27 - Yepoon to Angnes Waters.

Yep time to get out of our comfort zone and head to the unknown. We went to Agnes Waters / 1770 a couple of years ago, but only in and out for a couple of hours. This time we are going to stay in the area for a couple of days at least.

As usual we have a contact that has a property that caters for us wandering bares about 16 kms outside Agnes Waters. So destination Tee Tree Park here we come.

The trip from Yepoon to Tea Tree Park was uneventful. Just the way I like it, especially traveling the main Bruce Highway. Turned off at Miriam Vale and headed towards Agnes Waters. We found our turn off and our private property. Our hosts John & Joan Clarke are the nicest folks you ever want to meet. We were directed to our camp site, and what a great spot.

The bride was a little hesitant in coming here, cause of no power, but had water. But alas I said to the bride, we have a Genny


That's Jenny the Generator

We had to try it sometime, and it worked a treat. Quiet as a mouse, charged the in house battery, Ran the TV and in house lights, and kept the freezer ice cold. Now this is as good as independent camping gets, I assured the bride!!!!!!!

Used gas for the barby and the house fridge, 12v for the outside Engel fridge, used LED lights out in the annex. Topped up the Porta Potti with fresh water and what else do you need...............but no TV reception commented the bride......doughhhhhhhhhh. We watched a movie instead and drifted off into the games room by 9.30pm, listening to all the critters dance around in the moon light. This is a fantastic spot


The Retroliner at Tea Tree Park


The bride enjoying a cool beverage


Next morning it was off to explore the area of Agnes Waters & 1770. Well all I can say how it has grown in a couple of years. It reminds me of Byron Bay 30 years ago, before bit was stuffed. A fair bit of development has taken place and the only disappointment was some of the developments half completed, that have just stopped because of the economic slow down. Hopefully this will be tidied up when cashed up investors start doing the rounds again.

I loved the area, but can see a definate growth in the back scratchers market. There's not much for them to do there, they just hang out at the beach, and make a general nuisance of themselves..........as they do..............that's their job!!!!

Anyway we wandered around and took a heap of photies...."Ï'll be back" I said to the bride.


Only a little bit of sand erosion



The beach of Agnes Waters looking north


The beach of Agnes Waters looking south


A little cove just over the ridge from the town of 1770


The river mouth into 1770


Looking north from 1770


Another photo looking north

I honestly could have spent a week here. But without TV the bride goes into withdrawal without the soapies.

We needed to head back to Hervey Bay. Where we stay there, Mike the host, has lotsa tools and boys things to play with, and as I had a few things to do on the van this was a perfect time to get some of those niggling things fixed.

No need to talk about our stay at the Bay, same as it is always. Just lazed around, all those normal things.

However we decided to leave the van there as it was pretty useless dragging the van back to Kingaroy, cause our next break August 20 it is still to cold to go west and south. So this coming break we will head to the Goldie for a couple of days to catch up with Ann, our dear friend. After a couple of days will head north and spend a night with Peter & Ger who have just completed a three month tour of OZ. From there we will head up to the bay, pick up the van, spent a couple of days there, and just repeat the trip we have just done, but in reverse.

Stay tooooooned

26 - Cania Gorge to Yepoon

Our trip from Cania Gorge to Yeppoon was fairly uneventful. A straight through run, however stopped at Biloela for the bride to hit the super market. We were in Biloela a couple of years ago, as we relief managed a property there. It is a busy place and the local Wollies and the council have really thought about the traveling RV's. There is so much parking for us Geriatric Gypsies, as plenty of us there were. Geeeeeeezus is there any body left in the work force. They all seem to be on the road. AAAAAAh what a life.

From Bilo we headed north, up the main highway to a place called Westwood. This is the place where the Burnett Highway meets the Capricorn Highway. Turn right you go to Rocky...turn left takes you out to Blackwater, Emerald, Alpha...so on and so on.

We chose to turn right to Rocky with the destination being Yepoon. Yeah you have heard it all before about Yepoon, but we have a great retreat we go and it's so good. It is just a fantastic place to veg out....and we seem to do a lot of that....it is right up our alley.

As usual the 10 or so vans, motor homes etc are here, just enjoying the sub tropical winter time. WE all seem to get together most nights around the camp fire. Bloody cold!!!!!!!!


The old boy getting breakfast


All the old geeeeeezers having a chat around a fire


The bride soaking up the winter sub tropical sun

We had seven days at Yepoon. Weather perfect, had a night out with all the other visitors, hang around the beach, but mostly doing what we always do......nothing.
Time to move on however to the twin towns of Agnes Waters & 1770.

25 Boondoomba Dam to Cania Gorge

Well it wasn’t our intentsion to travel as far as Cania Gorge in one day. The though was to independent camp around Munduberra or Eidsvold, then onto Cania Gorge the next day. However we pushed on in the miserable rain, by passing Goomeri, then through Ban Ban Springs, Gayndah, Munduberra and when arriving in Eidsvold, had a hamburger that would feed 40 people, and discussed the options of independent camping for the night.

I could see by the body language that the bride didn’t want a bar of free camping. She has the mental attitude that we are going to get beaten, raped and pillaged. So to avoid WW3 I rang ahead to the Big 4 caravan park at Cania Gorge, and pushed onto Monto then another 27 kms out to the Gorge.

Well surprise, surprise. What a great spot. The park is huge, and as there was not a lot of people there. We had heaps of room, and with not living on top of the next camper, suited us fine. So we decided to put in three nights there.


Plenty Of room, just what I like



Lotsa open space


Our initial set up night we just veggied out as we do. Had the option to go to the camp shed where the management put on a roast evening, with bush poetry and country singing for about 15 bucks a head. Well we weren’t interested in a roast dinner after gutsing ourselves with the hamburger that fed forty people a couple of hours prior. Not really into bush poetry, nor country singing….however as we were close to the camp shed we got all the poetry and singing for nicks anyway.

Like all these organized events, it was all over and dusted by about 9pm, so with many a pure blonde naked, red wine and port under my belt we drifted into ni - night land. Bloody cold though…must have been about zero.

Next day we decided to go sight seeing and check out the local area. Cania Gorge is quite spectacular, and of course we found another dam. Didn’t know that there was so many dams in Queensland. Plus we don’t know much about the history or even why this one was built. It is only holding about 6 % of its capacity, and we were told the most it has ever held is about 15%. But the facilities around the dam, as far as picnic and rest areas, are just magic. A credit to the national park rangers. Seems a lot of local fishing clubs hang out there, as the dam is just full of fresh water fish. Being not a keen angler….well not a fisher person at all, wasn’t realty interested in fish any way. But the scenery was just magnificent.

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At best Cania Gorge dam is at 12% full


A better idea of how low the dam is



The bride showing off



Part of Cania Gorge from the dam look out


The rangers look after the parks so well

After the dam highlights we went to another area where there are several walking trails. Well with the brides sciatica, and yours truly with stuffed hips, we opted for a 300 meter walk….waste of time actually…but we wanted to have a look at the creek. Well no creek was there…..dammmmmmmn. Just wanted to got for a swim (he he!!!!!)


No mangoes up there Possum

Back to the CP and had a quiet night, with the same old story, Pure Blonde naked, red wine and ports. Went and sat around a camp fire in the camp shed. Ending up talking to a forensic copper from Brisbane. Interesting to say the least.

The last night being the second State Of Origin footy, and we are preparing ourselves to go another part of the CP to have a feast of pies and peas, and then get into footy on the big screen. Was a real hooooooot!!!!!! Being dark as it is the pikkies I took were all pretty ordinary, so if you get my drift, it was freez'n cold, enjoyed the pies and pies, loved the port and of course Queensland won.

The next morning it was time to pack up and head north. Before leaving we were visited by a couple of locals.


Organised feed time


Here chooky chooky, Daddy's hungry



Any scraps for a hard done by local

24 - Kingaroy to Boondooma Dam

Saturday 20th June 2009, and the time has come to once again leave the motel we are managing for our well deserved three week break. This has been another long haul for the bride and me, 7 weeks since our last break, and we are well and truly stuffed. In saying that we have advised the owners of this property that from our return from this break, we will be only working five weeks on and three weeks off.

Anyway, enough for that rubbish! We left Kingaroy around 11.30 am on an over cast Saturday morning, with our destination being Boondooma Dam Camp ground. Actually as the crow flies, not very far at all. We stopped at Wondai only 30 minutes up the road…to get some groceries for the next week or so…..and then proceeded to our destination, via the thriving metropolis of Proston. To our surprise we discovered our camp ground was just magic. We had a choice of the “Terraces” or the “Lookout”. We chose the “Lookout” mainly because there was not a lot of other vans there…that meant we weren’t lined up like tin soldiers…a pet hate of mine. Our intentsions was not to do much, of which we didn’t. But just did what we wanted to do, that was to chill out.


Wondai


More Wondai


Still at Wondai

But Boondooma Dam is an interesting place, built in the late seventies / early eighties to supply water to Tarong Power Station, a pipeline of approx 95 klms. Why they built it (the dam) there who knows, must have had something to do with the definitely un-corrupt premier of the day Sir Jo, and his minister for everything Russ Hinze. God rest their soles.


Boondooma Dam


More Dam


More Dam


More Dam


A few stats about the dam


Pump house to pump water to Tarong Power Station

Tarong power station is closer Nanango and Kingaroy, which happened to be in Jo’s electorate anyway. However Kingaroy and the surrounding districts are serviced by Gordon brook and Jo Petersen dam as well. Maybe he didn’t want Boondoomba dam there too, who knows. Might have been politically incorrect to have three dams, in your electorate. Don’t know, don’t care really!!


Boonboomba Dam "The Lookout"Caravan Park



Views from our caravan park

Anyway we took a heap of pikkies, had a couple of walks, and the star gazing was just sensational. We departed there after two days of fine and warm weather, of course just our luck in the rain. Our next destination somewhere north.


A local having a feed