AUSTRALIA ZOO, GLASSHOUSE MOUNTAINS, EUMUNDI, NOOSA, KENILWORTH & MALENY

There is so much to see and do on the Sunshine Coast and it's hinterland. Having already spent almost a week at Running Creek Parkland I'd barely scratched the surface.

Australia Zoo is an iconic attraction and on a perfect sunny Sunday with my grandson Lachy, daughter Shelley and son in law Adam for company l walked through the gates at 9.30 am. James had been left back in the van at camp. I was totally impressed from the get go. There were lots of visitors but getting through the ticketing process was quick and efficient, the cost for me as an old tart just $47, Shell and Adam $59 and Lachy $35. The presentation of the zoo from a visual and practical prospective is fantastic. The landscaping of all the pathways and enclosures is beautiful - quite formal - not at all rustic as I expected. Within a few minutes of arrival we were up close and personal with snakes, wedgetail eagles, kangaroos, dingos and koalas.

We took our time meandering through the various themed areas, enclosures and exhibits stopping for a while so Lachy could play in the kids area. Surrounded by eateries there is a jumping pillow, water park, amusement ride - all free - and tables set on lawns in the shade for parents to relax. We made our way to the Crocoseum for the midday Wildlife Warriors Show which was fantastic, especially when all different breeds of beautiful birds flew freely around in the open air stadium, returning on cue to their handlers. After the show we had a very reasonably priced lunch and glass of wine from the huge Crikey Cafe Food Court which offers a wide range of self-serve meals that are surprisingly fresh and yummy. The reptile house and the otters were my favourites.

Karen and her fur baby Ellie arrived the next day, the plan being to travel in company over the coming few months. I was excited about having someone to share my adventures with and James was clearly overjoyed to see a couple of familiar faces. Karen parked her van nearby - but not too close - we were both aware of the need for a bit of 'space'. Given her van was new she had a bit of tinkering and learning to do, so she spent her first afternoon at Running Creek Parkland working out the jockey wheel and awning as well as the never ending process of what to store where. I am continually making changes in my van ten weeks into my trip. She loved Running Creek so paid for four nights.

Over the following days we took it in turns to drive and explore. Starting with a visit to the Tourist Information Centre at the closest town of Woodford (famous for its huge annual folk festival) we worked our way from the monolithic Glasshouse Mountains to Mount Mee, the renown Eumundi Markets, Noosa to Perigian Beach and stunning scenic drives to the gorgeous little towns of Kenilworth, Melaney and Montville.

I loved the area around Maleny and Montville. The quaint little towns are located high on the Blackall Range with roads that run along ridges providing the most breathtaking views in all directions - across to the coast, the Glasshouse Mountains, Baroon Pocket Dam, lush green dairy pastures and rain forest covered rolling hills. We had time to wander through the boutique shops and art galleries of Montville, do a tasting of some very yummy liqueurs at the Castle Glen store, buy a pretty shirt for $4 at one of the upmarket second hand clothing shops and check out the falls at Mapleton. There was so much we didn't have time to do that we decided we would spend another day there on Sunday and catch the local market to boot.

When we were at Noosa we had donned our togs and taken the kids to the dog beach beside the river. We didn't stay long cos it wasn't great and I suspected I was getting bitten by sandflies. A couple of nights later I woke up in the middle of the night scratching. Bugger! Bloody midges bites are shitful and the only fix that works for me is boiling water. I jumped out of bed and put the kettle on, dipped the corner of a face washer into a bit of boiling water and dabbed it on the bites, holding it on for as long as I could stand the heat. Instant relief. Yay! Next morning laying in bed I felt what seemed to be another bite on my tummy. I was about to do the boiling trick again until on closer inspection I saw it was black. Fuck me - a bloody big tick! Now that's a first. Fortunately it pulled out in it's entirety with a pair of tweezers. Yuk!

Friday arvo Karen and I played nine holes at Woodford Golf Course. The course is lovely and the weather was perfect, as it had been all week. We both played quite well and after getting the ok from the Pro when we finished I was able to fill up the 40 litre tank I keep in my car with drinking water. That was handy as my 160 litre capacity in the van was less than half after 11 days at Running Creek. The tank in the car is so convenient cos all I have to do is plug the lead into the 12 volt socket in the car and a small motor on the tank pumps the water into the van.

Karen is a hairdresser. Sweet! My last haircut was 4 months ago. Saturday morning she took her tools to my head and did an amazing styling job. Thanks Kas! Looking all glammed up we put loads of dirty washing into her car and headed for Mooloolaba where research showed there was a laundromat near the esplanade. We filled up three washing machines, took Ellie and James for a walk along the river, then checked out the surf beach and the eateries on the esplanade before deciding on lunch at a restaurant on the wharf while the clothes were in the drier. A very pleasant way to do the laundry.

We went back up to Maleny on Sunday. The market was a waste of time but the Maleny Botanic Gardens and Bird World was good value and even better than that was the Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve. Both attractions look out over the Glasshouse Mountains and have great walks, but Mary Cairncross with it's 55 hectares of natural towering subtropical rain forest is absolutely beautiful. A must-do if you're in the area. By two o'clock we were all walked out and starving so dropped into King Ludwigs German Restaurant and Bavarian Beer Bar where their signature dish, Bavarian Style Potato Cream Soup with Frankfurt Sausage and Bacon, was seriously to die for.

MARY VALLEY - GLEN SEIL FARM & RUNNING CREEK PARKLAND

I'm starting to love Youcamp as a resource for finding good places to camp that are not caravan parks and are safe and cheap. Between it and WikiCamps there are a squillion options with masses of information - prices, facilities, comments, photos etc. You just go online for both, put in roughly the area you wish to stay, apply filters (ie dog friendly, fires allowed blah blah) and voila, take your pick!

When I was in Hervey Bay I decided I would head down to the Mary Valley area in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. I came across Glen Seil Farm on Youcamp. The comments and star rating from other visitors was great as was the price of $13 per night. I booked and paid online for two nights planning to have a look around the valley and pop over to the northern end of the Sunshine Coast for a little taste and to see if it was worth more of my time on my way back north with Karen in a couple of weeks.

On arrival at Glen Seil Saturday arvo I was instantly impressed with everything. Jean, the owner, was totally laid back. "Gidday, park wherever you like". There was plenty of room so no stuffing around with tricky van maneuvering - just drove onto a flat spot looking out over her farm and set up. The view out over the paddocks with cattle and horses grazing and a backdrop of hills was beautiful. In front of a lovely big fire I sipped on wine and enjoyed the peace and tranquility watching the sunset. James was in his element!

GLEN SEIL FARM gets a 4 rating from me. I enjoyed being on a farm and obviously in a very safe space for a solo female. Jean is laid back and you can choose to engage with her and others or keep to yourself. You can pretty much camp or wander where you like and it is picturesque. There's a shower, toilet and community kitchen if you need them - which I don't. I liked its location - drive in any direction and there's something worth seeing. $13 per person per night is not bad - especially when you are one.

Next morning I explored the farm taking a long walk down to the Mary River which runs through the lower part of the property. James was free to wander along side - no lead, woohoo! I was interested to see if it was possible to take the van down on to the river where another camp was set up. It was a pretty rough track. Doable, but not really worth the bother of relocating given there was no actual view of the river from the bank, and foot access down to the river's edge was really difficult. The higher spot I was in was better and I was closer to the farm activity which was quite entertaining. An instructor was doing horse riding lessons in the arena nearby and the paddock in front of which I'd set up had a couple of horses in it. It was lovely to have them so close. As a working cattle farm there was the general day to day stuff happening and people to chat to as well.

Later that day James and I went for a drive through the Mary Valley. It's lush and picturesque with lots of single lane creek crossings, quaint towns like Imbil and Amamoor, and pretty Lake Borumba.

We came across a huge horse event on a farm where there were literally hundreds of camps and horse floats. I found out later from Jean that it was the Tom Quilty Gold Cup, apparently Australia's most prestigious endurance horse riding event with over 400 riders from all over Australia and thousands of people involved. I followed along one of the logging tracks that formed part of the course but ran out of 4WD courage when the going got too tough.

Given I hadn't yet checked out the Noosa area I arranged to stay a third night and early Monday took the tourist route through the gorgeous little town of Eumundi across to the coast, picking it up at Coolum Beach. I followed the beach rd (David Low Way) north from Coolum to Tewantin and was surprised by the absence of high rise living. Even the housing density is fairly low and as I expected, quite upmarket in some areas, with huge tracts of natural sub tropical growth separating developed areas. The local shopping areas, while certainly having lots of eateries and a beachside feel are not overly touristy and I didn't see many caravan parks. Noosa itself, however, is a full-on tourist destination - and very upmarket with lots of expensive looking shops and restaurants. The whole area is really pretty and the beaches are pristine with wide golden sand and crashing surf until Tewantin, where the mouth of the Noosa River provides a playground for all sorts of boating and fishing activity. James and I hit the beach at the first dog-friendly option which was Marcus Beach, a few kilometers up from Peregian Beach. It was the perfect day for a paddle and a walk.

The following morning we were southbound to a new WikiCamps destination less than 100 km away. Another one that had great reviews for those who don't need power or water. I wanted somewhere reasonably close to Australia Zoo as my daughter and her family were planning to join me for the weekend and we were going to spend a day there. The closest option at $20/night was Beerwah Sportsground but it didn't sound fantastic whereas Running Creek Parkland twenty minutes further away appeared really good. The drive from Glen Seil on winding, hilly, narrow country roads was just beautiful. Passing through the gorgeous towns of Kenilworth and Maleney with the Glasshouse Mountains in the distance the scenery was out of this world. There is no doubt I will go back without the van on and spend some time exploring the area over the coming days or weeks.

I was not disappointed by Running Creek Parkland. It's a big, flat area with areas of sub-tropical bush and a crystal clear little stream running through it. I found myself a perfect spot in a corner by the creek that had room for Shelley's van as well as Karen's. Knowing I was going to stay for a week or more I did a full set up of the van with awning out, matting down, barbecue set up etc. I decided this would be the ideal location to explore the southern half of the Sunshine Coast as well as the amazing hinterland. It could take a while! The warm day quickly became chilly around three so I lit a big fire in one of the pits provided. Not long before dark the caretaker called in and I paid $20 for two nights, advising her of my intentions and of the other's pending arrivals.

RUNNING CREEK PARKLAND is one of my favourites so far. From the view across to the Glasshouse Mountains when you first arrive to the delightful little creek running across the back of the park it is terrific. When you arrive there's no check in - just set up where ever you like and the caretaker drops in on you. The ground is flat and the entire park is quite huge and has basic dunnies and firewood for sale. There are also showers tucked way back and a BMX track also tucked away. It is a perfect spot for a family getaway and really well located with respect to Australia Zoo, Woodford, the southern end of the Sunshine Coast, Glasshouse Mountains and Maleny. You need more then a couple of days here. It's a bargain at $10 per person per night. It scores a FIVE from me!

Wednesday I took a run over to Beerwah where a drive through the sportsground confirmed I had made the right decision. From there I hit the coast at Mooloolaba for a quick squiz then followed the Nicklin Way south through Kawana Waters to Caloundra. It struck me as being very suburban, which maybe a premature judgement given I hardly scratched the surface. I'll have a closer look once Karen arrives. I did stop Shelly Beach to take James for a walk but he was unimpressed being kept on a lead. Apparently there are no leash-free beaches at Caloundra . The one thing that did impress me was how grand the Glasshouse Mountains are from almost any vantage point in the area. They are amazing!

One of the items on my traveling bucket list was a visit to Bribie Island. I remember going back 30 years or more my parents considered living there before ultimately settling for their retired life in Yarrawonga. Given that I've ended up retiring to Yarrawonga as well I've always thought I might like Bribie as much as they did. So Thursday we went for run over there calling into a caravan sales place we passed on the way at Caboolture. I have been concerned at the amount of stone damage being done to the front of the van and that morning had discovered an actual hole in the window cover. It's a big concern given I haven't even hit the dirt roads of the outback yet! Matt, the salesman there was excellent. We looked at a few options before he directed me across the road to a caravan repair centre for a second opinion. Malcolm reckoned the best option was a Stone Stomper which is a net that attaches from the front of the van under the drawbar to a bracket mounted on the Jeep's towball. He gave me all the contact details. A bit of research to be done!

Bribie Island is an interesting place, I guess. Pretty low key. Probably mainly retirees. Not a holiday destination. No dogs allowed on the ocean side (that sucks) and crappy beaches elsewhere. The long stretch of "surf" beach (not sure why it's called that - check out the photo) is gorgeous. I would have loved a long walk with James. Instead he got a walk, on a lead, in a park, and I opted for lunch and a glass of pinot gris at the "Surf" Club. The whole place is very neat, a couple 'suburbs' with shopping centres, a bit of a foreshore cafe type area near the bridge and a pub, surf club and some eateries on the ocean side. Most of the island is conservation land and inaccessible except by 4WD along the beach. I wouldn't live there. I'd be bored out of my brain.

Saturday the family arrived. We had a fabulous time.

HERVEY BAY

From the moment I arrived at Marie and Ross's place, the weather started to improve. The days of rain and gales disappeared and even setting up my van on their front lawn Saturday arvo was done in sunshine. Yay!

James was delighted to have a house and yard to wander around in and settled very quickly with Marie and Ross's spoodle, Milo. We had lots to catch up on that night and did so over a delicious dinner of seafood paella, french champagne and wine. Ross is a bloody good cook! It was great to have power to the van and the battery which I thought might be rooted didn't take long to show 13.5 V. That was a relief. I was expecting to have to spend $300 on a new one. It was also great to have a washing machine and sleep in clean sheets.

Hervey Bay is a pretty big place with a population of over 50,000 people. It has miles of beautiful beaches and lovely, tropical, well-maintained foreshore areas interspersed with caravan parks, beach-front cafes and bars as well as lots of great kids play grounds. The long stretch of esplanade which ends at Urangan boat harbour has a very holiday feel while a few streets back there are all the big name retail outlets It's a popular destination for grey nomads escaping the winter down south and in summer is close enough to Brisbane to be a family summer holiday destination. Its real claim to fame however is its proximity to Fraser Island and whale watching which takes place between July and November. There are heaps of different options for getting out to the island and the whales and it's apparently a booming boating industry with heaps of vessels of all sizes lined up on boardwalks within Urangan harbour. 

My week spent with Marie and Ross was very leisurely. Each morning we walked the dogs on the beach just a few hundred meters from the house.

We played competition golf in perfect weather a couple of the days which was pretty cheap for me as Hervey Bay is a reciprocal club to my home club of Yarra/Mul. I even managed to catch up with Pammy and George, friends from Yarrawonga who come to Hervey Bay every winter. Pammy joined Marie and me for the ladies comp on Wednesday. Nice. The course is lovely and quite challenging...and I'm still playing like crap!

We checked out some of the local sights, had a dinner out one night at a Thai restaurant and even managed to fit in a spot of fishing. Ross launched his tinny at Gatakers Bay Thursday arvo and the three of us headed out and anchored not too far from shore. We were getting lots of bites and pulling in a few winter whiting but they were tiny. It was also blowing a northerly which created a bit of a swell and it wasn't too long before both Marie and I started to feel crook. Time to head back. It was a short outing, but fun, and the pelicans enjoyed a few of the little whiting we fed to them.

I'd set up my Sprouts Alive kit to grow a few different varieties of sprouts when I was at Agnes and with the addition of water a few times a day they certainly shot up in the warmth of the caravan in a week. I don't mind a little indoor garden. I used them in salads, just to nibble on and Friday, made up some hors d'ouvres to take to the beach for my last night at Hervey to watch the sunset.

It was the perfect evening to hit the beach. A stunning sunset with pelicans flying by.

My week at Hervey Bay was great. Not only was the weather beautiful with every day in the mid 20's and lots of good times spent doing summery stuff with Marie and Ross, I also had the Jeep's transmission serviced. It was well overdue - the normally clear pale brown fluid had turned thick and black. New oil, a new filter and a headlight bulb replacement plus my peace of mind only cost $273. Bargain! With car, van, solar panels and clothes all washed I was ready to move on. Still heading south to meet up with Karen who had delayed her departure from Melbourne due to bad weather - hail, wind, rain - I decided on a Youcamp spot on a working farm not far from Gympie. I said my goodbyes to my dear friends around midday, took a leisurely route through miles and miles of pine forests toward Tin Can Bay arriving at Glen Seil Farm, Kandanga, late Saturday afternoon. James and I enjoyed our first fire in nearly three weeks.

WORKMANS BEACH AGNES WATER & THE TOWN OF 1770

Located at the southern end of Australia's Great Barrier Reef between Bundaberg and Gladstone, the Agnes Water/Town of 1770 area is a delight. Separated by a couple of kilometers, the two are kind of one town. Agnes Water provides a myriad of tourist accommodation, a small retail centre, schools, cop shop etc. while 1770 has caravan parks, lots of holiday homes, a funky pub and a couple of businesses on the estuary for charter and water activities. It's fundamentally a tourist area, a hub for surfies, a departure point for cruises to Lady Musgrove Island and fishing charters, as well as offering a variety of beaches to explore, swim, 4WD on and generally enjoy. There are lots of walks and several lookouts dotted around the hilly terrain providing beautiful views along the coastline and out over the Coral Sea. The demography is a real cross section of visitors - grey nomads, young travelers in rented campers, old surfers who almost set up permanent camps and families. The weather is really nice. In the week I have spent here to date the daily temperatures pretty consistently vary from 15 to 25 degrees with minimal humidity. Workmans Beach is also very protected from all bar northerly winds so is quite warm...certainly enough to sunbake, or for the hardier than me, swim.

WORKMAN'S BEACH CAMP GROUNDS, AGNES WATER scores a 5 out of 5 rating from me. I could stay there forever. The bush area on the hill above the beautiful beach, just a short walk into town is flat with 38 numbered sites of varying shape and size. There is a block of 3 toilets with an open air kitchen sink adjacent and an open air cold shower. There are also 4 electric barbecues (free), several water taps in various locations and a few table/bench seat set ups. As I am self-contained the only thing I used was water, and as I could attach my hose to a tap and fill up my two 80 litre tanks, it was great. The cost is $9.35 per person per day but you can't book. I like the way it is managed. You simply arrive and if there is a site available, you just set up on it. The ranger comes around morning and night and collects the money (credit card ok). If all sites are full you pull up in the day stay area and can camp there until a site becomes available later that day or next day. No-one is ever turned away. You can stay up to 42 days, then you have to leave for a week. I love the system, the cost (very cheap for one) and the place. 

As the name implies, there is a bit of history behind The Town of Seventeen Seventy, which is more commonly referred to as just "1770". Considered to be the birthplace of Queensland, it was the second place Captain Cook set foot ashore in Australia in 1770. He named it Round Hill after the creek it sits on. The name was changed in 1970 to commemorate the bicentennial of Cook's landing.

My few days of holiday with Shelley, Adam and Lachy were thoroughly enjoyable. Our vans were co-located so we shared an outdoor space, dinner at night and lots activities, yet there was plenty of time for each of us to do our own thing or simply retreat. Aside from pottering around camp, much of our family time together was spent on the beach just a short stroll from camp. Lachy loved discovering new rock pools to play in while the fur babies had a wonderful time chasing balls and sticks on the beach. Lachy and I had a few days on Codral and plenty of nanna naps, eventually getting over whatever bugs we had, so daily outings were not too interrupted by ailments.

Sunday we headed down to the Discovery Coast Rotary Markets at the SES grounds. It was a fairly big affair with quite a variety of stalls. Some of the hand craft was excellent and the prices of local produce were very reasonable. It was a lazy way to while away a couple of hours. Over the next couple of days checked out the walking/bike riding trails, went to some of the lookouts and did the Butterfly Walk. That was really worthwhile. Along the 1770 estuary beach there is a track that takes you through a semi rainforest area and this time each year the butterflies morph out in their thousands. Shelley and I did a walk which took us through the small but beautiful butterfly habitat, then down on to the rocky beach and a circuit walk back to the car.

A short drive down the road we couldn't resist the very inviting beach side pub (The Beach Hotel & Tree Bar) with its outdoor deck and bar area overlooking the river. We thoroughly enjoyed our midday refreshments.

Shell, Adam and Lachy packed up Tuesday morning to head home. I have no idea when I will see them again. Who knows where this journey will take me! James and I  spent much of that beautiful day on the beach where I was drawn to a continuous, loud, ear-piercing chirrup of a cicada. I found him on a branch and could see the enormous abdominal effort of his call so took some very close up photos which did not distract him for a second. Within a few minutes another cicada appeared from under the same branch, positioned herself in front of him and backed up. It was clearly his lucky day and with zero regard for their audience the two hooked up and made passionate love. Half his luck! I couldn't help but do a bit of research, which was really interesting, so I will share my findings.

Not long after mating the female cicada cuts grooves into a twig or branch and deposits a number of eggs in each...up to hundreds. Two to seven months later the nymphs emerge from the eggs and fall to the ground, tunnel through crevices and excavate to create a small space beside a plant root which then becomes their food source. It seems they stay there for about seven years whereupon they emerge en- masse and climb to a clear vantage point where their wings are formed and they go through the molting process. The adult cicada then only lives from a one to sixteen  weeks. Just a little something to go in your useless trivia file...

The sunset over Workman's Beach that evening was beautiful...

I was planning to play in golf comps Thursday and Saturday but the weather turned to shit. The wind in particular was gusting up above 50 kph and although still relatively warm it was not pleasant unless in a sheltered spot. James was happier in the car out of the wind so we took a run south to Baffle Creek. I did contemplate doing the 4WD track through Deepwater National park but on running that idea by the ranger decided against it. Apparently the track is pretty difficult in spots - not for a novice like me! The drive was pleasant but there's not much at Baffle Creek bar a big river. Probably great for fishermen. On the way back we called into an out of the way cafe, The Getaway Garden Cafe and accommodation complex up the road from Workman's Beach. What a beautiful spot! That's a must-visit.

Around the corner was the Paperbark Forest, one of Agnes's attractions. That was really lovely with a narrow board walk and stepping stone pathway through the dense vegetation.

In the afternoon I decided to try my hand at fishing. On the advice of my next door neighbour, Floyd, who looked at how my rod was already set up,  I picked up a pre-made surf leader and sinker along with squid bait from the local tackle shop. Then it was YouTube time. With zero experience rigging lines, tying knots or attaching bits I managed to follow instructions and with the aid of a glass of wine and a smidgen of patience managed to set it all up. An hour or so before sunset I gathered up my bits and pieces and with James beside me climbed on a rocky outcrop down on the beach, baited up and cast out. No joy.

Friday was wild and woolly with intermittent showers, but a touch of cabin fever fueled another try at fishing. The beach was a bit protected from the wind, so I figured if I waited till the tide was on its way out it might not be too bad. Around midday I positioned myself atop another rock and against my better judgement given the fairly wild sea crashing around me, gave it a go. Dumb idea! I can understand why rock fishermen drown. Some of the waves were unexpected and massive. I had to cut my line to extricate a tangled leader (which I foolishly recovered) getting myself absolutely drenched from head to foot in the process. Scary - won't do that again!   

By Saturday I was well and truly over the weather and with several days of zero sunlight on the solar panels the van's battery was close to dead. Time to move. I called my friends Marie and Ross some three hours south at Hervey Bay. They had invited me to stay at their place before I had left Yarrawonga and today seemed an opportune time to take up their offer. I'd previously camped at their lovely home which is a short walk from the beach with a nice big lawn to set the van up on and, of course, power. Just what the battery needs. I was all packed up by midday and although driving conditions were horrendous with strong winds and heavy showers, I arrived safely a little before four.