Home Hill, Proserpine & Airlie Beach

Hello All!

We have had many queries asking about our blog, as I hadn't posted anything for a while. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

As some of you know already, we had a car accident in Airlie Beach on the 22nd Dec and prior to that we hadn't really done a great deal and there was nothing exciting to write about. 

I have updated you all in this post along with pics of course!

We left Bushy Parker late November after a week of very uncomfortable heat and humidity. We were unable to use the generator for the air con as it only generates enough power to use the fan. No breeze comes through here as it is in a bit of a protected area, so unable to bear the stifling heat any longer we made our way down to Home Hill, just over 100 kms from Townsville, and stayed at the Home Hill Showgrounds for $10 per night including power and water. The caretakers, Joe & Liz, are very cheery people and they are there on a 12 month contract as the council want to see how many travellers stop there.  Apparently in the busy season they were jam packed. At least here we had a breeze to stir the air, however most days we needed the air con on and we were cooped up in the van, which with limited space wasn’t very easy. We both felt we were going stir crazy with cabin fever! There were a few other friendly people stopped there, although, like us, only the silly ones who hadn’t headed south earlier to escape the heat before it arrived! Most days we met up in the open air pavillion for a morning cuppa and again around 4.30pm for happy hour and made some good friends. One couple in particular, Allison & Peter, have been travelling in a big Denning bus for 8 years…with…10 KIDS!! Plus…2 dogs and a bird! Yes, you read that right! They range in age from 17 yrs down to 18 months and are lovely kids, very quiet and polite and are home schooled during the week. They seem to love their life on the road and have experienced all sorts of amazing things.

We ended up staying at Home Hill for 3 weeks because we were meeting Scott in Airlie Beach on the 28^th although we did discuss whether to tell him we just couldn’t stand the boredom and heat and that we would meet him further down south, perhaps the Sunshine Coast, but didn’t want to let him down. If only we had known what was around the corner for us!?!

Mark had to do some more modifications to the van; our air con motor is in a cupboard next to the fridge and the motor creates a lot of heat inside the cupboard which in turn causes the fridge to really struggle to keep cold. Mark got a polystyrene box from the fruit shop, cut it to size and insulated the motor box and he also installed a computer fan in the outside fridge vent to help expel hot air from the fridge motor. This made a big difference!

There really isn’t much to do in Home Hill at all, it is surrounded by many acres of sugar cane farms, with mozzies galore once the sun goes down and you can’t really go outside because you get bitten to death. I ended up having to go to the chemist for antihistamines and antiseptic cream because I had bites all over my feet that nearly drove me mad with the itching. The town of Ayr is about 12 kms north with enough shops for what you need.  

We caught up with Bonnie and Barrie at Home Hill after saying cheerio at Paronella Park. They came back down the coast while we went inland. Their son owns a 30 ft Hummer and he stopped at Home Hill to give us a ride in it on his way back from a job in Townsville. That was pretty exciting and broke the day’s boredom. One Monday night all of us went over to the pub for a meal which we all enjoyed. We also drove to Bowen for a day, just for something to do and bought some delicious fresh prawns from the wharf. We had a bit of a paddle at Gray’s Bay, but were very cautious about stingers! Irikandji Jelly Fish and Box Jelly Fish can kill! It wasn’t until the next day while reading some info about these deadly sea creatures, that we realised we really took a risk in the water! Apparently these two stingers are almost impossible to see in the water, and they also like calm water such as nice little bays!! Well, there were a few other people paddling so we thought it must be safe…must have been silly Victorians like us who had no idea!!

Mark thought the 30 ft Hummer we took a ride in was awesome!!

Boppin to the pumped up music!

So does this look good on me?

We have signed up for House Sitting as we travel. We had a reply from home owners in Townsville, and the dates worked out perfectly for us before heading to Airlie Beach; however the meeting turned out quite horrific for us. We drove up on the Sunday to meet the owners and see how their 2 dogs, a Bull Mastiff X and a Bull Arab X would get on with Mille. The first dog was fine, but when the owner let the second dog out, it went straight to Millie who cowered on the ground, letting out two high pitched yips. The dog grabbed Millie by the neck and simply would not let go, despite Mark and the other guy trying to separate them. I was beside myself with fear, screaming and yelling along with the other woman, not knowing what to do to help.  Millie was squealing and crying and I was terrified the other dog would simply shake her like a rag doll and kill her. The men threw the dogs into the nearby pool hoping it would cause the other dog to let go, but it still held on. As Mark jumped in to the water, the dog let go of Mille, but she started to sink to the bottom and slowly came to the top as Mark reached for her. I honestly thought my precious little girl had drowned, let alone the fear and shock she would have been feeling. Thankfully she was okay, with some small cuts to her neck from the other dog’s teeth. Needless to say we certainly didn’t take the house sitting job. We really should have realised that it was the other dog’s territory and it clearly felt threatened by Millie. We were all terribly shaken up by the ordeal and it gave us such a fright that we now even more vigilant and watch Millie like a hawk when other dogs are around her. 

Ribbit!! This cute green frog was hangin around in my shower stall at Home Hill!!

Delicious Mangoes from a tree nearby - all for free!

'The Silver Link' - the mighty bridge spanning the Burdekin River that links Ayr and Home Hill. Prior to this being built the towns were cut off from one another every year from the floods.

The lagoon at 'The Strand' in Townsville

Magnetic Island in the background

Now that's what I call a Prawn!! Huge Tiger Prawns from the Wharf in Bowen - DELICIOUS!!

Gray's Bay at Bowen - very pretty and scenic

Eventually we were driven insane by the boredom at Home Hill and we decided to go to Proserpine for 3 nights then on to Airlie a week earlier than planned, despite the cost. We stayed at Camp Kanga in Proserpine, which is a campground for school camps, but they also allow vans for $22 per night which is pretty good. The camp is only 1 km from the Peter Faust Dam which we went up to check out and it is huge! We also went into the town to explore and found a fabulous shop called Colour Me Crazy, which is literally colourful and totally filled to the brim with all kinds of unusual and interesting nick knacks and home wares.

Peter Faust Dam in Proserpine is HUGE!

The unique shop in Proserpine - 'Colour Me Crazy'

We arrived in Airlie Beach on Friday 20^th December. We went to the beach-side markets on Saturday,  a delight to wander around with all the bright and colourful stalls while looking out over the gorgeous turquoise water with yachts and boats floating around out on the bay.

On Sunday morning, 22^nd Dec, we decided to go down to Able Point Marina and take Millie for a run at Shingley Beach. As we were sitting at the bottom of the hill waiting to turn right from Shute Harbour Road, a car came down the hill behind us and ploughed straight into the back of us. Once we realised what had happened, Mark tried to get out of the car but slumped back into his seat as he passed out. Everything seemed to happen at once and the chaos that ensued next was horrible. I was extremely shaken up, worried sick about Mark and also thought fuel was leaking from the generator fuel container, as the tail gate had opened with liquid slowly trickling out,  along with our belongings strewn about. The liquid turned out to be a burst water drum.  It was total chaos with cars backed up behind us and in front, along with the emergency response teams and sirens going off as they all arrived. Poor Millie hit the back of my seat quite hard, however she had her harness and seatbelt on, saving her from going through the windscreen. The man who hit us was very apologetic, even though out of shock I had sworn at him, and he said to me “I wasn’t looking, I was looking at the floor, I wasn’t on my phone”.  That struck me as quite an odd thing to say, however I am sure the investigation will determine if he was on his phone or not. Mark was taken off to Proserpine Hospital, 25 kms away, while the police took my statement along with those from witnesses to the accident. Once the police had organised themselves, one very kind Sergeant drove me back to the caravan park in our car, as he said even though it wasn’t lawful to drive it, I clearly wasn’t in any fit state to do it, and there were too many valuables in the car to leave it on the side of the road. He then stayed with me while I rang the Insurance Company and then his partner arrived and they drove me to the hospital. I was able to leave Millie with the caravan park managers, who very kindly took care of her for me.

Mark had X-Rays taken of his spine, head, back and lower body and it was determined he had displaced his pelvis. He had his foot on the brake when were hit, and because his body was braced, the impact caused his pelvis ligaments and muscles to tear and his pelvis opened.  The doctors have told us the injury is a minimum 6 week recovery, depending on how fast he heals. Luckily I was not injured. Scott flew up the next day and I was so glad to see him! After a great deal of hassle, I was able to secure a rental vehicle, despite the issues I had regarding RACV Total Care. Their policy is that if your car is not insured with them you are not eligible for a rental until your car is at a repairer. The kind Case Manager who I dealt with told me that due to our predicament, they would waive the clause and allow me a rental car. However, the next day a different Case Manager wasn’t agreeable to this and in the end I got stroppy and told her that the clause had been waived and to look at our file. She said she didn’t need to look, and only after she had rung the name and number of the guy coming to pick the car up that afternoon, did she finally agree! The Sergeant came back that afternoon to see how things were going and kindly helped me get all our stuff out from the back of the ute.

The week of the accident was an extremely stressful time. Mark had a dreadful reaction to one of the drugs, causing his heart rate and blood pressure to skyrocket and he was off with the pixies for about 3 days.  A further test of his enzymes then came back positive, meaning that he either had a blockage or he had suffered a small heart attack at some time. If it was a blockage then he would be flown to Townsville Cardiac Unit, almost 300 kms away, to have a stent inserted. Blood was sent to Mackay for further testing, and the next morning the results came back negative. Such an immense weight off our shoulders and such a huge relief!!

Bonnie and Barrie are now back home in Mackay,  1 and ½ hours away, and they very kindly drove up on the Saturday to visit Mark in hospital and the 3 of us went out to lunch.  We both appreciated the time they took to come and see how we were, most especially Mark.  Also our good friends back home, Phil and Leanne, asked Phil’s son Neil to pop in and visit Mark with a can of his favourite drink, Jim Beam! We have never met Neil but Phil has often spoken of him; he lives in Airlie Beach and it was so very kind of him to take time out of his day to do this. Another lovely couple we met at Home Hill, Donna & Vic, stopped here for a night last week to spend some time with us on their way to Caboulture - it was so nice to see them and it cheered Mark up. We took them down to the Airlie Foreshore Lagoon for a swim then we all went over to the Tavern for dinner. 

Before the accident - cooling off in the caravan park at Airlie

Our poor car!

Mark was pleased to see Scott

The managers here at the caravan park have also been so wonderful. They have stored our valuable items from the car, and they also moved our van to an ensuite site to make it easier for Mark. Scott and his friends helped me to pack up and reorganise things when we moved sites, which I was so grateful for, as I couldn’t have done it on my own. RACV Total Care is currently paying for the rental car and our accommodation and we are so glad we had that in our time of need!

Needless to say, Christmas and New Years was a write off for us this year. Mark spent 9 nights in hospital and was allowed out on New Year’s Eve. He cannot stand or walk without support and has crutches to help him get around, although his progress is indeed very slow and he also needs to use a wheelchair. He is finding it quite difficult and frustrating being so confined and out of action, not to mention the pain he is in and hates seeing me having to do everything by myself and to see me struggle with getting the heavy wheelchair in and out of the car and pushing him around. But that’s what you do, take care of each other, for better or worse!

We have so had many phone calls and texts from relatives, friends and the wonderful people we have met on the road – we truly appreciate their thoughtfulness and thank everyone for their concern, kind words, offers of help and well wishes for Mark’s recovery. Everyone here who helped us, the police, ambulance, fire brigade, hospital staff, the tow truck driver, the panel beater owner and the caravan park managers, have just been so wonderful and kind, doing everything they can to assist. It is times like these when it is such a relief and we are very grateful.

 We were able to go and have a look at the car, despite the Panel Beater re-opening on Monday the 6^th. His wife is one of the nurses at the hospital and she got her husband to ring Mark – he said to give him a ring once he was out of hospital and we could arrange a time to have a look at the car. He has assured us it is not written off, but there is about $12,000 worth of damage and the car won’t be repaired until at least the end of January. This has made us feel a little better, as the thought of it being written off and having to obtain a car and registering it etc, when our fixed address is in Victoria was not something we hoped to deal with. Not that we can go anywhere just now, as Mark is certainly not capable of doing much just now, let alone driving or towing a caravan. We are very grateful his injuries are not worse and that the accident happened here and not in the middle of nowhere.

We met two other couples here at the park. Robert & Jeannette who live in Mackay, who had a drink with us on New Years Eve, although Mark was in bed by 9pm! They have very kindly offered any help we may need. Robert rang yesterday morning to see how we were and ask if we needed anything. 
Also a delightful couple from Mission Beach, Frank & Nancy, who own a huge Sugar Cane farm in Tully. Sadly they were very badly hit by Cyclone Yasi and lost their home and farm machinery. They are still trying to pick up the pieces today. We decided to move to a different ensuite site with more shade and Frank & Nancy very kindly helped us. People like these are truly appreciated by us! 

For now we just need to focus on Mark’s recovery and take things day by day. We have been to the Airlie Foreshore Lagoon a few times to allow Mark to cool off and get him out and about for a while. There is a beach like entrance that enables him to gradually walk in with his crutches and get to where there is a seat running along the edge. Bit like swimming with 2 pogo sticks! He has also managed to get into the pool here at the caravan park. Being able to float around in the water helps with the pain too as the water takes the weight of his arms and also sitting down for too long makes it uncomfortable. Managing the supermarket is quite the marathon, as he pushes himself around and I have the trolley! We have had a few laughs with the wheelchair getting stuck in awkward spots, and I have nearly tipped him out once or twice when the feet sections have caught between the footpath and road! 

Awww...Millie sleeping with her toy giraffe

Beautiful Airlie Beach

Lunch with Bonnie & Barry

Airlie Foreshore Lagoon

Well for now that’s our blog up to date, we will be getting out and about in the car for a few day drives, and I will post some photos for you all.

Love Mark, Lil 

&

 Millie

xxoo

"The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter"

 ~ Author Unknown ~