Rockhampton to Noosa

Having left our free camp ground in St Lawrence we planned to add a fairly large batch of kilometres to the counter and get as far south as Rockhampton that day before pressing onto Hervey Bay the day after. The drive was fairly standard as we continued to pass through sugar cane fields while all the time trying to identify what had fallen over in the back after each crashing sound. Driving through rural Australia has been great as even Highway 1 (or “The Bruce”) is just a single lane populated by hardly any cars. Every so often we would pass through small villages with just a few buildings, however even these seem to be within McDonalds reach as we will often know a small town is approaching by signs advertising the available fast food chains when we’re still ten kilometres out. During this particular journey we established just how damaging our air conditioning was to our petrol usage as we started achieving an extra 100 kilometres per tank after we switched it off.

We had initially planned to stop in Rockhampton for a decent length of time but having researched a bit more couldn’t see anything they offered other than a good steak as this is what Rocky is famous for. Consequently we planned our trip so we would hit the town around dinner and treat ourselves to a good meal. Having found our steakhouse of choice we were surprisingly a little disappointed at our steaks and left town assuming that we hadn’t missed anything there as they couldn’t even do their speciality that well.

Not pleased with the steak

Shortly after leaving Rocky’s suburbia we pulled off the Bruce into another reserve which allowed campervans to stay the night for free. Having got more comfortable with the van we were now confident it, and our electronics, could last two days without power before we needed to shell out on a real campsite. You would think any spot in a field would be fine but we ended up doing a couple of laps, all the time shining our headlights into the other vans windows, before settling on a spot under a tree. The nights are incredibly cold but if you have parked in the sun the next morning the van is like a sauna.

Despite having not done very much over the last two days, we once again had a lie in and didn't move on until around midday. By the time we had arrived in Hervey Bay, late that evening, we felt we had covered a significant chunk of the east coast and were on schedule to reach Melbourne on time for our flight to New Zealand on the 13^th July.

In a similar way to Airlie Beach being the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands, Hervey Bay had Fraser Island. We had arrived in town fairly late but still with enough time to check the prices at a few campsites to make sure we were getting the best rate. Our first stop, at The Palms, ended up being our last as we fell for the friendly owners promise that “You can drive all night but you won’t find anywhere cheaper”. The camp was particularly nice as their kitchen even had a rather substantial plasma TV which allowed us to watch the opening of Batman Forever, or at least whichever one has Arnold Swarchenegger embarrassing himself as some kind of evil ice cream man, while we washed up. We were enjoying life in the van but if you have the opportunity to wash up in more space, or more significantly, with hot water then we would often take it. For some reason Linz was later overcome with the urge to make Rice Crispy cakes so, following a trip to the supermarket, she did. The resulting cakes lasted a good few days.

The next day we wandered up and down the main street comparing prices for Fraser Island tours. There’s nothing on the island and only four wheel drive cars can be used so we would have no option but to join a tour. They sounded brilliant but, given that the only good way of doing the island involved a few days there, we just couldn’t bring ourselves to spend so much money on one. Instead we hired a fishing rod and went to the beach. Much cheaper.

Fishing for rocks

We found a spot on the beach based on a recommendation by the man in the tackle shop, hooked up a worm and continued to sit in our garden chairs (included with the van hire) for about two hours. During our time on the beach we got bantered by a local for not wearing appropriate fishing clothes, caught a rock and for some reason continued to fish despite the tide being so low I had to cast our line twenty metres just to get to water deeper than a few inches. Eventually we decided to move spots and headed to the towns jetty which the tackle shop owner had warned us about due to its popularity with kids. We should have thought more about his warning as kids can have a fairly short attention span and may get bored if they aren’t catching anything, so maybe they’re here so often because they actually catch things. Indeed we had successfully caught our first fish in no time. Rather than cast my worm in a traditional manner I had spotted some fish just below us that the locals seemed to be missing, so I just dropped it in an wiggled it until I got one. It wasn’t until it had dropped itself onto the jetty that I realised I didn't really know what to do with it now I had caught it, so just watched it for a while not knowing what the fish was. Eventually a local pointed out it was a Toadfish, which is highly poisonous, before explaining to us the ridiculous laws regarding it: you are not allowed to catch one, but if you do you aren’t allowed to throw it back. I was starting to realise why the kids had been ignoring these fish.

Before...

...after

We decided to best plan was to flick it into our bucket using a knife at which point we realised that what Australians call a Toadfish we call a Pufferfish. Consequently as soon as I jabbed it, it puffed up to twice its original size while making a noise I genuinely thought would precede it exploding. I have never fled from such a feeble creature in my life. We could not have looked more amateur if we tried. Eventually I managed to wrestle the beast into the bucket and stuffed the law by hulling it back into the sea where it swam off. Following this escapade we caught a non-poisonous Whiting meaning the day was not a complete failure. However, it took me ages getting it off the hook and even longer considering how long I stood holding it on the line before someone would tell me if it was also poisonous. Our whole fishing experience had been a lot of fun and, although probably not as good as a few days on Fraser Island, had made our stop in Hervey Bay well worth it and we had saved some vital money considering how expensive Australia was turning out to be.

We're gonna need a bigger boat

That evening was spent at the YHA (Youth Hostel Australia), which offered campervan sites for considerably cheaper than the Palms from the night before. So much for not finding anywhere cheaper. Having got some laundry done and opting for a Subway dinner we slept what would be our final night of freezing temperatures in the van. The next morning we headed out of Hervey Bay having first stopped at the supermarket to pick us a fake fur blanket we could use in addition to our sleeping bags at night. At around £15 this would be one of the greatest purchases of our travels.

We had left early as we planned to stop at Rainbow Beach for the day while leaving enough time to find a free campsite in the evening further south. The journey to Rainbow Beach was slightly unusual as we appeared to have left behind the long straight roads we had got used to in exchange for some twisting hill roads. I had been enjoying driving round Australia a lot by now and these roads were no exception.

We arrived in Rainbow Beach and found a car park just off the beach where we could enjoy lunch. We pulled up directly being a group of elderly people enjoying a pack lunch on a bench and, although not being this type of person, I had to really resist the urge to slam on the horn. Linz saw me eyeing up the horn and told me off before I could really contemplate it.

After a fairly typical lunch of a ham, cheese and cucumber sandwich for Linz and a peanut butter one for me, we set off to find the information centre to get some advice on how to see the famous rainbow coloured cliffs that give the town its name. However, rather than walk the rather long distance to the cliffs we opted to visit the Carlo Sandblow where the cliffs we visible from.

Looking out from the rocky edge of the sandblow

The Sandblow is a 120 metre high sand dune with a rocky cliff edge up against the sea which took us completely by surprise. We weren’t expecting much, assuming the rainbow cliffs to be the highlight, but the sand blow was amazing. At one end the soft sand leads right up to the cliff edge offering a great view of the beach while offering another staggering view of the town, neighbouring rainforest and Tin Can Bay in the distance at the other end.

The dune running towards the sea

A standard arm's length photo from the rainforest side of the sandblow with Rainbow Beach
town in the background

Having come down from the dune we called our time on Rainbow Beach and continued south towards our evening’s free site in the amusingly named town of Gympie. After an hour’s driving we arrived at Six Mile Creek rest area and pulled up alongside local team’s Aussie rules pitch just in time for a pre-arranged birthday Skype party. For Mum’s birthday we were planning to sort out a three way chat between me in Australia, James in China and Mum and Dad at home but poor signal in the rest area meant we had to lockdown everything in the van and relocate to Gympie’s McDonalds to use their free wifi. Of course this meant having to buy something but at least the Skype party went ahead.

Oh look, another cloudless day

Our next stop was in a town called Noosa which we had initially planned to do in just the one day like Rainbow Beach but further Lonely Planet reading encouraged us to give it a second day. So, following another lie in, we headed out from our rest area and soon enough reached Noosa which we both immediately fell for. A combination of expensive waterfront houses, lush greenery and almost constant bridges running between the many small islands created by the river made for a perfect little town. Add an information site with a record amount of free leaflets and you create a town that Linz never wanted to leave. I’d have gladly hung around too.

Looking down on Noosa

Our first stop in town was its viewpoint high on a hill just south of the centre where Noosa somehow seemed even more green and pleasant than it had on the roads. Having come down we ventured towards Sunshine Beach on the other side of Noosa Head to where we could watch surfers trying their luck on the larger waves this side of the cape. Amazingly we found sand here even squeakier than that of Whitehaven Beach.

Our entertainment for the afternoon

Following the beach we headed to Noosa Heads National park where we went for walk around the small cape while all the time looking up in search of wild koalas. We didn't come across any of the koalas but find an area of rock pools and a small bay to explore in the setting sun. Further round from the bay we reached Dolphin Point where we could sit and watch a brave fisherman who had scaled a rocky outcrop to increase his chances of catching anything. If I had have been any nearer I’d have passed on some of my fishing experience but he was out of earshot. His loss.

Tea Tree Bay in Noosa Heads National Park

Noosa offered good opportunities for photos looking out to sea

Having watched the waves crash into the rock for half an hour we headed back to the car having very much enjoyed our walk. We could have walked for longer but had to find a campsite before 6pm. The camp we found was adequate although, not for the first time on journey, it was one which tried to impose a ridiculously short time limit on the showers and it appeared to be half run with children. For some reason we couldn’t get signal on our mobile internet so I had to settle for the camps coin operated computer in the kitchen area. It wouldn’t except my coins so I had to repeatedly try and insert them which seemed to irritate a colony of massive ants dwelling within as they all came rushing out at me. I opted against using the machine or indeed anything from the kitchen it was setup in.

Not far out of Noosa is a town called Edmundi which offers one of Queensland’s best markets each Wednesday so we started the day early to get there around 9am. The market seems to never end as we just kept coming across other areas selling even more things be it grown or made by locals. Other than breakfast the only thing I bought was a bottle of local olive oil which, with a good crusty loaf, would give be lunches for a while and Linz got herself a ceramic gecko having enjoyed seeing them so much throughout Asia.

One of many areas filled with stalls at Edmundi markets

The remainder of the day we spent lounging on Noosa’s main beach which for Linz involves still trying to lose her strap lines and me committing to good afternoon of Football Manager. However, before leaving town we went for a quick wander round the towns shops so I could pick up a souvenir shot glass and we could take a sneaky look at house prices having given ourselves an ambitious budget.

With a heavy heart we left Noosa, easily our favourite Australian town so far, and continued south to a rest area about 90 kilometres north of Brisbane which was as close as we could get for free to Queensland’s capital city and our first high rise. The rest area we shared with a couple of other vans was a small area of grass shaded by trees with a couple of toilets made available by the council. Later in the evening desperation forced me to undertake a trip to the toilets to find a wooden hut with no lights but at least a decent looking toilet. However, having lifted the lid my torch light accidentally strayed onto the mountain that had been created following months, or even years, of previous uses visible down the hole that was directly below the toilet. Following my report Linz opted to wait until Brisbane.