Arley's Video Blog #5

After extensive editing, Arley's video blog is still almost 5 minutes long this week - there was just too much to show and tell in the beautiful Whitsundays! Keep an eye out for his amazing stinger suit!

The Coastal Return: Yeppoon, Kinka Beach and Mackay

We bush walked the morning away at Cania Gorge, before driving out of the gumtree covered hills, through farming land and back to the coast, via Rockhampton. Luke and I had been to Yeppoon a few times before, crossing through on our way around Australia on our first trip before the kids, and also on another occasion when we caught a boat across to Humpy Island for a week of wild back-to-basics camping with Uni friends and family waaaaay back in the day. But gee, it has changed since then.

The gateway to the Keppel Islands and the start of the Great Barrier Reef, Yeppoon is a bit of a central gathering point for Island-hoppers, holidayers, those preferring to live on the coast but who work in nearby Rocky, or as a coastal part-time home for those working inland in the mines. We caught up with Luke's mate Macca, whom he went to Primary School with but is now doing just that - living in Yeppoon and working half the week three hours away in a coal mine. He couldn't say enough good things about the place, especially the reasonable living costs and the year-long holiday vibe and we had to agree, that after booking in for just two nights, and staying almost five, our pace slowed down and it felt like we were on holidays too... oh wait... we are!  

We decided to stay at Kinka Beach this time, mainly because we'd heard many-a traveller with kids talking of the amazing Coolwaters Caravan Park, right on the beach and river inlet. And wow, we've seen some amazing parks on our trip so far, but this place was up there with the best! The water park rivalled that of Wet 'N' Wild on the Goldcoast, there were playgrounds and jumping pillows and bush walks on site, plus a little bonus that Arley was particularly taken with, a BMX bike track for him to practise his tricks! 

We spent a few days exploring Yeppoon and the beaches that surround the area and ventured into the hinterland to swim in the fresh water pools of Stoney Creek, but got a little lost along the way and ended up at the not as pretty creek down the road... whoops! The kids loved playing in the foreshore water park and Luke and I quickly found a few great coffee spots - Lure on the main drag, which sells beautiful homewares and juices too, being our favourite.

The beaches have huge tides and the kids were amazed that they had to walk for ages to get to the water's edge. They loved playing in the warm shallow water and thought it was a heap of fun making mud balls and covering each other in the brown, thick sand. A kid's paradise!   

I was lucky enough to be spoilt for Mother's Day on our last morning at Kinka Beach, and awoke to a bed filled with balloons and party blowers (perfect for a caravan park... NOT!) and some sweet hand-made cards and craft that the kids had hidden all over the caravan. A Mother's Day I'll always remember! 

On the way to our next stop over, Mackay, we had lunch at a quaint little park in the small town of Marlborough. This tiny town just off the Bruce Highway was once a busy service centre for the surrounding farming towns, but is now home to just 50 residents. The museum was well worth a visit, and for a gold coin donation, you could spend ages reading about the past and how the area is famous for producing the world's finest aqua semi-precious stone, chrysophase.

We finally arrived at Mackay, and spent two nights here, mostly trying to avoid the horrible sand flies at our caravan park and keep cool from the heat! The free town pool, The Blue Lagoon is a popular spot to have a dip and on a Monday we had the place to ourselves, minus a few toddlers and their mums and a bunch of sun-baking backpackers. And after being on the road for five weeks now, the kids were chuffed when we visited the Mackay Art Gallery for a browse and a milkshake in the cool cafe, but even more excited to find the local library next door! We are weekly library visitors back in Newcastle, so spending some down time, out of the sun, to read and colour-in and just chill out was a lovely change and reminder of home. 

Arley's Video Blog #4

In this instalment of Arley's travelling tales, he shows us around a 600acre rural Queensland cattle farm and takes up inland to Cania Gorge. Bastian even makes a cameo!

Heading Inland: Cania Gorge

We had been following the coast road for our entire trip, with the kids soaking up the sun and sea as we made our way up North, but after hearing about Cania Gorge from some fellow campers (hailed as one of Queensland's best kept secrets) it was time to head inland and see what all the fuss was about.

We knew the drive into the gorge was about 3 hours north west of Bundaberg, but after a longer than expected lunch stop over at Luke's old work friend's farm at Bucca, we didn't hit the road until around 3:30pm. This wouldn't have been a big drama, except for the small fact that we really didn't have too much of an idea of where the gorge was (except for what Google maps was telling us, but phone reception died about an hour into our journey). I may have swore once (or twice) when after driving through the last of the small country towns along the way, Monto, our thin road turned from tar to dirt, the sun began to set and on top of that, signs warning of unfenced cattle along the roadside started popping up everywhere!

I seriously questioned Luke as to whether it was too late to turn back, but our sense of adventure got the better of us (plus we were starting to get hungry!) so we pushed on, past the friendly locals who couldn't care less that our caravan (now containing three overtired and restless kids) was hurtling down the dirt road with a dust cloud streaming from behind.

But when we finally arrived at the Big 4 Cania Gorge Holiday Park, it was like seeing a mirage in the middle of a hot and desolate desert. Nestled in the middle of the Cania Gorge National Park, the place was absolutely packed with people spilling out of each site, walking with torches, crowding around fires, kids riding bikes on dusk, a big outdoor theatre set up laughing, music! The place was like a mini festival in the middle of absolutely nowhere!! Needless to say, that after checking in and remembering that QLD had a long weekend so most of the campers were enjoying the extra day off, we forgot the hairy drive and were just as excited as the swarms of kids walking around with untoasted marshmellows on their sticks!

So all chances of giving the kids an early dinner (of baked beans sandwiches after the day we'd had!) and getting them off to bed early was dashed - instead we joined the holiday makers and wandered the camping ground, breathing in the smell of burning firewood and looking up in awe at the clear, star-spotted sky, which looks 100 times more impressive when surrounded by bush in the country.

The next day, we got a better look at our home away from home for the next few nights and I must say, after over half the campers had cleared out and headed back to work, the place felt like it was all ours. With bush all around, the wildlife was abundant, with wallabies roaming freely about the place (and being chased by Bassie who thought he might be able to 'ride' one), so many birds that we actually lost count of the different types, the rare and beautiful Bettongs that came out at night and hopped right past you on the way to the toilet block and more. The kids were in their element and finally Luke and I felt like this was really 'camping'.

But real camping these days, also comes with plenty of added extras, and despite being in the middle of a Gorge and kilometres from anywhere, this Big 4 caravan park had one of the best water parks we had seen, tennis courts, jumping pillows, a make-shift golf course and some terrific organised activities like a damper and billy tea morning in the big tin shed for all the guests, outdoor movie nights under the stars and daily bird feedings on dusk.

We kept up the schooling on the road and I think anyone would agree that doing your year one reader with king parrots looking over your shoulder is pretty special. I've loved this time with the kids, where Bastian is happy to play with play dough and whatever else is lying about, while Arley does his readers and maths and other bits and pieces and Sage, never wanting to miss out, wants to do some 'schoolwork' as well. But sometimes trying to get Arley to jump off his bike for more than five minutes and concentrate is difficult and at Cania Gorge, even I found it hard to focus with the beauty all around us! We did have a special guest drop by and present the kids with 'merit' awards for trying so hard whilst on the road, which made them laugh - Welcome Principal Tonkin!

 
Just down the road from the Big 4 is Lake Cania, a man-made lake that sits on the banks of Three Moon Creek and is stocked with yellowbelly, silver perch and Australian Bass. A popular fishing spot with professional comps hosted here, the kids swam in the warm water and met the caretaker and his dog Ernie, who they wanted to smuggle into the back of our van and take home!

But the main reason people make the trek to this beautiful part of Queensland is for the gorge itself. A remnant of the Brigalow Belt natural region, the sandstone rock formations are impressive and there are a bunch of bush walks that showcase the caves, natural pools and changing landscape of the area. We took on a few of the shorter walks with the kids and visited the Dripping Rocks and The Overhang Rock. And just as the kids started piping up, "Are we there yet?" towards the end of our walk, a yellow bellied tree snake conveniently blocked the path ahead and provided much entertainment as we waiting for it to finally get a wriggle on and let us pass! 

It's the little things that kids love though, and the joy of a load of firewood being delivered to our site, and the promise of our own bonfire just outside our door with a few marshmellows to roast, was the biggest drawcard to heading off the beaten track. And with a glass of red in hand, the kids snoring in their beds and looking up at the stars, Luke and I were just as glad that we hit the dirt roads and found this little gem as well.