It was another glorious day when we set out to explore the hinterland of the Rainbow Beach and Noosa areas. We turned south from the Gympie road toward Kin Kin. The road is in good condition with bitumen through the fertile valleys and gravel through the rolling hills. Rain forests adorn the hills and market gardeners are active in the valleys.

Rolling Hills

Gravel road mountain pass

Long road

Farm house in the green valley

We came across a quiet little valley where the forest had been cleared and a rest area had been developed. We walked into the rainforest for a few hundred meters along a track and took some pictures of the tree canopy. It felt like another world.

Rest area in them thar hills

Inside the rain forrest

Filtered light under the green canopy

We eventually came across Kin Kin which turned out to be a charming little old village where one could sense the history of the area.  This history started with timber cutting and eventually moved on to dairy and small produce farming.  A coffee and some cake later we continued through this historically rich area on to Pomona. Behind Pomona a ‘Volcanic Plug’ overlooks the town. Volcanic plugs were formed by volcanic events some 5 million years ago. They are literally ‘Magma pimples’ that have been squeezed onto the earth’s surface by pressure increases pushing on cooling lava.

For more information visit the following sites:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kin_Kin

http://www.inkinkin.net/

http://www.noosacountrydrive.com.au/country-drive-villages/kin-kin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomona,_Queensland

The ‘Country Life’ hotel at Kin Kin

Churches to be found at every place

The General store

A galery of historical pictures at the General Store

The Art school at Kin Kin

The products of the Art school (insect)

Along the way we drove through several other villages on our way home. We returned late in the day to our caravan park.

The plasma plug overlooking Pomona

…and the Locals are very friendly.

FFF – Fresh Flathead Fillets

After lunch a walk along the coast at Tin Can

Bay

Wherever you look the views are stunning.

Low tide up the creek

A cove filled with boats

My son came up from Brisbane for a few days. The weather was just too good to not take advantage of.  We decided to have a late lunch at the Marina. After an enjoyable time we   sort of slipped into going for a sunset cruise. That was the best decision we made that day.

The Marina

No 3 son

As we approached the harbor we were once again impressed by the panorama in front of us.  The boat was spacious and allowed everybody plenty of room to spread out in.  Tin Can looks great from the bay/sea. There are boats aplenty that are moored in the channel.  All in all, the Fraser coast is a place we will visit again in the next few years.

By the time we got back the sun was creeping below  the horizon.

Tin Can Bay harbor and Sea Rescue

Pontoon

Tin Can Bay from the channel

Men’s secret business

The ‘old’ man

Sun / Sea magic

The Bay

Fraser island

  Even here you have to watch out for the crocodiles. This is not too far south for crocks.

Crock signs even here

Tinnanbar is green and gardens are tended by the locals. This place is so remote that it is serviced by the Queensland rural remote library service. The scenery is stunning sub tropical.  Just a bit further on there is a camping area at Hedley Point.

Lush gardens

Good to see the family is having fun. Dawn is recovering slowly.

Lexi frolicking in the shallow water

Looks like our girl is bouncing back

suhjhdd

Nature’s art galery, a palm trunk

Live is a beach

  Around the corner at Hedley Point the camping and fishing is great.

Great camping spot

Billie the Schnauzer

Our ‘Smiley Face’  Caravan Park

Tin Can Bay Marina

The restaurant at the marina serves a great hot coffee and the locals are very friendly. The food is good as well.

After spending a good many days here at this remote Queensland location, (Tin Can Bay), we decided to a look around and explore some of the smaller places on the mainland just opposite Fraser Island. I am amazed at the number of little dwellings scattered along the inlets, creeks and sand peninsulas. Little villages have sprung up amongst the bays. The beaches are speckled with mangrove coves which change into sub-tropical vegetation. Paper bark trees give  way to Blue Gums and large Palms. Houses range from older shacks to some large and modern constructs. Tinnies are to be seen at many places. It is clear that many people come here to do some serious fishing.

Local vegetation

Clumps of palms growing around paper bark trees and gums.

Local vegetation.

Hervey Bay

This town has grown extensively in the last 10 or so years, but once you get past the new development the beach-side is fantastic. The Foreshore is stunning with beautiful views across the bay to Fraser island. The beach has numerous jetties to walk on and there is a big Marina development at the southern end of the bay.

Jetty at Hervey Bay

Tree Bottom growing out of the ground; Gum tree or Bum tree?

The best by far is the foreshore and esplanade itself. It looks like a botanical garden. The natural vegetation has been preserved and the debris has been cleaned up. The pathways are paved and very wide. There are many picnic areas with benches and playgrounds for the children as well as public amenities.

The sitting tree

Esplanade

Esplanade

Strolling down th stairs onto the beach at Hervey bay

Tin Can Bay is a tranquil village with plenty to do. Located at the southern end of the southern tip of the World Heritage listed Fraser Island. The town adjoins the great Sandy Strait and offers a sheltered paradise for birdwatching, sailing, cruising on a houseboat or fishing.

20/7 We have slowly set up camp bit by bit. We are planning to stay here for a good few weeks and need to be organised. Part of that organisation is exercise. On This trip I have taken along one of my bikes and have taken my first ride in a long time. I did only 20km, but that is better than nothing. I explored the inlets and the point of Tin Can Bay where all the boats are moored. There is even a Marina here with Chandlers and boat repair facilities.

There are some great restaurants serving good fresh seafood….

Looks and feels tropical

Our home for a while/

Camp with caravan, on-suit, and annex (yet to be deployed)

Finally some cycling

Mangroves everywhere

boats stranded on the mudbanks

During the low tide boats are resting on the mudflats. During high tide everything floats.

Irish Boat

They even have a Dragon Boat club

Coast Guard

The caravan park for boats

On 19/7 we spent some time at Rainbow Beach. Situated some 25 km away from Tin Can Bay It is a vibrant beach resort that delivers on miles of sandy beaches that are patrolled by life guards. There is a Backpackers  that caters for many younger people. A few kilometres further at Inskip Point there  is a regular ferry service to the southern tip of Fraser Island. Along the way there is bush camping for many kilometres between the road and the sea.

Rainbow Beach has many shops, supermarkets, and industrial estate and other services available to the visitor. This includes horseride , Kayaking,  bushwalking and cycling. There are many surfing spots along the miles of beaches. There are several access points to the beaches where 4×4 access is allowed.

Trawler returning home

Ferry to Fraser

Gimme some sun I need a tan

Stormy waters to Frase Island

All good things come to those that wait!

We finally started our journey to get out of the Victorian winter on 15 July. After 2 months of cold temparatures and fires every evening, we headed north to a little-known place,  north of Noosa  Qld , called ‘Tin Can Bay’. We had been delayed for a few months because my dear wife had developed a heart condition that required a number of stents. This has now been done and we are now safe to travel.

On said morning we had to defrost the door locks and the windscreen before we departed. The ‘From’ temperature was 0C degrees.  The first leg took us to Narrandera in NSW. Great little town for a stopover.  We prefer stopping at the Lake Talbot caravan park as it is away from the traffic noises of the main road. It sits on a hill overlooking the lake  and has many drive through sites for caravaners. Since our last visit all drive through sites have been reconstructed and many other sites have been renovated. (see pics below.)

Neat construction and heaps of space!

Cute homebuilt caravan

After enduring a frosty night, the next day (16/7) saw us move along to Gilgandra just 65km north of Dubbo. The Newell highway was a pleasure to drive along with work continuing at improving the surface. The scenery along the road was dry and mainly boring. However,  the temp had improved a bit. Along the way we came across a Dakota. Used to jump out of these in the army/

Reno option in Gilgandra

I used to jump out of these in the army!

On day 3 (17/7) we moved along to Goondiwindi in Qld. This is a lovely town on the MacIntyre river which is the catchment for the Murray Darling basin irrigation scheme. It is also the cotton and grain capital of Australia. During the day we reached a temp of 26C degrees.

Today 18/7 we made our way from Goondiwindi to Tin Can Bay. We travelled some 530km and completed the trip late arvo. We booked into the caravan park and then drove to the boat launching facility just in time for a pic or two. The temp is now cruising in the high 20s.

OK, after 4 days and 1820km we are here. To-morrow we will set up camp and then start exploring. Fishing is very much on the agenda; will keep you posted. The temp has been around 26 degrees each day.

Once again I was up before sunrise, packed up and headed off. By the time I reached the Stuart highway the sun was rising and I headed south to Alice Springs. About 40 km further I saw a wondrous sight. The sun was at the back of me and I saw a bright light reflecting from the road ahead. It looked like a copper color rod lying across the road, reflecting the sun. I slowed down to get a better look thinking that somebody might have dropped part of their load.

As I got closer the color changed to bronze and I saw that this was no rod, but rather something with a ‘Z’ shape stretching across the national highway from the middle of my lane, across the white middle line,back  into my lane and across the other lane terminating in a small neck and much bigger head that was raised above the grass verge on the side of the road. It was an awesome sight of a King Brown that was around 5 meters long. Needless to say I did not stop for a pic (scared), but also swerved to avoid running over this magnificent creature.

The road continued forever and south of Tennant Creek I stopped at the Devil’s Marbles. This landmark is right beside the highway.

See more images at:  https://www.google.com.au/search?q=devils+marbles&biw=1366&bih=639&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CEgQ7AlqFQoTCJuIocPyhMkCFcTfpgodvyUEMw

After a short break I came across a 4wd that had rolled, the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel. That served as a reminder of the dangers of long distance driving and the need to have regular stops. I was getting very tired and eventually pulled of the road for a few hundred meters to set up camp for the night. I was an hour away from Alice Springs.

The next morning I drove through Alice and headed for Coober Pedy. Many hours later I reached Coober Pedy and refueled. 22 km south is a lesser known gravel road that turns east and reaches the famous William Creek 163 km further on. William Creek is situated on the Oodnadatta track which is one of the famous Australian outback tracks. This is also the location of the internationally famous William Creek Hotel. It is famous for its superb steaks and the fact that it is situated on Lake Eyre.  Lake Eyre in turn is famous for standing at 12 meters below sea level. There is a very basic caravan park cum camp ground.

The bar and associated decorations

I spent an hour in the bar before enjoying a brilliant steak in the dining room. The bar had been cleaned up from the previous time I had been there.

The next morning I headed south along the Oodnadatta track along lake Eyre which was sparkling as it reflected the light of the rising sun.

Dazzling Lake Eyre

An hour or so later I turned west again on the road to Olympic Dam which is a massive BHP mine. Another 25 km or so I reached the very neat town of Roxby Downs. See https://www.google.com.au/?gws_rd=ssl#q=roxby+downs

This town had been developed for the workers at Olympic Dam.

I continued towards the Stuart highway and reached the town of Woomera. This is the town where many missile tests took place in the 50s and 60s. The word ‘Woomera is from the aboriginal and means ‘spear thrower’. See my pics below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woomera_(spear-thrower)

Just before I reached the highway I took the pic below as my farewell to the red dirt country.

The last of the Red Dirt

I was keen to be on my way and heading to Burra in South Australia. I had heard from a few sources that the Burra Hotel served a mighty fine fare. I had a few more hundred km to go and arrived there in the late afternoon. After settling down I was amused to see a line of geese parading along the river in the caravan park. That evening I had my meal and have to say: ‘I can vouch for the food at the Burra Hotel’.

Getting Home

The next morning I set off on the last leg from Burra to the Victorian highland a trip of 810 km.

This took me 10 hours to complete including stops. After all this time it was good to be back

• 4 Weeks  -  10500 Kilometers:
• Home – Alice Springs – Tanami Track – Broome – Gibb River Road – Kimberley – Katherine – Home.         What a trip!!!!