Inskip Continues...

Monday 12^th August

We are still here at Inskip; it is such a lovely place and we are really enjoying just sitting back and soaking it all up and relaxing with walks along the beach, fishing, reading, watching dolphins swim past in the bay and just basically chilling out!

The weather has been fabulous with beautiful sunny days of between 22° and 25°. Today, is supposed to be 27°, however there is a slight wind so it may not get to that. We are both gradually gaining a suntan, no longer the lily white legs we had in Pakenham! The nights are certainly not cold either, we light our little fire to cook dinner and enjoy the ambience of sitting outside listening to the waves lapping the shore as the tide comes in, with the beautiful backdrop of the amazing millions of stars in the night sky. The Milky Way seems to go on forever and ever.

It is nice and quiet during the week, the weekends get a little busy, however where we are situated is terrific as we have our own space with plenty of room around us. Can’t stand being right on top of other campers! It is extremely peaceful and serene and we certainly don’t tire of our view! The people camped nearby us are very friendly. One neighbour, Garry, who is in his 70’s, has been here about 2 weeks longer than us. He lives in Redcliffe and comes up here often. He is a very tidy man, always out there sweeping and raking, stacking his wood and keeping his little campsite pristine. He told me his kids reckon he has OCD! I said my kids say the same about me! Garry’s friends Joe & Jan arrived on Friday. Garry’s wife Pat joined him on Saturday and she is lovely also.

Mark came down with a sore throat on Sun night, and Monday morning I had a look and yep, he had tonsillitis!!! We rang the local doctor and made an appointment for 4pm. However Garry came to the rescue with some Amoxycillin he had. I was a little hesitant about Mark taking it, as it is risky taking medication that hasn’t been prescribed by your own doctor, but Garry went into town for supplies and came back with a printout from the chemist explaining the dosage. How very kind of him! So I gave Mark the go ahead. He had a dreadful sleep that night, feverish, extremely hard to swallow, but by day 2 he was starting to feel much better. Not nice at all when you are sick like that, especially in a caravan and away from your normal doctor!

Our other neighbours are Bill and Jacqui who are in their late fifties and live in Geelong. Amazing how many people you talk to are from Victoria! What does that say about all these people venturing north to escape the cold!?! Gotta be some logic behind that I reckon! Bill and Jacqui are also lovely friendly people. Both Garry and Bill go for a swim around 6:30am every morning and as Mark was up earlier than usual on Saturday, he decided he too would give it a go and ran into the water with a loud Whoop! He said it was nice and refreshing. Yep, that’s okay, I will just have my cuppa and enjoy the view of the water and feel the sun! No early morning swim for me! Not yet anyway! People who know me will laugh at the thought of me even entertaining that thought….a morning person I am not! Although I must say, my morning persona here is NOT remotely like home. I wake up each day to a bright sky with the sun coming up, the water is glistening, the birds are tweeting and chirping their calls to each other…then I jump out of bed and that’s it, I am putting the kettle on. And it’s only 6am or earlier!

Last week Mark asked me to cut his hair; that was a laugh. I thought I had the number 4 cutter in but as I did the first swipe, the look on my face was enough for him to know that I obviously hadn’t double checked! All was not bad though, I had used number 3, so a little bit of trimming, snipping and cutting had him looking pretty good. A hairdresser I ain't, but at least he was happy with the results. I blew some stray hairs away from his ear and his comment was “Oooh, my normal hairdresser doesn’t blow in my ear”! Yes, well...

We go into town to collect water & empty our loo every few days, but for food etc, have mainly driven a bit further to Cooloola, about 15 minutes away as there is a Woolworths and a few smaller shops which has more variety than the IGA here. Fruit and vegies are aplenty, the prices are great at the moment and they taste so much fresher than home. Although I do miss my friendly fruit shop!

On Thursday we drove in to town to get supplies and went all the way up to have a look Tin Can Bay, which is just past Cooloola. It is a nice small town right on the bay, very pretty and maintained. I haven’t been there since I was about 10 years old, and not much has changed.

The name Tin Can Bay is derived from "tinchin" or "tidhin" the name for the species of mangrove in Yugumbir language spoken by the Aboriginals at that time. A young white lad that arrived with the Aboriginals about a hundred years ago was Zachariah Daniel Sparkes Skyring. He was one of the first permanent residents in the area, and he later called the town Tin Can Bay. Zachariah was born on 13^th July 1861 and died on the 4^th June 1957. Tin Can Bay and its protected waterways are renowned for fishing, crabbing and boating and its friendly Dolphins that come into Schnapper Creek most days to be fed by the holiday makers and the locals alike. There is Dolphin feeding most mornings at 8:30am at the cafe.

The tide was way out, which allowed us to walk a fair way. Mark went to grab us some fish n’ chips for lunch and they were scrumptious!!! Sitting in the park, overlooking the bay whilst eating crispy chips, crumbed cod, prawns, calamari and huge chicken dim sims – delightful! The best thing is that unlike the fish n’ chips at home, these are not all greasy, leaving you feeling like you have eaten a cup of fat! I always need a cup of tea whilst eating it, to melt the fat! Ugh!

Where has all the water gone?

Tin Can Bay

Millie and I went for a long walk along the beach in the afternoon while Mark tried his hand at fishing (he managed to catch a couple of Winter Whiting, but they were small so back into the sea they went!) On our way back I saw a huge Dugong Turtle that had been caught up in a tangle of fishing line and the poor thing had no chance of escaping and had died. The line was wrapped around its flippers and head.  It made me feel so sad that these beautiful creatures suffer through mankind. 

On Friday we went into Rainbow Beach to walk along the beach and take a look at the Coloured Sands. These are eastwards from the town and visible from quite a distance. They are enormous, impressive sandy cliffs, which can be up to 200 metres in height. Rainbow Beach was originally known as Back Beach and was renamed for the rainbow-coloured sand dunes surrounding the town. Although it has a permanent population of only around 900, about 70,000 visitors blow through town each year and it is very popular with the hang-gliders who use Carlo Sand Blow to launch out over Wide Bay.

A lighthouse keeper kept watch over the entrance to the Great Sandy Straits and Zircon, Ilmenite and Rutile were mined here between 1965 and 1971.

Some interesting facts about the Great Sandy Straits                                   

·          It has more sand than the Sahara.

·         Home to 40% of the worlds perched lakes.

·         Highest and largest perched lakes in the world

·         Majority of the world's rainforest growing on sand.

·         Unique sub-tropical patterned swamps.

·         Unique Coloured Sands of Rainbow Beach

·         7558 recorded species of flora and fauna

Prior to 1969 the only access to Rainbow Beach was by boat via Tin Can Bay.

According to the legends of the Aboriginal Kabi people, the dunes were coloured when Yiningie, a spirit represented by a rainbow, plunged over the edge after doing battle with an evil tribesman over a young woman, and his spirit fell onto the cliffs, infusing the sands with its polychromatic splendour.

Erosion has exposed a palette of as many as 72 different coloured sands which have been produced by combinations of iron oxide and leached vegetable dyes. Much of the sand colours stem from the rich content of minerals, such as rutile, ilmenite, zircon and monazite.

It  is believed that the sands have been forming since the last ice age.

Overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Rainbow Beach

Rainbow Beach looking towards the Point and Fraser Island

Above the cliffs at Rainbow Beach

Looking towards the Coloured Sands

Hello!!........Can you see me??

Look at the bloody size of these things!!!

There are thousands of big black charcoal rocks at the bottom of the cliffs on the walk to the sands and so many people have scratched their names into the soft surface. We had lots of fun adding our own along with a surprise for our kids and their partners! Hope you like it guys!

Awwwwwwww...

So...Ok...Is this my best side? Is my hair Ok?

Hmmmm....Gotta get this right, scratch a little deeper, make sure they can read it...

Ta Daaaaaaaaa!

Everyone stops to take a photo of me...Just coz I wanted to be different from all the rest. Stupid idea. I stick out like a sore thumb.  Ha! Stick out! Get it!?! God, I kill myself with my jokes! Maybe I'll end up on that Yoo tubey thingo!

The same day we also went to look at the Carlo Sand Blow, although at first we took what we thought was the track! We started off with a huge set of very steep stairs (killer on the legs) and then started walking along a track which was quite uneven and hard going. We got to a point where there was a very steep incline and I said to Mark that if we tried to walk down that, there would be no way of getting back up except on our hands and knees!!! We ended up cutting through a vacant block of land which brought us out onto the streets and attempted to get back to the car, and drive up to the Sand Blow. Unfortunately this took us rather a long time because we soon came upon a dead end!!! We had to back track and eventually found our way, got into the car and drove…There was a 600mwalk from the car park…Much easier!!! Stupid, stupid, stupid...Next time we'll read the directions!

The Carlo Sand Blow is a natural sand dune phenomenon and was named by Captain Cook after one of his deck crew named Carlo. This magnificent and unique "moonscape" sand mass covers over 15 hectares and overlooks the Coloured Sands.  We were absolutely amazed when we reached the top. It really has to be seen to be believed! The spectacular views are incredible and we felt like we were on top of the world. You can see so much: from the Coloured Sands, Double Island Point (which has a great surf break and is one of the longest waves in Australia) Fraser Island, Inskip Point, Tin Can Bay and the Great Sandy Strait. This is a definite must do for anyone who visits this area!

Needless to say, that night we were exhausted after such an energetic day, including poor Millie who had also walked her little legs off!!!

You can see part of the Sand Blow from the street

Looking out to Double Island Point and part of the Coloured Sands

Looking towards Inskip, Fraser Island and the Great Sandy Strait

Can you see me in this one!?!

On top of the Sand Blow

Saturday was spent relaxing and recovering from our energetics the day before! Not a lot done except reading, a bit of a swim in the ocean and soaking up the sun!

Mark and Bill hoping to catch a BIG ONE!

One of the locals

Chris and Katrina came up on Sunday to spend 2 nights with us and we had a fabulous time with them. The boys decided to go into town to get some bait for fishing. Mark got squid and Chris got some worms. Katrina and I sat on the beach and chatted while the boys fished. Mark was quite proud of himself as he was catching Winter Whiting one after the other and poor Chris didn’t catch any!

On Monday Mark and Chris decided to cook up the fish and have it for lunch. That was a laugh! Mark normally doesn’t eat fish as he reckons they all have bones.  Really? I never knew that! Well of course Whiting is full of bones, and despite Chris showing him how to get the flesh off to eat, Mark sat there like a little kid; mouth full of fish and a screwed up face! Pity I didn't grab the camera; it was certainly funny. Chris managed to end up with a perfect fish skeleton just like in the cartoons!

 After lunch the boys thought we should all go for a drive on the beach, so even though we girls were a bit reluctant we hopped in for the ride. It was the first time Mark and I had driven on the beach and we all shared a lot of laughs! I was hanging on to the ‘Jesus Bar’ very tightly as it was quite rough in some places, the car skidded a bit and we had to make sure we didn’t get into the really wet stuff. The smooth parts were fabulous and much more pleasant to experience. Poor Millie didn’t feel secure either and kept trying to sit on Katrina’s lap! Katrina and I agreed that while it was amazing to feel so carefree driving along the beach, it’s not something that we would choose to do again when the going is rough.  But of course the boys thought it was heaps of fun and enjoyable so it was worth it.  

Scott rang this afternoon to let us know the garage door at home has blown in again…this is the third time now! Apparently they had bad winds down home. So onto the Insurance company to get it sorted. The last time it happened, we were assured by the company who is approved by RACV that the new door was a heavy duty one…  Obviously not so!

The wind picked up this afternoon here too, making it quite unpleasant. Mark moved our fire around to the front of the van so we could all sit around it without being blown away.

The wind had calmed by this morning and Chris and Katrina left before lunch. The rest of the day was just glorious, there was no wind and the bay was so calm and pretty with a few dolphins swimming past. We had a lovely balmy night and enjoyed sitting by our fire and decided that as beautiful as it is here, we will pack up most of our stuff and leave on Thursday, heading towards Biggenden. We have had the most relaxing and enjoyable 2 weeks here, it really is paradise, and we certainly recommend this place to everyone. 

Photo of a typical beautiful sunset up here that Katrina took on her I- phone

Wednesday started off as another beautiful day, I caught up on the washing and we did a lot of packing ready for tomorrow. Around 11am the wind picked up again and by the afternoon I’d had quite enough of being battered! I could feel myself getting agitated and cranky so I convinced Mark that we should move the van back further, as we’d pretty much packed up anyway. So he hooks up the van….and move’s about 50cm…and the car wheels started spinning…yep we were bogged!!! Out came Garry and Bill and about 6 other guys to help us out. Garry had a snatch strap, the men scraped away the sand around the back wheels and Bill towed us out. Even though Mark said he was a bit worried, I think he rather enjoyed doing the ‘boy stuff’! We moved the van about 20 metres back and it made all the difference not being battered by that horrible wind.

In the afternoon Mark went and helped Joe & Jan with their battery and hot water service. Poor things had been having cold showers due to the whole setup not working properly. Ever the helpful man, he got it all sorted for them and they were most grateful! We sat around the fire that night with Garry & Pat and Joe & Jan. Interestingly, Garry told us he’d done the Kokoda track a few years ago with his son John, and found it to be such an emotional and touching journey. He says that even though so many of the younger generation go and do it also, for them there isn’t the same emotional meaning as for people of his generation. He says that along the track there are artefacts like helmets with bullet holes, villages that were pillaged, graves of civilians: mainly women and children who were caught unawares due to the fact their menfolk were off fighting, caves in the sides of hills and in the ground where the enemy hid out and buildings that are still standing that were built to house stores of arms and food.

On Thursday morning we left about 9am after saying bye to the lovely people we’d met.  We stopped at the carwash nearby and gave the car and van a good wash-down to remove the sand and salt before driving on to Cooloola where I did some shopping. If I never have to go into that Woolies again, I will be glad. With only 2 checkouts open and a busy store full of customers, I got the same lady who had served me the last time and boy…is…she…slow. I must have been in the checkout line for at least ½ an hour as she was merrily chatting away to each customer. Sure, I don’t have a problem with anyone being friendly; however she stopped scanning and bagging, and just stood there and chatted as if she had all the time in the world! I would have grabbed my groceries and gone to the self-serve, but there was another customer in front and behind me. Grrrrr I was so cross! Mark came in to find me and said I’d been gone over an hour! Gee, should have asked her for a cup of tea! 

We drove on to Biggenden about 2 hours inland to the N/W and stopped in town to ask for directions for a camping area called Ban Ban Springs. It is very brown, dry and arid out this way, very tall grasses and many cows and farm houses dotted along the way. It such a vast difference to the coast where everything is so lush and green. We were certainly spoilt at Inskip! This isn’t my type of scenery to enjoy, I really do prefer the greenness and ocean along the coast; however we don’t only want to stick to the main highways otherwise we’ll end up missing out on the experiences and seeing so much else. Mark, like most men, enjoys the bush and its scenery. Must be inbuilt for most men I think! They love the dust, dirt and mud!

When we arrived at Ban Ban Springs we found a few vans there already as most people stop their travels for the day at around 2.30pm. You have to be quick to grab a spot though; if you get to these places much later it can become very hard to find a space to park! Far from being a camping area, Ban Ban is actually an overnight Rest Stop. Not to worry, we found a spot to park the van and soon got the kettle on.  It is a nice place, there are natural springs bubbling up out of the ground, very clean toilets and apart from the trucks passing through the night, it’s not a bad spot at all. We got the shower tent up and heated some water and I gave Millie a wash to remove the sand from the beach. She did enjoy that, after she rolled on her towel in the van I gave her a good brush and she looked as good as new. Scott rang to chat and helped with a minor problem being unable to properly hear the movies he put on our portable hard drive. Then a shower for us, some dinner, a cup of tea and then we relaxed with a book.  Haven’t bothered with the telly for about 3 weeks now, I only miss my regular chic shows, as for the rest it’s usually all bad news and mind-numbing shows.

On Friday morning we left Ban Ban about 9ish and made our way to Gayndah, 27kms away. It is the oldest town in Qld, being settled in 1849 and declared in 1869. We found a lovely Rest Area beside the Burnett River; there are very clean toilets with hot and cold showers; however there was a sign apologising for no hot water at the moment. The Burnett River is HUGE, but unfortunately in Jan this year, terribly severe floods caused immense damage along the river for many kms and severely inundated many nearby towns. As there were taps here, we decided to get out the washing machine and do the bed sheets and other washing we had accumulated, despite doing it on Wed. 

Burnett River. This photo doesn't do the size of the river or flood damage justice

Ok now, just picture this: here we are in this Rest Area, opposite the road with a Citrus stall selling bags of Oranges for $5, boxes of Avocado’s for $4 and other assorted produce, we’re looking out onto a ploughed paddock up for Sale with 3 different Real Estate signs along the barbed wire fence, a lonely big orange tree in the middle of it, the awning is out, Mark has the washing machine outside whirring away, he’s going backwards and forwards to the tap to fetch water, and I’m hanging it all out under the awning with our lines going every which way!!! Yep that’s the fun and spontaneity of our life on the road now!!! AND I forgot to take a picture of that comical set-up! Will make a note to do so next time!

Mark went over the road to buy some oranges and chatted with the old bloke selling them, and he said he was watching us doing our washing and it reminded him of when he and his wife went travelling and did the same thing. Well, that’s good to know we aren’t a pair of looney-tunes eh!   Must be the norm! Mark said a pretty woman of about 35 pulled up to buy some produce and when she took off, this bloke says to Mark “Gawww wish I was 20 years younger”.  Mind you, he told Mark he was 81 years old!!! Gotta laugh at that!!!

With the sun shining and a nice breeze, it took no time to dry, remake the bed and lock up the van and off we went to have a look at the town. Gayndah has quite a variety of shops and we found the museum where the bloke there told us of the severe flood damage and how high the water had come up. The photos he showed us were incredible and considering Gayndah isn’t a low lying town, the river and surrounding towns flooded so badly that the water covered a lot of houses and reached the rooflines of the taller buildings. He works with the SES and he said they rescued a woman who had been stuck at the top of a tree for two days after being washed away from her house roof!!! Murundeeba was mostly completely submerged and a lot of residents are either still sifting, rebuilding or have cut their losses and moved away. I cannot imagine what it would be like to witness let alone be a part off. Just goes to show that Mother Nature is in control of this world, not us humans however much we like to think we are.

The Burnett River is sooooo big and wide; it seems to go on forever and ever.  The photos I took don’t capture it as it meanders this way and that, but out here you certainly get a sense of the complete devastation the floods wreaked. Huge trees have been ripped out while others are hanging on for life.  The river itself starts at Wuruma Dam which is a free camp and where we are headed this afternoon. It is 44kms from Eidsvold and should take about 1 and ½ hours.