Advertisement
Published: December 25th 2017
Geo: -17.7766, 146.108
Agnes Water to Kurrimine Beach 15th May 2013
It is becoming increasingly difficult to write a blog as we continue to find one beautiful area after another to explore but describing them in detail will produce one long yawn for the reader. I am not sure that the Aussies appreciate how lucky they are to have so many hundreds of miles of amazing coastline, with so many bays, coves and never-ending beaches that most of them are empty. It surprises us that despite lots of signs urging the locals to “Do the right thing” and dispose of their rubbish with consideration, many still throw cans, bottles and food wrappers out of their cars as they drive along. The sun glints on the bottles as we travel. Near towns some community groups take responsibility for keeping a stretch of road clear but it must be rather depressing when they see how rapidly the rubbish returns.
On the topic of wide open spaces, we were warned that there were lots of road works on the road north of Tin Can Bay. We soon encountered them and a sign saying they continued for 30 kilometres, and we were stopped regularly by men and
women with the STOP/SLOW 'lollipops'. No problem for us as we were not in any hurry, but eventually we came to the 'End of Road Works' sign. Thinking that it had not been as bad as expected we rounded a bend to see an electronic sign saying, “Road Works for Next 200 Kilometres” (125 miles!) What can you say? We have found that in some areas the campsites are full of people working on the roads. The same thing happened during the Depression of the 30s when road building became a form of job creation for otherwise unemployed men. Nowadays many of the workers are female. So I am not sure if today it is because of the economic situation that so many miles of roadworks are taking place or whether it is the need to repair damage caused by recent floods and cyclones.
Back to our route. Following the recommendation of friends, Paul and Sheila we went to stay at the Discovery Coast Holiday Park for a couple of nights. It is 3 kilometres out of Agnes Water, in the bush, so away from the busier beach camps. Eastern grey kangaroos wandered around the site. At night we walked around
with our torch and startled an owl out of his tree. There is only one resident couple, together with Julie and Paul, the owners, and whilst we were there only a couple of other vans stopped over. We parked near the residents as they have made a small garden with lots of flowers in the bush and it attracts birds. One afternoon all six of us had tea and cakes sitting in the little garden created under the tall trees in the bush, almost like a secret den.
Agnes Water itself is a pretty and well organised small town. The library in particular was especially welcoming and provided free wifi, just as well as Paul said he was having nothing to do with technology, he preferred peace on his campsite!
Adjacent is the Town of 1770 (the year Captain James Cook landed here) which is really a small dormitory village with holiday homes. We had 2 days of perhaps our best walks ever, on the headland there, as butterflies seemed to be migrating across the headland and the air was full of them. They fluttered by continuously in waves, predominantly the Blue Swamp butterfly but there must have been at least
20 other varieties. It was sheer bliss to stand and watch them being carried along, fluttering urgently from one plant to another as if there were not enough places for all of them to settle. Jim's only complaint was that they would not sit still long enough for him to takes photographs.
During the hot part of one afternoon we visited the museum. As you might expect, much of it was about Cook and his landings, but there was also information about Flinders, another English explorer who travelled a little later, as well as items highlighting the history and development of the local area right up to the 50s. I had never realised how much data was recorded in the ship's log and other research documents. Full details are listed of the ship's manoeuvres, commands, supplies, personnel issues, even the plants and animals collected and hunted etc – really fascinating. The attention to detail is impressive especially given the hardships on life aboard ship.
From Agnes Water we moved on to Emu Park and were lucky enough to get on a catamaran for a snorkel trip to Keppel Island. I went into the Camp Office in the afternoon when we arrived to
try and book for the next day. The woman on the desk was hopeless, she didn't know the weather forecast but said the weather is always good (?) , she couldn't arrange bookings and really just wanted to go home. She told me to try the office the next day at 7.30am (when she was not on duty).
That night we had a severe storm with thunder and lightning. It caused damage in the locality but despite this we decided to get up early and go down to the Marina to see if the boat we wanted to go out on was there and if they had space for us. We had chosen it because it took a maximum of 12 passengers. This we did and it worked out well. Hans and Diane, the boat owners said they had space as they had 10 passengers booked. So we climbed aboard. In fact a family of four did not turn up and when Hans called them the guy said he had forgotten, so only 8 of us went. Of course, he had made a telephone booking and not paid in advance. I think that is very inconsiderate. Don't they realise that
it is someone's livelihood they are sabotaging or are they just too selfish to care?
After the storm it was a perfect day with a flat sea and not even a breeze. We did a snorkel in the morning which was nothing special and we had lunch on the island. Our second snorkel was very different. I saw 8 or 9 turtles, 2 blue spotted rays and huge shoals of very BIG fish, including cod and trevally. They were bigger than me. It was a spectacular snorkel. After our previous visit to the Barrier Reef when we were disappointed with the corals and the fish life it was a relief to see a healthy reef. The journey back from Keppel to Roslyn Harbour was a lovely end to the day, especially when we saw dolphins.
After a night at a free site we moved to Airlie Beach, which could not have been more different from Agnes Water and Emu Park. It is the young person's Mecca, a very modern town built to satisfy the demand for good accommodation and leisure facilities in what is the 'jumping off' spot for the Whitsunday Islands. It is well designed (apart from the main street
being temporarily closed off to traffic while it is upgraded and altered) and provides the usual tourist necessities of bars, restaurants, shops and hotels. We tried to find an information centre but although a number of establishments called themselves Information Centres they were really just agents for the boats/planes etc providing trips to the Whitsundays.
Our camp site was simple but comfortable with clean facilities, tropical vegetation, a good book swop, and helpful staff. We had planned to go for a 2 or 3 night cruise of the Islands but unfortunately the wind was so strong that we would not have enjoyed it and the visibility for snorkelling would have been very poor. The reception staff kept checking the weather forecasts for us but were honest enough to say don't go yet.
I must mention the resident birds on the site, a pair of Bush Stone Curlews, a handsome, if severe looking, couple (see photo). It seems there were 3 until recently when a snake ate one of them. No mean feat as they are about 2 feet tall. The staff told us not too worry as they killed the snake. The down side of resident Bush Stone Curlews is they
make a unearthly screaming noise randomly during the night. On being awoken for the third time by an ear piercing scream Jim said he would have voted for the snake to live if he had been asked!
Because we had time to spare we went to visit Proserpine, a neighbouring, well established town near Airlie Beach. We thought perhaps the name reflected a kind of tree, a pine called a Proser? Wrong! It is a corruption of the Greek name Persephone. A large group of Italian migrants settled there in the latter half of the 19th Century and they used the Italian name for Persephone, Proserpina which eventually became Proserpine. The local museum was fascinating, quite small, but they have extracted every last droplet of nectar out of their mixed bouquet of history. For example, sugar cane and mining have been important to the town so there are entertaining displays about these. Then a former resident, one Sidney Cotton, lead an intriguing life as pilot, entrepreneur, spy, gambler etc. In fact, he knew Ian Fleming and they believe him to be the inspiration for the creation of James Bond. They also claim he invented the all-in-one flying suit.
During the Second
World War a chemical research facility was set up close to Proserpine to supposedly develop protection against chemical weapons. They needed to do the work in a tropical climate as the weapons were expected to be used in S E Asia and the Pacific islands. Given the influx of experts from Britain, including from Porton Down, it may well have been producing weapons but this is not mentioned. The museum had other random displays such as a kitchen from the 50s, and wedding gowns. Altogether it made for a fascinating couple of hours. And they claim glass louvre windows were invented in Proserpine!
Near to Airlie Beach can be found Hydeaway Bay and Dingo Beach. We went there twice because the road was such a scenic drive and on the first day we spotted a pair of Black Necked Storks. They are truly stunning, about 5 feet tall, with long red legs and bright blue/green fluorescent head/neck (despite the name). They used to be called Jabiru but this name seems to have fallen out of favour. The birds look quite comical when they spot a fish in the water and try and catch it because if they turn quickly their legs
seem to get tied in knots and they look as if they are going to fall over. There is also a very pleasant beach side bar in Dingo Beach.
But after a week of waiting for the weather to improve in Airlie, we gave up and moved on to Townsville. Perhaps we can take a cruise further north. The weather was hot and pleasant but too breezy to go to sea.
The reason for stopping in Townsville is that the Council have produced lots of info about their reserves and the birds to be seen. We were not sure if it was just an advertising ploy, but in fact the birds are really here. We first went out on Sunday morning and met a little elderly lady, (probably not far short of 90) in the reserve car park who had been out counting birds. She and her friends do it every month because, as she said, they tell everyone to come and see them so they need to check they are still there. She asked Jim where he had been and planned to go and as much of the reserve track is unsurfaced he said he was restricted. Now, as you know
we are not meant to go off the tarmacked road and despite my protestations Jim has more or less kept to the rule. That was until the lady bluntly said to Jim, as only old ladies can, “Well you can't be a real birder or that wouldn't stop you. You will miss the best sites!” So, the next morning, without my saying a word, off we drove (very slowly) ALL the way along the dirt road. It was certainly worth it as the birds were superb, even including Red Crested Jacanas and a Brolga (Crane), as well as more bee-eaters than I could have dreamt of. (Yes, sad but true, I do dream of seeing birds). Townsville is such a good place for birders that this blog might end up with nothing but bird pictures. I think I mentioned how the Aussies shorten words and add 'o', so a smoking break is a smoko, car registration number is a Rego (even on official forms), but I absolutely refuse to be known as a 'birdo' which is a name used for birdwatchers here!
We had a little bit of excitement at our camp one evening in Townsville when a van parked in
the next pitch and we suddenly heard a commotion so we jumped out to see what was happening. The young man who had just arrived, with his girlfriend, had brought a 6 foot long snake, a brown snake, one of the most venomous. Fortunately it was dead. A car in front of him had run it over on the road and he had wanted to take a photograph but could not stand in the middle of the road, so he had picked up the snake (hand inside plastic bag) and brought it with him. The man next to him could not believe what he had done. He said the snake is so dangerous he would not have let it anywhere near his car. He was almost hysterical. I am not sure if he has a snake phobia or is right to be so scared. Anyway, after everyone had a chance to photograph the poor thing it was carefully disposed of.
After Townsville we stopped in Ingham to visit the Tyto Wetlands area. More superb birds including Red Finches. The weather was still unpredictable with intermittent showers sandwiched by strong winds so we still could not get out on a boat. We
keep being told that the wet season didn't arrive when it should in the summer so now it is trying to compensate.
As we are approaching the high season for this area, the weather should be better. The increase in site fees is noticeable as we are coming from low season in NSW to high season in North Queensland, so we will try to intersperse free nights with commercial sites again. Some of the free sites are excellent, often provided by the local council or community groups like Rotary. One in Home Hill was as good if not better than many commercial sites, including showers, large kitchen and a coin operated laundry open until 10pm and in the morning we found market stalls had magically arrived adjacent to the camp, so we could fresh food shop before leaving.
The National Park camping sites are usually in beautiful settings but they have become more difficult to use as a permit has to be purchased in advance online and printed out – not easy when travelling.
Getting desperate to see some islands we risked taking a trip out to Hinchinbrook Island, a nature reserve with a well known walking track, the Thorsborne Track, which
is 32 kilometres long. It is recommended that people take 4 days to walk the track, stopping to swim, enjoy the landscape etc but everything must be carried along. Water can be topped up at a couple of places. We took the easy option of going across on the boat that takes the walkers to the start point, ( there is no other way of getting there) but after a couple of hours we took the same boat back. It was fascinating to see the island which is basically the same as all the land must have been like when Cook arrived, heavily forested, isolated and very difficult to travel through. But what really surprised us was the absence of birds and wildlife. During our visit we saw only a handful of birds and couldn't understand why there were not more.
We moved on to Mission Beach, or more exactly Kurrimine Beach to the north. It is in canecutters country, cane growing is the main industry here as you can see because the cane fields spread mile after mile. Kurrimine Beach is probably our favourite so far, huge, at least 3 miles long, beautiful sands, rainforest down to the edge
of the beach and today we saw 4 other people on it briefly. We hope to visit Paranella Park and go out on a snorkelling cruise before we leave here but more about that in the next blog.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.064s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 14; qc: 29; dbt: 0.0316s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Pauline
non-member comment
Like its sun hat