Foul Weather Rest Day

Sunday 27 September -182222

Last night was miserable weather – 70km/h gusty winds with rain, perfectly timed for the local long weekend. This morning we did a stocktake of our van and hiking food supplies and topped up, on the hopeful assumption that we will be able to resume the Bibbulmun shortly. We also went to BCF and Anaconda to purchase a flexible gas pipe and a small cupboard for the van.

In the afternoon I remotely helped our son do his tax return and we rearranged the van with our new cupboard. We had planned to go to the Spring Night Markets, but unfortunately the whole event was cancelled due to last night’s weather. The photos below are of the Albany Highway near our caravan park and as you can see the wind was solid.

Swimming, Markets and ANZACs

 Sunday 20 September – 181995

After a long sleep in we had breakfast and went to Middleton Beach for a swim. It was probably very entertaining for the locals watching two Queenslanders get into 16 degrees Celcius ocean water. We swam for about 15 minutes, although most of the time with our faces out as the cold made our sinuses hurt. I quickly lost all feeling in my feet and when we got out my toes were waxy yellow and I struggled to walk normally. We headed back to the van for hot showers to warm up.  Middleton Beach

Next up was the Albany Boatshed Markets which had a variety of lovely items, but were smaller in size than I had expected.  Albany Boatshed Markets  Drew visited the National ANZAC Centre in Albany this afternoon – he spent two to three hours in the main building, enjoying all the multimedia displays. He then explored outside, including the Coastal Gun Emplacement Magazine, the Naval Walk and the Convoy Lookout. We have previously visited this as a family and it is a very informative centre for all ages. National ANZAC Centre

More of Maryborough

 30 June 2022 – 330 263

St Paul’s Anglican Church was today’s first stop – admiring the beautiful stained glass.   http://maryborough.anglicanchurchsq.org.au/ 

Maryborough Markets are held every Thursday and include a town crier in costume.  We purchased some beautiful donuts for morning tea – cinnamon ones and chocolate ones. These were not iced, but rather sugar and cinnamon or sugar and cocoa – they were divine!

https://www.maryboroughqldbusiness.com.au/markets.html

The Whistle Stop Museum was a quick stop to look at a small collection of railway memorabilia.  https://www.maryboroughwhistlestop.org.au/  

Last up was the Hospital Museum, which was housed in the first doctor’s residence on the hospital grounds. https://www.facebook.com/widebayhospitalmuseum/  

I then took some time to explore the river around the campsite.  

After packing downs we drove to The Christmas Shoppe in Tiaro to choose an item for our Christmas Tree to represent Drew’s Mum. https://christmascottage.com.au/

Last stop before home was “Matilda” from the 1982 Commonwealth Games, at Traveston. 

Dingo Beach, Hydeaway Bay and Cape Gloucester - Wow!

Saturday 29 June 2019 – 266 175

Airlie Beach Parkrun was our tourist run this morning – quite hilly but along the waterfront and pretty. https://www.parkrun.com.au/airliebeach/ After showers and breakfast, we drove to the Whitsunday Airlie Beach Markets.  I purchased some lovely soaps as gifts.  Hayden and I also bought new hats – Hayden’s really suits him.  We then went back to the van to get a slow cook meal on for dinner.

Dingo Beach was our lunchtime picnic spot.  It was low tide and we were able to comb the beach for interesting shells and coral pieces.  Once again, beautiful vistas.  There are large seagrass beds and apparently there are dugong, although we were not lucky enough to spot on of these shy creatures.  We did see a small group of kangaroos enjoying the shade and cool grass behind the dunes. https://www.queensland.com/en-au/destination-information/dingo-beach

Next stop was Hydeaway Bay, also beautiful, but with more housing.
https://www.tourismwhitsundays.com.au/destinations/hydeaway-bay
We finished the day at Cape Gloucester with our own private beach. I explored and took photographs, then sat down to update my journal while looking out over the ocean.  At sunset we enjoyed a hot meal from the thermal cooker, while watching the sunset over the ocean (a rarity in Queensland).  On our way home, we saw two wallabies crossing the road.

https://www.queensland.com/en-us/journey/airlie-beach-to-cape-gloucester