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Published: August 9th 2014
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Fan Rock, Double Head, Rosslyn Bay
This lovely rock formation is formed by thick lava cooling slowly from the outside and cracking and shrinking as it goes. Today we had scheduled to do the long drive to Yeppoon and around the Capricorn Coast to Emu Park, a total of 97 kms. We had hoped for another good day to see the beaches at their best, but it was overcast and cool. Despite this, we enjoyed looking at the many volcanic plugs that were dotted along the route, with their funny shapes.
We arrived at Yeppoon and drove up to a lookout over the Main Beach, which had dull brown beaches and grey sea and looked quite miserable. We’d been told that it was lovely, just like the Sunshine Coast beaches. What a difference a blue sky makes to the “blue sea” and “golden sands”! Nevertheless, we sat up there and ate a chilly lunch, greatly mitigated by our enjoyment at watching a pair of Black Kites who were playing with each other, swooping and, sometimes diving, without landing, to pick up food scraps someone had left on the grass. One managed to get something, holding it in its talons, bent its head and ate it while gliding around.
A man, and his two young children on bikes, walked along the street and were swooped by a
Dull Day on Yeppoon Main Beach
This just shows what a difference a blue sky and sunny day make to a scene. This would look as good as all the other marvellous beach photos I've posted from NSW and Qld but today was overcast and grey so the beach was, too! magpie, which then landed on a lamp post. Soon after, the kites swooped on him! Pay back!
In town, we went to the Tourist Information Centre, where there was a small shell collection. Most were the type of shells you see in any collection, but there were some brightly coloured snail shells in a range of shades of yellow and green, that live high on the trees in Manus Island. Best of all, though, was the “Noah’s Ark of Shells” display. The collector had noticed that a great many shells had animal names and had created a display, with a model of Noah’s Ark and his family on one side of the case, and all the “animal” shells laid out as if they were gathering to enter the Ark. Each one had a plastic model of the appropriate animal next to it. I had never realised there were such a lot of them! It was a clever idea and I enjoyed seeing what animals they had matched. Great fun!
We also went into two Art Galleries, but didn’t really like much of the work in them, except some wonderful pottery with bush scenes etched into the pieces. There
Black Kites over Yeppoon
This beautiful pair of Kites were having a wonderful time swooping and playing together. It's amazing how they glide and change direction with little movements of the wings and using the tail as a rudder. They rarely flap their wings at all. was even a pot with a little “swagman” as the handle of the lid. Very cute.
We then continued along the coast (past a rock face which looked to me like a grumpy bearded man) to Rosslyn Bay, which has a fishing marina and a Fisherman’s Co-operative Store where they sell a wide selection of the fish and shellfish that has been caught. Unfortunately, in the rush to get out in the morning, I had forgotten to bring along a padded bag and some ice packs, as I had meant to, so I couldn’t buy any. We were going to be out for too long and I don’t like taking chances with fish. It was very hard to walk out with nothing, though. I was very tempted to buy a crayfish for lunch, but they were at least $35 and I’d used most of my house keeping this week.
Next to the Marina was the 60 million year old volcanic plug, Double Head, which is part of the Capricorn Coast National Park. There was a road leading up to two lookouts, which we decided to follow. At the top, we parked the ute and walked up to the
Yeppoon Noah's Ark Shell Collection
A collector had noticed that many shells bear animal names so he decided to create this Noah's Ark and put a model of each animal next to the shell of the same name. There were 2 more shelves of them! first lookout with a view over “Fan Rock”, which has hexagonal columns fanning out from a central core, all overgrown with green algae and looked amazing in the afternoon sun. It was formed by thick lava cooling slowly from the outside and shrinking and cracking as the deeper rock cooled. Over the millennia, wind and water erosion has exposed the trachytes plug and these wonderful shapes.
Barry then climbed further up the Head to the second lookout, over Rosslyn Bay, but it was a bit steep for me so I stayed and enjoyed the views across the water and watched a Small Grass Yellow Butterfly flitting around the small wildflowers on the hillside. It was very peaceful. We also spotted a pair of Ospreys circling the rock face at one point, but they quickly moved out of sight.
We next stopped for lunch at Causeway Lake Park, which was popular for fishing and families so we had to walk a while to find a picnic table. We had a nice view across the lake and Barry had fun feeding the seagulls a crust of bread, while I watched a man teaching his young son how to cast a
Near Rosslyn Bay
We saw this rock formation as we approached the Marina. It looks just like a grumpy old mad with a long grey beard to me. fishing line, which kept getting snagged on seaweed. He’ll get it eventually!
We then headed to our last port of call, Emu Park, where there was a sculpture called The Singing Ship sitting on the headland. It commemorates Captain Cook’s landing in the area in 1770. It has pipes with holes in, that make up the “sails” and which sing in the wind - except it didn’t sing today, not even a whisper. Barry reckoned it was becalmed. It was very disappointing – a Silent Singing Ship! I had really wanted to hear it. We were told later that it had been more sensitive and louder but the neighbours had complained that it kept them awake at night so they reduced the sensitivity. Ah well, maybe next time!
We finished the Scenic Drive with the final short leg back to Rockhampton and headed back home. It had been a mixed day with wonders and disappointments, but overall a good one.
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