Australia: East Coast sojourn April-May 2019

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" Life is short and the World is wide"

Tannum Sands? Where the hell is that would be a very good question. Again, I would hazard a guess that many Aussies have never heard of the place. Before finding this dot on the map, however, we had to thread our way back to the A1 and in the process pass through Rockhamptonor “Rocky” to the locals. With a population of about 67,000 people, it is best known for its beef industry with an estimated 2.5 million cattle strutting their stuff around the local countryside. It straddles the Tropic of Capricorn and to cool things off during their scorching summers, Yeppoon is just down the road. An impressive campus for the Central Queensland University is visible from the A1 as was a magnificent botanic gardens oasis a bit further on.

Back into open country it was obvious the torrential summer rains, which had battered Northern Queensland, had not quite reached south of Rocky. The countryside was a lot drier and scorched and the many creeks one crossed, were noticeably lacking water which was not the case up north. This little 180km nudge down the coast was relatively short and inevitably the need for a caffeine infusion was essential and a right turn was made into Mount Larcom, where we hoped to find a suitable spot to chill over a good cup of coffee. Sometimes one gets it right, other times not! This was a backwater town gasping for something and a U-turn soon had us back on the road. They really do work hard at keeping drivers awake on Aussie roads and we soon found a layby for coffee and a power nap (just in case, after all we had been on the road for an hour).

Recharged, the journey continued and it is never a straight line. Up ahead was a turn off to Lake Awoonga and GPS Sue (doing great research), duly informed me that this was a lake renowned for its barramundi fishing. Brutey could not resist the magnetic force which caused a directional change and 8kms further inland we stumbled upon a magnificent, huge lake sporting an RV Park. Chatted to the bloke in the RV Park office who confirmed the Lake was renowned for large barramundi and they were empty for the week. Good enough reason to return there after our Tannum Sands stay. See ya later mate!

When a coastal town does not get a mention in the LPG “East Coast Australia” travel guide book, there is cause to think; “have we made a bad choice here.? Drifting into this little resort town late afternoon was mind blowing. With a population of just over 5,000, it was picture perfect. Modern, immaculate and embracing a superb beachfront area, we were gobsmacked. The Discovery Tannum Sands RV Park was situated in park like surrounds on the edge of a pristine estuary called Cattle Creek. I have banged on about the walkways/promenades one encounters in these coastal towns and this place was no exception. The Millennium Walkway of 2.5km was across the road from the RV Park and threaded a path through beautiful coastal forest running alongside the beachfront. After a day on the road it is always good to set off on foot and I could not get my head around the way in which so many of the coastal towns we had visited, manage to construct such magnificent walkways. Over sundowners, in the sublime surrounds of the RV Park, our conversation centred on this unique feature and an impossible question to answer, if anyone cared to ask, would be; “so, which town had the most impressive walkway/promenade.?” I suggest the Aussies should have a national competition so that the people can decide. They are seriously spoilt for choice.

On things Australian, something we have noticed in Public Toilets and RV Park washroom facilities are the “Sharp Objects/Syringes” small, enclosed bins on the walls. Mostly sort of bright yellow/orange. From an RV Park perspective, are the grey nomads up to something that we are missing? Google cannot be relied on for complete accuracy but a search revealed that Australia, according to statistics, has become one of the World’s leading countries of recreational drug users. Surprising, but there you go! To ensure perspective, SA is right up there in the big league as well.

The one thing that has been repetitive in our various lodgings is the presence of a wide variety of birds due largely to the natural surroundings of the RV/Caravan Parks. They are raucous and noisy and peak in the early dawn so any light sleeper, (like myself), has no chance. The champions of this cacophony of sound is the kookaburra and in this RV Park they are smart and line up at the doorway as soon as breakfast is underway. Not shy, one actually leapt onto the table in the RV to claim a morsel. No complaints as dawn is the best time of the day and, along with sleepy Sue, we set off and did a 5km (Garmin audited) Millenium Walkway stroll. Superb! To boot, the local Council guys were already out and about doing their utmost to keep it all pristine and in good shape. The ocean alongside was distinctly bluer and cleaner and there were fewer warning signs about the nasties that can cause a problem.

The evenings in the RV park environment are ideal for lots of things; sundowners, internet catch up due to free wifi everywhere one goes and research on a wide range of topics, including fishing. Perspective is always needed and this is NOT a fishing trip, but if the opportunity arises then just do it. So, on day two I found the boat ramp on Cattle Creek and at high tide, it looked promising. Relief and pressure off as I finally hooked a small bream-like fish on fly. Too small for the pan, it was duly released. The Boyne River mouth was about a ten-minute drive north and in superb fishing waters, I caught two further fish; a small wave garrick and a garfish. Both released. The fishing opportunities along the Queensland coast are mind boggling and it became crystal clear to me why just about every Aussie citizen owns a boat of some sort. There are boat ramps around just about every corner and the Great Barrier Reef ensures calm conditions for launching and there are loads of fish to be caught.

Banging on a bit about this one; Australia is an expensive country and in trying to get to grips with income levels here, my research confirmed that the national minimum wage set on 1 July 2018 is Aus$ 18.93 per hour (equates to R190 per hour and R7,600 per week). According to a website “Payscale”, the average annual salary for a Doctor is $110,000, a Tiler $57,000 whilst for a Teacher it is $76,000. What’s the deduction from these numbers you may ask? I’m not sure, but I think it does explain to some extent the grey nomad phenomenon, when considering that a powered site cost in RV Parks averages about $36.00 per night and this means the cost for a 7-night stay is $252.00. No energy, water or rates costs and not forgetting the cost of maintaining a home. Lots of older folk we have met simply sold up their homes, bought the caravan or big RV and set off to explore a huge and fascinating country.

Undoubtedly Tannum Sands ticked al those small-town boxes and would certainly be deserving of a return visit in the future (as would just about every other town/city visited thus far). Fairly early on the morning of 9^th May, GPS Cyril was duly set for an approximately 26km inland jaunt to Lake Awoonga (actually a dam as a 650-meter wall was built across the Boyne River using rock from a quarry on the side of the dam wall). It is large with a maximum capacity of 777,000 megalitres (a lot of water). Importantly it has been stocked with a number of different fish species over the years including the iconic barramundi which is the Aussie “go to fish” on matters piscatorial. What got my attention was the fact that the largest caught to date weighed in at 36,5kg. Cut to the chase! Three lengthy fly-fishing sessions in stunning little bays from a rocky shore did not produce a barra. All I managed were two strange looking catfish. The only other incident was coming face to face with a lonely ‘Roo which gave me a close up and down look before hopping off. The location of this dam against the backdrop of mountains and forested bank sides was superb and it is not always about the fish, but the surrounds where one tries to catch them. Our RV site added to the spectacle and over evening sundowners, gazing across the lake was very easy on the senses.

This was the evening of day 23 of this 41-day trip and to date we had not had a single sort of average day. It is a superb country for the inquisitive traveller and there is always a real sense of anticipation as to what lies ahead.

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Photos

Cattle Creek
Great fishing water. Not sure about the fisherman.

Cattle Creek
Doggy discipline.

Tannum Sands
Beautiful setting. Note the walkway!

Lake Awoonga
A lazy 'Roo with "joey" in the pouch.

Lake Awoonga
The Aussies are World class when one comes to signage.

Lake Awoonga
Superb scenic setting.