Day 450 Hervey Bay Whale Watching Part 2

Not going to put much on here....just enjoy!!!!!


This video is awesome...and yes the bad breath was everything the Captain said it was and more...we had a great day!!!!!!!!!!

Day 450 Hervey Bay Whale Watching Part 1

I had been to Hervey Bay with Robert about 6 years ago and we had done the Fraser Island Tour, we had wanted to do the whale watching but were there at the wrong time...not so this time. We had such a fantastic day that I have done two parts again. We did not get the best photos but we enjoyed every moment! Fin splashing above...
That close.........
The chase is on.......
The males are chasing the females...and normally they will push the calves out of the way to get to the females.....check out the next blog!
This is how close they get to the boats!

Day 445 Cruise Part 2

The two Irish girls, Joanne and Kate, were very entertaining..it was great to met them. Poor Kate (on the right) had been stung by a Blue Bottle while ashore at Whitehaven Beach but all was well. They are doing a trip around Australia before heading back to London and Ireland respectively.....have a good trip girls!!
This is Andrew, who I must say was one of the most helpful crew members...not saying the others were not great...but he had just that extra time and concern for the passengers.
Now doesn't that look good!!!!!!!!!
And doesn't that look even better. ( Also being surrounded by heavenly bikini clad bodies was pretty cool !!! S.D. )

Day 445 Airlie Beach Sailing Whitsundays Part 1

I had been to Airlie Beach with Sally (now in Tasmania) to celebrate my 50th birthday. We had done a cruise then with snorkeling and I wanted to do something along the same lines with Stephen. We found this Purple Catamaran named Camira (no not the Holden). At 85 ft long and carrying 80 passengers it was a beauty. Sailing is always good but with nearly all the work being done electronically and the rest done by someone else...it's a blast. Just gives you an idea of the size...with these two trampolines between the hulls. ( Only the Kiwis would build a PURPLE boat !!!! S.D )
The weather was kind, though we did have to motor some of the way as it was directly into wind and the show must keep to schedule!!!!We stopped at Hook Island for a snorkel but unfortunately the visibility was poor....down to about 2 meters...not as good as Port Douglas or Ningaloo Reef
The stop at Whitehaven Beach gave Stephen an opportunity to go ashore and then come back past the boat to take this shot...
It also gave me the front deck to myself to catch some rays!
The dramatic shot..this square rigger came past on our return trip.

Day 443 Tully and Townsville

We passed through a small Sugar Cane town by the name of Tully...having worked for Krys Tully I thought it appropriate to take a picture of Tully's claim to fame. The Golden Gum Boot, with Green Tree Frog attached, it was erected to commemorate the fact that Tully had the highest recorded rainfall in Australia at a massive 7.9 mts in a year. The Boot is that height and actually houses a rain gauge.
We pushed on to Townsville and after a few disappointments with caravan parks ended up at a beauty at Rowes Bay. Good sized site and just outside a lovely foreshore park and walkway, BBQ's and sculptures..with views over to the magnificent Islands.
We went on up to the Castle Hill Lookout....and saw this beauty fly passed....a sea plane flight is still on our list of things to do but not today!
Bassie has a picture from this look out on his Facebook, so Himself had to have a go...if not right out over the big drop...it was good enough for me...vertigo for someone else...yep!
Not a bad view, this is only a part of it as you have 360 degrees from the top!

Day 442 Paronella Park Part 2

There is a swing bridge over the water fall which gave Stephen a good opportunity to get an over view. You can see the Castle, this had been burnt out in the previous owner's time, the story goes that the place had been insured, 4 months later there was a fire...insurers paid out and the money was never used to reconstruct the Castle...sounded like a Jewish Stocktake to us!!
The evening tour turned up some spectacular photo shots! Bearing in mind that this Park was built in the 1930's, the designs and the architecture indicates a time long before that...however, with the use of very poor quality concrete being used to do all the buildings, seats and all, it is gradually going back to forest..the tennis courts no longer exist, the  Tunnel of Love is needing a lot of repair and the Castle itself can no longer be climbed...they hope to get most of it back into some form of repair....but this is going to be a long haul....This brings us to a thought, would it be better to maintain the Park in its present form or improve it, but in improving it, does it loose its feel for the old era?The last shot is of us having a meal with Rusty and Val in the Caravan Park...this park was actually built by Jose son in the mid 50's....not really designed for big vans but we managed!

Day 442 Paronella Park Part 1

This Park was voted No 1 must do, in Queensland, by the RACQ and lived well and truly up to its reputation. We had met Rusty and Val, fellow Trailcraft owners also from W.A, at Etty Bay and they decided to follow us and go to Paronella Park...hence this photo opportunity just outside the Park.
The whole area was developed by an individual called Jose Paronella..this was his dream and he was so far ahed of the time that it comes across as what would have been the first Holiday Resort Park..with castles, water falls , hydro electric plant (first in Australia), Kauri Avenue (as seen above)...and more. I have done two parts again to show the diversity of the Park..we did a day tour and a night tour, all included in the entrance price...exceedingly good value, we even got free Caravan Park included!!!!!
The Mena Creek had many inhabitants..including fish, eels and lots of these Turtles..cute, hey!!
There was even a Bamboo Walk for himself!!
This is the water fall (very low at this time of year) with the Hydro Electric tower on the right. This Tower is currently under restoration and will eventually sell power back to the grid..

Day 439 Millaa Millaa Rain Forest Walk

Yep, we have done another of these Tree Top style walks....this one through and round and over Rain Forest. The different trees (a lot had been lost in Cyclone Larry) some of which after being blown over have left holes for all different vegetation to come through. We made it to the top again, & I got the picture of Stephen this time....notice the new Cassowary coloured Crocs!
But he got me on the cantilever....he is bouncing me up and down, so I am holding on very tight!
The strangest things you see, we thought this was an ant on the handrail but on closer inspection, Stephen realised it was a Praying Mantis...and no this is not a baby this is its actual size!!!!!
The view down the valley, through the trees and across to the river below was fabulous, but we both agreed that our favourite is still the Tasmanian Tree Top Walk.

Day 439 Etty Bay Paet 2

Check out the eye lashes!!!!!!!!! Normally the Cassowary can be quite vicious, but I think this family group has got used to the coming and going of the campers. We had parked right by their afternoon snooze spot and after checking us out just sat there and watched us watching them...fan - bloody - tastic...excuse the language please!!

Baby appeared to be a boy as well and about 6 months old...these birds are very territorial and when the young get to a certain age the Fathers  (the up bringers,) actually chase the babies off.
Because so much of their food is only found in rain forest and that area is decreasing, and the fact they are territorial is not a good combination.
We had managed to find a small area of this fantastic Country, were we saw these marvelous birds..we even found this small family in some ones back yard, on our way out from Etty Bay.

Day 438 Etty Bay

After a nerve racking day fixing the fridge...we went to a much talked about, in caravan parks, Etty Bay. This beautiful Bay, with a great beach had another appeal, and that was the resident Cassowary (more pictures on nest blog). This Bay was used by the US forces, for R & R in the 2nd World War.
The father and son were right on our door step...then for a short stroll on the pristine beach.
We even had a Lace Monitor or two and they could get really cheeky, one even came under our outside table with head almost on my lap before I could get him to move on!!! Stephen just laughed!!
Round the corner from the Bay was this hidden harbour at Mourilyan Harbour, which still ships out cane sugar.
The only real negative was the Sand Flies..we both got got, but Stephen was the worst hit, the blistering was horrific!!!!

Day 437 Spy and Camera Museum

Another little gem in Herberton was the Spy and Camera Museum. Which housed among many other things the original KGB buttonhole spy camera, and the first Lieca camera, which cost the previous owner over half a million dollars. Stephen spent a lovely hour here...and came out with a grin from ear to ear....
It has always impressed me that some of these small towns seem to attract some of the most passionate people. They have their passion that seems to ooze from not only themselves but from the displays that they show. (The new owner in the background of this shot actually sold his Porsche to by the place...and then the previous owner went and bought himself a Porsche!!!)
Quaint shop front just made it all the more appealing..and the Coffee Shop next door was pretty good to!!!!!

Day 437 Herberton

The only trouble we had at our Kingfisher Lodge was no signal and we needed contact for the fridge man. So we decided that as we had not got all things done at Atherton we headed back to our last site there and did the Herberton day trip. There is a fantastic old village, which has been collected by the original instigator of this village and reassembled. So you have everything from schools, banks, pubs, blacksmiths, radio shops and a lot more. Stephen took a liking to this mirror...and got the phantom photographers feet for a change!!!
There was even a wall of fame for Wood Cutters as this was the preferred past time of the owner of this marvelous place. Awards to Himself, friends and even his son are everywhere.
Time pieces aplenty...record collection, even old newspapers with all the Coronation, Royal Weddings etc.
Stephen even found his old fridge (it was in the first house I rented in Warrandyte in 1972! S.D)...but then fridges were a slight sore point at this stage...
Not sure whether I preferred this place or the one we went to at Swan Hill...but well worth the look!!