@travellingwiththeateam

We woke this morning to torrential rain and the prediction for Airlie Beach was for over 15cm in the next 48hrs. The tv news advised of localised flooding and gave a cyclone warning. This weather killed off any chance of our planned sailing trip in the Whitsundays, so we made the decision that with a week of rain predicted in Northern Queensland we would turn around and go south.

We set off at 9am and stopped for brunch at Roots Collective in Sarina. Great coffee and muffin.

Post our food refill, we set down our marker of driving out of the rain-belt and back towards Sunshine Coast where the weather follows the name!

The drive ended up totalling over 450 miles with us being on the road to close on 9hrs. Along the way we went through several torrential downpours of biblical proportions. Between these we filled our time reorganising our travel plans for the next 6 weeks, with a bias towards Southern Queensland & Northern NSW.

Along the Bruce Highway we came across numerous signs with very direct warnings – Rest or RIP being one of the more hard hitting.

As we ebbed our way through the 450 miles journey, we passed through a number of small ‘towns’ with some great Aussie establishments selling the staple beer, Castlemaine XXXX.

Around lunchtime we stopped in the crossroad town of Bororen where Andy went in search of coffee, only to find that the three places purporting to sell caffeine had all closed – & it was only 2pm.

Even the odd mix of Elvis, records and hot chips had closed its doors so we gave up the hunt and jumped back in the car and continued our drive.

Over the course of the drive we listened our way through a whole series of Louis Theroux Podcast and interviews with Nick Cave, Baz Luhrmann, Sharon Stone, Samantha Morton and Nile Rodgers to name but a few.

Along the way we also continued our interest in the varying street signs – Survive This Drive…

One of our toilet stops took us up close with one of the many long trucks that go up and down the Bruce Highway between Brisbane and Cairns. Mighty vehicles, even more imposing when they are sitting inches behind your back bumper…..

We also found ourselves ‘racing’ adjacent to the train with the endless long carriages being pulled along behind.

Mid-afternoon we made another stop and treated ourselves to peanut sandwiches and crackers washed down with fruit juice – oh we are living the high life!!

Late afternoon we stopped at Childers, another country town with the ubiquitous Aussie pub and a Queenslander farmer with his cowboy hat sitting outside.

We eventually stopped today’s road trip south of Hervey Bay, in Maryborough where we are staying at a Best Western Motel. It’s cheap and cheerful and most importantly it’s not raining!

As it’s Saturday night, we decided to pop to the local fish & chip shop where barramundi was on the menu.

The night sky was particularly red and even more appealing to witness without the persistent rain clouds of the last few days.

Having been in the car for most of the day, we decided to go for a walk to a nearby supermarket for healthy breakfast supplies.

Tomorrow we plan to continue our route south, and the weather improves, and a return to Noosa, where we plan to get back to the beach along with walks along the coastline.

Despite the heavy rains overnight, we decided to chance our luck and headed to Cape Hillsborough early to catch wallabies on Casuarina Beach.

Arriving into the Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park at 7.30am, Andy went off on his final 10km run of January before going on a trek to Twin Beach Lookout.

It was a case of getting out between showers.

With Andy’s run done, we had a wander and checked out the views of the rainforest meeting the beach.

With signs that the rain might be tapering off, we got ourselves psyched up to walk along the headland to Twin Beach Lookout.

As we started our hike we came across a flock of Red tailed Black Cockatoo’s who were happily eating their way through the berries lining the forest floor.

No sooner had we started the walk, the rain arrived and on came the Macs to keep us dry.

We had planned to do the full 4km hike around the headland, but the wind and rain were so strong we made it to the first lookout at Twin Beach, before accepting it was best to turn back and avoid getting soaking wet.

Typically as soon as we were back on the beach and close to the car, the rain subsided, so we decided to go on a bush walk in search of kangaroos and wallabies.

Lucky for us we found ourselves a friendly wallaby munching on some grasses.

With rains returning again before lunch, we returned to Mackay and escaped the harsh storm.

As the weather improved in town we decided to visit the botanical gardens and relax with a coffee.

The gardens sit alongside lagoons on the edge of town, and were awash with local birdlife.

The gardens were impressive and we managed a 2km walk along the lagoon bank without being interrupted by the rain.

The lagoons were filled with water lilies alongside a bounty of birds & plants.

As the heat rose out came the Darter birds to sunbathe and dry out their wings.

The lagoon was covered in Araucaria and Cryptomeria making it look like a carpet of greenery.

We also caught sight of an Australasian Swamphen, to add to the list of the other birds we’d seen today.

After an afternoon in nature, we returned to our apartment before taking a pictorial history walk on the Mackay waterfront.

It’s been a day of showers, so we got lucky again to stay out for a hour along the estuary front, before making our way to Cole’s for dinner.

As we left, the rains returned and we made a mad dash to our Quest apartment just in time.

The rest of the evening was spent listening to the heavy rains, which we now understand is the tail end of a tropical cyclone!

Think we will definitely be returning south to get away from the tropical rains that look to be fixed in the region for the next few weeks.

Tomorrow we plan to drive on to Airlie Beach and our planned stay at the Eco lodge for a couple of days.

Andy was up early for the 30th time this month and a 10km jog along the Bluewater Trail on the estuary coast.

Our original plan for Mackay was to use it as a base to head out to the Whitsunday Islands and check out the beaches. Sadly the weather gods had other plans. Over night it rained constantly for hours, when we woke this morning it was thankfully dry, but cloudy and with the ever present threat of rain. As a result there was no chance of going sailing, so instead we decided to chance our arm with a visit to Eimeo Beach.

Whilst we fortunately avoided any rain, the beach was blustery so we kept to a walk along the sands and had a leisurely hour or so reading on the grassland next to the surf club.

We then decided to chance our arm with a visit to Mackay Harbour beach, which on a normal sunny day would have been perfect for a leisurely swim and beach day.

Whilst the surf club was doing its best to tempt us with fish & chips, along with the nestling turtles on the beach, the wind and the choppy waters meant that our stay on the sands was short.

Back into town for a coffee, we visited The Dispensary, one of the recommended Mackay cafe favourites.

Early afternoon we checked into our latest apartment, at Quest which amusingly is only a few blocks from last night’s stay which we can see from our balcony!

Mackay is blessed with some wonderful Art Deco buildings so we went for a stroll along the Bluewater Trail which took us past the original Police Station and numerous works of art scattered throughout the estuary waterfront.

Once on the Bluewater trail we found ourselves taking in the extensive mural charting the town’s history dating back to its founder, Captain John Mackay arrived in the area in the early 1850’s.

Reaching the town’s outer limits, we were firmly in the greenery and came across The Big Mangrove Cap, an art installation.

To highlight the Bluewater Trail in Mackay six large colourful art pieces were created and installed. The six pieces are crafted by the accomplished artist Fiona Foley, the first piece ‘Crows’ is at the Blue Lagoon, the next ‘Yuwi’ in River Street Park, there are three in Bluewater Quay, the striking ‘Fishbones’ which can easily be seen from the road, ‘Shields’ and ‘Sugar Cubes’ by the side of the heritage listed Leichhardt Tree. The last is a bit further away at the end of River Street in the Sandy Creek Environment Reserve and our favourite, ‘ Mangrove Cap’. The art on Sculpture Trail was really fun to discover.

After a fabulous 6km walk, we found ourselves walking past the art deco of the Town Hall.

After returning to our funky apartment for a coffee and cake, we returned to the centre for the final time and Michelle’s visit to the hairdressers.

Impulsively Michelle decided to get a trim, her first in the last 18 months and choose the amusing salon named For the Love of Hair..!!

As Michelle went for a hair cut, Andy walked a little more along the Bluewater Trail.

Returning to the hairdressing, Michelle was enjoying the experience, once finished we managed to grab a photo with Sarah, to thank her for her efforts.

Tomorrow looks like another wet affair, so no beach and instead we are going to visit Cape Hillsborough, on the Queensland’s Hibiscus Coast, a paradise for nature lovers, offering sunrise moments with kangaroos on the beach and scenic coastal trails. Fingers crossed the rains aren’t too heavy.

Another day, another 10km run for Andy first thing. He plans to finish January having completed a morning jog every day.

Once he was back, it was shower, change, pack and then enjoy our breakfast thanks to our host Deb at the B&B.

We then drove north and inland for c. 60 miles to Eungella National Park and a hike to Finch Hatton Gorge.

Arriving into the Eungella National Park, we managed to dodge the rain clouds and started our route through the rainforest.

The hike provided a wonderful landscape of waterfalls, lush flora and volcanic boulder formations – Finch Hatton Gorge is truly a must-see attraction.

The walking track weaved its way through sub-tropical rainforest. We picked the most popular trail starting at the Finch Hatton picnic area which took us on a 4 kilometre round trip to the beautiful Araluen waterfall.

The granite boulders and surrounding vegetation made it an ideal location to take in the scenery.

There was an option of taking a dip in one of the nearby rock pools, a cooling haven favoured by locals in summer, but instead we decided it to leave to the young backpackers who we met when arriving at the falls.

We continued a further walk heading to the Wheel of Fire Cascades, another beautiful waterfall with a large rock pool at its base, popular for swimming, however the path had been closed off a few hundred feet away due to heavy rains.

This second part of the walk was more challenging, with uphill segments and stairs to climb, but the views were well worth it, even if we didn’t quite make it all way up the trail.

As we walked we kept our eye out among the rainforest for rare and unusual flora and fauna, such as the rare gastric brooding frog, the orange-sided skink, Mackay tulip oak, Eungella spiny cray and Eungella honeyeater.

Despite it being a cloudy cooler day, the humidity levels remained high and we both found ourselves working up a sweat.

Our rainforest hike kept us busy for a couple of hours, and we timed our return well, as within a matter of minutes the rain clouds returned and we experienced biblical storms for the next hour or so. Thankfully we managed to steer our way through streams crossing the road out of the national Park and back on to the highway.

We stopped near one of the rivers to see if we could spot the Eungella Platypus – despite taking up a recognised spot in their natural habitat we sadly didn’t manage to spot one – next time hopefully!

As we left the viewing spot, the heavens truly opened, so much so, we had to stop driving as the visibility got really bad.

When the rain eased we decided to visit Kinchant Dam, located in the picturesque Pioneer Valley, a perfect place for some peace and quiet.

It had a lovely park area overlooking the dam, with barbecue and toilet facilities available.

On a sunny day it would have been a great place to hang around and explore further, however the rain returned and we had little option but to jump back in the car and reluctantly head directly to Mackay.

In Mackay we checked into our latest hotel, the Met!

It’s your classic North Queensland local, motel style accommodation above Mackay’s finest pub grub.

The saving grace is that the Met boasts comfortable & affordable accommodation and its right in the heart of Mackay.

With the rain showing no sign of abating, we decided to have a more productive afternoon and found a local laundrette to do all our washing we’ve amassed over the last few weeks.

We spent the next couple of hours washing drying and then reorganising our clothes and bags.

It was then time for dinner and a real treat, cooked chicken and salad from our friends at Coles.

Once back at the apartment we settled into watching the latest series of the Night Agent on Netflix.

Tomorrow sadly looks as wet as today, in fact the next week looks generally stormy and rainy and we are considering how much further we should head in Queensland. Instead we are looking into travelling south away from tropical uncertain conditions.

We’ve booked a couple more days in Mackay and Airlie Beach in the hope of seeing some sunshine on a days sailing in the Whitsunday’s. If that doesn’t play out, we will take our chances by returning south!

We were back on the road today, after 3 enjoyable nights in Yeppoon.

Before we left Andy was up early running, his 28th day 10km in a row.

Our journey started in the pouring rain, so spending the next 3hrs in the car driving north to the small town of Clairview on the coast, seemed like a good outcome.

Along the way we got into listening to a few Louis Theroux podcasts, first with Tracy Ullman and the second with Ben Elton. Both were excellent conversations, with Louis having a natural talent in getting people to open up and to talk about their lives.

Around midday we arrived at Clairview, which sits only a mile from Bruce Highway and offered a wonderful Rocky Beach with views across an unspoilt sandy outcrop and the Broad Sounds Islands a few miles off the coast.

We stopped for some brunch on the beach and watched the clouds descend accepting that our chances of seeing any sun was looking highly unlikely.

With little else in Clairview apart from a few houses next to the beach, we returned to the highway and drove on up to Sarina arriving around 2pm. We had considered stopping at Cape Palmerston National Park about 20 miles south, however the rain had returned and we didn’t fancy getting soaking wet walking around the bushland.

Arriving in Sarina, we made our way to the Sugar Shed, an award winning food tourism attraction offering the full paddock to place to bottle sugar experience. Sadly this interpretative journey, using replica miniature mill equipment demonstrating how sugar cane is planted, grown and crushed finished just as we arrived – typical!

Instead of doing the distillery tour, we decided to go and explore the other big attraction in the town, the various beaches of Sarina.

The local Sarina guide provided us with a low down of the coast places to visit, and we made plans to visit first Sarina beach and then on to Grasstree beach.

Whilst in the centre, we went to find the other ‘attractions’ which included Buffy the Cane Toad statue.

Crafted out of paper mache in 1983 it become a float for a sugar festival. It was later cast in fibreglass to become a fixture in the town, in recognition of Sarina’s cane farming history.

We then drove 5 miles to the coast, visiting the large sandy open Sarina Beach. We went for a walk to chat over our plans for our return to Oxford in late March.

With just 7 weeks left of our adventure, we are starting to think more about our return, but are still keen to make the most of our remaining time and see as much of the East Coast.

Our walk along this vast deserted beach was very invigorating and whilst the sun was nowhere to be seen, the heat was still ever present.

The beach whilst sandy, was broken up in part by an outcrop of rocks that protruded from the sands.

Getting back into our car, we drove on to Campwin Beach lookout, but another rain cloud restricted our plans to visit the beach. Instead we enjoyed the views across the bay from inside the car, before catching up with some reading and planning our next stop in Mackay.

Late afternoon we checked into Golden Lace B&B for the night, a real bargain at just 90 dollars including an outdoor pool and a lovely decorated bedroom and roll top bath in the en suite.

We returned to the town centre for dinner, visiting a memorial to the Aussie soldiers who lost their lives in wars in Vietnam and Borneo. It was poignant for us having visited both countries over the last 12 months.

Our last stop before returning for the evening was a brief visit to the local butchers on the Main Street, where murals of Sarina’s dairy cows were emblazoned on the front and side of the building.

Tomorrow we drive on to Mackay, and have plans to visit Cape Hillsborough National Park, in particular Finch Hatton Gorge, a vast landscape of waterfalls, lush flora and volcanic boulder formations.

We woke this morning to glorious sunshine which bode well for our trip by ferry to Great Keppel Island.

With an early morning departure, Andy was up even earlier pounding the suburban streets of Yeppoon at 6am.

This will be our last day at our boutique B&B, the Coral Inn Resort, which is a blast of colour all splendid in yellow and blue!!

Our ferry at 8.30am was from Keppel Bay Marina, before a 45min sail across to Great Keppel Island where white sandy beaches, turquoise waters and coral reefs await.

We boarded the high speed ferry and got comfortable on the top deck ready to take in the views.

Whilst the ferry was busy, we had expected a packed boat given today is a national holiday in Australia. Thankfully we had a great spot on the deck and were able to take in the various smaller Keppel Islands. We landed in Rosslyn Bay at Fishermen’s Beach and it was like arriving on a desert island.

Landing on the beach, we hired snorkelling gear before walking down the main beach in search of coral reefs.

The island was blessed with an array of wonderful white sandy beaches akin to those found in the Whitsundays, but with less people!

After renting some snorkelling gear and getting tips from the local guide about places to visit to swim and sunbathe. Shelving Beach was our first stop, after walking through the stunning palm tree lane. There were a couple of small lodges that offered nights stay, but aside from this there was just one bar/restaurant and a single beach road around parts of the island.

An historical fact- the islands were named by Captain James Cook in April 1770 after the then Admiral Augustus Keppel.

The tropical climate and numerous beaches on the island attract up to 50,000 tourists each year.

There are 17 white sandy beaches with some of the highest cover of hard coral reefs on the Great Barrier Reef.  

As Michelle got comfortable on the beach and finished off her latest Stephen Fry novel, Andy made his first foray into the turquoise ocean.

After spending an hour or two on Fisherman’s beach we moved on to Shelving and then Monkey beaches.

After a perilous walk, then climb down around the rocks to Shelving Beach, we were ready to celebrate with a spot of star jumping when safely on the sands.

Our walk through the bush of Great Keppel Island meant we ended up doing some proper hiking rewarded by a lunch of a chicken burger and fries.

With a few hours left before we returned to the mainland, Michelle took up the opportunity to snorkel and explore the wonderful coral reefs.

Mid-afternoon the weather turned and we had a 30min interlude with heavy torrential rain, then the sun returned and we made our way back to the beach.

Before we knew it, 3.45pm had arrived and it was time to leave the sandy beaches of Great Keppel Island and return to the mainland.

After a choppy boat ride going out, the afternoon was a lot less eventful and we were soon back in port after an enjoyable trip on the water.

Early evening we returned to our favourite Yeppoon haunt, Keppel Bay Sailing Club for a coffee and read.

Tomorrow we are driving 3hrs North on our way to Mackay, with a nights stay in Sarina, another beach town we’ve been recommended and home to the largest Cane Toad Statue as well as the Sugar Shed, the town’s famous export.

Today was a relaxing affair, spent mostly at the Yeppoon Lagoon, in the sunshine reading relaxing and later enjoying the entertainment of the Australian Day events on the beach front.

First thing first was Andy’s morning 10km jog out to Farnborough Beach & back. On his return it was a shower, change and then we had breakfast provided and a large amount of peanut butter on toast.

With the plan to take it easy and stay local, we drove the mile or so to Yeppoon Lagoon and got our caffeine fix before settling for a spot of R&R.

Around lunchtime we popped to IGA supermarket for some healthy salad options and then dropped in to see the Aussie Day stalls and entertainment.

Out on the beach there were sand castle competitions and Pickleball courts.

We spent another couple of hours around the outdoor pool before exploring the waterside and checking out the local wildlife.

After wandering down to the beach we were soon encouraged to get involved in a game of pickleball. Having not played before we took a little time to get to grips, but by the end they had to wrestle the bats from our hands!!

Post all that exercise, we decided to take a liquid break at Crimson Finch Brewery where Andy picked out a paddle of beers to ‘taste’…

What a combination, Japanese lager, IPA, Hazy Pale Ale and Pineapple Ale. It’s fair to say they offered up an eclectic blend of tastes.

Back at the lagoon for one final session, we read a little more before a short walk back to the Australian Day celebrations where a local band were playing classic Aussie hits – Men at Work etc…

Having worked up a hunger we returned to Keppel Bay Sailing Club for dinner and to watch the Aussie Open on tv.

The great attraction to the Sailing Club is its location, views, quality of the food and importantly how well priced it is. Two main courses for just £20. Such great value – we loved it so much we’ve become members!

As darkness fell we returned for the fanfare at the Aussie Day event and a performance by a former Aussie Idol finalist Trent Richardson. In truth we’d never heard of him and when he got on stage with his Stetson Hat, it was clear that he favoured an American country & western style.

The evening finished in a blaze of fireworks that lit up the night sky and made for one of our later nights so far on the East Coast tour…!!

Tomorrow we are off to Keppel Bay Island by ferry to explore the 18 beaches and a spot of snorkelling in the clear blue waters. We may also get our steps in with some hiking around this small island across the day.

Morning routine maintained with Andy out running early down to the Gladstone marina and back.

After a quick dip in the hotel pool pre breakfast, we soon showered, ate and packed before hitting the road by 9.15am on our way to Emu Park some 90 miles cross country.

Emu Park is an idyllic seaside village with plenty of character. It’s home to the famous Singing Ship sculpture. Set against a spectacular coastal vista, the majestic monument commemorates the area’s legacy of the historical explorations of Captain James Cook.

The gentle sea breeze produces a musical sound through fluted pipes that reminds you of an orchestra prepping for a performance.

Bell Park, located in the town’s centre, is a peaceful oasis perfect for enjoying a picnic and we saw lots of people out with families enjoying fish & chips for lunch.

Emu Park Main Beach is a calm beach with a surrounding grassy picnic area and a long jetty that was historically used by trading ships.

Just below the Singing Ship is a viewing deck and boardwalk that makes up part of the new Centenary of ANZAC Memorial Walk.

The boardwalk hugs the coastline and features information on the First World War’s many major battles. At the lower end of the walk are several commemorative art installations and a gatehouse that honours locals who fought in World War One.

This is one of the most impressive regional memorials of its kind in Australia, with the Precinct having received national and global recognition for its beauty and likeness to an ANZAC cove.

The Emu Park ANZAC Commemorative Precinct features integrated street-scaping, parkland enhancement, artwork and interpretive memorial walkway.

The Singing Ship is an unique structure sitting high on a grassy hill at the end of the ANZAC walk with magnificent sea views. The hidden organ pipes on the structure use the sea breezes to produce the little musical “tubular” sounds.

There are two areas that we visited for mural art in the town… firstly the bathing pavilions.

We then made our way to Shelly’s Beach where we enjoyed a cool Tropical Smoothie looking out over the ocean in low slung chairs. What a life!

We then strolled down the beach and watched the unusual cloud formations move across the skyline.

There were some emus on the main beach that made us laugh – so endearing we had to stop and picture the emus all with unique and quirky personalities.

With Yeppoon only 10km up the road, by midafternoon we decided to drive up to our latest B&B stay. On the way we did a short detour to drive to the Wreck Point Scenic Lookout.

After checking in to our ‘home’ for the next 3 nights, we returned to Yeppoon for drinks and dinner. We had beers at Lure Living bar close to the main beach, before heading to Keppel Bay Sailing Club for a Saturday night feast.

It was great to go out for dinner and mix with the locals.

The Sailing Club was in a great spot right on the water front and incredible well priced given its prime location. We liked it so much we’ve booked a table for tomorrow evening to watch the Australia Day celebrations and fireworks!

Our last morning in Agnes Water and Andy was, as always, up with the Aussies at 6.30am and doing his daily 10km work out. Today was another hot one, with the morning temperature already hitting 29 degrees Celsius.

After the run was in the bag, there was just enough time for a quick dip in the hotel pool, before we packed up our stuff and got back on the road and returned to the Bruce Highway.

By 11am we had arrived at our first stop of the day, the beach suburb of Tannum Sands.

As we drove through Eurimbula National Park we came across regular signs and measures showing the level of flooding that occurs during the wet season, which in some instances rises by upwards of 1-2m, causing roads and communities to be cut off in monsoon season.

We’d been recommended to stop here, as it’s a serene beachside town ideal for swimming.

With the heat of the day rising to over 34 Celsius, we took shelter on the sands with regular visits to the ocean to cool off, along with visits to the nearby surf club for ice lollies and chilled water!

Tannum Sands has a neighbouring twin town called Boyne Island which we briefly visited as the two localities are separated only by the bridge over Boyne River.

As the beach in Boyne Island wasn’t a match, we decided to drive on the further 10 miles and check into our hotel on the outskirts of Gladstone.

Tonight we are staying at the hotel chain Mantra, which we’ve previously booked and where we’ve enjoyed great stays. Gladstone’s hotel is equally good, large room and an impressive hotel pool that sits at first floor above the hotel reception.

As we are staying close to Barney Point Beach, Andy decided to take a walk down to the stony and more rugged outcrop to check out the waters. It wasn’t anywhere near as appealing as Tannum Sands so he returned to the luxury of the hotel pool to finish his day in the sun.

Tonight we had a quiet dinner at the hotel and planned out tomorrow’s journey. First stop will be Emu Park and then Yeppoon, where we have booked to stay for 3 nights over the Australia Day long weekend.

Keeping with an animal theme, after spending time with a pelican yesterday on the beach, and then watching a bull shark being caught & fished out of the ocean, this morning we witnessed a Monitor Lizard stroll past us on the way to the beach. Only in Australia!

The morning was spent on Agnes Water Beach in the glorious hot sunshine, just minutes from our apartment, where we soaked up the rays and enjoyed dips in the waves to cool off.

In the early afternoon we headed a few miles north to the township of Seventeen Seventy for our Larc tour of Bustard Bay and the sand island and Eurimbula Beach and the entrance into the Eurimbula National Park.

Our tour in the LARC (Lighter Amphibious Resupply Cargo) vehicle proved to be an amazing way to see the hinterland from both the land and sea.

There was no missing our vehicle which stood a good 2m off the ground and carried 25 people along with our driver, John, plus it was painted bright pink.

No sooner had we left the marina we dipped into the water and it was straight to the propeller to push us along in the swell and out into the bay. From here we had views of Round Hill Head and on to Eurimbula National Park. There was so much to see and all from our elevated waterside ‘boat’.

We soon surfaced on one of the sand beaches and spotted a couple of Eurasian Oystercatchers who we were told mate for life.

After zipping along in the surf we eventually stopped on Eurimbula Beach for a few photo opportunities and to check out the amphibious vechile we were driving in.

It was so captivating to take in our remote location only accessible by water and in such an incredible vechile – truly eye catching!

We wandered along the beach taking in the wonderful vistas and were appreciative of the opportunity to see a place such as this, and join a tour we only booked the day before. Definitely recommend this 75min tour, which at just 45 dollars per head was very reasonable priced, and a great way to experience being on the water and seeing some of the local wildlife and nature.

The LARC is a former US military vechile acquired by the Australian govt post the Vietnam war in 1974. It then had a rebirth as a touring vehicle in 1994 and has been in service ever since.

After the tour finished mid-afternoon we returned to the beach, first to Workman’s Beach and then back to Agnes Water which had the benefit of being manned and where the waves were the most spectacular.

We enjoyed a couple more hours reading and relaxing on the beach before picking up the pace and taking a 3km walk along Agnes Water Beach towards the Joseph Banks Conservation Park and back.

It’s been another glorious day and one where we’ve been able to get a proper taste of life in Seventeen Seventy.

Tomorrow we are back on the road with a drive up to Tannum Sands & Boyne Island before reaching our nights stay in the city port of Gladstone.