It was time for another visit to Rainbow Beach. This is a wonderful destination fo9r sun tanning, fishing, hiking, swimming and beach driving. There is a café strip and a bakery to look after the early morning cravings. We drove on the beach to one of the departure points for the Fraser Island ferry. The scenery is always stunning, beautiful and sunny.

Almost like heaven.

Getting onto the beach.

4wd, beach, surf = Happy Chappy

Life’s a beach.

Later we drove around the village as it is nestled on the hillside. Once again there are great views. Later we got to sit on one of the very high dunes above the beach.

Great view

Happy

Also happy

Some of us were very tired by the time we got home.

Boy, the beach does not half make you tired!

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.

Almost time to head back south. We are going to take our time and do a little bit of exploring along the way, where warranted.

We have had a really great time here at the Capricorn Coast. A number of times I tried some fishing and managed to catch some mackerel. I enjoyed standing on the rocks and watching the dolphins and sea turtles swim by.

I have done some swimming, playing around in the surf and today some body surfing as the waves were up. We have had many beach walks. We walked in the low tide waters (knee high) into the sea for up to 400 meters from the beach. Words like wonderful and exhilarating come to mind.

Imagine my surprise and horror when I saw the Crocodile warnings on a slipway at Emu Park beach. These signs always say ‘Achtung’ I guess for the German tourists. The signage says: ‘Be crock wise in crock country. Sightings (phone #)’.   A day earlier our neighbor at the caravan park told us that some person had sighted a crock in the mangroves just up the road. He was on his way to the beach and the path leads through the mangroves. I did not believe our friend as I thought he was pulling my leg. Well, I am going to be a bit more cautious from now on. I truly cannot believe that crocks come this far south. Someone had placed a soggy biscuit in the mouth of the crock

We have had great weather with temperatures around 23 degrees most days. The last few days have been very humid and then yesterday we had a good bit of rain. The temp felt much worse due to the humidity and the UVs which were right up. Even our dog had had enough and escaped into the caravan for some respite.

Yesterday I came across some more retro caravans in the park and have attached a pic. The couple in one of the caravans had purchased their van in the 60s and had it done up just recently to look schmick again.

If the weather continues I might do some more body surfing to-morrow.