Airlie Beach to Surfers Paradise

12 August to 21 August, 2008

Heading South, 1^oC at a time, Capes Hillsborough National Park ....

We left Airlie Beach and headed south towards Cape Hillsborough National Park just north of Mackay.  This was a return visit due to the rain that prevented us doing any of the walks in the National Park on the way north.  The day was just perfect for walking the tracks.  The Beachcomber Cove Walk took us through remnant rainforest, hoop pines, ferns and vines, great views  and the most beautiful butterflies and ended up at Beachcomber Cove at low tide.  This  allowed us to walk around the cliff face along the beach.  We passed Grumpy Rock named by Rob (see photo).

Perfect weather, perfect scenery ....

Andrews Point track was a 2.6 km walk climbing numerous steps at the beginning to reach the lookouts with spectacular views at the top.  On both sides of our walk we were surrounded by water.  It was then down hill to the beach where we were puzzled by the sand bubbler crabs that leave intricate patterns in the sand at low tide.  Cape Hillsborough National Park and beach area is well worth seeing if you are travelling up the east coast.

On the road again ....

We moved on for an overnight off road stop at Clairview, a small town just off the Bruce Highway.  We came upon it by chance, but other caravanners knew of this stopover as well which had stunning views of the ocean right outside your bedroom window. Rob took a photo of the sunrise whilst Liz stayed curled up in bed, much too early.  The only thing not going for it was the Rockhampton/Mackay rail line.  At least five trains with carriages passed through, but the view made up for it.  Even a very nice shower and toilet block was built for this off road stop which we found on leaving.   We stopped for coffee at Yaamba and Rob made friends with some colourful birds whilst sitting on the post and rail. 

Kinka Beach, I misunderstood, Kinka not Kinky ....

We had booked into Island View Caravan Park at Kinka Beach for three nights.  Kinka Beach is on the Capricorn Coast about 17 kms from Yeppoon and off shore are the Keppel Islands.  The beaches in this area are long and wide with very low tides and there are a number of small townships, including pretty Emu Bay where Liz found a hairdresser, and Rosslyn Bay for fantastic fresh seafood just off the boats.   We indulged with three gourmet seafood meals including fresh local prawns, snapper, calamari and an experimental meal of fish wings.

A Great Golf Course ....

The highlight of our stay at Kinka Beach was playing golf at the Rydges Capricorn Golf Resort.  There are two courses, The Resort Course and The Championship Course.  We played The Championship Course..6554metres for men and 5407 metres for women.  The course rating for men is 75 off the blue markers and 74 for women.  It was a very challenging course, with plenty of water to hit over and beautiful fairways and greens. The course ranked as good as Huntingdale Golf Club and the cost for a round of golf was $60.00 which included  cart hire.  Rob decided to take on the challenge of the blue tees which is a real challenge given that on some holes the carry to clear the water would be 160 metres.  We would definitely recommend a game of golf on this course if you are into golf.

On to Bargara Beach, near Bundaberg ....

We arrived in Rockhampton early to collect mail, have a puncture on the caravan repaired, stock up on supplies before heading towards Bundaberg and out to Bargara Beach approx 19 kms from Bundaberg, This would be a popular beachside resort for locals to visit.  Bargara Beach Caravan Park is situated right on the water and is so popular that you need to book in advance to secure a site.  Bargara is developing rapidly with modern houses being built and small high rise apartments appearing.  In years to come it could be the next Sunshine Coast. 

R & R at Maroochydore ....

We booked into Maroochy Palms Caravan Resort for 5 nights to soak up the atmosphere of the Sunshine Coast.  Maroochy Palms is a very nice park located on the Maroochy River and a short drive from the ocean beach.  Our site at the park overlooked the lake and was a very restful outlook to spend 5 days.  On arrival we were invited to the presentation dinner of a group from Huntingdale Golf Club that were staying at Hyatt Coolum for a week of golf and recreation.   We had a very enjoyable dinner with the group at a local Asian restaurant in Coolum and cheered the winner of their week long competition who was Ian Morrison.  Congratulations to Ian for his great win.

More dinners with friends ....

The following day we met up with a couple of friends from Barwon Heads who were also staying on the Sunshine Coast at Twin Waters.  We met Russell and Yvonne for coffee in the morning and then again for a luxurious seafood dinner.  The image of crystal glasses, fine bone china crockery and silver cutlery was firmly planted in our mind as we devoured the delightful seafood and enjoyed top red wines in Mooloolaba. 

We also had the opportunity to have a BBQ with Ralph & Peggy Sandy from Huntingdale Golf Club and their friends who after the Coolum week had a couple of weeks at Alexander Headlands.  Their apartment had stunning views up and down the coast.  It was an enjoyable evening before we said our farewells as we were leaving for the Gold Coast the following morning.

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