Emu Park, The Big Whale & a Monkey Bike

3 April: 
Just after Kinka Beach, we stopped at a house with fishing gear out the front for sale. Then the bloke took us down the back shed and Danny bought a new-looking cast net (his old one is knacked from the snags).  He noticed an old Honda Z50 monkey bike hanging up and asked if it was for sale.  Ken said he'd think about it. 









We travelled a few kms to Emu Park and Danny loved it just as much as me.  First, we did a bit of looking around at the Singing Ship and old houses.  Then we got a great song book from the local op shop:  101 Country Hits for Buskers. 

Danny wanted to do some casting with his new net, so off we went back up the road and bumped into The Big Whale!  There were some weird looking plants in jars inside and a building nearby as part of the closed tourist attraction.
We camped next to the boat hire at The Causeway Lake and Danny netted a nice Mullet (on the surf side) for dinner.   Unfortunately there was heaps of sandflies / mozzies so we couldn't have our usual alfresco dinner. 

April 4:  We went back to Emu Park the next morning and spent some time in the library and Bell Park.  On a bike ride, Danny spotted this Ford Transit Mk 1 at the beach.  And we met a local and his dog, King.






 

Later on, we parked next to him and saw we had picked up some big green ants from the park.  Luckily they didn't come inside and decided to eat the black ants that had been hanging around since Miriam Vale.

That night we parked on the windy cliff overlooking the Keppell Islands and went to the Trivia Night at the Pine Beach Hotel (we didn't win, but did pretty well for our first time).

April 5:  Danny strongly encouraged me to get up and watch the sunrise. We hung out at the beach and spent a bit more time in the park and library. 

After lunch, we drove back to Ken's place to see about the monkey bike.  It needed a lot of restoration to get it up to scratch.  He sold it to us and we rearranged inside Keith so it could lay down in the middle. 

It was time to go to our house sitting job just north of Rocky, so we went through the big round about near Yeppoon and off down the highway... 
A loud screech was coming from underneath Keith!  Sammy thought a tire had blown and Danny quickly and carefully pulled him off into a turning lane to a landscaping business.   It wasn't a tire.  We got out and had a look inside the engine bay.  Keith wasn't going anywhere!!

Hello Cousin Col, Rocky & Yeppoon

April 2:  For some reason, we set off towards Biloela from Gladstone.  Perhaps because we both had a memory that it was a cute town...Sorry Bilo, but we had our lunch and kept on going.  We went through Dalulu and took the road heading for Rocky via Gracemere.  We stopped outside a Kabra Pub to let a big mining wide load bucket pass and met a local character.


Sammy rang her cousin Col (cousin Keith's brother), who lives nearby, and we went to stay with him, his lovely wife Irene and their toy poodle, Gypsy.  On the way, Keith's vapourization got the better of him after we filled up.  But Poustie (our Redcliffe handyman friend) came to the rescue over the phone and Danny managed to get him going again.  Danny has learned a lot from Poustie about fixing problems yourself and if you can't...then ring Poustie!  We had a great meal at the old Gracemere Pub (thanks Irene & Col) and settled in the back yard for the night.

Next morning we went into Rocky and checked out some op shops:  Danny got himself a good pair of busking trousers and braces.  We walked down to The Criterion Hotel on the riverfront and saw the mud marks from the resent flash flooding.

Next was Yeppoon for lunch and a walk around.  Nice main street and visitors centre. (Oh no, now I'm sounding like a travel blogger!)   But we didn't stay because I had made a promise to Emu Park in 2010 that we would come back.  So we took the scenic road along the beach front and Danny spotted these black cockatoos.
Danny had never been to Emu Park...was he going to like it as much as Sammy?

Keith Gets Arty Farty: A week at Cedar Galleries

Sunday 25 March-1st April:  On our way to Cedar Galleries, (near Calliope) we stopped off at Danny's cousin Katrina's place at Tannum Sands.  We had a quick catch up with Kat, Paddy, Ruby, Charlie & Roxy.  Indigo loved meeting the kids and we made plans to get together the following weekend with Auntie Mazza. (We had a lovely bbq with them all and friends at Canoe Pt Reserve on the 1st and did some free camping that night.  Bit spooky, as no one else was there, except some late night cars who popped in for a while.)

We got to CD in the arvo and were greeted by Angie (the owner) and two Shitzu-Maltezers:  Mr Bojangles & Jamima.  They baled Indigo up and the whole visit, Jamima continually let her know whose property it was!  A unique place with art works, galleries, accommodation, alpacas, art workshops, open-air function deck and chapel. 

It also was home to Angie's mum (co-owner), her cousin and boyfriend, and local artists Peta, Sandy & her son Tom and James.  Danny and James shared a lot of common ground and we all had some great jamming sessions in the Chapel and by the Dam.  He had a great banjo uke, pictured above left.  This is Danny's fav pic of the week.

Danny and Sammy did some cleaning up work around the place and Danny restored these old benches and artwork plinth.

 On our last day, James set up his amp and mic and we all had a busk at the Farmer's Markets.  There wasn't a truck load of people, but we made $38 in the hat with a few fivers in there!    Danny gave Sammy a hoop binding workshop the night before and we had some for sale. (Sammy did a demo on the grass - still need to do lots of practice!)

It was a great place to hang out with interesting people, art and animals.  My fav picture is this one. 

Agnes Water & 1770 (extended mix)

March 19:  We arrived at Agnes Water and set up camp, as planned, at the Workman's Beach Camp ground ($5.50pp/night).
 

We met our neighbours, Deb & Tom and their dog Gypsy.   They have a 1975 Bedford:  "Gypsy Rose", pictured left.

  

March 20:   Had a walk to the main Agnes beach, then the Look Out and finished the day with Tom & Gypsy at our little beach:  fishing, hula hooping and playing.

 Indigo & Gypsy:  best friends

March 21:  Off up the road to 1770:  Sammy and Indigo swam, while Danny caught 2 lovely bream for lunch.  There was lots of rain in the arvo once we got back to our campsite.

March 22:  We had planned to head off up the highway to Turkey Beach, but there was 105mm of rain overnight and the radio told us that the roads were cut off.  So Sammy went down the road to the Library for some internet therapy and Danny...went fishing!  We decided to go back to 1770 and do some free camping in the park, overlooking the beach.

March 23:  We tried to drive north to Miriam Vale, but the road was still closed....so we headed back to 1770 for more fishing for Danny and Sammy caught up with her Redcliffe friend Samantha for a chat on the phone.  We decided to stay at the Captain Cook Caravan Park round the corner, mainly to plug our phones in and do 3 loads of washing/drying.  It was a bit of a ghost town, but Sammy liked the salt water pool and made Danny join her, but he didn't share the enjoyment of it.  Indigo got in serious trouble when she rolled in animal poo and had to be bathed, which she also didn't like.

March 24:  OK.  It stopped raining so we thought the roads must surely be open and we headed off again just out of town to have a look at the garage sale along the way.  GS cancelled and roads still closed because of all the damage and mending to be done.  So, back we went to...1770  (a great place to be stranded by the way.  Just ask Captain Cook & co.)  We hung out doing the usual:  fishing, swimming and had plans on having dinner at the pub up the road, when some Kiwi travellers told us they had just come from Miriam Vale and yes, the road was open.  So we drove the little ways to MV and parked behind the good old fashioned pub.  We had dinner there (Sammy had a small rump which was really quite large, Danny the rissoles) and watched some of the Qld election results.  There was a bit of 'carry on' from the pub verandah as we lay in bed, but you would expect that on a Saturday night.

Buxton & Bundy

14-16 March:  Danny had always heard stories about Buxton from one of his mates, but neither of us had been there.  So off we headed, turning off just before Childers.  Another 25km down a good road, we came to the sleepy fishing village formerly known as Buxtonville.  (fishing house for rental above)

                                                                                                                                                                   If you look closely, you'll see that the sign behind Keith is for no camping.  We asked a local guy and he said "Don't worry about it.  No one will care."  We made sure we bought some supplies from the local shop and settled in for a couple of days.  Danny did some cast netting on the potoon, but unfortunately it snagged and so we had to do some repairs.He ended up catching a couple of lovely cod and a bream from the banks. 

We spoke to lots of friendly locals, including Bill who invited us to stay at his place.  So we did!  He had a big double block with a couple of sheds, so we hooked up the power and water and spent Friday night with him.  He even took Sammy into Childers for a shop - got lots of strange looks from all the people he knew!  He didn't seem to mind at all and after I cooked us all rissoles and baked vege for dinner, he said that I could stay.  We met Bill's daughter Vicky and husband Warren and their fur child and had a thoroughly good time with them all.  Bill said we are "welcome anytime"...we might just take you up on that again Bill!

March 17 & 18:   Next stop was Bundaberg to vist the cousins.  We parked up outside Sue Lovejoy's place (couldn't fit down the side) and hung out for a couple of days with the kids - Emily, Issy & Isaac.  Also caught up with cousin Kathy, her daughter Marissa and son Elijah.  Indigo Velvet was exhaused by their puppy Macy and ended up hiding in the motorhome after a couple of big sessions. It was great to see them all, especially as our motorhome is named after Sue's late husband, my cousin Keith.



Floods, Brumby and lots of Mullet!

March 4 - March 13:   We left Murgon (after a big brekkie) and drove via Kilkivan and Gympie with the rain.  We set up our first camp at Inskip Pt (I found a small abandoned esky, Danny helped a bloke and his dog, Salty restart his battery and we had a bit of a rough nights sleep listening to the heavy rain.  The caravan nearby awoke to a moat and Indigo awoke to a strange creature:  the Brumby.
  
For the next few days:  Danny fished with his cast net, I did some curtain maintainence and we discovered that our 12 volt cigarette sockets weren't charging our phones.  No worries, there was plenty of people to chat to including Bev and Bert and a dog named Sue.  Keith had to go into the RACQ workshop and get a clamp on his fuel line ( it was leaking every time we filled up), so B & B took us to nearby Tin Can Bay for a looksee.  Indigo enjoyed herself too, spooning Sue (actually a male Coolie x Cattle) in the back!                                                                        

Next the water pump decided not to turn itself off anymore.  Danny had a look at it, but the seal is stuffed and we just have to turn it on and off when we need to use the sink or shower.  At our new camp spot, we met Gibbo and Jenny who were very friendly and informative  (everyone seems to be that we have met) and they kindly charged our phones.

Then a curious vehicle turned up next to our 2nd camp site (below) and we made friends with Dave.

I found a sunshade at the bins and it only needed a bit of fixing with a screwdriver - perfect day bed for Indigo.  Over the 10 days, Danny caught lots of Mullet, a thread fin Salmon (most salubrious) and some whiting.  Dave gave us some great tips about the wind (he is a wind glider in training) and Keith got diagnosed with wheel /steering trouble (there is a more technical term that I can't remember, but it involved getting some parts sent to Gympie and then the work done on Wednesday 14 before we left Rainbow Beach.

What a great place to relax and get into a slower gear for our ongoing Adventures!

Murgon here we come!!!

March 3:  So Keith set of on his big adventures to...Murgon!  We stopped off at Caboolture for a cuppa with Kevin, played some slide guitar and drove off through Kilcoy and eventually, Kingaroy.  Bit of roadworks and Keith was doing a bit of chugging, but we got to Drew's place around 2pm.  It was great to catch up after 2 years and meet his new girlfriend and Lucky, the mini foxie.

Morrie, dropped in on his scooter and told us some great yarns and  Danny put Drew's Beetle on ebay.

Later in the arvo after a bit of shopping for supplies                     at the local IGA, we had a bbq and beers /wine before falling into bed.