Agnes Water & 1770

Agnes Water. It sounds like something you would take for an upset stomach, and who would name a town after a number? Despite the quirky names, these are both beautiful coastal villages, perfect for holidaying, and they are only 6 kilometres apart, situated about halfway between Gladstone and Bundaberg. With traffic and roadworks, it took us a bit over 2 hours to drive up from Bargara.

Safari Tents, Agnes Water Beach
Caravan Park

The Outdoor Cafe at Agnes Water
Beach Caravan Park

We chose to stay at the quite lovely, Agnes Water Beach Caravan Park. It is right on the main beach, one of the east coast's few, north facing beaches, and only a short walk into the shopping village. It has recently undergone a renovation, so is fresh and nice. No little cabins here. They have built a number of terrific Safari Tents, many raised on stilts, to take advantage of the views to the beach. Overall, it is not a large park, but it has nice feel to it. We found the managers friendly and helpful, and our site was large, with plenty of space around it. We set up, met our new neighbours, Linda & David, agreed to meet up for happy hour, and set out to explore the park, the beach and the village. In addition to the Safari Tents, was a very nice outdoor cafe area, on a built up deck. We thought that this was a sensible idea. They served nice light meals from breakfast to afternoon tea, had a good selection of cakes and made good coffee. Very nice indeed.

Surf Beach at Agnes Water

The beach had small waves, and was full of guys on surfboards, something we hadn't seen for some time, as we had been in the protected waters of the Great Barrier Reef. The water is a beautiful 25 degrees, so is never a problem getting wet, even for Carol! The beach is long, white and very nice, curving away to the north, and the headland that is 1770. We walk along the beach, and cut back along one of the pathways back into town. The village has all you need, with a good IGA Supermarket, lots of cafes and takeaways, a Petrol Station, bakery and a number of surf shops and specialty shops. There are a lot of backpackers, as is the case in every coastal town these days. They travel around in these small hired mini vans, painted in bright colours, or purposely graffitiid in large writing, and have fun names like "Wicked Campers", "Jucy" and "Travel Wheels". Some of them have 3 and 4 passengers, and you can only wonder how and where they all sleep. Our favourite is the "Jucy with Penthouse", where there is a capsule on the roof rack that resembles a coffin and the top opens up, and using a fold up ladder, the person who obviously lost the toss, climbs up and sleeps in it!!  Linda calls them the Whizz Bang vans, which we really like! There is also a nice new tavern, a bit away from everything else, but it does have a courtesy bus. The surf club is also licensed, but is way up the other end of the beach, and only open after 3.00pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, whilst we were there. It may be different when it is busier.


The area has a number of Resort complexes, all advertising cheap deals, and there are also a number of derelict complexes, that were never completed. This area was being heavily promoted at the end of the last housing boom. If I remember correctly, it was a failed development at Agnes Water, that brought about the demise of former test cricketer and property developer Craig McDermott. Like most of the coastal areas we have stayed at, you can buy a property now, at "bargain" prices.

The Inlet at 1770

Down the road 6kms is 1770. It was renamed 1770 in 1970, to commemorate the bi-centennial landing of Capt. James Cook. You could see why he stopped here. There is a safe inlet, and sandy beach. It is very beautiful, especially if you can get up onto the headland and see the panoramic view. If you are looking for caravan or camping accommodation in 1770, then we would recommend the 1770 Campgrounds, along the inlet. The other caravan park up on the hill, is quite a distance from everything. There is no shopping or services in 1770. You have to drive into Agnes Water. 1770 is the lowest point on the Queensland coast where you can do a tour out to the Outer Reef. From here, cruises go out to Lady Musgrave Reef, which from the brochures seems beautiful. We opted not to do the tour, as we had already had a reef experience, it is an expensive day out, and our weather was dodgy. On our last day, we did enjoy a lovely lunch at the pub at 1770. The weather had turned foul, and the rain was hammering down, so it was nice sitting under the open veranda roof, looking out to the inlet, sipping a cold glass of sav blanc and enjoying a lovely bowl of pasta full of local seafood!

Saying goodbye to Linda & David

Back at the caravan park we enjoyed our happy hour with Linda and David. Sometimes you just hit it off with people, and this was such an occasion. The time just flew by, and we all had very late dinner, having lost track of time. Like us, they live permanently on the road, travelling in style in their big 5th Wheeler, complete with herb garden! Carol does miss her garden sometimes, so guess who'll be getting a herb garden soon?
There is always so much to talk about, sharing destinations and experiences, and with them having lived in Tasmania, and us going there in the new year, we had heaps of questions. They were only staying 3 days, with commitments down the coast, but we have vowed to keep in touch. It was a little sad waving them goodbye in the rain.


Had the weather been better, we would have probably stayed longer. But with heavy rain and grey skies forecast for the next few days, we decided to move on to Woodgate Beach. We had booked some minor work we needed done on the caravan and car, to be done in Bundaberg on the way, so in the pouring rain, we got up early, packed up, hitched up, and headed for Bundaberg and Woodgate Beach.