Mystique

 

We took an early morning stroll to the Tin Can Bay boat ramp as we had heard that dolphins are fed there. Imagine the excitement at 6.30am to be greeted by the sight of Mystique waiting to be fed. He is the leader of the pod around 17 years of age. As with all wildlife, Queensland Parks and Wildlife manage the dolphin feeding. No fancy tricks here! just a chance to see dolphins in their natural surroundings. No touching either, unless while you are in the water, they touch you.

 

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Tin Can Bay

Arrived Sunday morning and set up camp after a short run from Maryborough.

We grabbed a spot closest to the road and closest to the view AND closest to the take away shop. What more could we want!

Tin Can Bay is pretty good. It's small and friendly with only a small supermarket and a couple of shops but it does have a couple of pretty big marinas which seems to make the whole thing a contradiction.

I went to the dentist this morning and guess what? He comes from Shenzen!  After we compered notes on the state of China and especially Shenzen, we were nearly on a first name basis but that didn't stop him extracting $180.00 from me for a filling!  More than double what I've been used to paying in the Towers. Just hope it's not a made in China filling!

 

   

 

I

Old store Maryborough

Brennen & Geraghty's store in Maryborough tells it like it was.

Opened in 1871 and shut up in 1972 when the owner walked out, entering the store is like stepping back in time.

The store remains much as he left it, with lots of old bottles and jars dating back to the 1800's remaining, with their contents still in them.

Look above Annie's head and see the old gas lines disguised with coloured ribbons and note the gas lights.

Notice in one photo the little rail tracks and trolley ( in the back room  ) for moving bulk goods through the shop.

Look in the right of the picture and you can partly see where the bookkeeper or manager sat tallying up the money and keeping an eye on the staff.

There are two rooms out the back, one is stacked floor to ceiling  with old timber cases that once contained tea, butter, sugar etc.

Totally amazing is the fact that all of the contents in the shop are original, nothing has been added.

The shop is now owned by National Trust. 

Mary Poppins

It seems every city in Queensland has it's famous son or daughter and Maryborough is no exception.

Writing under the pseudonym of PL Travers, Helen Lyndon Goff wrote a series of 6 books about a prim British Nannie, Mary Poppins.

Local Historians in Maryborough discovered that Helen Goff born 1899, was the first daughter of the bank manager. She was born in the old bank building pictured.

The bronze statue of Mary Poppins is as the author portrayed her and not the Disney version which upset her greatly, although she became a millionaire from the royalties.

Strangely enough she was very reticent in regards to her link to Maryborough.

A morning in Maryborough

Great morning in Maryborough!  Annie and I did a short tour with a guide.

Took these photos to show the height of the 1893 floods.

You can see the red and white pole beside the bond store. ( Photo from front with Annie and our guide )

Iv'e taken it from side so you can see the river in the background.

What a flood! 

I guide Carmel came in from out of town just to show Annie and I around. Being a public holiday they decided not to do any tours. When she heard from the tourist information centre Annie I were disappointed she made a special trip in.

Thanks Carmel. 

Maryborough

What a great place!

Lots of heritage buildings that seem to have miraculously escaped the wreckers ball.

The well preserved area by the river is refered to as '' Portside''.

Annie and I were both impressed with Rockhampton's riverside heritage area but Maryborough outshines it by far with a cluster of buildings covering a couple waterfront streets.

Maryborough was at one time the second largest immigration port in Australia.

It's also is famous for it's shipyards, Walker & Co that built a lot of warships for the R.A.N during the World War 2.

They also built the first steam loco in Queensland, the "Mary Ann'' in 1873. The one in the picture is a replica.

The council here, assisted by what must be a very dedicated bunch of volunteers have done a tremendous job of preserving the town's history.

Annie and I are going on a guided tour of the town's heritage buildings tomorrow and self drive tour of the town the following day.

Lots of photo opportunities in this town! 

 

 

 

Budding Artist

Steve completed his painting of Bargara Beach today. Your comments are invited!

 

Morning view

Our days at Bargara Beach draw to a close. We will miss the pristine beauty of Kelly's Beach which we see each morning from our side balcony.

Back in the van on Saturday and on the move again.

Maryborough will be our next stop and from research it seems there will be many places to go and things to see.

Burnett Heads

About ten minutes north of Bargara we came across Burnett Heads.

This little town boasts one of the loveliest harbours iv'e seen. Really large and well sheltered.

It must be a ''must do'' for yachties

The lighthouse was transported be sea from Moreton island in1873 and has since been replaced by a new one.

It now stands in a park in town.  

Strange effect

Walking out for a smoke about 5.30 in the morning I took this photo.

I came around the corner of the building and got quite a fright.

At first glance it looked to me as though the sea was about to flood the resort.

Scary!

Mainly the camera angle.

Seems they are having unusual high tides here at the moment as well.

Best if you enlarge it to get the effect.  

  

Shame on you Bundyites!

Bundaberg has some beautiful heritage buildings.

Not as many as the once had I'm sure.

The black and white photo that you see is of the Commonwealth Bank Building as it used to be, pre 1960.

The colour photo is after it refurbishment and as it is today.

Where are the people responsible ( or irresponsible ) for this?

Are they still in jail? They should be!  

I thought nothing of the building ( who would? ) until I walked inside and commented on the photo to the lady behind the desk.

She told Annie and I it was once the most majestic building in Bundaberg!

It is now the towns art gallery.

A fine monument to the art of vandalism!

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Elliot heads

Elliot Heads, to the south Bargara, what a magnificent place!  When youv'e been overseas you start to realise what a beautiful country Australia is.

Annie and I took a casual drive to the Heads to check it out and were absolutely amazed.

Blue water and white sand, what a magic combination anywhere.

The Heads is another rather untouched ( or so we thought ) piece of paradise. A few old holiday cottages mixed amongst some stylish new homes.

We were rather dismayed though on our return along the coast, as we didn't come in that way, that housing developments stretch back from the Heads all the way to Bargara.

The foreshore is lined of course with big pretentious houses and behind them on the flats the rest.

The locals must have formed a citizens action group. Every second house has a sign attached to their front fence proclaiming STOP REZONING FARMLAND and SAVE OUR FORESHORES.

A good idea especially if you already own a house there. Oh well!  

   

Me as an artist?

After a trip with Annie to the Bundaberg Art Gallery I was inspired to do a painting.

It's not finished yet. If it turns out OK maybe I will do another one.

When I asked Annie what was lacking she told me '' Talent''  Never mind I'll still persevere. ( I think )

You could give me some feedback ( or maybe that's not a good idea ) Maybe it will save me some time. 

Back to the easel.

Back to despair?

 

 

 

Mon Repos Turtle Rookery

Our visit to the Mon Repos Conservation Park to see nature at work was an incredible experience.

The action takes place after  dark. Rangers take groups of visitors along the beach after activity has been observed. We were able to witness tiny turtles scrambling up from their nests which are about 50cm below the surface. It was amazing to see tiny heads popping up through the sand. The Ranger gathers all the clutchlings in a little enclosure until all have emerged from the nest. When the barrier is removed, the little turtles scurry down the beach to enter the water. Only one in a thousand will survive.

Each nest has around 130 eggs. This year 300 turtles have nested. All are tagged and their movements can be traced to far away places such as Peru and the Pacific.

The turtles come up to the beach to lay eggs Nov to Feb. The hatchlings emerge 60 days later. They will return to Mon Repos many years later. Females lay eggs when they reach 30 years or so.

 

Signs

No Macca's at Bargara, but not to be outdone the sign 15mins away in Bundy you will find the Golden Arches.

The Don Pancho Resort is a non-smoking resort. However they do cater for the nicotine addicted by permiting them to go down to the stump at the the back of the Resort. At least there the lepers have an ocean view.

Fw: Notes from a Windy Coast

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Steve & Anne Handel

To: handenomads.online@blogger.com

Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 8:32 AM

Subject: Notes from a Windy Coast

Above is a photo of the Don Pancho Resort where Annie and I are staying at Bargara Beach.

Very windy here at the moment, although Annie says she was talking to someone ( not a man I hope ) and they said it was windy here all the time. Can you believe that?

Bargara is much like Trinity Beach, ( for those who know it ) probably better. It is 17kms from Bundaberg and is separated from the city by vast cane fields. The village has only a few streets, a lovely beach front with covered picnic benches. A few coffee shops. Cafes etc, face the beach.

Unlike Tannum Sands ( the site of bitter disappointment for me ) it is has not yet fallen victim to the developer's bulldozers. Why? I don't know.

Tannum Sands is 20kms from Gladstone, and being within easy reach of the city is overun by development, in contrast, Bargara is 17kms from the city and virtually untouched.

Maybe Bundaberg council is not into rape and pillage, although a Woolworths supermarket has just opened. Maybe that's the green light the Philistines have been waiting for. 

Anyhow, back to the Don Pancho. The beach out front of the resort is really great, lovely sand, and I believe, turtles come in at night to lay their eggs, although we havn't been lucky enough to see any yet.

The Don Pancho itself is a little dated compered to the couple of newer resorts that have sprung up around it, but it does have absolute beach frontage as the photo shows which makes it so much more attractive.

 

So as Kevin Rudd does ----- asks a question, then answers it himself.  

       

Are Annie and I happy here? ---- Yes we are!.

Bargara Sunrise

This photo taken early Sunday morning. (after sunrise) The sun coming up over the ocean is a sight to behold.

Yes, we have settled into Don Pancho and have spent a couple of days relaxing. Still getting used to all the extra space. Steve is enjoying the cable TV which seems to be replacing the scrabble games we have been playing.

From our unit in "Matador Block'', it's only a few steps on to the beach.(haven't worked out the Spanish connection yet)

At the moment, it is a little blustery for beach walking but we have dipped our toes in the briny.

A has been doing some research on the Turtle watching at Mon Repos. Queensland Parks and Wildlife manage the Conservation Park. They have implemented limited ticketed access. Mon Repos supports the largest concentration of nesting marineland turtles in the South Pacific region. Successful breeding here is critical for the survival of these endangered species. Ranger guided tours are after dark. Between Nov and March the turtles come up to the beach to lay the eggs. We are hoping to see the hatchlings making there way back to the sea. It means digging out some warm clothing as it can be cold at night and there could be a wait of up to 5 hours to see the turtles. Not sure about photos. The brochure advises limited photo opportunities.

Bargara or bust.

 

The two roving reporters have arrived a Bargara Beach and already have pics to go.

We are writing to you from the Bargara Golf  Club ( previously the Bargara golf  House circa 1950 ). We are here because we can't check in till 3pm.

We arrived at the Don Pancho Resort at about 10 am, unhitched the van out the front and checked in, not with out a drama of course as Mrs Hitler was behind the desk.

Steve            '' What's our room number''

Mrs Hitler       '' Sorry can't tell you until you book in''

Steve            '' Is it classified information?

Mrs Hitler     '' No it's just that I can't tell you in case we have to change your room and you will be disapointed''

Steve            '' How can we be disapointed when we haven't seen the room?

Then she starts to question Annie's identity as the booking is in Paul's name.

Then we both start to be visibly upset. ( but only to each other ) she's to busy looking for spys, infiltraters and phony guests trying to check in under assumed names.

Annie doesn't have the correct paper work and has to email Paul.

We can't check in untill 3pm because we didn't ring ahead. If we had rung ahead we might have been able to check in.

Annie and I go outside for two or three cigarettes and a few deep breaths, if that's possible.

Both outside and undercover car parks are completely vacant, NO CARS ! and she's having trouble juggling check ins and so on and so on.

So here we are doing it tough at the golf club,

More later from the  Stalag Don Pancho, if we ever get inside!    

 

Lucky Ducks

 

Museums, gardens and grand homes

As well as visiting the various Hinkler sites, we enjoyed strolling around the Bundaberg Botanical Gardens.

The grand home is Fairymead House relocated from a cane property to the Gardens.

The ducks and tortoises were treated to our leftover buns and bread.

No, we didn't genuflect before the Bundy rum shrine. Instead we opted for a tour of the Bundaberg Ginger Beer display which is set in a barrel shaped building. Very informative and interesting. We sampled some of their many brews including lemon, lime and bitters, a lovely peach drink and of course ginger beer.

We came away with a mixed 6 pack.

Bundaberg

Annie and Iare in Bundaberg now, or Hinklerville, and what a lovely town. Not the most attractive town, but still very pleasant.

Of course Bundaberg's favourite son is Bert Hinkler. Throughout the town there is constant reminders of the great aviator, Hinkler Park, Hinkler Oval, Hinkler Motel and so on.

Above are a couple pictures of Hinklers house, removed from Southampton in England in 1983 and rebuilt in Bundaberg at is present site within the Botanical Gardens.

The house is now the Hinkler Museum. The building being constructed to the side of the house will house replicas of five of the aeroplanes he flew, some of which he built.

 

Here is a brief history of him.

 

1892  Born Bundaberg.

1912  Flew two self built gliders and flew them at Mon Repos ( near Bundaberg ).

1914  Arrived in England.

1914  Enlisted in the Royal Naval Air Service.

1917  Awarded the DSM for flying performances in France during 1st World war.

1929  Flew solo from England to Australia.

1931  Flew solo across the south Atlantic.

1933  Dies in his plane on Mt Pratomagno near Florence in Italy, while attempting another record attempt to Australia.

 

And this is just a brief history of him. The trophys and awards he won for flying exploits are quite amazing and too many to list here.

He was also cheif test pilot for A.V.Roe in England for five years.

 

Also in the Botanical Gardens is the Bundaberg Historical Museum, one of the best Iv'e seen, housing a huge array of interesting artifacts. Well worth a visit if you ever pass through. 

   

 

 

  

Sunday at 1770

Hi All

 

Not a lot happening here Sunday afternoon at 1770.  Annie and I taking it easy at the moment.

I attempted a swim yesterday. After wading out for about 50 yds and still not up to my knees I gave up the idea.

We visited the local museum this afternoon. A lot of Capt Cook of course and a wealth of local history. 

1770 is it is now called ( Cook named it Round Hill ) was Cook's first landing place in what is now Queensland. 

Annie and I are off to Bundaberg in the morning. Up early, close up shop and hit the road.

We intend to stay at a park in Bundy until the 7th when we move into the Don Pancho Resort, courtesy of Paul. Our stay there should be great.

Annie is looking forward to the Gold Coast and I am looking forward to the surf and being able to swim in water above my knees.

I find the tropics very inhospitable, what with the humidity, a lovely tepid sea you can't swim in and nasty things that bite.

Being able to roll up the awnings now has made it so much easier. Trying to set them up before was harder than being at work.    

Town of 1770

Dear Readers,

 

Annie and I are now at 1770 by the sea ( at time of writing ) would you believe?  After rain and floods and a couple of inhospitable caravan parks we feel at last we are getting somewhere, inasmuch as we can see and go in the water without being stung to death.

Both 1770 and Agnes Waters are much as we imagined dear readers and much to our delight.   

The caravan park is council owned and operated, and absolute waterfront, and though the emenities are rather basic they are good enough.

At the moment ( weekend ) the park is pretty full with mostly weekend holiday makers from Gladstone, I imagine. Some weekend campers it seems can't do without their music ( for want of a better word ) and I'm sure it spoils it for the majority who don't like it but are two scared to protest. We had some people near us who were respectful enough to turn theirs down after I complained to them. As I always say " Nature abhors a vacuum." So dear readers on that note we have decided to stay in town during the weekend where possible and spend time in the more attractive, popular holiday parks, during the week.

We had only just set up camp when this big lizard strolled by totally ignoring us. ( There is nothing more hurtful than being ignored by a lizard. )

Sad to say that a lot of our creatures are extinct or dying out but Australia still abounds in wild life. Annie and I have not been anywhere really, where we havn't been treated to thrill of seeing some ground dwelling creatures or birds

 

Until next time.

 

EDITORS NOTE  Some of our blogs are written stored and sent later as we have no connection available.