Day 52 – Friday 26 July – Hervey Bay
The day started warm and overcast, being 19 degrees at 9 am. There was no wind.
A beach walk was overdue, so we did. It was quite spooky as we found it difficult to see the horizon. However the walk beside the rocks and the mangroves was pleasant. Shirley was able to get wet shoes and socks, thanks to the rising tide reaching the foreshore trees/plants. |
| Pialba Beach - Where the Water Reaches the Sky |
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| Shirley on Pialba Beach |
On the way back to camp we stocked up on provisions for homemade pizza for dinner. There was a nearby mural worth a photo.
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| Mural at Pialba Woolworths |
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| Homemade pizza |
Back at camp, pizzas were prepared and cooked in the Weber. They were pretty good.
It was time to relax, so we did.
Just after dark a huge 'cauldron' of bats flew overhead. There must have been thousands of them. They made quite a noise as they flew past.
Day 53 – Saturday 27 July – Hervey Bay
Apart from the widespread cloud, and the lack of a cool breeze, today was a repeat of last Saturday. Sleep in, Pier Markets on foot, then a drive to Torquay Markets. Our fruit bowl is restocked.
As it was high tide our after-lunch walk became a pier walk instead of a beach walk. It was a popular spot for those keen on fishing. One guy caught a shark - maybe 500 mm long.
Then was saw an excellent sized fish - maybe a snapper - about 600 mm long. Little fish were common place. Birds expecting a free lunch were also in abundance. One pelican nearly mistook Shirley's white hair for his preferred sitting position. He was close enough for us to feel the wind from its wings.
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| Big fish, little fish, scrounger |
Day 54 – Sunday 28 July – Childers Festival
After a few overnight drops of rain the day started cloudy. But it was already 17 degrees at 8am.
Today was Childers Festival day. We just hoped that the weather held.
By 10 am we were in Childers. Over the next five hours we walked 5 km and listened to 2.5 hours of music. First it was the 1970's rock group Dragon, then a group we first saw in 2018 at the Tamworth Music Festival - Murphy's Pigs. They are a Celtic band and very easy to listen to.
We sat about 75 metres from Dragon and that was close enough. However we got much closer to Murphy's Pigs.
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Above - Our view of the stage and a close up of the Dragon lead singer Below - Murphy's Pigs - Live and on the big screen |
We also visited a couple of food stalls, and a coffee stall. The cool breeze made for a chilly afternoon.
We were back at camp by 4 pm where we relaxed inside - thanks to the chilly wind. Spaghetti for dinner. I did have time to sneak down to Scarness for a sunset photo. Not a good sunset, but a great cloud formation.
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| Sunset at Scarness |
Day 55 – Monday 29 July – Hervey Bay
After a chilly night it was a chilly morning - sunny with a cold wind. The idea of a sunrise photo was abandoned.
It was one of those days when we struggled to do anything of note. We did score a street walk and a beach walk.
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| Pialba Beach |
I conjured up some snags and veggies for dinner.
Day 56 – Tuesday 30 July – Hervey Bay
I braved the 4 degrees to head to the beach at 6 am. It was worth the effort.
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Later I found out that Hervey Bay officially dropped to -1 overnight.
Shirley duly surfaced, and around 10:30 am I drove her to the hairdresser. While she was there I visited the marina fresh fish outlet and bought one kg of fresh raw King Prawns.
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| Left - In Shop Right - Half kg shelled for dinner |
Shirley later emerged - happier. 😊
We had an early lunch (cheese & bacon sausage rolls) and headed to the beach before the tide came in too far. The beach was sheltered from the wind and it was pleasant. Our walk extended to both sides of the pier.
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| Shirley making up for missing the sunrise (pier) photo |
Not much happened for the rest of the afternoon apart from defrosting the fridge (Shirley) and shelling half of the prawns (Chris).
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| BBQ Prawns and Sweet Potato Wedges |
Dinner was BBQ prawns with a bit of salad, and some sweet-potato wedges. It was superb.
Day 57 – Wednesday 31 July – Hervey Bay
Another lovely day started slowly before we headed off to the Wednesday market. However, for some reason the market was not on today, so we bought our fruit & veggies elsewhere.
That was it for the day. Rest and relaxation. There was an ice-cream in there somewhere.
BBQ chicken and veggies for dinner. Olympics to follow.
Day 58 – Thursday 1 August – Hervey Bay
A new month, another cloudless morning. Another slow start. Another load of washing on the line - by 9am. The sheets had to wait for Shirley to get out of bed. The towels had to wait for her to get out of the shower.
We did a touch of shopping, including some pork ribs that were destined for dinner.
A ham roll for a late lunch before a walk along the Scarness beach. It just so happened that the end of the 2 km walk was at Enzo's On The Beach - an excellent spot for a smoothie and a milkshake.
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| Enzo's - A good spot for a drink overlooking the beach |
Back to camp and pork ribs for dinner (sometime later), cooked in the Weber with potato wedges and zucchini. They were superb.
Day 59 – Friday 2 August – Hervey Bay
Yet another sunny day. It was our last opportunity for a casual breakfast at Hervey Bay (Howard Market tomorrow, depart HB Sunday) so we had a BBQ start to the day - bacon, egg, tomato, mushroom, sourdough toast & coffee/tea.
Tomorrow will be a busy day so a few pack-up jobs came next - after our exercises of course. The Weber was packed away, as were the awning privacy screens.
A neighbour complained about bat droppings on his car, and the damage it can do to the duco. I checked out the top of our awning and realised that some of the bats must have needed to 'dump fuel' as they flew over our caravan. I have another cleaning job to do - but that is normal for a decent stint in one place.
After lunch and some relaxation our last Hervey Bay beach walk (this trip) took place, from Scarness to Torquay. The weather was magnificent, 21 degrees with a gentle breeze - but enough breeze to move Shirley's hat from head to water.
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| Shirley head down, wet hat in hand, approaching Torquay Pier |
Once back at camp I weakened and washed the top of the awning.
Dinner was a magnificent porterhouse steak, purchased from the butcher we found last year.
Then relaxation, and more Olympics.
Day 60 – Saturday 3 August – Hervey Bay
It was maybe the best start to the day, of our stay in Hervey Bay. We were soon in the car and off to the Howard markets - the scene of happy memories from last year. It was again the scene for more happy memories, which resulted in two empty wallets (cash not wanted at Howard markets).
Luckily the coffee shop took plastic cards.
Shirley had found two places to investigate, in Lenthalls Dam and Wongi Waterhole. So off we went. It was a slow trek as the road was gravel and often in very poor condition. However, the end result was worth it.
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Lenthalls Dam, a super spot for camping, fishing and doing nothing |
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| The road into Wongi Waterhole |
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| Some superb paperbark trees at Wongi Waterhole |
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| Some reflections at Wongi Waterhole |
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| A Willy Wagtail looking serious |
The 140 km round trip had us back at camp around 2pm for a late lunch. It was then time for a few more pack-up jobs.
We decided on a sunset photo on the way to a Chinese dinner. However we did not budget on road detours caused by festivities for the annual Whale Festival. We arrived just in time to get the following photo.
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| Sunset at Point Vernon, with the sun competing with the clouds |
The chinese dinner was excellent.
This chapter is now complete (apart from maybe a couple of late edits).
Tomorrow we head to Maroochydore.
Last updated at 7:20 pm Saturday 3 August 2024
Have enjoyed catching up on your blog tonight with Olympics on in background. Photography of bird life has been amazing and the photo of the sunset beside the Urangan Pier has a great reflection. Sounds like the hip is holding up and you are both having a wonderful winter break. 1 deg this morning.Lyn Rigg
ReplyDeleteThanks Lyn. Hip is fine. Weather sunny and clear virtually every day.
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