short stay in Bowen

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Bowen September 16th 2009

Looking at the Bay

ValandDoug

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 ... read more

Paronella Park, The Whitsunday Islands etc.,

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Bowen September 11th 2009

Ballroom and castle, Paronella Park.

tmben

At the end of my last blog I put in a photo of Merry, Sue and Brian but somehow did not include an explanation. When we had our kennels in Busselton we had the great pleasure of having Lyn working for us and since we left the kennels we have kept in contact with Lyn and her husband Barry. A couple of years ago we were in Albany and met up with Lyn and Barry and had lunch with them and Lyn's sister Sue. Now back in Mossman in Queensland a few weeks ago. Trevor was chatting to a chap who had a Busselton number plate on his car and mentioned that we ran the kennels in Busselton, and a man standing nearby heard him and came across and said that his sister-in-law Lyn used to ... read more

The good life

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Bowen September 9th 2009

Our own Seafood Buffet the day after we got back from Singapore

weir

We barely had a chance to settle back into our unit in Bowen, and next thing we know Brett's parents, Mike and Robyn who were here for a few more days still decided to surprise us with a little change of scenery for the next couple days. Well maybe not the scenery so much, but definitly an upgrade in accommodations for 2 nights! On their daily walk to the beach at Horseshoe Bay, they decided to pop into the Coral Cove Apartments just for a little look, and next thing they knew the manager was showing them a couple rooms and then of course the Jr Penthouse... and next thing they knew they were booked in for 2 nights! And I mean how could you not, looking at the place and the view and everything. It ... read more

Local Red Spot Prawns, Moreton Bay Bugs, Local Scallops and coral trout. Yum!!

Looking at the kitchen in the Jr Penthouse at Coral Cove in Bowen

mossman -cooktown

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Bowen September 4th 2009

sugar mill

patricia daphne austin

We arrived in Mossman and the caravan park was very nice,not too crowded together and with clean laundry and toilet facilities which was very important as we were staying for three weeks.We got all of our chores up to date before Marilyn and Trevors visitors arrived.One of the first things we did was to visit the adjacent sugar mill and take a very educational tour.It was very very interesting and some of the machinery had been working since the 1800s and is still going strongIt was good to note that there is not one thing wasted after all the processing.Most of the waste products are put back onto the ground or turned into fertilizer and even the water used in the process is pumped back into the river cleaner than when it was taken out.About ... read more

The past few weeks

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Bowen August 27th 2009

Another spider. This time inside!

weir

The last few weeks here in Bowen have seen the weather heating up here in Bowen (or maybe it is just the humidity rising), and the water temperature getting warmer as well. The water in Horseshoe Bay is now back up to around 24 degrees, just about perfect! More flowers are starting to come out now that we are moving into Spring soon, and the work on the skatepark is still progressing. Hopefully should be done in another couple weeks. Brett's parents also arrived from Vancouver for 2 weeks, so they have been loving the area and the beaches and walking paths. They are staying in our caravan in a beautiful waterfront site at the campground just a 5 minute walk down from where we are. And they have been feeling good about themselves as they ... read more

Strawberry picking, or as it is called "Pick Ya Own - Bloody Awesome Flavour!"

Some of the biggest passion fruit I have ever seen, they were the huge!

Robyn in front of their campsite cooking breakfast. Not a bad view.

Bowenwood

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Bowen August 14th 2009

Hibiscus in the garden where we are staying

weir

Sorry for the delay in updating, we have had a few internet problems. Our wireless broadband "thingy" (and yes that is the technical term) died all of a sudden, so we have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new one (well one of us more than the other, you can guess who...). Things are still moving along here in Bowen and Brett finally has more of a crew to help him out on the skatepark so he should be done in another 3 weeks or so... The weather has been heating up the last week too, from 25 to 27 degrees (ha ha), although it feels quite a bit warmer as it's been a bit humid. We even had a sprinkle of rain on Sunday, which has to be one of the first times we ... read more

The Grandview Hotel, established in 1863

The building used as the home of King Carnon in the movie 'Australia', which is the Department of Transports building

Sunday afternoon at the Grandview watching the band play.

Bowen

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Bowen July 24th 2009

Bowen coast

Linley

3 July - 6 July Bowen was a really pleasant surprise. We had both heard nice things about the town but I am learning to take all recommendations and cautionary tales with a grain of salt because our fellow nomads have plenty of time to form strong opinions that don't necessarily align with ours, and they aren't shy about sharing! Bowen is a lovely country town that just happens to be located on a stunning stretch of coast. It has lots of attractions like the big mango, which the tourist guide tells me cost $90,000 - money well spent. Bowen is known as the mural town........because there are lots of murals. All joking aside, it's a fantastic place and we had a great time there. And little wonder, we were walking in the hallowed footsteps of ... read more

Day 25 - Bowen and Dingo Beach

Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Bowen June 27th 2009

Dingo Beach

thebeachdweller

7am start to the morning, which wasn’t good for Mia as she was still on WA time (5am) to wander round the Airlie Beach Markets, with lots of hand made jewelry and beaut local produce. Then a trip up north of about 65kms to Bowen, via Proserpine. There is a very cool shop in Proser, called Colours Me Crazy, which is packed to the rafts with LOUD clothing and way out jewelry, lots of candles etc. Mia was in her element. Took the usual tourist photo’s at the Big Mango on route to Bowen .... during my travels I have seen the Big Pineapple, Big Lobster, Big Prawn, Big Sheep .. it must be an Australian thing .. mind you everything is BIG here !! Bowen ( GPS S 20.00.45 E 148.14.44) seemed deserted for a ... read more

Brief history of Australia

Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name...more history

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