Kinka Beach

Leaving Emerald behind, we head due east back towards the coast. It is 300km to the large city of Rockhampton, and we follow the railway all the way. It is an endless stream of coal trains, as we drive through a series of small towns, with names that would be more at home in a western movie. Names like Comet, Dingo, Blackwater and Duaringa, all small and full of miners. Blackwater is the largest of the towns, and is a long established coal mining town. There is now a new Coal Centre in town, telling the good story about coal, from an industry viewpoint.

Rockhampton, Beef capital of Australia

We arrive at Rockie, and as the welcome sign shows, welcome to the beef capital of Australia. Rockie is a big country town, situated on the banks of the Fitzroy River, about 40kms from the coast. Why they built it so far inland is beyond me. It is flat and hot. Our destination, is the area known as the Capricorn Coast, so we drive around the town and follow the signs to Yeppoon, the main town of the coastal region. As the name suggests, the Tropic of Capricorn passes close by, but you wouldn't know, except for a lot of businesses that use Capricorn in their names.


Yeppoon has grown a lot since we last stopped here. Actually, we have been here a number of times over the years, flying in through Rockhampton. One of Australia's first Golf Resorts was built near Yeppoon more than 30 years ago. We holidayed there with my brother Neil and his family 15 years ago. I recall that Adrienne was pregnant at the time, with Liam, and that my nephew Simon had a penchant for bacon and tomato sandwiches, that were regularly ordered from the Pool Bar! We also attended the wedding of Darren and Erin there, in 2009, so we have a lot of happy memories of the area.

Coast at Kinka Beach

We found our caravan park, The Island View Caravan Park, about 10kms south of Yeppoon, at Kinka Beach. We were told about this park by a couple of people, and it also got a good review in a recent copy of Caravan World magazine. We liked it immediately. Lots of lush gardens and green grass. We found a great spot close to the pool area, and settled in for a week's rest. Unfortunately, John's chest infection had gotten worse, so we needed to find our first doctor, which we did with the help of the caravan park manager, and John was prescribed antibiotics and other vile medicine for the cough, and told to rest. 

The Singing Ship sculpture at Emu Park.

We didn't do a lot. We drove around the coastal drives, to Rosslyn Bay Marina, which is the gateway to Great Keppell Island Resort, and a safe haven for all the boaties in the region. It is a large marina, with a lot of expensive boats. We drove down to Emu Park, another lovely little seaside town. There are a lot of new housing estates in this area. We find out that a lot of people working in Rockhampton, as well as a lot of fly in/fly out miners,choose to live at the seaside, or have holiday homes at the beach.


The Singing Ship Sculpture, is a monument to Captain Cook. It has a series of holes in tubes, as well as bells and cables, and it really belts out a tune in a strong wind. Unfortunately it doesn't do requests!


Another lovely drive  we did was up to the village of Byfield. This is about 30kms north of Yeppoon. We had a lovely lunch at a place called Hideaway Retreat. We were the only ones there! We then went out to a famous local pottery gallery,Nob Creek Pottery, where the grounds were in a lovely rain forest, with old timber sheds acting as the gallery showrooms. We made a small purchase to avoid having to pay the $5.00 per person entry fee for non purchasers! Maybe this is the reason we were the only visitors here as well?

Synthetic golf at Zilzie Bay!

As John improved, we decided to have a game of golf. We had read about Australia's only synthetic green/tee golf course, situated at Zilzie Bay, near Emu Park. The report was glowing! The concept was to build a low maintenance golf course in a housing estate, with floodlights for night golf on 9 holes. The idea was born in the 1990's, when the housing boom was in full swing, a time when people would fall for anything! We arrived at Zilzie Bay, and it was like a ghost town. The housing estate had sold about 10% of the lots, and many of the homes, even though only up to 10 years old, were in poor repair, with no lawns and derelict machinery strewn around. The Clubhouse, was a Spanish Hacienda Design, with garish colours, and an equally garish Putt Putt Golf course. We decide we were here so we may as well proceed. The green fees were cheap, though by the time we had finished, we felt they were exhorbitant! What a farce. The greens and surrounds, as well as the tees, were synthetic grass. The flags were all lying on the ground, as the holes were clogged with sand. Some of the holes were the size of a bucket, and all frayed around the edges. In between, the fairways were real, dead grass, last mowed in 2003. The place was a dump and should have been condemned. What an experience. This was the most misleading tour brochure we have come across. Don't ever go to Zilzie Bay!




Whilst at Kinka Beach, we got new neighbours, a couple who were caravan park managers in Mackay, taking a bit of a bus man's holiday. The guy was an avid hang glider, which explained the long parcel strapped to the roof. It was a motorised hang glider, and he was looking forward to flying around the area. About 6.30pm on Saturday night, there was a knock on our door. Our neighbour was there all distraught. Her husband had crash landed and was at Yeppoon hospital with a possible broken arm or collarbone. She asked if we could look after their little dog, which we were most happy to do. Turned out he had dislocated his shoulder. He was in a lot of pain, so John spent a lot of Sunday, helping to repack the broken hand glider, and getting it back on the roof of the car. Their holiday was cut short, and it just reminded us again, how quickly things in life can change.


We had a lovely week at Kinka Bay. Our last night we enjoyed a simple Fish 'n Chips at the Causeway Kiosk, just down the road. The place was crowded every time we went past, so we assumed it was good. It was!! The weather forecast was all doom and gloom, with wind and flooding rains forecast for the next week, so we decided to head down to Bargara Beach near Bundaberg, to weather out the holocaust. A big town has a lot more to do in bad weather! So next morning we hit the road again, slowly heading south.

Emerald

Leaving Airlie Beach behind, we hit the road and head for Emerald, and the long planned, and much anticipated visit with Carolyn's family, and especially, the first birthday of Mandy & Steve's son, Ethan. Mandy is beside herself with anticipation, and has been texting us for weeks, counting down the weeks and days. We have always been Aunty Carolyn and Uncle Bear to the kids, and have had a wonderful relationship with them. It is hard to imagine them now as parents, and us retired.


Through Proserpine, and the all now familiar sugar cane fields, we rolled into Mackay, in time for morning coffee. When we are towing the van, Carol often finds coffee in the most awkward locations, like the centre of Mackay!  We stop the traffic, and reverse park in a triple spot, amid much head shaking and smiling, and head off to enjoy a lovely morning tea, at an Italian restaurant, in the familiarly named Sydney Markets complex.


Heading out of Mackay, we phone mum for a chat, and promptly miss the turn off to Clermont! The navigator checks the map, and says it's OK to head down to Sarina, and go out to Clermont. At Sarina, there is a huge mess of of roadworks and detours, so after a few trips around town, and a little cross country caravanning, we find the right route for Clermont. The sugar country soon gives way to farm country, and it isn't long before we meet the main highway again at Nebo. There is nothing at Nebo, other than a huge railway development, which will be a staging area for the hundreds of coal trains, transporting the black gold to Gladstone harbour, for shipment to the world.

Rail has gone from cattle to coal.
Exhibit at Clermont.

The sheer scale of the coal mining operations, has to be seen to be believed. The coal trains are around 2kms long, and they just follow each other, 24hours a day. We drive past side roads that have signs to mines. There are hundreds of them. Beside the road are massive mounds of earth, the overburden that has been cleared off the huge open cut mines, and these mounds are kilometres long. In addition there are the underground mines and it all adds up to mountains of coal.

Huge Bulldozer en route to the mines

In addition to the endless trains, we are also regularly stopped, to let wide loads carrying huge machinery, go by, under police escort.


We decide to stop at Moranbah for late lunch. We have never heard of the place, but soon find out, it is the fasting growing town in Queensland, and the most expensive to live in. All because of mining. The town is full of demountable buildings. The population is 80 percent male, and the car parks look like Toyota Sales Yards, full of 4wds. We stop at Subway, join the lengthy queue, and order lunch. I almost swallow my sandwich whole, when I look in the window of the Real Estate Office next door, and see a nice 3 bedroom cottage for sale for $975,000!!!!
It has been a long day, so we decide to stay the night, rather than drive the extra 120kms to Clermont. We pull into the caravan park, walk over to the office, which is closed, and has a sign stuck on the glass door. The sign says "NO CASUAL SITES AVAILABLE. IF YOU'VE BOOKED A CABIN THE KEY WILL BE IN THE TIN BELOW. IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEM PHONE XXXXXXXX. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES RING THIS NUMBER IF YOU WANT A CASUAL SITE. WE DO NOT HAVE ANY CASUAL SITES!" After such a warm welcome, we decide Clermont looks good!


We drive on past mine after mine. We see demountable cities being built at the mine sites. These "cities" often come complete with swimming pools and other resort facilities. At the mines, the standard shifts are 5 or 7 days on, and 5 or 7 days off. Shifts last 12 hours.The latest thing is for the mine employees to "Fly In/Fly Out". The mine provides them with all their meals and accommodation whilst on site, for next to nothing, and either pays for or subsidises the miners' airfare. The argument is that the miners' families are less impacted. The local communities are not impressed, and there are signs up saying "THIS IS A COMMUNITY NOT A CAMP". There are all sorts of issues created for the community, by a work force that is more than 80% male. Who knows where it will all end!!


We overnight at Clermont, where the caravan park is only half full of miners! Our neighbour warns us against washing anything in the park laundry, as the miners all wash their clothes, and the coal residue stains everything! There are 3 new "super" mines planned for Clermont in the next 12 months, so the tourists will most likely be squeezed out of this park too. John notices we have a half inflated tyre on the caravan, which on investigation has a bolt in it. Our first flat tyre! Changing a tyre on the caravan is a big job, so John inflates the tyre, and next morning, we call in at Clermont Tyrepower, where the guys quickly repair the damage.


On to Emerald, just 100km away. We arrive at lunchtime, via Capella, a nice looking rural town, in the centre of a wheat growing area. There are obviously mines as well.

Set up at Mandy & Steve's house

Mandy, Steve & Ethan

It is great to see everyone again. It is the first time Carol has seen Ethan, since visiting on his birth last year, and it is the first time John (Uncle Bear) has met him. Chris has already arrived for the festivities, to help with the party preparations. Darren is in his "off week" for the first couple of days, so we got to see him Erin and the two kids, Kynan and Jersey. They are now back in their home that was damaged in the floods at New Year. What was a very traumatic time, has given them a good outcome, as the renovations they had started, were completed under their insurance settlement, and they have an almost new house throughout. It is a lovely home.  It is a nice family feeling, which is rounded off on Friday, with the arrival of Keith and Kyle. Steve had taken a few days off work, which meant everyone was available for most of the time we were there.


Darren works in the mines. He has recently changed employment, and is now employed at the Ensham Mine, about 35kms east of Emerald, and which has been around for along time as an open cut mine. Now with the coal being uneconomical to mine open cut, they are going underground, and Darren was part of the first team to bring coal to the surface. Darren had previously worked as a diesel fitter, but is now employed as an operator, currently getting his ticket on as much equipment as possible. It is part of his plan to work his way up the ladder. He is currently on a 7 day on, 7 day off roster. When he is "on", he stays on site for the 7 days, where he gets full board including all meals, for $30 per shift! Steve works for a local heavy equipment and crane hire company, who support the mining industry, the railways, the rural sector and the community. He works long days, usually leaving home around 5.45am, and getting home about 7.00pm. He works some weekends as well, and when they get derailments and rollovers, can be on site 24 hours a day, until the job is complete. The boys make good money, but they really earn it.

Carolyn, John & Ethan

Most of our time was spent with the family, and it gave us a lot of time to get to know little Ethan. He melted our hearts, with his quiet and unflappable nature, as we played with him for hours. It was a real treat for us to be able to use our travels as a way of spending time at Emerald, and celebrating Ethan's birthday. It was also special to spend time with Kynan and Jersey. They are all growing up so fast, already.


Steve did take some time to borrow a friends ski boat, to take John out to the Fairbairn Dam. I've never seen it with so much water, following the floods. It isn't long that water stopped flowing over the spillway. The lake is now at its largest, with abundant wildlife everywhere. It is wonderful recreation facility for the town. We also drove around the outskirts of town. With all the mining going on, it is easy to forget the huge amount of agriculture that occurs as a result of the irrigation from the dam. Cotton is grown, as well as some of the worlds largest citrus orchards, and vast amounts of table grapes. It is also a major beef producer, with a high volume of beef going through the sale yards, and the silos are full of wheat following a bumper crop.

The birthday cake.

Ethan & his presents.

Saturday was party day. The girls had done great job of organising the decorations, party bags for the kids, and lots of excellent food for all. In addition to our family, Steve's sisters-in-law and their kids were there, plus Steve's mum Daphne, and Erin's mum Sandy. The kids all had a ball, especially with the horns and the bubble blowing kits. With all the amazing toys on offer, it was the simple little things that grabbed the attention! There were lots of presents for Ethan. The day went really quickly, and all the kids were terrific.


Sunday was departure day for Chris, Keith and Kyle. So after another quiet family day and dropping in to say goodbye to Darren, Erin, Kynan & Jersey, it was out to the airport for their return flight to Brisbane. It had been a really nice few days, with all the family together, which is a rare event these days.

Ethan loves the water.

As the facilities at our Emerald caravan park were so good, we decided to stay a couple of extra days. Monday, Carol and Mandy took Ethan to the doctor for his 1 year old shots. Mandy hates taking him for his needles, so Aunty Carolyn got to hold Ethan while he got his three needles. Steve & John could almost hear the screaming out on the golf course! We had decided this would be a nice way to spend Steve's last day off. It was a very relaxed round, on a golf course that has improved a great deal. We all hit the pool in the afternoon. Tuesday, Steve was back to work, and the girls decided to do some shopping. This meant that Uncle Bear was on child minding duty for the morning. This was all new to me, but a lot of fun, and I got to master all of the one year old's birthday presents! We got on famously, and the evening was topped off with Uncle Bear getting Ethan to sleep, apparently a task mastered by few! Uncle Bear was in bed himself, soon after! It had been an exhausting day.


Wednesday morning we hitched up, and headed for Rockhampton, after a wonderful 10 days in Emerald. We have chosen to head back to the coast, and another recommended caravan park at Kinka Beach near Yeppoon. John has managed to pick up a chest infection along the way, so a few days by the seaside sounds like a good remedy, and besides, we both need a rest after all that babysitting!

Rollingstone Beach, Ayr, Airlie Beach

The last few days have been wonderfully lazy and relaxing. Surprisingly, we haven't done a lot of that, as with all the excitement of visiting new places, we tend to be out and about looking at the local sights!

On Rollingstone Beach

Rollingstone Beach was recommended to us by a couple we met at Cooktown. Given the mixed results we have had with recommendations, we always arrive looking at each other with raised eyebrows, mouthing "well here we go again!" This time they were spot on. It is a little bizarre really, with The Big 4 Caravan Park right on the beach, but miles from anywhere. Actually it is half way between Townsville and Ingham. The tiny village of Rollingstone is a few kilometres away, with a general store and a pub, but you really need to come prepared, which we did. The sites are large, and very sandy as a result of cyclone Yasi, but the beach is lined with coconut palms, and at high tide, the waters edge is only 20 metres away. At low tide it is about 500 metres away! The park has a beautiful pool area, as in summer it is stinger season, so no ocean swimming, once the first big wet has arrived. We were still OK. You can fish off the beach, though no one was catching much.

Happy Hour in paradise!

When we arrived, the park was deserted, so we took up extra space like the others, to sit side on to the ocean. However, over the weekend the place blossomed, with locals from Townsville swarming in. They arrived after work on Friday and were gone before ten on Sunday. It was one of those "did it really happen" moments, as one minute we were all alone and quiet, then we were surrounded by families and noise, and just as quickly it was peaceful and quiet again!

Looking back to the park at mid tide.

We just walked the beach for miles in both directions. Threw ourselves in the pool, read our books, drowned some bait, and generally did as little as possible. There was a lot of bird life, with dozens of sea eagles the highlight. These majestic birds soaring above the beach, looking for dinner, then diving into the ocean to grab a fish in its talons, is a spectacular sight. We were doubly fascinated by one eagle, who kept coming back to the vacated site of one of the weekenders. He kept swooping down and picking up something black! On investigation it was some hard plastic that the kids had cut into small shapes, and the eagle kept coming back until he had it all. We assumed it was going back to his nest, but as David Attenborough was not our neighbour, we may never know. Perhaps he was a keen recycler!

We had a wonderful few days, with perfect weather, and were sad to leave this idyllic spot.

We headed on down the coast to Ayr, which is a prosperous sugar cane town on the Burdekin River. Carol's sister and family had lived in Ayr for a while about 20 years ago, and we had come up for a Christmas visit, during a cyclone! They had enjoyed their time there, so we decided to spend Melbourne Cup Day in Ayr.

On the way we stopped at the coastal town of Cardwell, our attention grabbed by the sign that said "Fresh Crab Sangas". We asked how fresh was the crab. We got told that they caught their own the day before, so we pulled up a chair and Carol said "will we share one?" John relied "you've got to be kidding!" and next minute the two most beautiful fresh crab sandwiches arrived at our table for a very short visit!

Ready for Melbourne Cup

The Cascades Caravan Park is a council owned park right on the edge of town, so you can walk to everywhere. The park was full of semi permanents, from all over Australia, who come up to work in the sugar industry, for 3 to 6 months each year. The harvesting season is June to December. They made us feel right at home, and welcomed us into there activities. The ladies, have transformed the gardens while the men are at work, so there was fruit and vegies and herbs for all. The men would come back from the farms with fruit and vegies given to them by the farmers, so we came away with a van stocked with goodies!

Hats of all styles

Under Starters orders for the
Burdekin Cup

The ladies had been planning a huge day for Melbourne Cup, with fancy hats, broomstick horses and lots of food! The broomstick horses were racing around the caravan park in the Burdekin Cup! There were stables, a mounting yard, stewards, members enclosure, and the placegetters stalls. Carol won a prize for her rose hat, that perfectly mirrored the famous Flemington Roses enclosure. The race was a scream, as the girls of all ages, did a lap of the park, amid raucous support from the huge crowd. It was a fantastic day all round.

Next day, Carol did the shops, whilst John played a round of golf on the famous Ayr Golf Course. Remember why it is famous? Yes, it is the home of Karrie Webb, our champion golfer. Unfortunately, she wasn't in town for a few tips, but I enjoyed the day anyway. Meanwhile, Carol had found a shop she had purchased from 20 years ago, and still had two outfits from! The lady was till the same owner, so the two of them had a grand old mag, the lady so impressed with the fact that Carol's garments had lasted 20 years, she thought she would put a notice in the window!

Crossing the Burdekin River Bridge

Leaving Ayr, we headed for Airlie Beach, the gateway to the Whitsundays. We crossed the mighty Burdekin River, on the amazing bridge that is a kilometre long, and includes the railway line. It joins Ayr's twin town, of Home Rule, which is much smaller, and doesn't exude the same affluence as Ayr.

Boy has Airlie Beach changed since we were last here some 15 plus years ago! There is a now a huge new marina, which has virtually killed the harbour at nearby Shute Harbour. There are new apartments all up the hill, new shopping centres and housing estates, all of which took place before the GFC. It has all stopped now. The place is backpacker central. Our caravan park, The Seabreeze, was in a great location, but it was in need of repair. It was clean though. We crossed the road from the park, and did the wonderful walk and boardwalk, that follows the coast past a lot of the empty new apartments, the marina, and into town, where a lovely public swimming lagoon has been built along the beach front.

We didn't do much else in Airlie. We did get some Xmas shopping done, after being told about an unbelievable gift shop in nearby Proserpine. Called Colour Me Crazy, it is off the main street, but girls, if ever in town, seek it out! That killed the afternoon!  Dinner was taken at a lovely little Thai Restaurant in town. The services was appalling, but the food was excellent, or we were just so bloody hungry when it finally arrived! No, it was very good.

Last thing we did, was take nostalgic trip out to Laguna Quays Resort. We had gone there about 15 years ago, when it first opened. Magnificent golf course, rated in the top 10 in Australia when it opened, and fantastic facilities. It is now a derelict site, with the buildings in ruin, and the golf course the same. It was so sad to see it in such a way.

So now it is off to Emerald for the family catch up, so no blog updates for a few days.

Paronella Park

Paronella Park

Paronella Park is not a place that many people would know, but once you know the story you will remember it for evermore.

You would never think you may find the ruins of a Spanish Castle in amongst the rain forests and cane fields of Far North Queensland, but here it is.

We had read about it many years ago, and my brother Neil, with wife Adrienne, had visited here many years ago, whilst holidaying in the area. Ever since then, we have wanted to visit, and now here we are. We had found out from other travellers, that Paronella Park now had its own small caravan park, the cost of which was included in the price of 2 general admission tickets. Accordingly we booked ahead, and for $60.00 we got our powered site, a full daytime tour, access to the entire park all day, as well as a night tour. The caravan park has very small sites, which are quite hilly and awkward to get into, but we did. The section we were in had 3 sites, but with us and another large van in place, there was no way a third was getting in!

Mena Falls at Paronella Park

The story of Jose Paronella is a classic tale of living your dream. He arrived in Innisfail from Spain, in 1913 to seek his fortune, and make a new life for himself and his betrothed Matilda, whom he will bring to Australia once settled. He worked very hard in the cane industry for 11 years, amassing wealth by buying, improving and selling cane farms. He returned to Spain to collect his bride, but given that he had never written to her in the 11 years, found her happily married to another! Undaunted by this minor setback, he proposed to her younger sister Margarita. After the wedding, they toured around Europe, picking up the latest architecture and engineering ideas, and then headed back to Australia.

The Grand Staircase

He purchased his magical 13 acres at Mena Creek, beside the waterfall, and set about building a castle for his family and friends to share. First he built the grand staircase, to allow building materials to be moved between the lower and upper levels. The river provided all the sand and gravel he needed, and he used steel rail from the cane railway for his structural steel. He built a cottage on the upper level, and by Christmas 1929, they had moved into the new home.

Amazing fountain

The castle kept growing. A ballroom which was also a cinema was constructed, along with fountains and picnic areas. The landscaping was done, with ultimately 7,000 plants being used. Pathways were constructed, and always they pointed back to the waterfall. These pathways were lined with Kauri Pine, now 80 years old and enormous, palms and bamboo. All the fountains were run by gravity fed water sources constructed by Jose. They still work fantastically. A tunnel was built to link the gardens to another small waterfall, which he named Theresa Falls after his daughter. The tunnel became known as the Tunnel of Love, is now closed, and now home to a colony of micro bats!

The main gallery taken
from the tennis court

In 1933, Jose installed his own Hydro Electric Plant, imported from Germany, and powered by his waterfall. Electricity transformed the place. Lighting was installed throughout the complex, 20 plus years before electricity came to the region. He built tennis courts using crushed ant nests! He opened the place to the locals, who would come to use the picnic areas, go boating and swimming on his river, and every Saturday night to see the movies in the grand ballroom. He hosted lavish dances in the ballroom complete with orchestra. It was a magical place for all who came. He opened a cafe, and served cold drinks and ice cream, a luxury the locals had not known due to no electricity!

Living in the tropics presented a number of natural hazards. Floods and Cyclones have ravaged the area, and in 1979, fire badly damaged the main building. Jose died in 1948 from stomach cancer, but his wife, son and daughter continued to live at the property until 1977, when it was sold. The new owners could not afford the upkeep, and with the fire in 1979 the place went to ruin, until the current owners purchased Paronella Park in 1993. With help from Jose's daughter, they wrote the story of Jose Paronella, and restored much of the history to the place. Old photos and furniture have been brought back and the property slowly restored, including in 2009, the original Hydro Electric Plant, which now once again  provides all the power to the site.

Feeding the eels.

We did our daytime tour in the rain. The lush gardens were beautiful, and the river had risen to the stage that the picnic area was partly flooded, and the waters of the river very muddy. Still it didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the eels, fish and turtles that climbed over each other to get the food we had to give them!

The main tower at night

The night time tour was fun. We all got a torch, and although the showers held off, we all tramped around in the wet and dark, marvelling at the fireflies,the bats in The Tunnel of Love, and the turtles that came to the light. We all assembled on the tennis court to await the lighting up of the central building, which when it came was beautiful, and accompanied by classical music, it was quite a romantic scene, that topped off a wonderful visit.

Early the next morning, Carol and I took one last walk around the park without all the tourists, which was a nice benefit of staying there and having the run of the park. If you would like to learn more about Paronella Park, go to www.paronellapark.com.au