Not Before Time

Well we’ve left Mackay and are now in Townsville. For some reason, neither of us were able to really settle in Mackay so the decision to leave was fairly easy, the hard part was leaving behind the friends we’ve got there. But they all have plans to come up to Townsville so we’ll still get to see them periodically which is great. So far (apart from the weather) Townsville has been good – we’re in a nice park close to everything, we’ve met a few of the residents here (lots of people are here long term and working) and everyone is very friendly. Now we’ll start looking for work!

On the way up we stopped at O’Connell River for a night and then 2 nights in Bowen. The day we left Mackay was quite good, at least the rain had stopped for a while, so after setting up the van at O’Connell River we went for a drive to Airlie Beach. We’d been there before when we’d gone out for a drive when in Mackay, but it was pouring down that time, so we thought we’d have another look while it was a reasonable day. I know lots of people like Airlie Beach, but to be honest, we’re not big fans – it’s very touristy. But I can understand that some holiday makers and backpackers would like it – there are a couple of nice beach areas close to rental apartments, take away food places and shops selling souvenirs and beach clothing etc. We prefer places like Cedar Creek Falls, a lovely spot between Proserpine and Airlie Beach, with swimming hole and waterfall – really pretty.

When we got back to the park we went for a walk and checked out the river. I only had my phone with me, so I took a couple of photos of the river using that camera. Everything was a bit wet and muddy and they are still in the process of cleaning up after cyclone Yasi, but I think the park would be a great spot to stay during the dry season. And the fishing is supposed to be great. I did hear however that there are crocs in the river, which may have played a part in me not going right down to the bank to check it out – knowing how clumsy I can be, and how muddy and slippery it was, the thought did cross my mind that I might have ended up going A over T into the water! Not a good thought if there are crocs in it

The rain had stopped when we left for Bowen the next day, and the sun stayed out most of the day. We got there fairly early since it’s only about 80kms from O’Connell River. We stayed at the Coral Coast Beachfront Holiday Park which is right on the beach. We don’t normally stay at big 4 parks because we really aren’t interested in all the facilities they offer, but, as I normally do, I’d looked online at the van parks in the area to make sure we could get in somewhere, and this one seemed like it might be ok, only 1 of 2 that might be able to fit us in. And it was, but only because they weren’t busy. The park is very compact with smaller sites, and in the high season when the park is packed, there’s no way we would have gotten our van in, it’s way too tight. However, the staff are great and took David’s word that he would be able to park up ok, which of course he did We had a lovely couple of days there, and we really like Bowen so will head back down there at some stage for a long weekend.

We’ve heard the fishing is excellent there, but unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to get the rods out, so will make sure we do next time we’re there.

Well we’re still in Mackay, although we’ve decided we will move on in a couple of weeks – head up to Townsville. David has already handed in his notice at work and now we are both looking online for work in Townsville. Neither of us have been further north than Mackay in Queensland, so we’re looking forward to new places to see.

I forgot to put a post up about the cyclone, and that’s probably partly because it didn’t affect us much and it to me it somehow seemed wrong posting about how we breezed through it when so many other places have had so much damage done and people have lost so much. However, we were evacuated from the park where we’ve been staying, so decided to head over to Theresa Creek Dam, about 320km south west of Mackay, near Clermont. We thought since we had to pack everything up, we might as well stay for a few days, so made sure we filled the water tanks and took plenty of fuel with us for the generator.

Theresa Creek is lovely, and since this is the quiet time of the year there, we had the place pretty much to ourselves apart from 3 or 4 other families or couples from Mackay and Townsville escaping the cyclone. A number of people from the park here went to Clermont, about 20kms from Theresa Creek Dam, so the park there was really busy, but I think people wanted the mod cons, electricity and so on. We were really glad we went to the dam, it was pretty, and quiet and relaxing. We spent the days walking, reading, and fishing. We heard the Redclaw (think big yabbies with a red claw) was good eating, so we put in a net and managed to get a heap of them which we boiled up and enjoyed with just vinegar and salt and pepper. Beautiful!

Apparently the dam gets very busy on the weekends with ski boats, jet ski’s, family bbqs and picnics, and I imagine it would get pretty noisy, but during the week it was really peaceful. The only noisy bit was the dawn chorus with the birds, but that’s not hard to put up with. There were heaps of birds there – rainbow lorikeets (who would eat from your hand), noisy miners, blue eyed honeyeaters, apostle birds, magpies, magpie larks etc, and they are obviously used to people as they didn’t show any sign of concern at us being around them. We were set up under a tree so had a lot of them around us all the time. We’ll be making sure we’ll get back there again.

After the thunderstorm and torrential rain yesterday this was the reward :-}

I think I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been playing with the camera a lot more, and today was such a beautiful morning, so I grabbed it and went for a walk around the park, something I haven’t done for a while. This also fits in with my resolution to update more frequently here, even if I think it might not be that interesting for anyone who reads this. I’ll see how I get on with that resolution :-}

With all the rain we’ve had recently the trees and shrubs have taken a beating, so there aren’t many flowers around like there usually are. There aren’t many people around either, a lot of the seasonal workers have left because the sugar season is over or because the rain has effectively put an end to the jobs they had. It’s nice and quiet though.

This photo of a ginger plant is from one of the permanent residents’ garden, she has quite a few of them, all in this gorgeous colour. I didn’t realise until I saw the shot on the computer, but this plant also has its own residents – bugs and a moth :-}

I love how dandelions look when you photograph them up close, they catch the light and shine like mini chandeliers.

This young magpie was funny, he walked right up to me and just stopped in the middle of the path – not sure if he was trying to stop me from walking on or if he was looking for food – since he’s been around for a while he’s very used to people, and I would suspect that some of the residents have been feeding him.

The willy wagtail was following Pete, the maintenance guy, around while he was mowing the lawns. The birds have learned that mowing or whipper snipping means fresh bugs! David was whipper snipping around the van the other day and one was following him around too – they get very close to the cutting bit.

There are lots of green frogs around, particularly in the amenities block – this little guy was quite comfortable – in the toilet bowl! He was only a little one, the other day I was surprised by his big brother who leapt off the cistern onto the floor at my feet. Sorry, I didn’t have the camera with me for that shot

This leaf is from a clump in the garden bed outside the camp kitchen, not sure what it’s called, but the veins are a beautiful colour

I was sitting outside having a coffee after my walk, and there was a slight breeze blowing the palm tree fronds around a bit. I like the look of the trellis pattern when one frond moved in front of the other.

I’m not sure what this shrub is called, I’m having trouble finding someone who knows the name of it and I can’t find it on the internet which is really odd because they are everywhere up here, the foliage is similar to an agapanthus, and the flower is really lovely, the petals are almost transluscent.

David is back at work after the Christmas break, but I’m still looking and not having much luck. People don’t seem to get back to you up here, and I think with what’s been happening with the weather in the area it might be even more difficult to find something – we’ll give it another month and then decide what we are going to do. David’s been very lucky with work, the trucks aren’t getting up here due to the flooding at Rockhampton so there’s not much to do and the company has been sending a lot of their drivers home early or telling them not to come in until late in the day, at least David has been able to work his normal hours. Hopefully things will start getting back to normal for everyone soon.

More rain overnight – and this was the sky when I got up just after 5 this morning – glorious colours, shame it promises more wet stuff!